The Historic Role of Hu Shih in the May Fourth Movement

Abstract

Hu Shih became one of the leading and most influential intellectuals during the May Fourth Movement and later the New Culture Movement. Before returning to China in 1917, Hu Shih was already involved in the problem of Chinese language reform. His article ‘Tentative Proposals for the Improvement of Literature’ was published in January 1917 in the New Youth founded by Ch’en Tu-Hsiu in 1915. Hu Shih was very active in the ‘new class of people’ who advocated the vernacular. In 1918, Hu Shih’s ‘The Theory of Literary Revolution in Construction’ was actually a summary of the promotion of vernacular literature in the past two years. In 1919, Hu Shih published his ‘The Main Event in Life’, which he called ‘the comedy of the games’. Hu Shih was of the opinion that literature is not the private property of a few literati and should be popularised by most people.