Correctly Assessing the May Fourth Movement!

Written by Frank Li

One hundred years ago today, a big event happened in China: the May Fourth Movement. It was such a monumental event that China is celebrating its 100th anniversary today, big time, but not necessarily for the “right” reasons.

It’s time to chip in my two cents: the May Fourth Movement was very important for China, but its importance has been over-sold …

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1. What is the May Fourth Movement?

Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – May Fourth Movement:

The May Fourth Movement (Chinese: 五四è¿åŠ¨; pinyin: WÇ”si Yundong) was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student participants in Beijing on 4 May 1919. They protested against the Chinese government’s weak responses to the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles, especially it allowing Japan to receive territories in Shandong, which had been surrendered by Germany after the Siege of Tsingtao in 1914. China had fallen victim to the expansionist policies of the Empire of Japan, which had conquered large areas of Chinese-controlled territory with the support of France, the UK, and the US. This was finalized at the Treaty of Versailles. The demonstrations sparked national protests and marked an upsurge of Chinese nationalism, a shift towards political mobilization and away from cultural activities, and a move towards a populist base rather than intellectual elites. Many of the radical political and social leaders of the next two decades emerged at this time.

2. China leading up to May 4, 1919

The image below summarizes it very well.

Two additional notes:

1. The Treaty of Versailles was outrageously wrong to give the German-occupied Chinese territories to Japan! As a result, it actually sowed the seeds for Japan to invade China in 1931 (Japanese invasion of Manchuria), which was actually the start of WWII, for China at least. Need I mention the fact that the Treaty of Versailles obviously sowed the seeds for Germany to start WWII in Europe in 1939 (Invasion of Poland)?
2. China was in search of a solution for itself throughout the Century of humiliation, with the May Fourth Movement being just yet another example. However, it was significant and timely enough to contribute to the next topic.

3. The birth of the CPC

The CPC (Communist Party of China) was born on July 1, 1921, out of many factors, of which the two most important ones are the following:

1. The Russian Revolution in 1917.
2. The May Fourth Movement. Several leading intellectuals in this movement (e.g. Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao) became the founders of the CPC.

It is for this reason, chiefly, that the May Fourth Movement is celebrated big time in China today.

4. Discussion

Dogs bark, birds fly, and students protest.

The May Fourth Movement was no exception: the students complained and protested, with no real solution, just like the Arab Spring or even Occupy Wall Street.

As a matter of fact, most protester-turned founders of the CPC (e.g. Chen Duxiu) failed later miserably. Finally, it took a peasant named Mao Zedong, who had little to do with the May Fourth Movement, to lead the CPC to the victory in 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was founded, with the CPC in total control.

Unfortunately for China, Mao, a brilliant military leader, failed to step up in governing. As a result, China under him (1949-1976) was a total disaster, epitomized by the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), which he started by mobilizing a huge number of [ignorant] students …

Fortunately for China, after Mao’s death in 1976, a man named Deng Xiaoping emerged, who turned out to be the greatest peaceful transformational leader in human history! For more, read: What is China’s State Capitalism, Anyway?

In 1989, another huge student-led protest took place in China, mostly for wrong reasons though (e.g. Demanding [more] democracy). It was crushed on June 4, 1989.

Two informative readings:

1. Tiananmen Square Protest and Put-Down, 25 Years Later.
2. America: It’s Democracy, Stupid!

Bottom line: It is the real leaders, not the protesting students, or worse, “We the People”, that make the real history. For more, read: America: It’s Democracy, Stupid!.

Modern Chinese history is made by two individuals: Mao Zedong, who forcefully unified China in 1949, and Deng Xiaoping, who peacefully transformed China from communism to state capitalism.

Who will write the next chapter for modern China? Xi Jinping, perhaps, as I projected in 2012 …

5. Closing

The May Fourth Movement was very important for China, but its importance has been over-sold, largely because the CPC is looking for legitimacy, unnecessarily, in my humble opinion. For more, read: The Legitimacy of the Chinese Government.

For the world, the May Fourth Movement was, in essence and in effect, little different from the Arab Spring or even Occupy Wall Street.

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