20世纪30年代中后期至40年代中期，出于强烈的爱国救亡精神、对国民党政府的失望、对延安自由民主气象的向往以及对共产主义的信仰，大批知识分子从海内外纷纷奔赴延安革命圣地，形成了延安知识分子群体。他们填补了陕甘宁边区的人才空白，为党的革命事业做出重要贡献。但是，他们中的许多人还存在不同程度的非无产阶级思想，在以共产主义为指导的延安社会显得格格不入。同时，中国共产党领导新民主主义革命，必须依靠知识分子承担宣传共产主义的责任，发挥组织人民大众的作用，这就要求他们克服自身的非无产阶级思想，转变到无产阶级的立场上来，与工农兵群众相结合。具体而言，延安知识分子的思想改造从三个不同方面展开。

第一，通过学习革命理论，提高了思想觉悟。奔赴延安的知识分子们大多都具有极大的革命热情和较高的文化水平，但尚未掌握马克思列宁主义的革命理论，缺乏过硬的政治素质。为提高延安知识分子的理论修养，把他们训练成坚定的无产阶级革命战士，中共中央向他们提出了学习掌握革命理论的要求。在干部学校，延安知识分子运用自修和听课相结合的方式，系统学习了马克思主义的革命理论；在整风运动中，他们逐句阅读整风文件、联系实际开展批评与自我批评，逐渐掌握了马克思主义的立场、观点和方法。通过学习革命理论，延安知识分子坚定了共产主义的理想信念，掌握了马克思主义的思想方法，思想觉悟得到了显著提高。

第二，通过参加生产劳动，提升了精神境界。为克服解放区的经济和财政困难，党中央号召全体军民开展大生产运动。在生产劳动中，延安知识分子的肉体和精神得到充分锤炼。他们从最初抗拒劳动到最终逐渐习惯劳动，消除了自我优越感和轻视劳动的负面情绪，形成了坚定的革命意志，塑造了崇尚劳动的观念，还产生了无产阶级的思想感情，精神境界有了很大提升。

第三，通过投身下乡运动，革新了文艺观念。发扬革命的文艺，宣传教育全国人民群众团结抗日，是革命文艺工作者的光荣任务。但是，延安文艺界还存在脱离实际、脱离群众的倾向和一些不正确的文艺观念，革命文艺的发展和宣传并没有达到预期的效果。为解决文艺界存在的种种问题，毛泽东主持召开了延安文艺座谈会，确立了工农兵的文艺方向，要求文艺工作者深入基层和群众结合起来。在党中央的号召下，延安文艺工作者纷纷深入基层，去熟悉群众的生活和语言，创造群众喜闻乐见的作品，组织群众开展文艺活动，与工农兵群众打成了一片。通过文艺下乡的实践，他们进一步认清了文艺的性质和任务，更新了文艺创作的理念，转变了立场和思想感情，文艺观念得到了革新。

总体上看，延安知识分子的思想改造壮大了中国共产党的干部队伍，推动了马克思主义中国化的进程，促进了中国革命文化事业的发展，具有重要的历史意义。作为一次成功的思想政治教育实践，延安知识分子思想改造形成了重要的历史经验：团结、使用知识分子是思想改造的基本前提，服务于党的革命事业是思想改造的直接目的，树立共产主义世界观是思想改造的根本任务，与工农群众相结合是思想改造的必要途径。它也启示我们：做好新时代知识分子的思想政治工作，必须充分尊重、信任、关怀知识分子，用马克思主义理论武装他们；在文学艺术创作上，要引导文艺工作者坚持正确的创作方向；同时，领导干部还要善于同知识分子打交道，做他们的挚友、诤友。

From the mid late 1930s to the mid 1940s, a large number of intellectuals from home and abroad rushed to the revolutionary holy land of Yan'an, forming a group of Yan'an intellectuals, out of a strong patriotic spirit, disappointment with the Kuomintang government, yearning for freedom and democracy in Yan'an, and belief in communism. They filled the talent gap in the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region and made important contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party. However, many of them still have varying degrees of non proletarian ideology, which seems out of place in Yan'an society guided by communism. At the same time, when the CPC leads the New Democracy Revolution, it must rely on intellectuals to assume the responsibility of propagating communism and play the role of organizing the masses of the people. This requires them to overcome their non proletarian ideology, change to the proletarian position, and combine with the masses of workers, peasants and soldiers. Specifically, the ideological transformation of Yan'an intellectuals was carried out from three different aspects.

Firstly, by studying revolutionary theory, one has improved their ideological consciousness. Most of the intellectuals who went to Yan'an had great revolutionary enthusiasm and high cultural level, but they had not mastered the revolutionary theory of Marxism–Leninism and lacked excellent political quality. In order to improve the theoretical cultivation of Yan'an intellectuals and train them into steadfast proletarian revolutionary soldiers, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has put forward the requirement for them to learn and master revolutionary theory. At the cadre school, Yan'an intellectuals systematically studied Marxist revolutionary theory through a combination of self-study and lectures; During the Yan'an Rectification Movement, they read the rectification documents sentence by sentence, carried out criticism and self-criticism in the light of reality, and gradually mastered the position, views and methods of Marxism. By studying revolutionary theory, Yan'an intellectuals have firmly established their ideal and belief in communism, mastered Marxist thinking methods, and significantly improved their ideological consciousness.

Secondly, by participating in productive labor, one's spiritual realm has been elevated. In order to overcome the economic and financial difficulties in the liberated areas, the Party Central Committee called on all military and civilian personnel to carry out a mass production movement. In the process of productive labor, the physical and mental abilities of Yan'an intellectuals are fully honed. From the initial resistance to labor to the final habit of labor, they eliminated the negative feelings of self Superiority complex and contempt for labor, formed a firm revolutionary will, shaped the concept of advocating labor, and also produced the feelings of the proletariat. Their spiritual realm has been greatly improved.

Thirdly, by participating in the rural movement, we have innovated our literary and artistic concepts. Carrying forward revolutionary literature and art, promoting and educating the people of the whole country to unite and resist Japan, is the glorious task of revolutionary literary and artistic workers. However, there is still a tendency in the Yan'an literary and artistic community to deviate from reality and the masses, as well as some incorrect literary and artistic concepts. The development and promotion of revolutionary literature and art have not achieved the expected results. In order to solve various problems in the literary and artistic field, Mao Zedong presided over the Yan'an Literature and Art Symposium, established the direction of workers, peasants, and soldiers in literature and art, and required literary and artistic workers to deeply integrate with the grassroots and the masses. At the call of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Yan'an literary and artistic workers went deep into the grassroots to familiarize themselves with the lives and languages of the masses, create works that the masses liked, organize literary and artistic activities, and become one with the workers, peasants, and soldiers. Through the practice of literature and art going to the countryside, they further recognized the nature and task of literature and art, updated the concept of literary and artistic creation, changed their stance, thoughts and emotions, and innovated their literary and artistic concepts.

On the whole, the ideological transformation of Yan'an intellectuals has strengthened the cadre team of the CPC, promoted the process of Chinese Marxist philosophy, and promoted the development of China's revolutionary cultural cause, which is of great historical significance. As a successful practice of ideological and political education, the ideological transformation of Yan'an intellectuals has formed important historical experience: unity and use of intellectuals are the basic premise of ideological transformation, serving the Party's revolutionary cause is the direct purpose of ideological transformation, establishing a communist worldview is the fundamental task of ideological transformation, and combining with the workers and peasants is a necessary way of ideological transformation. It also inspires us: to do a good job in the ideological and political work of intellectuals in the new era, we must fully respect, trust, and care for them, and arm them with Marxist theory; In literary and artistic creation, it is necessary to guide literary and artistic workers to adhere to the correct direction of creation; At the same time, leading cadres should also be good at dealing with intellectuals and be their close friends and close friends.