Fang Hsiu, a lecturer at the National University of Singapore, has clearly pointed out in his book, A History of Literature in Singapore and Malaysia, that there are two factors involved in the vernacular literature in these two places. "One is internal--the urgent request of the local Chinese people. The other is external--the influence of the May Fourth Movement."
曾任新加坡大學中文系兼職講師的方修在他的「新馬文學史論集」中明白指出，當地新文學的產生有兩個原因，「一個是內在的，即當地華人的迫切要求；另一個是外爍的，就是中國五四文學革命的影響刺激。」