The New Culture Movement (1917-1921) was a movement in China that criticized conservative, traditional Chinese ideas and sought to advance a more progressive “new culture.” This new culture found its footing in Western ideals like science and democracy and was spearheaded by scholars such as Chen Duxiu, Lu Xun, Hu Shih, Li Dazhao, Chen Hengzhe, Liu Bannong, Cai Yuanpei, He Dong, Zhou Zouren, Qian Xuantong, and Bing Xin. This group, of whom many were classically educated, rebelled against Confucianism and classical values. Its hub was Peking University, where many of the leaders gathered under the leadership of Cai Yuanpei during his time as chancellor.
An important facet was the New Youth magazine, a publication where many of these thinkers were able to speak out through essays, short stories, and other forms of writing. The New Culture Movement espoused liberal ideas like the end of the patriarchal family structure, individualism, the re-examination of the Confucian texts and other ancient writings using modern critical methods (called the Doubting Antiquity School), rights for women, and democratic values.
Further Reading
Goldman, Merle and Leo Ou-fan Lee, eds. An Intellectual History of Modern China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Mitter, Rana. A Bitter Revolution: China’s Struggle with the Modern World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
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