Historians assert that many of the social enlightenment movements of the first part of the 20th century--such as the New Culture Movement and those for scientific education and social reform--were initiated by these returned scholars.
史家認為，中國近代的啟蒙運動﹘﹘如由胡適、蔣夢麟、陶知行，任鴻雋等人主張的平民及科學教育運動，乃至後來的新文化運動、反宗教反迷信等社會改革就是他們推動的。