The Evolution of “Literature” in China’s Educational System Changes from the Late Qing Dynasty to the May Fourth Movement

2021 ◽  
Vol 96 ◽  
pp. 109-134
Author(s):  
Hai-tao Liu ◽  
Peng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Qing Dynasty ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Late Qing Dynasty ◽  
May Fourth Movement ◽  
Late Qing ◽  
Fourth Movement ◽  
System Changes ◽  
The Late Qing Dynasty ◽  
May Fourth ◽  
The May Fourth Movement

The Power of Position: Beijing University, Intellectuals and Chinese Political Culture 1898–1929. By Timothy B. Weston. [Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2004. xiv+325 pp. $60.00; £39.95. ISBN 0-520-23767-6.]

2004 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 841-843
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Elman
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Intellectual Life ◽  
May Fourth Movement ◽  
New Culture Movement ◽  
Fourth Movement ◽  
May Fourth ◽  
Chinese Intellectuals ◽  
The University ◽  
Chinese Political Culture ◽  
The May Fourth Movement

Timothy Weston's study of Beijing University (hereafter, “Beida”) spotlights how modern Chinese intellectuals positioned themselves politically and socially in the early 20th century. Weston relies on the Beida archives, dailies, journals, and many other sources, to make four contributions. First, Beida's early history shows how literati humanists repositioned themselves during a period of great uncertainty. New style intellectuals had influence because they mastered Western and classical learning. Secondly, Beida's complex history did not break sharply with the past. Earlier accounts of the May Fourth movement obscure the efforts of intellectuals since 1898 to redefine their role. Weston suggests that May Fourth amplified a continuing progression of new and old ways of doing things. Thirdly, political tensions emerged when the university increasingly radicalized after 1911. No more than 20 per cent of Beida students were involved in the New Culture movement. A strong conservative undertow continually challenged radical agendas. Often we hear only the voices of the latter. Finally, Weston assesses Beida's history in light of how the May Fourth movement played out in different locations. In the 1920s, Shanghai replaced Beijing as the leading venue for urban China's cultural and intellectual leaders. Beijing increasingly lost status under warlordism, and the Nationalist shift of the capital to Nanjing refocused Chinese intellectual life on the Chang (Yangtze) delta.

scholarly journals Innovative or Rather Traditional? Confucianising Tragedy in May Fourth China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Letizia Fusini
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discussion ◽  
May Fourth Movement ◽  
Chinese Context ◽  
Fourth Movement ◽  
May Fourth ◽  
The May Fourth Movement

A key aspect of the May Fourth Movement was the critical discussion of Western tragedy. While the interest in tragedy was sparked by the assumption that China lacked an analogous genre, its interpretation and adaptation to the Chinese context suggests that a traditional ‘indigenous’ filter was applied to define its supposed ‘modernity’. Through cross-comparing Chinese conceptions of beiju 悲剧 in the May Fourth era and traditional Chinese views of bei 悲, this paper will seek to show that the Chinese reception of tragedy was informed by the rejuvenation of traditional ideas rather than the introduction of purely ‘Western’ theories.

scholarly journals How Social Transformation Is Affecting Female Clothing Change in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Early Republic of China

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Xuefei Zhang ◽  
Xiaoming Yang
Keyword(s):  
Qing Dynasty ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Early Republic ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Late Qing Dynasty ◽  
Revolutionary Change ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Late Qing ◽  
The Late Qing Dynasty ◽  
Foot Binding

During the late Qing dynasty and the early Republic of China, women's clothing had a revolutionary change. Under the unprecedented social transformation in a millennium, Social Darwinism called for “mother of the citizens”, arousing public concern to release women's bodies. Anti-foot-binding movement awakened women's self-awareness and planted a hint of women's emancipation. While Feminism turned the value to the “parity of citizens,” women disguised their female character and dressed as men. Early Qipao was widespread during women’s liberation movement. The New Culture Movement facilitated ideology of Human Liberation. Women gradually possessed independence of personality and changed their corsets. They tended to confront and express body curves instead of cover and weakening.

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