New Culture Movement in the context of "Qian Xuantong"

Chen Duxiu (simplified Chinese: 陈独秀; traditional Chinese: 陳獨秀; pinyin: Chén Dúxiù; Wade–Giles: Chʻên Tu-hsiu; 9 October 1879 – 27 May 1942) was a Chinese revolutionary, writer, educator, and political philosopher who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with Li Dazhao in 1921, serving as its first General Secretary from 1921 to 1927. Chen was a leading figure in the New Culture Movement and May Fourth Movement of 1919, which significantly influenced China's intellectual and political landscape in the early 20th century.

Born in Anhui, Chen was raised in a traditional gentry family but became involved in revolutionary activities from a young age. He studied in Japan, where he was exposed to Western ideas and became involved with Chinese student activist groups. Returning to China, he played a key role in local revolutionary movements in Anhui, notably through journalism and education, advocating for a vernacular literary revolution and the preservation of China's "national essence". During the New Culture Movement (c. 1915–1922), Chen rose to national prominence as the editor of the influential magazine New Youth (Xin Qingnian) and as Dean of Arts and Letters at Peking University. He championed science, democracy, and vernacular literature, while launching trenchant critiques of traditional Confucianism and Chinese society. His writings and leadership were instrumental in shaping the May Fourth generation of intellectuals and activists.

Li Dazhao (simplified Chinese: 李大钊; traditional Chinese: 李大釗; pinyin: Lǐ Dàzhāo; Wade–Giles: Li Ta-chao; 29 October 1889 – 28 April 1927) was a Chinese intellectual, revolutionary, and political activist who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with Chen Duxiu in 1921. He was one of the first Chinese intellectuals to publicly support Bolshevism and the October Revolution, and his writings and mentorship inspired a generation of young radicals, including Mao Zedong.

Born to a peasant family in Hebei province, Li was educated in modern schools in China and later at Waseda University in Japan. He rose to prominence during the New Culture Movement as the chief librarian and a professor of history at Peking University. In this role, he influenced many student activists and transformed his office into a hub for Marxist discussion. After the May Fourth Movement of 1919, he helped organize some of China's first communist study groups.

Hu Shih (Chinese: 胡適; 17 December 1891 – 24 February 1962) was a Chinese academic, writer, and politician. Hu contributed to Chinese liberalism and language reform, and was a leading advocate for the use of written vernacular Chinese. He participated in the May Fourth Movement and China's New Culture Movement. He was a president of Peking University and Academia Sinica.

Hu was the editor of the Free China Journal, which was shut down for criticizing Chiang Kai-shek. In 1919, he also criticized Li Dazhao. Hu advocated that the world adopt Western-style democracy. Moreover, Hu criticized Sun Yat-sen's claim that people are incapable of self-rule. Hu criticized the Nationalist government for betraying the ideal of Constitutionalism in The Outline of National Reconstruction.

The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles decision to allow the Empire of Japan to retain territories in Shandong that had been surrendered by the German Empire after the Siege of Tsingtao in 1914. The demonstrations sparked nationwide protests and spurred an upsurge in Chinese nationalism, a shift towards political mobilization, away from cultural activities, and a move towards a populist base, away from traditional intellectual and political elites.

The May Fourth demonstrations marked a turning point in a broader anti-traditional New Culture Movement (1915–1921) that sought to replace traditional Confucian values and was itself a continuation of late Qing reforms. Even after 1919, these educated "new youths" still defined their role with a traditional model in which the educated elite took responsibility for both cultural and political affairs. They opposed traditional culture but looked abroad for cosmopolitan inspiration in the name of nationalism and were an overwhelmingly urban movement that espoused populism in an overwhelmingly rural country. Many political and social leaders of the next five decades emerged at this time, including those of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超; Wade–Giles: Liang Chʻi-chʻao; Cantonese Yale: Lèuhng Kái-chīu; [ljǎŋ tɕʰìʈʂʰáʊ]) (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political activist, journalist, and intellectual. His thought had a significant influence on the political reformation of modern China. He inspired Chinese scholars and activists with his writings and reform movements. His translations of Western and Japanese books into Chinese further introduced new theories and ideas and inspired young activists. Liang was of Taishanese descent.

In his youth, Liang joined his teacher Kang Youwei in the Hundred Days' Reform of 1898. When the movement was defeated, he fled to Japan and promoted a constitutional monarchy and organized political opposition to the dynasty. After the revolution of 1911, he joined the Beiyang government, serving as the chief justice and the first president of the currency system bureau. He became dissatisfied with Yuan Shikai and launched a movement to oppose his ambition to be emperor. After Yuan's death, he served as the finance chief of the Duan Qirui cabinet and as supervisor of the Salt Administration. He advocated the New Culture Movement and supported cultural change but not political revolution.

Modern Chinese poetry, including New poetry (traditional Chinese: 新詩; simplified Chinese: 新诗; pinyin: xīnshī), refers to post Qing dynasty (1644 to 1912) Chinese poetry, including the modern vernacular (baihua) style of poetry increasingly common with the New Culture and 4 May 1919 movements, with the development of experimental styles such as "free verse" (as opposed to the traditional Chinese poetry written in Classical Chinese language); but, also including twentieth and twenty-first century continuations or revivals of Classical Chinese poetry forms. Some modern Chinese poetry represents major new and modern developments in the poetry of one of the world's larger areas, as well as other important areas sharing this linguistic affinity. One of the first poets and theorist in the modern Chinese poetry mode was Hu Shih (1891–1962).

New Youth, also known as La Jeunesse, was a Chinese literary magazine founded by Chen Duxiu and published between 1915 and 1926. It strongly influenced both the New Culture Movement and the later May Fourth Movement.