Why did you bring down Kongjia Store?

In the May 4th Movement, it was proposed to overthrow Kongjiadian.

During the New Culture Movement, we advocated new morality and opposed old morality. Old morality refers to the traditional Confucian morality represented by Confucius. The New Culture Movement severely criticized the old morality, so it put forward the slogan of "Down with Confucius and Save Confucius". The slogan was put forward mainly from Chen Duxiu's use of the dross of Confucianism under the feudal system.

The May 4th New Culture Movement is different from many enlightenment movements in the history of China and foreign countries, which appeared in the form of respecting the ancient and restoring the ancient ways. It appeared in a distinctive anti-traditional form. Because from the old ideas, morality and culture, it is not only difficult to find the basis or banner of reform, but also the obstacles are becoming more and more serious. Choosing "Kongjiadian" as a breakthrough will undoubtedly help to break the old cultural pattern centered on feudal politics and ethical order.

On the other hand, those representatives are not "completely anti-traditional". From Hu Shi's works, we can see his respect for Confucius and Zhu. Another example is Qian, who made a fierce criticism of the old culture at that time. He once advocated the abolition of Chinese characters, but when he resolutely opposed the absolutism in academic and cultural fields, he yearned for the vast free world of "all things coexist without harming each other, and the Tao runs parallel without contradicting each other" as imagined by the ancient people in China.

For Confucius himself or Confucianism represented by Confucius, their criticism mainly points to using Confucian classics to restrain people's thoughts and personality.

Therefore, the basic spirit of the May 4th New Culture Movement is to demand freedom of thought, spiritual independence and individual liberation. The May 4th Movement did not cause any "cultural break" or "ideological crisis", but it played an important role in the historical process of China's modernization.

Extended data:

The exposition of the basic contents of the new culture movement, namely, four propositions and four oppositions, truly reflects the "newness" of the new culture movement. Namely:

First, advocate democracy and oppose autocracy.

Second, advocate science and oppose superstition.

Third, advocate new morality and oppose old morality.

Fourth, advocate new literature and oppose old literature.

Baidu encyclopedia-kongjia branch

Baidu Encyclopedia-New Culture Movement