What kind of people we should cultivate, how, and for whom—these are the fundamental issues that education must address, and are also fundamental issues that ideological and political education must address and resolve. These questions profoundly regulate and endow ideological and political education with a clear sense of value,objectives and paradigms, and implemetation logic, collectively reflecting the principles of ideological and political education across three dimensions. Since the reform and openingup, the innovative development of these principles has unfolded as follows: first, along the dimension of “for whom”, these principles have shifted from serving the reform and openingup to serving the construction of a strong country; second, along the dimension of “what kind of people”, they have evolved from cultivating the “new people with four musthaves” to nurturing the “new people of the times”; and third,along the dimension of “how”, they have transitioned from addressing specific challenges to embracing systematic approaches. These developments have significantly enhanced the quality and efficiency of ideological and political education through upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, thereby strengthening its ideological and political leadership in advancing the cause of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.
