The May Fourth Movement (traditional Chinese: 五四運動; simplified Chinese: 五四运动; pinyin: Wǔsì Yùndòng) was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem. These demonstrations sparked national protests and marked the upsurge of Chinese nationalism, a shift towards political mobilization and away from cultural activities, and a move towards populist base rather than intellectual elites.
The broader use of the term "May Fourth Movement" often refers to the period during 1915-1921 more often called the New Culture Movement.
Read more about May Fourth Movement: Background, Shandong Problem, Protest, Birth of Chinese Communism, Historical Significance, Criticism, Neotraditionalism Vs. Western Thought
Famous quotes containing the words fourth and/or movement:
“All night I’ve held your hand,
as if you had
a fourth time faced the kingdom of the mad—
its hackneyed speech, its homicidal eye—
and dragged me home alive. . . .”
—Robert Lowell (1917–1977)
“No great movement designed to change the world can bear to be laughed at or belittled. Mockery is a rust that corrodes all it touches.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)