CPC through cultural lens: No empty talk, only solid work

BEIJING -- No empty talk, only solid work.

That is the approach through which the Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the Chinese people to a number of milestones over the past century, from its revolutionary victory to its success in reform, opening up, and socialist modernization.

Party members and officials should keep in mind that "empty talk harms the country while solid work makes it flourish," reads the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century, adopted by the CPC Central Committee in November 2021.

"Empty talk harms the country while solid work makes it flourish" is a Chinese saying that has its roots in ancient Chinese wisdom.

It brings to mind the historical lessons of Zhao Kuo of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), who fought all his battles on paper, or the scholars of the Western and Eastern Jin dynasties (265-420) who became ineffective as they immersed themselves in meaningless debates.

Zhao Kuo, the son of a revered general in Zhao, one of the seven states during the Warring States Period, had begun reading military books as a child. Even though he had never fought a real war, Zhao Kuo believed he had a superior understanding of military strategies and was invincible. Later, he led Zhao's army in a battle against the troops of the Qin State, but ended up with a colossal defeat.

"Qingtan," literally meaning "pure conversation," which was popular among the scholars of the Western and Eastern Jin dynasties, had been widely referred to by historians over the centuries as a practice that harmed the country and ultimately led to the fall of Jin.

Struggle creates history; hard work makes a bright future.

In requiring solid work and rejecting empty talk, the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC have succeeded in turning China into the world's second-largest economy.

China's per capita GDP has risen from less than 100 U.S. dollars in 1952 to over 10,000 dollars in 2020.

China has eradicated absolute poverty and has made life significantly better for its over 1.4 billion people.

In pursuing development, China has accomplished, in just a few decades, what other countries have taken several hundred years to achieve.

All of these milestones are a result of action and hard work.

The same approach is being utilized by the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC as they progress further toward the Second Centenary Goal and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.