Abstract: The term “Beijing Spring” is used to describe the social turmoil that has occurred in modern China over the past 100 years. From the May Fourth Movement of 1919 to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, most social turmoil in China in the 20th century happened in springs in Beijing. However, this is a modern phenomenon as most social turmoil in China occurred in autumns until the beginning of the 20th century. Historically, social unrest typically accompanied the settlement of annual accounts after the autumn harvest.

This article has the following aims: (1) to argue that social turmoil in modern China is essentially different from that in traditional China, (2) to explain why the social turmoil changed from autumn to spring, (3) to show that “Beijing Spring” and the 10-year cycle of social turmoil originated from the same historical background, both of which are found only in modern China; and (4) to describe the original state, former state and new state of social turmoil between the present and the historical pattern.