The Ancient Greek Cultural Background Of Zhou Zuoren’s Humanistic Ideology In The May 4th Movement Period

All of his life, Zhou Zuoren has deep roots with Ancient Greek culture. In the May 4th Movement, Zhou proposed his humanistic Ideology, ancient Greek culture is one of its important background. Based on his knowledge of the history of western culture, Zhou Zuoren looked the society of China as Western medieval on the human’s problems, the May 4th Movement was looked as Western Renaissance. The Renaissance revival of ancient Greece culture was advertised, as well as severely criticized the Christian asceticism, trying to find "human", renewal "person". During the May 4th Movement, Zhou also proposed "the provision of people shortage". In this process, ancient Greek culture become a background of Zhou’s humanistic ideology.In order to criticize medieval asceticism, Renaissance trumpeted the ancient Greek "original desire" culture, Zhou Zuoren proposed "body and soul unity" to release the "original desire" in China. In this period, a number of writing of ancient Greek which are full of "original desire" had been translated by Zhou, the original desire of ancient Greek has become an important element of Zhou. But the "original desire" indulgence is bound to fall, Zhou has a clear understanding of the modern times of "original desire and human wisdom". In Western secular modernization, he abandoned solution that put the modern Western "science" as the representative of scientific rationality, and choosed to take the ancient Greek "moderation" virtue. Therefor, it can obtain a beautiful and perfect humanity to reconcile the abstinence and indulgence in human nature.Since the Renaissance, humanism and individualism gradually split and be back against. When Western culture comes into China in the May 4th Movement, individualism has come to Nietzsche’s "Superman" and becomes back against with the humanitarian. Zhou integrated individualism and humanitarian as a fact of being back to the Renaissance, on the degree, he was looking for the possible basis for such integration to the ancient Greek "human discovery". Thus, Zhou’s individualism was distinguished with Hu Shi’s and Lu Xun’s individualism which are rebellion or resistance. It is more in performance as a secular state of existence, is an outlook on life, a personality sentiment. It advocates the recipient’s secular nature, pursues the happiness and enjoyment in the life, which is consistent with the ancient Greek "secularism".