《新青年》的初衷

On the Original Intention of New Youth

《新青年》的自我定位在文化而不在政治。它与青年探讨修身治国之道,帮助他们实现思想解放和人格独立;它致力于介绍外来新知,帮助青年从全人类的先进文明中汲取营养;它致力于传播现代政治哲学和民主共和的国家法理,帮助青年认识个人与国家的新型关系;它批判旧思想、旧道德、旧文学和旧艺术,帮助青年冲破专制制度所造就的文化传统;它所推行的是思想文化领域的革命,而不包括政治革命。《新青年》在思想文化领域发动革命的初衷,是使国民成为真正的现代公民,使国家成为真正的名副其实的民主共和国,实际上是在为已经完成的政治革命进行补课。直到五四运动发生,《新青年》的这一初衷并未改变。对当时的国家体制而言,《新青年》不是革命派,而是补天派。从这个意义上说,《新青年》所进行的文化革命,说到底是为了保卫和巩固民主共和。

The self-orientation of New Youth is in culture rather than politics.It explores the ways of self-cultivation and governing the country with young people which help them achieve ideological emancipation and personality independence.It devotes itself to introducing new foreign knowledge and helping young people to absorb nutrition from the advanced civilization of all mankind.It devotes itself to disseminating the modern political philosophy and the national law of democracy and republicanism,and helps young people to understand the new relationship between individuals and the country.It criticizes the old ideas,morals,literature and art,and helps young people break through the cultural traditions created by the autocratic system.It promotes the revolution about ideology and culture,but not politics.The original intention of New Youth of launching a revolution in the field of ideology and culture was to make the people become truly modern citizens and the country become a really democratic republic,which in fact was a supplementary lesson for the completed political revolution.Until the May 4th Movement,this original intention of New Youth was unchanged.In terms of the state system at that time,New Youth was not a revolutionary,but remedy.In this sense,the cultural revolution carried out by New Youth is ultimately to safeguard and consolidate the democracy and republicanism.