New Youth

Chinese periodical

Also known as: “Qingnian”, “Xinqingnian”

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

"New Youth" (Xinqingnian) was a pivotal Chinese monthly magazine founded in September 1915 by Chen Duxiu. It served as a leading voice of the New Culture Movement, an intellectual revolution that challenged traditional Chinese ethics and culture. The magazine advocated for concepts like individual liberty and equality, promoting a scientific spirit and a pragmatic approach to China's problems. It championed the use of vernacular Chinese (baihua) in literature, replacing the classical style, and inspired a new generation of intellectuals and students. "New Youth" played a significant role in shaping China's subsequent political and social developments.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Chen Duxiu
Role in the intellectual revolution
…Magazine”) in Shanghai, later renamed Xinqingnian (“New Youth”). In its pages he proposed that the youth of China undertake a vast intellectual, literary, and cultural revolution to rejuvenate the nation. Many of the young writers who contributed to the monthly—among them Hu Shi, a liberal promoter of the vernacular literature,…
Read More
…Magazine”) in Shanghai, later renamed Xinqingnian (“New Youth”). In its pages he proposed that the youth of China undertake a vast intellectual, literary, and cultural revolution to rejuvenate the nation. Many of the young writers who contributed to the monthly—among them Hu Shi, a liberal promoter of the vernacular literature,…
Read More

Chinese literature
May Fourth period
…was published in Xinqingnian (New Youth), a radical monthly magazine published in Beijing. In it Hu called for a new national literature written not in the classical language but in the vernacular, the living “national language” (guoyu). Chen Duxiu, the editor of Xinqingnian, supported Hu’s views in his own…
Read More
…was published in Xinqingnian (New Youth), a radical monthly magazine published in Beijing. In it Hu called for a new national literature written not in the classical language but in the vernacular, the living “national language” (guoyu). Chen Duxiu, the editor of Xinqingnian, supported Hu’s views in his own…
Read More

China
An intellectual revolution
…and France, founded Xinqingnian (“New Youth”) magazine to oppose Yuan’s imperial ambitions and to regenerate the country’s youth. This quickly became the most popular reform journal, and in 1917 it began to express the iconoclasm of new faculty members at Peking University (Beida), which Chen had joined as dean…
Read More
…and France, founded Xinqingnian (“New Youth”) magazine to oppose Yuan’s imperial ambitions and to regenerate the country’s youth. This quickly became the most popular reform journal, and in 1917 it began to express the iconoclasm of new faculty members at Peking University (Beida), which Chen had joined as dean…
Read More