Research On Novels In "May Fourth" And The Identity Of Chinese Modern Intellectuals

With the aggression of imperialist and years of scuffle among warlords, the nationalpower was weak in Late Qing. Traditional feudal culture system has repeatedly beenquestioned. With the continuous transmission of western, a variety of ideological andacademic trend began to take root in China, literature, history, philosophy begancategories, economic, political, social and other emerging disciplines booming. However,under a chaotic social situation, the social is prosperity. The birth of the modern Chineseintellectuals is in this chaotic period, as the main body of Chinese modernity, all of themshoulder the important task of national prosperity and rejuvenation.Chinese Modern intellectuals with a strong sense of intervention, social attitudesconstantly updated, finally broke the shackles of feudal tradition, the May FourthMovement is of typical modernistic nature. So in this course, it was very important forthe intellectuals to establish their modern identity. The birth of modern intellectuals andthe process of growing, their identity, their ideals, their demands on the national socialcognitive About individual and group thinking, their understanding of life, which are thelinguistic context of China’s modernity occurrence and its main characteristic brieflyThe birth of Chinese modern intellectuals and Western intellectuals is completelydifferent, a sense of crisis of the life-and-death for the nations and have a confidence ofliterature is the paramount feature of Chinese Modern intellectuals. The modernintellectuals scrambling choose literature to contribute their own strength to the nation.This means that the identity of the modern intellectual experience will be presented in aunique way of literature. However, literature is an individual expression. Literature,especially the novel creation not only expressed their desire for social order, the call ofnational awakening of modern Chinese intellectuals, but also with a strong subjectiveemotions of their own experience in this complex social situation. All these works isanother way to reflects the modern intellectuals’ feelings, show their understanding ofsociety at that time, self-awareness, and at the same time reflects their agree withintellectuals identity in the period of their birth. From the point of view of the novelcreation perspective for modern intellectual’s identity, it must be able to draw more newcontent. The first part of the article is the background of the May forth Movement, and leadsto the inevitability of the birth of the modern intellectuals and intellectuals’ uniqueidentity. As many political, economic reforms have failed in Late Qing. Social historycall for a new possibility to save the nation from peril, it is in such a situation that theChinese modern intellectuals came into being. Compared to the traditionalscholar-bureaucrats,"May Fourth" intellectuals has its own advanced nature. As a reasonof the identity and ideological, they were closely related with literature.The second part is about the value of the Chinese Modern intellectuals. Chinesemodern intellectuals’ obvious value demand is the development of society, the nation’sprogress. Such demands express three ideological consciousnesses of the intellectuals:the anti-feudal consciousness, enlightenment consciousness and self-awareness.The third part is the departure from the modern intellectual personality traits. Afterthe birth of the modern intellectuals, they urgently look for self-identity legitimacy. Andthus in the novel showed critical spare no effort for the traditional scholar, the soul of thebackward feudal peasants; but they are also the modern intellectuals description of theperformance by the paradox and confusion of their own heart.The fourth part is from the emotional state of mind of the modern intellectuals. Onthe one hand, the modern intellectuals looking for a perfect ideal in a chaotic period ofsocial history, that make the novels of this period show a dreamy ideal; On the other hand,the weakness of the enlightenment and the shadow of what‘s after enlightenmenthovering in the modern intellectual thought, this idea made novel with a strong romanticand sentimental color; find hope in despair is the expression of the final state of mind ofthe modern intellectuals. Because of this, the novel showed their tragic fate.The last part is a summary of modern Chinese intellectual’s identity. On the onehand, found the spirit of the source of thought in the comparing of the traditionalscholar-bureaucrats; on the other hand, from the horizontal comparison of Chinese andWestern intellectuals occurred, to find a clearer process of Chinese modern intellectualsidentity; at last, from the comparison above, to show the contradictions and split ofEnlightenment modernity and the aesthetic modernity.