UP AND OUT OF POVERTY is a compilation of Xi Jinping's major works from 1988 to 1990 when he was Secretary of the CPC Ningde Prefectural Committee, Fujian Province.The book on poverty relief comprises 29 speeches and articles. The following is an excerpt from UP AND OUT OF POVERTY, published by FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS in 2016.

May 1990

Time flies, and I have been working in Ningde for nearly two years. I have learned and experienced so much here. I will soon be leaving you all to take up a new position. Today I would like to say a few words as a farewell message.

Over the past two years, thanks to the joint efforts of all through-out the region, Ningde Prefecture has made achievements and realized changes. Party, building has made great progress, and a stable, untied political state has been effectively maintained. Rectification and the furthering of reform are currently underway, economic development is advancing steadily, and poverty alleviation work has seen initial success. Intellectual and cultural progress has been made, all levels of Party committees have paid close attention to social governance issues, and effective measures have been adopted. There have been heartening transformations in work practices and methods, and it has become a common practice for leading officials to go among the people at the grassroots to publicize the Party's policies, make investigations, reply to people's complaints and solve problems on the spot. These changes in Ningde must be attributed to the Party guideline, principles, and policies adopted since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee. This is the main reason of the changes. And, our achievements would have been impossible without the sound leadership, attention, and support of the provincial Party committee and government. They are also the results of the hard work of my colleagues here and people throughout the prefecture, built upon the good foundations laid by past prefectural Party committees and government leaders for all levels of authorities throughout the prefecture. As a Party member and leading official, I simply did what duty required of me. Hereby, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to and sincere respect for the leaders and staff members at all levels throughout the prefecture, retired colleagues, officers and men of the garrison troops, and all the hard-working officials and people throughout Ningde who have shown understanding and support for my work.

Admittedly, the economy of Ningde is still fragile. Its basic industries still have a long way to go. Its infrastructure is incomplete. Its deficit remains high. Poverty alleviation work is yet to be brought to new levels. Party building still suffers from some weak links. Clean governance work awaits further strengthening. Social governance faces serious challenges. Some destabilizing factors remain a concern. This tells us that we still have a lot of work to do in Ningde. With a long road ahead, all of us must keep putting our noses to the grindstone.

What should we do when faced with difficulties? What attitude should we have? Do we turn tail in the face of danger? Or do we boldly advance despite knowing the challenge and welcome what is to come ready to give it our best? This is a question worth our earnest consideration. I believe that hardships and difficulties cultivate strong will and character, and when selecting officials we need to look at what kind of difficulties and Challenges they have overcome. Therefore, we must not humble ourselves unduly and lose confidence.

While not ignoring the problems and difficulties, we should also see the light and hope ahead. We must see the strengths of Ningde and favorable conditions for resolving our problems: we have the fight leadership of the new Party Central Committee headed by Jiang Zemin; we have the continued attention and support of the provincial Party committee and government; we have the foundations built by 40 years of work since the founding of the People's Republic; we have the cooperation of our prefectural Party committee and government leaders and joint efforts of all prefectural and county leaders; and most importantly we have the spirit of tenacious hard-work, enterprise, and silent contributions of all the officials and ordinary people that is like "water droplets drilling through rock." Backed up by these good conditions, as long as we focus on the positive, be confident in our success, and work tirelessly, we surely will win out in the end and emerge victorious on the other side.

Even though I have seen backwardness, difficulties, and problems and have felt this burden on my shoulders during my past two years of working in Ningde, I have also seen the Ningde spirit of "feeling no shame of our predicament, working with iron will, pressing boldly forward, and striving for excellence." This spirit has moved me deeply and given me limitless strength and courage as well as many fond memories to look back on. Ningde is a place full of deep sentiments with conscientious officials and the best people one could ever hope for. I am full of confidence and hope in the development of Ningde. With one heart and one mind we have spared no effort to make this region and its people prosper, and we have no reason to not want to keep on improving it. We have every reason to believe that the "Ningde spirit" will boldly live on, and all work in this region will continue moving forward!

I have often reflected during the past two years of work, and I often discussed issues of developing Ningde with my colleagues. I have learned that to do our work well we must keep in mind the following.

Cherishing our stable situation

Only in peace can we make a country thrive and its people prosper; turmoil will bring disasters. The ups and downs of the past 40 years since the founding of the People's Republic has shown us that stability is hard fought. Without a stable political and social environment, we will not be able to advance our great causes of building the economy and the four modernizations,(¹ This refers to the modernization of industry, agriculture, national defense, and science and technology.) or even complete the most basic task. The achievements from reform and opening up in the past decade will all be washed away.

As the old saying goes, "worry about danger when there is peace, then danger will never come; worry about disorder when governing, then disorder will never come.''(² See Song Qi, Terse Remarks. A native of Yongqiu (modern Minquan, Henan Province), Song Qi (998-1061) was an official, writer, historian, and poet of the Northern Song Dynasty.) When the nation is calm, we must not forget there are still dangers out there. This will give us the ability to remain disciplined in the face of danger and deal with the unexpected with full composure. In our region we urgently need to deal with industrial decline and enterprises halting all or some of their production. There are still some major issues in social governance that have not been fully resolved, and some people are still mired in the "Leftist" thinking or worship of absolute freedom. There are still some people without enough food and clothing in impoverished villages, and certain work units have still not put an end to the harmful trends of using their authority for profit and engaging in corrupt behaviors. These are all factors that affect stability in our prefecture, and all levels of leaders and departments must pay close attention to them and take up active, effective measures to resolve the problems. Even though our region's economy still lags behind other places, we can bring about fundamental changes to Ningde if the overall situation maintains stable, and if we work relentlessly in unity towards our goals.

The Party is the core force to lead our causes, and intellectual and

cultural progress is an important assurance of building socialism

History has proven that just as the Party brought life-changing liberation to the people of Ningde, we must also follow the Party's leadership if we want to lift the people of Ningde out of poverty toward prosperity. Over the past two years, we have achieved some success in Party development and clean government building, but these are far from enough. We must continue our efforts to strengthen the Party while placing special emphasis on ideological and theoretical work, leadership building at all levels, and development of grassroots organizations. We must follow the Marxist guideline with regard to officials, emphasize both political reliability and competence as well as adherence to the four standards(³ In June 1981, the Sixth Plenary Session of the Tenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted the "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China." Adhering to the premise of revolutionization, it proposed taking progressive steps to ensure that all levels of the leadership would become younger, better educated, and more professional. The Party Constitution adopted by the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China officially stated that the Party would make the ranks of the officials "more revolutionary, younger in average age, better educated and more professionally competent" Since then, the "four standards" have become important principles for building the ranks of Party members.). We must open our door wide when recruiting officials and not limit our selection only within the locality. We have made great strides over the past two years in fighting corruption, in particular in dealing with officials misappropriating land to build their own house in violation of law and Party discipline, abusing their power in project contracting, and engaging in graft and taking bribes. The people have welcomed and supported this. We must continue to shore up our anti-corruption efforts and build a clean government at all levels. One major task our Party committees are faced with this year is the election of deputies to the people's congress at county and township levels. This is an extremely important work. Recently, the prefectural Party committee laid down the principles to follow, and all levels of Party committees must step up their leadership in the elections. They must closely rely on the wisdom and strength of the people and make sure that leadership at all levels is secured by Marxists, During this period of time leading up to the election, our current officials must remain committed to their responsibilities, focus on the greater picture of the revolutionary cause, serve organizational needs, and work with composure.

To do a good job in Party building, we must not let up work in promoting intellectual and cultural progress for a moment. In communities, in particular in rural areas, there are still widespread feudal views and detrimental customs. Everyone should be on .the lookout for the occasional emergence of feudal superstitions or disputes over mountains, forests, seas, and tidal flats. If we don't resolve these issues properly, they will disrupt social peace and unity as well as intellectual and cultural progress. Meanwhile, we should appreciate the glorious revolutionary traditions of the people living in old revolutionary base areas and recognize their deep attachments to the Party, many contributions, and few demands. I believe that these are our prefecture's most precious spiritual treasures and strengths. We should on the one hand look to root out feudal views and detrimental customs, and on the other hand promote healthy tendencies and improve Party conduct. We should strive to create a clean social atmosphere through carrying on the glorious traditions of the people in old revolutionary base areas and continuing the campaign of "learning from Lei Feng and improving work conducts."

The economy is the base and the center

Stable economic development is the foundation of stability of society, popular sentiments, and politics, and we must focus on the core task of economic development. We must hold a dialectical view toward economic development in Ningde and stay true to our policy of long-term, sustainable, stable, and coordinated development. We must both see the achievements we have made these past few years and recognize the many detrimental factors restricting economic development over the long term. Facing the actual situation in Ningde, we must throw out all unrealistic fantasies and stick to the guiding principles of "methods that suit the location, categorized guidance, acting within our means, sparing no effort, and focusing on the benefits'' while solidly moving forward with our work. Leading officials at all levels must never forget: "try to hurry, and you accomplish nothing;''(⁴ Source of English translation: Confucius, "Book Thirteen" in The Analects of Confucius, trans. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), 91. - Tr.) and "going too far is as bad as not going far enough.''(⁵ Source of English translation: Confucius, "Book Eleven," in The Analects of Confucius, trans. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), 74. - Tr.) We must overcome the urge to rush ahead and restrain actions for quick, short-term benefits in economic development and instead make persevering, long-term efforts.

Within the greater national rectification effort, economic development in Ningde requires sound assessment of the situation and timing as well as a clear direction. We should give priority to two basic segments: agriculture and infrastructure. Focusing on agriculture in economically underdeveloped areas is a precondition to poverty alleviation, and it has fundamental significance for rural economic development. Agriculture is an advantage of Ningde. Our prefecture depended on agriculture in the past, and its future will depend on comprehensive agricultural development. Ningde enjoys a rich endowment of mountain- and sea-based resources, but we have not developed them enough. We must properly develop these resources, as they have major, far-reaching significance. Last year our region made great achievements in forestry work. We should solidly build on these achievements. With a few years of hard work, the mountains of Ningde will be even greener, the water will be bluer, and the people will be more prosperous. Ningde's industry will only grow powerful with comprehensive development of agricultural resources and robust growth of a processing industry that adds value to local resources. During this period of rectification, we should adjust the industrial structure and build a solid foundation for enterprises to thrive on.

Crumbling infrastructure has already become a problem "choking'' economic development in Ningde. Poor transportation and energy shortages not only make it more difficult to get new projects off the ground, but also deny us from making full use of current production capacity. Therefore, we must give sufficient attention to building strong infrastructure, improving the investment environment, and creating the necessary conditions for industrial and agricultural development in Ningde and further opening up to the outside world.

The people are the driving force in the development of human history

The Sixth Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee recognized that the Party and government must maintain close ties with the people to solidify Party rule and guarantee the country's long-term stability. Looking back at history, no one has come to rule China without the support of the people. The ancient saying goes: "Good rulers love their people as parents love their children and brothers love each other. They feel sorrow when the people are cold and hungry, and distress at seeing their hardship and suffering.''(⁶ See Liu Xiang (77-6 BC), "The Principles of Government," in Garden of Persuasions.) The ancients already knew this over two thousand years ago, why shouldn't we Communists? The nature of the CPC determines that all levels of Party officials are servants of the people. They must maintain close relations with the people, as the Party's aim is to serve the people wholeheartedly. The people are the source of the Party's power, and the mass line is our Party's basic work line. Therefore, we have no reason to depart from the people. Only when we trust the people, rely on them, and care about them, will we gain their understanding and support and will our causes win out in the end. As Lenin said, "Victory will belong only to those who have faith in the people, those who are immersed in the life-giving spring of popular creativity.''(⁷ Source of English translation: Vladimir Lenin, "Meeting of the All-Russia Central Executive Committee," in Collected Works, vol.26 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1977), 293. - Tr.) In recent years, some of those with weak wills within the Party have not been up to the task of governing, reform, and opening up. Corruption has crept up on us and spread, and bureaucratism has emerged, and to differing degrees this has weakened the Party's intimate relationship to the people and has eroded the people's trust in the Party. It has even allowed our enemies to sneak their way in. We must learn from these alarming facts and recognize the importance of maintaining an intimate relationship with the people.

There is even greater practical significance in Ningde to improving working practices and keeping close ties with the people. Because conditions are poor in many regards in Ningde, we are faced with many difficulties in grassroots work, and the people live hard lives. This requires us all the more to understand the situation on the ground level, check in on the people to see if they are suffering in any way, and help them resolve their practical problems. Last year we engaged in the "four grassroots initiatives" and made some achievements that were welcomed and praised by the people. We must continue our efforts in this regard and explore new and more effective ways to connect with the people.

Unity is power

The key to whether a local economy can be developed and whether the people are content in their lives and work lies in whether the local leadership team is effective. The effectiveness of this leadership team comes from the unity and collective power of its members. Unity here refers to harmony in mutual coordination and cooperation. Such leadership teamwork can be compared to that in a ballgame - the organic cooperation is the most important, and individual skills is secondary. If we overinflate the importance of individual skill without looking at overall cooperation and coordination, this will often lead to poor overall performance and impact the entire team's competitive power. How do we resolve differences between team members? Conflicts, differences, and all kinds of erroneous thinking can only be overcome through criticism and self-criticism. When team members have different views or opinions, they must have an open mind, treat each other with frankness and modesty, and try to put themselves in each other's shoes. Internally, a leadership team must recognize that unity is strengthened through criticism and superficial unity at the expense of principles must be opposed so as to make the team more powerful. Having spent nearly two years in Ningde, I feel the prefectural Party committee leaders are united, and the work environment is harmonious and cooperative. I hope that all levels of prefectural and county leadership teams will remain united as one, drum up enthusiasm, and boldly venture forth.

We should step up our theoretical studies

As J. V. Stalin pointed out, "practice gropes in the dark if its path is not illumined by revolutionary theory.''(⁸ Source of English translation: Joseph Stalin, "The Foundation of Leninism," in J. V. Stalin Works, vol.6 (Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1953), 92. - Tr.) Our great cause at the moment is to revitalize Ningde, and we cannot for a moment forgo theoretical guidance. We are all leaders, and our work requires broad knowledge ranging across the fields of politics, economics, and society. So we must acquire a high level of theoretical knowledge. Our colleagues working in local jurisdictions will better be able to lead if they organically integrate theory with practice on a deep level.

Our work keeps us busy, and we have very few chances to step away from our regular work to concentrate on study. Therefore, we should learn from Lei Feng(⁹ Lei Feng (1940-1962) was a soldier of the People's Liberation Army and a role model. He served the people wholeheartedly, was ready to help others, and was dedicated to whatever work he was assigned. He died in an accident at his post. In 1963, Mao Zedong wrote, "Learn from Lei Feng," starting a national campaign that encouraged people to emulate his selfless deeds. He is commemorated on March 5.)'s renowned notion that finding time to study is like driving in a nail: just as a nail forces its way into the wood, we must squeeze in time to study, and every second counts. We should also learn from the ancient wisdom that studying is done while on three things: on horseback, on the pillow, and on the toilet. Studying must be done seriously, reasonably, and earnestly. As Confucius said, "When you know, to know you know. When you don't know, to know you don't know. That's what knowing is.''(¹⁰ See The Analects of Confucius (Lun Yu). [Source of English translation: Confucius, "Book Two," in The Analects of Confucius, trans. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), 22. - Tr.]) We must learn from books and practice with an open mind.

With lots of work to do and precious little time to study, we must focus on studying things that are important. The times call on us to study Marxist-Leninist theory, because Marxism is a summarization of the experiences of the international workers' movement It is a theory, formed through revolutionary practice, serves revolutionary practice, and a tool used to observe all phenomena and handle all problems, in particular in the social arena. Communist Party members and leading officials who do not make an effort to study Marxist theory and methods and fail to guide their thoughts and actions with Marxism will not be able to persistently take the proletariat's stand or strengthen their recognition of proletarian thinking. Therefore, we must study the classics of Marxism-Leninism again and again and gain new insights from deep reflection on them. Now we must especially focus on Marxist philosophy, because this is a scientific worldview and methodology. As Chen Yun(¹¹ A native of Qingpu (now part of Shanghai), Jiangsu Province, Chen Yun (1905-1995) was a proletarian revolutionary, statesman, and Marxist. He was one of the architects who laid the foundation for socialist economic development in China, and was a proven leader of the Party and the state. He was an important member of the Party's first generation of collective leadership with Mao Zedong at the core, and the Party's second generation of collective leadership with Deng Xiaoping at the core.) said: Learn philosophy well - it will serve you your entire life. Learning philosophy and scientific methods of analyzing and resolving problems can keep us headed in the fight direction during the complex, intricate practice of revolution and development. We must also learn economics, history, literature, and law, among other disciplines, to meet the multifaceted, multilevel needs of leadership work.

People often say that "the barracks are made of iron, while soldiers move through them like a fiver." It is completely normal for a person's work to change, but our causes will never stop and will always be advancing forward step by step. I firmly believe that under the guidance of the Party's basic line and correct leadership of the provincial Party committee and government, the new leaders of the prefectural Party committee will be able to unite the people of the entire region, make continued efforts, and advance all work in Ningde more quickly with better results.

This brings a story to mind: As Rabindranath Tagore, a famous poet from India, was about to return home from visiting China, a friend asked him, what have you lost from coming to China? He replied: Nothing except a portion of my heart.(¹² Sisir Kumar Das, "The Controversial Guest: Tagore's 1924 Visit to China," in Across the Himalayan Gap: An Indian Quest for Understanding China, ed. Tan Chung (New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House, 1998), 329.) I have the same sentiments here. Even though I am about to leave Ningde, a part of me that loves this place will stay here forever. After I leave I will still check in on how things are going here and keep doing my part to help out development in Ningde. Every positive change that comes to this place will bring me incomparable joy and comfort.

I sincerely hope that Ningde will have a better tomorrow!

I earnestly believe that Ningde will have a better tomorrow!

Notes

This article was originally published in Min Dong Bao in May 20, 1992.