The Yan'an Rectification Movement
The Zunyi Meeting in January 1935 ended the dominance of Wang Ming's "leftist" tendency in the CPC, but the influences of other "left" and Right errors were not eliminated, resulting in improper conduct of Party members, an unsuitable attitude toward study, and a stereotypical style of writing. The CPC Central Committee decided to conduct a Party-wide rectification movement, known as the Yan'an Rectification Movement.
The tasks were to fight subjectivism in order to encourage study, fight factionalism in order to improve conduct, and oppose stereotypical language in order to improve the style of writing. The main principle adopted was, as Mao put it, to "learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones" and to "cure the sickness to save the patient."
This rectification campaign was carried out among Party officials and members, with senior and middle-rank officials as the main targets.
The movement proceeded in three stages.
In the first stage (May 1941 to February 1942), senior officials studied Marxist-Leninist theory to improve their understanding.
The second stage (February 1942 to October 1943) was Party-wide rectification. CPC members studied Marxist-Leninist theory to help correct misguided ideas and improve their conduct.
During the third stage (October 1943 to April 1945), senior officials conducted a second round of study of the Party's history. They reviewed, discussed and summed up the Party's experience, engaged in criticism and self-criticism, and learned to distinguish correct from incorrect lines.
The Yan'an Rectification was a Marxist education campaign among CPC members. It advocated the approach of integrating Marxism with China's realities, helped CPC members adjust their political orientation, and ended the tendency to treat Marxism as dogma and overestimate the importance of Soviet experience and the value of Comintern resolutions. It was a creative way to strengthen the Party. The experience thus gained was of far-reaching significance to the CPC. The movement also laid the ideological foundations for the Seventh CPC National Congress.
延安整风运动
1935年1月召开的遵义会议虽然结束了王明“左”倾路线在中国共产党内的统治，但党内历次“左”、右倾错误思想尚未肃清，仍然存在着党风不正、学风不正和文风不正的问题。中共中央决定在全党范围内开展一次大规模的整风运动，史称延安整风运动。
这次整风运动的内容是反对主观主义以整顿学风，反对宗派主义以整顿党风，反对党八股以整顿文风。整风运动采取的方针是“惩前毖后，治病救人”，采用的方式是“团结—批评—团结”。整风运动分为党的高级干部整风、一般干部和普通党员整风两个层次进行，重点是党的中高级干部特别是高级干部的整风。
整风运动经历了3个阶段：第一阶段，从1941年5月到1942年2月，是全党整风的准备阶段。重点是党的高级干部学习马列主义理论，提高思想认识水平。第二阶段，从1942年2月到1943年10月，是全党普遍整风阶段，着重组织党员干部学习马列主义，清理错误的思想方法和作风。第三阶段，从1943年10月到1945年4月，高级干部重新学习党的历史，研究、讨论、总结历史经验，开展批评与自我批评，弄清路线是非。
延安整风是一次全党范围的马克思主义思想教育运动，也是一次伟大的思想解放运动。它坚持马克思主义同中国实际相结合的正确方向，使全党端正了思想政治路线，破除了把马克思主义教条化、把共产国际决议和苏联经验神圣化的错误倾向。它是加强党的建设伟大工程的一个创造，是增强党的战斗力的一次成功实践。它所积累的经验对中国共产党的自身建设具有重大和深远的意义。延安整风运动，也为中共七大胜利召开奠定了基础。