From Academic Nitpicking to a =New Culture Movement＇： How Newspapers Turned Academic Debates into the Center of ~May Fourth＂

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.

An Analysis of Anti-Traditionalism in the New Culture Movement

The New Culture Movement aimed to criticize feudal despotism, and reach the goal of rebuilding the foundation of a new culture by clearing away dregs in traditional culture. Regarding the outstanding traditional culture of China, the New Culture Movement did not hold a totally negative attitude; instead, it emphasized totake a scientific spirit in the investigation into traditional culture, and put the thought of traditional culture into a modem system for the revival of traditional culture while it broke with the tradition of studies of Confucian classics.

Research on Mao Zedong’s Early Physical Education Thought and Practice

This paper explores Mao Zedong’s early views on physical education and practice,focusing on the“Six-Section Exercise”he created.The exercise,which integrates elements from traditional health-preserving techniques,gymnastics,boxing,and military training,was designed to promote balanced physical development,be practical and effective,and require less time per session.The paper argues that Mao Zedong’s views on physical education were grounded in the belief that it could effectively transform individuals and contribute to the creation of a strong sports nation.The paper also discusses the historical context and social trends behind the creation of the“Six-Section Exercise”,including the New Culture Movement and debates between Chinese and Western,static and dynamic,and new and old approaches to physical education.The paper concludes by suggesting that Mao Zedong’s early sports thinking has significant academic value and can provide guidance for the construction of a healthy China today.

Actresses, Gender, and 1920s Theater in China： A Discussion Concerning ＂Female Involvement in Art Performances＂

In 1923, Wu Ruiyan, a schoolgirl at the Beijing People＇s Art Drama School, starred in a play titled Hero and Beauty, written by Chert Dabei. This was the first joint performance of male and female performers in the history of Chinese drama. The incident immediately triggered a debate in the Morning Newspaper Supplement between a group of middle-class intellectuals concerning ＂female involvement in art performances＂. This paper sees the boom in female participation in politics in the 1920s, as well as the ＂improvement in traditional drama＂ during the early republican period in China as the reasons behind the discussion. This incident shows how the New Cultural Movement shaped intellectuals＇ views on females and art performances.

The Eternal ＂May Fourth Movement＂： Between Enlightenment and Tradition

This paper mainly discusses two key issues： how to evaluate the New Culture Movement and how to understand the relationship between enlightenment and the New Culture Movement. With regard to the former, the author puts forward the basic principles to be established for the evaluation of the New Culture Movement： not only to respect the historical facts, but also take a broad view to make a comprehensive survey of history and the world. Through an analysis of the current situation at home and abroad, this paper argues that it is precisely because the New Cul~＇e Movement rejected the darkness in the fields of politics, morality, academics and ideology which had ruled China for thousands of years, promoted insemination of political democracy, freedom of thought, and spiritual independence, which helped to prepare the mass basis for Marxism to spread in China, that it became possible to achieve the victory of socialism in China. Regarding the latter, the author believes the New Culture Movement could not complete the task of enlightenment once and for all in China. The reasons are as follows： China has thousands of years of old culture and old traditions, the Chinese culture and the European traditions are quite different, and the situation confronting China during the New Culture Movement period was far more complicated than the situation during the European Enlightenment in the 16th-18th centuries. So, when it was divorced from the future fate of the Chinese nation, the empty talk of personality liberation and personal freedom was not only unrealistic, but also poled apart from the rationalist analysis and application advocated by the Enlightenment.

How Not to Have Nostalgia for the Future： A Reading of Lu Xun＇s ＂Hometown＂

This essay rereads Lu Xun＇s 1921 story, ＂Hometown,＂ by focusing on its nostalgic character. Against the background of a modernizing historical moment in China, the story is about a city-dweller intellectual coming back to his homeland, only to find that nothing there corresponds to his somewhat nostalgic and romantic expectations. For a long period, students of modem Chinese literature have read this story either as a critique of the feudal Chinese culture whose vestige still loomed large in rural areas at the time, or as a literary representation of Lu Xun＇s hesitation toward the belief in progress embraced by those who passionately participated the cultural movement. Through a rereading of this text I argue that, instead of shedding a critical light on the economically and culturally backward rural China, here represented by the ＂homeland＂ of the protagonist, or showing his hesitation toward the New Cultural Movement, Lu Xun＇s narrative of ＂returning home＂ indicates how the political radicality of the movement points toward a hope beyond program and calculation.