The
May Fourth Movement was an anti-
imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting against the Chinese government's weak response to the
Treaty of Versailles, especially allowing Japan to
receive territories in Shandong which had been surrendered by
Germany after the
Siege of Tsingtao. These demonstrations sparked national protests and marked the upsurge of
Chinese nationalism, a shift towards political mobilization and away from cultural activities, and a move towards a populist base rather than intellectual elites. Many political and social leaders of the next decades emerged at this time.