The
New Culture Movement of the mid 1910s and 1920s sprang from the disillusionment with traditional Chinese culture following the failure of the Chinese Republic founded in 1912 to address China’s problems. Scholars like
Chen DuxiuChen Duxiu played many different roles in Chinese history. He was a leading figure in the anti-imperial Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement for Science and Democracy. Along with Li Dazhao, Chen was a co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. He was its first Chairman and first...
,
Cai YuanpeiCài Yuánpéi was a Chinese educator and the chancellor of Peking University, known for his critical evaluation of the Chinese culture that led to the influential May Fourth Movement...
,
Li DazhaoLi Dazhao was a Chinese intellectual who co-founded the Communist Party of China with Chen Duxiu in 1921.-Early life:Li was born in Laoting , Hebei province to a peasant family...
,
Lu XunLu Xun or Lu Hsün , was the pen name of Zhou Shuren is one of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the founder of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua as well as classical Chinese...
, and Hu Shi, had classical educations but began to lead a revolt against Confucian culture. They called for the creation of a new Chinese culture based on global and
westernThe West is a generic term referring to the Western world, or Western culture or civilization.The term can also mean:* Western culture or Western civilization, referring to cultures derived from European origin.* The Western United States* Western Australia...
standards, especially
democracyDemocracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed , or the power to do so is granted by them...
and science. Younger followers took up their call for:
- Vernacular literature
- An end to the patriarchal family in favor of individual freedom and women's liberation
- An acceptance of China’s place as a nation among nations, rather than the assertion of superiority of Confucian culture
- The re-examination of Confucian texts and ancient classics using modern textual and critical methods, known as the Doubting Antiquity School
- Democratic and egalitarian values
- An orientation to the future rather than the past
On May 4, 1919, students in Beijing protested the
Paris Peace ConferenceParis Conference may refer to:*Paris Economic Conference of 1916Paris Peace Conference may refer to:* Treaty of Paris, 1783, formally ended the American Revolutionary War...
giving German rights over
ShandongFor the people of Shandong, see Shandong people' is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. Its abbreviation is Lǔ, after the state of Lu that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
to Imperial Japan, turning this cultural movement into a political one in what became known as the
May Fourth MovementThe May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919 protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...
.
History
The founders of the New Culture Movement clustered at Beijing University, where they were recruited by Cai Yuanpei when he became chancellor. Chen Duxiu as dean and Li Dazhao as librarian in turn recruited leading figures such as the philosopher Hu Shi, the scholar of Buddhism
Liang ShumingLiang Shuming , born Liang Huanding , courtesy name Shouming , was a philosopher, teacher, and leader in the Rural Reconstruction Movement in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican eras of Chinese history....
, the historian
Gu JiegangGu Jiegang was a Chinese historian who is known best for his seven volume work Gushi Bian . He was a leading force in the Doubting Antiquity school.-Biography:...
, and many more. Chen founded the journal
New YouthLa Jeunesse, or New Youth was an influential Chinese revolutionary magazine in the 1920s that played an important role during the May Fourth Movement....
in 1915, which became the most prominent of hundreds of new publications for the new middle class public.
Yuan ShikaiYuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the...
, who inherited part of the
Qing dynastyThe Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912...
military power after it collapsed in 1911, attempted to establish order and unity, but failed to protect China against Japan and in his attempt to have himself declared emperor. When he died in 1916, the collapse of the traditional order seemed complete and the search for a replacement intensified.
The literary output of this time was huge, with many writers who later became famous (such as
Mao DunMao Dun was the pen name of Shen Dehong , a 20th century Chinese novelist, cultural critic, and journalist. He was also the Minister of Culture of China from 1949 to 1965. He is currently renowned as one of the best realist novelists in the history of modern China...
,
Lao SheLao She was a notable Chinese writer. A novelist and dramatist, he was one of the most significant figures of 20th century Chinese literature, and is perhaps best known for his novel Rickshaw Boy and the play Teahouse . He was of Manchu ethnicity.-Early Life:Lao She's original name was Shū Qìngchūn...
,
Lu XunLu Xun or Lu Hsün , was the pen name of Zhou Shuren is one of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the founder of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua as well as classical Chinese...
and
Bing XinBingxin was one of the most prolific and esteemed Chinese writers of the 20th Century. Many of her works were written for young readers...
) publishing their first works around this time. For example, Lu Xun's short fiction
Diary of a Madman"A Madman's Diary" was written by Lu Xun, commonly considered one of the greatest writers in 20th-century Chinese literature. This short story is considered to be one of the first and most influential modern works written in vernacular Chinese...
and
The True Story of Ah QThe True Story of Ah Q , is a short episodic novella written by Lu Xun, first published periodically between December 4, 1921 and February 12, 1922. It was later collected in his first short story collection Call to Arms in 1923. It is the longest of the stories in the collection...
created such a sensation when they first came out that their appeal has lasted to the present.
A substantial literary establishment—publishing houses, journals, literary societies, and of course universities—provided a foundation for an active literary and intellectual scene over the course of the decades of the 1910s, 20s, and 30s. The
New Youth journal was a leading forum for debating why China was weak, and the finger pointed at Confucian culture. One major starting point was the introduction of
Vernacular ChineseVernacular Chinese is a style or register of the written Chinese language essentially modeled after the spoken language and associated with Standard Mandarin. This term is not to be confused with the various present-day vernacular spoken varieties of Chinese...
. Hu Shi proclaimed that "a dead language cannot produce a living literature." In theory, the new format allowed people with little education to read texts, articles and books. He charged that literary, or
Classical ChineseClassical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
, which had been the written language prior to the movement, was only understood by scholars and officials (ironically, the new vernacular included many foreign words and Japanese neologisms which made it difficult for many to read). Literary societies such as the
Crescent Moon SocietyThe Crescent Moon Society was a Chinese literary society founded by the poet Xu Zhimo in 1923, which operated until 1931. It was named after The Crescent Moon, a poem by Rabindranath Tagore...
flourished. Two major centers of literary and intellectual activity were
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
-- home to
Peking UniversityPeking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China. It is the first formally established modern research university in and the first national university of China. It was founded as Imperial Capital University in 1898 as a...
and
Tsinghua UniversityTsinghua University , is a university in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Tsinghua University was established in 1911, originally under the name “Tsinghua Xuetang”. The school was renamed the "Tsinghua School" in 1912. The university section was founded in 1925 and the name “National Tsinghua...
-- and
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level...
, with its flourishing publishing sector.
A large number of Western doctrines became fashionable, particularly those which reinforced the cultural criticism and nation-building impulses of the movement. Anarchism, which had been influential earlier in the century, was largely displaced by socialism. The pragmatism of
William JamesWilliam James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher trained as a medical doctor. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and the philosophy of pragmatism...
and
John DeweyJohn Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been very influential. Dewey, along with Charles Sanders Peirce and William James, is recognized as one of the founders of the philosophy of pragmatism and of functional psychology...
became popular, the latter through the work of Hu Shi, who later championed
Chinese liberalismLiberalism in China or 'Chinese liberalism' resulted from the introduction of classical liberalism into China during the period of Western domination towards the end of the Qing Dynasty...
more broadly. Lu Xun was associated with the ideas of Nietzsche, which were also propagated by
Li ShicenLi Shicen , born Li Bangfan , was a Chinese philosopher and editor of advanced philosophical journals of the May Fourth Movement Min Duo and Zhongguo Jiaoyu Zazhi...
, Mao Dun, and many other intellectuals of the time.
In 1924,
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n Nobel Laureate
Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath. As a poet, novelist, musician, and playwright, he reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
held numerous lectures in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. Tagore argued the detrimental consequences China could encounter by integrating too much western civilization into Chinese society. In spite of Tagore's efforts, two
westernWestern may refer to:* Western , a category of fiction and visual art centered on the American Old West** Western fiction, the Western genre as featured in literatureIn geography:...
ideals were quickly garnering support throughout China. These two theories were democracy and science, both major components of the New Culture Movement.
DemocracyDemocracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed , or the power to do so is granted by them...
became a vital tool for those frustrated with the unstable condition of China whereas
scienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
became a crucial instrument to discard the "darkness of ignorance and superstition."
Many New Culture leaders promoted
feminismThe term Feminism can be used to describe an academic discourse, or to describe a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at establishing more rights and legal protection for women...
as an attack on traditional values. More specifically, the movement replaced sexuality over the traditional Chinese idea of kinship positionality. This substitution is a staple of the emerging individualistic theories that occurred during the era. Thus, the New Culture Movement advocated focus on a range of topics that included science, technology, individualism, and democracy.
Changing Views
The New Culture Movement was long seen as a revolutionary break with tradition and as the seedbed of revolutionary leaders who created the
Communist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
and went on to found the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
in 1949. Both Chinese and western historians now commonly argue that while radical Marxists were important, there were many other influential leaders, including anarchists, conservatives, Christians, and liberals. They also recognize that New Culture leaders exaggerated the radical nature of their intellectual break with the past and that basic shifts had already taken place in earlier generations. Many historians now also argue that the
Mao ZedongMao Zedong was a Chinese revolutionary, political theorist and Communist leader. He led the People's Republic of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976...
’s communist revolution did not, as it claimed, fulfill the promise of New Culture but rather betrayed its spirit of independent expression and cosmopolitanism.