Farewell to the Middle Ages (Selected Writings and Interpretations of the May Fourth Movement)

Author: Yuan Weishi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Eighty-six years ago, China erupted in a world-shocking anti-imperialist and anti-feudal movement, a movement for ideological liberation and the New Culture Movement, known as the May Fourth Movement. This movement raised the banner of patriotism, promoting the spirit of democracy and science. After more than eighty years of profound changes, the Chinese nation has overcome countless difficulties and challenges, forging ahead on the path to great rejuvenation. Today, reflecting on history and inheriting and carrying forward the glorious tradition of the May Fourth Movement undoubtedly holds significant practical meaning. During the May Fourth Movement, the proposals of "democracy" and "science" accurately targeted the prevailing problems of the time. The opposite of democracy is autocracy, and the opposite of science is superstition, which are precisely the consequences left by China's thousands of years of feudal rule. Chen Duxiu, the main flag bearer of the May Fourth New Culture Movement, shouted the resounding slogans of democracy and science in the highly influential New Youth magazine he founded. Autocracy and superstition had deeply entrenched roots in Chinese society, and to launch a comprehensive war against these two great enemies required immense courage. However, the majority of the Chinese people were workers and peasants. If the demand for democracy remained confined to a small circle of scholars and young intellectuals, then no matter how intense the debate, it would still be a democracy of a few, far from genuine widespread people's democracy. In the early stages of the May Fourth Movement, due to the limitations of social conditions, this was the best that could be achieved, but it was insufficient and required further progress. Science, fundamentally, must align with reality. This could not be solved solely through the deliberations of a few; it required active engagement in practice and repeated testing in practice to achieve. The advanced figures of the May Fourth period moved forward in this direction. Therefore, to clarify the cultural heritage of the May Fourth Movement, depict its true nature, promote its excellent traditions, evaluate its lasting achievements and shortcomings, and reveal its contemporary significance has woven together a serious yet compelling historical mission before us. To explore the mysteries of Chinese culture from various levels and perspectives, it is necessary to comprehensively present the development process of May Fourth culture. Thus, Yuan Weishi, a renowned scholar who stands out in the field of modern Chinese intellectual history and serves as a professor at the Department of Philosophy, Sun Yat-sen University, with a clear and contemporary Chinese perspective as an enlightenment thinker, presented a magnificent 550,000-word masterpiece to the readers in October last year: Farewell to the Middle Ages: Selected Writings and Interpretations of the May Fourth Movement. This is the most complete and serious May Fourth literature selection currently available in China; it is a progressive reading material with the author's unique standards and vision, aimed at inheriting the spirit of the May Fourth Movement. The depth and breadth of the New Culture Movement and the heights it has reached far exceed the imagination of contemporary scholars. However, for a long time, there have been endless absurdities: "total rejection of tradition"! "scientificism"! "total Westernization"! "democracy and science" have no organic necessary connection"! And so on. Facing the various criticisms of the "May Fourth Movement" both at home and abroad, as a researcher of modern Chinese history, Yuan Weishi calls on: Please read the documents of the time! Ideas must ultimately return to the real world. Why can contemporary intellectuals not avoid the May Fourth Movement when discussing issues of thought and culture? Yuan Weishi believes that the May Fourth Movement laid the foundation for the theme of modern Chinese thought—science, democracy, and human rights—and that this theme remains unfinished to this day. The May Fourth Movement was also an ideological enlightenment movement that raised the banners of "democracy" and "science," with a longer duration and more profound and extensive influence. The most prominent feature of Farewell to the Middle Ages is that the intellectual leaders of the New Culture Movement have explained the connotation of democracy very clearly. Science emphasizes understanding and analyzing problems with a rational attitude. The understanding of science is inherently a process of approaching the true nature of things, and it is impossible to completely grasp the ultimate truth. No one can claim to represent science or be the embodiment of truth, saying that opposing them is opposing science. Therefore, it is essential to properly inherit the May Fourth enlightenment spirit and complete its historical mission. Yuan Weishi divides the entire May Fourth literature into eleven themes, indicating the author's basic summary of the May Fourth topics, which include politics, law, democracy, science, news, youth, women, literature, and other aspects. The May Fourth pioneers spoke candidly and did not fall into the habit of solving ideological, cultural, and academic problems through non-academic means. These documents are worth reading and studying because they accurately summarize the indispensable content for any country to bid farewell to the Middle Ages: breaking free from the shackles of thought and allowing the people to become modern citizens who dare to think freely and speak freely, which is commonly referred to as "human liberation." The reason the New Culture Movement is immortalized in history lies in its courage to defy the tradition of autocracy and faithfully fulfill this historical mission. At the beginning of the book, there is a lengthy preface that elaborates in detail the author's historical evaluation of the May Fourth Movement, as well as the ideas and purpose behind compiling the book. The book includes fourteen articles by Yuan Weishi, totaling about 100,000 words. These fourteen articles are essentially the crystallization of intellectual and cultural debates, permeating Yuan Weishi's responses and replies to different views on the New Culture Movement in the intellectual and academic circles. The book Farewell to the Middle Ages, compiled by Yuan Weishi, is rich in historical materials, with references carefully selected from the earliest published periodicals. Its arguments are unique in insight, analysis is incisive, and criticism is sharp, holding an irreplaceable enlightenment significance for understanding the connotations of democracy and science.