From the May Fourth Movement to Communist Revolution

Xiaoming Chen is Associate Professor of History at Ohio Wesleyan University.

"While hundreds of books on Guo have been published in Chinese, only a few studies in English are exclusively on Guo's life or works, among which, Xiaoming Chen's monograph … is, so far, the most important … Chen's study of the early years of Guo Moruo has made an important addition to the study of Guo as well as the path of Chinese intellectuals to … Communism." — China Review International"…moves with ease from Guo Moruo's early embrace of Confucian idealism to his later advocacy of Communist revolution … Chen's own rich sources point to philosophical and political dilemmas that continue to affect Chinese intellectuals even today." — China Quarterly"This short book offers a different perspective on the role of Confucianism in the May Fourth period and shows in meticulous detail how commitment to Confucian values as well as critiques of it justified at least one intellectual's turn to Marxism … Those with a general interest in modern intellectual history or in Chinese history will enjoy reading this highly readable piece of scholarship." — The Historian"…Chen offers an explanation for the debate about Guo's political integrity—whether he was a loyal communist or opportunist—because of the longevity of his career … in modern Chinese history." — CHOICE"Now that the Communist revolution has proven to be a failure, it is worthwhile to reexamine the way in which intellectuals of the early twentieth century became enamored with Communism. This book is a good example of just such a meticulous review. It addresses a very valid and central question for historians of the twentieth century, particularly in Chinese history." — Stephen Uhalley Jr., author of A History of the Chinese Communist Party

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Toward Individual Emancipation and Personal Moral/Spiritual Salvation From the May Fourth Individualist Rebellion to the Marxist Cause of Individual Emancipation A May Fourth Individualist AwakeningFrom the May Fourth Individualist Awakening to a Marxist Radical Approach to Individual Emancipation Striving for Personal Moral/Spiritual Salvation: From a May Fourth Confucian Focus to a Communist Confucian Battle A May Fourth Focus Shifting the Focus 2. Toward National Salvation May Fourth Love and Concern for the MotherlandThe Mid-1920s: Dedication to Saving China through Communist Revolution3. Toward the Liberation of Mankind A May Fourth Cosmopolitanist Ideal of Datong: A Pastoral/Primitive Paradise The Datong IdealThe Cosmopolitan World and the Individual and the Cosmopolitan World and the NationThe Cosmopolitanist Ideal and a "Mentality of Extremes"The Means to Achieve the Ideal: Leftist Radicalism to Save the World? The Mid-1920s: Finding a Modern "Scientific" Echo of Datong in Marxism and Committing to Revolution Attracted to the Marxist Cosmopolitanist IdealCommitting to Marxist/Leninist Revolution as the Means to Achieve the Cosmopolitanist Ideal4. Toward a Solution to Modern China’s Intellectual Crisis A May Fourth Solution to the Intellectual Crisis Defending the Best of Chinese Tradition Combining the Best of China with Modern Western Science and GoetheanismA May Fourth Synthesis of the Best of the East and West as a Solution to the Intellectual Crisis The Mid-1920s: Solving China’s Intellectual Crisis through the Combination of Confucianism and Marxism/Leninism Redefining the Best of the East and WestThe Formation of a Confucian/Marxist/Leninist Communist SynthesisConclusion NotesBibliographyIndex