Chinese May Fourth Movement

Based on a wealth of archival material released after Mao's death, this book offers a revisionist account of the introduction and triumph of Marxism in China. Dirlik shows that, in 1919, at the outset of the May Fourth Movement, anarchism was the predominant ideology among revolutionaries and intellectuals and Marxism was virtually unknown. Three years later, however, the Communist Party of China had emerged as the unchallenged leader of the Left. Dirlik disputes long-held beliefs about the domestic origins of Chinese communism to argue that communist thought and organization were brought into radical circles by the Comintern. Though Chinese radicals would not have turned to communism unassisted, he concludes, Marxist ideology took hold easily when introduced from the outside. This book will prove indispensable to scholars of Chinese history and politics, Asian studies, Marxism, and comparative communism.

China, the world's oldest and most populous state, remains an enigma to most people in the West, even at a time when that country is playing an increasingly prominent role on the international stage. At the heart of modern Chinese history have been the efforts of the Chinese people to transform their polity into a modern nation state, the Confucian orthodoxy into an ideology that can help direct that process, and an agrarian economy into an industrial one. These efforts are ongoing and of great importance. This book is both an introduction to the major features of modern Chinese history and a resource for researchers interested in virtually any topic relating to the Chinese experience of the last 220 years. This valuable reference contains: • a historical narrative providing a comprehensive overview of five core aspects of Chinese history: domestic politics, society, the economy, the world of culture and thought, and relations with the outside world; • a compendium of 250 short, descriptive articles on key figures, events, and terms; • a resource guide containing approximately 500 annotated entries for the most authoritative sources for further research in English, as well as descriptions of important films depicting modern China and a guide to electronic resources; and • appendices, including a chronology, excerpts from key primary source documents, and a wealth of tables and graphs on demographic, social, and economic trends.

During the 1920s, China's intellectuals called for a new literature, a new system of thought, and a new orientation toward modern life. This work furthers our understanding of trans-nationalism and reminds us that in our rush to deconstruct the nation we should remember the discursive power of nationalism.

"An invaluable book that fills a yawning gap in our understanding of the political and intellectual life of early-twentieth-century China."--David Strand, author of "Rickshaw Beijing