Abstract: Abstract： This paper argues that both the turn of the New Cultural Movement and the outbreak of the patriotic May Fourth Movement were to some extent the consequences of the “European War” (World War I). The consequences were not only embodied in the victory of the Entente Countries over the Ally Countries, but also the superiority of “the 20th Century Civilization” to “the 19th Century Civilization”. Specifically, the “European War” marked the overall crisis of the 19th Century Civilization, while the “Russian Revolution” became the starting point of the 20th Century Civilization. Borrowing from Eric Hobsbawm’s historical division of the Short Twentieth Century and Giovanni Arrighi’s division of the Long Twentieth Century, the significance of the European War may be further interpreted as paving way for the “hegemony change” of capitalism, while the Russian Revolution may signify a breakthrough in the hegemony change. It is in this twofold perspective of “war” and “revolution” that the personnel of New Youth, represented by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, experienced a profound ideological transformation “from Wilson to Lenin”, attempting to connect the “new subjects” summoned up from the New Culture to the victorious subjects of the “les damnés” and “the subjects of history”, thus laying foundation for the transformation from abstract “human” to the concrete “people” in the postMay Fourth period.

Key words: New Youth, les damnés, European War；Fourteen Point Peace Principle；Russian Revolution, workers