Yang Lan: Cultural Enlightenment and Belief Shaping: The Generation of Atheistic Knowledge in "New Youth"
The dissemination of scientific knowledge by New Youth (Xin Qingnian) was a vital aspect of its cultural enlightenment, undergoing a process that shifted from the transmission of ideas to revolutionary mobilization. Within this, the generation of atheistic knowledge ran longitudinal through the overall evolution of New Youth and linked latitudinally with social trends and social transformation, presenting an exceptionally rich body of content. Previous scholarship has gravitated toward organizing the textual themes, publication history, and social influence of New Youth; regarding its discussions on atheism, research has focused on the pathways and strategies of scientific knowledge dissemination and analyzed the connotations and functions of the atheistic thought of figures like Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao. These studies have preliminarily clarified the historical function of atheistic propagation in New Youth, laying a solid foundation for a multidimensional investigation of the issue. This article attempts, from the perspective of the interaction between knowledge and practice, to present the generation of atheistic knowledge in New Youth. It further explores how, amidst the varying demands of cultural enlightenment and revolutionary mobilization, the orientation of atheistic knowledge transformed and ultimately established a deep connection with the revolutionary activities of the Communist Party of China.
I. "Destroying Old Religions": The Orientation of Atheistic Discussions in New Youth
In 1915, in the inaugural issue of Youth Magazine (Qingnian zazhi), Chen Duxiu identified "denying ecclesiastical authority and seeking liberation from religion" as one of the magazine's primary objectives. Four years later, in "A Defense of the Charges Against This Journal," Chen summarized the previous content of New Youth using nine categories of "destruction," which included the destruction of Confucianism [1] and the destruction of old religions (ghosts and spirits). From adopting Western Enlightenment experiences by making the "denial of ecclesiastical authority" a goal, to targeting the specific issues of Confucianism and spirits present in Chinese society, Chen’s summary demonstrates the sustained progression of New Youth in this regard. However, it is necessary to ask: why did New Youth make the "denial of ecclesiastical authority" one of its foundational arguments? What position did this content occupy in the early atheistic discourse system of New Youth? And how did Confucianism come to be placed alongside ghosts and spirits as a major topic of "censure" in the early period of the journal?
Although the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the system of imperial power, activities involving sacrifices to Heaven and Confucius remained extremely prevalent in the early Republic. On November 1, 1913, the Constitution Drafting Committee proposed the "Draft Constitution of the Republic of China" (the "Temple of Heaven Draft Constitution"), Article 19 of which stipulated that "national education shall take the Way of Confucius as the fundamental basis for moral cultivation." In 1914, Yuan Shikai successively promulgated the "Statute Designating Sacrifices to Heaven as Universal Sacrifices," the "Winter Solstice Rituals for Sacrificing to Heaven," and the "Order to Observe the Republican System while Regulating Sacrifices to Confucius According to Ancient Meanings," ensuring the continuation of these rituals through state decrees. Influenced by this, various theories promoting spirits and Confucianism reached a fever pitch. Only three months after Yuan Shikai's death, Kang Youwei again petitioned the Beiyang Government to "adopt Confucianism as the Great Religion and incorporate it into the Constitution." This proposal caused a massive uproar. Such circumstances compelled New Youth, which took ideological enlightenment as its mission, to place the critique of Confucianism alongside the critique of spiritualist thought, making it a critical and urgent intellectual theme in its early stages.
First, it clarified the relationship between "Confucianism" and national politics. Due to the thousands of inextricable links between Confucianism, spiritualist thought, and the restoration of the imperial system in the early Republic, a deep critique of these ideas from the perspective of scientific enlightenment and the preservation of the Republican system became the basic orientation of New Youth. First, the issue of "Confucianism" was deemed an ethical matter inappropriate for inclusion in the Constitution. Chen Duxiu argued that the essence of Confucianism was the "ritual code" (lijiao [2]), the root of traditional Chinese ethical politics. He specifically noted that "Confucianism and the imperial system have an inseparable bond." Specifically, since Confucianism served as a tool to maintain imperial rule, it had no reason to exist after the Xinhai Revolution, let alone have its status codified in law or the Constitution. Second, "Confucianism" was viewed as the ideology of an autocratic era, incompatible with the contemporary Republican system. The Republican system established after the founding of the Republic required new thoughts and beliefs to match it; therefore, one must have "thorough awakening and fierce determination" to abolish Confucianism. Third, incorporating "Confucianism" into the Constitution was seen as a violation of the "universal" principle of freedom of religious belief. Taking Western society as a reference, Chen Duxiu argued that because multiple religious beliefs may exist in a single society, designating Confucianism as the "state religion" would inevitably infringe upon other faiths. Furthermore, because the link between monarchical power and ecclesiastical power was stripped away simultaneously during modern Western social transformations, the proposal to set Confucianism as the state religion naturally failed to conform to the "universal rules" of the world. It should be said that during this period, New Youth primarily used "exemplars" from Western nations as its argumentative basis to systematically critique the discourse of "establishing Confucianism as the state religion." Regarding the construction of an atheistic discourse system, the critique of "Confucianism" was not aimed at the question of "the existence of God" per se, but rather functioned as a critique of religious-themed topics from the broader perspective of "idol worship."
Second, it analyzed the superstitious essence of the "Spiritualism" (lingxue) trend. The early Republican government's sacrifices to Heaven reinforced the worship of Mandate of Heaven and spirits. Furthermore, those influenced by Western Spiritualism used photography technology to fabricate hypotheses regarding the existence of ghosts, further fueling superstitious tendencies in society. In 1917, the Spiritualist Society (Lingxue hui) was established in Shanghai and published the Spiritualism Magazine (Lingxue congzhi), promoting "telepathy," "seances," and "spirit-seeing techniques." They published various "ghost writings" and "spirit photographs," arguing for the existence of the "netherworld" and claiming that "the study of the soul has been recognized by the world." In response to this phenomenon, New Youth published a large number of articles critiquing various superstitions: Xu Changtong’s "On Superstition in Ghosts and Spirits," Chen Duxiu's "Questioning the Theory of the Existence of Ghosts," Liu Bannong's "A Refutation of Spiritualism Magazine," Qian Xuantong's "A Censure of Spiritualism Magazine," and Chen Daqi's "A Refutation of 'Spiritualism'." Among these, Xu Changtong's article analyzed the reasons for the prevalence of superstition from an epistemological perspective and proposed that the method to help people rid themselves of such superstitions was to "bolster their courage and seek more knowledge." Although the author's method for debunking superstition was relatively simple, it emphasized the full exercise of human courage and fearlessness, along with the popularization of scientific knowledge. Chen Daqi’s "A Refutation of 'Spiritualism'" used "scientific understanding to explain planchette writing [3], clarifying it as a phenomenon of abnormal psychology." He analyzed the psychological reasons behind the Spiritualist Society’s use of various "novel techniques" for planchette writing and provided methodological guidance for recognizing theistic phenomena from an epistemological height: "Those who speak of science should, when encountering things, strive to seek their causes and think deeply on their logic; they must not be deceived by mere surface appearances." Chen Duxiu’s short piece "Questioning the Theory of the Existence of Ghosts" criticized the motives of contemporaries who used Western theories of the soul to fabricate the existence of spirits, "citing various obscure sources to argue that the existence of ghosts is certain," yet failing to prove it. Addressing the Spiritualists' claim that the world contains many insoluble mysteries, Chen Duxiu raised scientific questions to cast doubt on such fallacies. These articles in New Youth made preliminary use of modern science to expose various superstitious phenomena, focusing on explaining the origins of spiritualist thought, which played a prominent role in constructing an atheistic discourse system.
Finally, it critiqued the history and social functions of religion. New Youth profoundly dissected the essence of religion, further strengthening the critique of spiritualist thought. In January 1917, responding to Yu Songhua’s view that "religion still has existential value in current society," Chen Duxiu wrote a reply detailing facts of how religion hindered social development. Prior to this, Chen had already critiqued the assertion that "the secrets of the universe and life cannot be solved by science, and only religion can resolve doubts and ease worries," arguing instead that religion merely creates an illusion of self-liberation and that only science can break such doubts; thus, "all religions are among those to be discarded." Subsequently, New Youth Vol. 3 No. 6 and Vol. 4 No. 1 serialized "Science and Christianity," which Chen Duxiu translated from Ernst Haeckel’s The Riddle of the Universe. The text discussed the conflict between modern science and Christianity, providing a reference for understanding the evolution of Christianity. In August 1918, in "On the Destruction of Idols," he further pointed out: "All the gods, Buddhas, immortals, and ghosts respected and worshipped by religionists are useless, deceptive idols and should all be destroyed!" From these propositions—especially comparing Chen Duxiu’s counterattacks against Confucianism and spirit worship with his preliminary systematic critique of Western Christianity—one sees the critique by advanced Chinese intellectuals of so-called Western "universal truths" and "universal rules." By revealing the essence of religion in a more universal sense, New Youth began to establish an atheistic orientation in the realm of life-beliefs.
Overall, during this period, New Youth targeted the domestic political situation — particularly the "atavistic" countercurrents appearing in the sphere of social thought and the practice of using scientific terminology to perform "superstition" — by analyzing the relationship between "Confucianism" and national politics. Although Chen Duxiu vehemently refuted the proposal to "establish Confucianism as the state religion," he also distinguished the teachings of Confucius from the connotations of "Confucianism as a religion" (Kongjiao): "In our China, religion was never prominent; moreover, Confucianism lacks the substance of a religion entirely." Such approaches reflected the attempt by New Youth to exorcise those ideological elements in Chinese culture that could not adapt to the needs of the times. Admittedly, for any ideological proposition to exert significant influence, it is difficult to complete the task of enlightenment solely by "destroying the old." Therefore, while "denying ecclesiastical authority" and critiquing Confucianism and spirits, New Youth also advocated for "constructing a new and fresh faith in the spirit" to truly mold the "New Youth." However, how to mold a "fresh faith" under scientific enlightenment undoubtedly involves atheistic thought; how New Youth went on to build a complete atheistic discourse system remains a question to be explored.
II. "Replacing Religion with Science": The Reconstruction of Atheistic Content in New Youth
Constructing a more systematic atheistic content system and expanding scientific knowledge to a wider scope was an effective way for New Youth to respond to social trends such as Spiritualism. In 1917, Chen Duxiu advocated "replacing religion with science." Later, Cai Yuanpei proposed the idea of "replacing religion with aesthetic education." These reflections on how to more systematically establish atheistic thought under scientific enlightenment undoubtedly advanced the understanding of the issue of atheism.
First, it excavated atheistic intellectual resources from traditional Chinese culture. On July 15, 1918, New Youth published Yi Baisha’s "The Theory of Non-existence of Ghosts among the Various Schools of Thought" (Zhuzi wugui lun), which systematically organized statements disbelieving in spirits from the literature of the Hundred Schools of Thought. The uniqueness of this article lay in the fact that, while New Youth was then emphasizing the critique of traditional Chinese culture, the author argued from the perspective that "the failure of religion to establish itself in China is due to the merit of the 'non-existence of ghosts' theories of the various schools." He pointed out that "these theories all sought to liberate people from the Way of the Gods" and critiqued the contemporary proposal of using Western Christianity to save China from its peril. In fact, Yi Baisha’s "A Plain Discussion of Confucius" (Vol. 1 No. 6, Vol. 2 No. 1) and "On Mozi" (Vol. 1 No. 2, Vol. 1 No. 5, Vol. 2 No. 1), both published in New Youth, attempted to clarify the modern scientific spirit contained within Confucian and Mohist thought, stripping away the "forced interpretations" added by proponents of Confucian-religion and superstitious spiritualists. It should be said that excavating the intellectual origins of atheism from traditional Chinese culture expanded the cognitive breadth of the discussion; from the perspective of constructing atheistic knowledge, this method was quite different from the orientation of drawing intellectual resources from Western culture.
Second, it organized the social functions of religion across human history. New Youth placed religion within the grand historical context of human origins and development, investigating the reasons for its emergence and its impact, providing the most solid evidence for "science replacing religion." On January 15, 1919, New Youth published Wang Xinggong’s "Organisms Before Humans," which discussed the evolution of prehistoric life through "concise knowledge" of biology and geology. On February 25 of the same year, New Youth published a translation by Liu Shuya titled "On the Supernatural" (Lingyi lun), which systematically organized the role of religious belief in human society. It argued that especially since the advancement of modern science, "the struggle against superstition and ignorance is a war for civilization." The translator specifically hoped that "studious and deep-thinking youth" reading the article would establish a rational outlook on life and the world, relying on pure reason to pursue their own happiness. It should be said that these translations and commentaries refuted the fallacy of "divine creation," attempting to construct scientific knowledge of the history of human social development at its root. Their practical aim was to construct a "scientific" outlook on life and the world.
Third, it provided a methodology for critiquing theism and constructing atheism. Within this, the use of "scientific laws" to analyze natural phenomena became the highest priority in New Youth’s efforts to build an atheistic knowledge system. This shifted the journal’s enlightenment of scientific knowledge from an emphasis on disseminating specific phenomena or facts toward an inquiry into shared laws and universal significance, providing a more explanatory and methodological intellectual tool for the construction of an atheistic knowledge system. Examples include Wang Xinggong’s "The Origins and Effects of Science" (Vol. 7, No. 1) and "What is Scientific Method?" (Vol. 7, No. 5); Gao Xian’s "The Physiology of Sex" (Vol. 9, No. 4) and "The ‘What’ and the ‘Why’" (Vol. 9, No. 5); and Ren Hongjun’s "What is a Scientist?" (Vol. 6, No. 3). Among these, Gao Xian’s "The Physiology of Sex" introduced evolutionary thought from the perspective of life sciences, explaining concepts such as "cell division," "biological inheritance," and "metabolism." By surveying the modes of reproduction in the biological world, he refuted the Western Christian doctrine that "God created humanity" as well as the ancient Chinese discourse on the "union of Yin and Yang," [4] asserting that "ignorance and superstition are the great enemies of us human beings." In his other article, "The ‘What’ and the ‘Why’," he further pointed out that to understand principles and recognize objects, we must eliminate superstition and enhance rationality; we must "discard faith, see clearly ‘what’ a thing is, and establish ‘why’ it is so—only then do we have our truth." Given the conditions of the time, this introduction of scientific modes of thinking was, in a sense, more valuable than merely using scientific knowledge to explain a particular natural phenomenon, as it provided a methodological reference for the public to understand scientific knowledge.
As New Youth disseminated scientific knowledge extensively, the construction of a "scientific" life-faith [5] became a topic it had to confront. This was primarily due to two reasons. First was the need to understand the world. Although natural scientific knowledge struggled to fully explain the world and could not completely replace religion, relying on religion or superstition made it even more impossible to understand the operation of the material world. Under the proposition of materialist monism, the outlook on life formed through understanding and transforming the material world should naturally possess the characteristics of practical materiality, and "science" was inherently a fundamental attribute it should possess. Thus, Chen Duxiu pointed out: "Everything—politics, morality, education, literature—contains the spirit of scientific empiricism." Under these circumstances, youth needed not only to understand scientific knowledge but also to grasp the "true meaning" of a scientific life-faith, understanding that the realization of human happiness "is achieved through the efforts of humanity itself; it is not bestowed by God, nor can it be accomplished by letting nature take its course." This discursive orientation, which took "science" as the ultimate goal for everything, led New Youth to incorporate various issues such as knowledge and faith into the category of "science." A scientific outlook on life was a "natural" extension of this scope. Second was the need to transform the world. Discussions on a scientific outlook on life unfolded against a background where the influence of scientific enlightenment was expanding and social problems were becoming increasingly prominent; thus, facing social transformation head-on was its underlying character. In 1919, Wang Xinggong proposed in "The Origins and Effects of Science" that "a scientific outlook on life is the demand for truth within life itself." This aligns closely with the New Youth Manifesto of the same period, which stated: "We believe that politics, morality, science, art, religion, and education should all center on the actual needs of the progress of social life, both present and future." The two are highly consistent in their implications, both emphasizing the search for the value and meaning of "scientific" life within social practice and real-world existence. The discussion of a scientific outlook on life was New Youth’s response to spiritual issues while propagating atheism and expanding the influence of scientific enlightenment. It specifically targeted the very realm where contemporary thinkers argued religion might be most "valuable." Although the discourse at the time remained somewhat mechanical and thin, it served to strengthen a "weak point" of scientific enlightenment.
New Youth’s dissemination of scientific enlightenment and atheistic knowledge further reinforced its close relationship with real-world politics. This process evolved from focusing on critiques of religious superstition and imperial restoration to using atheism to defend the republican system. Previous discussions have covered New Youth’s "negation of ecclesiastical power" as a means to critique the role of the Confucian Religion [6] and superstition in maintaining the imperial system. However, in moving from "destruction" to "construction," New Youth’s discourse on the relationship between the state and religion placed greater emphasis on the connection between atheism and science. Chen Duxiu pointed out that in the party politics of a modern state, "those who devote themselves to party life all give play to the spirit of individual independent faith." On this basis, New Youth further extrapolated the significance of atheism for national politics, elucidating the relationship between individual independent faith and party-building, and pointing out that moral faith must also match real-world politics. In 1918, Chen Duxiu argued: "There are currently two roads in the world: one is the bright road toward republicanism, science, and atheism; the other is the dark road toward autocracy, superstition, and theocracy." It is evident that Chen Duxiu and others, having experienced events such as the restorations attempted by Yuan Shikai and Zhang Xun [7] in the early Republic, understood the role of religious superstition in facilitating such efforts. Thus, New Youth set the two in stark opposition. However, the discourse on atheism and the republican system under scientific enlightenment still struggled to change the reality of warlord fragmentation and the hardships of people's livelihoods in Chinese society.
III. "The Awakening of Laborers": The Transition and Advancement of Atheistic Knowledge in New Youth
On November 16, 1918, Cai Yuanpei delivered a speech titled "Labor is Sacred," which briefly became a focus of attention for the Chinese intelligentsia. With the spread of Marxism in China, the atheism discussions in New Youth gradually merged with the "Labor is Sacred" trend, becoming an intellectual tool for the enlightenment of the Chinese laboring class. In December 1919, the "Manifesto of This Journal" in New Youth stated: "We believe that respecting natural science and experimental philosophy, and eradicating superstition and delusions, are necessary conditions for our current social evolution." While New Youth’s restatement of its position did not differ greatly from its previous orientation toward scientific enlightenment, the inclusion of content such as "respecting labor" and "the mass movement and social transformation" presented a prominent air of "innovation." Furthermore, the focus of New Youth gradually shifted from topics like the moral revolution and the literary revolution to new themes such as "Labor is Sacred."
First, New Youth linked atheism with the ideological liberation of socialism. In November 1920, Chen Duxiu wrote from the perspective of the laws of social evolution, noting that "republicanism must give way to socialism." Although he acknowledged the role of republican politics in the history of human evolution, he argued that it was "controlled by a small number of the capitalist class." Under these circumstances, the majority "have gradually come to understand and demand their own freedom and happiness, and socialism is rising to replace republican politics." By comparing the degrees of development in democratic politics, Chen Duxiu also illustrated that socialism was something "worthy of faith and pursuit," rather than "unconscious blind following or valueless superstition." Contrasted with his previous discourse on atheism and the republican system, the argument here also used a scientific orientation to compare socialism with republicanism. In other words, he believed it necessary to demonstrate not only the practical feasibility of socialism but also its rationality and "scientific nature" as a social ideal. In December of the same year, Li Dazhao explained more profoundly the social roots of how the development of modern economic organization prompted the self-awareness of the laboring class, leading to the "Labor is Sacred" trend. From a perspective comparing historical materialism with the "methods of the gods," [8] he pointed out the significance of atheistic propaganda for the liberation of the "common people" and social progress. "All past history" was neither created by great men nor bestowed by God, but created by the common people. Precisely because of this, "we should become conscious of our own power and quickly unite to create a new history of the world's common people according to our life needs." This explanation fundamentally eradicated the idealist view of history based on "Mandate of Heaven" or divine will, linked atheism with the liberation of labor in a broader sense, and combined it with the practical issues of labor enlightenment in Chinese society at the time. This marked a shift from New Youth’s previous emphasis on the relationship between atheism and republicanism to an interpretation of the intellectual significance of atheism for proletarian liberation.
Second, New Youth expanded its scope of science to highlight the revolutionary nature of atheism. On June 15, 1923, after New Youth resumed publication, it issued the "New Manifesto of New Youth," positioning itself as the "compass of the Chinese proletarian revolution." Qu Qiubai once again emphasized the "revolutionary significance" of the journal's atheism discussions: "New Youth has long since become an ideological organ of the proletariat. It will not only engage in a fierce struggle against the ideology of patriarchal society but will also simultaneously attack bourgeois ideology. To liberate China, various obstacles must be forcibly removed—the despotism, muddled thinking, opposition to science, and superstition of patriarchal society are certainly obstacles to the revolution." This new manifesto undoubtedly clarified New Youth’s further objectives in the struggle. In particular, by targeting the superstitious autocracy of patriarchal society and bourgeois ideology, science and atheism became extremely important as tools for the proletarian struggle. Therefore, in choosing the path of struggle, he expanded science to include "social science," stating: "We must strictly study everything using scientific methods, conducting fundamental investigations from philosophy to literature, observing the common laws of social phenomena, and seeking conclusions." Compared to the early New Youth's focus on introducing natural scientific knowledge, the "social science" advocated in this new manifesto undoubtedly expanded the journal’s jurisdictional responsibility, highlighted its instrumental significance for the proletarian social revolution, and adapted to the practical needs of the revolution.
Third, New Youth adopted the discourse of the Comintern regarding the cultural mission of the proletariat, linking it with the CPC’s task of anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism. After the founding of the Communist Party of China, it paid close attention to the problem of cultural aggression against China by imperialism using Christianity. In June 1922, Li Dazhao pointed out in "Religion and Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity" that religion arose from the "faith of the inferior and the weak" and argued that the essence of religion embodied unequal relations. Chen Duxiu also believed that the Christian church not only failed to help weak and small nations but also served the colonial policies of governments. In the same year, the Comintern pointed out in "The Party's Communist Educational Work" that communist educational work aimed to clarify the limitations of bourgeois science to the proletariat and to declare war on bourgeois science, art, morality, and religion. Critiquing the way the bourgeoisie defined the "proletarian lifestyle" through religion and morality was seen as an important way for the proletariat to construct its own "new culture." Under this influence, on June 15, 1923, New Youth published "The Cultural Movement of Communism," in which Xi Zhen translated the Comintern congress’s discussions on this issue and added commentary: "Communism itself is a cultural movement, the most advanced and universal cultural movement. A cultural movement must be able to increase the political knowledge and political consciousness of the laboring masses, enabling the peasant and worker commoners to understand their social position." Discoursing on the role of atheistic propaganda and education in critiquing bourgeois science and religion from a cultural dimension, and its significance for communist education, was a landmark shift for New Youth. The transition from natural scientific enlightenment to using "social science knowledge" to analyze social laws, and then to analyzing the role of atheistic propaganda and education from the perspective of proletarian culture, represented a tremendous leap in the understanding of the early Chinese Communists. In 1924, Jiang Xiaseng, in "Proletarian Revolution and Culture," argued from the perspective of the dialectical relationship between the economic base and cultural creation that the proletariat could solve not only the problem of "bread" but also the problem of cultural creation. Furthermore, he argued that only the proletariat could shoulder the heavy responsibility of "organizing the culture of the past and creating the culture of the future." These discourses clarified the relationship between constructing a new culture and the proletariat fulfilling its mission, expanding the discursive field of atheistic thought in New Youth.
Fourth, New Youth combined scientific atheism with the proletarian outlook on life, thoroughly breaking free from the influence of the bourgeois outlook. In December 1923, Chen Duxiu defined the "materialist conception of history" in his "Preface to Science and the Outlook on Life" as follows: "Only objective material causes can change society, explain history, and govern one's outlook on life." Although this discourse continued the magazine's previous orientation, it is noteworthy that while earlier discussions of a scientific outlook on life emphasized the attribute of "science," the discourse surrounding the formation of proletarian faith placed greater emphasis on the "proletarian" attribute. Qu Qiubai spoke even more bluntly in "Eastern Culture and the World Revolution": "When the doctrines of benevolence, righteousness, and morality [9] are truly plebeianized, and scientific civilization is truly socialized, it will be the end for all old societies." In particular, he pointed out that whether science is held in the hands of the many or the few leads to vastly different outcomes: "Therefore, one must use the methods of correct social science and natural science to serve the interests of the laboring masses and apply them to practical movements." This argument precisely highlights the close relationship between science and the construction of proletarian culture. The discussion on the outlook on life—especially the debate between idealism and materialism and the insistence on the "monism" [10] of the world's materiality—demonstrates at a deeper level the significance of the proletariat adhering to historical materialism for the shaping of class faith and the transformation of the material world. In "The World of Freedom and the World of Necessity," Qu Qiubai further discussed the relationship between the outlook on life and social development. First, he argued that the scientific law of causality is sufficient to reveal the outlook on life, because the outlook of every era is a construct of the scientific knowledge of that time; the creators of a new outlook use new scientific knowledge to "promote their 'individual outlook' until it becomes the outlook of the era." Second, he argued that the scientific law of causality is sufficient to change the outlook on life; since new scientific knowledge must be gained from the progress of the economic base and the social experience of class struggle, "the insightful individual arises only to meet the needs of this struggle, serving merely as a social or class tool of history." Qu Qiubai profoundly revealed the connection between the outlook on life and social development, explaining the significance of mastering the laws of social development for humanity's transition from being a "slave of nature" to a "master of nature." This interpretation clarified the internal logical connection between the proletarian outlook on life and the revolutionary struggle. It should be said that the process—from the initial application of atheist thought to criticize the phenomena of gods and ghosts to the use of historical materialism to analyze the laws of social development and the historical mission of the proletariat—profoundly witnessed the transformation of "naive atheism" into scientific atheism.
Fifth, New Youth used scientific atheism to begin writing the history of human social development. It must be noted that as Marxism spread widely and atheism transformed into scientific atheism, New Youth also attempted to use historical materialism to analyze the development of human society. While rejecting the premise of "divine creation," it began to construct a body of knowledge regarding the history of human social development. Jiang Guangchi’s "Changes in Economic Situations and Social Relations" analyzed human social changes from the perspective of the relations of production, fundamentally denying the rhetoric of a divinely created universe in its account of human origins. In particular, Jiang Sengxia’s "The Explanation of Human Social and Historical Development via the Materialist Conception of History" applied historical materialism more accurately. By addressing the role of the productive forces, the relationship between productive forces and relations of production, social development and geographic environment, the superstructure and the economic base, and the role of the individual in the historical process, it provided a complete account of the laws of change in human society and offered a deep analysis of topics such as human origins and social consciousness. Wang Yifei’s translation of "The Marxist View of Historical Research" used Russian history as a case study to demonstrate how to use historical materialism to analyze the regularities of historical development. These discourses integrated social and life outlooks into the fold, turning them into proletarian "philosophical" knowledge, thereby constructing a complete knowledge system of scientific atheism.
IV. Conclusion
The discussion of atheism in New Youth ran through its entire publication history, and the process of generating atheist knowledge reflected the changing orientation of the magazine’s enlightenment mission. Fundamentally, the content system of atheism, with modern scientific knowledge as its primary carrier, shifted its emphasis depending on the target of enlightenment. Cultural enlightenment focused on drawing from modern scientific knowledge and its role in upholding the republican system to criticize the feudal imperial system and superstition; labor enlightenment, conversely, focused on the role of atheism in constructing proletarian culture and achieving class liberation.
The shift in New Youth’s discussion of atheism was also related to changes in its intellectual resources. Particularly after 1920, documents from Soviet Russia increased rapidly, changing the magazine's previous orientation of using European and American thought as its primary models. More importantly, the discussion of atheism took historical materialism as the law for analyzing social change, used a scientific outlook on life as a tool for class enlightenment, and aimed for the realization of class liberation, causing its cultural orientation to manifest a more profound transformation.
From the perspective of the Communist Party of China's revolutionary mobilization, the restructuring of atheist knowledge in New Youth was related to early labor mobilization. Consequently, discussing atheism through the lens of proletarian culture accelerated the transition from atheism to scientific atheism; this was a unique process in the transformation of Chinese revolutionary thought. On the other hand, the CPC’s popularization of the theoretical issues raised in New Youth allowed these ideas to spread widely among student youth and worker groups, playing a role in promoting scientific atheism and turning it into an ideological weapon for advancing the revolution.