The Incubator Of "the May Fourth" Spirit

The correspondence column had brand of the "May Fourth" New Cultural Movement and The Literature Revolution, for private correspondence' simultaneously being issued was a distinctive phenomenon belonged to communication in the time of the "May Fourth". The history saw the most important new literature magazines in the time of the "May Fourth" all established the correspondence column. The thesis focally introduces the correspondence columns in the New Youth, the Novel monthly, the Juvenile China and the Creation Seasonally, which indicates that such a column had its own unique character. The correspondence columns in these magazines can be classified in two types according to their contents and style: one comparatively looked more rational with more attention to the discussion on public issues, represented by those in the New Youth, the new trend, and the "Novel monthly ". The other looked more perceptual with more attention on personal life and private feeling, which was represented by those in the Juvenile China, the Creation Seasonally, and the Creation weekly.The main value of the correspondence column lies in their ways of expression, which can be generalized as to be equal, of dialogue, perceptual and frank. To be equal and of dialogue indicated the relationship between the people in such correspondence. The public issue of these letters not only reflected the covering contents in the correspondence, but also showed the new modern way of communication, which was commonly followed by the public, so that established the inner behavior regulations of public sphere in the time of the "May Fourth". To be perceptual and frank meant the affirmation to the daily life with enriching contents, so that began the establishment of the subjective discourse, which was the symbol of modernity. Because the correspondence column played a key role in theabove two aspects, it is worthy of to be called "the incubator of the May Fourth Spirit".After 1923, the correspondence column declined because of the knowledge authorization and the political authorization. Although it faded, the way of its speech and the new way of people's communication represented by which was retained.