Author ｜
Eugene W. Chiu
Abstract ｜
After the 1980s, Mr. Hao Chang (1937-2022) gradually shifted his focus from late Qing Dynasty studies and delved into the exploration of the “May Fourth Movement.” In this regard, he achieved at least three significant accomplishments: Firstly, he resolved issue regarding the periodization of his “transitional era” theory, defining the “transitional era of modern China” as 1895-1925, encompassing the period from the First Sino-Japanese War to the end of the May Fourth Movement. Secondly, he gradually moved away from the earlier frame of the May Fourth Movement, as influenced by Haiguang Yin. He moved beyond the high-toned liberal democracy and highly simplified anti-traditionalism, adopting a skeptical and cautious stance toward various moral idealisms, including Confucian utopian thought and the absolute equality society of communism. Thirdly, he explored the richness, diversity, and even the darker aspects within the May Fourth ideology. Building upon this foundation, he contemplated some of the intellectual dilemmas faced by modern Chinese intellectuals.
keywords ｜
Hao Chang’s thought, “transitional era of modern China” theory, May Fourth anti-traditionalism, ambivalence of the May Fourth Movement