Wang Fuzhi
Befriending Mao, Professor of Ethics Yang Changji urged him to read a radical newspaper, "New Youth" ("Xin qingnian"), the creation of his friend Chen Duxiu, Dean of the Faculty of Letters at Peking University. Although a Chinese nationalist, Chen argued that China must look to the west, adopting "Mr. Democracy and Mr. Science" in order to cleanse itself of superstition and autocracy. Mao published his first article, "A Study of Physical Culture", in "New Youth" in April 1917, instructing readers to increase their physical strength to serve the revolution. He joined The Society for the Study of Wang Fuzhi ("Chuan-shan Hsüeh-she"), a revolutionary group founded by Changsha literati who wished to emulate Wang Fuzhi, a philosopher who symbolized Han resistance to Manchu invasion.