Breaking with Old Ideas 1975

In 1958, the Chinese Communist Party assigns Long Guozheng Zhenqing Guo, a graduate of the Counter-Japanese Military and Political University, to lead Jiangxi Communist Labour University, the institution it is shaping in the early days of the revolution. The school finds itself pulled between two divergent visions: a more bourgeois, academically oriented approach that some staff hope to preserve, and Long’s stricter, more purist interpretation of revolutionary education.

Long advocates a radical shift in emphasis and purpose. He argues for admitting only students from the working class and for a system that prizes hard work over traditional classroom learning. Under his leadership, the curriculum is reworked to emphasize experiential education: lessons move out of the classroom and into the fields, courses are streamlined to remove what he views as impractical elements, and students who miss exams can be excused to work for the commune. The idea is to fuse study with labor, creating a new kind of education that aligns with the socialist project and the needs of the people on the ground.

Among the students, Li Jinfeng [Wang Suya] is highlighted by Long as a model follower of this “educational revolution.” Her expulsion and subsequent trial become a flashpoint, drawing attention far beyond the classroom walls. The reaction of the broader community is swift and passionate: the masses rally to defend Li Jinfeng, denouncing the cadre and administrators who push back against the new system and who seem to be driving the college toward a capitalist line.

As pressure mounts from those who favor the old order, the college faces the threat of closing its doors. Yet the movement behind Li Jinfeng’s defense—and the broader insistence on reform—persists. In a crucial turn, the college is ultimately saved by the collective will of the peasants, reinforced by a pronouncement from Mao Zedong himself. The story closes with a sense of cautious triumph, illustrating how reform, popular support, and political authority intersect to shape the fate of an educational institution in a rapidly changing society.

The narrative invites reflection on how education can be reimagined in the service of revolutionary values, and how mass participation and leadership at the ground level can influence high-stakes decisions. It presents a careful, measured look at the costs and rewards of transformative policy, the tension between idealism and practicality, and the enduring power of community backing in the face of institutional resistance.