The Chinese Historiography of the May Fourth Movement, 1990s to the Present

Individualization, localization, and memorialization characterize scholarly study of the May Fourth movement in the last 20 years. The recent Chinese historiography of May Fourth exhibits a growing interest in the study of individuals within the movement, a shift of focus from Beijing to other cities and regions, and a rising interest in how the movement has been remembered, commemorated, and narrated over different historical periods and in different locations. These three characteristics are not entirely novel, but over the past two decades they have intensified to a degree that we can identify them as marking new trends in Chinese scholarship on the May Fourth movement.