As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) marks another anniversary, the state media apparatus has deployed a series of historical vignettes designed to reinforce a singular message: the survival of the Party depends on the total subordination of the individual to the collective will. From the freezing peaks of the Long March to the urban sieges of the Chinese Civil War, these narratives serve as more than mere history lessons. They are the ideological bedrock for the current leadership's demand for 'absolute loyalty' in an era of complex geopolitical challenges.
The historical accounts emphasize that revolutionary success was never guaranteed by material superiority but by a quasi-religious adherence to 'revolutionary ideals.' The story of Liu Zhihai, a soldier found frozen in the snow with nothing but his party card and a silver coin, is presented as the archetypal example of the 'first identity'—the idea that one is a Party member before they are an individual. This ethos of sacrifice is being revitalized under President Xi Jinping to ensure that the current generation of cadres remains ideologically resilient against the perceived corruptions of the modern world.
However, the Party’s focus extends beyond martyrdom to the cold mechanics of organizational discipline. The case of Liu Ligong, a promising graduate expelled in 1939 for refusing a specific work assignment, serves as a stark warning to today’s bureaucrats. By highlighting Liu’s 'arrogance' and his belief that he was an exception to the rules, the CCP reminds its 98 million members that technical merit or seniority provides no immunity from the requirement of 'unconditional execution' of central directives.
This historical continuity is perhaps most evident in the military sphere, where the principle of 'the Party commands the gun' remains non-negotiable. The defeat of Zhang Guotao’s factionalism during the Long March is cited to demonstrate that any attempt to leverage personal military power against the central leadership is destined for failure. For the modern People’s Liberation Army (PLA), these stories are used to justify a system where political reliability is the ultimate metric of professional success, ensuring the military remains a loyal tool of the Party’s domestic and international ambitions.