Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Western studies. Hu went to the United States in 1909 at the age of 18
and entered Cornell University, where he learned English well and
became convinced that written Chinese ought to reflect the spoken
vernacular Chinese instead of being highly literary, allusive, and for-
mulaic. He later took his Ph.D. in philosophy at Columbia University,
where he was influenced by the study of evolution and the pragmatic
philosophy of John Dewey. Hu eventually went to Beida, where he
attracted quite a following of energetic young Chinese students. Like
Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi detested Confucianism and wanted an end to it.
Hu argued that Confucianism, shown by pragmatism to be inappli-
cable to modern Chinese realities, should be discarded. “Down with
the Confucian establishment” or “Put Ye Olde Confucian Curiosity
Shoppe out of business” became favorite slogans at Beida and else-
where. As replacements for Confucianism he tirelessly promoted
“Mr. Science” and “Mr. Democracy” as the new guiding ideology
and institution for China. He also widely promoted the use of plain
vernacular language in published writing. Plain language was, he
argued, much easier to learn and would increase literacy in China.
The plain language movement turned out to be Hu's most enduring
contribution to China; it eventually won out over the old literary lan-
guage, and today the newspapers and topics of China are published
in the vernacular or semivernacular style. The old literary language
now appears almost exclusively in historical records. Indeed, modern
writing in the old classical language is now often regarded as preten-
tious, anachronistic, or just plain silly.
Inspired by Hu Shi, Chen Duxiu, and others, Beida students
founded a vernacular magazine called New Tide that promoted critical
thinking and language reform. Other student magazines eventually
joined in the fray, and soon many aspects of traditional China were
under attack and ridiculed in these publications. Warlordism, consti-
tutional monarchy, traditional customs, filial piety, and patriarchy
were singled out for special scorn in the pages of these student period-
icals, and new issues were eagerly awaited and snatched up as soon as
they became available.
Beida was an exciting and intellectually alive place. Many foreign
intellectuals, including John Dewey and Bertrand Russell, traveled to
China and spoke with interested and engaged students about the best
alternatives for China's future. During the May Fourth period,
Chinese students sampled many ideologies and “-isms,” including
socialism, liberalism, anarchism, and even social Darwinism. Some
foreign intellectuals commented that there was much more interest in
their ideas in China than there was in their own home countries.
