Rectification to restore order
This was a task undertaken around the convention of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee in December 1978. It was designed to end the disorder and errors of the Cultural Revolution and bring the work of the Party and the state back on track.
The rectification was conducted across the country following the Third Plenary Session, involving ideology, political guidelines, and organization. With respect to ideology, the CPC broke the fetters of dogmatism and the personality cult that had long prevailed, and reaffirmed the Marxist theory of seeking truth from facts. With respect to political guidelines, the CPC abandoned the erroneous principle of taking class struggle as the key, shifted the focus of the Party and the state to economic development, and made the historic decision to begin reform and opening up. With respect to the organization, the CPC insisted that every past wrong must be put right based on facts. It re-examined a great number of cases in which the charges were false or which were unjustly or incorrectly dealt with, and rehabilitated the individuals concerned. It executed sound policies on officials, and resolved a slew of problems carried over from the past. It also brought to the fore more revolutionary, younger, better educated and more professionally-competent officials to ensure a smooth succession from the older generation to the younger.
The policy of economic readjustment, restructuring, consolidation and improvement was carried out to gradually remedy chronic leftist errors.
The rectification freed the minds of the people and brought China economic growth, clean politics, a vigorous advance of education, a prosperous culture, and resurgence in science and technology.
撥亂反正
撥亂反正是黨的十一屆三中全會前后，中國共產黨人糾正“文化大革命”的混亂和錯誤，正本清源，使黨和國家的工作走上正軌的一項工作。黨的十一屆三中全會以后，這項工作全面展開，它包括思想路線、政治路線、組織路線三個方面的撥亂反正。通過思想路線的撥亂反正，中國共產黨堅持沖破長期存在的教條主義和個人崇拜的嚴重束縛，重新確立了馬克思主義的實事求是的思想路線。通過政治路線的撥亂反正，堅決拋棄了“以階級斗爭為綱”的“左”的錯誤方針，把黨和國家的工作中心轉移到經濟建設上來，作出實行改革開放的歷史性決策。通過組織路線的撥亂反正，按照實事求是、有錯必糾的方針，平反冤假錯案，落實干部政策，解決了一些歷史遺留問題，同時按照革命化、年輕化、知識化、專業化方針，實行新老交替，加強干部隊伍建設。在經濟工作上，認真貫徹執行“調整、改革、整頓、提高”的八字方針，逐步清除經濟工作中長期存在的“左”的錯誤。簡言之，撥亂反正使中國迎來了思想的解放、經濟的發展、政治的昌明、教育的勃興、文藝的繁榮、科學的春天。
