A Historical Examination of the Concept of Jiangshan in the Chinese Communist Party from the Perspective of Governing History

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) interpretation of the concept of jiangshan has grown progressively richer across three distinct phases: the period of partial governance, the period of full governance, and the period of long-term governance. In Chinese cultural history, jiangshan underwent a transformation from a geographical term to a political concept. During the period of partial governance, jiangshan carried a pronounced connotation of political power: the CCP led the people in “opening up jiangshan” and establishing a new form of state power, while emphasizing that jiangshan belonged to the nation and the people, thereby correcting, on the eve of revolutionary victory, the erroneous notion that “a minority seizes jiangshan and rules it for themselves”. During the period of full governance, jiangshan came to signify the state itself, and the CCP expanded and enriched its conceptual repertoire through governing discourse, governing achievements, and governing objectives. During the period of long-term governance, jiangshan took on a distinctly popular dimension, crystallizing into the defining proposition: “Jiangshan is the people, and the people are jiangshan.” This conceptual-historical examination of jiangshan within the framework of the CCP’s governing history reflects the Party’s cultural and theoretical consciousness in pursuing theoretical innovation with respect to its signature concepts.