We must study in order to improve our ability to work in a more scientific way, with greater foresight and initiative. This will allow us to keep up with the times, follow the law of development, and be innovative in our leadership and policy-making. We must study in order to avoid bewilderment resulting from inadequate knowledge, blindness resulting from insensibility, and chaos resulting from ignorance. We must also study in order to overcome professional deficiencies, the dread of incompetence and outdated capabilities. Otherwise, we are no better than "a blind man on a blind horse riding toward a deep pool at night" - an imprudent and inadvisable course of action, however courageous. This could lead us to failure in work, losing our way and falling behind the times.

--Speech given by Xi Jinping at the celebration assembly of the 80th anniversary of the Central Party School and the opening ceremony of its 2013 spring semester, March 1, 2013

A Blind Man on a Blind Horse Riding

Toward a Deep Pool at Night

-- Be more scientific, with greater foresight and initiative

"A blind man on a blind horse riding toward a deep pool at night" comes from "Taunting and Teasing," A New Account of Tales of the World, written by Liu Yiqing during the Song Period (420-479) of the Southern Dynasties (420-589). Passage 61 reads:

Huan Xian, Duke of Nanjun, was once playing a game of "Sequences" with Yin Zhongkan, governor of Jingzhou, and some others and everyone was composing verses with liao, meaning "ended," as both the rbyme and the topic. Gu Kaizhi began:

"Flames devour the level plain, and leave no trace unburned."

Huan continued:

"With white clothes wrap the coffin round, and by it plant the banners."

Yin added:

"Throw the fish into the deep; release the flying bird."

Next they continued, using the wei, meaning "dangerous" as both the rhyme and the topic. Huan Xian began:

"Poised on a spear point, rice is washed, and on a sword point steamed."

Yin continued:

"An old man of a hundred years climbs up a withered branch."

Gu added:

"Upon the windlass o'er the well there lies an infant child."

One of Yin's aides who was present chimed in:

"A blind man on a blind horse riding toward a deep pool at night."

"Hear! Hear!" cried Yin, "You're getting too close to home!" This was because one of Yin Zhongkan's eyes was blind.

This section, "Taunting and Teasing," includes many playful stories full of ridicule, tricks, satire, retorts, and advice, as well as joking between friends, showing the quick, witty exchanges people engaged in at the time. The language is full of deeper meanings and far-reaching implications, which was an important part of the social style of the Wei-Jin era (220-420).

In this story, several learned men are discussing what the most dangerous situation would be, and one of them comes up with the example of "a blind man rides a blind horse toward a deep pool late at night." This line describes an extremely dangerous situation for a blind person, but with the dramatic irony of him not knowing the danger he is really in.

Xi Jinping quoted the line "a blind man rides a blind horse toward a deep pool late at night" to show how leading officials need to study harder to avoid total ignorance, flailing about blindly in their work, and not even realizing when they are in danger.

Xi Jinping mentioned this line during his speech at the celebration assembly of the 80th anniversary of the Central Party School and the opening ceremony of its 2013 spring semester. This was in particular to shine light on the danger of leading officials not reading or studying, and instead becoming like the "blind man on a blind horse." Making decisions while being in the dark oneself often leads to the problem of "bewilderment resulting from inadequate knowledge, blindness resulting from insensibility, and chaos resulting from ignorance."

Since the CPC was established, at every critical juncture it has emphasized Party-wide study based on the changing nature of the historical tasks it faced. During the era of democratic revolution, the Party was mainly made up of peasants rather than the progressive industrial workers Karl Marx spoke of. But by having Party members study more, the Party preserved its progressive nature as a proletarian governing party, and gained leadership in the democratic revolution. During China's second revolutionary war, when faced with dogmatic accusations that "there is no Marxism deep in the mountains," Mao Zedong did everything he could to collect works on Marxism-Leninism and devoted himself to reading. When the Red Army took Zhangzhou in 1932, he found a copy of Anti-Dühring by Friedrich Engels that he held on to as if it were his greatest treasure, and he even continued reading it when lying ill on a stretcher. It was study that helped the CPC improve its fighting ability and become the leader of the democratic revolution.

On the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong called for the entire Party to study anew, because "the serious task of economic construction lies before us. We shall soon put aside some of the things we know well and be compelled to do things we don't know well." "We must learn what we do not know." "Learn respectfully and conscientiously." It was study that allowed the CPC to be able to master developing the economy and lead the construction of the country.

China is already in a new stage of development. The task of reform, development, and stability is immense. New situations, new problems, and new conflicts are continually appearing. We are also in an age of "information explosion" and "big data," in which the speed of knowledge updating and innovation has greatly increased. If we do not step up our studies, we will fall behind the times or even make no progress at all. If we try to fly by the seat of our pants in decision- making and act imprudently, we will be "riding toward a deep pool at night." If we do not study history, we will not know how history progresses and how great our cause is. If we do not study science, we will not know how vast this world is and how variable our environment is. If we do not study worthy figures, we will not know the potential of human character, and will not understand that "people look up to those with lofty conduct and follow those with upright actions." Studying harder is the only way that will enable us to employ more scientific methods in our work with greater foresight and initiative. There is no other way to make our leadership and decision-making reflect the times, conform to the ways of the world, and be full of creativity.

(An excerpt from XI JINPING: WIT AND VISION -- SELECTED QUOTATIONS AND COMMENTARY, published by FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS in 2015)