历史小径·世界史英语30篇（2）
23 / 30
正在校验访问权限...
Writing the Nation: The May Fourth Movement and the Rise of Vernacular Chinese
书写民族：五四运动与白话文的兴起
-
In 1919, students in Beijing protested the Versailles Treaty’s transfer of German concessions in Shandong to Japan.
-
Intellectuals like Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu linked national renewal to linguistic reform, arguing classical Chinese excluded ordinary people from public discourse.
-
Hu’s 1917 essay 'Preliminary Discussion of Literary Reform' called for writing that matched spoken language and served social progress.
-
New journals such as 'New Youth' published fiction, essays, and poetry in baihua—clear, accessible vernacular Chinese.
-
School textbooks gradually replaced classical texts, enabling broader literacy and faster dissemination of new ideas.
-
Writers like Lu Xun used vernacular to expose social injustice, making literature a tool for moral and political awakening.
-
The 1920 Ministry of Education order mandated baihua in primary schools, institutionalizing the shift nationwide.
-
This language reform empowered women, workers, and rural readers who had never mastered classical grammar or vocabulary.
-
It also created a shared literary space across dialect regions, strengthening cultural unity amid political fragmentation.
-
More than grammar, baihua became the voice of a reimagined Chinese modernity—rational, inclusive, and forward-looking.