It was a heady time as the writings of Russian, French, American, British and
Japanese thinkers were translated and
introduced in the pages of new periodicals to readers in China.
Young intellectuals debated and
tried to put into practice what they learned from these thinkers.
When the dust settled in the early 1920s, the political, cultural, and
social landscape of China was forever changed.
Some of the most important outcomes of the New Culture Movement were the rejection
of the Confucian tradition and emphasis on individual freedom.
And on a scientific way of thinking and living, and emancipation of women.
The written language was changed from the classical format to a colloquial one.
The New Culture Movement also foresaw the divergence of political affiliations
among the leading intellectuals of the time, with those who placed faith
in western democracy pitted against those who believed in Marxism and communism.
Most of these debates took place in the pages of New Youth,
also titled La Jeunesse, a journal edited by Chen Duxiu,
who also founded the Chinese communist party at this time.
America's influence was palpable in these debates,
especially in the field of literature.
As a student of John Dewey, Hu Shih, siding with the liberal and
iconoclastic new cultural movement, was pitted against a student of
Irving Babbitt, Mei Kuang-te, who opposed the destruction of classical tradition.
It was a battle between the Chinese interpreter of pragmatism,
versus the Chinese interpreter of New Humanism.
Interestingly, both Hu Shih and Mei Kuang-te came from the same province of
Anhwei and both received scholarships to study in the US from
the American-initiated Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program.