Department and the May Fourth New Culture Movement: Focusing on the period around 1920

Author: Peng Peng
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2003-05-01
Features: During university, I was young and unaware of sorrow, always believing there was a time in my life that was a kind of nostalgia. So I looked into history books and read poetry, only to find myself drawn to the May Fourth Movement and discovering that many people during that period could have been my kindred spirits. Unconsciously, I grew fond of those poems and writings that used "di" instead of "de," immersing myself in the anecdotes of scholars, lyrical prose, and even the self-pitying writings, all of which I studied and emulated to perfection. When it came time to write my doctoral dissertation, I naturally chose to write about those I was familiar with. However, during my time writing the dissertation, the figures and events of the New Culture Movement seemed to be clearly divided—something I was reluctant to repeat in certainty. So I turned to those figures and events that appeared ambiguous and awkward to study. This mindset behind my research might not have been entirely unconscious traces of youthful rebellion. Now, the friends with whom I once discussed Nietzsche and Xu Zhimo have scattered, and I myself am living a rather ordinary life, caught between academia and worldly pursuits, like a hermit in the wild. Yet when I revisit my writings without treating "research" or "publishing books" as means for promotion or employment, I feel a sense of purity. I don’t care about the weight of this book; what matters to me is the purity I feel. Therefore, when the galley proofs of the book were placed before me, I naturally returned to my days of reading. At this moment, I thought of my old friends and classmates, remembering the years of my life that have passed and cannot return, and a pain filled my heart. This pain cannot be healed, but I would rather it exist. My dear teachers, classmates, and friends—those who once respected, adored, and even resented each other—I miss them as much as I still miss the flowing years of my life. I remember that when I finished the draft of my doctoral dissertation, looking at the piles of copies of Republican-era newspapers and magazines in my room, I kept repeating a single sentence in my heart: "Those who once lived, where did they go now?" Now, after reading this book, my question remains. History begins with questions, and it never ends with answers. This book is based on my doctoral dissertation, and all the materials are limited to what was available at the time of its completion.