According to Chang Hao, an Academia Sinica academician, there were two currents in May Fourth thought. One promoted rationality, but had an undercurrent of romanticism. The other advocated taking on real issues, but was anxious to embrace all kinds of "isms."
中研院院士張灝指出，五四具有思想的兩歧性，一方面推崇理性，骨子裡卻帶有浪漫的激情；一方面主張面對現實的問題，卻又急於擁抱各種「主義」，因此，「五四變成一個烏托邦思想瀰漫的時代」。