Texts and "Readers": An Effective Path into the May Fourth Movement—Based on the Perspective of the "New Youth"

Abstract

The previous discourses and researches on the May Fourth Movement have formed a complex knowledge picture, making history lively, interesting and perceptible to be an urgent topic to be faced in the study of the history of the May Fourth Movement. Returning to the historical scene of the May Fourth Movement, getting rid of the result orientation, reappearing the richness, complexity and diversity of history, injecting vitality into existing research. With its unique immediacy and authenticity, "New Youth" has recorded the social transformation of China's politics, economy, ideology, and culture during the May Fourth period, and its texts and readers can be used as a means of returning to the historical scene. As the scene of the brewing and evolution of public opinion in the New Culture Movement, the "Communications" column of "New Youth" is uniquely endowed with a sense of historical presence, and is an important window for touching history and entering "May Fourth". "Text" and "reader" are good materials to help us return to the historical scene.