The article focuses on ideological trajectory of one the post-May-Fourth Movement intellectuals, Zeng Jinke曾今可 (1901–1971), who is treated as a case-study to analyze the role of intellectuals in the turbulent period from 1930 till 1949. In addition to a short introduction to various understandings of the concept of “intellectual,” the article describes the relationship between historical events and worldviews of Zeng Jinke and his generation. It contextualizes its findings in both the co-temporary ideologies and socio-political background of the late Republican period.