Abstract:

This paper examines the Shanghai left-wing youth movement during the National Revolution (1924-1927) through the lens of generational succession in the nation-building movement of the 20th century. By tracing the origins of China's youth movement, it elucidates why left-wing youth developed nation-building blueprints distinct from those of the constitutionalist gentry elites in southeastern China. The study first investigates May Fourth youth organizations (notably the Young China Association) to trace the origins of the National Revolution-era leftist youth movement, analyzing how young intellectuals subjectively perceived their role in national construction. Influenced by the idea of a nation as an organic entity inherent in youth culture, young people sought to establish spiritual identification between the individual and the nation-state. This drove their self-transformation according to national ideals and formation of new collectives to forge an integrated modern nation. The transcendental idealism and anarchist ethics prevailing among youth inclined them toward reforming traditional social organizations and ethical relationships mediating between individual and state. Consequently, they rejected the legitimacy of southeastern gentry elites' modernization model based on "gentry-administered democracy".This divergence produced contrasting orientations: the gentry's reforms exhibited an engineering-technical approach-continuing Ming-Qing local autonomy traditions while incorporating American influences to create a modernization program integrating pragmatic education, constitutional campaigns, and national industries. Left-wing youth conversely articulated a moral ethos centered on social justice and nationalism. During the National Revolution, Shanghai's leftist youth reshaped ideological discourse through party organs, revolutionary universities, militant publications, and student federations. These institutions reconfigured young people's consciousness and behavioral patterns, prompting them to interpret self and society through Marxist frameworks. Ultimately, this fostered a materialist worldview encompassing both cosmic and social orders, alongside a collectivist philosophy of life.

Key words: nation states, National Revolution, Young China Association, gentry-elites, Education Association of Jiangsu Province