五四前後，以杜亞泉等為代表的東方文化派和以陳獨透為代表的新文化派圍繞著東西文化問題展開一場大的論爭。第一次世界戰後，調和東西文化是歐洲和亞洲許多學者的共同期待。印度和日本學者的呼應，促使部份中國學者極力想找到中國在世界文化建設中的位置。 在一片激進的時潮中，杜亞泉張揚東西文化調和的論調，他突破了近代以來中國人爭相效法西方文化發展之模式，在文化選擇的立足點上回歸到中國自己的特殊道路，才以東方精神文明加西方物質文明來建構中國乃至世界文化的未來，展示出其與眾不同的文化眼光。

Around the time of May Fourth Movement, the Eastern Culture Group, headed by Du Ya-quan, engaged in an extensive debate with the New Culture Group, headed by Chen Du-xiou. After the first World War, it was the mutual expectation of both the European and Asian scholars to harmonize the Eastern and Western cultures. Prompted by the echoes from the Indian and Japanese counterparts, Chinese scholars strove to establish the position for the Chinese culture in the world. Among the radical trendy waves, Du Yu-quan postulated the idea of harmonizing Eastern and Western cultures. He disagreed with most of his contemporaries who were eager to copy the mode of Western cultural development; instead, he believed China should return to its own particular way as a cultural standpoint. That is, to found Chinese civilization or even world civilization by combining Eastern spiritual civilization and Western material civilization.