How can grassroots cadres' humanistic quality be developed effectively?
如何有效地提高基层干部的人文素质？

Since the advent of Internet era, China has witnessed a reading crisis. Many people rarely read books, let alone those that demand time and effort. A common way to promote reading is that of book club, in and through which interest in reading can be fostered, reading habits can be developed, competence in reading can be increased, and an ethos of reading can be established among the public. This case is derived from Lugouqiao Town of Fengtai District in Beijing City. In November 2016, the town collaborated with School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development of Renmin University of China in establishing a teaching and research base. Out of this collaboration came a book club by the name of “ShuxiangLugou, zoujinjingdian” – meaning “Approaching classics and enjoying the scent of books”. This club has become a branding innovation project of Lugouqiao Township government.
随着网络时代的到来，中国正处于阅读危机时代，少阅读、快餐式阅读、浅阅读的现象层出不穷。读书会是推广阅读的一种主要形式，可以激发大家的阅读兴趣、培养阅读习惯、提升阅读能力、推动全民阅读的风气形成。在此契机下，2016年11月卢沟桥乡与中国人民大学农业与农村发展学院合作建立了教学科研基地，共同成立了“书香卢沟，走进经典”为主题的卢沟桥乡读书会，并成为了卢沟桥乡政府的创新品牌项目。

Under the theme of “Liaojienongcun, kannongcunfazhanyubianqian” – meaning “Understanding villages: their development and transformation”, the book club committee has carefully selected 12 books for its members to read in a year, thus encouraging them to finish one book each month. Sessions of the book club have been accompanied by various activities such as experience sharing, expert lectures, fieldtrips, movie watching, and video watching. For example, experts were invited to guide members to read certain challenging books (e.g., “Jiangcunjingji” and “Xiangtuzhongguo”). A stage show about the life of Qianxueseng was performed to help members to better understand his biography. A village party branch secretary who fought in the Sino-Vietnamese War and some retired party members were invited to share their experiences of being empowered by their belief in communism. These experience sharing sessions, in turn, have enabled members to better understand “The Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. These various kinds of activities have not only made book club sessions more enjoyable, but also deepened members’ understanding of their reading materials.
读书会以“了解农村，看农村发展与变迁”为主题，读书会项目组精心挑选阅读书目，倡导“每月共读一本书”，全年共12本。读书会通过经验分享、专家讲座、现场参观、观看电影和观看视频等多种形式开展，例如邀请专家带领成员专题导读《江村经济》和《乡土中国》等比较有深度的读物；通过舞台剧的表演来呈现钱学森的一生，以帮助大家理解读物《钱学森传》；邀请了离休老党员和参加过越南战争的村党总支书记讲述共产党员的信仰力量，帮助大家理解《共产党宣言》。每期读书会针对不同内容的量体裁衣式的交流形式，为读书增加了趣味性，让阅读者对内容加深了印象。

This case offers three lessons about how to use book clubs to develop grassroots cadres’ humanistic quality effectively. First, the goals of a book club should be clarified. As for the one in this case, there are two goals: 1) to broaden young cadres’ horizon, and 2) to create opportunities for senior cadres to know junior cadres. Second, target group should be selected. In this case, members of the book club were chosen mainly from junior cadres (aged 25 – 40) in Lugouqiao Township Government. This group, then, proved to be more motivated to participate in the book club. In this sense the book club has particularly benefited the township government’s existing talent pool. Third, forms of book club sessions should be diversified. As shown in this case, such diversification can motivate members to engage in book clubs more actively. When more and more cadres read books, a culture of reading is more likely to be created.
卢沟桥乡读书会的成功举办可以给我们以下启发。第一，明确读书会举办的目标。卢沟桥乡的读书会举办的目标有两个：开拓青年干部的眼界创新思路、为乡干部提供了解青年干部的机会。第二，明确读书会的参与群体。卢沟桥乡读书会主要的目标锁定在25-40岁左右的机关干部大学生。这样的目标群体的选择使得读书会的参与度比较高，同时培养了卢沟桥乡的大量储备人才。第三，创新读书会的形式。通过卢沟桥乡读书会的实践，多元化的交流形式可以大大提高参与度，形成全民读书的良好氛围。