1978年12月中共十一屆三中全會召開，正式拉開了改革開放的大幕。
此後40多年的實踐證明，改革開放是決定中國當代命運的關鍵一招。
中國的改革首先從農村開始的。
1978年，安徽省滁州市鳳陽縣小崗村，正值大旱。
為了填飽肚子，村裏的生產隊隊長嚴俊昌召集了18户户主圍坐在煤油燈前，秘密商討分田單幹。
在一張皺巴巴的字據上，18位農民按下了充滿悲壯意味的鮮紅手印。
這份“生死契約”內容非常簡單：“我們分田到户，每户户主簽字蓋章。
如以後能幹，每户保證完成每户的全年上交和公糧，不在（再）向國家伸手要錢要糧。
如不成，我們幹部作（坐）牢剎（殺）頭也幹（甘）心，大家社員也保證把我們的小孩養活到十八歲。”
由於當時氣氛緊張，這份具有歷史意義的“生死契約”寫得歪歪扭扭，而且還有錯別字。
18位農民沒有想到，他們被飢餓逼迫而成的這份“生死契約”竟無意間成了中國農村改革的宣言書。
不久，中國農村改革的大幕在全國拉開。
家庭聯產承包責任制在全國普遍推開。
實踐證明，家庭聯產承包責任制的實行，使中國廣大農民獲得了充分的經營自主權，極大地調動了農民的積極性，發展了農村生產力。
1965年美國人均GDP是中國的41倍，到1978年，美國人均GDP（9687美元）達到了中國（127美元）的76倍，並且差距還在不斷拉大。
歐洲國家已經形成了高速公路網，而中國連一條高速公路也沒有；在法國，馬賽的索爾梅爾鋼廠年產350萬噸鋼僅用7000名左右的工人，對比之下武漢鋼鐵生產230萬噸需要近67000名工人。
中西差距之大可見一斑！
面對這種情況，通過一系列的考察調研、商討後，中共中央決定打開國門搞建設。
1979年7月，中共中央和國務院根據廣東、福建兩省靠近港澳、華僑眾多的有利條件，決定對兩省的對外經濟活動實行特殊政策和優惠措施。
1980年5月，又決定在廣東的深圳、珠海、汕頭和福建的廈門設置經濟特區。
隨後的幾年時間裏，又陸續決定開放大連、秦皇島、天津、煙台等14個沿海港口城市和分兩步開放長江三角洲、珠江三角洲、閩南廈漳泉三角地區、遼東半島、膠東半島，並設立海南省、建立海南經濟特區。
但就在國家發展的緊要關頭，一些人卻對改革開放提出了姓“社”還是姓“資”的疑問，對黨的基本路線產生了動搖。
這樣一種認識，嚴重妨礙改革開放的深化，特別是對市場經濟的嚴厲批評，更是讓人擔憂有走回頭路的危險。
在此關鍵時刻，1992年初，鄧小平視察南方，發表重要談話，深刻回答了長期困擾和束縛人民思想的許多重大認識問題。
強調基本路線動搖不得，計劃和市場都是手段，提出社會主義的本質是通過解放生產力和發展生產力最終達到共同富裕，要抓住時機發展自己。
1992年10月，中國共產黨第十四次全國代表大會召開。大會確立建設有中國特色社會主義的理論在全黨的指導地位，明確中國經濟體制改革的目標是建立社會主義市場經濟體制，並要求全黨抓住機遇、加快發展，集中精力把經濟建設搞上去。
以鄧小平南方談話和黨的十四大為標誌，中國社會主義改革開放和社會主義現代化建設事業進入新的發展階段。
方向決定道路，道路決定命運。
改革開放以來，中國共產黨領導中國人民取得的根本成就，正是在於開創和發展了中國特色社會主義。
2013年，中共中央總書記習近平曾指出，中國特色社會主義這條道路來之不易。“它是在改革開放30多年的偉大實踐中走出來的，是在中華人民共和國成立60多年的持續探索中走出來的，是在對近代以來170多年中華民族發展歷程的深刻總結中走出來的，是在對中華民族5000多年悠久文明的傳承中走出來的，具有深厚的歷史淵源和廣泛的現實基礎。”
現在，最關鍵的是堅定不移走這條道路、與時俱進拓展這條道路，推動中國特色社會主義道路越走越寬廣。
Reformand Opening-up，a Brilliant Stroke
InDecember 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of theCommunist Party of China (CPC) was held, ushering in the historic policy ofreform and opening up.
Ithas been proved over the following 40-plus years that reform and opening up isa vital step to seal the destiny of contemporary China.
Thereform firstly started from the countryside.
In1978, Xiaogang Village (in Fengyang County, Chuzhou City, Anhui Province)suffered a severe drought.
Togo through it, Yan Junchang, the leader of the village's production team,called together 18 householders to sit around a kerosene lamp and hold secretdiscussions on dividing the farmland among themselves.
The18 farmers put their fingerprints in red ink on a crumpled written agreement.
Thecontent of this contract was very simple.It read,“We allot farmland tohouseholds under contract.Each householder must give their signature orfingerprint here.
Ifit works, each household must ensure the fulfillment of contracted grain to thestate and promise not to ask for assistance from the government for grain andmoney.
Ifwe fail, we —the village leaders —are ready to be put in jail and other communemembers pledge to take care of all of our children until they are 18 yearsold."
Asthese farmers were scared and heavy-hearted, this historic contract was writtenin a scrawled way. There were even some wrongly written characters.
Theydid not expect that this contract made against the backdrop of hungerinadvertently became a manifesto of reform in rural areas.
Beforelong, China's rural reform kicked off nationwide.
Thehousehold contract responsibility system was widely introduced throughout thecountry.
Thepractice has proved that the implementation of the contract responsibilitysystem has enabled the broad masses of Chinese farmers to obtain the right tomanage land, which greatly aroused their initiative and developed ruralproductivity.
Theper capita GDP of the United States was 41 times that of China in 1965, andreached 76 times that of China (US$127) in 1978. The gap was still widening.
Europeancountries had established their highway networks, while in China there was nohighway at all; in Marseille of France, the annual output of 3.5 million metrictons of steel at the Salmer steel plant only required about 7,000 workers, whilenearly 67,000 workers just produced 2.3 million metric tons in the Wuhan ironand steel plant.
Whata huge gap between China and the West!
Basedon a series of investigations and discussions, the CPC Central Committeedecided to open up to the world for better development.
InJuly 1979, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council decided to implementspecial policies and preferential measures to facilitate foreign economicactivities in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, based on the favorable conditionsthat both provinces were adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao, and had a largenumber of overseas Chinese.
InMay 1980, China planned to set up special economic zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhaiand Shantou in Guangdong Province and Xiamen in Fujian Province.
Inthe following years, China opened up 14 coastal cities such as Dalian,Qinhuangdao, Tianjin and Yantai, opened up in two steps the Yangtze RiverDelta, Pearl River Delta, Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou Triangle in southernFujian, Liaodong Peninsula and Jiaodong Peninsula,set up Hainan Province andestablished the Hainan Special Economic Zone.
However,at the critical moment of national development, some people questioned whetherthe reform and opening up should be surnamed socialism or capitalism, and beganto waver in their adherence to the Party's basic line.
Sucha misunderstanding seriously hindered the deepening of reform and opening up.Especially the severe criticism of the market economy made people worry aboutthe danger of turning back to old approaches.
Atthis crucial moment, Deng Xiaoping visited southern China and deliveredimportant speeches in early 1992, answering many questions that had longplagued people.
Hestressed that we should not waver in our adherence to the basic line, and thatplanning and market forces are both means of controlling economic activities.He proposed that the essence of socialism is to achieve common prosperity byliberating and developing productive forces, and we should seize theopportunity to improve ourselves .
InOctober 1992, the 14th National Congress of the CPC was held. The Congressestablished the guiding position of the theory of building socialism withChinese characteristics, made it clear that the goal of China's economic systemreform is to build a socialist market economic system, and required the wholeParty to seize the opportunity, accelerate development, and concentrate oneconomic construction.
Markedby Deng Xiaoping's talks during his southern tour and the 14th NationalCongress of the CPC, China's reform and opening up as well as socialistmodernization has since entered a new phase of development.
Thedirection determines the path, and the path determines the future.
Sincethe reform and opening up, the Chinese people have made fundamental achievementsunder the leadership of the CPC, that is, creating and developing socialismwith Chinese characteristics.
XiJinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said in 2013 that thepath of socialism with Chinese characteristics has not come easily. "Ithas been forged through more than 30 years of reform and opening up, throughmore than 60 years of continuous exploration since the founding of the People'sRepublic of China, through the profound summary of more than 170 years ofdevelopment of the Chinese nation in modern times, and through the inheritanceof the over 5,000-year-oldChinese civilization. It has a profound historicalorigin and an extensive practical foundation."
Now,what matters most is to unswervingly follow this path, keep pace with the timesto expand this path, and continue to open up the path of socialism with Chinesecharacteristics.
《紅星何以照耀中國》 / 中國網出品
出品人 / 王曉輝
總監製 / 楊新華
總策劃 / 蔡曉娟
執行策劃 / 蔣新宇
專家顧問 / 陳述 中共中央黨校教授 陳中奎 中國人民解放軍國防大學副教授
導演 / 仇俊博
編導 / 申罡 時暢 郭澤涵 魯波 孔竟澤
設計 / 顧榕楠
製作 / 馬躍
翻譯 / 汪瑋 李秀宇
攝影 / 陶世欣 毛歡東
後期 / 於舜源 傅華洋