Cai Yuanpei and Hu Shi 1917-1937 (Chinese Cultural Figures and Liberalism)

Author: Zhang Xiaowei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: The May Fourth New Culture Movement can also be seen as essentially a movement of intellectuals. A group of intellectual elites spread new knowledge, criticized old scholarship, enlightened minds, and reshaped paradigms, profoundly influencing a generation of young people. Since then, the value system, political culture, and academic path of modern China underwent a significant transformation. However, this group gathered together for a very short time before dispersing like clouds and winds. Only Cai Yuanpei and Hu Shi, who shared a mutual affinity, collaborated for over two decades, emerging as a dominant force in the intellectual circles of the Republic of China. They both maintained the spirit of enlightenment and liberalism of their time, allowing the legacy of May Fourth cultural figures to endure. The case study of Cai Yuanpei and Hu Shi is closely intertwined with the thoughts, culture, and education of the May Fourth era and reflects many aspects of the social life and psychological state of intellectuals during the Republic of China. Through their lives and actions, we can also faintly glimpse certain that may belong to the "spiritual symbol of intellectuals."