OUT OF THE WILDERNESS: CHINESE INTELLECTUAL ODYSSEYS FROM THE 'MAY FOURTH' TO THE 'THIRTIES'

This thesis deals with the transformation of the collective consciousness of the Chinese intelligentsia in the period that led to the demise of the cherished ideal of the May Fourth era. The demise of this ideal--the "emancipation of the Self"--prepared the ground for the intellectuals' commitment to the Communist cause in the 1930's.; The first chapter is devoted to the analysis of the changing meaning of one term, shidai (epoch) between the "May Fourth" and the "Thirties." Chapters two through five trace the breakdown of the individualist idea according to the following patterns: (1) the growth of personalized vitalist worldviews into a historicist perspective that included Marxism; (2) the overcoming of the sense of "superfluity" as a prelude to political commitment; (3) the tension between the lure of an individualist haven and the call of society to the task of national salvation; (4) the change of attitudes from cynicism to trust in the "masses."; These patterns are considered as different manifestations of an underlying deep structure. The study concludes that "May Fourth" individualism was mainly emotive in nature, and that the demise of this individualism was occasioned by the triumph of collectivist sentiments.