Constructing and Contesting the “New Woman”: Gendered Discourses in the May Fourth Era

Zhiyi Wang

doi:10.54254/2753-7064/2025.HT29548

Communications in Humanities ResearchOpen access

Constructing and Contesting the “New Woman”: Gendered Discourses in the May Fourth Era

Research Article

Open Access

Constructing and Contesting the “New Woman”: Gendered Discourses in the May Fourth Era

Zhiyi Wang ^1*

¹ University College London

^*Corresponding author: zywun@outlook.com

Published on 11 November 2025

CHR Vol.97

ISSN (Print): 2753-7072

ISSN (Online): 2753-7064

ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-529-5

ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-530-1

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Abstract

Set against the intellectual and cultural transformation of early twentieth-century China, this paper investigates how the image of the "New Woman" was constructed and contested during the May Fourth era. It focuses on the tension between male-dominated discourse and women's self-expression, drawing on New Youth, The Ladies' Journal, and literary works by Lu Xun, Ding Ling, and Lu Yin. The study finds that while male intellectuals often represented women as symbols of national progress and moral reform, female writers reinterpreted modern womanhood through emotional, bodily, and experiential narratives that reflected individual consciousness and agency. This interaction between male and female perspectives revealed the contradictions within the enlightenment ideals of the period. It demonstrated how women's writing transformed abstract discourses of emancipation into lived, self-aware experiences. The research highlights the complex dynamics of gender and modernity in shaping early Chinese feminist consciousness.

Keywords:

New Woman, May Fourth, Gender Discourse

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References

[1]. Chen, D. (1915) A Call to Youth. New Youth, 1(1): 2.

[2]. Zhang, X. (1923) A discourse on reforming the family. The Ladies’ Journal, 9 (9): 6.

[3]. Hu, S. (1918) Ibsenism. New Youth, 4(6): 6.

[4]. Wang, Z. (1999) Women in the Chinese Enlightenment: Oral and Textual Histories. University of California Press, Berkeley.

[5]. Liang, X. (1926) The liberation of women and the problems of occupation. The Ladies’ Journal, 12: (12): 41-43.

[6]. Shen, J. Childcare. New Youth, 6(6): 16-17.

[7]. Chan, S. (1988) Gender and Subjectivity: May Fourth Women and Modern Chinese Literature. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong.

[8]. Lu, Y. (2013) Essays from Lu Yin. Shanghai Scientific and Technology Literature Press, Shanghai.

[9]. Ding, L. (2004) The Diary of Miss Sophie. People's Literature Publishing House, Beijing.

[10]. Feuerwerker, Y.M. (1982) Ideology, Power, Text: Self-Representation in Ding Ling’s Fiction. Modern Chinese Literature, 1(1): 69–95.

[11]. Lu, Y. (2012) Old Friends by the Sea. Huaxia Publishing House, Beijing.

[12]. Bing, X. (1926) The Superhuman. The Commercial Press, Shanghai.

[13]. Wang, D. (1997) Women, Modernity, and Narrative Desire in May Fourth Fiction. In Fin-de-siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849–1911. Stanford University Press, Stanford.

[14]. Dooling, A.D. (2005) Women’s Literary Feminism in Twentieth-Century China. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

References

[1]. Chen, D. (1915) A Call to Youth. New Youth, 1(1): 2.

[2]. Zhang, X. (1923) A discourse on reforming the family. The Ladies’ Journal, 9 (9): 6.

[3]. Hu, S. (1918) Ibsenism. New Youth, 4(6): 6.

[4]. Wang, Z. (1999) Women in the Chinese Enlightenment: Oral and Textual Histories. University of California Press, Berkeley.

[5]. Liang, X. (1926) The liberation of women and the problems of occupation. The Ladies’ Journal, 12: (12): 41-43.

[6]. Shen, J. Childcare. New Youth, 6(6): 16-17.

[7]. Chan, S. (1988) Gender and Subjectivity: May Fourth Women and Modern Chinese Literature. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong.

[8]. Lu, Y. (2013) Essays from Lu Yin. Shanghai Scientific and Technology Literature Press, Shanghai.

[9]. Ding, L. (2004) The Diary of Miss Sophie. People's Literature Publishing House, Beijing.

[10]. Feuerwerker, Y.M. (1982) Ideology, Power, Text: Self-Representation in Ding Ling’s Fiction. Modern Chinese Literature, 1(1): 69–95.

[11]. Lu, Y. (2012) Old Friends by the Sea. Huaxia Publishing House, Beijing.

[12]. Bing, X. (1926) The Superhuman. The Commercial Press, Shanghai.

[14]. Dooling, A.D. (2005) Women’s Literary Feminism in Twentieth-Century China. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

Cite this article

Wang,Z. (2025). Constructing and Contesting the “New Woman”: Gendered Discourses in the May Fourth Era. Communications in Humanities Research,97,16-21.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceeding of ICIHCS 2025 Symposium: The Dialogue Between Tradition and Innovation in Language Learning

ISBN: 978-1-80590-529-5(Print) / 978-1-80590-530-1(Online)

Editor: Enrique Mallen, Heidi Gregory-Mina

Conference website: https://2025.icihcs.org/

Conference date: 17 November 2025

Series: Communications in Humanities Research

Volume number: Vol.97

ISSN: 2753-7064(Print) / 2753-7072(Online)

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