Hu Shih (Chinese: 胡适) was one of the early editors. He published a landmark article "Essay on Creating a Revolutionary `New Literature" (Chinese: 建设的文学革命论) in the April 18, 1918 issue. He wrote that the mission of this language revolution is "a literature of the national language (Guoyu, Chinese: 国語), a national language of literature" (Original Text: 国语的文学，文学的国语。). Hu then goes on to reason that for thousands of years, the written language was bound by scholars using Classical Chinese, a dead language of past generations. On the other hand, the vernacular (Chinese: 白话) is living and adapts to the age. He urged authors to write in the vernacular in order to describe life as it is. He further reasoned that Chinese literature had a limited range of subject matter because it used a dead language. Using a living language would open up a wealth of material for writers. Finally, he argued that massive translations of western literature would both increase the range of literature as well as serve as examples to emulate. This was a seminal and prescient essay about the modern Chinese language. Hu Shih was an important figure in the transformation of the modern Chinese written and printed language.