May Fourth Movement

Key facts and history

The immediate catalyst for the movement was the Shandong Problem, where China's interests were sidelined by western powers at Versailles despite China's contributions during the war.^[1] Over 4,000 students marched from many points to gather in front of Tiananmen, shouting slogans such as "Give Qingdao back to us!" and "don't sign the Versailles Treaty"^[2] The movement gained public support at home and abroad, and on June 28, 1919, Chinese negotiators refused to sign the Paris Peace Treaty.^[1] The Beijing government eventually dismissed three officials accused of being collaborators under intense public pressure.^[3]

The movement spread to British Malaya, where riots in Penang and Singapore involving Kuomintang teachers led the British to pass the Registration of Schools Ordinance.^[4] On the morning of May 4, 1919, student representatives from thirteen different local universities met in Beijing and drafted five resolutions, including opposing the granting of Shandong to the Japanese under former German concessions.^[2] The movement's focal point moved from Beijing to Shanghai, and the working class became the primary force, with workers in Shanghai conducting a strike of unprecedented magnitude.^[5]

What the research sources say

The Peking University account states that the New Culture Movement formally began with the publication of the New Youth journal, created by professor Chen Duxiu.^[1] The Peking University account describes the movement as the beginning of China's new democratic revolution that awakened people's sense of democracy and spread Marxism in China.^[1]