Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How did Chen Duxiu support the literary revolution of the May Fourth period?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Chinese literature
Zhang Fei on the Long Sloped Bridge Turning Away One Million Wei Troops with a Powerful Stare, woodblock colour print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1884. It depicts a scene from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Chen Duxiu played a pivotal role in supporting the literary revolution of the May Fourth period primarily through his leadership of the influential magazine New Youth (Xinqingnian).12
His contributions included:
- Platform for Reform: As the editor of New Youth, Chen provided a vital venue for intellectuals to advocate for a new national literature written in the vernacular (baihua) rather than the traditional classical language.13
- Advocacy: He explicitly supported the proposals of Hu Shih for literary reform by publishing his own article, "Wenxue geming lun" ("On Literary Revolution"), which served as a foundational "call to arms" for the movement.1
- Institutional Influence: While serving as the dean of the School of Letters at Peking University, Chen gathered progressive faculty and students who championed "new thought" and "new literature," effectively integrating the university into the broader New Culture Movement.23
By promoting these ideas, Chen helped shift the focus of Chinese literature toward modern, Western-inspired forms and socially reflective writing, which became the hallmark of the era.13