The May Fourth Intellectual Revolution, 1917-1923

The May Fourth Intellectual Revolution, 1917-1923
The 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.
The atmosphere and political mood that emerged around 1919 are at the
centre of a set of ideas that had shaped China's momentous twentieth
century. Following the Chinese Revolution in 1911, the Qing
Dynasty disintegrated. This marked the end of thousands of years of
powerful imperial rule, and theoretically ushered a new era in which
political power rested with the people.
Causes
The rise of a politically conscious merchant class and labour force Chinese industry and commerce expanded greatly during the First World
War for the following reasons:
Internally, the fall of the Qing dynasty removed the traditional
conservative checks on and prejudice against commerce and industry. The
Republic had issued regulations that encouraged and protected economic
activities.
Externally, the First World War led to a quick decline of European
industries and trade with Asia. This gave China's industries a good
opportunity of expansion. Consequently, by 1919, there appeared new
merchant and labour classes who were politically conscious and were
ready to speak out against foreign imperialism.
The rise of a new, modern intellectual class - The introduction of
modern and Western education in China since late Qing times created a
class of modern Chinese intellectuals, who realized China's backwardness
and were eager to save the country.
The emergence of treaty-ports and large cities in China - Both foreign
economic imperialism and internal reform in late-Qing China contributed
to the emergence of many prosperous treaty-ports and cities in the
country. Modern foreign ideas were easily obtained and quickly
popularized in these urban areas. The ground for an urban intellectual
revolution had been laid.
The spread of popular education - Since there was an increase in
modern schools, more people could receive Western education.
The failure of political revolution - By 1919, it became clear that the

1911 Revolution had failed to strengthen China. Many intellectuals
understood that changes greater and more fundamental than a political
revolution were necessary. In other words, an intellectual revolution was
needed.
The atmosphere of intellectual freedom provided by warlord disorder
Due to warlord disorder, there was no single national ideology imposed
by a unified government on all China. Chinese intellectuals were thus free
to experiment with different new ideas imported from the West.
The May 4th Incident in 1919
Immediate causes - Toward the end of the First World War, many
Chinese were hopeful that, as rewards for China's contributions of wareffort and in accordance with the US President Wilson's idealistic
principles, the formerly German concessions seized by Japan in Shantung
would be returned to China. At the Versailles Conference of 1919,
however, it turned out that Britain, France and Italy had already secretly
agreed to support Japan in retaining these concessions, with the approval
of the Peking warlord government. This aroused great anger among
nationalist Chinese. In protest, some 5,000 students from the Peking
University and other educational institutions held a large-scale
demonstration in Peking on May 4, 1919. This was the May Fourth
Incident.
Course - These angry students burned the house of a pro-Japanese
Chinese minister. Also, they sent telegrams to students in other parts of
China to set up patriotic teams for saving the country. They protested
against the unjust Versailles settlement, Japan's war-time imperialist gains
in China, and the cowardly Peking warlord government. Three objectives
were stated:
To arouse sympathy from all Chinese people,
To force the warlord government to withhold from signing the
Versailles treaty
To dismiss the pro-Japanese Chinese officials in the Peking
government.
Similar demonstrations were held in other cities, such as Tientsin,
Shanghai, Nanking and Canton. The newly organized labour unions also
joined the nation-wide movement. Soon, even merchants joined the
movement by closing their shops in a merchant's strike. There was a
general boycott of Japanese goods.
Results - The immediate achievements of the May Fourth Incident were

limited:
Despite China's objections, the great powers at Versailles still decided
to leave the Shantung concessions in Japanese hands.
In China, demonstrations soon cooled down, and patriotic societies
elsewhere failed to cooperate for joint, powerful action.
Nevertheless, the students in Peking succeeded in embarrassing and
bringing down the warlord government.
Also, the Chinese representatives at the Versailles Conference did
withhold from signing the peace treaty.
Significance and Effects - Although student demonstrations on May 4,
1919 highlighted it, the May Fourth Intellectual Revolution actually
extended from about 1917 to 1923. While the achievements of the 1919
incident were few and limited, the long-term effects of the May Fourth
Movement at large were far-reaching and important in Chinese history.
Intellectual significance
Popularization of modern and Western ideas - Modern ideas from
the West were widely accepted by Chinese intellectuals, ideas like
democracy, liberalism, socialism, pragmatism, and utilitarianism. These
beliefs had been introduced into China before the May Fourth Movement,
but it was the Movement that further popularized them among Chinese
intellectuals.
Criticism and abandonment of tradition - In the past, the Confucian
tradition of cultural self-sufficiency and superiority made Chinese
scholars unwilling to borrow from foreign cultures. In the May Fourth
Intellectual Revolution, however, Chinese intellectuals critically
measured themselves against, and totally accepted, modern Western
ideas. This represented a willingness to criticize China's tradition and to
regard Chinese history as part of world history.
Rise of democratic spirit - Many of the modern ideas might not be
actually put into practice. Yet the democratic spirit that they brought
decisively destroyed the cultural tradition of the past. In short, there was
an intellectual breakthrough in the May Fourth Movement.
Literary significance
Introduction of the written vernacular Chinese - During the May
Fourth Movement, classical written Chinese was rejected. The written
vernacular Chinese (pai-hua) was introduced.
Rising literacy rate - In traditional China, only the scholar class knew
classical written Chinese because the language was difficult to learn and
different from spoken Chinese. The pai-hua, however, was colloquial and
thus easy to master. Efforts to popularize the pai-hua during the May
Fourth period had thus the effect of raising the literacy rate in society.
Social significance
Expansion of popular education and rise of public opinion - The
popularity of the pai-hua and the Western idea of progress contributed to
the growth of popular education, which in turn contributed to the rise of
modern public opinion in China.
Attack on social traditions - Social traditions of the past were under
attack. The old family system was condemned by young intellectuals.
Instead, the ideal of nuclear families was advocated. Young people began
to demand individual freedom from the traditional collective way of
living. Young girls rose to attack the traditional discrimination against
women. Co-education and marriage based on love were advocated.
Increased political consciousness among the new social forces The May Fourth Movement saw the rise of Modern China's new social
forces. Modern merchants, industrialists and city workers, all of whom
were products of modernization, became increasingly politically
conscious. They participated in many of the anti-foreign boycotts.
Increased class consciousness - In the past, local-provincial feeling
among the Chinese people was strong. During the May Fourth
Movement, however, as workers and students in different places protested
against some common enemy, class consciousness was promoted in
China.
Leadership of modern intellectuals - A new generation of
progressive young intellectuals who were Western-educated rose to
leadership in Chinese public life. Their presence began to challenge the
traditional social leadership of the Confucian scholar-gentry.
Political significance
Politicized Chinese nationalism - Anti-imperialist demonstrations
against the great powers and anti-Japanese riots strengthened the force of
modern Chinese nationalism. Student and labour movements grew
increasingly active. More people were interested, some even actively
involved, in political matters.
Rise of politicized student movements - In the May Fourth
Movement, students discovered that organized propaganda and
demonstrations could bring positive results. Student movements of a
political nature were in this way stimulated.
Political importance of the new social forces - Whereas politics
before 1919 seemed a game exclusively monopolized by the few and for
the few, more and more political leaders after 1919 developed contact
with, and tried to gain support from, the politically conscious masses.
Mao Tse-tung's revolutionary programs, which put great emphasis on the

peasants, originated from the May Fourth experience, as he himself
admitted.
Contribution to national unification - The anti-warlord activities of
the May Fourth Movement aroused great concern for China's political
disunity. This factor indirectly contributed to the national unification of
1928.
Democratic meaning of anti-warlord demonstrations - Antiwarlord demonstrations had a revolutionary political meaning: when
students proclaimed their lack of confidence in the warlord government,
they in effect announced that the government should have the people's
confidence if it was to stand. It was here that the May Fourth democratic
spirit could best be seen.
Limitations and Shortcomings
Lack of determination, coordination and planning - Many of the May
Fourth activities were short-lived and failed to bring about long-term and
basic changes.
Urban-bound extent of influence - The May Fourth Movement seldom
spread beyond the cities. It was basically a city movement. Serious social
and economic problems of China's large countryside were seldom
recognized.
Uncritical acceptance of Western ideas and rejection of Chinese
tradition - In revising China's culture, modern intellectuals had the habit
of destroying tradition and replacing it with Western culture. However,
they did not succeed in building up a new Chinese culture. This was
because their criticisms of tradition were "seldom fair and sympathetic"
and "often oversimplified and shallow". Western ideas were accepted
without much consideration of whether they suited China's conditions.
Limited practical achievements - The immediate and political
achievements of the May Fourth Incident were limited. Other than
success in bringing down a warlord government in 1919, the Movement
as a whole failed to solve China's political problems. Warlords remained
as powerful as they were, and foreign imperialism still existed. After all,
China failed to change the Versailles settlement concerning the Shantung
rights, the very thing that excited riots on the morning of May 4, 1919.

The May Fourth Intellectual Revolution, 1917-1923

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The May Fourth Intellectual Revolution, 1917-1923

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The May Fourth Intellectual Revolution, 1917-1923

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

How did the May Fourth Movement arise and what were its immediate causes?

What were some of the social and political impacts of the May Fourth Movement?

The May Fourth Intellectual Revolution, 1917-1923

The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural and political

The failure of political revolution - By 1919, it became clear that the

Results - The immediate achievements of the May Fourth Incident were

Mao Tse-tung's revolutionary programs, which put great emphasis on the

You might also like