"In the past, some political activities organized under the influence of "leftist" ideas, particularly the 10 years of internal disorder, had con- fused important matters of right and wrong in the area of army building. In addition, as the situation kept changing, there was also the question of adapting the good things to the circumstances. If we are to draw lessons from history, we should renew our understanding of the history and tradition of our army. Having carried out construction and fought for decades, what strong points and weaknesses has our army displayed? Which elements of our tradition are still applicable today? Which elements are outmoded? Which elements can still be useful after being transformed? We must have a very clear idea of all this. Otherwise, we will not know what to change and will not be able to find the starting point. The study of history includes the study of the history of the modernization of our army. In the course of modernization, our army has taken crooked roads, achieved success, and learned historical lessons as well. Today, when we propose the building of a modernized army with special Chinese characteristics, we should pay close attention to summarizing experience and lessons."