China's ruling (and sole) political party held a high-level national conference on Wednesday to discuss how the history of the Party should be thought of and written.   

That the meeting was publicly announced as the first of its kind, with senior officials attending, is perhaps a signal that something is afoot in the halls of power. But because this is China, where the government and its doings are wrapped in secrecy, or at least a very thick fog, it’s hard to tell. One is left to sift through the news releases that float down from leadership in Beijing.

The history of the Party is an especially sensitive topic in China, one that has long been carefully managed, pruned or totally suppressed by leadership. Books that stray outside the lines are banned, and many websites are blocked.

Events like the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward – in which Party policy led to the deaths of millions -- are not in the ancient past. While today’s Communist Party is different in many ways from that of Mao Zedong’s, the “Communist” adjective now seems a total misnomer in light of the booming economy, Mao’s legacy is its foundation.

To criticize Mao, whose huge portrait still hangs on the outside wall of the Forbidden City and is stamped on money here, is seen as criticizing the Party. Equally as thorny is any reference to more recent history like government troops shooting protestors on Tiananmen Square in 1989.

So what were they talking about on Wednesday?

A state news service, Xinhua, carried a lengthy account of the event, beginning with Vice President Xi Jinping's keynote address:

"He said Party history should be included in schools' curriculums and publicized via the Internet.

Further, researchers should study the Party's history 'in a practical and realistic manner,' Xi said, adding that the Party's glory, experiences, traditions and fine work style should be publicized.

He added that the CPC strongly opposes any tendency that 'distorts or smears the Party's history.' "

Is there going to be a push to enforce a more orthodox Party line about its history, a campaign on the web and in schools to be sure that the younger generation doesn’t drift?

The Xinhua story quoted Vice President Xi as saying that history should be used to "educate Party members, officials and the masses, especially the youth." He wants Party history "included in schools' curriculums and publicized via the Internet.”

Or could there eventually be a softening of guidelines?

Xinhua emphasized that “Researchers say the environment of studying Party history has become more relaxed.”

A couple sentences later, though, a senior official involved with historical research for the Party had this to say about the "anecdotes of CPC history on-line or in other social media":

"Some are true, some are not, and there are even some intentional slanders aimed at smearing the Party and subverting the country and its socialist system."

The official thinks that "efforts should be made to clarify falsehoods, dispel rumors and misrepresentations, and show respect to the history."

In the past, that sort of language has not suggested a more open approach by the Party.