Editing Chen Duxiu (section)

==Literature==

===Writing style===
Chen felt that his articles should reflect the needs of society. He believed that the progress of society could not be achieved without those who accurately report social weaknesses and sicknesses.

Chen's articles were always expressive. He criticized the traditional Chinese officials as [[Political corruption|corrupt]] and guilty of other wrongdoings. He was under constant attack from conservatives in China, and had to flee to Japan four times. In China, he spent much of his life in the [[French Concession]] and the [[Shanghai International Settlement]] in order to pursue his writing and scholarly activities free from official harassment.

Chen's articles strove to attract publicity, and often arouse discussion by using [[hyperbole]]. He lashed out against the backwardness and corruption in China. In ''New Youth'', he wrote various articles using [[pseudonym]]s to form "discussions", in order to arouse public interest.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}

Chen's publications emphasized the responses from their audience. In ''New Youth'' there were forums and citizens' columns. On average, there were 6 letters from the public in each issue. Whether in praise or strong opposition, Chen encouraged all to write. He also thought that teamwork was very important in journalism, and consequently asked for help from many talented authors and journalists, including [[Hu Shih]] and [[Lu Xun]].

===Journalistic works===

====''Anhui Suhua Bao''====
On 31 March 1904, Chen founded ''Anhui Suhua Bao'', a newspaper that he established with Fang Zhiwu and Wu Shou in Tokyo to promote revolutionary ideas using [[vernacular Chinese]], which was simple to understand and easy for the general public to read. While Chen was the chief secretary of the newspaper, its circulation increased from only a thousand copies to more than three times that figure in less than half a year, becoming one of the most popular [[vernacular Chinese]] newspapers in print at that time. During 1904 and 1905, a total of twenty-three issues were published. Each issue had 40 pages – about 15,000 words. However, due to political pressures, the paper was barred from publishing in 1905.

Chen had three main objectives in publishing ''Anhui Suhua Bao'': to let his countrymen in Anhui keep abreast of the politics of the Qing dynasty; to spread knowledge to the paper's readers through vernacular Chinese; and, to promote revolutionary ideas to the public. Chen believed that most Chinese believed that the importance of the family was greater than that of the state, and that this limited their interest in political events. He also found Chinese people in general to be excessively [[superstitious]]. Chen urged Chinese people to participate in politics through the publication of ''Anhui Suhua Bao''. After its sixteenth issue, the newspaper added an extra 16 columns; the most popular were on military events, Chinese philosophy, hygiene, and astronomy. Almost all of these additional topics were written by Chen. His pen-name was San'ai (三爱/三愛). At least 50 articles were published under this name.

====''Tokyo Jiayin Magazine''====
In early 1914, Chen went to Japan, where he worked as an editor and writer in the ''Tokyo Jiayin Magazine'', which was published by [[Zhang Shizhao]]. Chen once wrote an article entitled "Self Consciousness on Patriotism" (爱国心与自觉/愛國心與自覺) which conveyed a strong sense of patriotism and encouraged people to fight for their freedom. It promoted the idea that those who love their country should spare no pains to protect it, and should fight for the rights of its citizens. This group of people should work together towards the same goal [[:wikt:harmony|harmonious]]ly. The article was threatening to Yuan Shikai's government, as it tried to arouse the self-consciousness of the Chinese people. This preliminary magazine was released for 10 issues in total, before it was prevented from publishing. The magazine was resumed in 1925 in Beijing with the new name ''Tokyo Jiayin Weekly''.

====''New Youth'' magazine====
In 1915, Chen started an influential monthly periodical in the [[French Concession]] of Shanghai, ''The Youth Magazine'' (青年杂志/青年雜誌), which was later renamed ''[[New Youth]]'' (新青年, literally ''New Youth'').<ref name=":0"/> It became one of the most influential magazines among the students who participated in the [[May Fourth Movement]]. Chen was the chief editor of this periodical. It was published by [[Qunyi Shushe]], and ended publication in 1926. The magazine mainly advocated the use of [[vernacular language]], socialism, and Marxism, and was strongly against [[feudalism]].

In 1917, Chen became a lecturer of [[Chinese Literature]], and a Dean of [[Peking University]]. Having the approval from the [[Cai Yuanpei]], the Chancellor of the [[Peking University]], Chen collected the writings of the students which he appreciated most, which especially included [[Li Dazhao]], [[Hu Shih]], [[Lu Xun]] and Qian Yuan. In order to expand the editorial department, ''New Youth'' was moved to Beijing at this time, and in February 1917, Chen used ''New Youth'' to promote science, democracy and modern literature, and to discourage the study of [[paleography]] and classical Chinese literature. The magazine began to advocate the use of the [[scientific method]] and [[Logical argument]]s towards the achievement of political, economic, [[Social issues|social]], ethical, and democratic goals.

''New Youth'' focused on different concerns during various phases of its development. From 1915 to 1918 it opposed Chinese conservatism (especially conservatism associated with Confucianism) and promoted the development of democracy. During this phase, it became influential among the [[New Culture Movement]]. From 1919 to 1921, until the formation of the Chinese Communist Party, it focused on promoting socialism, and Marxism. From 1921 to 1926, it published and disseminated the prevailing views of the members of the Communist Party.

====Minor publications====

The Shanghai local government banned the sale of a publication called "''Guomin Ribao''" (国民日报/國民日報) on 1 December 1903. After this, Chen twice planned to found a paper called "''Aiguo Xinbao''"  but failed because of pressure from different groups. Chen continued to express his discontent towards the government in his later publications. When ''Anhui Suhua Bao''  was published on 31 March 1904, Chen was responsible for all editing and distribution.

On 27 November 1918, Chen started another magazine, the ''Weekly Review'' (每周评论/每週評論) with [[Li Dazhao]] in order to criticize the politics of his time in a more direct way and to promote democracy, science, and modern literature. Chen also edited ''Tokyo Jiayin Magazine'' (甲寅杂志/甲寅雜誌) and ''Science Magazine'' (科学杂志/科學雜誌). Later, he became the Editor-in-Chief of the newspapers ''Minli Bao'' (民立报/民立報) and ''Shenzhou Daily'' (神州日报/神州日報).

From 1908 to 1910, two students at Peking University, [[Deng Zhongxia]] and [[Xu Deheng]], founded the ''Guomin'' magazine  and invited [[Li Dazhao]]  to be a consultant for the magazine. From 1912 to 1913, Chen, with the assistance of [[Luo Jialun]] and [[Fu Sinian]], published a paper named ''[[Xinchao She]]''.

====Chen's contribution to Chinese journalism====
Chen set a precedent for future writers via the intentionally controversial nature of his publications. He insisted on telling the truth to the Chinese people and strengthening the Chinese media for later generations. By publishing newspapers and magazines concerning political issues, Chen provided a channel for the general public to express their ideas or discontent towards the existing government. Chen believed that the purpose of mass media was to reveal the truth. At a young age, Chen had already established his first periodical, Guomin Ribao, in which he criticized many social and political problems evident in the late Qing dynasty. With a view to the things mentioned above, his contribution was said to be influential to journalism as a whole. Chen's writing brought the standards of Chinese journalism closer to those of other, more [[liberalism|liberal]] societies of his time.

===Poetry===
In 1918, ''New Youth'' published contemporary poetry by [[Hu Shih]] and [[Liu Bannong]], written in [[vernacular Chinese]], becoming one of the first publications in China to encourage poetry in vernacular Chinese. Eventually, every article in ''New Youth'' was written in vernacular Chinese. ''New Youth'' was one of the first publications in China to adopt and use punctuations marks, and popularized their use through its popularity and wide readership.

===Final letters and articles===
Gregor Benton compiled and translated into English the last of Chen Duxiu's writings, publishing them under the title "Chen Duxiu's last articles and letters, 1937–1942".{{sfn|Benton|1998}}