PekingUniversity, Beijing, April 23^rd, 2009: Coming up to the 90th Anniversary of the May 4th Movement, PKU’s Chinese Department has planned a “May 4^th Movement and Modern Chinese Literature” International Seminar. The meeting opened on the morning of the 23^rd at the Overseas Exchange Center where more than a hundred scholars from home-and-abroad were invited.

at the seminar opening ceremony

President of PKU, AcademicianZhou Qifeng gave the opening speech at the ceremony welcoming all the participants on behalf of the staff and students of PKU. Zhou took the audience back in time, speaking on the history between PKU and the May 4^th Movement, of the legacy of Modern Chinese Literature and the effect the Movement has had on PKU and on China. We remember our history to build a better today, said President Zhou. He emphasized that this seminar should be very enlightening, and looks forward to the academic word to motivate and further develop Modern Chinese Literature.

Dean of Chinese Department Professor Chen PingYuan hosted the meeting. The May 4^th Movement and the destiny of modern day China are inseparable from each other, said Chen. There have been multiple critical moments in the history of mankind, each having great impacts and changing the future. For the Course of Chinese Ideology and Culture in the 20^th century, the May 4^th Movement played this exact critical role.

The seminar will last for three days, ending on the 25^th of April. Apart form the opening ceremony, twelve separate discussions have been scheduled. One hundred and three papers have been submitted to this international seminar. The papers being presented range in time from the late Qing Dynasty to the present, crossing over fields of literature, history, education to gender research. Other than the seminar, the participants have all been invited to a poetry recital on the night of the 24^th. Other than poetry reading, the play “Passerby” (Guo Ke by Lu Xun), a chorus and other performances have also been added to the night’s program list.

Commemorating the May 4^th Movement has become an important part in the Chinese Ideology and Culture circles. This Seminar acts as a gathering of elite members to discuss issues between the Movement and Modern Chinese Literature. Hopefully it will act also as a platform to promote deeper discussion of the May 4^th spirit to encourage research on Modern Chinese literature and help the research of Chinese culture to flourish.

Translated by: Connie Chang

Edited by: Wang Yi