BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that the Communist Party of China (CPC) will hold high the banner of Mao Zedong Thought "forever" in pursuing the Chinese nation's rejuvenation.

While commemorating the 120th anniversary of the birth of the late Chinese leader, Xi hailed Mao and other members of the older generation of revolutionaries as "great figures" in fighting national and class oppression, as well as standing at the wavefront of the positive tide in the Chinese nation and world.

At a symposium held by the CPC Central Committee in Beijing, Xi said Mao, the principal founder of the CPC, the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the People's Republic of China, was "a great proletarian revolutionary, strategist and theorist."

"Mao is a great figure who changed the face of the nation and led the Chinese people to a new destiny," said Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

He pointed out that a correct historical view must be adopted to appraise a historical figure.

"Revolutionary leaders are not gods, but human beings," Xi said.

"(We) cannot worship them like gods or refuse to allow people to point out and correct their errors just because they are great; neither can we totally repudiate them and erase their historical feats just because they made mistakes," Xi said.

"(We) should not simply attribute the success in historical favorable circumstances to individuals, nor should we blame individuals for setbacks in adverse situation," he said.

"(We) cannot use today's conditions and level of development and understanding to judge our predecessors, nor can we expect the predecessors to have done things that only the successors can do," he said.

Under the new conditions, Party members should adhere to and make good use of the "living soul" of Mao Zedong Thought, namely seeking truth from facts, the "mass line" and independence, Xi said.

The CPC in June initiated a year of campaigning to strengthen the "mass line", a guideline under which the CPC is required to prioritize the interests of the people.

Xi said it was not easy to find a correct path. "The path decides the nation's destiny."

"Socialism with Chinese characteristics does not just fall from the sky," Xi said, adding that it was achieved through the toil and sacrifice of the Party and the people.

Without the pros and cons of historical experience learnt from practical exploration before reform and opening up, processes would not have proceeded so smoothly, Xi continued.

To realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the key is with the CPC, Xi said.

Xi vowed to "seriously treat 'illnesses' which harm the nature and purity of the Party and rip out any 'malignant tumors' on the healthy bodies of the CPC."

Persistent effort will enable the CPC to always be at the core of leadership for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi stressed.

Thursday's symposium at the Great Hall of People was presided over by Liu Yunshan and attended by other leaders including Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli.

Before the symposium, the seven top leaders visited Mao's mausoleum in Tian'anmen Square, making three bows toward Mao's seated statue and paying their respects to the remains of Mao.

Mao was born on Dec. 26, 1893 and died on Sept. 9, 1976.