May Fourth Period (1915-27)

Political Background

May 4th Period

May 4th, 1919

*Warlordism

Political disunity and Civil War

Violence

Freedom

Major Periods of Disunity

Warring States (481-221 B.C.E.)

6 Dynasties Period (220-589 C.E.)

5 Dynasties Period (907-960)

“Republic of China” (1916-1949)

Chinese nationalism

Political programs differ

Common goals of nationalists

Desire to "save China"

Anti-imperialism

Anti-warlordism

*New Culture Movement (late teens)

Objective: Intellectual and cultural revolution

Borrowing from Europe and the U.S.

Total rejection of the past

*Sedan chair

In Family, what does the sedan chair represent to Chueh-hui?

*Footbinding: Why was footbinding a target of the New Culture Movement?

Elite households

Perpetuation

Why is it implied that footbinding persisted in Family (pp. 148-9)?

Old view among historians

Male domination

New view

Marriageability
Female enforcement

New Culture in Intellectual Trends

Traditional Confucians

Zhang Daye (1854-?) World of a Tiny Insect, 1894

Qing Dynasty Reformers

Kang Youwei (1858-1927)

Liang Qichao (1873-1929)

New Culture Intellectuals

Chen Duxiu (1879-1942)

Yang Changji (1871-1920)

From New Culture youth to revolutionaries

Pa Chin (Ba Jin, 1904-2005), anarchism

Family, published in 1931

Mao Zedong (1893-1976), communism

Means of spreading message

Periodicals

*Chen Duxiu

*New Youth (1915)

Against Confucianism and conservativism

6 principles

Independent, progressive, aggressive, cosmopolitan, practical, and scientific

*Hu Shi

Advocated

Pragmatism, scientific thinking and democracy

Language reform

Classical to “plain language”

*May Fourth Movement

German concessions in Shandong, 1898

WW I in China

Japanese occupation of Shandong, 1915

Chinese alliance with Allies, 1917

Japan's secret agreements with British & French

Shandong

Premier/Warlord Duan Qirui, 1918

*Treaties of Versailles, 1919

Japan receives concessions in Shandong

Chinese delegation unaware of secret agreements

Protest, May 4, 1919, Beijing

Against treaty and warlord government

Protest, June 5, Shanghai

Broader issues

Anti-Warlordism

Japanese imperialism

Boycott

Political & intellectual ferment in following decade

Examples:

Chinese Communist Party founded

Family, published 1931

Typical features of Traditional Wealthy Family Compound:

Surrounding walls

Houses for families of each adult male

Servants’ quarters

Courtyards with gardens

Covered walkways

Pavilions