Portrait of Chen Duxiu
Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
The twentieth century

Chen Duxiu

1879–1942
Atheist (in substance; he used no label)

Chen Duxiu left no record of a lost faith. A boy who mocked a village spirit-medium became, in a political fight against Kang Youwei's Confucian state religion (1916), the New Culture editor who called all religions idols and chose "the godless road of light" (1918). He paused in 1920 to offer Jesus's character and feeling as a new faith, turned on the church in 1922, and refused even the agnostic's doubt in 1923. At the end he used "religion" as his word for blind faith in his own party's doctrine.

The belief timeline

18791942Faith (inferred)undated boyhood; c. 1904Declaration1915-09-15 → 1916-11-01 → 1918-08-15Revision1920-02-01Reversal (back to attack)1922-03-15Settled1923-11-13Late restatement1937–1940
  1. Faith (inferred) (undated boyhood; c. 1904) — Raised in a household of Confucian study, ancestor offerings and a mother who humoured village spirit-mediums; the only claim that Chen was himself a Buddhist is secondhand (c. 1904). No profession of belief by Chen has been found [3][5][6][12]
  2. Doubt (the first crack, inferred as undated) (undated boyhood) — The "fire" prank on the yin-agent; Chen presents it as a child's mischief and says his mother, unlike him, stayed courteous. He dates no loss of belief. The adult case against religion begins later (see Declaration) [5][6]
  3. Declaration (1915-09-15 → 1916-11-01 → 1918-08-15) — First public statement 1915 ("religion... products of the age of imagination"); first "all religions are idols" in Nov 1916 in the Kang Youwei fight; fullest in "On Smashing Idols", 15 Aug 1918, and the "godless road" of Nov 1918 [14][18][24][25]
  4. Revision (1920-02-01) — Treats Christianity as a serious question; proposes Jesus's character and feeling as the new faith, while keeping the attack on creation, Trinity and miracles [33]
  5. Reversal (back to attack) (1922-03-15) — The anti-Christian movement: God's goodness and power contradict; the church's crimes. Chinese Recorder says the two articles seem to contradict; Chen separates teaching from church [38][39]
  6. Settled (1923-11-13) — Refuses agnosticism: "no doubt left to keep" about God and spirits [44]
  7. Late restatement (1937–1940) — Praises Confucius's refusal of superstition (1937); religion is now mostly a word for dogmatic belief in party doctrine (1940) [50][52][53]
Notes to the timeline (15)
  1. [3] In his autobiography Chen recalls a strict grandfather, a capable and loving mother and "an elder brother who was all Amitabha Buddha" (阿彌陀佛的大哥); in context the brother is the honest, gentle peacemaker, and Chen does not say he practised Buddhism. — Chen Duxiu, 實庵自傳 (Autobiography of Shi'an), Nov–Dec 1937, unfinished. Chapters 1–2 on Wikisource (texts/shian-zizhuan.txt,, ch. 1; Q30.
  2. [5] As a boy Chen mocked a kinsman's "yin-agent" who claimed to meet the ancestors in the underworld and take money for them: he led a dozen children shouting "fire" and the man jumped out of his trance. The year is not given. — Zizhuan, ch. 1; Q29.
  3. [6] Chen's mother still entertained the yin-agent with wine and meat and sent money for paper offerings, although she told the children she did not believe his talk; Chen calls this her habit of "tolerating the wicked" and says he shares it. — Zizhuan, ch. 1.
  4. [12] Wikipedia, summarising Feigon, says that around 1904 Chen was a "self-declared Buddhist" who criticised superstitious practices such as icon worship, and that in Japan in 1907–09 he saw Buddhism as a possible alternative to Confucianism. — "Chen Duxiu", English Wikipedia, revision 1380080341 of 2026-10-13. Used as a map; it summarises Feigon (1983), section "Vernacular revolution and traditional influences" and "Warrior Yue Society". Not verified.
  5. [14] "A Call to Youth" asks for thought that is "scientific, not imaginative" and says "religion and belles-lettres are both products of the age of imagination", while the common run of belief without reason can be cured only by science. — Chen Duxiu, 敬告青年 (A Call to Youth), 青年雜誌 (Youth Magazine) 1:1, Shanghai, 15 Sept 1915. Wikisource transcription, rev. 2032256, (sixth principle); Q1, Q2.
  6. [18] In November 1916 Chen wrote that "Confucianism is an idol that has lost its power, a fossil of the past" and that "all religions do nothing for government and civilisation and are no different from idols"; he argued that the state must treat every religion equally and that making Confucius the only worship violates freedom of belief, while conceding that Buddhist discipline and Christian clarity of purpose often outshine the pro-Confucian literati. — Chen Duxiu, 憲法與孔教 (The Constitution and Confucianism), New Youth 2:3, 1 Nov 1916; Q5, Q6.
  7. [24] In "On Smashing Idols" (15 Aug 1918, New Youth 5:2, pp. 89–91) Chen argues that anything useless but revered is an idol and should be smashed; if the existence of spirits cannot be proved, all religions are fraudulent idols, naming Amitabha, Jehovah and the Jade Emperor; the monarch, the state, military honours and widow arches are idols too; "our beliefs should take what is real and reasonable as the standard". — Chen Duxiu, 偶像破壞論 (On Smashing Idols), New Youth 5:2, 15 Aug 1918, pp. 89–91 (volume pagination in the reprint scan). Wikisource rev. 2029504, pp. 89–91; Q7, Q8.
  8. [25] In "The Ketteler Monument" (5:5, Nov 1918, written after the Armistice celebrations of 14–16 Nov) Chen traces the Boxer rising to Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Chinese opera and conservatism, calls the Boxers "the crystallisation of all the superstitions of the whole society", lists contemporary spirit-writing, feng-shui and Heavenly Master practices, and ends with two roads: "the republican, scientific, godless road of light" and the "autocratic, superstitious, divine-right road of darkness". — Chen Duxiu, 克林德碑 (The Ketteler Monument), New Youth 5:5, 15 Nov 1918. Wikisource rev. 5613212; Q9, Q10. Accounts differ; see the disputed points.
  9. [33] In "Christianity and the Chinese People" (1 Feb 1920, New Youth 7:3, pp. 14–23) Chen calls the Christian question a major social problem and urges youth to study it; says creation, Trinity and miracles are legends "destroyed by history and science"; proposes as the new faith "Jesus's lofty, great character and ardent, deep feeling"; lists ten reasons for Christianity's poor record in China and says "in fairness, the mistakes of the Chinese are more than those of the foreigners"; criticises Christians who support warlords and rich men; cites Nietzsche and Liang Shuming. — Chen Duxiu, 基督教與中國人 (Christianity and the Chinese People), New Youth 7:3, 1 Feb 1920, pp. 14–23. Wikisource rev. 11081007; Q14, Q15, Q16.
  10. [38] "Christianity and the Christian Church" appeared in Forerunner no. 4 on 15 March 1922 (Forerunner was the paper of the anti-Christian federation). Chen argues that the doctrine's simplest flaw is that God cannot be both all-good and all-powerful; that the Incarnation, miracles and Resurrection lack historical or scientific proof; that love and sacrifice are precious but that under imperialism and capitalism blind love and sacrifice "create sin"; that the church's crimes are "piled mountain-high"; and he closes by saying he still thinks doctrine and church should be judged separately but that his friend Dai Jitao insists there is no Christianity outside the church. — Chen Duxiu, 基督教與基督教會 (Christianity and the Christian Church), 先驅 (Forerunner) no. 4, 15 Mar 1922. Wikisource rev. 11109182; The Chinese Recorder vol. 53 (1922), p. 294–295; Q17, Q18.
  11. [39] The Chinese Recorder editorial of May 1922 says Chen's second article "seems at first sight to contradict the first one", reads it as attraction to the Spirit of Christianity and repulsion at the church's sins, and judges him "sincere". — Chinese Recorder, pp. 294–296; OQ7–OQ9.
  12. [44] In his preface to the Science and Life-View volume (13 Nov 1923) Chen criticised Ding Wenjiang for calling himself an agnostic ("Huxley's and Spencer's mistake"), said "as to a spirit or God... we have no doubt left to keep", held that "we are still in the age of religious superstition" (Comte's three ages), and tied religious belief to economic stage (nature religion, polytheism, monotheism, then "atheism and non-religion" with industry and science). Hu Shi's preface to the same volume quotes Chen and answers that, given the evidence, "we may as well frankly call ourselves atheists" (無神論者), because the belief rests on evidence and can change with it. — Chen Duxiu, 《科學與人生觀》序 (Preface to Science and Life-View), 13 Nov 1923; Q21, Q22, Q23; Hu Shi's preface (Wikisource page 《科學與人生觀》序).
  13. [50] In "Confucius and China" (1 Oct 1937) Chen says "Confucius's first value is his attitude of not being religious or superstitious", quoting the Analects ("serve men before spirits"; "respect spirits but keep them at a distance"), but that Confucius's ritual teaching "founded the unity of ruler, father and husband" and is "anti-democratic"; "science and democracy are the two great motive forces of progress". He names Wang Chong and Huan Tan as scholars who opposed the prophecy-mongers of the Han. — Chen Duxiu, 孔子與中國 (Confucius and China), dated 1 Oct 1937; Q24, Q25.
  14. [52] In March 1940 Chen wrote that Cai Yuanpei "advocated aesthetic education in place of religion" and "opposed the worship of Confucius" and said that on two questions, the preservation of national essence and the nature of morality (morality changes with the age and is for disciplining oneself, not for blaming others), Cai and Hu Shi held views "roughly the same" as his. — Chen Duxiu, 蔡孑民先生逝世後感言 (Remarks after the death of Mr. Cai Yuanpei), Chongqing Central Daily, 24 Mar 1940 (publication note from the Wikisource page); Q26.
  15. [53] In his last letters Chen used "religious-style superstition" (Sept 1940) and "scientific, not religious" re-assessment (28 Nov 1940) for uncritical faith in Bolshevism; in January 1941 he wrote (as quoted by Hu Shi) that a "circle" is "a sect", "orthodoxy" is the Song Confucians' "tradition of the way", and "on seeing that something in Confucian teaching is wrong I oppose Confucianism; on seeing something wrong in the Third International I oppose it", adding that Hu Shi called him a "lifelong member of the opposition". — Chen Duxiu, 給西流的信 (Letter to Xiliu), Sept 1940, from Chen's Last Articles and Letters. Marxists Internet Archive; Chen Duxiu, 我的根本意見 (My Basic Views), 28 Nov 1940; Hu Shi, 《陳獨秀的最後見解》序言 (Preface to Chen Duxiu's Last Views), 14 Apr 1949, (quotes the Jan 1941 letter); Q27, Q28. Reported at second hand; the original has not been seen.

Smashing the Idols

On 15 August 1918 the magazine New Youth printed a short essay by its editor called "On Smashing Idols." Its central sentence put a condition first:

If the existence of spirits and gods between heaven and earth cannot be proved for certain, then all religions are a kind of swindling idol: Amitabha Buddha is a swindle; Jehovah God is a swindle; the Jade Emperor is a swindle; all the gods, buddhas, immortals and ghosts revered and worshipped by the religious are useless, swindling idols, and all of them ought to be smashed!12

The editor was Chen Duxiu. Within three years he would be a founder of the Chinese Communist Party, and within eleven he would be expelled from it. This chapter asks something narrower: what made a man who left no record of a lost faith into an enemy of religion in the New Culture movement, and why, in 1920, he paused to offer young Chinese the character of Jesus as a new faith.

The first page of "On Smashing Idols," New Youth, vol. 5, no. 2, 15 August 1918.
The first page of "On Smashing Idols," New Youth, vol. 5, no. 2, 15 August 1918.Internet Archive, New Youth (Xin qingnian) collection (newyouthmagazine), public domain

A household in Anqing

He was born in Anqing, in Anhui province, in 1879; Wikipedia gives the date as 9 October.3 His father died, he said, a few months after he was born; the historian Feigon, as Wikipedia summarises him, says Chen was two. Accounts differ.4 Late in life, in an autobiography he began in 1937, he remembered "a strict grandfather in our house, a capable and loving mother, and an elder brother who was all 'Amitabha Buddha'." The phrase means a gentle, peaceable man, not a Buddhist.56 His grandfather taught him the classics from about six, and at twelve or thirteen his brother taught him the old anthology of literary prose, the Wen Xuan.7

No profession of belief by the boy survives. What he remembered was a kinsman who claimed to be a "yin-agent," able to go down to the underworld, meet the dead ancestors and take money to them. Chen could not stand him:

I was so angry with him that I went and got a dozen or more children from the same house and the neighbours, who rushed in from the front and back doors shouting together that a fire had broken out somewhere, and the yin-agent at once stopped his noises.89

His mother told the children she did not believe the man, but she still gave him wine and meat and sent money for the paper offerings. Chen called this her habit of tolerating the wicked, and said he shared it.10 The faith and the doubt on his timeline are both inferred from this household: a home of Confucian study and ancestor offerings, and a boy's prank, undated, that he told fifty years later.

The Yingjiang Temple in Anqing, the city where Chen Duxiu was born, in a modern photograph.
The Yingjiang Temple in Anqing, the city where Chen Duxiu was born, in a modern photograph.Zhou Guanhuai, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

From the examinations to reform

In 1896 he passed the county examination, placed first after submitting what he called a deliberately nonsensical essay.11 At the provincial examination in Nanjing the next summer, watching the other candidates, he decided that the whole system was rotten. That was "the chief motive," he wrote, that turned him from a devotee of the old literary anthology into a follower of the reformers Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao.1213 Reform came first; the attack on belief came later. In 1916 he wrote that it was Kang and Liang who had first opened his generation's eyes to the wider world.14

In 1904, under a pen name, he opened a vernacular newspaper for Anhui. Its geography, he promised, would not be "the kind that watches graves and plans feng shui," and he noted that people in two of the province's prefectures were still passing on stories of the Boxers' great victories after the foreign armies had taken Beijing.151617 Wikipedia, summarising Feigon, says that around this time he called himself a Buddhist and attacked icon worship; no text of Chen's confirming it has been found.18 He studied and was expelled from schools in Hangzhou and Japan, and fled to Japan again more than once.19

Liang Qichao in 1910, one of the two reformers who, Chen wrote, opened his generation's eyes.
Liang Qichao in 1910, one of the two reformers who, Chen wrote, opened his generation's eyes.Unknown photographer, minguotupian.com, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

New Youth

In September 1915 he founded the magazine that became New Youth.20 Its first number carried his "Call to Youth," which asked for thought that was "scientific, not imaginative":

In the dark ages, and among backward peoples today, there is imagination without science. Religion and belles-lettres are alike products of the age of imagination.2122

For thought without common sense and belief without reason, he wrote, "the only radical cure is science."2322 In 1916 he introduced the biologist Metchnikoff to his readers as half Jewish by descent, "in religion an atheist, in politics a liberal"; the word described Metchnikoff, not Chen.2425

The cover of the first issue of Youth Magazine, 15 September 1915, later renamed New Youth.
The cover of the first issue of Youth Magazine, 15 September 1915, later renamed New Youth.Xin qingnian (La Jeunesse), Shanghai, scan via Wikimedia Commons (file 新青年 第1卷第1號.djvu, page 1), public domain

Against a Confucian state religion

His timeline places his declaration at 1916, and it began as a political fight. That year Kang Youwei, whose writings had once opened his eyes, campaigned to write Confucianism into the constitution as the state religion. All nations had a religion, Kang argued, as Chen quoted him; only savages had none.2627 Chen answered in October:

Our country is not a religious country; our people are not Indians or Jews; the religious sentiment has always been weak among us.2827

Confucianism, he said, had "absolutely no religious substance," and Europe's philosophy of "no-god" was old, with the German Ernst Haeckel as its spokesman today.293027 In November he went further:

That all religions do nothing for government and civilisation and are no different from idols, we may declare boldly.3132

He at once conceded that Buddhist discipline and Christian clarity of purpose often outshone the Confucian literati, and he insisted that freedom of belief meant that every religion should be treated equally by the state.3332 In 1917 the new chancellor of Peking University, Cai Yuanpei, who argued that aesthetic education should replace religion, made Chen dean of letters, and New Youth printed Cai's essay and Chen's translation of Haeckel's chapter on science and Christianity.343536

The contents page of New Youth, vol. 2, no. 2, October 1916, listing Chen's reply to Kang Youwei.
The contents page of New Youth, vol. 2, no. 2, October 1916, listing Chen's reply to Kang Youwei.Internet Archive, New Youth (Xin qingnian) collection (newyouthmagazine), public domain
Kang Youwei about 1905. In 1916 he campaigned for Confucianism as China's state religion.
Kang Youwei about 1905. In 1916 he campaigned for Confucianism as China's state religion.Los Angeles Times, UCLA Library Special Collections, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Cai Yuanpei, chancellor of Peking University, who made Chen dean of letters in 1917.
Cai Yuanpei, chancellor of Peking University, who made Chen dean of letters in 1917.Bain News Service, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

The godless road

"On Smashing Idols" came in August 1918. Not only gods, it said, but the monarch, the state, military honours and the arches raised to chaste widows were idols too; "our beliefs should take what is real and reasonable as their standard."372

That November, after the Armistice celebrations, he wrote about the Ketteler Monument in Beijing, a memorial of the Boxer rising. He traced the Boxers to Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, the opera and conservatism together, "the crystallisation of all the superstitions and false teachings of the whole of society," and offered two roads:

In the world today there are two roads: one leads toward a republican, scientific, godless road of light; the other toward an autocratic, superstitious, divine-right road of darkness.383940

In January 1919 he answered the magazine's enemies, who charged it with destroying Confucianism, ritual, chastity and "the old religion (spirits and gods)." "These charges," he wrote, "the members of this society naturally admit without denial":

To support Mr. Democracy we cannot avoid opposing Confucianism, ritual law, female chastity, the old ethics and the old politics. To support Mr. Science we cannot avoid opposing the old art and the old religion.414243

The Ketteler Memorial Arch in Peking, 1909, the monument Chen wrote about in November 1918.
The Ketteler Memorial Arch in Peking, 1909, the monument Chen wrote about in November 1918.Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Chen's "Written Defence" in New Youth, January 1919: Mr. Democracy and Mr. Science.
Chen's "Written Defence" in New Youth, January 1919: Mr. Democracy and Mr. Science.Internet Archive, New Youth (Xin qingnian) collection (newyouthmagazine), public domain

The other side

The translator Lin Shu, the best-known conservative critic of the New Culture men, wrote an open letter to Cai Yuanpei in March 1919. The young radicals, he complained, "took delight in 'overturning Confucius and Mencius and rooting out the moral bonds'," and he begged Cai, to whom the fathers of the whole country had entrusted their sons, "to keep to the constant way."444546 Cai replied the next day that New Youth's criticisms were aimed at those who used Confucius's name to attack new ideas, "and were not at first directly hostile to Confucius."4746 Chen himself said that New Youth had discussed no more than "literature, Confucianism, the theatre, widow chastity and spirit-writing, a few quite ordinary questions."4849 In April his post as dean was abolished while he was away, and in June he was arrested in Beijing for handing out leaflets and held until September.505152 His friend Li Dazhao welcomed him out of prison with a poem quoting Chen's own motto: out of the laboratory into prison, out of prison into the laboratory.5352

Lu Xun's "A Madman's Diary" and Chen's "Doubts on the Existence of Ghosts" appeared together in New Youth, vol. 4, no. 5, May 1918.
Lu Xun's "A Madman's Diary" and Chen's "Doubts on the Existence of Ghosts" appeared together in New Youth, vol. 4, no. 5, May 1918.Xin qingnian (La Jeunesse), Shanghai, vol. 4 no. 5, scan via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Students marching in Beijing on 4 May 1919.
Students marching in Beijing on 4 May 1919.Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Jesus's character and feeling

Then, in February 1920, he surprised his readers. In "Christianity and the Chinese People" he called Christianity a major question that Chinese society ought to study, and he hoped young people would not "follow the ignorant old generation in shutting their eyes and talking nonsense."5455 He kept the old attack and offered something new:

Christianity's "doctrine of creation," "doctrine of the Trinity" and its various miracles are mostly ancient legends and embellishments already destroyed by history and science, and we ought to abandon the old belief and look for a new one. What is the new belief? It is Jesus's lofty, great character and his ardent, deep feeling.5655

Apart from Jesus's character and feeling, he wrote, "we know no other Christian doctrine," and in fairness, he added, the Chinese had made more mistakes in their dealings with Christianity than the foreigners.5755 A missionary journal in Shanghai, The Chinese Recorder, printed an English translation and introduced him as a scholar whose article showed the attitude of "the best informed scholars of New China."58 A Christian reader, Bao Shijie, welcomed the call to study, and warned that "aimless attack and shallow criticism of Christianity will be idle, foolish, and useless."5960 His timeline places his revision here.

Chen's "Christianity and the Chinese People," New Youth, vol. 7, no. 3, February 1920: the page proposing Jesus's character as a new faith.
Chen's "Christianity and the Chinese People," New Youth, vol. 7, no. 3, February 1920: the page proposing Jesus's character as a new faith.Internet Archive, New Youth (Xin qingnian) collection (newyouthmagazine), public domain
The Chinese Recorder's English translation of Chen's article, July 1920.
The Chinese Recorder's English translation of Chen's article, July 1920.Internet Archive, The Chinese Recorder, public domain mark

Back to the attack

That spring, by Wikipedia's account, he met the Comintern agent Voitinsky and began forming a Communist group in Shanghai, and in July 1921 the new Communist Party elected him its secretary in his absence.6162 In March 1922, when an anti-Christian federation was formed, he wrote for its paper. An all-good and all-powerful God, he argued, could not have made a world so wicked, and the history of the church, "its violence in the past and its decline today," left "nothing solemn or sacred to speak of."636465 He still held, he added, that doctrine and church should be judged apart. The Chinese Recorder noticed that the second article "seems at first sight to contradict the first one," and judged him sincere: "In essence it is a demand that the Church live up to the ideals of her Lord."666768

Five Peking professors, among them his old allies Zhou Zuoren and Qian Xuantong, published a declaration for freedom of belief: "We are not adherents of any religion, nor do we attempt to protect any religion, nor do we approve of opposition to any religion by challenges."6970 Chen asked them whether Christianity, ghosts, Confucianism and widow chastity now had a freedom not to be opposed, and told them to "respect the freedom of the weak" instead of flattering the strong.717273 Liang Qichao told a philosophy club that the anti-religion movement had become a religion for those who believed in it.7475 The Christian theologian T. C. Chao called the federation's paper a series of "haphazard and hastily written articles" whose arguments were "mostly one-sided, unfair and unscientific."7677 His timeline calls this the reversal: back to the attack, with the church as its target.

The Chinese Recorder's editorial on the anti-Christian movement, May 1922, which judged Chen "sincere."
The Chinese Recorder's editorial on the anti-Christian movement, May 1922, which judged Chen "sincere."Internet Archive, The Chinese Recorder, public domain mark
Zhou Zuoren, one of the five professors who declared for freedom of belief in 1922.
Zhou Zuoren, one of the five professors who declared for freedom of belief in 1922.Unknown photographer (copy displayed at the Cai Yuanpei Memorial, Shanghai; scanned by Mountain), via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

"No doubt left to keep"

In November 1923 he wrote a preface to a volume of essays on a debate over whether science could govern a view of life. One side of the debate, Ding Wenjiang, called himself an agnostic, and Chen said he had inherited "Huxley's and Spencer's mistake": to admit an unknowable part of the universe was to tell the scientists to stand aside and let the metaphysicians in.7879 His own position was this:

As for anything that exists independently above matter and can govern matter, a "mind" (mind being itself a manifestation of matter), a "spirit" or God, we have no doubt left to keep. Call us dogmatic, call us tyrannical; unless you show us evidence, we absolutely cannot abandon our belief.8079

China, he added, following Comte, was "still in the age of religious superstition."8179 Hu Shih's preface to the same volume answered that, on the evidence, "we may as well frankly call ourselves atheists." The word was Hu Shih's; this chapter has found no text in which Chen applies it to himself.79 His timeline places his settled position here.

Hu Shih in 1917, Chen's co-editor at New Youth.
Hu Shih in 1917, Chen's co-editor at New Youth.Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

The opposition of one

In 1927 he lost the leadership of the party, blamed for "right-wing opportunism," and in November 1929 he was expelled after siding with Trotsky's critics.8283 In October 1932 he was arrested in Shanghai, and in 1933 he was sentenced to thirteen years; he was released in August 1937.8485 That October he wrote that Confucius's first value was "an attitude that is not religious or superstitious," since Confucius did not speak of marvels and spirits, but that his ritual teaching was anti-democratic, and he named the Han sceptic Wang Chong as one of the scholars who had opposed the superstitions of his age.868788 He began his autobiography with Hume, observing that Hume's life had been spent in letters and his own in politics.8990

In his last letters "religion" had become a word for blind faith in party doctrine. "The age of religious-style superstition ought to pass soon; everyone, wake up!" he wrote in 1940, and he called for "a scientific, not religious, re-assessment" of the Bolsheviks and their leaders.919293 Hu Shih reported that he accepted the name "lifelong member of the opposition."93 He died at Jiangjin, in Sichuan, on 27 May 1942.94 His timeline places his late restatement here.

Chen Duxiu in 1927.
Chen Duxiu in 1927.Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Chen Duxiu's tomb at Anqing.
Chen Duxiu's tomb at Anqing.Zhou Guanhuai, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Did his unbelief change shape?

Chen never lost a faith that anyone recorded. His unbelief began as a boy's scorn for a spirit-medium and became a weapon in a political fight, against a Confucian state religion in 1916 and for science and democracy against "the old religion" from 1918. It changed shape twice. In 1920 he looked at Christianity seriously and offered the character of Jesus as a new faith; in 1922 he turned on the church. After 1923 he would not even allow himself the agnostic's doubt. What stayed the same was the standard he set in 1918, that belief should take the real and the reasonable as its measure. At the end he applied it to his own party, and he called the Bolsheviks' faith a religion.

Hu Shih, his co-editor at New Youth, who supplied the word "atheist" that Chen never claimed, has his own chapter in this book.

Footnotes

  1. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 偶像破壞論 (On Smashing Idols), New Youth 5:2, 15 Aug 1918, pp. 89–91 (volume pagination in the reprint scan). Wikisource rev. 2029504, New Youth 5:2 (15 Aug 1918), p. 89. ↩

  2. Ouxiang, pp. 89–91; Q7, Q8. ↩ ↩2

  3. "Chen Duxiu", English Wikipedia, revision 1380080341 of 2026-10-13. Used as a map; it summarises Feigon (1983), rev 1380080341; 陈独秀, Chinese Wikipedia, revision 94610687 of 2026-09-27. Used as a map, rev 94610687 (both summarise Feigon); death confirmed in HeZhiyu. Reported at second hand; the original has not been seen. ↩

  4. Chen Duxiu, 實庵自傳 (Autobiography of Shi'an), Nov–Dec 1937, unfinished. Chapters 1–2 on Wikisource (texts/shian-zizhuan.txt,, ch. 1 ("我出世幾個月，我的父親便死了"); "Chen Duxiu". Accounts differ; see the disputed points. ↩

  5. Chen Duxiu: Zizhuan, ch. 1. ↩

  6. Zizhuan, ch. 1; Q30. ↩

  7. Zizhuan, ch. 1. ↩

  8. Chen Duxiu: Zizhuan, ch. 1 (Nov–Dec 1937). ↩

  9. Zizhuan, ch. 1; Q29. ↩

  10. Zizhuan, ch. 1. ↩

  11. Zizhuan, ch. 1. ↩

  12. Chen Duxiu: Zizhuan, ch. 2. ↩

  13. Zizhuan, ch. 2; Q32. ↩

  14. Chen Duxiu, 駁康有為致總統總理書 (Refuting Kang Youwei's Letter to the President and Premier), New Youth 2:2, 1 Oct 1916, opening paragraph. ↩

  15. Chen Duxiu (as 三愛): Chen Duxiu (as 三愛), 開辦《安徽俗話報》的緣故 (Why the Anhui Common Speech Journal was started) with its constitution, 31 Mar 1904, constitution, Anhui Common Speech Journal opening notice (31 Mar 1904), item 5. ↩

  16. Chen Duxiu (as 三愛): Suhuabao, opening notice (31 Mar 1904). ↩

  17. Suhuabao; Q33, Q34. ↩

  18. "Chen Duxiu", section "Vernacular revolution and traditional influences" and "Warrior Yue Society". Not verified. ↩

  19. "Chen Duxiu", (summarising Feigon). ↩

  20. IA item xinqingnian-1915.09.15 (第一卷第一号, 陳獨秀); Elisabeth Forster, 1919 — The Year That Changed China: A New History of the New Culture Movement (Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2018), open access under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, p. 10; "Chen Duxiu". ↩

  21. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 敬告青年 (A Call to Youth), 青年雜誌 (Youth Magazine) 1:1, Shanghai, 15 Sept 1915. Wikisource transcription, rev. 2032256, New Youth 1:1 (15 Sept 1915), sixth principle (六). ↩

  22. Jinggao, (sixth principle); Q1, Q2. ↩ ↩2

  23. Chen Duxiu: Jinggao, sixth principle. ↩

  24. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 當代二大科學家之思想 (The Thought of Two Great Contemporary Scientists), New Youth 2:1, 1 Sept 1916 (date from the Wikisource author list), section on Metchnikoff (一). ↩

  25. Dangdai, (section 梅特尼廓甫 (一)); Q37. ↩

  26. Kang Youwei (1858–1927), reformer of 1898, who in 1916 led the movement for a Confucian state religion; as quoted by Chen: BoKang, (quoting Kang's letter to Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui, 1916); Kang's own text not seen. Not checked against the original (secondhand (Kang's words as quoted by Chen; Chen's transcription yes). Series translation: "Now the people of all nations have a religion, only savages have none. If China does not worship a founder of religion, is it not confessing itself a people without religion, willing to be equal to savages?" Chen's reply (Q3) is that this argument is false on its premises.). ↩

  27. BoKang; Q3, Q4, Q36. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  28. Chen Duxiu: BoKang, New Youth 2:2 (1 Oct 1916), last paragraph. ↩

  29. Chen Duxiu: BoKang, paragraph on Christianity's history. ↩

  30. Chen Duxiu: BoKang, paragraph beginning 歐洲「無神論」. ↩

  31. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 憲法與孔教 (The Constitution and Confucianism), New Youth 2:3, 1 Nov 1916, New Youth 2:3 (1 Nov 1916), paragraph 2. ↩

  32. XianfaKong; Q5, Q6. ↩ ↩2

  33. Chen Duxiu: XianfaKong, bracketed note. ↩

  34. "Chen Duxiu", (appointment); Forster, 1919 — The Year That…, pp. 50–51 (post abolished). ↩

  35. Cai Yuanpei, 以美育代宗教說 (Replacing Religion with Aesthetic Education), New Youth 3:6, 1 Aug 1917; Wikisource table of contents of New Youth vol. 3; Q40. ↩

  36. Haeckel, 科學與基督教 (Science and Christianity, a chapter of Die Welträtsel), translated by Chen Duxiu, New Youth 3:6 (1 Aug 1917) and 4:1 (1918), (Wikisource header "譯者：陳獨秀"); Q38. ↩

  37. Chen Duxiu: Ouxiang, p. 91 (closing lines). ↩

  38. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 克林德碑 (The Ketteler Monument), New Youth 5:5, 15 Nov 1918. Wikisource rev. 5613212, "first cause: Daoism". ↩

  39. Chen Duxiu: Kelinde, New Youth 5:5 (15 Nov 1918), final paragraph. ↩

  40. Kelinde; Q9, Q10. ↩

  41. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 本誌罪案之答辯書 (A Written Defence against the Charges Laid against this Magazine), New Youth 6:1, 15 Jan 1919, pp. 10–11, p. 10. ↩

  42. Chen Duxiu: Zuian, New Youth 6:1 (15 Jan 1919), p. 10. Series translation: "To support Mr. Democracy we cannot avoid opposing Confucianism, ritual law, female chastity, the old ethics and the old politics. To support Mr. Science we cannot avoid opposing the old art and the old religion." Often misquoted as if Chen said "religion" without "old". ↩

  43. Zuian, pp. 10–11; Q11, Q12. ↩

  44. Lin Shu (1852–1924), famous translator of Western fiction into classical Chinese and a Qing-dynasty graduate; the best-known conservative critic of the New Faction: Lin Shu (林紓), 答大學堂校長蔡鶴卿太史書 (Reply to Chancellor Cai Hequing), 18 Mar 1919 (the date of its printing in Gongyan bao, per Cai's reply), open letter to Cai Yuanpei, 18 Mar 1919. ↩

  45. Lin Shu to Cai Yuanpei: LinShu. ↩

  46. LinShu; Cai Yuanpei, 致《公言報》函並答林琴南函 (letters to Gongyan bao and to Lin Shu), 18–19 Mar 1919; Forster, 1919 — The Year That…, p. 49; OQ1–OQ4. ↩ ↩2

  47. Cai Yuanpei (chancellor, Chen's patron), answering Lin Shu on 18–19 Mar 1919: CaiLin. ↩

  48. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 關於北京大學的謠言 (Rumours about Peking University), Weekly Critic (每周評論) no. 13, 16 Mar 1919, Weekly Critic no. 13 (16 Mar 1919), penultimate paragraph. ↩

  49. Forster, 1919 — The Year That…, p. 47; Yaoyan; Q13. ↩

  50. Forster, 1919 — The Year That…, pp. 49–51. ↩

  51. "Chen Duxiu"; WP-zh; Hu Shi, 陳獨秀與文學革命 (Chen Duxiu and the Literary Revolution), lecture of 30 Oct 1932 (texts/hushi-1932-lecture-READONLY.txt). Wikisource says it is in US copyright until 1 Jan 2028. Facts only, (the night); Forster, 1919 — The Year That…, pp. 146 and n. 75 (Shenbao 15 June 1919). ↩

  52. WP-zh; "Chen Duxiu"; Wikisource 歡迎獨秀出獄 (Li Dazhao); Q35. ↩ ↩2

  53. Chen Duxiu (quoted by Li Dazhao): Wikisource 歡迎獨秀出獄 by Li Dazhao, verse (三); New Youth 6:6 (1 Nov 1919). ↩

  54. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 基督教與中國人 (Christianity and the Chinese People), New Youth 7:3, 1 Feb 1920, pp. 14–23. Wikisource rev. 11081007, New Youth 7:3 (1 Feb 1920), section 一 (printed page not checked; article pp. 14–23). ↩

  55. Jidu1920; Q14, Q15, Q16. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  56. Chen Duxiu: Jidu1920, section 五, p. 19. ↩

  57. Chen Duxiu: Jidu1920, section 六 (near p. 20–21; page not checked). ↩

  58. The Chinese Recorder vol. 51 (Shanghai: Presbyterian Mission Press, 1920), (July 1920 issue, pp. 453–458, with the contents page and "Notes on Contributors"). ↩

  59. Pao Shih-jih (Bao Shijie), Christian reader who replied to Chen's 1920 article, in T. C. Chao's English translation: Chinese Recorder, Sept 1920, p. 630. ↩

  60. Chinese Recorder, pp. 628–630; Wikisource table of contents of New Youth vol. 7 (通信 "基督教問題"). ↩

  61. "Chen Duxiu"; WP-zh. ↩

  62. "Chen Duxiu"; WP-zh. ↩

  63. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 基督教與基督教會 (Christianity and the Christian Church), 先驅 (Forerunner) no. 4, 15 Mar 1922. Wikisource rev. 11109182, Forerunner no. 4 (15 Mar 1922), first section. ↩

  64. Chen Duxiu: Jiaohui, last section. ↩

  65. Jiaohui; The Chinese Recorder vol. 53 (1922), p. 294–295; Q17, Q18. ↩

  66. The editors of The Chinese Recorder, an interdenominational missionary journal in Shanghai, on Chen's two articles: Chinese Recorder, May 1922, vol. 53, no. 5, p. 295 (editorial "The Anti-Christian Movement", pp. 294–296). ↩

  67. The Chinese Recorder editors: Chinese Recorder, p. 295. ↩

  68. Chinese Recorder, pp. 294–296; OQ7–OQ9. ↩

  69. Zhou Zuoren, Qian Xuantong, Shen Jianshi, Shen Shiyuan and Ma Yuzao, Peking University professors who shared Chen's New Culture side but opposed the campaign (English text as printed by the Recorder): Chinese Recorder, p. 746. ↩

  70. Chinese Recorder, p. 746; OQ11. ↩

  71. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 致周作人、錢玄同諸君信 (letter dated 2 Apr 1922, printed 7 Apr) and 再致周作人先生信 (letter dated 21 Apr, printed 23 Apr 1922), both in 民國日報·覺悟 (Republican Daily, "Awakening" supplement). Wikisource revs. 2031632 and 2031633. Texts in texts/chen-to-zhou-1922a.txt and chen-to-zhou-1922b.txt, second letter (21 Apr; printed 23 Apr 1922). ↩

  72. Chen Duxiu: ToZhou, letter of 2 Apr 1922, printed Republican Daily (Awakening) 7 Apr 1922. ↩

  73. ToZhou; Q19, Q20. ↩

  74. Liang Qichao (1873–1929), reformer and public intellectual, lecture to the Peking Philosophy Club printed in the China Times on 8 May 1922, in the Recorder's summary: Chinese Recorder, p. 748 (also p. 747: "Any one who has absolute faith in any ism, that ism becomes his religion."). ↩

  75. Chinese Recorder, pp. 746–748; OQ12. ↩

  76. T. C. Chao (Zhao Zichen), Chinese Christian theologian and later dean at Yenching, on the Forerunner, the anti-Christian federation's paper in which Chen's 1922 article appeared: Chinese Recorder, Dec 1922, p. 743 ("Christians and Non-Christians Reply to the Anti-Religion Movement", pp. 743–748). ↩

  77. Chinese Recorder, pp. 743–744; OQ10. ↩

  78. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 《科學與人生觀》序 (Preface to Science and Life-View), 13 Nov 1923. ↩

  79. KXRS; Q21, Q22, Q23; Hu Shi's preface (Wikisource page 《科學與人生觀》序). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  80. Chen Duxiu: KXRS, preface of 13 Nov 1923 (published with the volume Science and Life-View, Shanghai). ↩

  81. Chen Duxiu: KXRS, paragraph 3. ↩

  82. "Chen Duxiu", (summarising Feigon). ↩

  83. "Chen Duxiu"; WP-zh. ↩

  84. "Chen Duxiu"; Wikisource author page. ↩

  85. "Chen Duxiu"; WP-zh. ↩

  86. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 孔子與中國 (Confucius and China), dated 1 Oct 1937, opening. ↩

  87. Chen Duxiu: Kongzi1937, near the end. ↩

  88. Kongzi1937; Q24, Q25. ↩

  89. Chen Duxiu: Zizhuan, ch. 1, first paragraph. ↩

  90. Zizhuan, ch. 1; Q31. ↩

  91. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 給西流的信 (Letter to Xiliu), Sept 1940, from Chen's Last Articles and Letters. Marxists Internet Archive, letter of Sept 1940 (MIA text, simplified characters). ↩

  92. Chen Duxiu: Chen Duxiu, 我的根本意見 (My Basic Views), 28 Nov 1940, point (七), 28 Nov 1940. ↩

  93. Xiliu; Genben; Hu Shi, 《陳獨秀的最後見解》序言 (Preface to Chen Duxiu's Last Views), 14 Apr 1949, (quotes the Jan 1941 letter); Q27, Q28. ↩ ↩2

  94. He Zhiyu (He Zishen), 獨秀先生病逝始末記 (An account of Mr. Duxiu's last illness and death), 6 June 1942. Marxists Internet Archive. ↩

Sources cited in the notes: Chen Duxiu, 偶像破壞論 (On Smashing Idols), New Youth 5:2, 15 Aug 1918, pp. 89–91 (volume pagination in the reprint scan). Wikisource rev. 2029504.; "Chen Duxiu", English Wikipedia, revision 1380080341 of 2026-10-13. Used as a map; it summarises Feigon (1983).; 陈独秀, Chinese Wikipedia, revision 94610687 of 2026-09-27. Used as a map.; Chen Duxiu, 實庵自傳 (Autobiography of Shi'an), Nov–Dec 1937, unfinished. Chapters 1–2 on Wikisource (texts/shian-zizhuan.txt,.; Chen Duxiu, 駁康有為致總統總理書 (Refuting Kang Youwei's Letter to the President and Premier), New Youth 2:2, 1 Oct 1916.; Chen Duxiu (as 三愛), 開辦《安徽俗話報》的緣故 (Why the Anhui Common Speech Journal was started) with its constitution, 31 Mar 1904.; Elisabeth Forster, 1919 — The Year That Changed China: A New History of the New Culture Movement (Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2018), open access under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.; Chen Duxiu, 敬告青年 (A Call to Youth), 青年雜誌 (Youth Magazine) 1:1, Shanghai, 15 Sept 1915. Wikisource transcription, rev. 2032256.; Chen Duxiu, 當代二大科學家之思想 (The Thought of Two Great Contemporary Scientists), New Youth 2:1, 1 Sept 1916 (date from the Wikisource author list).; Chen Duxiu, 憲法與孔教 (The Constitution and Confucianism), New Youth 2:3, 1 Nov 1916.; Cai Yuanpei, 以美育代宗教說 (Replacing Religion with Aesthetic Education), New Youth 3:6, 1 Aug 1917.; Haeckel, 科學與基督教 (Science and Christianity, a chapter of Die Welträtsel), translated by Chen Duxiu, New Youth 3:6 (1 Aug 1917) and 4:1 (1918).; Chen Duxiu, 克林德碑 (The Ketteler Monument), New Youth 5:5, 15 Nov 1918. Wikisource rev. 5613212.; Chen Duxiu, 本誌罪案之答辯書 (A Written Defence against the Charges Laid against this Magazine), New Youth 6:1, 15 Jan 1919, pp. 10–11.; Lin Shu (林紓), 答大學堂校長蔡鶴卿太史書 (Reply to Chancellor Cai Hequing), 18 Mar 1919 (the date of its printing in Gongyan bao, per Cai's reply).; Cai Yuanpei, 致《公言報》函並答林琴南函 (letters to Gongyan bao and to Lin Shu), 18–19 Mar 1919.; Chen Duxiu, 關於北京大學的謠言 (Rumours about Peking University), Weekly Critic (每周評論) no. 13, 16 Mar 1919.; Hu Shi, 陳獨秀與文學革命 (Chen Duxiu and the Literary Revolution), lecture of 30 Oct 1932 (texts/hushi-1932-lecture-READONLY.txt). Wikisource says it is in US copyright until 1 Jan 2028. Facts only.; Chen Duxiu, 基督教與中國人 (Christianity and the Chinese People), New Youth 7:3, 1 Feb 1920, pp. 14–23. Wikisource rev. 11081007.; The Chinese Recorder vol. 51 (Shanghai: Presbyterian Mission Press, 1920); Chen Duxiu, 基督教與基督教會 (Christianity and the Christian Church), 先驅 (Forerunner) no. 4, 15 Mar 1922. Wikisource rev. 11109182.; The Chinese Recorder vol. 53 (1922); Chen Duxiu, 致周作人、錢玄同諸君信 (letter dated 2 Apr 1922, printed 7 Apr) and 再致周作人先生信 (letter dated 21 Apr, printed 23 Apr 1922), both in 民國日報·覺悟 (Republican Daily, "Awakening" supplement). Wikisource revs. 2031632 and 2031633. Texts in texts/chen-to-zhou-1922a.txt and chen-to-zhou-1922b.txt.; Chen Duxiu, 《科學與人生觀》序 (Preface to Science and Life-View), 13 Nov 1923.; Chen Duxiu, 孔子與中國 (Confucius and China), dated 1 Oct 1937.; Chen Duxiu, 給西流的信 (Letter to Xiliu), Sept 1940, from Chen's Last Articles and Letters. Marxists Internet Archive.; Chen Duxiu, 我的根本意見 (My Basic Views), 28 Nov 1940.; Hu Shi, 《陳獨秀的最後見解》序言 (Preface to Chen Duxiu's Last Views), 14 Apr 1949.; He Zhiyu (He Zishen), 獨秀先生病逝始末記 (An account of Mr. Duxiu's last illness and death), 6 June 1942. Marxists Internet Archive.

In their own words

在昔蒙昧之世，當今淺化之民，有想像而無科學。宗敎美文，皆想像時代之產物。

Chen Duxiu · Jinggao, New Youth 1:1 (15 Sept 1915), sixth principle (六)

凡此無常識之思惟，無理由之信仰，欲根治之，厥維科學。

Chen Duxiu · Jinggao, sixth principle

吾國非宗教國，吾國人非印度猶太人，宗教信仰心，由來薄弱。

Chen Duxiu · BoKang, New Youth 2:2 (1 Oct 1916), last paragraph

孔教絕無宗教之實質

Chen Duxiu · BoKang, paragraph on Christianity's history

一切宗敎，無裨治化，等諸偶像，吾人可大膽宣言者也。

Chen Duxiu · XianfaKong, New Youth 2:3 (1 Nov 1916), paragraph 2

所謂宗敎信仰自由者，任人信仰何敎，自由選擇，皆得享受國家同等之待遇，而無所歧視。

Chen Duxiu · XianfaKong, bracketed note

天地間鬼神的存在，倘不能確實證明，一切宗教，都是一種騙人的偶像：阿彌陀佛是騙人的；耶和華上帝也是騙人的；玉皇大帝也是騙人的；一切宗教家所尊重的崇拜的神佛仙鬼，都是無用的騙人的偶像，都應該破壞！

Chen Duxiu · Ouxiang, New Youth 5:2 (15 Aug 1918), p. 89

吾人信仰，當以真實的合理的為標准；宗教上，政治上，道德上，自古相傳的虛榮欺人不合理的信仰，都算是偶像，都應該破壞！

Chen Duxiu · Ouxiang, p. 91 (closing lines)

現在世上是有兩條道路：一條是向共和的科學的無神的光明道路；一條是向專制的迷信的神權的黑暗道路。

Chen Duxiu · Kelinde, New Youth 5:5 (15 Nov 1918), final paragraph

義和拳就是全社會種種迷信種種邪說的結晶

Chen Duxiu · Kelinde, "first cause: Daoism"

要擁護那德先生，便不得不反對孔敎，禮法，貞節，舊倫理，舊政治。要擁護那賽先生，便不得不反對舊藝術，舊宗敎。

Chen Duxiu · Zuian, New Youth 6:1 (15 Jan 1919), p. 10

這幾條罪案，本社同人當然直認不諱。

Chen Duxiu · Zuian, p. 10

《新青年》所討論的，不過是文學，孔教，戲劇，守節，扶乩，這幾個很平常問題

Chen Duxiu · Yaoyan, Weekly Critic no. 13 (16 Mar 1919), penultimate paragraph

所以我以為基督教的問題，是中國社會上應該研究的重大問題，我盼望我們青年不要隨著不懂事的老輩閉起眼睛瞎說！

Chen Duxiu · Jidu1920, New Youth 7:3 (1 Feb 1920), section 一 (printed page not checked; article pp. 14–23)

基督教的“創世說”“三位一體說”和各種靈異，大半是古代的傳說、附會，已經被歷史學和科學破壞了，我們應該拋棄舊信仰，另尋新信仰。新信仰是什麼？就是耶酥崇高的、偉大的人格和熱烈的、深厚的情感。

Chen Duxiu · Jidu1920, section 五, p. 19

除了耶蘇底人格、情感，我們不知道別的基督教義。

Chen Duxiu · Jidu1920, section 六 (near p. 20–21; page not checked)

我們終不能相信全善而又全能的上帝無端造出這樣萬惡的世界來。

Chen Duxiu · Jiaohui, Forerunner no. 4 (15 Mar 1922), first section

綜觀基督教教會底歷史過去的橫暴和現在的墮落，都足以令人悲憤而且戰慄，實在沒有什麼莊嚴神聖之可言。

Chen Duxiu · Jiaohui, last section

請尊重弱者的自由，勿拿自由、人道主義許多禮物向強者獻媚！

Chen Duxiu · ToZhou, letter of 2 Apr 1922, printed Republican Daily (Awakening) 7 Apr 1922

先生們現在果主張基督教、神鬼、孔教軍閥主義、復辟主義、古典文學及婦人守節等等思想都有不許人反對之自由嗎？

Chen Duxiu · ToZhou, second letter (21 Apr; printed 23 Apr 1922)

對於超物質而獨立存在並且可以支配物質的什麼心（心即是物之一種表現），什麼神靈與上帝，我們已無疑可存了。說我們武斷也好，說我們專制也好，若無證據給我們看，我們斷然不能拋棄我們的信仰。

Chen Duxiu · KXRS, preface of 13 Nov 1923 (published with the volume Science and Life-View, Shanghai)

你既承認宇宙間有不可知的部分而存疑，科學家站開，且讓玄學家來解疑。

Chen Duxiu · KXRS

孔德分人類社會為三時代，我們還在宗教迷信時代

Chen Duxiu · KXRS, paragraph 3

孔子的第一價值是非宗教迷信的態度

Chen Duxiu · Kongzi1937, opening

科學與民主，是人類社會進步之兩大主要動力。孔子不言神怪，是近於科學的；孔子的禮教，是反民主的。

Chen Duxiu · Kongzi1937, near the end

就以蔡先生而論，他是主張以美育代替宗教的，他是反對祀孔的，他從來不拿道德向人說教，可是他的品行要好過許多高唱道德的人。

Chen Duxiu · CaiTribute, Chongqing Central Daily 24 Mar 1940

宗教式的迷信时代应当早点过去，大家醒醒罢！

Chen Duxiu · Xiliu, letter of Sept 1940 (MIA text, simplified characters)

科學的而非宗教的重新估計布爾雪維克的理論及其領袖之價值

Chen Duxiu · Genben, point (七), 28 Nov 1940

是我氣他不過，跑去約了同屋及近鄰十多個孩子，從前後門奔進來，同聲大喊某處失了火，這位陰差先生頓時停止了聲響

Chen Duxiu · Zizhuan ch. 1 (Nov–Dec 1937)

我記得家中有一個嚴厲的祖父，一個能幹而慈愛的母親，一個阿彌陀佛的大哥。

Chen Duxiu · Zizhuan ch. 1

休謨的一生差不多是消耗在文字生涯中，我的一生差不多是消耗在政治生涯中

Chen Duxiu · Zizhuan ch. 1, first paragraph

這便是我由選學妖孽轉變到康、梁派之最大動機。

Chen Duxiu · Zizhuan ch. 2

但不是什麼看墳山、謀風水的地理，大家別要認錯了。

Chen Duxiu (as 三愛) · Suhuabao constitution, Anhui Common Speech Journal opening notice (31 Mar 1904), item 5

我們安徽省徽州、潁州的人，還在傳說義和團大得勝戰。

Chen Duxiu (as 三愛) · Suhuabao, opening notice (31 Mar 1904)

出了研究室便入監獄，出了監獄便入研究室。

Chen Duxiu (quoted by Li Dazhao) · Wikisource 歡迎獨秀出獄 by Li Dazhao, verse (三); New Youth 6:6 (1 Nov 1919)

歐洲「無神論」之哲學，由來已久，多數科學家，皆指斥宗教之虛誕，況教主耶？今德國碩學赫克爾，其代表也。

Chen Duxiu · BoKang, paragraph beginning 歐洲「無神論」

氏之血統，乃半猶太人，於宗敎則為無神論者，於政治則自由主義之人。

Chen Duxiu · Dangdai, section on Metchnikoff (一)

神果存在，胡不降罰

Haeckel, translated by Chen Duxiu · Haeckel, "Science and Christianity" part 1, New Youth 3:6 (1 Aug 1917)

蔡先生過申時，曾在江蘇省教育會演講，力斥提倡孔教之妄說，並謂科學昌明，宗教腐說，已失其立足地。

Li Ping (reader's letter), answered by Chen · NY2-5, letter (二), New Youth 2:5 (1 Jan 1917)

夫宗教之為物，在彼歐西各國已為過去問題。

Cai Yuanpei · Cai1917, New Youth 3:6 (1 Aug 1917), opening

The other side

於是更進一解，必覆孔孟、鏟倫常為快。

Lin Shu (1852–1924), famous translator of Western fiction into classical Chinese and a Qing-dynasty graduate; the best-known conservative critic of the New Faction · LinShu, open letter to Cai Yuanpei, 18 Mar 1919

若盡反常軌，侈為不經之談，則毒粥既陳，旁有爛腸之鼠，明燎宵舉，下有聚死之蟲。

Lin Shu · LinShu

今全國父老，以子弟托公，願公留意以守常為是。

Lin Shu to Cai Yuanpei · LinShu

偶有對於孔子學說之批評，然亦對於孔教會等托孔子學說以攻擊新學說者而發，初非直接與孔子為敵也。

Cai Yuanpei (chancellor, Chen's patron), answering Lin Shu on 18–19 Mar 1919 · CaiLin

今萬國之人，莫不有教，惟生番野人無教。今中國不拜教主，豈非自認為無教之人乎？則甘認與生番野人等乎？

Kang Youwei (1858–1927), reformer of 1898, who in 1916 led the movement for a Confucian state religion; as quoted by Chen · BoKang (quoting Kang's letter to Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui, 1916); Kang's own text not seenunverified

孔子之經，與佛、耶之經有異。佛經皆出世清淨之談，耶經隻尊天養魂之說，其於人道舉動雲為，人倫日用，家國天下，多不涉及，故學校之不讀經無損也。

Kang Youwei; as quoted by Chen from Kang's letter to Education Minister Fan Yuanlian · KongziDaounverified

In essence it is a demand that the Church live up to the ideals of her Lord.

The editors of The Chinese Recorder, an interdenominational missionary journal in Shanghai, on Chen's two articles · Recorder1922, May 1922, vol. 53, no. 5, p. 295 (editorial "The Anti-Christian Movement", pp. 294–296)

Since Mr. Chen in the former article recognized the ideals and character of Christ as fundamental we may look on him as sincere.

The Chinese Recorder editors · Recorder1922, p. 295

The ideas advanced by the movement are a compound of ill-digested science and agnostic Chinese philosophy.

The Chinese Recorder editors, on the anti-Christian movement · Recorder1922, p. 296

contained a series of haphazard and hastily written articles which presented arguments mostly one-sided, unfair and unscientific.

T. C. Chao (Zhao Zichen), Chinese Christian theologian and later dean at Yenching, on the Forerunner, the anti-Christian federation's paper in which Chen's 1922 article appeared · Recorder1922, Dec 1922, p. 743 ("Christians and Non-Christians Reply to the Anti-Religion Movement", pp. 743–748)

We are not adherents of any religion, nor do we attempt to protect any religion, nor do we approve of opposition to any religion by challenges.

Zhou Zuoren, Qian Xuantong, Shen Jianshi, Shen Shiyuan and Ma Yuzao, Peking University professors who shared Chen's New Culture side but opposed the campaign (English text as printed by the Recorder) · Recorder1922, p. 746

We have no face to attack Christianity in the presence of such cults

Liang Qichao (1873–1929), reformer and public intellectual, lecture to the Peking Philosophy Club printed in the China Times on 8 May 1922, in the Recorder's summary · Recorder1922, p. 748 (also p. 747: "Any one who has absolute faith in any ism, that ism becomes his religion.")

Aimless attack and shallow criticism of Christianity will be idle, foolish, and useless.

Pao Shih-jih (Bao Shijie), Christian reader who replied to Chen's 1920 article, in T. C. Chao's English translation · Recorder1920, Sept 1920, p. 630

Where accounts differ

PointOne accountAnotherHow the page handles it
D1. When Chen's father died"a few months" after he was born (Chen, Zizhuan ch. 1)age two; "not two months as Chen later claimed" (WP-en, summarising Feigon)Say "Chen said his father died when he was an infant"; do not give a number.
D2. Date of "The Ketteler Monument"15 Oct 1918 (Wikisource heading on the page; IA item labelled xinqingnian-1918.10.15 for 5:5)15 Nov 1918 (the Wikisource contents list for vol. 5 gives 第五號 (1918年11月15日)); the essay speaks of the 14–16 November Armistice holiday in the past tense, so the issue is nominally dated 15 Nov but cannot have appeared before the holidayUse November 1918; the October label cannot be right (the text cannot predate 11 Nov).
D3. How Chen left the deanshipHe resigned in March 1919 to shield the university (WP-en)His post was abolished on 10 April 1919 while he was away (Forster pp. 50–51); Cai's letter of 19 March 1919 says Chen has not resigned (Wikisource contents list, summary only)Say "he lost the deanship in the spring of 1919", with "accounts differ" if the detail is used.
D4. Arrest and release in 1919Arrested 11 June; released on bail 16 Sept (WP-zh, one passage); "83 days" in custody (WP-en), which would put the release on about 2 SeptArrested 12 June (WP-zh, another passage); Li Dazhao's welcoming poem is dated 28 Sept 1919 on Wikisource (compatible with either September date)Say "arrested in June and released in September".
D5. Release from prison in 19378 August 1937 (WP-en)23 August 1937 (WP-zh)Say "in August 1937".
D6. Date of death27 May 1942 (He Zhiyu 1942, eyewitness; WP-en; WP-zh)27 August 1942 (Hu Shi 1949 preface; an evident slip)Use 27 May 1942.
D7. How successful New Youth was"sold very badly and was therefore almost closed down in 1918" (Forster p. 10)Circulation grew from 1,000 to 16,000 copies (WP-en, from Feigon)If circulation is mentioned, say "accounts differ"; do not state a number.
D8. Date of the second half of Haeckel's chapter4:1, 15 Jan 1918 (IA item xinqingnian-1918.01.15, 第四卷第一号)15 Feb 1918 (Wikisource note)Use "early 1918".
D9. Date of the five professors' declaration31 March 1922 (WP-zh)"April 2" (Recorder Dec 1922, p. 746); Chen's reply letter, dated 2 April, says he has just seen it in the pressSay "at the end of March or the start of April 1922".
D10. Month of Chen's article on Christianity1 Feb 1920, New Youth 7:3 (Wikisource contents; IA item xinqingnian-1920.02.01)"the March Number (1920)" (Recorder, July 1920 contributors' notes)Use 1 Feb 1920.
D11. Date of "The True Meaning of Human Life"1919 (WP-en)15 Feb 1918, New Youth 4:2 (Wikisource contents list; text not found)Do not use the essay until its text is read.

List of illustrations

This page uses only public-domain and Creative Commons images; each is credited with its source and licence.

  1. New Youth vol. 5 no. 2, 15 Aug 1918, p. 89: opening of Chen Duxiu, 'On Smashing Idols' (偶像破壞論) — Chen Duxiu (editor); Qunyi shushe, Shanghai, 1918 · Internet Archive, New Youth (Xin qingnian) collection (newyouthmagazine), public domain · Public domain (published 1918, before 1931; Internet Archive item states no rights)
  2. Yingjiang Temple, Anqing, Anhui (2016) — Zhou Guanhuai, 2016 · Zhou Guanhuai, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  3. Liang Qichao, 1910 — Unknown photographer, 1910 · Unknown photographer, minguotupian.com, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons template {{PD-China}}, {{PD-1923}}; dated 1910, before 1931)
  4. Xin qingnian (New Youth), vol. 1 no. 1, front cover of the bound volume (worn) — Chen Duxiu, ed.; Hu Shih (for 'Bu xiu'); Qunyi shushe, Shanghai, 1915 · Xin qingnian (La Jeunesse), Shanghai, scan via Wikimedia Commons (file 新青年 第1卷第1號.djvu, page 1), public domain · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons: category 'PD US expired'; journal published in Shanghai 1915-1919, before 1931)
  5. New Youth vol. 2 no. 2, 1 Oct 1916, contents page listing Chen's 'Refuting Kang Youwei's Letter to the President and Premier' (駁康有為致總統總理書) — Chen Duxiu (editor); Qunyi shushe, Shanghai, 1916 · Internet Archive, New Youth (Xin qingnian) collection (newyouthmagazine), public domain · Public domain (published 1916, before 1931; Internet Archive item states no rights)
  6. Kang Youwei, circa 1905 (Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, UCLA) — Los Angeles Times, c1905 · Los Angeles Times, UCLA Library Special Collections, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 · CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons; source UCLA Library digital collections https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz0002p287)
  7. Cai Yuanpei (T. Sai Yuan-Bet), Library of Congress, Bain collection, c. 1910 — Bain News Service, c1910 · Bain News Service, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons template {{PD-Bain}}; Bain News Service negatives, c. 1910, before 1931)
  8. The Ketteler Memorial arch, Peking, 1909 — Unknown photographer, 1909 · Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons template {{PD-China}}; dated 1909, before 1931)
  9. New Youth vol. 6 no. 1, 15 Jan 1919, p. 10: opening of Chen Duxiu, 'A Written Defence against the Charges Laid against this Magazine' (本誌罪案之答辯書) — Chen Duxiu (editor); Qunyi shushe, Shanghai, 1919 · Internet Archive, New Youth (Xin qingnian) collection (newyouthmagazine), public domain · Public domain (published 1919, before 1931; Internet Archive item states no rights)
  10. Xin qingnian vol. 4 no. 5: Chen Duxiu, 'You gui lun zhiyi' (Doubts on the theory that ghosts exist), opening page — Chen Duxiu, in Xin qingnian, Qunyi shushe, Shanghai, 1918-05-15 · Xin qingnian (La Jeunesse), Shanghai, vol. 4 no. 5, scan via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons template {{PD-US-expired}}; journal published in Shanghai 15 May 1918, before 1931)
  11. Students march on 4 May 1919, Beijing — Unknown photographer, 1919 · Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons template {{PD-China}}; dated 1919, before 1931)
  12. New Youth vol. 7 no. 3, p. 19: 'Christianity and the Chinese People', sections 5-6 — Chen Duxiu (editor); Qunyi shushe, Shanghai, 1920 · Internet Archive, New Youth (Xin qingnian) collection (newyouthmagazine), public domain · Public domain (published 1920, before 1931; Internet Archive item states no rights)
  13. The Chinese Recorder, July 1920, p. 453: 'Christianity and the Chinese People' by Mr. Chen Tu-seu, translated by Y. Y. Tsu (title page of the abridged translation) — The Chinese Recorder (Presbyterian Mission Press, Shanghai), 1920 · Internet Archive, The Chinese Recorder, public domain mark · Public Domain Mark 1.0 (Internet Archive rights field: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/; published 1920, before 1931)
  14. The Chinese Recorder, May 1922, p. 295: editorial 'The Anti-Christian Movement' ('In essence it is a demand that the Church live up to the ideals of her Lord'; Chen 'sincere') — The Chinese Recorder (Presbyterian Mission Press, Shanghai), 1922 · Internet Archive, The Chinese Recorder, public domain mark · Public Domain Mark 1.0 (Internet Archive rights field: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/; published 1922, before 1931)
  15. Zhou Zuoren, c. 1920 — Unknown photographer (copy displayed at the Cai Yuanpei Memorial, Shanghai; scanned by Mountain), c. 1920 · Unknown photographer (copy displayed at the Cai Yuanpei Memorial, Shanghai; scanned by Mountain), via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons template {{PD-China-expired}}, in Commons' 'PD US+source' group; photograph c. 1920, before 1931)
  16. Hu Shih, 1917 — Unknown photographer, 1917 · Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons template {{PD-China}}, {{PD-1996}}; dated 1917, before 1931)
  17. Chen Duxiu, January 1927 — Unknown photographer, 1927 · Unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons template {{PD-China}}, {{PD-1996}}; dated 1927, before 1931)
  18. Tomb of Chen Duxiu in Anqing, Anhui — Zhou Guanhuai, 2026 · Zhou Guanhuai, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · CC0 (Wikimedia Commons, licence URL http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en)

Sources

Tier 1 — the subject's own words (writings, letters, diaries, trial records)

Tier 2 — scholarly biographies and encyclopedias

  • [Forster] Elisabeth Forster, 1919 — The Year That Changed China: A New History of the New Culture Movement (Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2018), open access under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. IA oapen-20.500.12657-51180. Text in texts/oapen-1919.txt. Page numbers are from the running heads in the OCR. Read for facts and paraphrase only: the licence forbids derivatives and commercial use, so do not quote it in the monetised script.
  • [Feigon] Lee Feigon, Chen Duxiu: Founder of the Chinese Communist Party (Princeton University Press, 1983). IA chenduxiufounder0000feig. NOT READ: lending-library scan, text access refused (401/403). Everything credited to Feigon here comes through Wikipedia and is marked secondhand.

Tier 3 — popular biographies and journalism

  • [Recorder1920] The Chinese Recorder vol. 51 (Shanghai: Presbyterian Mission Press, 1920). IA thechineserecorderv511920. Text in texts/chinese-recorder-1920.txt. Contains "Christianity and the Chinese People" by Mr. Chen Tu-seu, trans. Y. Y. Tsu (July, pp. 453–458, abridged) and "The Problem of Christianity in China" by Pao Shih-jih, trans. T. C. Chao (Sept, pp. 628–630).
  • [HeZhiyu] He Zhiyu (He Zishen), 獨秀先生病逝始末記 (An account of Mr. Duxiu's last illness and death), 6 June 1942. Marxists Internet Archive https://www.marxists.org/chinese/chenduxiu/mia-chinese-on-chen-hzs-19420606.htm (texts/hezhiyu-death-1942.txt). Eyewitness; used for facts only.
  • [HuShi1949] Hu Shi, 《陳獨秀的最後見解》序言 (Preface to Chen Duxiu's Last Views), 14 Apr 1949. https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/《陳獨秀的最後見解》序言 (texts/hushi-1949-preface-READONLY.txt). In US copyright (Hu died 1962): read for facts and paraphrase only. Chen's own words quoted inside it are his, but the original (his Last Articles and Letters, 1949) has not been located.
  • [HuShi1932] Hu Shi, 陳獨秀與文學革命 (Chen Duxiu and the Literary Revolution), lecture of 30 Oct 1932 (texts/hushi-1932-lecture-READONLY.txt). Wikisource says it is in US copyright until 1 Jan 2028. Facts only.

Tier 4 — Wikipedia and similar reference sites (citable; give the article and revision date; prefer a higher tier where one exists)

  • [WP-en] "Chen Duxiu", English Wikipedia, revision 1380080341 of 2026-10-13. Used as a map; it summarises Feigon (1983).
  • [WP-zh] 陈独秀, Chinese Wikipedia, revision 94610687 of 2026-09-27. Used as a map.

Opposition sources — contemporary critics and religious responses

  • [LinShu] Lin Shu (林紓), 答大學堂校長蔡鶴卿太史書 (Reply to Chancellor Cai Hequing), 18 Mar 1919 (the date of its printing in Gongyan bao, per Cai's reply). https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/答大學堂校長蔡鶴卿太史書 Text in texts/linshu-letter.txt.
  • [CaiLin] Cai Yuanpei, 致《公言報》函並答林琴南函 (letters to Gongyan bao and to Lin Shu), 18–19 Mar 1919. https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/致《公言報》函並答林琴南函 Text in texts/cai-reply-lin.txt.
  • [Kang via Chen] Kang Youwei's 1916 letter to Presidents Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui, and his letter to the Education Minister Fan Yuanlian, known here only as quoted by Chen in [BoKang] and [KongziDao]. Kang's own texts not found in a free edition.
  • [Recorder1922] The Chinese Recorder vol. 53 (1922). IA thechineserecorderv531922. Text in texts/chinese-recorder-1922.txt. Editorial "The Anti-Christian Movement" (May, pp. 294–296); T. C. Chao, "Christians and Non-Christians Reply to the Anti-Religion Movement" (Dec, pp. 743–748), which prints the English text of the five professors' declaration (p. 746) and quotes Liang Qichao's lecture (pp. 746–748).