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Why did May Fourth writers favor vernacular Chinese over classical Chinese?

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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*.

During the May Fourth period, intellectuals favored the adoption of vernacular Chinese (baihua) over the traditional classical style (wenyan) primarily to revitalize Chinese culture and make literature more accessible to the common people.12

The movement, spearheaded by figures such as Hu Shih and Chen Duxiu, viewed the classical language as a significant barrier to education and literacy. Because the classical style was far removed from the living, spoken tongue, it restricted literary expression and intellectual engagement to a small elite. By promoting baihua—the everyday language of the people—reformers sought to:312

Democratize Literature: Make textbooks, periodicals, and creative works understandable to a broader audience.14
Modernize Society: Align writing with the New Culture Movement’s goals of promoting science, democracy, and individual emancipation while criticizing feudalistic traditions.345
Foster Innovation: Replace rigid, traditional forms with experimental literature inspired by Western models, which allowed for greater social reflection and critical realism.35

This shift was a fundamental component of the broader intellectual revolution aimed at rebuilding Chinese society and culture during the early republican period.45