Tiina Airaksinen, MA, PhD student
University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies
Department of History
Email: tairaksi@yahoo.com

Not for citation without the written permission of the author

The British Influence on the Radical Nationalism in China
at the Beginning of the 20th Century

The May Fourth Movement has later been interpreted as the new wave of anti-Christian movement and anti-foreign sentiment, and as the start of women's emancipation , but also as the beginning of Chinese Communism  and radical nationalism , depending of the scholar's historical doctrines. In contrast, the Movement's original ideologies were related to the rejecting of social-political-cultural order of the Chinese past and accepting the Western liberal and scientific ideas and values. The total turnover of ideologies from pro-Western into the accentuation of Chinese nationalism are interesting features of the May Fourth Movement. This paper suggests that the British hegemony displayed during the Movement had a profound effect on changing the ideologies .
The British influence on radical nationalism poses two possible interpretations. Firstly, the introduction of Western ideologies such as liberalism, pragmatism, anarchism, science, humanitarianism, utilitarianism, individualism and democratisation had a profound effect on the Chinese intelligentsia. In the end of the 1910's several prominent Western intellectuals had been invited to give lectures around China and among them especially John Dewey (America), Bertrand Russell (Britain) and Hans Driesch (Germany) were enthusiastically received.  However, Russell's philosophy and personality impressed the Chinese youths more than any other contemporary Western thinker did. In addition, increasing number of the "Western Returned Students" as they called themselves had studied abroad especially in Britain and America bringing back Western ideological influences. Secondly, the foreigners' uncompromising reactions towards the May Fourth Movement of 1919 and the May 30th Movement of 1925 in Shanghai made it difficult for the protestors to reconcile with the International Settlement's administration that was presided by the British. Moreover, the Shanghai Municipal Council's oligarchic administration did not present a good example of Western democracy. In this presentation the British influence on the Chinese radical nationalism is analysed more on pragmatic than on ideological level.
Purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the British impacts on development of nationalist sentiment that strengthened among the intelligentsia, and later among the merchants, workers and officials in the early 20th century China. Special reference is made to the Republican era and to the May Fourth Movement in Shanghai. The primary question that operates continuously as a background is to understand whether the British reactions towards the Movement and their presence affected not only to rise of the Chinese nationalism, but also to beginning of the Chinese anti-foreign and anti-Christian sentiment in the 1920's. These questions are discussed here by giving examples of foreigners' attitudes during the May Fourth Movement, which provided a suitable setting for the emergence of radical nationalism.

The May Fourth Movement

Collapse of the Qing-dynasty, the revolution of 1911 and establishment of republican China in 1912 had not been able to solve China's internal problems of weak central government, widespread corruption and the military cliques' power struggle. The democratisation of the post-World war international system had provided an encouraging prospect for China to be fully incorporated into the emerging international system. China's hopes were, however, destroyed during the Versailles Peace Conference when the old German imperial holdings in the Shandong province were decided to transfer to Japan.  The secret agreement of 1917 between Britain and Japan guaranteed the British government's support.  As a consequence, the news from Paris inflamed the students in Beijing and they began to demonstrate on the May 4th, in 1919. The May Fourth protestors' another reason to take to the streets was to demand the punishment of the three Beijing government officials for their pro-Japanese co-operation.

The Officials

The Chinese students and merchants launched a general strike in Shanghai on June 5th 1919, which the industrial workers later joined. Initial reason for protesting was to oppose students' arrests in Beijing, but as in the capital, the nature of Shanghai May Fourth Movement was originally anti-Japanese and not generally anti-foreign.
Foreign officials perceived the Shanghai Student Union (SSU) as a serious venture to co-ordinate and maintain local patriotic activities. By forming a complex hierarchy of interconnected organisations with its disciplinary corps the SSU proved able to control its members and their actions.  Each school had organised Publishing, Lecturing, Inspection, Disciplinary, and Service Corps and in particularly, the Volunteer Groups, the Groups of Ten and the Boy Scouts patrolled the streets of Shanghai as a peacekeeping force to emphasise the importance to avoid violence and rowdyism.  By doing so, they, for the first time, seriously challenged, and as the British perceived it, threatened the International Settlement's peace and order. In thus they usurped the International Settlement prerogatives and undercut the legitimacy of established authorities e.g. the foreign police and volunteer corps appointed by the Shanghai Municipal Council, which was in turn controlled by the British. No Chinese or other foreign force was even allowed to enter the International Settlement without special permission.
In a fear of coup d'état the Chinese peacekeeping forces were publicly prohibited. The Chinese students experienced the Council's repressive measures especially humiliating because it had often been a British expatriate who had supervised the Boy Scouts, and encouraged them to perform functions such as monitoring street meetings and processions. Just before the May Fourth demonstrations the Boy Scouts had helped the Municipal Police in keeping order during the Germans' deportation . The Scout leaders were frequently students, and therefore, this Western-run organisation was easily turned into anti-imperialist assembly if its principles and values were nullified by its British founders as it happened during the May Fourth demonstrations, and again later in 1925 during the May 30th Incident.
More provocative operations were implemented in June 1919 when the Council published series of notifications and one of them prohibited the SSU's activities in the Settlement. In addition, they forbade the assemblies, demonstrations, circulation of rumours, and moreover, banned the publication of pamphlets and newspapers. The British Consulate approved the Council's measures and defended them against criticism from other foreigners. The Consulate's correspondence during the May Fourth Movement seemed to strengthen the image of them being a ‘rubber stamp' for the British Council members' activities. The foreigners' suppressive policies appeared to contradict the Western ideologies of democracy, freedom of speech and assembly, but as long as the Chinese had no representation in the Council they had no legitimate power to oppose these restrictions in the International Settlement. Question of the Chinese representation was raised up again during the May Fourth Movement, but the British, succeeded to block the Chinese from the Council until 1928.
Furious letters to the British newspapers and companies revealed the students' deep disappointment to the officials' actions, and similarly, some anti-foreign and anti-British slogans, posters and pamphlets were distributed around Shanghai. Eventually, the Shanghai Municipal Police scared away the protestors as they opened fire towards the crowd and killed one and wounded nine participants. This was the last time when the British "gunboat diplomacy" successfully silenced the anti-British sentiment in Shanghai.

The Businessmen

The foreign commercial community possessed the real decisive and executive power in Shanghai as all the nine Council members were directors of influential companies, and six of them were British. At first, the May Fourth protestors' nation-wide boycott against the Japanese products was extremely beneficial to the British companies: the Chinese customers began to use their goods and services. Due to the increasing profits, the British managers' initial reactions towards the May Fourth Movement were cautiously supportive. But when the May Fourth demonstrators in association with the merchants launched the general strike, the whole business was at a standstill within days. The foreign companies were not, however, willing to act directly and the Council's operations provided an official channel to express their hard-line policy against the protestors.
Direct outcome of the May-June boycotts was the establishment of new Chinese enterprises during the summer 1919 to replace the Japanese products, and also to challenge Westerners' business in the area. Indeed, the increase in Chinese hand- or machine-made products reduced the amount of some imported consumer goods and it emphasised the importance to develop the domestic industry. Moreover, the British manager predicted that the economic weapons of strike and boycott would play a great part in future politics whenever the Chinese feel mistreated in the International Settlement. The 1920's labour strikes for higher wages, better working conditions, and shorter working hours were visible signs of workers' rising power in China.

The Missionaries

The missionaries' educational programs had preached the virtues of Western science and technology. Therefore, the May Fourth Movement's educated elite studying at the missionary schools had had the opportunity to integrate the ideas of Western liberalism with the awakening of Chinese radical nationalism.  In general the missionaries perceived growing national consciousness as a positive symbol of changing China, but disapproved of the Movement's political side, suggesting instead more spiritual and ethical dimensions to enlighten the growing nationalism. Obviously the missionaries promoted the Christian belief and practices as possible guidelines for students pursuing political liberation.
Foreign evangelists discovered soon that the wave of nationalism was problematic as the patriotic duties isolated people from Christianity and instead of spreading the Gospel, many Chinese preached national salvation. Therefore, when the student activities after the summer holidays continued through autumn and winter it caused regular class disturbances and cancellations, complaints about the poor teaching, and finally, students' requirements on changing the taught subjects and these troubles exhausted many foreign educators. As the time went on the foreign school administrators inevitably lost their enthusiasm and exerted pressure on students to keep them in the classrooms, and hence, critical views towards students' activities became apparent.
The British educators encouraged their students to direct their energy to serve God, instead of the country. Hence, the May Fourth gatherings, praying sessions were strictly prohibited in the British schools. The London Missionary Society's Medhurst College's work was seriously affected by the general unrest among the students, and enrolment numbers dropped. The missionary teachers confronted the May Fourth Movement activists with a firm attitude and as a consequence the leaders were expelled from the college.
These missionaries were so concerned of been defeated by the student union's expanding influence on the Christian students that they ignored their students' difficult position. For students, placing the studies before politics was perceived selfish and unpatriotic deed, and the action of the Westerners was a proof of intent to denationalise their pupils. After the May Fourth Movement some Chinese Christians found it difficult to reconcile their church allegiance with patriotism and decided in favour of their country.

Conclusions

The International Settlement in Shanghai was based on Western values and ideologies such as democracy, freedom of speech, liberty of press and free enterprise. The British official community, however, felt intimidated by the May Fourth students' peacekeeping forces and processions. Similarly, the missionaries' conflict of interests with the May Fourth ideologies arose when their activities changed their daily routines, e.g. when the student unions' took over the authority in the schools, and as a consequence, they challenged missionaries' presence in China. Shanghai's profitable business was paralysed for days, and thus, the businessmen eagerly used necessary means to normalise the trade conditions. The British influence to the community's life was therefore overwhelming as they controlled the Municipal Council, the Mixed Court, police and commercial life in the city.
The foreigners' responses to the May Fourth Movement was a complete contrast to the Western values they have been campaigning for throughout the International Settlement's history. It was obvious that their reactions towards the growing radical nationalism, as the May Fourth Movement was then perceived, had especially disappointed some Shanghai intelligentsia members, who had envisaged a better future for China along the Western lines. Hereafter, many Chinese found it difficult to reconcile their Western loyalty with patriotism and decided to give preference to their country. As a result, the 1920's anti-foreign and the anti-Christian movements found their influential supporters, not surprisingly, from the Chinese educated élite in Shanghai.

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