Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c15.s2.t6.5

v2.c15.s2.t6.5

Under the influence of pragmatism and Dewey’s ideas, Hu Shi had become a strong proponent of radical ideological change and modernity. He found traditional ways of thinking and the classical Chinese-based writing as strong impediments to China’s march towards modernisation. This brought him at the forefront of contemporary intellectual debates raging in probably the most influential journal of the time, *New Youth*, founded by another radical Chinese thinker, Chen Duxiu. His article ‘Tentative Proposals for the Improvement of Chinese Literature’, which was published in this journal in January 1917, became a rallying point for the New Culture Movement.