On Tuesday 25 April, Professor Chen Pingyuan visited CUHK to give a talk on his book The Unfinished May Fourth: Historical Scenes and Intellectual Discourses, an expanded collection of writings about the people and historical contexts surrounding the May Fourth movement, as well as its subsequent cultural impacts. Hosted by CUHK Press, the talk took place at the CUHK bookstore and was well-attended by staff and students, with a queue forming during the subsequent book-signing.

Professor Chen is a highly-regarded authority on the May Fourth movement and its status as a historical flashpoint. Having gained his PhD in Arts at Peking University, he is now a professor at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the University, and was appointed as the Distinguished Professor of “Yangtze River Scholars” by the Ministry of Education in 2006.

Introducing Professor Chen at the talk, Ms. Gan Qi, director of CU Press, suggested that the former’s book elucidated how the “historical inspirations” of the movement continued to influence today’s students. During the talk, Professor Chen spoke on a wide variety of topics pertaining to the Movement, both including the events of the era and the journey behind the publication of the book. Quoting from his book, he said, “The May Fourth movement was an important point in China’s ideological and cultural development in the Twentieth Century, and we need to remain in ‘dialogue’ with such important historical moments.” Afterwards, Professor Chen stayed behind to discuss and sign copies of his book.