May Fourth Movement in China
- Date
- 4 May 1919
- Category
- Social & demographic
- Region
- East Asia (China)
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
On 4 May 1919, around three thousand students gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing to protest the decision at the Paris Peace Conference to transfer Germany's former concessions in Shandong to Japan rather than return them to China.
The demonstrations rapidly spread to other cities and drew in merchants and industrial workers, escalating into strikes and boycotts of Japanese goods. Under public pressure, the Chinese delegation in Paris refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The protests gave a name to a broader intellectual ferment, the New Culture Movement, which attacked Confucian tradition and promoted science, democracy, vernacular language and national renewal. The May Fourth Movement is widely regarded as a turning point in modern Chinese history: it intensified anti-imperialist nationalism, mobilised a new generation of activists, and helped create the political and intellectual climate from which the Chinese Communist Party emerged in 1921.
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Empires active in 4 May 1919
- Empire of Japan1868 CE – 1947 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Solomonic dynasty1270 CE – 1974 CE
Related social & demographic events
- Influenza pandemic of 1918–19201918–1920
- The Holocaust and the 'Final Solution'1941–1945
- Bengal Famine of 19431943–1944
- Emancipation of the serfs in Russia3 March 1861 (19 February O.S.)
- The Great Irish Famine1845–1852
- Nineteenth Amendment grants US women the vote18 August 1920 (certified 26 August)
Further reading
The wider story
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