WWI, The Twenty-One Demands and The May Fourth Movement

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WWI, The Twenty-One Demands and The May Fourth Movement

1900 - 1920

China’s strong history of independence and national pride went largely unchallenged for the 4000 years leading up to the 19thth century. The influence of Western trade and culture, however, permanently affected Chinese cultural and political conventions. One major example of the dominance of Western ideals was China’s interaction with Japan and the Allies during World War One (WWI). Whilst internally China was in turmoil due to the battles of the ruthless warlords, the new threat of Japanese control through the Twenty-One Demands began to emerge. The diplomatic decisions and actions by the Chinese government during this crucial period, together with influences from the West, began an influential cultural and political revolution known as the May Fourth Movement.

The early 20th Century in China was an era of vast cultural and political change. The lack of Qing dynasty social reform and the failure of the Boxer Uprising convinced many Chinese that the only real solution was a complete revolution. Sun Yixian’s political philosophy of Three Principals of the People, conceptualised in 1897, focussed strongly on “nationalism, democracy and people’s livelihood”1 effectively encapsulating the sentiments of the majority of the population. By encouraging nationalistic and democratic ideals, Sun sought to overthrow the Manchus and establish a governmental system that would most effectively serve the people. Some saw Sun’s actions as naive, with perhaps a dream of following the ideologies of the Russian October Revolution of 19112. Nevertheless, By January 1, 1912, the new Chinese Republic had been established with Sun as its leader.

The strength and unity of the newly formed republic underwent drastic pressure during its first two years of power. Power in Beijing rested in the hands of the commander-in-chief of the imperial army, Yuan Shikai. In order to prevent possible civil war and foreign influence, Sun agreed to Yuan’s demand that China be governed in Beijing by Yuan3. On February 12, 1912, the Qing boy emperor Puyi abdicated, ending Manchu rule in China. On March 10 Yuan Shikai was sworn in a provisional president of the Republic of China. From this position he manipulated the government and constitution, effectively creating a military dictatorship with him as ‘emperor’. After his death in 1916, the Warlord Period in China began. Each province was ruled by an independent warlord, who fought others in a quest for control over China, forcing the majority of the population into an enormous famine. The outbreak of World War One two years earlier also saw the Japanese attempt to exercise dominance in the region.

At the outbreak of WWI, China’s stance remained neutral. This did not however, prevent the war from affecting the Chinese nation and its people. Throughout WWI, Japan and other Allies used the opportunity to increase their control and occupation of land in China4. One holding of particular importance was the province of Shandong, the reported birthplace of Confucius, taken over from German occupation by the Japanese. By controlling this province, Japan was provided with a base from which to launch a total subjugation on the Chinese nation. Furthermore, Yuan Shikai offered no resistance to the Japanese, paving the way for the formal control of China by means of the so called ‘Twenty-One Demands”5. This document set out to strictly establish China as effectively a Japanese protectorate. Yuan was placed in a difficult position, ultimately rejecting much of the document. He did agree, among other concessions, to the transfer of the German holdings in Shandong, southern Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. Due to Yuan’s failure to accept the demands in full, Japan send aid to two of his opponents, increasing public pressure against the Chinese government.

In an effort to restore public confidence and renew control of its territory, China entered the war on the Allied side in 1917, led by the northern warlords. This act was designed to gain China a position at the peace table and the opportunity to control the Japanese ambitions for its land. The United State’s open-door policy seemed to support this notion, therefore China expected their support. The Japanese had played a vital role in the Allied strategies, however, with Britain, France and Italy all supporting the Japanese claims to Chinese land in return for Japanese naval action against China. Similarly, the United States respected Japanese war efforts and at the Versailles Peace Conference withdrew support for China over its claims for the return of Shandong. The Chinese delegation refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles in protest.

Whilst China was in turmoil internationally due to the effects of the Twenty-One Demands and failure at Versailles, on a domestic level the nation was in a state of immense change. During WWI, foreign influence, excepting that of Japan, was reduced, as many Western nations were preoccupied with the war. This period saw the working class increasing in size and strength due to the expansion of industry in cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Hankou. Workers asserted their power by frequently going on strike, slowing national production. The increasing power of the working class, coupled with new Western ideologies of democracy and nationalism, saw the emergence of the New Cultural Movement throughout this period.

The New Culture Movement, which started in the early republican period, helped Chinese intellectuals such as Chen Duxiu and Hu Shi work towards a new future for their country. It aimed to introduce Western concepts in China, such as democracy, equality and liberty, together with more practical issues such as a new form of writing. Chen, leader of the Chinese Communist Party, clearly set out goals for a new China:

We…must ask ourselves what is the level of our national strength and our civilisation …what place does our country and our people occupy, and what actions should we take?… Our task today can be said to be the intense combat between the old and the modern currents of thought. Those with shallow views all expect this to be our final awakening, without understanding how difficult it is to put [constitutional government] into practice...6

He then continues, emphasising the requirement for both old and new governments to unite, to develop a stronger nation:

Why should I reject the desires of dignitaries and influential elders, who are after all a part of the people, to build a constitutional republic?…a constitutional republic cannot be…maintained by one party or one group, and certainly cannot be carried on the backs of a few dignitaries and influential elders. A constitutional republic which does not [allow] action of the majority of the people is a bogus republic and bogus constitutionalism…because there has been no change in the thought or the character of the majority of the people, and the majority of the people have no personal feeling of direct material interest.7 

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Rather than traditional writing based around ‘style rather than substance’, Hu proposed a writing style based around common vernacular language, as part of his goal to “oppose blind obedience and to oppose compromise…to reorganise our national heritage with scientific methods…to recreate civilisation”.8 Although conservatives strongly opposed such a measure, the social atmosphere encouraged change, with the government eventually allowing Hu’s new style of writing to be adopted in schools in 1920.

University students, with a wider understanding of western social philosophy than the older conservatives, developed groups such as The New Youth and New Tide, in an effort to accentuate ...

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