Yesterday, the world of Galactic Warfare nerds, claims, was “Star War’s Day”. Why? Because the terrible cringe-worthy pun “May the 4th be with you” was invented and perpetuated amongst many hundreds of people. Although a case could indeed be made that yesterday was “Star War’s Day”, it was also the date of an important event in East Asian history, namely the history of China. Yesterday marked the anniversary of the 1919 May Fourth Movement in China. (Incidentally, the Haymarket Riot also occurred on May 4, 1886 in Chicago.) The May Fourth Movement was one of the defining moments in modern Chinese history and a case could be made that this event shaped China’s history for the next century.
The May Fourth Movement was a movement in China following the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. It was led by Chinese intellectuals and other anti-imperialist leaders. The movement was begun to protest the loss of Chinese territory to Japan at the end of World War I. Thanks to the Treaty of Versailles, Japan gained the Shantung peninsula from Germany. Shantung was in mainland China and the Chinese were convinced that they held the rights to this land. China had supplied thousands of laborers to the Allied armies and had even declared war on Germany. The Chinese believed that this gave them the rights to Shantung. They were dismayed when Japan received the territory. The Chinese delegation to Paris tried unsuccessfully to restore the peninsula to China.
On May 4, 1919, Chinese students and intellectual leaders from several universities demonstrated in Tiananmen Square. They demanded that China refuse to sign the Treaty of Versailles and they protested throughout the city of Beijing. Eventually, the protests died down due to the Chinese government submitting to some of the demands of the demonstrators.
Although Japan retained control of Shantung, the May 4th Movement was a grand success for the Chinese nationalist movement and it became the groundwork on which Chinese communism was laid. This event does not get a lot of attention in the history books of the West but I think it deserves at least a little more examination. The May 4th Movement was arguably, the beginning of modern Chinese history. It was one of the first steps towards eliminating the rule of warlords and corrupt politicians in China. It was a step closer to the rule of the people, which ultimately played into the most defining event in 20th Century Chinese history: the Cultural Revolution.
Interesting Fact of the Week- Cinco De Mayo (The Fifth of May) is a Mexican holiday which commemorates the victory of the Mexican army over the French at Puebla in 1862. It is not Mexico’s independence day.
Inspiring Quote of the Week- “Fear God and you should not fear anything else” -J.E.B Stuart