Debating Culture in Interwar China

The May Fourth era (1915-1927) in modern China is often portrayed as a Chinese Enlightenment seeking Western science and democracy. This book challenges that narrative by showing how the New Culture Movement's propositions were questioned and revised after the initial radical phase. It argues that Chinese intellectuals reformulated their visions of modernity through critiques of Occidentalism and totalistic iconoclasm, and that the global post-WWI ambivalence towards Progress impacted the era's latter stage.

Format: Hardback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 01 January 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The May Fourth era (1915-1927) holds a significant place in the history of modern China, often portrayed as a transformative period marked by a quest for radical change. This era is commonly referred to as a Chinese Enlightenment, characterized by an enthusiastic embrace of Western science and democracy as means to break away from the past.

Conventional narratives often center on the New Culture Movement as the driving force behind social reform and political revolution during this time. This book, however, challenges that revolution-centric narrative by exploring how the ideas of the New Culture Movement were questioned and revised after its initial radical phase. By focusing on the post-1919 debates on culture, identity, and history, this book argues that Chinese intellectuals reimagined their conceptions of modernity through critical examinations of both Occidentalism and totalistic iconoclasm.

Furthermore, it suggests that the global post-World War I ambivalence towards the idea of Progress in Western civilization had a profound impact on the later stages of the May Fourth era. This book will be of interest to scholars and students engaged in the study of cultural, intellectual, and political histories of modern China and East Asia.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780415552417