Abstract: During the May 4th Movement, an intense debate on the “old play” with Beijing opera as the representative was launched in New Youth between the editors in New Youth and the students with Zhang Houzai as the representative. This debate at the beginning of this century has a far-reaching influence on Chinese drama and opera in the twentieth century. This paper makes a detailed study of the background, characters and process of the debate, trying to reproduce the sequence of events, and provides a basis for further reflection on the controversy.