The New Culture Movement is carried out along two fronts, one is the ideological front, and the other is the literary front. The two fronts are intertwined, so it is both an ideological revolution and a literary revolution. As an ideological revolution, it advocates democracy and science, opposes autocracy, ignorance and superstition, advocates new morality and opposes old morality. As a literary revolution, it advocates new literature and opposes old literature.

The essence of the early New Culture Movement was the struggle between the bourgeois new culture and the feudal old culture. Vigorously promote Marxism in the later period.

The progressiveness of the new culture movement

The development of democracy and scientific thought has shaken the dominant position of feudal thought, promoted the development of natural science in China and liberated people's thoughts, especially those of young people. Marxism spread in the later period was accepted by advanced intellectuals in China and became an ideological weapon to save the nation and transform society. It played a propaganda and mobilization role in the outbreak of the May 4th Movement, and was also conducive to the popularization and prosperity of culture.

Limitations of the New Culture Movement

The New Culture Movement was initiated by the bourgeois radical democrats. It has great contributions and serious shortcomings. The advocates of the movement ignored the masses, did not combine the new culture movement with the masses, and confined the cultural movement to the circle of intellectuals. They also avoided the actual struggle against the warlord government at that time and did not directly put forward the anti-imperialist task. As far as the literary revolution at that time was concerned, although the construction of "national literature" was put forward, the literary activities at that time were limited to some intellectuals and could not be popularized among workers and peasants. The blind criticism of China's classical literature is one-sided.

The influence of the new culture movement

(1) shook the dominant position of feudal thought. Before the New Culture Movement, the bourgeois reformists and revolutionaries did not thoroughly criticize feudal thoughts when they publicized their political opinions. After the New Culture Movement, feudal thoughts were criticized and people's thoughts were liberated unprecedentedly.

(2) Promoting democracy and scientific thinking. China intellectuals were baptized by western democratic and scientific thoughts in the New Culture Movement. This paved the way for the spread of new ideas and promoted the development of natural science in China.

(3) Prepare for the May 4th Movement. The New Culture Movement inspired people's democratic consciousness and played a role in propaganda and mobilization in the May 4th patriotic movement.

(4) The later spread of socialist ideology inspired the advanced intellectuals in China to choose and accept Marxism as an ideological weapon to save the country, transform society and promote revolution. This is the most important achievement of the New Culture Movement.

(5) Conducive to the popularization and prosperity of culture. The new culture movement advocates vernacular Chinese, which can unify language and writing more closely and be accepted by the general public, thus contributing to the popularization and prosperity of culture.

However, most of the advanced elements in the new culture movement have some extreme emotions, and their views on eastern and western cultures are absolutely positive or negative, which has always influenced the future. In fact, East and West should learn from each other's strong points and make progress together.

The connotation of the May 4th spirit is

Patriotism is the source of the May 4th spirit, and democracy and science are the core of it. Brave exploration, innovation, emancipating the mind and carrying out changes are the ways to put forward and realize democratic science, and rational spirit, personality liberation and anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism are the contents of democratic science. All these are aimed at rejuvenating the Chinese nation. Therefore, to commemorate the May 4th Movement and carry forward its spirit, these aspects should be combined. Strive for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In short, the spirit of the May 4th Movement represents the unity of honesty, progress, positivity, freedom, equality, creativity, beauty, kindness, peace, mutual love, mutual assistance, labor and happiness, and the happiness of the whole society.