May Fourth Movement
While the May Fourth Incident occurred on May 4, 1919, the May Fourth Movement began in 1917 when China declared war against Germany. During World War I, China supported the Allies on the condition that control over Shandong Province, the birthplace of Confucius, would be returned to China if the Allies triumphed.
Though China was on the winning side of World War I, China’s representatives were told to sign away rights to German-controlled Shandong Province to Japan at the Treaty of Versailles. The dispute over the Treaty of Versailles became known as the Shandong Problem.
When it became known in China in April 1919 that the negotiations over the Treaty of Versailles would not honor China's claims, it gave rise to a movement that might be considered even more revolutionary than the one that ended the Empire. In the course of this May Fourth Movement, some 5,000 students from Peking University hit the streets to demonstrate against the Versailles Treaty.
The May Fourth Movement was part cultural revolution, part social movement. On the cultural side, the students had been inspired in the preceding two decades by Western thought, creating a feeling of frustration and dissatisfaction with Chinese tradition. In the intellectual ferment that resulted from this, answers were sought for the questions why and how China had lagged behind the West. The negative influences of traditional morality, the clan system and Confucianism were seen as the main causes.
The social aspects of May Fourth consisted of attempts to emancipate the Chinese woman, although this was often limited to movements to bring foot-binding to a halt. Nonetheless, in the cities newly liberated women, modern girls who had been educated, became a loud voice for further changes.
May Fourth is seen as a catalyst for the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. After May Fourth, Marxism was seen as a workable revolutionary ideology for a predominantly agrarian society such as China still was.It marked an intellectual turning point in China. Collectively, the goal of scholars and students was to rid Chinese culture of those elements which they believed had led to China’s stagnation and weakness and to create new values for a new, modern China.
Citations:
"May Fourth Movement (1919)." May Fourth Movement (1919). N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013."May Fourth Movement." About.com Chinese Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
Though China was on the winning side of World War I, China’s representatives were told to sign away rights to German-controlled Shandong Province to Japan at the Treaty of Versailles. The dispute over the Treaty of Versailles became known as the Shandong Problem.
When it became known in China in April 1919 that the negotiations over the Treaty of Versailles would not honor China's claims, it gave rise to a movement that might be considered even more revolutionary than the one that ended the Empire. In the course of this May Fourth Movement, some 5,000 students from Peking University hit the streets to demonstrate against the Versailles Treaty.
The May Fourth Movement was part cultural revolution, part social movement. On the cultural side, the students had been inspired in the preceding two decades by Western thought, creating a feeling of frustration and dissatisfaction with Chinese tradition. In the intellectual ferment that resulted from this, answers were sought for the questions why and how China had lagged behind the West. The negative influences of traditional morality, the clan system and Confucianism were seen as the main causes.
The social aspects of May Fourth consisted of attempts to emancipate the Chinese woman, although this was often limited to movements to bring foot-binding to a halt. Nonetheless, in the cities newly liberated women, modern girls who had been educated, became a loud voice for further changes.
May Fourth is seen as a catalyst for the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. After May Fourth, Marxism was seen as a workable revolutionary ideology for a predominantly agrarian society such as China still was.It marked an intellectual turning point in China. Collectively, the goal of scholars and students was to rid Chinese culture of those elements which they believed had led to China’s stagnation and weakness and to create new values for a new, modern China.
Citations:
"May Fourth Movement (1919)." May Fourth Movement (1919). N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013."May Fourth Movement." About.com Chinese Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.