[Centenary of the May Fourth Movement] The inheritance of the May Fourth Movement Spirit II
May 10, 2019
Peking University, May 10, 2019: With the year 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement, the embodiment of its spirit also goes through changes and development. The following article is one of the two trying to introduce some of the representative events and figures embodying the spirit of the Movement. Truly, since 1919 countless events and people have contributed to and bring energy into the spirit. Thus, it is impossible to list all but only few of them, with the hope that at least some histories can be retraced, some memories awakened, and some passion rekindled, so that PKUers get ready to embark on the new journey.
Serving the Society
An important aspect of the Spirit of May Fourth Movement is social service. The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal movement initiated by students. In fact, on the 29th founding anniversary of Peking University, Ma Yinchu has already pointed that the spirit of the May Fourth Movement is “Serving the society without caring for their own interests”, which is also at the core of his speech entitled “The spirit of Peking University”. This legacy of the May Fourth Movement has been passed down from generation to generation.
School for Ordinary People (School for Pingmin)
The efforts of PKU professors and students to serve the society start on campus. One example is the School for Ordinary People, where professors and students volunteer to give lectures to workers at the university as a way to promote equal access to education.
The idea of the School for Ordinary People can be traced back to 1918, one year before the May Fourth Movement, when President Cai Yuanpei promoted equality for all and founded the Evening Classes for Peking University Workers. At the Evening Classes, students like Fu Sinian and Luo Jialun taught workers various subjects including Chinese, science, math, and foreign languages. Both projects lasted for several years in the midst of students’ efforts to save the country and enlighten the population.
In 2006, professors and students at PKU carried on this tradition by founding the School for Ordinary People to provide workers at the university with educational resources. The first class of the school consisted of 48 students who graduated in January 2007, after taking three months of part-time classes regarding career development, spoken English, and basic computer skills.
Student volunteers explaining the basics of computer skills to students of the School for Ordinary People
Since then, more than 1,200 workers attended classes held by professors and students and gained valuable skills that helped them in their future endeavors.
The 14th Class of the School for Ordinary People, Peking University
Employment at Community Level and in the Western Part of China
The endeavor to serve the society continues after students graduate from PKU. This could be reflected in the career choices made by thousands of alumni of PKU. According to the Employment Report of 2018 published by PKU, in the class of 2018 alone, 562 graduates of PKU headed to the communities and the western part of China, to work at places where the talents are most needed. In fact, in the past 7 years, PKU encouraged students to inherit the tradition of serving the country by contributing to the development of their hometowns and the least-developed areas. The university cooperated with 27 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in terms of nurturing talents and sending them to those regions.
Chen Baojian passing the flag to graduates who were about to work at community level in the public sector
Enlisting in the Army
PKU students also serve the society by joining the army. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, there were three large-scale enlisting activities at National Southwestern Associated University, of which PKU was part of it. Over 1,400 students enlisted in the army to defend their country at that time. From 2005 to 2018, 113 PKU students joined the army, and now more and more students are making the same choices of great courage and sacrifice, a legacy of the May Fourth Movement.
Farewell meeting for PKU students newly enlisted and welcoming meeting for PKU students newly discharged from the army in 2018
Working in International Organizations
Serving the society does not limit at the national level. In this interconnected world, serving the society also entails serving the humanity as a whole. As part of the efforts to bring Chinese representation to international organizations and to serve the international society, more and more students of PKU interned or worked in international organizations. According to the Employment Report of 2018, 84 PKU students or graduates interned or worked full-time in organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, World Health Organization, double the number in 2017. The University also devotes a lot of efforts to prepare students for such jobs. In 2018, PKU launched a new major called International Organizations and International Public Policy (IO & IPP), where students could learn the theory of politics, management and economics, apply them to forming and assessing international public policies, and gain valuable skills needed in their future careers in international organizations.
Student Activities
Students of Peking University played a major role in the May Fourth Movement. It should be noted that many of the students had already been active in various kinds of engagement on campus before 1919, which prepared them for their leadership in Movement. This tradition of engaging in activities on campus has remained throughout the history of PKU. In the hundred years after the May Fourth, students continue to lead a meaningful student life by organizing and participating in various student activities through student organizations and summer social practices.
Student Organizations
Throughout Chinese history, the first student association was organized in 1904 by students at the Imperial University of Peking (the predecessor of PKU). In the 1910s, a lot of student organizations surfaced, including the New Tide (Xinchao) Association and the Nation (Guomin) Association that paved the way for the May Fourth Movement.
After the establishment of People’s Republic of China, student organizations thrived. One of the active organizations then was the May Fourth Literature Association. It was founded by Xie Mian, who later became a master in the field of Chinese poetry. The association attracted a large number of writers, critics, and literature lovers including Sun Yushi and Qian Liqun. The association ended operation during the Cultural Revolution and resumed in 1978. In the years following its reopening, the May Fourth Literature Association inherited the cultural heritages of the May Fourth movement. It was dedicated to develop poetic theory and nurture poets. Famous poets like Hai Zi, Luo Yihe, Xi Chuan were all members of the association at that time. In the 21st century, the association continued to bring the spirit of the intellectuals in the May Fourth period to the PKU campus, by organizing a wide range of events related to poetry.
It was during this meeting that the reopening of the May Fourth Literature Association was announced
Currently, there are more than 200 student organizations in PKU. Each semester, they recruit new members by presenting themselves at the event called “the Hundred Club Campaign”.
Summer Social Practices
Summer social practices provide students of PKU with opportunities to engage on social issues and apply knowledge to the real world, a meaningful way to put the Spirit of May Fourth Movement into practice. In the 1980s, the Youth League of PKU began to organize students to take part in such practices. For example, in 1982, some students of PKU participated in the “Survey of Hundred Villages”, which enabled students to witness the changes of the country in the process of reform and opening-up.
Students at PKU began to participate in summer social practices since 1980s
From then on, more and more students took part in social practices. Now, over 4,000 students, or 300 teams are involved in this activity each year. Almost every province of the country bears the footprints of PKU students.
Students experienced the Long March in their summer social practice
Written by: Fan Kaixin
Edited by: Zhang Jiang, Xu Liangdi, Huang Weijian
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
