五四运动(英文简介).doc

五四运动发生于1919年的5月4日，是一场发生于中国北京、以青年学生为主的学

生运动，以及包括广大群众、市民、工商人士等中下阶层广泛参与的一次示威游行、请愿、

罢课、罢工、暴力对抗政府等多形式的爱国运动。事件起因在第一次世界大战完结后举行的

巴黎和会中，列强肆意践踏中国主权，把德国在山东的权益转让给日本，即山东问题。就此，

当时中国的北洋政府未能捍卫国家利益，在列强面前显得软弱，使国人异常不满，从而上街

游行表达不满。

广义的五四运动则是指自1915年中日签订《二十一条》至1926北伐战争之间，中

国知识界和青年学生反思中国传统文化，探索强国之路的思想文化运动。

The May fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political

movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919

protesting the Chine government's weak respon to the Treaty of Versailles,

especially the Shandong Problem. The demonstrations sparked national

protests and marked the upsurge of Chine nationalism, a shift towards

political mobilization and away from cultural activities, and a move towards

populist ba rather than intellectual elites.

The broader u of the term "May Fourth Movement" often refers to the

period during 1915-1921 more usually called the New Culture Movement.

Background

Following the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, the Qing Dynasty was overthrown. This

marked the end of thousands of years of powerful imperial rule, and

theoretically ushered a new era in which political power rested with the people.

However, the reality was that China was a fragmented nation dominated by

warlords, who were more concerned with their own political powers and private

armies than national interests. The Chine Beiyang government was occupied

with suppressing internal affairs, and did little to counter the influence exerted

by imperialist foreign powers. The Beiyang government made various

concessions to foreigners in order to gain monetary and military support against

their rivals.

Leaders of the New Culture Movement responded by questioning Chine

the British army, the Chine Labour Corps) were nt to France. Instead of

rewarding China for its contribution to the Allies’ victory, the Versailles Treaty of

April 1919 awarded German rights in Shandong Province to Japan. The

reprentatives of the Chine government put forth the following requests:

the abolition of all privileges of foreign powers in China, such as

extraterritoriality;

the cancelling of the "Twenty-One Demands" with the Japane; and

the return to China of the territory and rights of Shandong, which Japan had

taken from Germany during World War I.

The Western Allies dominated the meeting and paid little heed to the

Chine reprentatives' demands. Britain and France were primarily interested

in punishing Germany. Although the United States promoted Woodrow Wilson's

utopian Fourteen Points and the ideals of lf-determination at the conference,

Wilson abandoned most of the ideals in the face of stubborn resistance by

David Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau. American advocacy of

during this period was advocated, which boosted the domestic Chine industry

slightly. Throughout the streets of China, students packed the streets to protest

China’s concession to Japane demands. During the demonstrations,

students also insisted on the resignation of three Chine officials involved in

the proceedings. After burning the residence of one of the three despid

officials, student protesters were arrested and verely assaulted.

They shouted out such slogans as "Struggle for the sovereignty externally,

get rid of the national traitors at home", "Do away with the 'Twenty-One

referred to this era as the Chine Renaissance becau there was an inten

focus on science and experimentation.

The challenge to traditional Chine values, however, was also met with

strong opposition, especially from Chiang Kai Shek's Nationalist Party. From

their perspective, the movement destroyed the positive elements of Chine

tradition and placed a heavy emphasis on direct political actions and radical

attitudes, characteristics of the emerging Chine Communist Party. On the