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.
拨乱反正
拨乱反正是党的十一届三中全会前后，中国共产党人纠正“文化大革命”的混乱和错误，正本清源，使党和国家的工作走上正轨的一项工作。党的十一届三中全会以后，这项工作全面展开，它包括思想路线、政治路线、组织路线三个方面的拨乱反正。通过思想路线的拨乱反正，中国共产党坚持冲破长期存在的教条主义和个人崇拜的严重束缚，重新确立了马克思主义的实事求是的思想路线。通过政治路线的拨乱反正，坚决抛弃了“以阶级斗争为纲”的“左”的错误方针，把党和国家的工作中心转移到经济建设上来，作出实行改革开放的历史性决策。通过组织路线的拨乱反正，按照实事求是、有错必纠的方针，平反冤假错案，落实干部政策，解决了一些历史遗留问题，同时按照革命化、年轻化、知识化、专业化方针，实行新老交替，加强干部队伍建设。在经济工作上，认真贯彻执行“调整、改革、整顿、提高”的八字方针，逐步清除经济工作中长期存在的“左”的错误。简言之，拨乱反正使中国迎来了思想的解放、经济的发展、政治的昌明、教育的勃兴、文艺的繁荣、科学的春天。