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| Pix credit here (1954 Poster "Uphold/Defend the Constitution") |
The role of the Chinese State constitution has generated a tremendous amount of smoke, and precious little fire. The odor of that smoke, in turn, reflects the ideological wood type that is burned in the service of its own cognitive imperatives. Even within China. These are important discussions, certainly; discussions made all the more so because they are, at their root not so much about the constitution itself (as object/artifact, as signifier of the rationalizing of power relations in politics; and as the incarnation of the collective meaning/manifestation f the political order--the perfect semiotic vessel), but if the virtue of the ruling order that these textual containers, these 九鼎 (nine cauldrons) represent.
You know the story: Nine bronze tripods– cast back in the mists of great antiquity– were treasured by ancient Chinese Kings as a symbol of their right to rule. Passed down from dynasty to dynasty– for nearly 2,000 years (or so the story goes) until the time when the First Emperor, Shihuangdi, finally toppled the last Zhou King– and rather than see their transfer to Shihuangdi’s new dynasty– the last Chu King flung the nine bronzes forever into the River Si.* * *Given their symbolic significance, Shihuangdi actively attempted to dredge up the sacred bronzes from the river, but it was to no avail; and scholars of later dynasties saw this as further evidence of the lack of moral virtue of the First Emperor. (Enchantment and the Nine Bronze Tripods九鼎).
In some respects, perhaps, the Chinese state constitution now serves as one of the generative or representational cauldrons of the authority of governance through the State. That cauldron serves as the expression of the Communist Party of China's fundamental or basic political line as expressed in the institutional and governance apparatus poured into State institutions and animated through a cage of regulations that reflect the mass line dialectics between the people and the vanguard of social forces as a framework through which appropriate movement along the Socialist Path may be undertaken. The other cauldron--for there are now two--is the CPC itself, whose virtue serves as the animating principle that drives the institutions of State for the masses as a function of its own internal virtue to govern itself appropriately to the ends of correctly applying the fundamental principles of the political-economic systems towards its wends at every stage of the nation's historical development and in the face of the general contradiction that defines each historical stage.
That, anyway, is the theory.
And it is a theory that perhaps helps clarify the functional relationship between the (state) constitution, the CPC, and the masses that remain the masters of the country (人民当家作主). More specifically, it may help in better understanding the role of the constitution within the political economic order of Marxist Leninist States within a Chinese context. In the current historical era of Chinese development, the General Secretary of the CPC, almost from the start of his leadership, has emphasized the role of the (state) constitution within the ordering structures of Chinese political life. An example:
President Xi Jinping has stressed promoting the spirit of the Constitution and upholding the Constitution's authority. * * * [He] called for making efforts to guide all people to loyally uphold, willingly comply with and firmly safeguard the socialist rule of law. The priority of upholding law-based governance is to stick to Constitution-based governance, Xi stressed. It's necessary to develop effective and comprehensive institutions to ensure compliance with the Constitution, strengthen constitutional oversight and safeguard its authority, so as to elevate constitutional enforcement to a new level, he said. Educational campaigns should be launched within the entirety of the Party and society to promote the spirit of the Constitution and establish its authority, said Xi. (Xi calls for safeguarding Constitution, socialist rule of law, 2018)
These are ideas and objectives that resurface from time to time as part of the effort to advance the development of the masses in a dialectic the value of which is forward movement in the engagement between the masses coming closer to the patriotic ideal and the State organs that reflect the refinement of the engagement between people and CPC through the formalized structures of whole process people's democracy (全过程人民民主) (discussed here).
Two recent essays suggest the contemporary contours of this approach to Leninist Constitutionalism with Chinese characteristics. The first, 持续推动宪法深入人心 [Continuously Promoting the Constitution to Take Root in People's Hearts] was published in the December 2025 issue of Red Flag (or perhaps more comprehensively transliterated as Revolutionary Banner) Journal 《红旗文稿》2025年第23期 (on the semiotics of flags, banners and the like, see here), speaks to the nature of and the need to more deeply embed the (state) constitutional text among the masses in an appropriate way. The second, 抓住“关键少数”的理论意蕴 [Grasping the Theoretical Implications of Focusing on the "Key Few"], published earlier in the People's Daily, speaks to the incarnation of the virtue of the country through which the connection between constitution (and constitutional organs) and the leading and guiding forces of the country may be aligned.
The first is a consequence of renewed efforts from the Central Propaganda Department of the Ministry of Justice to further proper education of constitution and constitutional values among the masses [近日，中央宣传部、司法部、全国普法办联合印发通知，以“学习宣传贯彻习近平法治思想，推动宪法深入人心”为主题，在全国范围内开展宪法宣传教育活动。] (持续推动宪法深入人心). The cauldron of the (state) constitution stands on three legs /as is appropriate for a ritual symbolic vessel with ancient roots). "The Constitution is the fundamental law of the state, the general charter for governing the country and ensuring national security, and a concentrated embodiment of the will of the Party and the people" [ 宪法是国家的根本法，是治国安邦的总章程，是党和人民意志的集中体现。] (持续推动宪法深入人心) The reference is not filler. With respect to the state, the constitution serves as the fundamental operating system of its structures and operation. With respect to the country, the constitution serves as the blueprint for governance (specification of rights and duties) and the paramount obligation to protect the security of the state. With respect to the Communist Party, the constitution serves as the materialization, from time to time (recall this is a dynamic process of temporal iterative dialectics), of its leadership and guidance of the state (apparatus), the country, and the people. The rest follows--with the CPC necessarily at the center.
It is not so much that the constitution is not itself of paramount importance in the construction of the meta-bars of the cognitive cage of Chinese Marxist Leninism applied to the conditions of the country and the needs of the people with an eye towards the objective to which all national productive forces must be developed. No; it is that it occupies a space between the normative authority of the CPC as the embodiment of politics, and the institutional forces through which that embodiment is operationalized in ways that protect the people from abusive exercises of administrative discretion by state officials, and as a guide toward proper conduct--within law--by everyone else. On top of all of this construction is 鼎, the constitutional cauldron, that is itself the vessel in which authority may be activated and through which it is manifested. But the 鼎 is neither itself the authority, nor is it the phenomenon of activation.
All of this abstraction makes no sense unless translated into concrete (pragmatic) manifestations in historical context. In this case the reader's attention is brought to three areas of socialist development of socialist administrative constitutionalism over which is the constitution of the people in and through the CPC. The essay identifies the categories around which constitutional success may be measured.
The first touches on sub-systems of rationalized legislation that translate the more abstract directives of the constitution into the everyday operational frameworks and structures f officials in institutions--and describes in more detail the nature of their regulatory cages. 重点领域、新兴领域、涉外领域立法不断加强，国家治理急需、满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要必备的法律制度不断健全，以宪法为核心的中国特色社会主义法律体系日益完善。[Legislation in key areas, emerging areas, and foreign-related areas has been continuously strengthened, and the legal system urgently needed for national governance and essential for meeting the people's growing needs for a better life has been continuously improved, resulting in an increasingly perfect socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics centered on the Constitution. ] (
持续推动宪法深入人心). Note the connection between the objects to be measured (legislation) and the measure against which they are to be valued (a perfected socialist legal system).
The second touches on constitutional review. That has been itself an object of decades long debate among the global intelligentsia and others. "The system and capacity building for constitutional review and record-filing review have been strengthened, and the level of constitutional supervision has steadily improved. " [加强合宪性审查、备案审查制度和能力建设，宪法监督水平稳步提高。] (
持续推动宪法深入人心). These have been undertaken within the State rather than as part of the dialectic between the people and the State or the people and the CPC. That makes sense as a function of the basic ordering premise of the constitution itself (as the operating system of institutional governance) rather than as the space within which the political dialectics of the mass line may be applied. Constitutional controversy, then, is assumed to be technical--a matter of aligning constitutional text and practice with the will of the Party and People, rather than as the place within which that will is rendered through constitutional text. That is the inherent Leninism of socialist constitutionalism and one of its key points of difference with fundamental ordering characteristics of liberal democratic constitutional spaces. All of that, of course, is to be distinguished from disciplining and inspecting officials and correcting their errors--but even there, the role of discipline and inspection is left to the state (technical compliance and abuse of authority) and the CPC (compliance with the fundamental political line) (eg
here).
And the third emerges from an application of the mass line for socialist legality generally and the constitution in particular--the need for educating the masses appropriately with respect to the nature and proper relationship between the constitution, the state, the Party, and the masses themselves. 宪法学习宣传教育深入开展，全民宪法意识显著提升，尊法学法守法用法的社会氛围日益浓厚。[In-depth constitutional learning, publicity, and education have been carried out, the constitutional awareness of all citizens has been significantly enhanced, and a social atmosphere of respecting, learning, abiding by, and applying the law has become increasingly strong] (
持续推动宪法深入人心). The nature of education is grounded in awareness and abiding, both of which are stressed. Here, again, the three legs of the 鼎cauldron of the constitution. This time the 鼎is not the constitution itself, but rather the three legs of the constitutional system itself. "宪法的根基在于人民发自内心的拥护，宪法的伟力在于人民出自真诚的信仰。" [ The foundation of the Constitution lies in the heartfelt support of the people, and the power of the Constitution lies in the sincere belief of the people.] (
持续推动宪法深入人心).
That leaves the question of what is left to be done. The march toward perfection requires both refinement and the better engagement of the CPC itself, through its own structures. Part of that requires a stronger focus on the unification of law. Perhaps more importantly is a focus on the connection between the critical legs of the cauldron of constitution itself:
在推进全面依法治国的新征程上，要牢牢把握党对宪法工作的全面领导这一根本原则，充分彰显我国宪法制度的独特优势。将宪法实施深度融入治国理政各环节，持续提高党依宪治国、依宪执政的能力水平。[On the new journey of advancing the comprehensive rule of law, it is essential to firmly grasp the fundamental principle of the Party's overall leadership over constitutional work and fully demonstrate the unique advantages of my country's constitutional system. The implementation of the Constitution should be deeply integrated into all aspects of national governance, continuously improving the Party's ability to govern and administer the country in accordance with the Constitution.] (持续推动宪法深入人心).
That, in turn, requires focus on key areas: 例如，保证宪法全面实施的制度体系有待进一步健全，合宪性审查、备案审查工作有待进一步提质增效，广大干部群众特别是领导干部这个“关键少数”的宪法意识、宪法观念有待进一步全面提升。[For example, the institutional system for ensuring the full implementation of the Constitution needs to be further improved; the quality and efficiency of constitutional review and record-filing review work need to be further enhanced; and the constitutional awareness and understanding of the general public, especially leading cadres who constitute a "key few [critical minority]," need to be comprehensively improved.] (持续推动宪法深入人心).
It is that last reference--the one to “关键少数” [key few or critical minority] that connects the constitutional order to its normative center in and through the CPC. It reframes and theorizes the concept of core of leadership at the heart of CPC governance and ultimately of the hierarchies implicit in democratic centralism (领导核心) (eg here). Every vanguard of social forces requires, in turn, a vanguard--a vanguard of vanguards. That concept was the subject earlier in 2025 of a People's Daily article projected toward the masses (as part of their constitutional education)-- 抓住“关键少数”的理论意蕴 [Grasping the Theoretical Implications of Focusing on the "Key Few"].
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| Pix credit here |
“关键少数”是指在党和国家治理体系中发挥关键作用的领导干部群体。习近平总书记在党的十八届四中全会第二次全体会议上，强调推进依法治国“必须抓住领导干部这个‘关键少数’”。* * * 抓住“关键少数”是马克思主义中国化时代化的创新成果[The "key few" refers to the group of leading cadres who play a crucial role in the Party and state governance system. At the second plenary session of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that promoting the rule of law "must focus on leading cadres, the 'key few'." * * * Focusing on the "key few" is an innovative achievement of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism.] (抓住“关键少数”的理论意蕴 )
The concept of the "key few" then, aligns key conceptual framing elements of Chinese Marxist Leninism in its new era. The first is the alignment with socialist modernization, which after the 3rd Plenum in 2024, heightened the focus not just on development (socialist modernization) that moves the nation forward along the Socialist Path, but innovative or high quality development of all of the productive forces of the nation (including the CPC itself) to accelerate that forward movement. (here, and here).
The second alignment is with the mass line and socialist rule of law. And that transforms the focus of analysis from the Party collective to its own leading forces--from the many to the few, and from the few back to the ecologies of collectives that are organized as whole process people's democracy.
习近平总书记关于抓住“关键少数”的重要论述，深刻把握并创造性发展马克思主义唯物史观和唯物辩证法，聚焦强调领导干部特别是高级干部这一群体在管党治党和治国理政中的关键作用与示范效应，强调在坚持人民主体地位和群众路线的同时，必须通过严明纪律规矩、压实主体责任、强化监督问责等制度化路径，将全面从严治党、推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的着力点置于“关键少数”，使其成为政治生态的引领者、政策执行的推动者和作风建设的风向标。[General Secretary Xi Jinping's important remarks on focusing on the "key few" profoundly grasp and creatively develop Marxist historical materialism and dialectical materialism. They emphasize the crucial role and exemplary effect of leading cadres, especially senior officials, in governing the Party and the country. While upholding the people's principal position and the mass line, these remarks stress the need to place the focus of comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity on the "key few" through institutionalized approaches such as strict discipline and rules, consolidating primary responsibilities, and strengthening supervision and accountability. This ensures that these key individuals become leaders in the political ecosystem, drivers of policy implementation, and benchmarks for improving work style.] (抓住“关键少数”的理论意蕴 )
This intertwining becomes clearer as the theory of “关键少数” [key few or critical minority] itself becomes the simulacra and the essence of the system itself. This is understood as a function of the efficient functioning of the political economic model reduced to its principal objectives of timeliness, people-centeredness, systemicity, dialectics, and practicality.
Timeliness. Leading cadres are the "key few" in the development of the Party and the country's cause, and they serve as a barometer for the entire Party and society. As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new era, new and higher demands are placed on the "key few," requiring leading cadres to keep pace with the times, improve their ability to govern scientifically, democratically, and legally, and ensure that they adapt to the requirements of the new era and possess the ability to lead modernization construction, constantly opening up new work situations by directly confronting problems and solving difficulties. * * * * The principle of people-centeredness. As the "key few," leading cadres come from the people and bear the sacred mission of serving the people. . . Focusing on leading cadres, this crucial link, and promoting them to establish correct views on power, performance, and career, can ensure that all of the Party's policies always take the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people as their starting point and ultimate goal.* * * The principle of systemicity. Focusing on the "key few" can drive all Party members and the broad masses of people to form a comprehensive synergy for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party and promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. This systematic thinking runs through multiple fields such as Party building, national governance, and the rule of law, forming an organically unified whole. * * * Dialectical Approach: General Secretary Xi Jinping's important remarks on focusing on the "key few" contain rich dialectical thinking, fully reflecting the organic combination of the principle of focusing on the main contradiction and the principle of considering both sides of the contradiction in Marxist dialectical materialism.* * * Practicality: Focusing on the "key few" is an important experience and working method summarized from the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. It originates from practice and guides practice, possessing a distinct practical nature. (抓住“关键少数”的理论意蕴 )
And this gets one back to the constitution--a constitution that is not de-centered, but rather embedded within a larger network of interconnected collectives orbiting around the obligations and structures of the vanguard of social forces whose own constitution mirrors and is mirrored by the systems that have been constituted to rationalize its objectives and manifest its political line. Socialist modernization, the mass line, democratic centralism, whole process people's democracy, and the (state) constitution all orbit around--all manifest in one form or another, the dialectics around which the CPC leads and guides and pushes the nation along the socialist path.
To promote the constitution, then, one must first promote the leadership of the Party. To promote the leadership of the Party one must adhere to the manifestation of its fundamental political line, including the constitution. And there it is: 1954年9月15日，第一届全国人民代表大会第一次会议在中南海怀仁堂隆重开幕。毛泽东主席致开幕词时明确提出：“领导我们事业的核心力量是中国共产党”。* * * 70年来，正是在中国共产党的核心领导下，中国特色社会主义事业才显示出强大的生命力，在实现民族复兴的道路上快速前行。[On September 15, 1954, the First Session of the First National People's Congress was solemnly inaugurated at the Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai. In his opening address, Chairman Mao Zedong clearly stated: "The core force leading our cause is the Communist Party of China. * * * For 70 years, it is precisely under the core leadership of the Communist Party of China that the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics has demonstrated its strong vitality and has advanced rapidly on the road to national rejuvenation."] (领导我们事业的核心力量是中国共产党)
* * *
Perhaps it might be best to end these reflections with an old story that may, in the end, provide a sounder basis for analysis than many modern efforts (I use the version in Baidu):
王孙满对楚子: 楚子伐陆浑之戎，遂至于luò雒，观兵于周疆。定王使王孙满劳楚子。楚子问鼎之大小轻重焉。对曰：“在德不在鼎。昔夏之方有德也，远方图物，贡金九牧，铸鼎象物，百物而为之备，使民知神奸。故民入川泽山林，不逢不若。chi螭mèi魅wǎng罔liǎng两，莫能逢之。用能协于上下，以承天休。桀有昏德，鼎迁于商，载祀六百。商纣暴虐，鼎迁于周。德之休明，虽小，重也。其奸回昏乱，虽大，轻也。天zuò祚明德，有所厎止。成王定鼎于郏鄏，卜世三十，卜年七百，天所命也。周德虽衰，天命未改。鼎之轻重，未可问也。” [Wang Sunman's Reply to the King of Chu: The King of Chu attacked the Rong people of Luhun and then advanced to Luoyang, displaying his troops on the borders of Zhou territory. King Ding of Zhou sent Wang Sunman to greet the King of Chu. The King of Chu inquired about the size and weight of the tripods. Wang Sunman replied: "It is virtue that matters, not the tripods. In the past, when the Xia dynasty possessed virtue, people from distant lands presented images of their local products, and the nine provinces offered metal, which was used to cast tripods depicting these objects. All things were represented, allowing the people to recognize benevolent and malevolent spirits. Therefore, when people entered rivers, swamps, mountains, and forests, they encountered no misfortune. Even mythical creatures and evil spirits could not harm them. Thus, harmony prevailed between heaven and earth, and they received Heaven's blessings. When Jie possessed corrupt virtue, the tripods were transferred to the Shang dynasty, where they remained for six hundred years. When Shang Zhou was tyrannical, the tripods were transferred to the Zhou dynasty. When virtue is flourishing and bright, even a small tripod is heavy. When there is treachery, corruption, and chaos, even a large tripod is light. Heaven bestows its blessings upon virtuous rulers, and there is a limit to its favor. King Cheng established the tripods in Jiayu, and the oracle predicted thirty generations and seven hundred years of rule; this was Heaven's decree. Although the virtue of Zhou has declined, Heaven's mandate has not changed. The weight of the tripods is not something to be questioned."]
The essay 持续推动宪法深入人心 [Continuously Promoting the Constitution to Take Root in People's Hearts] follows below in its original Chinese and in its English translation.
For the other essays in this series on Chinese Leninist theory and its expression see
Brief
Reflections on 深入学习贯彻《中国共产党思想政治工作条例》[Thoroughly study and implement the
"Regulations on Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party
of China"]
To
Promote the Constitution One Must First Promote the Leadership of the
Party!--Reflections on 持续推动宪法深入人心 [Continuously Promoting the
Constitution to Take Root in People's Hearts] and 抓住“关键少数”的理论意蕴
[Grasping the Theoretical Implications of Focusing on the "Key Few"]
Reflections
on a Chinese Reflection on Davis--不能任由世界滑向“无规则”深渊（寰宇平） [The World
Cannot Be Allowed to Slide into the Abyss of "Lawlessness" (Global
Perspective)]
The
Four Advantages [四大优势] of Chinese Style Modernization in the New Era;
Reflections on 深刻理解“十五五”时期我国经济社会发展优势更加彰显 《红旗文稿》2025/23 张占斌 [A Deeper
Understanding of the Even More Prominent Advantages of China's Economic
and Social Development During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period," Red Flag
Journal, 2025/23 Zhang Zhanbin]
For
Those who Missed This: 中华人民共和国外交部--中国对拉丁美洲和加勒比政策文件 [Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the PRC--China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the
Caribbean]
