print | close The May Fourth Movement

• Primary Source: Chen Duxiu and The May Fourth Movement
• Primary Source: Chiang Kai-shek "On the Need for a New Life Movement"
• Primary Source: Mao Zedong "Reform Our Study"
• Discussion Questions and Suggested Activity

Chen Duxiu and The May Fourth Movement

Introduction

The so-called "May 4th Movement" or "new culture" movement began in China around 1916, following the failure of the 1911 Revolution to establish a republican government, and continued through the 1920s. Its importance equals if not surpasses the more commonly known political revolutions of the century. The movement articulated the contempt for traditional Chinese culture felt by many Chinese intellectuals. These intellectuals blamed traditional culture for the dramatic and rapid fall of China into a subordinate international position, and maintained that China's cultural values prevented China from matching the industrial and military development of Japan and the West. The May 4th Movement takes its name from the massive popular protest that took place in China in May 1919, following the announcement of the terms of the Versailles Treaty that concluded WWI. According to the treaty, Germany's territorial rights in China were not returned to the Chinese, as had been expected, but were instead turned over to the Japanese. The outpouring of popular outrage coalesced in a new nationalism with repeated cries for a "new culture" that would reinstate China to its former international position. The way out of China's problems, many believed, was to adopt Western notions of equality and democracy and to abandon the Confucian approach which stressed hierarchy in relationships and obedience. Science and democracy became the code words of the day.

Reading

Excerpts from Chen Duxiu (Ch'en TuHsiu), "Our Final Awakening," February 1916. Chen Duxiu was dean of Peking University in 1916, a leader of the "new culture" movement and editor of "New Youth" magazine. Here he laments the weakness of China's national strength and civilization, but cautions those who think that democracy and constitutional government can be easily established in China. First, he argues, there must be a change in the thought and character of the people such that their attitudes will support constitutional government. Without a new culture, there will be no new political system. (This same argument can be heard in China of the 1990s.)

We, having been living in one corner of the world for several decades, must ask ourselves what is the level of our national strength and our civilization. This is the final awakening of which I speak. To put it another way, if we open our eyes and take a hard look at the situation within our country and abroad, what place does our country and our people occupy, and what actions should we take?...

Our task today can be said to be the intense combat between the old and the modern currents of thought. Those with shallow views all expect this to be our final awakening, without understanding how difficult it is to put [constitutional government] into practice... There is no difference between the shameful disgrace of submissiveness of men of ancient times hoping that sage rulers and wise ministers will practice benevolent government and present day men hoping that dignitaries and influential elders will build a constitutional republic. Why should I reject the desires of dignitaries and influential elders, who are after all a part of the people, to build a constitutional republic? Only because a constitutional republic cannot be conferred by the government, cannot be maintained by one party or one group, and certainly cannot be carried on the backs of a few dignitaries and influential elders. A constitutional republic which does not derive from the conscious realization and voluntary action of the majority of the people is a bogus republic and bogus constitutionalism. It is political window-dressing, in no way like the republican constitutionalism of the countries of Europe and America, because there has been no change in the thought or the character of the majority of the people, and the majority of the people have no personal feeling of direct material interest.

Reprinted with permission from J. Mason Gentzler, Changing China. (New York, Praeger Publishers) ©1977. pp. 168.

Chiang Kai-shek's "On The Need For a New Life Movement"

Introduction

In 1934, Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of China, heralded the New Life Movement which was to rally the Chinese people against the Communists and build up morale in a nation that was besieged with corruption, factionalism, and opium addiction. Rather than turning away from Confucian values as did the May 4 Movement, Chiang Kai-shek used the Confucian notion of self-cultivation and correct living for this movement. Here we see an attempt to revitalize what was seen by Chiang as the "essence" of being Chinese.

Reading

Why is a New Life Needed?

The general psychology of our people today can be described as spiritless. What manifests itself in behavior is this: lack of discrimination between good and evil, between what is public and what is private, and between what is primary and what is secondary. Because there is no discrimination between good and evil, right and wrong are confused; because there is no discrimination between public and private, improper taking and giving [of public funds] occur; and because there is no distinction between primary and secondary, first and last are not placed in the proper order. As a result, officials tend to be dishonest and avaricious, the masses are undisciplined and calloused, the youth become degraded and intemperate, the adults are corrupt and ignorant, the rich become extravagant and luxurious, and the poor become mean and disorderly. Naturally it has resulted in disorganization of the social order and national life, and we are in no position either to prevent or to remedy natural calamities, disasters caused from within, or invasions from without. The individual, society and the whole country are now suffering...

The Content of the New Life Movement

I. The Principles of the New Life Movement

The New Life Movement aims at the promotion of a regular life guided by the four virtues, namely, Li, I, Lien, and Ch'ih.¹

Li means regulated attitude.
I means right conduct.
Lien means clear discrimination.
Ch'ih means real self-consciousness.

The word li (decorum) means li (reason). It becomes natural law, when applied to nature; it becomes a rule, when applied to social affairs and it signifies discipline, when used in reference to national affairs. A man's conduct is considered regular if it conforms with the above law, rule, and discipline. When one conducts oneself in accordance with the regular manner, one is said to have the regulated attitude.

The word i means proper. Any conduct which is in accordance with li - i.e., natural law, social rule, and national discipline - is considered proper. To act improperly, or to refrain from acting when one knows it is proper to act, cannot be called i.

The word lien means clear. It denotes distinction between right and wrong. What agrees with li and i is right, and what does not agree is wrong. To take what we recognize as right and to forego what we recognize as wrong constitute clear discrimination.

The word ch'ih means consciousness. When one is conscious of the fact that his own actions are not in accordance with li, i, lien, and ch'ih, one feels ashamed. When one is conscious of the fact that others are wrong, one feels disgusted. But the consciousness must be real and thorough so that one will strive to improve what one feels to a shame and to eliminate what one feels to be disgusting. This is called real self-consciousness.

In conclusion, the life of our people will be elevated if we live artistically; we will become wealthy if we live productively; and we will be safe if we lead a military way of life. When we do this, we will have a rational life. This rational life is founded on li, i, lien, and ch'ih. The four virtues, in turn, can be applied to food, clothing, shelter, and action. If we can achieve this, we will have revolutionized the daily life of our people and laid the foundation for the rehabilitation of our nation.

1. Standard translations for these terms are: li, decorum or rites; i, righteousness or duty; lien, integrity or honesty; ch'ih, sense of shame. Since Chiang defines the terms in what follows, we have kept the romanized forms here. The romanization is Wade-Giles.

Excerpted with permission from William Theodore DeBary, Sources of Chinese Tradition, vol. II (New York, Columbia University Press) ©1960. pp. 139-140

Mao Zedong's "Reform Our Study"

Introduction

Mao Zedong's writings from the 1930s, before the Communists took power, highlight the theme of "borrowing but preserving" from a different perspective. Mao was an arch-critic of traditional Chinese culture, but in applying the thoughts of Marx and Lenin (which are Western) to China he still cautioned that the Chinese Communists must not forget their own history, and that Communist ideology must have Chinese characteristics.

Reading

Note: In this speech, Mao is scolding those in the Party who are blindly following the ideas of Marx and Lenin without adapting it to the Chinese situation, which Mao thought would be made "better" by a revolution to wipe out the old ways and establish new ones.

...[T]ake the study of history. Although a few Party members and sympathizers have undertaken this work, it has not been done in an organized way. Many Party members are still in a fog about Chinese history, whether of the last hundred years or of ancient times. There are many Marxist-Leninist scholars who cannot open their mouths without citing ancient Greece; but as for their own ancestors - sorry, they have been forgotten. There is no climate of serious study either of current conditions or of past history.

Third, take the study of international revolutionary experience, the study of the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism. Many comrades seem to study Marxism-Leninism not to meet the needs of revolutionary practice, but purely for the sake of study. Consequently, though they read, they cannot digest. They can only cite odd quotations from Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin in a one-sided manner, but are unable to apply the stand, viewpoint and method of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin to the concrete study of China's present conditions and her history or to the concrete analysis and solution of the problems of the Chinese revolution. Such an attitude towards Marxism-Leninism does a great deal of harm, particularly among cadres of the middle and higher ranks.

The three aspects I have just mentioned, neglect of the study of current conditions, neglect of the study of history, and neglect of the application of Marxism-Leninism, all constitute an extremely bad style of work. Its spread has harmed many of our comrades.

There are some who are proud, instead of ashamed, of knowing nothing or very little of our own history. What is particularly significant is that very few really know the history of the Communist Party of China and the history of China in the hundred years since the Opium War. Hardly anyone has seriously taken up the study of the economic, political, military, and cultural history of the last hundred years. Ignorant of their own country, some people can only relate tales of ancient Greece and other foreign lands, and even this knowledge is quite pathetic, consisting of odds and ends from old foreign books.

For several decades, many of the returned students from abroad have suffered from this malady. Coming home from Europe, America, or Japan, they can only parrot things foreign. They become gramophones and forget their duty to understand and create new things. This malady has also infected the Communist Party.

From Selected Works of Mao, Beijing Foreign Languages Press, 1971.

Discussion Questions and Suggested Activity

Questions:

1. What was meant by "Chinese essence" and "Western techniques?" Why was it important for Chinese thinkers at the end of the century to formulate their suggestions for change in this way?
   
2. In each of the selections, what was essentially Chinese about the proposed changes?  What ideas were adapted from abroad? How does the nature and proportion of the mix change over time?
   
3. Why do you think that, in the twentieth century, China was receptive to a revolution and the foreign ideas of Marxism?

Activity:

Compare the situation of China in this period with that of the Ottoman Empire, Japan, and Russia. How were their situations similar? Different? How were their reform programs similar? Different? Compare reformers such as Rammohun Roy of India, Muhammed Ali of the Ottoman Empire, or Ito Hirobumi of Japan with the Chinese thinkers in these readings.

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