NORTH of the Forbidden City and east of Jingshan Park lies Beijing’s Wusi Street or May Fourth Street.Its name originates with the May Fourth Movement,a pivotal anti-imperialist,cultural and political movement that b...NORTH of the Forbidden City and east of Jingshan Park lies Beijing’s Wusi Street or May Fourth Street.Its name originates with the May Fourth Movement,a pivotal anti-imperialist,cultural and political movement that began on May 4,1919. On that historic day,Peking University students departed from Hong Lou (Red Building),which was built in 1918 to house the university’s library and lit-展开更多
Abstract In early 1919, people like Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu were regarded as members of an ivory-tower ＂academic faction＂ （xuepai）, embroiled in a debate with an opposing ＂faction.＂ After the May Fourth demonstrat...Abstract In early 1919, people like Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu were regarded as members of an ivory-tower ＂academic faction＂ （xuepai）, embroiled in a debate with an opposing ＂faction.＂ After the May Fourth demonstrations, they were praised as the stars of a ＂New Culture Movement.＂ However, it was not obvious how the circle around Hu Shi and Chert Duxiu was associated with the May Fourth demonstrations. This link hinged on the way in which newspapers like Shenbao reported about the academic debates and the political events of May Fourth. After compartmentalizing the debating academics into fixed xuepai, Shenbao ascribed warlord-political allegiances to them. These made the Hu-Chen circle look like government victims and their ＂factional＂ rivals like the warlords＇ allies. When the atmosphere became hostile to the government during May Fourth, Hu Shi＇s ＂faction＂ became associated with the equally victimized May Fourth demonstrators. Their ideas were regarded as （now popular） expressions of anti-government sentiment, and soon this was labeled the core of the ＂New Culture Movement.＂ The idea and rhetoric of China＇s ＂New Culture Movement＂ in this way emerged out of the fortuitous concatenation of academic debates, newspaper stories, and political events.展开更多
The classics are at the heart of traditional literature, and play an important role in its transmission. May Fourth writers did not totally reject traditional literary classics; rather, they selectively preserved and ...The classics are at the heart of traditional literature, and play an important role in its transmission. May Fourth writers did not totally reject traditional literary classics; rather, they selectively preserved and reinterpreted them, setting up a new canon based on the criteria of evolution, humanism, human relationships, popular culture, etc. To a certain extent, the May Fourth reconstruction of the classics inherited late Qing thought and views of literature, but it was more of an embodiment of new intellectual horizons; a modem spirit acting through the rediscovery and recreation of traditional literature. The reconstruction of the classical canon revealed a close connection between the New Literature and traditional literature, thereby effectively facilitating the acceptance of New Literature by the masses. It also provided writers with national resources for literary creation, thus preventing New Literature from descending to nihilistic understanding of Chinese tradition. This mode of discovering and creating the modem while being rooted in their native soil enabled such writers to step out of the binary opposition between ＂making China Western＂ and ＂Sinicizing the West,＂ and thus has methodological significance for the relation between Chinese and Western cultures from the late Qing on. Literary classics have a profound meaning for writers＇ creations and for literature and cultural tradition. Despite its shortcomings, the May Fourth reconstruction of the traditional classics can inspire us even today.展开更多
The May Fourth movement that ushered in China’s modern literature constitutes a central and inexhaustible tradition and topic. This paper proceeds from the Chinese literary community’s reflections on the May Fourth ...The May Fourth movement that ushered in China’s modern literature constitutes a central and inexhaustible tradition and topic. This paper proceeds from the Chinese literary community’s reflections on the May Fourth literary tradition to explore the different aims, methods and perspectives of the May Fourth and 1930s literature through the interpretations and evaluations of each period. May Fourth literature followed a humanist approach while that of the 1930s took a social sciences approach. This point can provide us with a correct and rational explanation of the different interpretations and evaluations of the two periods and their complex entanglement. Furthermore, by examining the differences in approach of the two periods, we can look back over the May Fourth literary tradition and gain a better grasp of the transformation of literature in the 1930s, and thus sum up the experience and lessons of the literary tradition of both periods.展开更多
Although the notion of the new woman in modern China has received much scholarly consideration, her usually illiterate rural sister has not received nearly as much critical attention. With the exception of Lu Xun＇s i...Although the notion of the new woman in modern China has received much scholarly consideration, her usually illiterate rural sister has not received nearly as much critical attention. With the exception of Lu Xun＇s iconic Xianglin sao--from his 1924 story ＂Zhufu＂ （The New Year＇s Sacrifice）--almost no depictions of traditional women have been critically appraised in current scholarship. This seems unfortunate when such women can be considered to be both the opposite of and the raw material from which the new woman would spring. This article seeks to begin to address this question by juxtaposing Xianglin sao with another more unfamiliar May Fourth depiction of a rural woman： Liuyi jie （from Bing Xin＇s story of the same name）. By situating Liuyi jie and Xianglin sao firmly within the family structure, the resulting comparison of both stories reveals the structural obstacles that inhibited traditional women from becoming fully active subjects in the new China. The comparison also shows how the May Fourth project established a new woman, one capable of ushering in a newly modern China, whose very existence relies on the discursive silencing of old-style women unable to make this modern transition.展开更多
文摘NORTH of the Forbidden City and east of Jingshan Park lies Beijing’s Wusi Street or May Fourth Street.Its name originates with the May Fourth Movement,a pivotal anti-imperialist,cultural and political movement that began on May 4,1919. On that historic day,Peking University students departed from Hong Lou (Red Building),which was built in 1918 to house the university’s library and lit-
文摘Abstract In early 1919, people like Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu were regarded as members of an ivory-tower ＂academic faction＂ （xuepai）, embroiled in a debate with an opposing ＂faction.＂ After the May Fourth demonstrations, they were praised as the stars of a ＂New Culture Movement.＂ However, it was not obvious how the circle around Hu Shi and Chert Duxiu was associated with the May Fourth demonstrations. This link hinged on the way in which newspapers like Shenbao reported about the academic debates and the political events of May Fourth. After compartmentalizing the debating academics into fixed xuepai, Shenbao ascribed warlord-political allegiances to them. These made the Hu-Chen circle look like government victims and their ＂factional＂ rivals like the warlords＇ allies. When the atmosphere became hostile to the government during May Fourth, Hu Shi＇s ＂faction＂ became associated with the equally victimized May Fourth demonstrators. Their ideas were regarded as （now popular） expressions of anti-government sentiment, and soon this was labeled the core of the ＂New Culture Movement.＂ The idea and rhetoric of China＇s ＂New Culture Movement＂ in this way emerged out of the fortuitous concatenation of academic debates, newspaper stories, and political events.
文摘The classics are at the heart of traditional literature, and play an important role in its transmission. May Fourth writers did not totally reject traditional literary classics; rather, they selectively preserved and reinterpreted them, setting up a new canon based on the criteria of evolution, humanism, human relationships, popular culture, etc. To a certain extent, the May Fourth reconstruction of the classics inherited late Qing thought and views of literature, but it was more of an embodiment of new intellectual horizons; a modem spirit acting through the rediscovery and recreation of traditional literature. The reconstruction of the classical canon revealed a close connection between the New Literature and traditional literature, thereby effectively facilitating the acceptance of New Literature by the masses. It also provided writers with national resources for literary creation, thus preventing New Literature from descending to nihilistic understanding of Chinese tradition. This mode of discovering and creating the modem while being rooted in their native soil enabled such writers to step out of the binary opposition between ＂making China Western＂ and ＂Sinicizing the West,＂ and thus has methodological significance for the relation between Chinese and Western cultures from the late Qing on. Literary classics have a profound meaning for writers＇ creations and for literature and cultural tradition. Despite its shortcomings, the May Fourth reconstruction of the traditional classics can inspire us even today.
文摘The May Fourth movement that ushered in China’s modern literature constitutes a central and inexhaustible tradition and topic. This paper proceeds from the Chinese literary community’s reflections on the May Fourth literary tradition to explore the different aims, methods and perspectives of the May Fourth and 1930s literature through the interpretations and evaluations of each period. May Fourth literature followed a humanist approach while that of the 1930s took a social sciences approach. This point can provide us with a correct and rational explanation of the different interpretations and evaluations of the two periods and their complex entanglement. Furthermore, by examining the differences in approach of the two periods, we can look back over the May Fourth literary tradition and gain a better grasp of the transformation of literature in the 1930s, and thus sum up the experience and lessons of the literary tradition of both periods.
文摘Although the notion of the new woman in modern China has received much scholarly consideration, her usually illiterate rural sister has not received nearly as much critical attention. With the exception of Lu Xun＇s iconic Xianglin sao--from his 1924 story ＂Zhufu＂ （The New Year＇s Sacrifice）--almost no depictions of traditional women have been critically appraised in current scholarship. This seems unfortunate when such women can be considered to be both the opposite of and the raw material from which the new woman would spring. This article seeks to begin to address this question by juxtaposing Xianglin sao with another more unfamiliar May Fourth depiction of a rural woman： Liuyi jie （from Bing Xin＇s story of the same name）. By situating Liuyi jie and Xianglin sao firmly within the family structure, the resulting comparison of both stories reveals the structural obstacles that inhibited traditional women from becoming fully active subjects in the new China. The comparison also shows how the May Fourth project established a new woman, one capable of ushering in a newly modern China, whose very existence relies on the discursive silencing of old-style women unable to make this modern transition.
