Abstract: In his History of National Language Movement, Li Jinxi discussed the process of language construction in the May 4^th period with a focus on the pronunciation while putting the vernacular movement into his narrative of the national language movement history. On the other hand, Hu Shi paid high attention to written language and tried to construct the national language with "vernacular literature," hoping to use "a literature of national language" to create "a national language of literature." Hu Shi's endeavor showed the general logic of language construction during the May Fourth period, that is, to construct a modern national language with a modern vernacular written language. The public opinion on dialects and dialectal literature during the May Fourth period reflected the issue of seeking external resources for constructing the national language and literature of national language. The logic of language construction during the May Fourth period lies behind the development of modern Chinese literature language, and ever since, there would be only minor and local changes without any revolutionary transformations.

Key words: national language movement, modern vernacular movement, dialectal literature language, common language, logic