May Fourth Women / by Wang Zheng

In the early 20th century, China was home to a group of professional women, now largely unknown, who served as principals, lawyers, editors, educators, and revolutionaries. They advocated for women's self-liberation and strived to integrate women into broader societal spheres. Through a series of groundbreaking practices, they reshaped the socio-cultural landscape of the early Republic of China, embedding profound gender imprints within the legacy of the May Fourth New Culture Movement. Distinct from the women depicted in male-centric cultural narratives, these women were neither backward subjects awaiting salvation nor mere tools for anti-feudalism and national salvation; they were key players actively participating in the modernization process. Through oral histories and documentary analysis, this book chronicles the life trajectories of five pioneering women, integrating their experiences into a historical framework to reconstruct the often-overlooked early development of feminism in China. For this Chinese edition, the author has rewritten the oral history sections based on the original recordings, and supplemented them with autobiographical accounts and recent research, restoring the vivid expressions and fresh historical imprints of these five women. The stories of these May Fourth women reveal the historical complexities of the Chinese women's movement and its tensions with nation-building, offering inspiration that transcends time—even as challenges recur, there will always be those who rise to break through. Title: May Fourth Women: Pioneers of Modern Chinese Feminism Author: Wang Zheng ISBN: 978-988-237-326-6 Binding: Paperback Language: Traditional Chinese Pages: 464 Dimensions: 229 x 152 mm **About the Author** **Wang Zheng** Distinguished Professor Emerita of Women's and Gender Studies and History at the University of Michigan. Her major academic works include *Finding Women in the State: Socialist Feminism (1949–1964)*, *The Rise of Women*, and *Crossing Boundaries*. She has co-edited *Rural China* (an English translation of Fei Xiaotong's work), *The Translation of Feminism in China*, and *Chinese Women Growing Up in the Mao Era*, and has edited numerous collections on feminist and gender studies. Professor Wang Zheng has long been dedicated to promoting the development of Chinese feminist scholarship and gender studies. In 1999, she initiated the China Women's and Gender Studies Program Development Project and served as its advisor. In 2002, she pioneered a joint degree program in Women's Studies among the University of Michigan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the China Women's University. From 2005 to 2019, she founded the Fudan-Michigan School of Social Sciences and Gender Studies, cultivating a cohort of university teachers and graduate students engaged in women's and gender studies. **Endorsements** These five women, as powerful proponents of women's rights, actively participated in the profound social transformations of modern China. With her solid grounding in feminist theory and passionate prose, Wang Zheng vividly presents this buried history, revealing the paradoxes and historical complexities in the development of the Chinese women's movement. — **Hu Ying**, Professor of East Asian Studies, University of California, Irvine This book uses five intellectuals influenced by the May Fourth movement to reflect on and evaluate their lives of breaking down the old and establishing the new, fighting for women's rights, and their patriotism/party affiliation. It examines the development and challenges faced by new Chinese women in establishing their subjectivity and pursuing autonomous liberation. The book's gendered analysis of how politics influences personal choices, life meaning, and historical judgment is worthy of repeated reflection by contemporary readers. — **Hsu Hui-chi**, Associate Professor of History, National Chengchi University Wang Zheng explores how feminist thought and institutions opened new paths for intellectual women while also revealing the structural constraints they continually faced. Within the context of China's ongoing societal transformation, the academic value and practical significance of this research are increasingly prominent. — **Gail Hershatter**, Distinguished Professor Emerita of History, University of California, Santa Cruz