in the people's interests." This is not only the guiding principle for the army but also the CPC's guiding principle.

With the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the Party's principle of serving the people has become its governing principle.

The Second Plenary Session of the Seventh CPC Central Committee convened in March 1949 passed new regulations, forbidding birthday celebrations for CPC leaders, discouraging proposing toasts and giving applause to Party leaders, forbidding naming places, streets or enterprises after Party leaders and forbidding ranking any Party leader with Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.

When the conference decided to move the headquarters of the CPC Central Committee from Xibaipo in Hebei Province to Beijing, Mao made the famous remarks, "We are going to the capital city for an examination. I hope we can all pass it, and not make the same mistake as Li Zicheng." (Li led a peasant uprising during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In 1644 his army captured Beijing, and the last Ming Emperor was compelled to hang himself in shame. However, due to Li's corrupt ways, his victory was short lived.) Mao's remark was calling on the whole Party to remain modest, prudent and free from arrogance and rashness in its style of work and to preserve the style of plain living and hard work.

What were the characteristics of the Party, in terms of the tasks it undertook and its theoretical development, directly after it initiated the reform and opening-up policy?

The chaotic Cultural Revolution (1966-76) caused stagnation of China's socialist development. The harmful repercussions included piles of wronged and misjudged cases, destroyed Party and government organizations, paralyzed economic construction and strained foreign relationships. At the turning point of the Party's development and the country's development, the CPC, led by Deng Xiaoping, decided to blaze a new trai