A Century of Student Movements in China: The Mountain Movers, 1919–2019 ed. by Xiaobing Li and Qiang Fang (review)

A Century of Student Movements in China is a timely publication in celebration of the May Fourth centennial in 2019. It is also an ambitious project that covers episodes of Chinese student movements from 1919 to 1989. Contributing authors are members of the Chinese Historians in the United States (CHUS), and many experienced student movements in China before coming to the United States.

Aside from the introduction and conclusion, the book follows chronological order. It is structured in four parts with three chapters each. Part 1 focuses on the New Culture movement through the lenses of Li Dazhao, Tianjin women students, and Hunan First Normal School. Patrick Shan, in chapter 1, argues that Li Dazhao was a “situational leader of the May Fourth Movement” (18), because of his influence on and support of students. Shan details Li’s anti-Manchu anti-imperialist nationalism prior to 1919, his impact on students at Peking University, and his conversion to communism. Yi Sun, in chapter 2, investigates Tianjin women students’ education, their activism in the May Fourth era, and the rise of feminist leaders, women’s organizations, and feminism. Sun argues that the wave of feminism rose alongside nationalism and strengthened it. Liyan Liu, in chapter 3, highlights the importance of Hunan First Normal School in radicalizing students who later became the first generation of Communist leaders. Liu analyzes the idiosyncrasies of the hinterland province of Hunan and the city of Changsha, educational reforms at First Normal, and the role of Yang Changji (楊昌濟), a key reformist educator, all of which contributed to First Normal students’ transformation.

Part 2 continues to cover the Republican era, with an emphasis on student activism in wartime. In chapter 4, Hongshan Li presents three aspects of the impact of returned students (from the 1910s to the 1940s) on the next generation: citizen consciousness, organizational skills, and institutional protection and support. Li pays particular attention to faculty at Peking University, Tsinghua University, and National Southwestern Associated University. In chapter 5, Pingchao Zhu introduces Guangxi Student Regiments from 1936 to 1941 and their contributions to political propaganda, mass mobilization, and combat operations in the war against Japan. Zhu points out that the Communist influence on the regiment has been exaggerated in Chinese scholarship. In chapter 6, Danke Li studies Chongqing student movements during the Chinese Civil War, especially the April Twenty-First movement of 1949. Li argues that students in Chongqing were an independent force beyond political affiliation with either the Nationalists or the Communists.

Part 3 moves on to the Maoist era from 1949 to 1966. Whereas student movements in the Republican era had been mostly self-motivated, after 1949 students took part in government-sponsored campaigns. Xiaojia Hou, in chapter 7, explores the May Nineteenth movement at Peking University during the 1957 Rectification campaign, when students wrote posters and hosted debates about democracy and socialism. Hou compares and contrasts it with the May Fourth movement. Xiaobing Li, in chapter 8, provides case studies of students who returned from the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1950s and later became political or military leaders or scientists who were critical to developing the nuclear and space programs. Li notes that, despite domestic political turmoil, the military kept these otherwise suspect scientists safe. Based on personal experience, Peng Deng, in chapter 9, critically examines the policy of relocating urban youth to rural areas in the 1960s prior to the Cultural Revolution. Deng argues that the policy was “based on [End Page E-5] false premises and political prejudice” (190) and that these students were the victims of political discrimination.

Part 4 covers student movements from 1966 to 1989, especially the Red Guard movement during the Cultural Revolution, the April Fifth movement of 1976, and the Tiananmen protests of 1989. In chapter 10, Ting Jiang and Xiansheng Tian discuss key features of the Red Guards, including...