The New Culture Movement
The Kao brothers and their friends are proponents of the New Culture Movement, a continuation of late Qing Dynasty reforms that re-examined the Confucian patriarchal feudal system in governments and families.
Overthrown by the Xinhai Revolution, the Qing Dynasty fell in 1911, ending thousands of years of an imperial governmental system. The Republic of China was established in 1912 with Yuan Shikai as de facto president. In 1916, president Yuan Shikai died, fragmenting political power among regional leaders. The tumultuous, violent period following Yuan Shikai's death is known as the Warlord Era.
The Beiyang Government in Beijing and Nationalist Kuomintang, based in Guangzhou and led by Sun Yat-sen, clashed throughout this era until 1928, when Chiang Kai-shek, leading the Kuomintang, officially unified China. Despite official unification, many warlords retained their power even through the 1940s.
Inspired by March 1st movement in Korea and the Russian Revolution, the New Culture Movement attempted to replace the classical style of writing and prose with vernacular literature, end the patriarchal family structure, promote individual freedom and women's liberation, establish China as a nation and not a Confucian culture, re-examine Confucian texts and ancient classics, promote democracy and egalitarianism, and look to the future instead of glorifying the past.
Chen Duxiu founded "New Youth" magazine in 1915 to publish revolution literature and articles. Some important texts published in the magazine include "To Youth" ( 敬告青年), "1916" (一九一六年), and "Our Final Realization" (吾人最後之覺悟)
May Fourth Movement 1917-1921
Inspired by the New Youth Movement, students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest Japan's acquisition of Jiaozhou Bay at the Paris Peace Conference. Protests took place in Paris and Beijing, with gradual support from Shanghai and Guangzhou. Students were arrested and beaten, sparking further national outrage. Under pressure from the protests, China refused to sign the Versailles treaty. The movement shifted from Beijing to Shanghai, from students to working-class people, who held an unprecedented national strike.
