The May 30 Movement : events and themes

Abstract

The May 30 Movement of 1925 marked the beginning of a new period in the development of modern China, and demonstrated to both the Chinese and the foreigners the unprecedented level to which nationalist feelings and ideas has risen in China. In the course of the Movement the strengths and weaknesses of both foreign and Chinese forces were revealed. Although the Movement itself seemed to end in something of an anticlimax after the violence and bloodshed that had occurred, in the long run it proved to have been an event of major significance. Despite the importance of the Movement, there is still no standard work in any language about it, indeed there is no book-length general study of any kind. While the standard work will have to wait until free access is permitted to sources in China, so far unavailable, this book tries to fill the gap, at least in the English language, by giving an accurate account of the events of the Movement and an examination of its principal themes.