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How did the May Fourth Movement change the language used in Chinese literature?

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Scene from Romance of the Three Kingdoms — 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*.

The May Fourth Movement fundamentally transformed Chinese literature by spearheading a transition from the traditional classical style (wenyan) to a naturalistic vernacular writing style known as baihua.1

For centuries, wenyan—a language far removed from the spoken tongue—served as the standard for prose, despite its difficulty and exclusivity. During the New Culture Movement, intellectuals such as Hu Shih and Chen Duxiu argued that a modern national literature required the use of the living "national language" (guoyu) to reach the common people and foster cultural reform.234

This shift had several profound effects:
* Accessibility: By adopting the everyday language of the authors, literature became more accessible, helping to increase literacy and spread new ideas.24
* New Literary Forms: The movement encouraged the creation of "new literature," including modern fiction, drama, and poetry, often influenced by Western models.3
* Social Critique: Writers like Lu Xun utilized this accessible vernacular to produce critical, satirical works that challenged feudal traditions and conservatism.3

Ultimately, this linguistic revolution replaced the rigid classical medium, establishing baihua as the standard for periodicals, textbooks, and creative writing.4