As I’m standing here, with my sign held high, the crowd of people is overpowering. So many, just like me, standing up for what we believe is right. I hear the echoes of chanting. I can almost feel the disorder and chaos in the air. Standing up for what we believe is right. Speaking our minds. Now the soldiers, coming towards us from the distance. Do not back down. Do not show fear. Keep standing.
In April 1989, starting when one of the few Chinese leaders who was seen as incorruptible, Hu Yaubang, died, Chinese students began a massive strike for democratic reform at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Tiananmen Square is known by its name, The Gate of Heavenly Peace. The students were soon joined by workers, intellectuals, and civil servants, until over a million people filled the square. The government answered the protesters demand for their current leader to resign by sending in troops and tanks, on July 3rd and 4th, killing thousands of the protesters (Student Demonstrations in Tiananmen Square). Because of their non-violent way of protesting, following their intuition, and taking risks for what they believe is right and just, the Tiananmen Square Protesters are to be considered as modern day transcendentalists.
The students who had gotten frustrated with the Communist state’s restricting hold on Chinese life began peacefully protesting in Tiananmen Square. Some of the students started a hunger strike to call more attention to the cause. In six weeks, millions of people from all across China had joined what soon became the largest pro-democracy movement in Chinese history (The Tiananmen Square Protest). The Tiananmen Square protesters kept up daily vigils, marched and chanted for their cause. Chinese troops and security bombarded the Square firing randomly into the crowds (Tiananmen Square Massacre Takes Place). Instead of responding negatively or violently to the arrival of the soldiers and Chinese security, protesters piled vehicles in the streets to block them and begged the soldiers not to attack. (The Tiananmen Square Protest). The protesters were obviously angry with China’s current state, yet they took no violent measures to get what they wanted. They peacefully and almost silently demonstrated what they believed was just. To get attention, they could have been vengeful, violent, and cruel. Instead, the students spread their words through nothing but protests which were nowhere near violent. Even when the Chinese government responded with cruel punishment and violence, the protesters begged them, non-violently, to see the unjustness in their ways and to not attack. The Tiananmen Square protesters tried to kindly and respectfully recruit the soldiers into their movement rather than fighting back.
A well-known transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once said, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” This quote is saying that you should not follow others, especially if what they are doing, or in this case not doing, is not what you believe is right. Instead of following the common path, you should stick up for what you believe in, follow your intuition, and create your own path that will leave a mark on the world. The protesters of Tiananmen Square did exactly this. The students were set on protecting the values they felt were important such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to become wealthy (The Root of the Tiananmen Square Protests). “One woman went from truck to truck to plead with the soldiers: "We believe you have a conscience. You must not crush the movement." Many soldiers joined the protests” (The Tiananmen Square Protest). This woman, one of the Tiananmen Square protesters, followed her intuition. Not only did she join the movement to stick up for what she believes, but then, she also went straight up to the people trying to stop her, the soldiers, to try and spread the word. She created her own path and soon others began to join in and follow in her footsteps.
Taking risks is another important quality of transcendentalists. At the end of the Tiananmen Square protests, many of the young protesters were arrested and many ordinary citizens were killed (The Root of Tiananmen Square Protests). On top of the risk of a violent crackdown from the Chinese government, the protesters also faced the risk of not having and or losing the support from people in the area (Protesters Biggest Risk). The Tiananmen Square protesters faced the risk of no one else sharing their opinions on the corruption of the Chinese government. Even if people did share their opinions, not everyone has it in them to go against and protest their Countries government. If no one followed along and joined the demonstration, their work would have been viewed as nothing but a waste of time, but the students did not feel that way. The students knew, even if no one stood behind them, taking the risks and fighting for what they believed was the right thing to do. The Tiananmen Square protesters also had to take the risk of the government responding to their protests badly and punishing them. They knew what they were risking, yet they did it anyway. To the protesters standing up for what they believed was right was worth all the risks.
The protesters of Tiananmen Square demonstrated many characteristics of transcendentalism.They were non-violent protesters following their intuitions and taking risks while standing up for what they believed in. The demonstration they held and the words they spread are still echoing throughout China and the rest of the world today. The 25th anniversary of their protests and deaths was just recently celebrated last year. The  foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, said, "In the last three decades and more of reform and opening up, China's enormous achievements in social and economic development have received worldwide attention. The building of democracy and the rule of law have continued to be perfected" (Tiananmen Square Protests and Crackdown). If it weren’t for the protesters of Tiananmen Square, China would not have worked to fix their problems, build up their democracy, or perfect their government. The protesters of Tiananmen Square are most definitely to be considered as modern-day transcendentalists.