A History of Journalism in China [1 ed.] 9789814332828, 9789814332255

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This series provides a comprehensive history of journalism in China. It chronicles two millennia of journalistic history from the 2nd century BC to the 1990s, and includes coverage of newspapers, periodicals, news agencies, broadcast television, photography, documentary film, journal cartoons, journal education, as well as information about reporters, journalists, and other aspects of journalism. Volume 1 tracks the development of journalism in ancient China, from the Pre-Qin period to the late Qing Dynasty. It also draws a full picture of the early publishing activities of both foreigners and the Chinese in nineteenth century China.

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Chinese Historical Studies

Edited by Fang Hanqi

Fang Hanqi is a Professor, Doctoral and Graduate Supervisor of the Journalism School at the Renmin University of China, Counselor of the Journalism and Social Development Research Center, and Director of the Academic Committee of the Renmin University of China. He has been appointed a member of the Editorial Board of the “Encyclopedia of China • Press and Publication,” Editor of the “Chinese Journalism” section of the Encyclopedia, and President of the Chinese Association for History of Journalism and Mass Communication.

JOURNALISM IN CHINA Volume 1

Volume 1

260 mm

A History of Journalism in China Volume 1

A HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN CHINA

Examines the Development of Journalism in China from the Pre-Qin Period to the Modern Age

A HISTORY OF

Edited by Fang Hanqi

102mm

A History of Journalism in China

A HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN CHINA 1 Volume

Edited by Fang Hanqi

Published by Enrich Professional Publishing (S) Private Limited 16L, Enterprise Road, Singapore 627660

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English edition © 2013 by Enrich Professional Publishing (S) Private Limited Chinese original edition © 2004 China Renmin University Press Translated by Caren H.Y. Ng Edited by Glenn Griffith and Caren H.Y. Ng All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage

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ISBN (Hardback)

978-981-4332-25-5



978-981-4332-83-5 (epub)

ISBN (ebook)

978-981-4332-82-8 (pdf)

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to

the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged

in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Printed in Hong Kong with woodfree paper from Japan

Editorial Board (Chinese Edition) Editor-in-Chief Fang Hanqi Vice Editors-in-Chief Ning Shufan Chen Yeshao Editors Fang Hanqi

Ding Ganlin

Sun Wenshuo

Ning Shufan

Wei Yuanli

Yu Huanchun

Chen Yeshao

Yang Zhaolin

He Bingran

Zhao Yuming

Contributors (in alphabetical order) Bai Runsheng

Huang Hu

Wang Fengchao

Zhang Tao

Chen Yeshao

Jiang Hanzhen

Wang Hongxiang

Zhang Zhihua

Cui Qi

Jin Yaoyun

Wang Meizhi

Zhao Yuming

Ding Ganlin

Lei Yuping

Wei Yuanli

Zhong Zi

Fang Hanqi

Li Ruigang

Xia Xiaolin

Zhu Junzhou

Gao Guangang

Li Siyi

Xie Guoming

Gao Ning

Liang Honghao

Xie Jun

Gao Weijin

Ma Guangren

Yan Huanshu

Ge Sien

Ma Yunzeng

Yang Runshi

Gu Bingxiang

Mu Jiaheng

Yang Zhaolin

Gu Changling

Ning Shufan

Yao Fushen

Guo Zhenzhi

Qin Shaode

Yin Yungong

He Bingran

Sun Wenshuo

Yu Huanchun

Hu Taichun

Sun Xiaoyang

Yu Jiaqing

Hu Zhihuan

Sun Xupei

Zhang Shaozong

Contents Preface................................................................................................................................. ix

Chapter 1

Journalism in Ancient China................................................................... 1

Chapter 2

The Early Newspaper Publishing Activities of Foreigners



in China.................................................................................................... 47

Chapter 3

The Beginning of the Chinese Publishing Newspapers.................... 97

Notes................................................................................................................................ 125 Index................................................................................................................................ 127

Preface The history of journalism is a science of the development of journalism and its changes throughout time. Like journalism theory and practical journalism, it is a component of journalism studies. Due to the special characteristics, the research on the history of journalism is closely related to the study of politics, economics, and culture in different periods. It is impossible to study the history of journalism without looking into class struggle, political movements, and political parties. It is because journalism and communications activities are in a close relationship with different classes, political parties, political authorities, and other movements in different times. The history of journalism cannot be separated from the relationships of the production and the economic development. Productivity and socio-economic development directly affect the development of journalism. As an important part of cultural history, journalism and other cultural elements are interrelated in many aspects. Many major events in cultural history had become the news focuses at that time, such as the influential modern enlightenment movements, various philosophical and literary debates, the spread of Marxism and socialism in China, the New Culture Movement, emergence of different schools of literature and art, recognition of renowned writers and performers, and popularity and transmission of scientific and cultural knowledge. Besides, newspapers and television programs provide many primary sources on philosophy, history, language, literature, Chinese opera, movies, music, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, photography, sports, religion, marriage, customs, fashion, ethics, architecture, medicine, transportation, diet, clothing; and many of these resources are difficult to find in books. Therefore, the cultural history is inseparable from news and media. Many researchers of cultural history would like to put much effort into the research on the history of journalism so as to benefit the development of the cultural history. The history of journalism, in a broad sense, is the history of the news and communication of mankind. It is also about how each stratum or class has been engaged in news and communications activities since the emergence of stratified societies. In a narrow sense, journalism history is about the research on the history of news and communications activities in a country, in a region,

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in an age, and in a period. It also includes the stories of kinds of newspapers, kinds of publishers, a newspaper, a journalist, and the details of a past event. The research on modern journalism also touches on the information of news agencies, radio and television stations, etc. The researchers of the history of journalism in China should have a better understanding of the development of journalism in the country. China is the pioneer of newspapers, as well as printed newspapers. China has been publishing newspapers for 1,300 years, while foreigners have also been publishing newspapers in China for more than 100 years. The capitalist class has been engaged in the newspaper business for more than 100 years as well. The proletariat class has been publishing newspapers for half a century. In China, there have been more than 60,000 publications, 1,000 news agencies, 200 radio and television stations, along with thousands of outstanding journalists and hundreds of significant “paper battles; ” all are worthy research topics in the history of journalism. Compared with the foreign countries, the modern publications appeared in China at a later stage. Yet, journalism in China is longstanding and well-established and its history in China is incomparable with the ones in any other countries. Since the history of journalism is a science, a scientific attitude is necessary for research purposes. To the researchers of Marxist journalism, factuality is the first priority. Every researcher of the history of journalism should study the facts and the targets from the Marxist viewpoint and methodology. They have to make use of the primary resources to analyze all the material in detail in order to come up with accurate and practical results. Theory is essential, yet, it cannot replace the history. As an objective researcher, one should not “take history for granted.” At the same time, one should also understand that it is difficult to analyze historical facts accurately if there is no detailed assessment and selection of those historical documents. The preconceptions and unrealistic practices are the don’ts of historians as well as journalism historians. It is impossible to have a complete journalism history without any in-depth and detailed investigation. One of the key functions of historical research is to provide a reference point for current practice; the research on journalism history is no exception. It provides us a source to make different decisions via many channels. First, the history of journalism helps us to accede to the fine practice of news and communications activities in history. Since the Opium War, many forward-thinking Chinese have made use of newspapers to encourage reform and to promote democracy so as to contend with the conservatives. After the establishment of the Communist Party in China, many reformists and patriotic

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journalists were well-prepared by using newspapers to cover the spread of Marxism in China, the victory of the Sino-Japanese Wars, the victory of new democratic reform, the revolution of socialist reform, the establishment of socialism, and the unification of the country, etc. Although the newspapers at that time were different in nature, they actively adopted different tactics to report news, to release critiques, and to transmit advanced scientific knowledge which contributed a lot to the reforms and improving politics at that time. Studying the history of journalism in China can continue these positive practices so as to improve the current understanding and research. Besides, the research can offer an effective source of experiences of different news media in history. Since the early nineteenth century, there have been different kinds of publications in China. There have been daily, bi-daily, weekly, 10-day newspapers, bi-monthly, monthly, quarterly, and annual editions. Regarding the layout, some were as large as a big poster without any folds; some were very small in single fold, Accordian fold, or French fold. In terms of the nature, some newspapers emphasized political comments, while some were more comprehensive. There were also other professional publications about technology, literature, the arts, sports, photography, comics, etc. In respect of the readership, some of them targeted the general public. Some publications targeted a specific readership like laborers, peasants, youth, students, etc. The publications were also based in different places. Some were published in the regions directly controlled by the government, while some were issued in the concessions. Some were published in the Central Soviet Area, anti-Japanese democracy base areas, and opened areas. Some were in Kuomintang-controlled areas and occupied areas. Some were even published in Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas. Among the last batch of publications, some were regarded as the official newspapers of the Communist Party in China, while some were unofficial ones and general newspapers. Some newspapers were strong in political comments, while some were published with attractive supplements. The supplements of certain conservative newspapers were also used to promote reformist ideas and new concepts. Moreover, to avoid the persecution from the government, some publications, encouraging reformist ideas, were packed as common ones. Different kinds of publications and the long history of newspaper publishing have enriched the journalism experience in China. Taking their experience as reference and studying the changes and the development can help us improve the present newspaper publishing strategy. Exploring the history of journalism in China is a great opportunity for us to learn from the former outstanding journalists. A lot of modern and contemporary journalists have made prominent contributions to newspaper publishing.

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• Political commentators: Wang Tao, Liang Qichao, Mai Menghua, Ou Jujia, Tang Caichang, Yang Yulin, Zhang Taiyan, Song Jiaoren, Yu Youren, Fan Hongxian • Reporters: Chen Qimei, Huang Yuansheng, Xu Lingxiao, Liu Shaoshao, Shao Piaoping • Editors: Chen Leng, Yan Duhe, Zhou Shoujuan, Bao Tianxiao • Publishers: Wang Kangnian, Ying Lianzhi, Peng Yizhong, Chen Shaobai, Zheng Guangong, Shi Liangcai, Di Pingzi, Wang Hanxi, Hu Zhengzhi Besides, there were also a lot of outstanding journalists including Li Dazhao, Ju Qiubai, Deng Zhongxia, Cai Hesen, Xiao Chunu, Yun Daiying, Pan Zinian, Zou Taofen, Ge Gongzhen, Yu Songhua, Fan Changjiang, Deng Tuo, Yun Yiqun. They were not only the reformists and enlighteners; they were also the heroes of newspaper publishing who possessed valuable experiences. They had been publishing different newspapers in different environments. They had made their contributions in various aspects like news editorials, news reporting, news critiques, news photography, news comics, advertisements, supplements, as well as circulation and management. Their experiences and contributions are important elements in studying the history of journalism. Referring to the history of journalism can help us learn a lesson, improving our current works. Last but not least, the history of journalism can enrich the news business knowledge of the journalists. Every journalist should have a better understanding of history. Journalists should not only focus on today’s China, they should look back to the past. At the same time, it is also fundamental to know the history of journalism. Both the current and the past environment of news and communications are prominent. There are many interesting aspects regarding the history of journalism like the emergence and the development of newspapers, publications, news agencies, and television stations; the influential newspapers and news bodies in history; the important news activists, political commentators, reporters, and editors; the major “paper battles,” fundamental publication laws and documents; the effects of journalism on political, economic, cultural, and literary aspects; the relationships between different parties; the change of news business; the development of different news writings like notices, foreign news, features, editorials, critiques, short comments; the differences of layout and design in different periods, etc. These are great materials for us to understand the patterns of the business. Apart from theories and real-life practices, the origin of newspapers, goals and functions of newspapers, and the newspaper-reader relationship can also be studied through the history of journalism.

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Therefore, to journalists, researchers on journalism theories, and the general public who are interested in the development of journalism, the history of journalism is a very prominent data pool. Research on the history of journalism started in China more than 100 years ago. Shen Bao ’s “The Differences between China’s Capital Gazettes and Foreign Newspapers” (Lun Zhongguo jingbao yiyu waiguo xinbao 論中國京報異於外國 新報) in 1873; The China Discussion (Qing yi bao 清議報)’s “The Chronicle of Newspapers in China” (Zhongguo gebao cunyi biaoxu 中國各報存佚表序) and “Message for the 100th Issue and the Responsibilities of Newspaper Office” (Benbao diyibaice zhuci bing lun baoguan zhi zeren ji benguan zhi jingli 本報第 一百冊祝辭並論報館之責任及本館之經歷) written by Liang Qichao were the first articles about the history of journalism in China. Yao Konghe’s Brief History of Newspapers in Shanghai (Shanghai baozhi xiaoshi 上海報紙小史 ) was the earliest printed book about the history of journalism in China. This article was a supplement to the book Shanghai Talks (Shanghia xianhua 上海閒話) published by the Commercial Press in 1917. It was released two years earlier than the first title of journalism theories in China — Xu Baohuang’s Journalism (Xinwenxue 新 聞學). In the journalism research circle, the research on the history of journalism in China is the first topic studied. Since the first journalism research released in 1917, the research on journalism history in China can be divided into three stages: The first stage refers to the period between 1917 and 1949, before the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. There were more than 50 titles about the history of journalism published in this period. Those related to the general history included Ge Gongzhen’s History of China’s Newspapers (Zhongguo baoxue shi 中國報學史 ), Huang Tianpeng’s Journalism in China (Zhongguo de xinwen shiye 中國的新聞事業 ), Lin Yutang’s A History of the Press and Public Opinion in China (Zhongguo baokan he yulun shi 中國報刊和 輿論史). There were also some related to the publishing of local newspapers like Yao Gonghe’s Brief History of Newspapers in Shanghai (Shanghai baozhi xiaoshi 上海報紙小史 ), Xiang Shiyuan’s A History of Journalism in Zhejiang (Zhejiang xinwen shi 浙江新聞史), Cai Ji’ou’s A History of Journalism in Wuhan (Wuhan xinwen shi 武漢新聞史), Guan Yixian’s Brief History of Newspapers in Beijing (Beijing baozhi xiaoshi 北京報紙小史), published in Journalism Collection (Xinwenxue jicheng 新聞學集成), etc. Sun Yusheng’s The Records of the Newspaper Business (Baohai qianchen lu 報海前塵錄) and Hu Daojing’s The New Era in the History of Journalism (Xinwenshi shang de xinshidai 新聞史上的新時代) were the representatives of the collections of discussions on journalism. There were some specific titles introducing the influential journalists such as Zhang Jinglu’s

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People of the Press in China (Zhongguo de xinwen jizhe 中國的新聞記者), Zhao Junhao’s The Struggle of the Shanghai Journalists (Shanghai baoren de fendou 上 海報人的奮鬥), etc. Some authors also raised discussions on specific topics of journalism: Zhao Minheng’s Journalism of Foreigners in China (Wairen zaihua xinwen shiye 外人在華新聞事業), Ru Laisheng’s A History of Advertisements in China (Zhongguo guanggao shiye shi 中國廣告事業史), Wu Xianzeng’s A History of Journalism Education in China (Zhongguo xinwen jiaoyu shi 中國新聞教育史). Among all the publications in this period, Ge Gongzhen’s History of China’s Newspapers was the most influential and important. This publication was full of primary sources collected by the author in person. Ge systematically introduced the history and the development of journalism in China. The rich content and comprehensive discussion made it a prominent pioneer in the study of the history of journalism history in China. Since its debut in 1927, it has been reprinted again and again. It had even been translated into Japanese and published in Japan by Kobayashi Tamotsu, a Japanese journalism historian, becoming the only Chinese journalism title with a foreign language edition before the establishment of the PRC. The book was republished by the Joint Publishing Company, and China Press and Publication News in 1955 and 1985, respectively, becoming the only title from old China on journalism republished after the establishment of the PRC. It is still a valuable reference for research on the history of journalism in the present era. Other works issued in this stage are also well-written references, providing information on specific topics in a region or in a period. However, there are still some shortcomings of the works: (1) They were only focused on introducing the titles, the publishing periods, and the editorial teams, without any in-depth discussion and analysis of the environment. (2) The viewpoints were conservative. They generally regarded the capitalist publications as legitimate while the proletarian ones were heretical. The discussions on the later ones were always too brief and biased. (3) A few of the authors were not able to systematically express their ideas. They just parroted others’ views without any unique viewpoint. Besides, the lack of conscientious works and inadequate materials resulted in inaccuracy. For example, although Ge Gongzhen’s History of China’s Newspapers had already been a very detailed discussion, the researchers still found more than 200 inaccurate areas. It is not surprising that other titles were more inaccurate. Nevertheless, the research on journalism during this period was quite fruitful, preparing for the future research in China. Yet, besides a few works like History of China’s Newspapers , the quality of many works was not high enough and not influential at all.

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The second stage should be between 1949 and 1978, i.e. from the establishment of the PRC to the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Communist Party of China’s Central Committee. The journalism research during this period was focused on the reformist publications of the proletarian class. In the 1950s, the journalism class of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China cooperated with some of the staff and the students of the School of Journalism and Communication, Renmin University of China to edit and to release a lecture notes entitled “A History of Modern Publications in China” (Zhongguo xiandai baokan shi 中國現代報刊史). In 1959, the School of Journalism and Communication of Renmin University of China published this title as an internal handout. “The History of Journalism in the New Democracy Revolution in China” (Zhongguo xinminzhu zhuyi geming shiqi xinwen shiye shi 中國新民主主義革命時期新聞事業史) and “The History of Journalism in China” (New Democracy Revolution Period) (Zhongguo xinwen shiye shi [xinminzhu zhuyi shiqi ] 中國新聞事業史[新民主主義時期]) were published based on the handout mentioned above by the Fudan School of Journalism and the School of Journalism and Communication of Renmin University of China in 1962 and 1966, respectively. The publishing of these handouts and teaching materials had determined the research framework of the proletarian journalism history. They were influential to further developing the research on proletarian journalism history. At the same time, a batch of references about journalism had been published to offer much useful material. They included the three volumes of Introduction of the Journals in the May Fourth Movement (Wusi shiqi qikan jieshao 五四時期期刊介紹) published by Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, Pan Zinian’s The Memory of Xinhua Daily (Xinhua ribao de huiyi 新華日 報的回憶), Zhang Jinglu’s three volumes of The History of Modern Publishing in China (Zhongguo jindai chuban shiliao 中國近代出版史料) and five volumes of The History of Contemporary Publishing in China (Zhongguo xiandai chuban shiliao 中 國現代出版史料), A Ying’s Literary Newspapers in the Late Qing Dynasty (Wanqing wenyi baokan lueshu 晚清文藝報刊略述), Xu Renhan’s 77 Years of Development of Shen Bao (Shaobao qishiqinian shiliao 申報七十七年史料), etc. In a conclusion, the research in this stage was more focused on the history of proletarian journalism. The research was quite fruitful, yet, affected by the Leftist ideas, the research was not in-depth enough. Generally speaking, the research on other newspapers, besides the party newspapers, was not adequate. In the history of the Party newspapers, there was not much discussion on the figures and the operation of the Party newspapers. The education of the history of journalism was not valued much as well. Apart from mainland China, many works about the history of journalism in

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China were also published in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The more important ones included Zeng Xubai’s The Journalism History in China (Zhongguo xinwen shi 中國新聞史), Zhu Chuanyu’s The Journalism History in the Song Dynasty (Songdai xinwen shi 宋代新聞史) and People, History, and Studies of Newspapers (Baoren baoshi baoxue 報人報史報學), Lai Guanglin’s Research on the Emergence of the Qing’s Official Gazettes (Qingdai guanbao xingqi zhi yanjiu 清代官報興起之研究), Feng Aiqun’s The History of Newspapers of Overseas Chinese (Huaqiao baoye shi 華僑報業史), etc. The third stage refers to the period after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee in 1978. This was the peak of the research on the history of journalism. There were astonishing achievements in the following aspects: First, the number of people engaged in the education and the research on journalism had been increased. Before the Cultural Revolution, only a few schools of journalism, Renmin University of China, Fudan University, Beijing Broadcasting Institute, some journalism teachers, other individual journalism researchers were engaged in the education and the research on the history of journalism. During the Cultural Revolution, the courses in journalism history at colleges were suspended, and the research on journalism came to a standstill until the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee. Since 1978, the schools of journalism of various universities had resumed teaching on the history of journalism. In 1990, around 50 schools of journalism scheduled courses in journalism history. After 1978, Renmin University of China and Fudan University started to admit postgraduate students specializing in the history of journalism. In the same year, the Institute of Journalism & Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was established and it was responsible for organizing the research on the history of journalism in China and admitting doctoral researchers in this discipline. Since 1985, Renmin University of China and Fudan University started to admit doctoral researchers in this discipline as well. These actions had contributed a great power for the research of journalism history. Besides, since 1980, different journalism societies and journalism institutes had been set up in Beijing, numerous provinces, and municipalities. At the same time, they had gradually set up their own branch for the history of journalism, focusing the efforts in this discipline. To be more specific, there were more than 40 members in the journalism history department of the journalism society in the capital. All the journalism societies across the country had appointed professionals to work on the history of journalism, expanding the research team of history of journalism to an unprecedented level. Fruitful research results also emerged in this stage. Many journalism

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teaching materials, references, and academic works started to appear since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Communist Party of China Central Committee, including Newspapers in Ancient China (Zhongguo gudai de baozhi 中國古代的報紙), The Origin of Newspapers in Ancient China (Zhongguo gudai baozhi tanyuan 中國古代報紙探源), The History of Journalism in the Ming Dynasty (Zhongguo mingdai xinwen chuanbo shi 中國明代新聞傳播史 ), The History of Contemporary Publications in China (Zhongguo jindai baokan shi 中國近代報刊史), The History of Journalism in China (Zhongguo xinwen shiye shi 中國新聞事業史), The Concise History of Journalism in China (Zhongguo xinwen shiye jianshi 中國新 聞事業簡史), Concise Journalism History in China (Jianming zhongguo xinwen shi 簡明中國新聞史), The History of Modern Broadcasting in China (Zhongguo xiandai guangbo jianshi 中國現代廣播簡史), Old News in Newspapers (Baohai jiuwen 報海 舊聞), The History of Xinhua Daily (Xinhua ribao shi 新華日報史), The History of Northeast Daily (Dongbei ribao shi 東北日報史), Research Materials of the History of Journalism in China (Zhongguo xinwen shiye shi yanjiu ziliao 中國新聞事業史研 究資料), Research Materials of the History of Journalism in Southern China (Huanan xinwen shiye shiliao 華南新聞事業史料), Rise and Decline of World News (Shijie ribao xingshuai shi 世界日報興衰史), Thirty Years as A Newspaper Journalist (Baoren shengya sanshinian 報人生涯三十年), Thirty Years as A Reporter (Jizhe shenghuo sanshinian 記者生活三十年), A Biography of Deng Tuo (Deng Tuo ping zhuan 鄧拓評 傳), A Biography of Fan Changjiang (Fan Changjiang chuan 范長江傳), Introduction of Periodicals in the 1911 Revolution (Xinhaigeming shiqi qikan jieshao 辛亥革命時 期期刊介紹), etc. There were more than 40 titles about the history of journalism of different periods and biographies of journalists. At the same time, there were some professional publications specifically based on historical documents such as News Study Materials (Xinwen yanjiu ziliao 新聞研究資料), People of the Press (Xinwenjie renwu 新聞界人物), Historical Materials of Xinhua News Agency (Xinhuashe shiliao 新華社史料), News Materials of Tianjin (Tianjin xinwen shiliao 天津新聞史料), Historic Materials of Wuhan Journalism (Wuhan xinwen shiliao 武 漢新聞史料 ), News Materials of Chengdu (Chengdu xinwen shiliao 成都新聞史 料). News Study Materials , published between 1979 and 1990, was issued in 50 volumes with more than 1,000 articles and essays on the history of journalism. Other newspapers and periodicals had also introduced the history. Since these publications were written with more practical ideology and in proper style, the quality of these articles had been improved a lot. They had contributed a lot to the ancient, modern, contemporary, and present study of journalism. The research activities on the history of journalism had been fully started actively. Apart from the research projects of the concise history and the chronicle, the history of individual newspapers and local journalism, and the

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research on different publications, news agencies, journalists, had been handled by special research teams and professionals. For example, for the professional history of journalism, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Renmin University of China, Minzu University of China, and Beijing Broadcasting Institute had worked on the history in different aspects: the Communist Party in China, television broadcasting, military, enterprises, railways, dialects of ethical minorities, etc. Different journalism societies and institutes had set up their branches in Hunan, Hubei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Shanxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, Tianjin, Wuhan, Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Shaoxing for the research on local journalism. Some of them had finished the first drafts of the manuscripts, waiting for opinions to further improve the content. The case studies of the history of individual publications had achieved a great progress. The research on Shen Bao was started the earliest with the greatest research power. The research on the history of news agencies had just been proposed in recent years. The history of Xinhua News Agency and China News Service was being written. Some of the content had been published in some journalism publications. The research on journalists, including the activists, political commentators, and the famous reporters, had achieved a sound progress in recent years. The first six issues of People of the Press introduced some significant journalists like Wang Tao, Huang Yuansheng, Shao Piaoping, Zhang Jiluan, Ge Gongzhen, Ju Qiubai, Cai Hesen, Zou Taofen, Lin Baishui, Wang Yunsheng, Hu Zhengzhi. China Journalism Yearbook (Zhongguo xinwen nianjian 中國新聞年鑑) had introduced the renowned journalists in a specific column. Till the edition of 1990, 1,145 journalists were introduced including Liang Fa, Huang Pingfu, Zhen Guanying. The books Editors and Reporters 100 (Bianji jizhe yibaoren 編輯記者一百人), Famous Reporters in Modern China (Jindai zhongguo mingjizhe 近代中國名記者), and Introduction of Famous Reporters in Contemporary China (Zhongguo dangdai mingjizhe xiaochuan 中國 當代名記者小傳) had talked about 75 famous journalists in detail, such as Zhang Taiyan, Liu Yazi, Chen Leng, Yu Songhua. Some professionals were also working on the biographies of individual journalists like Shao Piaoping, Shi Liangcai, and Zhang Jiluan. As the new China has been established for more than 40 years, it is necessary to conclude the history and the experience of journalism in China. The editorial works of the teaching materials about the journalism history in China are in progress as well. Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, the research on the history of journalism has been valued in the journalism sector. It was also supported by many news parties, schools of journalism, research institutes, and famous journalists. Many former outstanding journalists

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had been actively supporting and participated in this activity, including Ge Baoquan, Xia Yan, Zhang Youyu, Shi Ximin, Sa Kungliao, Lu Yi, Liao Jingdan, An Gang, etc. Some of them have even written articles to recall their days engaged in the industry. To motivate the development of the research on the history of journalism, the Ministry of Civil Affairs allowed the establishment of the Chinese Association for History of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1989. In 1990, there were around 200 members of the association. This was the first academic association for the history of journalism in China. The memorial activities and academic forums had become more active as well, such as the memorial ceremony of Zou Taofen in Beijing in 1984, the 100year memorial ceremony of Shao Piaoping cum academic forum, the 100-year memorial ceremony of Huang Yuansheng cum academic forum in Jiujiang, the 100-anniversary memorial ceremony of Ge Gongzhen cum academic forum in Dongtai in 1990. These activities were supported by the journalists and different parties in the society, encouraging the research on the renowned figures of journalism. During this period, the research on the history of journalism in Taiwan had achieved a success as well. Collection of History of Journalism in China (Zhongguo xinwen shi [lunwenji ] 中國新聞史[論文集]), Newspaper Journalism and Business in Modern China (Zhongguo jindai baoren yu baoye 中國近代報人與報業), A 70-Year History of Journalism in China (Qishinian zhongguo baoye shi 七十年中國報業史), The Collection of Discussions on Journalism in Ancient China (Xianqin tang song ming qing chuanbo shiye lunji 先秦唐宋明清傳播事業論集) were also published. In a word, there were great achievements of the research on the history of journalism in this stage. The progress in these 12 years had excelled that in the past 30 years. Nowadays, there is still much room for further development with bright prospects. As a branch of journalism, the history is still fundamental and influential. The ideas of “no study for news” and “the uselessness of the history of journalism” were invalid. The 70 years, divided in three stages, of research on the history of journalism has already enriched the studies with accumulated experiences and stable elements. This title was started and finished based on these objectives. Compared with other titles about the history of journalism in China published in the same period, this title is outstanding with the following characteristics: First, the content is rich and comprehensive. It provides discussions on newspapers, periodicals (mainly those focused on current affairs), news agencies, broadcasting, television stations, news photography, news comics, news documentaries, journalism figures, editorials, reporting, printing,

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publishing, advertising, circulation, operation, journalism education, research on journalism, and publishing laws. It is a systematic survey on the journalism business with necessary conclusion. It also introduced the publishing business in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, contributing richer content compared with other publications. Additionally, it included the information from the Pre-Qin period (2–3 BC) to the contemporary period (1990) — the development of more than 2,200 years. The situation between 1949 and 1990 was rarely discussed in other publications. This title is more focused on more updated information. The discussion on the ancient times occupied one-fifteenth of the book; the modern times occupied one-fourth; while the contemporary times dominated half of the content. Moreover, this title fully showed the power of team work. It is difficult for only a few people to finish such a giant and important title in a short period of time. Such an extensive project could only be accomplished by the collective power. A majority of contributors of this title were the scholars experienced in the research on the history of journalism, the researchers with postgraduate degrees or even doctoral degrees, and the frontline journalists. It was with the goal that they could fully show their expertise through the division of labor. Generally speaking, they worked on their most familiar parts, guaranteeing the quality of the content. Last but not least, it takes the past academic works as reference to make a breakthrough. Throughout the editorial process, it is focused on the research results of different studies of Chinese history and journalism history, including the news ones achieved by both local and foreign researchers, reflecting the objectivity of modern academic research in China. In the editorial process, each contributor was requested to follow the following writing guidelines: First, they should fully utilize the materials. They had to express their viewpoints with the support of the historical documents. Second, they had to seek truths from facts. They should present the newspapers, figures, events accurately and appropriately. It is not appropriate to label anyone. They had to discuss the issues from different points of view so that the readers could make their own judgment. Third, they had to show the characteristics of the history of journalism. While writing about the newspapers, they should include the content as well as the promotion strategies. When writing about the journalists, they had to be more focused on their activities related to journalism. The major events of journalism should be treated more than just political events. Fourth, it is important to respect other people’s effort. All the references had to be cited clearly to avoid any misunderstanding and garbled translation. Some useful

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materials could also be added as notes for readers’ reference. It is hoped that this title can cater to the demands from the journalists and the readers who are interested in the history of journalism. Although there are still some insufficient areas, inappropriate viewpoints, inaccurate assessments, and inadequate analyses, and variations of styles, any comments from readers are welcomed for further improvement. Fang Hanqi February 1991

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Chapter

Journalism in Ancient China

A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 1

China is the historical pioneer in publishing newspapers and introducing journalism. There has been a long time since the emergence of news and

communication activities in China. Before the Qing Dynasty, news was mainly spread by word of mouth, and the written form had gradually taken shape after

the Han Dynasty. Newspapers started emerging in the Mid-Tang Dynasty. The early form of the newspaper in China was mainly the official one circulated

among bureaucrats and scholar-officials. The unofficial newspaper had only been turning up in the Song Dynasty. Both the official and the unofficial newspapers coexisted at the same time until the early nineteenth century when the modern publications of China emerged.

Journalism in ancient China lasted from the Mid-Tang to the late Qing eras.

These 1,200 years formed a very important milestone in the history of journalism in China.

News and Communication Activities before the Emergence of Ancient Newspapers Origin of news and communication It is traditionally believed that news and communication emerged along with human activities. Humans are gregarious and they always work together. So the necessity of communicating contributed to the origin of journalism.

Language is the direct reaction of intellectual activities. Its development is

also closely related to social development. Its maturity is undoubtedly related to

society’s. According to anthropologic research, the evolution of humans included two stages: ape-man and ancient man. Scientists discovered the skull of ancient

man, but they misapprehended that it was the skull of a mentally retarded person.

The finding implied that ancient men were not able to transmit news, while news and communication can only happen with the existence of fully-evolved humans.

The caveman discovered in Zhoukoudian (ca 18,000 years ago) has been

estimated as belonging to the stage of “New Man.” According to recent geological

research, the coastline at that time was closer than the present-day one, but it was still hundreds of mile away. The cavemen might directly or indirectly

communicate with the coastal residents living hundreds of mile away from them. When they were exchanging goods or food, language was undoubtedly a medium

to communicate and to exchange information. The seashell accessories are the evidence that the ancient human performed news and communication activities.

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Journalism in the Pre-Qin period There have been written records proving the news and communication activities in the Pre-Qin period. King Xuan of the Zhou Dynasty died in 782 BC, and his death had been reported, which was an example of a news-related activity. Besides, as shown in the oracle bone scripts of the Yin Dynasty, the murder of the Yin Dynasty’s ancestor, Wang Hai, was the first news event ever recorded. The official historians not only recorded the word-of-mouth events in black and white. The earliest document we can see nowadays is the oracle inscription uncovered in Yin Ruins. The oracle inscription itself has no relationship to news and communications activities. Yet, some oracle signs were “realized,” then “Zhenren 貞人” 1 recorded the “realized” events at the back of the oracle inscriptions. Those coincidental events had then become the controversial news at that time. The inscriptions on the bells and cauldrons were not for transmitting news, but for commemorating a big event of a family. The events of those eminent and wealthy families recorded in the inscriptions were always influential at that time. The news in the Pre-Qin period was mostly transmitted in the word-of-mouth form.

Journalism from the Qin-Han to the Six Dynasties The Qin Dynasty was the start of the transmission of official news in written form. Qin Shi Huang had unified the six states. One year later (219 BC), when he was travelling in Taishan and Langye, he made inscriptions on the rocks to record his achievements. He used those inscriptions to glorify his own merit and to spread the message of unification. To be more accurate, transmission of official news in written form started from the Han Dynasty. However, there was no specific channel for transmitting news in the early Han Dynasty. Official news was mainly transmitted via edicts which could help spread the information around the whole dynasty. The copies of edicts, used for news transmission, had been unearthed along with the Han’s Juyan bamboo slips. Edict was one of the written forms of transmitting news in the Han Dynasty. “Lubu 露布” had appeared a long time ago. It refers to the publicly announced official document without any seals on it. It was usually for military use, and was the main channel to announce results and the news of victory. Lubu could enhance the morale of the army and help beat the enemy; on the other hand, Lubu could also be used to falsify information. Since Lubu was a very effective promotional tool, it had been adopted since the late Qing.

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A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 1

Methods and carriers for news and communications in ancient China During the long history of around 30,000 to 40,000 years, language was the only medium that human used to transmit news. People in ancient China used to

make inscriptions on wood, tie knots, draw pictures, and even create individual

pictograms to record events. These methods could only help the transmitter to memorize, but could not record and report the news completely and clearly.

Furthermore, Chinese characters had already been developed to a more advanced

level in the Yin-Zhou period, and they were used to systematically record all events at that time. After the Warring States Period, the Chinese characters were mastered by more and more people, and the characters had become a medium for

public communication. According to the current historical materials, the warlords had been using written materials to transmit news and information since the

reign of Duke Huan of Qi. China had already adopted the technology of beacon fires for military communication in the Western Zhou period. However, in China, this kind of beacon fire was only used to transmit military information.

Before the emergence of ancient newspapers, a carrier of news transmission

usually functioned in two ways. The rock carvings of the Qin Dynasty were inscriptions as well as news announcements. The edicts of the Han Dynasty

were the top-down official documents and the main carriers of official news at that time. Lubu and memorials were mainly for military use at the same time. They were also written reports to emperors, i.e., bottom-up official documents.

The official news was announced via the platforms for official documents. This phenomenon reflects the demand of news and communication at that time, and implies that news activities were not completely developed.

Birth of Ancient Newspapers and the Liaison Gazette of the Tang Dynasty Origins of newspapers in China A newspaper is a regular publication consisting of news and critiques. This kind of publication, strictly speaking, is the product of modern capitalist societies.

Newspapers had already emerged in antediluvian China, and the basic style had been developed in medieval times. Compared with the newspaper in modern

times, it was still very primitive and not very well-developed. Yet it still reflected

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the development of newspapers in China — an important historical stage of journalism in China. Many journalism historians around the world have conducted research on the origin of newspapers in China. They have suggested various versions as follows: •• Newspapers originated in the Zhou Dynasty. People who support this idea are mostly foreigners. For example, Kotou Takeo, a Japanese journalist, suggested in his book Research on Newspapers

that China published newspapers earlier than the bulletin published in Rome in 60 BC. Nine hundred years before the bulletin, the capital gazette ( jingbao 京報 ) had already been developed in China.2 A Japanese journalist, Sukimura Koutarou, said that the capital gazette was a kind of official newspaper. If it originated in the Zhou Dynasty, it is 3,000 years old already. It could be regarded as the most ancient newspaper.3 Roswell Sessoms Britton, an American journalist in Yenching University, also agreed with the above theory. Wang Anshi in the Song Dynasty was the first Chinese to agree with this viewpoint. •• Newspapers originated in the Han Dynasty. People supporting this perspective include both the Western and the Eastern scholars. Sukimura Koutarou was the first foreigner to propose this idea. He discussed the origin of Chinese newspapers in the book Journalism (Xinwenxue 新 聞 學 ), and concluded that the imperial gazette (dibao 邸 報 ) “emerged in

the Han Dynasty.” Roswell Sessoms Britton also agreed with this perspective. Recently, Anthony Smith, a journalism historian based at the University of Oxford, insisted on this theory as well. The renowned journalist Ge Gongzhen was the first Chinese scholar to propose this idea. He even explained the origin of newspapers in China from this perspective with a special section in the book History of China’s Newspapers (Zhongguo baozhi 中 國 報 紙 ). Ge’s discussion was so influential that a lot of research on journalism in China also supported this idea. •• Newspapers originated in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. An anonymous foreign scholar suggested that newspapers emerged in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. His viewpoint was included in an article printed in Democratic Journalist , an official publication of the International Federation of Journalists. The viewpoint supporting the Han Dynasty has been the most influential one among the above three views. Different schools of journalism around the world still adopted this viewpoint until the late 1950s as shown by the teaching

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A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 1

materials. However, there was still a lack of support and evidence for any of these perspectives. China, undoubtedly, was the forerunner in publishing newspapers, but it is impossible for its newspaper to have emerged in the Zhou Dynasty. At the same time, there is still not enough information proving newspapers originated in the Han Dynasty or during the Six Dynasties. Based on the current materials, the comparatively reliable idea would be: Chinese newspapers originated in the Tang Dynasty.

Liaison Office and liaison gazette in the Tang Dynasty The Tang Dynasty can be regarded as the most prosperous era in Chinese history. The postal relay system of the Tang Dynasty was more developed. There were a total number of 1,643 postal relay stations: 1,297 inland postal relay stations, 260 water postal relay stations, and 86 land-water postal relay stations. The papermaking and printing technologies had been improved compared with the previous dynasties. These factors had created a well-equipped environment for the birth of the newspaper. On the other hand, there is no record about newspapers in the early Tang Dynasty. When the government had to inform the officials of political news, the Secretariat released the information via various kinds of official documents such as conferment (ceming 冊命), decree (zhishu 制書), order (chi 敕), notice (die 牒), guideline ( pu 譜), certificate (zhuang 狀), etc. The birth and the development of

the newspaper in the Tang Dynasty were related to the imperial issues and the system of military commanderies. The golden period of the Liaison Office (Jinzou yuan 進奏院) was the 100 years after the Dali and the Jianzhong reigns. According to Xu Song’s Research on West Capital (Xijingchengfang kao 西京城坊考), more than 20 Liaison Offices were

set up in Chongren Square, Chang’an, including Dongdou, Henan, Shangru, Bian, Zi, Qing, Huainan, Yanzhou, Taiyuan, Youzhou, Jizhou, Fengzhou, Cangzhou, Tiande, Jingnan, Xuanshe, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guanggui, Annan, Yongzhou, and Qiannan. Liaison Representative was in charge of the Liaison Office. Liaison Representative would send each military command and local government the reports about the political events and changes. These reports were not specifically named at that time; they had different versions of names such as Jinzou yuan zhuangbao 進奏院狀報, zhuangbao 狀報, baozhuang 報狀, Shangduliuhou zhuang 上都留後狀, liudi zhuangbao 留邸狀報, dili zhuang 邸吏狀, bao 報. Although the

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names were different, they were referred to as the same kind of document — the original newspaper from the Liaison Representative to the local government. Its nature was similar to the imperial gazette appearing later. There is one more issue to be noted: The names such as zhuang , zhuangbao , and baozhuang are easily confused with the names of other official documents. “Zhuang 狀” was a kind of bottom-up official document in the Tang Dynasty. Besides, the notice circulated among the local governments was generally called zhuang sometimes. Only those zhuang , zhuangbao and baozhuang to the local governments issued by the Liaison Representatives were in nature close to the imperial gazette. The Tang Dynasty’s liaison gazette ( Jinzou yuan zhuangbao 進奏院狀報) featured the following characteristics: •• It was issued to the local governments irregularly from the capital, and its readers were mainly the military commanderies and the senior officials of the routes (zhudao 諸道).

•• It was different from the official document. •• Most of the information it provided was about the political activities of the government which were not directly related to the receivers. •• Much of its information was collected by the Liaison Representatives themselves. Therefore, the liaison gazette in the Tang Dynasty functioned as a newspaper to a certain extent. It was a kind of newspaper in primitive form.

Kaiyuan Gazette in the Tang Dynasty Concerning the newspaper in the Tang Dynasty, there is a reference usually quoted — “Reading the Kaiyuan Gazette” (Du kaiyuan zabao 讀開元雜報) written by Sun Qiao. He talked about the Tang Dynasty from the viewpoint of a Tang person, and he also raised discussions in his work. It was regarded as the most important record of the journalism in the Tang Dynasty. Sun Qiao had described the discovery of the Kaiyuan Gazette in detail. He mentioned two important issues about the Gazette. First, “shu shi fu shu 數十幅書” means that there were dozens of single-page written materials without binding. Second, “xi ri tiao shi , bu li shou

mo 系日條事，不立首末” means that it was written on a daily basis without an

opening or an ending — there was no connection between the pages. In Reading the Kaiyuan Gazette , the author also recorded what he had observed when he arrived in the capital, Changan. He read “tiaobao 條報” every day, and he mentioned its content: “Today, an official has been laid off, and

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someone will be promoted tomorrow. Today, someone is everyone’s favorite; however, he will be bullied by others.” Tiaobao reported the events in point form.

These records explained that Sun Qiao in 851 (the fifth year of Dazhong’s reign)

went to Chang’an to sit for the imperial examination, and had been awarded the academic title of “Jinshi 進士.” He had also been an official for a period of time.

In Chang’an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, there was news about the daily life of the emperor and political activities of government officials. Some officials

were responsible for transmitting the information, and there was a carrier for this activity. Concerning the latter issue, Sun Qiao did not further elaborate in

his work, but the kind of media was mentioned when it was compared with the Kaiyuan Gazette . What made him emotional were the ups and downs of the

dynasty reflected by the two kinds of media. Therefore, the media he saw every day was similar to the Kaiyuan Gazette . It indirectly reflected the newspaper in the

early Tang Dynasty. Sun Qiao used a general name referring to the carrier in this work, reflecting that there was no specific name for this kind of newspaper at that time.

Sun Qiao’s Reading the Kaiyuan Gazette provided very influential information

for the study of the history of newspapers in the Tang Dynasty.

The newly discovered Dunhuang’s Liaison Gazette In recent years, the researchers of journalism and Tang history have discovered

two copies of the liaison gazette in the current Dunhuang relics that had been sent to Shazhou by the Liaison Representatives stationed in the imperial court assigned by the Military Commissioners of Shazhou’s Allegiance Army (Guiyi jun

歸義軍) since Shazhou is located in the Dunhuang area. These two copies of the liaison gazette have been housed in the Dunhuang’s Mogao Caves for a long time and were regarded as part of the Dunhuang relics. Thus they are named as the

“Dunhuang’s Liaison Gazette.” This discovery aroused great attention among the researchers of the history of journalism and the Tang Dynasty.

One copy of the Dunhuang’s Liaison Gazette, now in the British Library in

London, was discovered in 1982, and its serial number is S.1156. It was issued by

Zhang Yize, Allegiance Army’s Military Commissioner based in the capital, to another Allegiance Army’s Military Commissioner, Zhang Huaishen in around 887 (the third year of Guangqi’s reign).

Another one, discovered in 1986, is now in National Library of France

(Bibliothèque nationale de France), and its serial number is P.3547. It was issued to

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Journalism in Ancient China

Zhang Huaishen from Chang’an by a Military Commissioner, with the last name Nangong, based in the capital. There is no obvious sign to trace the reign of this liaison gazette. As examined by the historians of the Tang Dynasty, it was issued between 874 and 879 (Qianfu’s reign). To be more specific, it was probably issued

in 876 (the fifth year of Qianfu’s reign). These two copies of the Dunhuang’s Liaison Gazette are valuable since they are the concrete evidence for studying the Liaison Office in the Tang Dynasty. The Kaiyuan Gazette , unfortunately, has not been preserved, so the two copies of the liaison gazette are the earliest form of newspapers found in China, even in the world. These two copies have helped us understand and illustrate the characteristics of the Tang’s liaison gazette as follows: •• First, the name of the recipient was included in the opening: “Shangdu jinzouyuan zhuang shang dangdao 上 都 進 奏 院 狀 上 當 道 ” or “Jinzouyuan 4

zhuang shang dangdao 進奏院狀上當道.” There was no header, i.e., title of the

newspaper. It ended with the issue date in the format of year/month/day, signature of the Liaison Representative, and the two Chinese characters “jin zhuang 謹 狀 .” This was the common style of the liaison gazette in the Tang

Dynasty. Obviously, we can still smell a sense of official documents from this style, showing that the newspaper at the early stage was derived from official document. •• Second, the liaison gazette was distributed by the Liaison Representatives stationed in the imperial court assigned by the military commanderies. They sent the liaison gazette to their supervisors directly. The distribution process, without any interference from the imperial court, was solely carried out by the Liaison Representatives. There was also no regular distribution cycle. The recipients were the officials assigning the Liaison Representatives, Dangdao 當 道 , i.e., the Military Commissioners of each military command. They were the first readers of the liaison gazette. Once they had read the liaison gazette, they might do the filing immediately, and some might summarize the content or make a copy to be circulated among the officials under the military commanderies. •• Third, the information provided was collected by the Liaison Representatives according to the demand from Dangdao . The content was mainly about

the big government issues, or some political information collected by the government. The liaison gazette of the Tang Dynasty, represented by the Dunhuang’s Liaison Gazette, was a news medium similar to the imperial gazette which

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emerged at a later stage. The parties stationed in the capital assigned by the local governments used it for transmitting the news of the imperial court, therefore, it had an official nature. However, the liaison gazette was not the official newspaper released by the imperial court. Although it was like an official document, it was not considered one. It featured some characteristics of a newspaper: It included an extensive collection of news, and it transmitted information before the release of an official announcement. Its principle of “One way, two parties” was like the newsletter in Europe in the sixteenth century, a form of media before the emergence of newspapers in the West. Both of them were the media platforms in the pre-newspaper period.

Points to note about journalism in the Tang Dynasty According to the current historical records, our understanding of journalism of the Tang Dynasty can be summarized as follows: (1) The Tang Dynasty was the beginning of journalism of China. The early forms of newspapers appeared in the Tang Dynasty. The Chinese term of news was derived from the quote “The world needs a book to transmit news” in the early Tang Dynasty. (2) The first kind of newspaper that emerged in the Tang Dynasty was a kind of baozhuang to the local governments issued by the Routes Officers and officials of military commanderies. The officials would release the imperial information and the data they collected via this kind of baozhuang before the 5

official documents were issued to the local governments. (3) Current affairs gazette (shishi baozhuang 時事報狀 ) issued to the local governments by routes officials, emerged before the early eighth century (the first year of Kaiyuan’s reign). In the late eighth century, military commanderies rose. In 777 (the twelfth year of Dali’s reign), the Routes Office (Zhudao di 諸道邸) was restructured as the Chief Liaison Office ( Shangdu jinzouyuan 上都進奏院 ).

The officials of each military command would send the current affairs gazette to the local governments. This activity had been further developed later. (4) The Tang Dynasty was equipped with the favorable factors for newspaper printing. In the reigns of Emperors Dezong and Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty, woodblock printing was extensively used to produce constitutions and calendars, but the newspaper in the Tang Dynasty was still copied manually, the Dunhuang’s Liaison Gazette is an example of a manually copied newspaper. The Kaiyuan Gazette was also copied by hand. 6

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(5) The Tang Dynasty’s baozhuang was a primitive newspaper derived from an official document.

Imperial Gazette and Tabloid in the Song Dynasty Liaison Office, Liaison Representative, and liaison gazette in the Song Dynasty The newspaper in China at the early stage had made a great step forward during the Song Dynasty (960–1279). The official newspaper, at that time, was issued and managed by the central administration of the government. The Liaison Office was responsible for producing this official newspaper. The early Song Dynasty adopted the systems of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. The local governments set up their own Liaison Office in the capital,7 and they supervised their corresponding offices. There were more than 250 prefectures at that time, and more than 200 Liaison Offices were in the capital. The restructured Chief Liaison Office was led by the palace stewards of the Chancellery ( Menxia sheng 門 下 省 ). The Chief Liaison Office was not a top imperial agency, but its duties mattered. It was responsible for handling the internal documents and communication issues among different departments. Therefore, most of its offices were located near the imperial buildings. Monitored by the Chief Liaison Office, the Liaison Representatives would gather information and assist the communication processes. The Liaison Representative was also called the “Liaison Officer” (Jinzouli 進 奏 吏) and other similar titles. He had to assist in the delivery of all regular official documents, both from the emperor and the officials. Moreover, he had to help transmit other information not written on those daily documents. The official newspaper issued by the Liaison Representatives was the liaison gazette. It was also called Jinzou yuan baozhuang 進 奏 院 報 狀 , Jinzou yuan bao 進奏院報, Jinzou yuan dibao 進奏院邸報, Jinzouguan bao 進奏官報, and zhuangbao 狀 報. The different versions were referred to the same thing, which

was the official newspaper issued by the Liaison Representatives. Compared with the liaison gazette in the Tang Dynasty, the version in the Song Dynasty had been further developed with many more similarities to a newspaper. The style was much closer to the style of a modern official newspaper. First, it was different from the liaison gazette of the Tang Dynasty, which was only a newsletter for Liaison Representatives in the capital reporting news to their

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supervisors in the military commanderies. It was actually a top official newspaper of imperial information, controlled by the same central monitoring system, to different districts and local governments. Second, it had become an important carrier for transmitting imperial news to society. Its readership was not limited to the military commanderies, yet it also aroused attention from imperial courtiers, local governments, and scholar-officials. As there was much information provided compared to before, the timeliness of the news had been improved as well. Third, it had been completely independent from an official document, and it had become an official news medium for communication. Last but not least, it was issued on a regular basis. The liaison gazette in the Tang Dynasty had been controlled by the imperial court at the early stage of the Dynasty, and it had become the most influential official newspaper in the history of journalism in China. This kind of official newspaper not only provided the readers with imperial information, but also educated them on the importance of virtues and Confucian ideas.

The emergence of the title “imperial gazette” The title “imperial gazette” first appeared in the Song Dynasty. It was a widelyused term referring to an official newspaper in ancient times. The imperial gazette ( dibao 邸 報) , in fact, is the liaison gazette. Apart from the imperial gazette, other similar names such as Jinzou yuan bao 進 奏 院 報 , Jinzou guan bao 進 奏 官 報 , dizhuang 邸狀, dili zhuang 邸吏狀, dili zhuangbao 邸吏狀報, “chaobao 朝報” were

also used in the Song Dynasty to refer to the official newspaper. The variations of title were due to the absence of an official title of the official newspaper published by the Liaison Office. These names were generally accepted by society without any misunderstanding. Therefore, no one felt the need to standardize the title. Among the different versions, “imperial gazette” and “liaison gazette,” followed by “chaobao ,” were the most frequently used ones. Supported by some historical records, the name “chaobao ” had even been used before “imperial gazette.”

The people of the Five Dynasties referred to the official newspaper in the Tang Dynasty as chaobao ,” This title was used until the Song Dynasty while many records about chaobao in the Song Dynasty could be found. Chaobao was a kind of official newspaper. It was edited by some officials,

then was sent to another department for screening. It was finally issued across the country by the Liaison Representatives. It was the same as imperial gazette, Jinzou yuan zhuangbao , Jinzou yuan baozhuang , Jinzou yuan bao , dili baozhuang ; these

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titles were all used to refer to the official newspaper issued by the Liaison Office. Their emergence was not later than the “imperial gazette.” The variations of the title of an official newspaper were used from the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty to the later Song Dynasty. Some of the versions were more widely used and found in historical records. For example, “liaison gazette” appeared more frequently in the Northern Song Dynasty while chaobao was more widely used in the Southern Song Dynasty. However, it was still not correct to refer to them interchangeably due to the overlapping of the periods, nor was it appropriate to categorize them and to refer them as two different matters. Among the different versions, “imperial gazette” and chaobao were used for a longer period of time until the Qing Dynasty. “Imperial gazette” was the most widely used one as it still appears in contemporary periods.8

The content and the editorial activities of the imperial gazette According to the description in The Collected Statutes of the Song Dynasty (Song

huiyaojigao 宋會要輯稿), the imperial gazette included the information about the

imperial court’s political plans, orders, penalties, edicts, constitutions, speeches, complementaries, errands, and drafts. The imperial gazette also reported ordinances, announcements, and orders from different top offices. Moreover, the comments from the emperor and ministers were also written in point form to make public announcements of different issues. It could maintain social stability, improve personal discipline as well as encourage other officials. These were also the publishing purposes of the official newspaper. Most of the manuscripts of the imperial gazette were copied by the Liaison Representatives from the Office for Audience Ceremonies (Hemensi 閤門司 ) of the Chancellery and other imperial offices. The Liaison Representatives had to collect and select materials from a large pool of information. The duties were with the nature of the imperial gazette’s reporters. Apart from the Liaison Representatives, the Imperial Maids, the Imperial Diarists of the Chancellery and the Imperial Archivists of the Secretariat were also responsible for recording the daily life and speeches of emperors. The Imperial Maids were the female officials in the palace. They recorded the day-to-day activities of the emperor inside the palace. The Imperial Diarists and the Imperial Archivists were the attendants recording the speeches and daily

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life of emperors. They were with emperors all the time to prepare materials for the official history of daily records, calendars, political records. Their records were sent to the Imperial Diary Office (Qiju yuan 起 居 院 ) on time, and were transferred to the Historiographers’ Institute (Shiguan 史館 ). Some of the records

were reported in the imperial gazette, becoming one of the sources of imperial gazette. From this point of view, they provided the official newspaper with useful materials — They were like the imperial reports. Since the Chief Liaison Office had been founded in the Taizong’s reign, the editorial duties were borne by the Editorial Examiner (Jianxiangguan 檢 詳 官) of the Chancellery and the Secretariat. Later, the palace stewards of the Chancellery were assigned to be responsible for the process of “panbao 判報” — deciding which information should be put in the newspaper. The emperor himself and the Liaison Representatives sometimes participated in this process. The emperor ordered which pieces of information should be included in the imperial gazette. Once coverage had been confirmed, it would be sent across the country via the postal relay. No record shows that the imperial gazette of the Song Dynasty was a printed publication, and there is an absence of material evidence as well. Yet, there is at least a part of the imperial gazette or part of its materials that had been produced by woodblock printing. The Song’s imperial gazette was partly printed by the woodblock technique. Parts of the content about orders, regulations, ordinances, rewards, and punishments were printed by woodblock printing. The readers of the Song’s imperial gazette were mainly imperial officials and scholar-officials or those who had rough career prospects. The emperors ruled with assistance from the scholar-officials, but not from the common people. Therefore, the official newspapers issued by the imperial court only catered to the need of the scholar-officials. At the same time, the scholar-officials could also have a better understanding of the political environment in order to decide their own point of view. The general public seldom had the opportunity to read the official newspaper.

Ban on the imperial gazette and the codifying system To make the imperial gazette a beneficial and stability-maintaining publication to the dynasty, different reigns of the Song Dynasty were all aware of the content of the imperial gazette. There were limitations to certain activities that would be harmful to governance. The various aspects which the imperial court paid much attention to were as follows: (1) Disasters Natural disasters and extraordinary phenomena, such as flood, drought,

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locust plague, solar eclipse, were seldom reported, since they were regarded as the signs of Heaven’s disappointment and warning to the emperor. They would ruin the reputation of the emperor and destabilize his power. (2) Military intelligence The news about military operations, especially mutiny, peasant uprising, armed ethnic minority’s rebellion, was totally prohibited. (3) Imperial top secrets Each reign of the Song Dynasty had paid much effort in preventing the leaks of top secrets. (4) Courtiers’ memorials without announcement approval In the Song Dynasty, the courtiers’ memorials could only be announced with the emperor’s signature. The ones without the signature were prohibited from transmission. The ban started from the reign of Shenzong, while it was regulated more rigidly after the reign of Huizong. To improve the monitoring system for the imperial gazette and to carry out the prohibition, the Song Dynasty had set up the “codifying system.” “Codifying” means setting a template for the imperial gazette. Once the reviewers had edited all information collected by the Liaison Representatives, the Palace Secretariat and the ministers would assess the layout and the content to confirm the template. The Liaison Representatives should release the imperial gazette based on this template.

Notice Notice ( bang 榜) was a news medium adopted by the imperial offices. They had been using this poster form of media to announce the information for a long period of time. In the Song Dynasty, notice was used to announce acts and certain urgent edicts, memorials, and information of rewards and punishments. During special periods, it functioned like a supplementary of imperial gazette to report military news and major political events. The location for such an announcement was chosen based on the target readers. Most were placed at the entrance of the city wall and commercial districts of towns. While there was an urgent need to make a public announcement, and the imperial gazette was not able to spread the news immediately, notice became a frequently used news medium. According to the records in the Song prose collection, a notice provided a larger pool of news with high timeliness. In some special and urgent circumstances, such as the dynasty was at war, the emperor was captured, or the downfall of the dynasty, the ordinary news media could

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not cater to the needs of the general readers. Those readers would like to have the most updated information about the negotiation between the enemy and their own dynasty. The imperial court, at the same time, would also like to have the support from the people to enhance the morale of the dynasty. The special function of the notice could be fully utilized in such circumstances where the imperial gazette could not function in those special environments. After the relocation to the South, the Song Dynasty had become more stabilized. The general official acts and political information were transmitted via the usual news media. The frequent use of a notice, like in the reign of Jingkang, was no longer that common, but a notice was still placed high.

The emergence and the development of tabloids The tabloid ( xiaobao 小報) was the first unofficial newspaper in the history of journalism in China. It functioned the same way as the imperial gazette with no header and fixed title. The popular tabloids in the society at that time were produced by different publishers. The term “tabloid” was generally used to refer to this kind of unofficial newspaper. The exact starting period of tabloids cannot be traced due to a lack of historical information. The Song people used to compare tabloids with the imperial gazette: The imperial gazette was legal and ordinary; the tabloid was illegal and extraordinary. In light of the illegal nature of the tabloid, it probably appeared at the time when the Chief Liaison Office was established in the early Taizong’s reign. It was issued in the form of an unofficial newspaper, totally different from the official newspaper produced by the imperial court. In 1236, 43 years before the downfall of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Shucheng mentioned that the tabloid was called “news” at that time. It was the first time the terms “newspaper,” “tabloid,” and “news” were brought together. They contributed to the modern lexicon of terms related to newspapers, news reporters, and other terms of journalism — an important phase in the history of journalism in China. The characteristics of a tabloid are as follows: (1) A tabloid was a non-scheduled unofficial newspaper of public affairs and political events. It spread the news across the country from the capital, with no fixed header and title. People in the Southern Song Dynasty called it either a “tabloid” or “news” in order to differentiate it from the official newspaper. (2) The tabloid emerged in the Northern Song and gained increasing popularity in the Southern Song.

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(3) The publishers of tabloids were the Liaison Representative, the ambassador (the language official based in the capital assigned by the local governments), lower-ranked officials, bookstores owners, and the people considered to have inappropriate intentions. (4) There were two features regarding the content of tabloids. First, its information was more efficient with higher news timeliness. And it often reported some “secrets” not released by the imperial court. The secrets included the issues not yet revealed by the official newspaper or the plans not yet recognized. (5) Some versions of tabloids were written manually, and some were printed. (6) The tabloid had a wide range of readership, from the imperial officials, officials of local governments, to general scholar-officials. Many imperial members and those who had much concern about the political environment were die-hard readers of tabloids. From the above summary, a tabloid was a kind of popular unofficial newspaper since the early eleventh century. This kind of newspaper provided readers with many officially prohibited documents and information which were not mentioned in the official newspaper. It satisfied the demand for the information of personnel changes and political events. It had then become an important supplementary of the imperial gazette. The tabloid did not directly express its opinion. Its standpoint could only be reflected by its choice of documents and news. The popularity of tabloids was due to its breakthrough of the imperial court’s ban on news and communication activities. It changed the monopoly of the official newspaper, meeting the demand for imperial news from many scholar-officials. Moreover, the tabloid also aroused nationalism by making the public aware of the country’s enemies. It condemned those who favored compromise with the enemy and questioned their motives.

Prohibition of the tabloid Tabloids were on the battlefield towards the limitation of speech of political issues and the leaks of news. With the choice of its content, the tabloid denounced and attacked the government policies and officials with rising power. This style had angered those highly-ranked officials. As a result, the publishers of tabloids were criticized as a group of cunning, irresponsible, and troublesome people. At the same time, the tabloid itself was viewed as an illegal collection of fabricated stories and rumors misleading the readers. Therefore, it was suppressed by

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the imperial court and the officials of the dominant party throughout the Song Dynasty. The Song rulers had announced many edicts and acts to suppress the tabloids. There was no penalty or punishment for the publishing of tabloids in the Northern Song period. However, there had already been limitations to its publishing, and investigations had been carried out into those tabloid’s publishers. The Song rulers not only suppressed tabloids, but also monitored how the Liaison Representatives and military agents communicated with the language officers. Tabloids had been suppressed by the rulers for a very long time, from the Northern Song to the Southern Song. They detested this free-style, unrespectable, and misleading newspaper, which in fact they wanted to eradicate from the very beginning. Although tabloids had been prohibited again and again, they had not been fully suppressed. The prohibition was not effective at all, and tabloid had not been fully prohibited until the downfall of the Song Dynasty. It reflected the imperial gazette, monitored by the government, which was limited in both content and circulation. It could not meet the increasing demand of political information from government officials, scholar-officials, and imperial members. On the other hand, tabloids had provided readers with controversial news. With its vitality, the publication of tabloids gained support from the society.

Points to note about journalism in the Song Dynasty In light of the historical records, our understanding of the Song journalism can be summarized as follows: (1) Journalism had been further developed in the Song Dynasty. The publishing system of the official newspaper had achieved a great improvement. At the same time, the medium “notice” with official background and the unofficial tabloid also emerged during that period. Then more channels could cater to the demand for the political news. (2) Liaison gazette in the early Song Dynasty was issued by the Liaison Representatives based in the capital. They would distribute the newspaper back to the local governments. Its nature and the circulation system were the same as the Tang’s. (3) The title “imperial gazette” was found in both the official and personal records of the Song, and it had become the most popular title referring to the official newspaper. The Song’s imperial gazette was also called the liaison gazette, chaobao , baozhuang , bao , etc. The different versions were also used to refer

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to the imperial gazette. Its content was particularly about the government issues including the emperor’s edicts, courtiers’ memorials, and new statutes. To have a better control of the imperial gazette, the Song’s imperial court had started to carry out the “codifying system” since 999 (the second year of Xianping’s reign). It was written that the Liaison Representatives had to follow the codified template. Any content not conforming to the codified edition was not allowed. Print newspapers had already existed in the Song Dynasty, and some manuscripts of the imperial gazette might be produced with the woodblock printing technique. The imperial gazette was mainly circulated among the offices. Its readers were those imperial courtiers and scholar-officials. “Notice” was another news medium for the rulers to announce government acts and significant political issues. Compared with the imperial gazette, it maintained higher timeliness with a wider range of readership. The first and second year of Jingkang’s reign, when Kaifeng was captured, was the period with the maximum number of notices released. (4) Tabloid publication started in the Northern Song Dynasty, reaching its high in the Southern Song. The tabloid was the earliest unofficial newspaper. The publishers of the tabloid were some Liaison Representatives, lower-ranked officials, and some bookstore owners with printing techniques. The news collectors of tabloids gathered information at the imperial, provincial, and local governmental levels. The readership of tabloids was wider than the imperial gazette’s, but most were general officials and scholars. The tabloid mainly reported the news and documents that the imperial gazette did not reveal, and a majority were about the appointments of officials and courtiers’ memorials.

Journalism in the Yuan Dynasty The Yuan Dynasty was founded in 1271 (the eighth year of Zhiyuan’s reign). It had exterminated the Southern Song Dynasty and unified the whole country. The Yuan rulers entered the central area of China, they terminated the imperial gazette circulation system of the Song Dynasty. There was no centrally controlled official newspaper in the Yuan Dynasty. In both personal and official Yuan documents, there was no record about the imperial gazette. Based on the current historical information, although no top official newspaper was found in the Yuan Dynasty, there were still a lot of new activities around. In the Yuan Dynasty, more general new activities could be found. In light of

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transmitting the government news, people would produce and sell “little books” (xiaoben 小 本). To release the result of imperial examinations, people sold some

publications including the list of new Jinshi and home visits by imperial officials

on the examination board. There was also a large amount of printed advertising materials for business use.

Due to the short span, the immature political system, and a lack of experience

in ruling a bigger area, the Yuan Dynasty was not able to establish a system

to publish its official newspaper. However, general news and communication activities still existed. The Yuan’s little book was probably the legacy and the development of the Song’s tabloid.

Journalism of the Ming Dynasty The copying system of the Ming’s imperial gazette There was no similar office like the Liaison Office in the Ming Dynasty. The publishing activities of Ming’s imperial gazette involved three parties: (1) Office of Transmission

The role of the Office of Transmission was to be a communicator between the emperor and other parties. Most of the memorials from local governments

and imperial courtiers had to pass through the Office of Transmission, and only a few of those were handled by internal courtiers and the Court of State Ceremonial.

(2) The Six Ministries

The Six Ministries were founded in 1373 (the sixth year of Hongwu’s reign),

including the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry

of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works. After the reign of Emperor Chengzu, they had become independent

organs. Although the officials of the Six Ministries were not the high-ranked ones, they had a lot of duties. They had the right to access the works of all government offices, and to participate in different political events.

Among all the duties of the Six Ministries, there were two related to the

copying system of the imperial gazette. First, they could publicize the marked memorials with the consent from the emperor. Besides, they had to record

the orders and edicts during the emperor-courtier meetings. This duty was similar to the one carried out by the personal officers and Imperial Diarists in the Tang and Song periods. Most of the edicts released via the imperial gazette

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were from this source. In other words, the officials of the Six Ministries were

responsible for collecting and recording edicts for the imperial gazette. For the convenience of copying and transfer, the Six Ministries’ officials could edit the permitted memorials into a book, titled as The Collection of the Emperor’s Speech by the Six Ministries (Liuke lunyin cezi 六科綸音冊子), for other offices’ 9

reference. (3) Provincial Courier Office Provincial Courier Office refers to the “Provincial Courier Officer.” It was a Ming system in which every province appointed a Provincial Courier Officer to be stationed in the capital. The officer was to transmit the military news and other documents. He was also responsible for copying and distributing imperial gazettes. The Office of Transmission gathered different types of memorials and information from the local governments. The Six Ministries collected and released those edicts and orders. Then, the Provincial Courier Officer copied these edicts and other related materials. After a series of screening and reproduction processes, those materials were then transferred to provinces and prefectures. Finally, the imperial gazette could be circulated among the officials and other distinguished people. This was also the circulation flow of the imperial gazette in the Ming Dynasty.

Points to note about the Ming’s imperial gazette (1) Variations of title Apart from the title “imperial gazette,” the official newspaper in the Ming Dynasty had different versions of its title. Those versions were the other names of the imperial gazette; all these names were found in the same period. The commonly used ones are as follows: •• Dichao 邸抄 could be usually found in both official and personal records. The different versions, derived from dichao , like chaobao 鈔報 , kechao 科抄 , gechao 閣鈔, were also widely used at that time. They were the variations of the imperial gazette as well. •• Chaobao 朝報 was common in the Ming poems and prose. •• Chumu 除目.  “Chu 除” means conferment and promotion, while “mu 目” refers to a list. The compound of these two characters means a list of conferment and promotion. It was one of the most important sections of the imperial gazette. It was also the most popular part which those officials

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and courtiers were interested in. Therefore, the imperial gazette was sometimes named as chumu .

•• Jingbao 京報. The Chinese character “jing 京” means the capital. This version emerged as the imperial gazette was issued from the capital.

The variations of the title of the Ming’s imperial gazette, along with the

absence of fixed header on the official newspaper, resulted in the ambiguity of

the title. On the other hand, it has been determined that the imperial gazette was the only official newspaper issued by the imperial court. Other titles, such

as dichao, chaobao, gechao, kechao, chaobao, chumu, jingbao, were only its

variations, and they did not refer to another kind of newspaper of a different nature.

(2) The issue period

The imperial gazette in the Ming Dynasty was released on a daily basis.

(3) Content

According to the Ming records, the content of the Ming’s imperial gazette included the following:

•• The emperor’s edicts and orders •• Appointments of officials

•• Memorials from courtiers •• Military intelligence •• Social news

(4) Printing

The imperial gazette before the Mid-Tang Dynasty was basically copied manually by the copiers for circulation. There was no publishing arm for

the Ming’s imperial gazette. It was reproduced in small batches by the

Provincial Courier Officers in each province, so printing was not necessary. It was supported by the remarks in the records related to the circulation of

the imperial gazette. For instance, there were some remarks like “copy and circulate” and “one copy.”

(5) Loss and falsification

As the imperial gazette in the Ming Dynasty was not printed, loss of meaning and falsification might occur throughout the copying process.

When copying the imperial gazette, the copiers might add or edit away

some of the content consciously, causing a loss of meaning. Falsification means making up information and memorials to the emperor to be included in the imperial gazette in the copying process.

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(6) Imperial gazette of the Southern Ming Dynasty In March 1644 (the seventeenth year of Chongzhen’s reign), Li Zicheng’s troops captured Beijing, and Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide by hanging. In April 1644, the Qing army entered the soil; Emperor Shunzhi ascended the throne on 1 October, which had realized the transfer of power between the two dynasties. After the surrender of Beijing city and the death of Chongzhen, the copying and circulation activities of the imperial gazette of the Ming Dynasty also came to an end. A few months later, they were replaced by the news activities of the Qing Dynasty. On the other hand, some Southern Ming dynasties, established in Nanjing, Fuzhou, still issued their own imperial gazette, which was called the “Imperial Gazette of the Southern Ming Dynasty.” The emergence of imperial gazettes in the Southern Ming Dynasty supported that even those small dynasties led by the kings Fu, Tang, and Gui also needed the imperial gazette to deliver internal messages in order to stabilize their power. They understood the importance of the imperial gazette to the political life of a dynasty.

Other official news media in the Ming Dynasty Apart from the imperial gazette, the official news platforms in the Ming Dynasty included courier gazette (tangbao 塘報) and notice. The courier gazette was used by local governments to report military situations to the imperial court. It was an important bottom-up document for military communication. In its Chinese title, “tang 塘” is with the meanings of “early” and “quick.” The Ming’s courier gazette was issued by the Courier Office (tang 塘). The Courier Office was the basic military body responsible for military investigation and delivery of military documents. The military data book coordinated by courier soldiers and lower-ranked officials was actually the courier gazette. The Ming’s courier gazette was issued irregularly; sometimes a few days per issue, while sometimes a few issues each day. There was also no fixed number of pages; it depended on the urgency of the military situation and the details of the content. The content of the courier gazette was mainly military intelligence. Since the courier gazette played a crucial role in transmitting military information, the Ming’s courtiers were very concerned about the works of the courier gazette. The special agents from the Eastern Depot, responsible for spying and courtiermonitoring, would go to the Ministry of War to see if there was a courier gazette.

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The courier gazette and the imperial gazette were similar; both were official news media. However, there were still some differences between them. The courier gazette was bottom-up; while the imperial gazette was top-down. The former was for senior officials’ reference, and the latter was to inform courtiers and other officials. The courier gazette was not a newspaper, but once it was delivered to different offices, it would be copied and included in the imperial gazette. Therefore, to a certain extent, the courier gazette was one of the sources of the imperial gazette. Notice ( gaoshi 告示 ) was a kind of top-down communication media. It released information from the imperial court, then to the general public level by level. It was sometimes called “bang 榜 .” Notice was mainly issued by the cabinet, the ministries, and the local governments of prefectures and provinces. The emperor and the senior officials sometimes issued the notice under their names. The issue of the notice was aimed at transmitting those important messages to the public in a timely and effective manner. According to the historical materials of the Ming Dynasty, a notice covered a wide range of issues, which were summarized as follows: (1) Activities of the emperor and the imperial family (2) Government policies (3) Appeasements (4) Imperial examinations results (5) Punishments and imprisonments (6) Punishments to courtiers (7) Bans “Notice of the Ban on Acceptance of Advantages” in Hairui Collection ( Hairui ji 海瑞集), “Ban on Revenge” and “Ban on Fixed Rice Price” in Combating with the Roving Bandits in Taihe County (Taihexian yukou shimo 太 和 縣 御 寇 始 末) were the records of bans. (8) Appeals for saving the emperor There were specifications for the paper color, paper size, and the location for the issue of a notice. Yellow paper was only for the emperor’s use, and this kind of notice was called “yellow notice” ( huangbang 黃榜). Other offices and officials could only use white paper to issue “white notice” ( baibang 白 榜 ). The size of the paper had to be proportionally adjusted according to the ranking of the official. Otherwise, the official would receive censure for his misconduct. General notice was posted in busy main roads, while the emperor’s notice was posted or hanged at the meridian gate near the palace. Some notices

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were copied manually, while some were produced by woodblock printing. Woodblock printing would be adopted for the notice if it needed wider coverage, as a larger quantity was needed. The Ming’s notice, based on its nature, was a kind of official public announcement. Its purpose was to maintain the stability of both the imperial court and society. A notice was not the same as a newspaper. In a certain sense, it was a supplement to the imperial gazette, which was a more influential news medium in the emperor’s hand.

The emergence and the development of the unofficial newspaper office and newspaper copying in the Ming Dynasty Since the Mid-Ming Dynasty, the unofficial news activities had become more active in the capital and other areas. Unofficial newspaper offices and the newspaper copying started to emerge. It is difficult to trace the details of unofficial newspaper offices in the early Ming Dynasty. The earliest unofficial newspaper office was separate from the official newspaper office of the Provincial Courier Office. The unofficial newspaper offices still received the official information from the Six Ministries or from the Provincial Courier’s newspaper offices indirectly. Thus, the official information provided by these two kinds of newspaper office was usually the same. The newspapers they issued were both called “imperial gazette.” The variations of the title of official newspaper were also applied to the newspaper produced by unofficial newspaper office. These two kinds of newspaper were mentioned in both the personal and the official historical records of imperial gazette. It means that not all of them were official newspapers; they could only be identified by ultra care. The ones that officials read at their own office were the official newspapers copied by the Provincial Courier Officer; and the ones that the scholar-officials and distinguished citizens read at home might not be the official newspapers. Apart from copying and producing the imperial gazette, the unofficial newspaper office also participated in reporting activities (baolu 報 錄), produced and sold officialdom directories ( jinshen lu 縉 紳 錄) and imperial examination results (dingjia dan 鼎甲單), and published temporary booklets and posters. The unofficial newspaper office was actively engaged in these activities since it had access to different sources. It could expand its business through these activities. Among all the activities mentioned above, reporting was the most common

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one. “Reporting” means the newspaper office would record the activity in which the imperial court announced the imperial examination result in the form of a home visit. There are a lot of reports related to this kind of activity. The imperial gazette and other publications produced by the unofficial newspaper office were copied manually at the beginning. So, there were “newspaper copier,” “newspaper copying office,” and “copying and transfer activities of imperial gazette.” On the other hand, the political materials with larger circulation volume might be reproduced with a printing technique.

“Wanli Copy of Imperial Gazette” and “Tianbian Copy of Imperial Gazette” The original copy of the imperial gazette in the Ming Dynasty had already been lost. Only some reproduced copies can be found nowadays. There is one famous copy called the “Wanli Copy of Imperial Gazette” (Wanli dichao 萬曆邸抄). It was from a collection of the imperial gazette copies in the same period. The “Tianbian Copy of Imperial Gazette” (Tianbian dichao 天變邸抄) was the copy of the imperial

gazette from a certain date, and it had then become a supplement included in a general prose collection. Many scholar-officials in the Ming Dynasty always copied imperial gazettes, since they wanted to understand more about the political environment. It was better for them to collect more information. There were many handwritten copies at that time, but only a few of those were preserved. The “Wanli Copy of Imperial Gazette” is one in a million. The handwritten copy presented the original content of the imperial gazettes. It was mainly about edicts and memorials, including activities of the emperor, internal affairs in the palace, personnel matters, military intelligence, war comments, imperial examination results, the dynasty’s fiscal performance, mutinies, popular revolts, punishments and imprisonments, disasters, and diplomacy. Its content was consistent with the content of the imperial gazette recorded in the Ming Dynasty.

The “Tianbian Copy of Imperial Gazette” is a copy which recorded the extraordinary phenomena in Beijing on May 6, 1626 (lunar calendar; the sixth year of Tianqi’s reign). Since it was an age-old document, the original had been lost already. Its full text was included in prose collections by copying the original to have it preserved indirectly. The original of the Ming imperial gazette had been lost. The “Wanli Copy of Imperial Gazette” and the “Tianbian Copy of Imperial Gazette,” copied manually 10

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and included in prose collections, provide us with invaluable sources to study the

Ming’s imperial gazette. They are important to the research on journalism in the Ming Dynasty.

The relationship between scholar-officials and the imperial gazette in the Ming Dynasty The Ming’s imperial gazette was mainly circulated among the courtiers and the

scholar-officials. It was an important tool for them to understand the political environment and national affairs.

Among all the scholar-officials, the current imperial officials were the most

ardent readers. When they were at work, they read the official newspapers at

their own office. At home, they read the newspaper subscribed through their own “gazette subscription fee.” They also borrowed official newspapers from the lessors when they were on a business trip. Once they discovered any important

information in the newspaper related to their relatives and friends, they usually sent the newspaper immediately. These descriptions can be easily found in many records of the Ming Dynasty. Other scholars were also frequent readers of the imperial gazette. Some of them had cultivated the habit of reading imperial

gazette. For the scholars in the Ming Dynasty, the newspaper played a crucial role on the following aspects:

(1) Imperial examination

Some edicts and information reported in the imperial gazettes had become

crucial references for the imperial examinations. Many candidates studied those materials before sitting for the examinations; some of them even copied the content of those gazettes and brought them to the examination halls.

(2) Factional struggle

In the struggle between the Donglin Faction (Donglin dang 東林黨) and the Eunuch Faction (Yan dang 閹 黨 ), the information on imperial gazettes was

frequently used.

(3) Compilation of history

Apart from the official records and materials, imperial gazettes were also the references for compiling the history of each reign of the Ming Dynasty.

The above situations revealed that the scholar-officials in the Ming Dynasty

always read newspapers, comment on newspaper, collect newspaper, and take

newspaper as a reference. Newspapers had become an essential element in their political and cultural life.

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Ban on copying of the imperial gazette in the Ming Dynasty The Ming’s imperial authority was highly concentrated. Eastern Depot and Western Depot had been set up to monitor both the officials and the general public

since the Yongle’s reign. This kind of spying tactic had imposed much restriction on the freedom of speech and the press. Many people were penalized for libeling, giving inappropriate comments on current affairs, writing misleading books,

spreading fallacies, and producing anonymous publications. Although there was no specific regulation on those communication activities, some limitations still failed the circulation of information.

The copying and circulation activities of the imperial gazette were controlled

throughout the Ming Dynasty, but the level of severity varied from reign to reign.

After the Tianqi’s reign, the Ming Dynasty was in a critical situation of

facing internal revolt and foreign aggression. The control over the activities of the imperial gazette had been intensified. According to the records of the Ming

Dynasty, the manuscripts with opposite the point of view of the emperor and courtiers were prohibited from copying and circulating. The content related to the following aspects was not allowed to be copied: (1)  Military secrets

(2)  Reports of punishment and imprisonment (3)  Top secret information

To avoid the above content being spread through the imperial gazette, the

two emperors after the Tianqi’s reign had imposed restrictions on the copying and circulation of the imperial gazette.

Many memorials could be copied since the restrictions of circulation

activities of the imperial gazette. Many political affairs could not reach the

officials who depended on the information provided by the imperial gazette.

Those restrictions did not only block the enemy, but also the dynasty itself. Qi Jiabiao, an Imperial Scribe ( yushi 御史), had written a memorial to Emperor

Chongzhen. He commented that the ban on copying the imperial gazette would

create a riddle-like consequence: People could only guess. While one would like to take the imperial gazette as a reference to know more about the political situation, they could not give any feasible suggestion as the information provided

was not the full picture. Dorgon, the prince regent in the Qing Dynasty, had said, “When I lived in the east, I used to read this imperial gazette. The lower-ranked 11

officials use it to hide the truth from their seniors, and the upper-ranked officials

also deceive their subordinates in this way. I think it is very ridiculous. I found

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that this situation was getting worse, so I decided not to read it anymore.” His speech had reflected how the circulation of the imperial gazette was restricted in the Ming Dynasty. To improve the situation, Qi Jiabiao and Zuo Maodi, a palace steward from the Ministry of Justice, had proposed some suggestions to Emperor Chongzhen. Qi thought that it was necessary to identify which memorials were not allowed for copy and which ones were allowed. Zuo considered that not all the information needed to be kept confidential. Some data should not be leaked out before the event, but the release of such information after the event would not 12

create much adverse effect. The confidentiality depended on the timing. He held that different memorials had to be classified. 13

The rise of rural news activities in the Ming Dynasty Due to a lack of human resources and other technical support, the peasants at that time could not afford to produce the newspaper. On the other hand, there had already been news activities and other promotional events. These activities had been further developed in the Ming Dynasty. The peasants in the Ming uprising used bamboo tally as their news and communication medium at the beginning. Later, manifestos (  jietie 揭 帖 ) were more commonly used. It showed its flexibility through the peasants’ rebellion against the government in the late Ming Dynasty. Apart from bamboo tally and manifesto, flag notice ( qibao 旗報) and board notice ( paibao 牌報) were the most

widely used communication tools in the peasants’ rebellion. Flag notice originated from “lubu .” Lubu was a news medium to spread the information of victory in a war. Board notice was a kind of media with the information written on a wooden board. There was no standardized format for its size and writing style. Many historical materials of the Ming Dynasty included the records about the board notices issued by the peasants in Ming’s rebellion. Based on the current historical records, board notice was issued by the camps and towns of peasants’ uprising, the Chief Military Commission (dudu fu 都督府 ), and the local governments of Dashun regime. It covered many provinces such as Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Zhili, Hubei, Jiangsu, etc. The subject of board notice was very comprehensive, including war bulletins from the rebel peasants, policies, statutes, political declarations addressed to the Ming Dynasty. It provided readers with news and information, playing the role as an agitator. It was aimed at reporting the news to enhance social cohesion and to disintegrate the power

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of the enemy. Once the board notice had been issued, it would be delivered to

the frontline, while it could not be sent behind the enemy lines. Due to its wider range of delivery, the dispatch points were scattered. Therefore, the same board

notice might have been reproduced. The rebel troop assigned couriers to send the board notice out; sometimes the general peasants carried out this duty as well.

The circulation of board notice behind the enemy lines had been a platform

for the readers to know the battle results of the rebel troops. The board notice had

also been an effective promotional channel for policy and discipline. It unlocked the news about the peasants’ rebellion in the Ming Dynasty and eliminated

doubts among the general public. At the same time, it gave rise to the rebel troops

on the political aspect, creating a crisis of confidence among the supporters of the Ming Dynasty. It had accelerated the downfall of the regime.

Due to the ever-changing battlefield and a lack of resources, the rebel peasants

in the late Ming period did not publish any official newspaper. Apart from

manifestos, flag notices, and board notices, the internal intelligence of the rebel peasants was mainly delivered to each camp by “Luoshan 邏山” (also named as

“Tangma 塘 馬 ,” the member of rebel peasants responsible for communication). Newspapers had not been developed yet at this stage so the information was mainly verbally delivered.

Still, the promotional activities of the peasant’s rebellion in the Ming Dynasty

were very frequent. The peasants actively used manifesto, flag notice, board

notice, and other media to promote and to transmit information. These methods were extremely effective in communication and intelligence exchange. Manifestos and board notices had even been extensively used by the rebel peasants and the

oppressed laborers. Their roles were so influential in opposing the government and the foreign invaders.

Points to note about journalism in the Ming Dynasty Our understanding of journalism in the Ming Dynasty is summarized as follows:

(1)  Journalism in China had progressed to a new stage. The publishing system of

official newspaper had been more well-established. The unofficial newspaper,

which originated from the Song’s tabloid, had been open to the public. Newspaper production had become a professional industry in the society. The

use of movable-type printing printed newspapers also started to prevail at this stage.

(2)  The copying and circulation activities of the Ming’s official newspaper were

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handled by three parties: the Office of Transmission, the Six Ministries, and the Provincial Courier Office. The Office of Transmission was responsible for collecting memorials; the Six Ministries distributed the copies; and the Provincial Courier Office made copies for circulation. The official newspaper in the Ming Dynasty was generally called the imperial gazette, dichao , and chaobao . Since the capital of the Ming Dynasty was Beijing, the imperial gazette issued from Beijing was also called jingbao . The Ming’s imperial gazette was issued on a daily basis with a circulation number of 10,000. It was manually copied at the early stage; while woodblock printing was only adopted after the reign of Chongzhen. Compared with the imperial gazette in the Song Dynasty, the one in the Ming Dynasty had not changed much, yet sometimes it covered the conversation in the imperial court recorded by the Six Ministries. (3)  Since the Mid-Ming Dynasty, unofficial newspaper offices had been allowed to operate. There were newsboys and publishers of imperial gazettes. Newspaper copying office had become one of the 132 guilds in Beijing. The newspaper produced by the newspaper office was also called an imperial gazette. The newspaper office also participated in the recording and editing activities for social news, i.e., “minor news” ( baoer 報兒). The early newspaper issued by the newspaper office was manually copied as well. Woodblock printing was only in use after the eleventh year of the reign of Chongzhen. Besides in Beijing, the unofficial newspaper office and newspaper copier started emerging in Nanjing and other important cities in southern China. The development of the unofficial newspaper office and the private newspaper industry was closely related to the capitalist economy in the late Ming. It was a reflection of how capitalism presented itself through journalism. (4)  The readership of the Ming’s imperial gazette mainly included courtiers and scholar-officials. The subscription fee of the imperial gazette had been their daily expenses; newspaper reading had become their habit. In other words, the newspaper was an essential part in their political and cultural life. Many scholar-officials started to collect newspapers to know more about the political environment, history compilation, and literature. The general public could also receive news and information through the imperial gazette and minor news issued by the unofficial newspaper office. (5)  The Ming’s rulers controlled the imperial gazette through limiting the copying process. The memorials, with the content not conformed to the rulers’ and top secrets, were prohibited from copying and circulating. This had led to the

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ignorance of officials and the general public. (6)  The rebel peasants had used manifestos, flag notices, board notices, and other news media to spread messages across in the battlefield. These kinds of news channels functioned like newspapers.

Journalism in the Early and Middle Stages of the Qing Dynasty Official newspaper and news activities in the Qing Dynasty Once the Qing Dynasty had established its regime, it continued to issue its imperial gazette in the territory with reference to the system of the Ming’s imperial gazette. In the historical materials of the reigns Shunzhi, Kangxi, and Yongzheng, there were many records about the imperial gazette at that time. The imperial gazette was only replaced by other new official newspapers, such as the Political Official Gazette (Zhengzhi guanbao 政 治 官 報), in the early twentieth century. The publishing system and channel of the Qing’s official newspaper were similar to the Ming’s. It was also processed through the Office of Transmission, the Six Ministries, and the Provincial Courier Office. The Office of Transmission was to receive memorials from courtiers and officials. The Six Ministries were responsible for copying and distributing the emperor’s edicts and documents from other officials. The early Qing Dynasty still followed the Ming’s system in which the Six Ministries were regarded as one department. The Six Ministries were then restructured as the Court of Censors (Ducha yuan 都察院),

becoming a higher imperial agency. Its duties included handling political affairs, editing imperial documents, rectifying imperial rites, and straightening discipline, yet, one of its major tasks was to copy and distribute edicts and memorials. The Provincial Courier Office assisted in the delivery and circulation activities of the official newspaper. The edicts and the memorials related to the general public produced by the Six Ministries were copied and delivered by the Provincial Courier Officers stationed in Beijing. The emperor’s authority was highly concentrated in the Qing Dynasty. All the ministries and the Grand Ministers of State had to follow the emperor ’s final decision. The copying process and circulation of the official newspaper was no exception. The emperor decided which edicts and memorials should be copied. The copying process and distribution of edicts and memorials in the

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Qing Dynasty were carried out on a daily basis, and the official newspaper was also circulated every day. Sometimes, it might be released every two days or a few days, but it was generally on a daily basis. The official newspaper issued by the Provincial Courier Office to different provinces was manually copied as well as printed. As there was an increasing circulation, printing was more frequently used. The Qing’s official newspaper basically included three sections: imperial news, edicts, and memorials from courtiers. The imperial news mainly reported the daily life of the emperor, emperor-courtier meetings, ceremonies, awards, and other imperial activities. Only a few full texts of the memorials were published due to limited space of the layout. Most of the memorials were listed in a catalog form for readers’ reference. Many of these materials were from the Six Ministries. The Qing’s official newspaper was usually called “imperial gazette.” It also had other titles including dichao 邸抄, gechao 閣抄, kechao 科抄, jingchao 京抄, chaobao 朝報, and jingbao 京報. “Jingbao ” was first referred to the documents and imperial

gazette from the capital. It had become a specific title for the official newspaper after the Mid-Qing Dynasty. The readers of the Qing’s official newspaper were the imperial officials of all ranks. All the Grand Secretaries and magistrates relied on the official newspaper to get the first-hand imperial news and social information. Apart from the official newspaper, the rulers in the Qing Dynasty had extensively used announcement, notice, and other news media to release official information. Many official notices were printed to produce a larger quantity. These were the news platforms directly addressed to the general public. The information they transmitted was the official messages related to the general public. They were undoubtedly used for stabilizing the power of the ruler.

Provincial Courier’s newspaper office and tabloid Provincial Courier Office had played a very important role in the distribution of the Qing’s imperial gazette. The Provincial Courier Office was classified into the capital and the provincial ones. The Provincial Courier Offices in the capital were founded by different provinces. The Provincial Courier Officers often set up their workstations at their own house to handle the daily duties. The duties of Provincial Couriers in the capital are summarized as follows: (1)  Received and passed on different documents from the local governments to the imperial court, including the documents from the ministries, and the senior officials’ memorials to the emperor

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(2)  Received and distributed the general documents from the ministries to their own province, including the edicts and awards from the emperor (3)  Participated in the publishing of the imperial gazette, including the processes of recording, screening, editing, compiling, and delivering. The soldiers along the major postal routes assisted the Provincial Courier Offices to complete the delivery. Setting up Provincial Courier offices in the capital had guaranteed the delivery and the publishing of official documents and official newspapers respectively. The Provincial Courier Offices were set up in each province. The Courier Officers here were selected from the Bureau of Equipment and Communications (Chejia si 車駕司) and the Courier Stations (Jiebao chu 捷報處), which were also under the Ministry of War. The selected officials stationed in 16 check points: Zhili, Jiangnan, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi and Shangan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and the stations along Huanghe. The Provincial Courier Officers, who were also senior military officers, were supervised by the Surveillance Commission (Anchashi si 按察使司)

while they were carrying out their duties in the provinces. They were assigned to handle the delivery works of official documents and official newspapers of the imperial court and the provinces. Apart from the Courier Officers stationed in different provinces, some of them were also stationed in the prefectures. Led by the Surveillance Commissioners, they cooperated with the Provincial Courier Officers to work on the delivery of official documents and newspapers. Among all the daily duties of the Provincial Courier, copying and releasing the official newspaper were the most important parts, so each Provincial Courier in the capital put much effort into this task. There are numerous records in the Qing’s historical materials about the daily duties of the Provincial Courier. To improve the efficiency of the editing and circulation processes of the imperial gazette, the imperial court had founded the Provincial Courier ’s newspaper offices since the early Qing Dynasty. The imperial gazette to the provinces, issued through the newspaper offices, was produced by hand-copying and printing. The Provincial Courier Officers issued the imperial gazette and updated imperial information by delivering the edicts and memorials distributed by the Six Ministries. Moreover, they had even released a special kind of newspaper — the tabloid (xiaobao 小報). The tabloid was also called “xiaochao 小抄.” The coverage in this kind of tabloid was the information recorded by the Courier Officers and the writers from the newspaper office. It was aimed at providing more imperial news to the officials in their own province. The Qing’s tabloid was mainly found

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in the four reigns which were Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. On the other hand, since the late Kangxi’s reign, the tabloid had been monitored

and restricted. The imperial court even released an imperial edict to prohibit

the tabloid from being published, but it was not effective at all in ceasing the popularity of the tabloid. It was totally forbidden until the reigns of Yongzheng and Qianlong. The following factors had triggered the prohibition of tabloids:

(1) It was delivered to the local governments before the arrival of the original official documents. It caused the judiciary secret to be leaked out, affecting the verdict to the guilty officials.

(2) It included misleading information.

(3) It published the memorials without the consent from the Six Ministries.

Restricting the Provincial Courier’s newspaper office from publishing the

tabloid was to strengthen the control on the official newspaper. It could prevent

the imperial secrets from leaking out, and the restriction also blocked the

speculation of the unfavorable messages about the rulers. Literary inquisition was rigidly enforced in the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong, and it also

led to the restriction on tabloids. The people who were sentenced to death due to the restriction on tabloids actually suffered from literary inquisition in a certain

sense. With the frequent actions and rigid punishment in the three reigns, all the publishing activities of tabloids were basically banned. It is difficult to find any records about the tabloids till the late Qing.

Managing the courier service, delivering official documents, and issuing the

imperial gazette were the responsibilities of the Provincial Courier Offices. These activities had also helped the Offices to expand the income pool. Publishing

tabloids even provided the Offices with a new profitable channel. This situation might be the turning point of some Provincial Courier Officers becoming

unofficial journalists. The earliest unofficial journalists in the Qing Dynasty might have once been the Provincial Courier Officers.

Unofficial newspaper offices in Beijing and the capital gazette Most of the official newspaper offices in the Qing Dynasty were located in Beijing.

They flourished in the reigns of Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi, and Guangxu.

In the early Qing Dynasty, there were a lot of personal newspaper copiers,

who were often the lower-ranked officials. They treated copying the imperial gazette as their freelance job to earn more money. Since the sale and copying of

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the imperial gazette were banned in the Yongzheng and the early Qianlong reigns, only the Provincial Courier Officers and their newspaper offices were allowed to issue the imperial gazette. Therefore, the emergence and the popularity of unofficial newspaper offices were probably after the middle of the Qianlong’s reign. The preserved copies of the Qing’s unofficial newspaper were perfect evidence of this hypothesis. The kind of newspaper produced by unofficial newspaper offices in the Qing Dynasty was generally called the “capital gazette” ( jingbao 京報). This kind of newspaper office was also named “capital gazette office” ( jingbao fang 京報房). Some readers also called the capital gazette issued by the capital gazette office as “dichao 邸抄” or “dibao 邸報.” The newspaper published by unofficial newspaper offices in the reigns of Qianlong and Jiaqing often featured the following characteristics: •• No cover •• One issue per day; one volume per issue; 4–10 pages of each volume •• Size: (L) 24 × (W) 18 centimeters •• The publishing date was printed on the first row on the first page. •• The phrase “tizou shijian 題奏事件” (literally meaning “reported events”) was printed on the type page. •• The name of the capital gazette office was printed in the blank areas on the first and the last pages. The above features were the general format of the “white gazette” (baiben bao

白本報). The official newspaper and the ones produced by unofficial newspaper offices probably followed this style. The style of the newspapers issued by different unofficial newspaper offices had undergone a lot of changes since Tongzhi’s reign. Covers, made with yellow bamboo-made paper, had been a common practice. This also explained the emergence of the names like “yellow cover newspaper office” (huangpi baofang 黃 皮報房) and “yellow cover capital gazette” (huangpi jingbao 黃皮京報). Moreover, header, usually the title of the capital gazette, was also commonly adopted. The header was stamped with red ink on the top left-hand corner of the cover while the name of the newspaper office was stamped on the bottom right-hand corner with red ink as well. Both were very eye-catching. Some covers were not produced with yellow paper. People would add some positive idioms in red color

14 15 such as “yipin dangchao 一品當朝,” “zhiri gaosheng 指日高升,” “tianguan cifu 16 17 天官賜福,” “jiaguan jinlu 加官晉祿,” etc. The titles of “capital gazette” and the newspaper office were also embedded in the patterns. Besides, some newspaper offices prepared the labels of the title “capital gazette,” and then put them on the

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Journalism in Ancient China

top left-hand corner of the cover as a header. Apart from cover and header, only minor changes were found in other areas. Every issue usually consisted of 4 to 10

pages; sometimes it consisted of over 10 pages, but it was rarely found. Every page was folded and compiled with paper spills. It was generally (L) 22 × (W) 9 centimeters. Some newspaper offices had published their own newspaper with the width of more than 12 centimeters, but it was not common. The unofficial newspaper offices basically adopted printing techniques for producing the capital gazettes after the Qianlong’s reign. Some newspaper offices used woodblock printing, while others used clay-type printing. Every newspaper office followed its own practice. Regarding the content, the capital gazette included three main parts: imperial news, edicts, and memorials. Imperial news reported the major imperial political events in the morning or the day before, including: •• The emperor met the Grand Ministers of State, government officials. •• Ministers and their officials visited the emperor. •• Some officials prepared to be summoned. •• The senior officials and members, such as dukes, noblemen, heirs, ministers and assistant ministers, greeted the emperor and applied for leave. •• The courtiers reported their mission. •• The courtiers and officials expressed their gratitude. •• The imperial court presented the last letters left by the deceased senior courtiers. •• The official from certain yamen reported important events. •• The emperor participated in different ceremonies and offered sacrifices to gods or ancestors. •• The emperor had his royal progress, announced his holidays in other palaces, and returned to the palace. •• The officer was on duty at certain yamen •• Change of official uniforms •• The rainfall in the dry season •• Each banner (qi 旗)19 assigned people to choose their arrows, etc. Most of the news was related to the emperor with more comprehensive coverage but simple writing. They were like one-line news piece, similar to news headlines. Edicts were the messages from the emperor. The content covered here was very extensive in which most were related to appointments, reprimands, recognitions, and awards. The messages included in this section were usually 18

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one-way edicts. The edicts with feedback and remarks from the emperor were often put at the back of the memorials, and released along with the section of memorials. The section of memorials mainly included the documents from the ministers, provincial governors, and generals. These memorials were distributed with the consent from the emperor. The memorials from the customs and other confidential documents from the imperial family and courtiers were not allowed to be published. Apart from the above sections, sometimes the appointment list, imperial examination result, and criminal list were published in the capital gazette which provided the readers with the information of the civil service, imperial examination, and judiciary. The manuscripts of the capital gazette were from the Grand Secretariat and the ministries. There was no self-collected material and comment. The editorial work was very simple; the officers just organized the collected materials into the three sections and had them distributed. There was no punctuation and headline. Before the emergence of modern newspapers, the capital gazette was the major information provider for both the officials and the general public. The readers could find the news and information they needed in different sections. The courtiers’ memorials covered a wide range of topics, and they also provided much information. The readers discovered a large pool of important news from the memorials including internal political events, diplomacy, economy, military, astronomy, geography, reconstruction of organization, appointment of officials, along with some social news such as fire, burglary, robbery, prison break, murder, homicide, and other extraordinary phenomena. The capital gazette did not directly report these kinds of news stories, while it only published the edicts and memorials which had transmitted the news to the general public. The newspaper offices were profit-making organizations. The subscription fee was their main revenue source. The total circulation number of the capital gazette was only a few hundred in the “white gazette” period. There had been a sharp increase since the prevalence of printing techniques, reaching 10,000

copies. Once the capital gazette had been issued, the newspaper offices would assign newsboys to deliver them to the subscribers. Some of the subscribers were living in other provinces, so there was wholesale business of the capital gazette 20

at that time. A majority of the readers of the capital gazette were courtiers, distinguished celebrities, and scholar-officials. In the Qing’s prose collections and diaries, there were many records of these people reading newspaper offices’ 21

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capital gazettes.

Due to the commercialization of newspaper office’s capital gazette and

increasing public awareness of social issues in the late Qing, the subscribers

of the capital gazettes were not limited to the highly educated families. Some people from the general public had also become their readers. Apart from the

capital gazettes, some newspaper offices issued other publications to expand their business. Collections of Edicts (Yuzhe huicun 諭折匯存) is an example. It included all the valuable edicts distributed by the Grand Secretariat but not published in

the capital gazette, along with the published ones, to be sold in different volumes. Some newspaper offices also published novels and librettos.

The Qing’s unofficial newspaper office was derived from some Provincial

Courier’s newspaper offices. They were related to the Provincial Couriers and their newspaper offices at the beginning, but then separated from them at a

later stage and became fully independent unofficial newspaper offices. Their newspapers had been the “private” ones as well. This kind of newspaper had been more and more commercialized, but there was not much change of the

content. It was basically like another edition of the official newspaper. Therefore, the Qing’s rulers did not put much restriction on them.

Local journalism and yuanmen newspapers The local news activities were not as active as the ones in Beijing in the Qing

Dynasty. The officials of the local governments and scholar-officials had their newspapers through the following channels:

(1)  They got the official newspaper from the Provincial Couriers in the capital, or they subscribed to the capital gazette at the newspaper offices in Beijing.

(2)  They ordered the locally-reproduced capital gazette from the Provincial Couriers or from their newspaper offices.

(3)  They ordered or bought the local newspapers, such as yuanmen newspaper (yuanmen chao 轅門抄), from the local newspaper offices or newspaper copiers.

The newspapers from the second and the third channel were produced

locally, which were regarded as a part of local journalism.

In the Qing’s local journalism, the local Provincial Courier had played a very

important role. The Provincial Courier in the Qing Dynasty was stationed in the provincial capitals. Like the Provincial Couriers in the capital, the Provincial Couriers based in different provinces set up their offices in the districts to perform

their daily duties and to handle the circulation work of the official newspaper.

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Apart from delivering official documents and newspapers to every yamen, they also reproduced the capital gazette in their own newspaper offices and sold the copies to the officials. Besides the Provincial Couriers, there had been some individuals participating in news activities in different provinces since the early Qing Dynasty. Among the different kinds of newspapers released by the local newspaper copiers, “yuanmen newspaper” was the most popular one. It was mainly about the events in the official circles. Yuanmen newspaper was published by the copiers who were familiar with the local official circle, and it could be found in provincial capitals and some important cities. The styles of different yuanmen newspapers were more or less the same. The one issued in Suzhou was the most typical one with the features as follows: •• Issued every two to five days •• One page per issue •• Made with bamboo paper, printed by woodblock technique •• Length: 23 centimeters, width: 22.5–70 centimeters; it depended on the content of the issue •• Vertical text; 24 words each line •• 15 lines (360 words) for a small issue; 50 lines (1,200 words) for a big issue •• Name of the publisher and the issue number were put at the end, but without header and the issue year The content included edicts, imperial news, and the self-collected messages about the official circles. The edicts section was only a small proportion and was not included in every issue. It was mainly about the personnel matters. The imperial news section often included the originals of the notices which were the personnel matters of the local governments. The official circle section was more complicated. It covered a wide range of issues such as leave, change of leave period, duty resumption, duty report, resignation, sick leave, compensation leave, frustration, business trip of government official, arrival of ministers, promotion of local government officials, examination period of officials on the waiting list, the birthdays of officials and their wives, etc. Some news was obviously collected by the copiers in a certain way. The newspaper offices and the Provincial Couriers not only reproduced capital gazettes and issued yuanmen newspaper, some of them even had randomly published single-page tabloids. This kind of tabloids had no title, no headline, and no fixed issue date. It mainly reported some breaking news such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, and other major political and military events. One issue was for one event only, and it was then printed to be sold to the public at

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a price range around USD 0.02 to 0.04. Some included pictures and illustrations. This kind of tabloid was very popular at that time which had even caught the attention from the foreigners in China. Some of them had mentioned the tabloid in their works about China. For example, William C. Hunter, an American merchant, had written about the tabloid in Guangzhou in his work Bits of Old China .

Limitation to news activities in the Qing Dynasty The Qing’s imperial court did not totally forbid all the newspapers issued by the Provincial Couriers’ newspaper offices and the unofficial copiers, but only imposed restrictions on them as follows: (1) Prohibition against the circulation of unapproved memorials (2) Prohibition against inquiry and report without authorization. It mainly limited other inquiry and report activities apart from the recording of ministries news. (3) Prohibition against misleading stories (4) Prohibition against falsification of memorials and imperial approvals. It mainly forbade the falsified coverage to be published on the imperial gazette. The Qing’s most influential investigation of falsified memorials and imperial approvals was in 1750 (the fifteenth year of Qianlong’s reign). The case was called “The Case of the Fake Draft,” and it was only closed in 1753. The Qing’s restrictions on news activities were the strictest in the reigns of Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Some major cases also happened in these periods. It was related to the rulers’ rigid cultural policies. Some people, including Dai Mingshi, Chuang Tinglong, Xie Jishi, Lu Liuliang, Lu Shengzhan, were accused of literary inquisition at that time, and many books with unfavorable comments were also destroyed. The restrictions had then become mild in Qianlong’s reign. Restricting the news activities could ensure the news circulation under the government’s control. It could prevent the spread of speech and information unfavorable to the rulers, so as to regulate the public opinion and stabilize the ruling. Through a series of prohibitions and restrictions, the news activities of the Provincial Couriers and the unofficial copiers were basically under control. There had been fewer cases of violation after Qianlong’s reign.

Downfall of the newspaper offices’ capital gazettes The unofficial newspaper offices and their capital gazettes were derived from

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the Provincial Couriers and the imperial gazette. They had gone through a stable development stage from the middle of Qianlong’s reign to the early Tongzhi’s

reign. However, it had stepped into a downfall afterwards due to both subjective and objective factors.

One of the subjective factors was the imperial court’s rigid restrictions on this

kind of newspaper. The publishers could only copy the information from the data pool provided by the ministries; they could not create their own content. Apart

from the imperial news, edicts, and memorials, they did not report self-recorded news and their own critiques. The stories the capital gazettes covered were too

narrow in focus, too minor, and not timely at all. The gazettes could not satisfy the increasing demand for updated information. The readers of the capital gazettes,

such as scholar-officials, got used to these shortcomings. On the other hand, the newly arrived foreigners were the first who felt unused to such publications.

There is objective evidence for the rise of modern newspapers. During the

Opium War, modern newspapers started to appear in the southern coastal

areas in China. This kind of modern newspaper was started by foreigners at the beginning, and Chinese people took up the role at a later stage. The modern newspaper had then been further developed in other regions of China. The style of this kind of newspaper was based on the popular newspapers in the Western

capitalist countries. It provided a wide range of news with high timeliness, and it was rich in different kinds of content, including news, critiques, advertisements, cultural pieces, etc. It had a higher readability, becoming a competitor of the old

capital gazettes. While facing such a strong competitor, the capital gazette was inferior. During the period which was full of major political and military events, such as the Sino-French War, the contrast became more obvious.

On the other hand, the traditional capital gazette still had its advantages: It

included the originals of the edicts to form an effective data pool of the official circle for the ease of reference. These advantages were crucial to the people who were eager to know more about their career prospect and the society. Therefore, it could still survive in the tough competition with the modern newspaper. The

capital gazette coexisted with the modern newspaper from the early Tongzhi’s reign to the downfall of the Qing Dynasty. The local newspaper offices and the

ones in Beijing still operated in this period, and the capital gazette was issued as well. Some of the modern newspapers, such as Shen Bao 申 報 in Shanghai, even

reproduced the capital gazette, which was issued two weeks before, as a free supplement to cater to the demand from some officials.

22

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Once the modern official newspapers had made their debuts, like the Political Official News (Zhengzhi guanbao 政 治 官 報), the Ministry Official News (Neige Guanbao 內 閣 官 報), the Beiyang Official News (Beiyang guanbao 北 洋 官 報), the

capital gazettes from the newspaper offices had been hardly hit. It was close to the time when the Wuchang Uprising happened in 1911. The Qing Dynasty had already stepped into its dark age. Although the newspaper offices were still publishing the capital gazettes, they were just lingering. After the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising, the Qing Dynasty was overthrown. The traditional capital gazettes, which had a close relationship with the dynasty, had almost come to an end, suspending their services to the readers.

23

Points to note about journalism in the early and the middle of the Qing Dynasty Our understanding of the journalism in the early and the middle of the Qing Dynasty could be summarized as follows: (1)  The traditional news activities had come to a downfall in the late Qing. On the other hand, they had helped establish the circulation system for the future development. The unofficial news activities, which originated in the Song and Ming, had been further developed, but were limited by the imperial court at the same time. The traditional activities could not escape from the rigid system, losing their power to compete with the modern newspaper. (2)  The circulation of the Qing’s official newspaper was the same as the Ming’s. It was processed through the Office of Transmission, the Six Ministries, and the Provincial Couriers. The Officer of Transmission was the receiver of memorials; the Six Ministries was the distributor; and the Provincial Couriers were copiers. The Qing’s official newspaper was usually called the imperial gazette, and was sometimes called “dichao ,” “gechao ,” “chaobao ,” or “capital gazette.” In the Mid-Qing Dynasty, the use of the title “capital gazette” prevailed. The Qing’s official newspaper was printed on a daily basis. It was basically divided into three sections: imperial news, edicts, and memorials. The officials of all levels were the major readers. (3)  The Provincial Couriers had played a major role in the Qing’s journalism. In the Qing Dynasty, some couriers were based in the capital, while the others were based in different provinces. Their activities were monitored by both the local governments and the imperial court. Among their daily duties, copying

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and releasing the official newspaper were the highly prioritized ones. Since the early Qing Dynasty, the Provincial Couriers had their own newspaper

office to coordinate the circulation and publishing of the imperial gazette. This kind of newspaper office was semi-official. The funds for the operation of the Provincial Couriers and their newspaper offices were subsidized by

the provincial governments. Apart from the imperial gazette, the couriers

stationed in the capital even released their own tabloid which provided much

more imperial information to the officials in different provinces. Tabloids were popular in the reigns of Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzhen, and Qianlong. They were forbidden after Qianlong’s reign.

(4)  The Qing’s unofficial newspaper offices were usually located in Beijing. Since the early Qing Dynasty, some people had been making a living by “carving”

newspapers. Their news activity was the pioneer of the unofficial newspaper

office activities. Since the middle of the Qianlong’s reign, unofficial newspaper offices had become popular. Some of them originated from the newspaper offices of the Provincial Couriers. Their newspaper, which was generally

called the “capital gazette,” was released on a daily basis. There were headers and the logo of the newspaper office. They were printed with clay-

type, woodblock, or letterpress techniques. The yellow bamboo-made paper

was used to make the cover, therefore it was also named as “yellow capital gazette.” The information was collected from the ministries which made it not so distinct compared with the imperial gazette. The people who were engaged in the newspaper offices were mainly Shandong people. There were

more than 10 popular newspaper offices in the Qing Dynasty. The “Gongshen Agency” (Gongshen tang 公 慎 堂 ) was the earliest one, while the “Juxing

Newspaper Office” ( Juxing baofang 聚 興 報 房) had the longest history. This kind of newspaper office was profit-making while serving society. Besides the subscription fee, the newspaper office also expanded its business to increase the revenue. The total circulation number of all newspaper offices was around 10,000 copies.

(5)  The development of the local news activities was also making progress. The Provincial Couriers not only delivered official documents and newspapers,

but also set up their own newspaper office to reproduce the capital gazette

to be sold to the officials. Moreover, the individual copiers in the provincial capitals also contributed their effort in the development of the newspaper

industry in China. Tabloid and yuanmen newspapers were popular among the officials. Yuanmen newspapers were mainly about the local official circle.

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(6)  The Qing’s imperial court had strictly monitored the news activities of the Provincial Couriers and the unofficial newspaper offices. It prohibited the unapproved memorials, recording the news without the permission from the ministries, misleading news, falsified memorials and imperial remarks. These bans were to prevent the leak of imperial secrets to stabilize the ruling regime. The rigid control had limited the flexibility of the traditional newspaper, blocking its potential to compete with the modern newspaper. .

Evaluation of the Development of Newspapers in Ancient China China is a civilization with a long history. The people in ancient China had contributed a lot in terms of both material and spiritual aspects. Paper-making and printing, both closely related to journalism, originated in China. The Chinese had provided a suitable environment for the development of international journalism (especially printed media). The earliest newspaper, both in the written and printed forms, in the history of journalism also emerged in China. The Kaiyuan Gazette , between 713 and 742 (the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty), was the earliest newspaper in Chinese history as well as in world history. The printed newspaper in the eleventh and the twelfth centuries (the late North Song Dynasty) was the earliest printed newspaper in Chinese history as well as in world history. The long history and rich content of journalism in China are incomparable with any Western country’s. For a long period of time, the newspaper in ancient China, no matter if it was the official imperial gazette, or the unofficial tabloid and capital gazette, had been necessarily related to the ruler, and was also controlled by him. The official gazette was undoubtedly the representative and promotional medium of the ruler. The unofficial newspapers could only be operated under imperial control. The ruler did not allow the freedom of intelligence exchange and the existence of the newspaper which expressed personal opinions. The newspapers at that time provided the readers with a lot of imperial information and social news, but they still could not get out of the ruler’s control. The history of newspapers in China is about how the ruler controlled the news media, controlled the communication channels, and limited the freedom of speech and press. The imperial gazette in ancient China has a history of roughly 1,200 years: 1,000 years for the tabloid and 400 years for the capital gazette issued by unofficial

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newspaper offices. Their lifespans were not short at all but they had ineffective development and little change in content. On the aspects of information quantity and timeliness, they are still inferior when compared to modern Western newspapers. The slow progress of this kind of newspaper was undoubtedly affected by the autocratic system and cultural policies that limited the publishing of newspapers. On the other hand, the fundamental factor was the limitation of the economy. The closed-door economy and poor diplomatic network were not beneficial to the development of journalism. It was very difficult to give birth to the informative, timely, and commercialized newspaper. In the early Qing Dynasty, the emergence of capitalism had created a perfect environment for this kind of newspaper to shine, but the social problems had suppressed the opportunity in the end. Before the Opium War, the newspaper in China was in a slow process of development. Later, the change of economic system and the fade-out of the closed-door policy had contributed a lot to commercialization in the economy. However, at that time, the traditional imperial gazette and capital gazette were heading toward a deadlock, not fulfilling the requirements for change. It is difficult to have a blossoming flower become a seed again. They could not realize the reform, so it could only be replaced by the modern newspaper. This is the finale of newspaper development in ancient China.

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2

Chapter

The Early Newspaper Publishing Activities of Foreigners in China

A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 1

The modern newspaper in China was initiated by foreigners. The foreign

newspaper publishing activities were closely related to the foreign invasions of China. The newspaper originated in the pre-Opium War period with the purpose of inflaming and agitating people in China. With the rise of colonialism after the war, the foreigners further developed their newspapers in China. The publishing

locations of these newspapers had been gradually expanded from the coastal

cities to the inland provinces. In the late nineteenth century, the foreigners had already established their newspapers in China. The main forces were from Britain and the U.S. in which most of them based in Shanghai and Hong Kong. A large

number of Chinese and foreign newspapers launched by foreign commissioners

and merchants started to emerge. With the unequal treaties as protection, the newspapers actively promoted and defended the political and economic interests of the foreigners in China.

The foreign-run newspaper has played both positive and negative roles in the

development of modern journalism in China.

The Beginning of the Foreign-Run Newspapers in China The background of the foreign-run newspapers in China in the early nineteenth century Before the Opium War, the self-sufficient economy, a combination of individual

agricultural and family handicraft industries, was still dominant in China. There was a lack of communication between the rural and the urban areas. The general public was not well-educated. Most of the people were living a traditional way of life; they did not have much contact with the foreign world. Moreover, following

the principles of despotism, the Qing government did not allow freedom of

speech and the press. In other words, all these factors did not create a favorable environment for China to develop its own modern publications.

Since the early nineteenth century, a group of foreign colonists had realized

the need to publish modern newspaper when they first stepped foot on the soil

of China. Their realization had led to an extraordinary phenomenon: The start of modern journalism in China by foreigners. This reflected the underdevelopment

of the Chinese society, but at the same time it also predicted the ups and downs of the further development of journalism in China.

The British were the pioneers who began their newspaper business in China.

The Christian commissioners actively engaged in the industry.

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Western capitalism had been prevailing since the eighteenth century. The demand for foreign markets had motivated some capitalist countries to fight for colonies. Britain, which had experienced the Industrial Revolution, was advantageous in defeating those ever-winning countries such as Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, etc., in order to become a rising superpower. The ambition accelerated the British influence worldwide, but its target was Asia. It had already conquered India, invaded part of Burma, even entered the China-India region (mainly Malaya) in the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century; its invasion had become more and more serious. The spectacular and unexplored China undoubtedly aroused British interest. Before the 1850s, Britain still fell behind France and the Netherlands in terms of the trade tendency with China, but the situation had changed since the 1860s. With the increasing economic growth and the advantage of governing India, Britain was the winner in the trade competition with China. In the mid-1860s, its trade with China was 50 percent of the total foreign trade profit; it even reached 75 percent in the 1930s. Britain’s special position created an urge for it to expand into the China market. By reviewing the figures, the amount of the Sino-British trade was still at a reasonable average. For example, in 1764, the total national exports of Britain to China amounted to 1.2 million taels of silver; its imports from China amounted to 1.7 million taels of silver. The figures were not very surprising. In 1830, these two figures had not yet reached 10 million taels of silver. From the point of view of a British colonist, the number was minor, leaving room for further improvement to meet the expectation. Britain was facing a great obstacle on the road to expand the China market. The Qing government was adopting a closed-door policy at that time, imposing rigid restrictions on its foreign trade. Since 1759, the Qing government only allowed Guangzhou to be a trading port. It even limited the foreign business activities in Guangzhou, undoubtedly repressing the development of China’s foreign trade. Britain had proposed to the Qing government to loosen the restrictions and to expand the Sino-British trade, but all their requests had been rejected. The Qing government was quite ignorant of the foreign countries, so it had been vigilant with the foreigners. China’s self-sufficient economy was the fundamental factor to support this closed-door policy. Britain kept finding ways to pull China out of the net of the closed-door policy in order to expand the China market. The use of force might be a necessary means to resolve this complicated situation, but it could only be realized through

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suitable and timely methods. On the other hand, ideological invasion was a more effective and long-running approach, and it was easier to carry out as well. Therefore, missionaries were assigned to China to explore the market. There had been a close relationship between the foreign missions and colonialism. Britain continued to take advantage of this factor. Its missionary groups had mushroomed between the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century when the British were eager to explore the overseas markets. One of the British missionary groups, which had great interest in the mission in China, was the London Missionary Society. Founded in 1795, they had soon started to prepare its mission to China. They even specifically discussed the issue of appointing missioners to China in the early nineteenth century. In 1804, Robert Morrison (1782–1834), who was devoted to the British overseas mission, was selected as the suitable candidate to take up this responsibility. Morrison was born in Scotland. Influenced by his Christian parents, he had become a Christian as well when he was 15. In 1803, he continued his study in the theological seminary, becoming a disciple of the London Missionary Society. In 1804, he even wrote to the Society to recommend himself to be the best candidate for the mission to China, the most “difficult” destination for a missionary. Once his request was accepted, he underwent preparation and training. In the spring of 1807, he started his journey to China.

Morrison’s activities in China and the establishment of his station for promotion and publishing Morrison was the first Christian missionary to go to China. Carrying out a mission in China was considered to be very dangerous at that time. The Emperors, Kangxi and Yongzheng, had prohibited the foreigners from proselytizing in China. The restriction became even more rigid later. Therefore, Morrison was facing a lot of difficulties. He was supposed to travel to China by the marine resources of the British East India Company. However, the Company was afraid of breaking the bans imposed by the Qing government; Morrison could only change his route to the U.S. to seek assistance. The U.S. government and merchants needed Morrison’s help to protect their rights in China. James Madison, the Secretary of State, wrote to E. Carrington, the Consul of the U.S. in Guangzhou to ask for his care for Morrison. The U.S. merchants also supported his action. Morrison started his journey from New York by the freighter “Trident” on May 12, 1807, and he arrived in Macau on September 4. Once he entered Macau, the Catholic

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Portuguese there were hostile to him. The Macau Government asked him to leave as soon as possible. Then on September 8, he arrived in Guangzhou where he was welcomed by Carrington and the U.S. merchants. He also pretended to be a merchant hiding in a U.S. trade house. In 1808, there was a conflict between China and Britain. He then moved to Macau with other British people; and he had already developed a harmonious relationship with the British merchants. The London Missionary Society had given Morrison the fundamental guidelines in which learning Chinese was the first priority. Then he had to edit a substantial and accurate Chinese dictionary. Moreover, he had to translate the Bible into Chinese as well. It was stated clearly that the major task of Morrison was not being a missionary, but serving Britain’s goal of entering China. Following the guidelines from the London Missionary Society, Morrison spent all his time in learning Chinese in the first few years. He had invited various Chinese people as his family teachers who had gained great esteem from Morrison. One was Li Tsak-ting. Li had been living in Portugal for 12 years, and he had been educated at the school run by the Society of Jesus. He was a Xiucai 秀才.1

Therefore he had a good foundation of Chinese. Another was Abel Yung who had been living with Catholic missionaries. He could speak fluent Latin and always used Latin to communicate with Morrison as well. With help from Li and Yung, Morrison had found 500 Chinese books about religion, philosophy, law, history, medicine, etc. He studied very hard around the clock so that he improved a lot in such a short period of time. In just two to three years, he was already able to read these Chinese books and to speak fluent Mandarin and Cantonese. Before going to China, Morrison had learned Chinese from a Guangdong man, Yang Shande, but his improvement still amazed many foreign merchants in Guangzhou. In the first few years, Morrison was in constant fear. He could only stay indoors and was afraid of having contact with others. Sometimes, he could only have a walk in the countryside at night with one or two Chinese friends. 1809 was the turning point of his life. In February 1809, he married Mary Morton, the daughter of a senior staff at the East India Company. At the same time, he was employed as a translator of the Company, so he could lead a normal life as an employee. While Morrison was learning Chinese, he started the extremely challenging projects of translating the Bible and compiling A Dictionary of Chinese Language

(Huaying cidian 華英辭典). In 1813, he had finished translating the “New Testament,”

and achieved great progress in compiling the Dictionary. These projects were greatly supported by some British churches and the business sector. Morrison also

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received assistance from some Chinese people including his Chinese teachers. For instance, Yung assisted him to translate the Bible while teaching him Chinese. To carry out his mission secretly, Morrison even edited some books on the Christian doctrine such as A Summary of the Doctrine of Divine Redemption (Shendaolun shujiushi zongshuo zhenben 神道論贖救世總說真本), An Annotated Catechism on the Teachings of Jesus (Wenda qianzhu yesu jiaofa 問答淺注耶穌教法), and Selected Scriptures of the Holy Bible (Shengjing jiexuan 聖經節選).

These projects had triggered Morrison to think of the need of publishing business. There was no Chinese publishing agency for foreign missionaries at that time. Setting up this kind of agency was quite risky. Around 1810, the Qing imperial court had announced the edict of the ban on foreign publishing and mission. In this circumstance, Morrison could only pay much more to those Chinese publishers to publish his works secretly. In 1810, the Chinese version of “Acts” in the New Testament was published with a total circulation number of 1,000. He had paid an extra 300 dollars (Chinese dollar at that time). To avoid attention from the imperial court, a fake book sign was used on the cover. Then the New Testament and other pamphlets on the Christian doctrine were been published later. In the publishing process, Morrison got to know a group of craftsmen, including Cai Luxing, Cai Yaxing, Cai Yangao (also named Cai Gao), and Liang Fa. Cai Gao then became the first Christian in China; Liang Fa became the first Christian missionary in China. Liang was born in the prefecture Gaoming near Guangzhou in 1789 (the fifty-third year of Qianlong’s reign). He went to a village college to study when he was 11. When he was 15 years old, he went to Guangzhou to learn the block printing technique. He had then become a laborer in 1810. He met Morrison when he was engaged in the printing of Christian books. Since then, he actively participated in the publishing and missionary activities organized by the London Missionary Society. In 1832, Liang even edited the book Lasting Stories to Awaken the World (Quanshi liangyan 勸世良言)

which had inspired Hong Xiuquan.2 It had become the source for Hong to gain knowledge about Christianity. Leung Fa had been engaged in one of Morrison’s projects, publishing the Chinese Monthly Magazine (Chashishu meiyue tongji zhuan 察世俗每月統記傳). He

had accomplished much progress, but still faced a lot of difficulties. At the same time, in 1813, the London Missionary Society had assigned another missionary to China — William Milne (1785–1822). On July 4, 1813, Milne and his new wife arrived in Macau where he encountered the same situation as Morrison’s. The

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Macau Government ordered him to leave within 24 hours, so he just went to Morrison’s place in Guangzhou. Like other forerunners, he spent his time and effort in learning Chinese. After experiencing a six-month intense learning and training, he could already read some Chinese books and had basic conversation with Chinese people. The two missionaries always wanted to make some breakthroughs in establishing a missionary and publishing headquarters. Milne was sent to the South Pacific Islands to continue his mission. In early 1814, he went to Java along with thousands of newly-published Chinese New Testament and Chinese pamphlets about Christianity translated by Morrison. He had distributed those religious materials in Java and in other Chinese residences, and he also had direct communication with those Chinese people. He even met some officials there. He was satisfied with his journey. In the winter of 1814, he was back to Guangzhou. Morrison and Milne both reckoned that it was impossible to set up a headquarters for missionary work and publishing in Guangzhou or Macau. According to his eight-month research, Milne suggested to Morrison that the headquarters should be set up in Malacca near China. It was near Guangzhou, and it had convenient transportation to the South Pacific Islands and Thailand. Although there were not many Chinese, around 4,000 (a total population of 25,000), many Chinese people were living in the nearby areas. The Netherlands Government also supported their work. Besides, the natural environment there was very favorable. The nearby Batavia (today’s Jakarta) and Penang Island provided these factors as well, but comparatively, Malacca was the most suitable choice.3 Morrison saw eye to eye with Milne, so Milne shouldered the great responsibility of setting up the headquarters. On April 7, 1815, he started his journey with his wife, Leung Fa, and other teammates in Guangzhou. Thirty-five days later, they finally arrived in Malacca where he began his intense work until his death. Once arrived in Malacca, Milne started his heavy workload according to the plan which included finding a suitable premise for his mission, opening a free school, setting up a publishing house, releasing Chinese and English journals, etc. Everything was on track. Three months later, all these works were already happening. The free school, called “Liyi Guan” ( 立義館 ), was started in August 1815. Setting up a publishing house was their first priority. Early in Guangzhou, Morrison and Milne had decided that the publishing house was not only

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responsible for releasing Chinese publications, but also English and Malay books. Once all human resources and facilities were ready, Milne had to get it operational immediately. Milne had brought with him the woodblocks for printing the Chinese New Testament, along with Leung Fa and other craftsmen. Supported by the officials of Bangladesh, a large supply of printing facilities, English and Malay types, and printing workers were sent to Malacca in November 1815. Finally, the London Missionary Society had established a more well-equipped printing house. Their works also represented the beginning of the Chinese publishing business. Moreover, the first China’s modern newspaper, Chinese Monthly

Magazine , was also born here.

The establishment of Chinese Monthly Magazine and Milne’s editorial activities Publishing Chinese Monthly Magazine was decided by both Milne and Morrison before Milne went to Malacca. A newspaper was an effective tool in promoting religion, and missioners had known about this. In Britain, religious publications had a very long history. On the other hand, there were other reasons which motivated Morrison and other missionaries to publish Chinese journals and books. They reckoned there were too many dialects in China. The difference would adversely affect their missionary activities in the form of word-ofmouth, while the written language still maintained its consistency. People from different places could understand the Chinese written word. Moreover, Chinese was hostile to foreigners, especially to missionaries. Missionaries were not allowed to promote Christian doctrine freely on Chinese soil. Making use of Chinese publications as their tool was the best way to resolve the problem. The missionaries believed that the Chinese journals and books published in Malacca could be send to China. On August 5, 1815, the Chinese Monthly Magazine had been officially launched. This was the first modern Chinese newspaper, and it was also the first newspaper run by foreigners with the Chinese as the target readers. It was a monthly publication in the traditional Chinese book style produced by block printing technique. The Chinese Monthly Magazine was aimed at developing the Christian doctrine as the fundamental mission, 4 reflecting that it was a more religious publication. Some topics on ethics and morality were also discussed. It included some articles such as “Discussion of Benevolence” (Lun ren 論仁), “Filial Piety”

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(Xiao 孝), “An Unfilial Son” (Buzhongxiao zhi zi 不忠孝之子), “Paternity” (Fuzi qin 父子親), “Harmony of Husband and Wife” (Fufu shun 夫婦順), and “Discussion of Contentment” (Lun renzhizhizu 論人之知足). Besides, it even talked about scientific knowledge, especially astronomy. The first five issues did not touch on any political and social matters. In 1819 when they were releasing the fifth issue, Milne gave a conclusion on the publication. He pointed out this shortcoming and explained that it was caused by the physical limitations at that time. This was not the intention of the publication. Since the sixth issue, a new section “A Brief Introduction of the Countries around the World” (Chuandi geguo jilue

全 地 各 國 紀 略) was added. It introduced some countries in Europe, Asia, America, and Africa, as well as the general situation of China. It even published articles commenting on the French Revolution (1789–1799), in which it showed support to the Bourban instigators. Some articles were about Sino-British trade, involving the sensitive topics of opium trade. This unprecedented breakthrough had led to the publication to be more focused on social issues. However, this kind of content was still rare. The Chinese Monthly Magazine still remained a religious publication without any changes in its principle. Different kinds of articles were included as follows: •• Long essays •• Short critiques of 100–200 words •• Aphorisms •• Detailed records of events •• Short stories •• Literary works, such as sketches and poems •• Editorial notices •• Constitutions of social organizations Among the above articles in different styles, the ones written in the form of conversations were the most attractive. Milne’s “The Conversation between Two Friends of Zhang Yuan” (Zhang Yuan liangyou xianglun 張遠兩友相論), an important piece to promote the Christian doctrine, had been reproduced separately. As the Chinese Monthly Magazine was not a big publication, it was surprising to have such different types of articles and rich content. Its value had already exceeded those traditional publications like imperial gazettes and capital gazettes. Its first circulation number was 500. Since early 1819, it had increased to 1,000, even reaching 2,000 at a later stage. There were a total of more than 30,000 copies up to May 1819 along with bound issues. It was issued free of charge at the beginning of each month (the lunar calendar). The readers could get their copies at Milne’s

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place between the first day and the fourth day of each month. Milne also sent copies to the Chinese living overseas. Milne was born in Scotland in 1785. His father had died when he was 6. With the poor financial condition of his family, he could not effort to go to school, so he just received basic education from his mother. When he grew up, he left his hometown. He had been a sheep keeper for a while and had read many books in his leisure time. He became a Christian when he was 16, and decided to devote himself to the overseas missionary activities. Then he was accepted by a church and received an opportunity to study theology in Gosport, England. Once he finished his studies in July 1812, the London Missionary Society appointed him to the East to start his mission. Since Milne had arrived in Malacca, he regarded publishing the Chinese

Monthly Magazine as his daily routine. However, he had to face a lot of difficulties:

He was the editor for the first modern Chinese newspaper. There was no previous experience for him to refer to. Milne had only learnt Chinese for three years, yet, he had to shoulder the responsibility for publishing such an important Chinese publication. Furthermore, it was a challenging task to convey such a new idea of the Christian doctrine to the “mysterious” Chinese readers. Milne, a British missionary responsible for editing Chinese Monthly Magazine , had been engaging in the missionary activities since the spring of 1815. After 1820, his workload had become heavier. The intense learning and writing life had adversely affected his health. The deaths of his wife and his children had hit him hard. In 1821, his lung illness had become more critical, and he could not continue his work. Walter Henry Medhurst5 left Malacca at that time. Therefore, the Chinese Monthly Magazine could only cease publication in the same year. It had been issued for seven years. Milne passed away on June 2 in the year after when the magazine ceased its publication. Two years before his death, the University of Glasgow awarded him a doctoral degree in theology.

New direction of missionary publications — Eastern Western Monthly Magazine Once the Chinese Monthly Magazine had ceased publication, the London Missionary Society continued to issue the publications in the South Pacific regions: The Monthly Magazine (Texuan cuoyao meiyue jichuan 特選撮要每月紀傳) and the Universal Gazette (Tianxia xinwen 天下新聞). The former one was founded

by Medhurst in Batavia in 1823, two years after the Chinese Monthly Magazine

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ended. Medhurst was from London. He was engaged in the publishing industry since he was 15. In 1817, he was assigned by the London Missionary Society to go to the East. In June 1818, he arrived in Malacca to assist Milne. He once helped Milne to edit the Chinese Monthly Magazine when Milne was seriously ill. The Monthly Magazine was the successor of the Chinese Monthly Magazine. They were the same in terms of the objectives, the promotional strategies, and the styles. The Monthly Magazine had ceased publication in 1826 with a total of four volumes. The Universal Gazette was also a publication by the London Missionary Society. It was led by the missionary Samuel Kidd (1799–1843). Two years after Milne’s death, Kidd first came to Malacca to start his missionary works. He had stayed in Penang Island for a short period as well. In 1827, he returned to Malacca, and he became the third principal of Ying Wa College in 1828. He founded the Universal Gazette in the same year. This monthly magazine was subsidized by two British merchants who had affected its nature. It was no longer a purely religious publication. It mainly published the news of Europe and China. The content about religion and morality was no longer that important. Its style was not in the form of a book which was a breakthrough. It was more like a pamphlet produced by movable-type printing. Compared with the two monthly magazines, its style was closer to the modern type of newspaper. However, the Universal Gazette was only published for a year, and it ceased publication in 1828. Chief editor Kidd returned to Britain in 1832. He took up the post as the first professor of Chinese language and literature at the University of London in 1839. The Universal Gazette presented a change in the development of modern Chinese newspapers, but it was not representative and significant. In 1833, the issue of Eastern Western Monthly Magazine (Dongxiyang kao meiyue tongjizhuan

東西洋考每月統記傳) had led Chinese publishing to the next level. It had turned a new page for the industry. The founder of the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine was Karl Friedrich August Gutzlaff (1803–1851). He was appointed by the Netherlands Missionary Society to have a mission in the Southeast Asian regions in 1827. He had been to Java and Thailand. Between 1820 and 1824, there were a lot of foreign marines and their crews going to the East. However, only a few foreign crew members stayed in Guangzhou, and they would have left by the spring. Since the 1930s, they stayed for a much longer period. The total number had reached 300 people in which half of them were British. There were also Americans, Germans, French, Swiss, Norwegians, Dutch, etc. In the past, it was difficult for the foreigners to stay in Guangzhou. There were not many places and facilities for them. Now they

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had a church, several welfare and insurance agencies, three printing houses, and they even published English newspapers and magazines. Gutzlaff believed that “China’s door will soon be opened.” His idea had certainly contributed to the publication of the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine .

Its debut issue was released on August 1, 1833 in Guangzhou. Yet, it had been basically edited in June. It was only two months after Gutzlaff’s return to Macau from his third journey along China’s southeast coastline (October 12, 1832–April 29, 1833). It could be concluded that he started the preparation of the book before the journey. Some historical materials showed that the founder had discussed with some Westerners in China the objective, the content, and the promotional strategy of the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine . During the period, the foreigners in China were so eager to have the freedom of direct communication with the Chinese people, ignoring the closed-door policy of the Qing Dynasty. However, they had encountered two major obstacles: One was the arrogant attitude of the Chinese people; another was the Chinese hostility towards the foreigners. Eliminating these obstacles had become the first mission and target of the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine . Gutzlaff was quite straightforward in declaring that the publication was to serve the foreigners in China. It was to promote the superiority of the Western culture in order to conquer the arrogance of the Chinese people. It also encouraged the amicability of the foreigners to remove the Chinese hostility towards the foreigners. Compared with the Chinese Monthly Magazine , the Eastern Western

Monthly Magazine was another story which showed a significant change in

the missioners’ publishing principle. On the other hand, regarding the style, there were a lot of similarities between the above two titles. They both adopted the woodblock printing technique and the style of traditional Chinese threadbound books. They shared the same cover design with quite unique words “Meiyue tongji zhuan 每月統記傳” printed on it. They quoted a lot of sayings from Confucianism. The content consisted of three major sections: religion, ethics and morality, and scientific and cultural knowledge. It reflected the consistency of the Chinese Monthly Magazine and the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine and how the

latter affected the former one. Scientific and cultural knowledge had become the major content of the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine . It included extensive social scientific knowledge and information of natural sciences. The Chinese Monthly Magazine also included these two kinds of knowledge but it was limited, and the focuses were varied as

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well. Regarding the natural sciences, the Chinese Monthly Magazine introduced a large pool of astronomical knowledge. The Eastern Western Monthly Magazine was emphasized on the practical knowledge which catered to the need of China and presented the modern Western scientific achievements. Medhurst’s work Comparative Chronology (Dongxi shiji hehe 東 西 史 記 和 合)

discussed the idea that Chinese history was quite similar to Western history. Therefore, China should not be isolated from the Western countries. Regarding the operation, the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine had improved a lot. This publication was defending the policy of the West entering China. It had shown a great interest in social issues and political performances. This tendency had motivated the modernization of the journalism business. In respect of news, the Chinese Monthly Magazine only included one piece of news in each issue. There was no specific column for reporting news. Eastern

Western Monthly Magazine had no news column, but there was a certain number

of news pieces in each issue in which most of them were the translated and edited international news pieces from foreign newspapers. Some of the news pieces were about the internal affairs of Guangzhou and Macau. Gutzlaff also wrote about what he saw. Timeliness was not that important for news at that time. The articles were sometimes mixed with critiques; and fake news appeared occasionally too. Yet it was still considered a great development. Later, the publication also included some pieces selected from the capital gazettes, and published the price list of the imports and the exports. These factors were breakthroughs in the history of journalism in China. There was also improvement on the writing and editorial aspects. In terms of the writing style, the articles in the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine were popular and short so as to arouse the readers’ interest. The publication was a further development of the three principles proposed by Milne. The content of the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine was close to the real life of the society. The diversified topics undoubtedly attracted more readers than the Chinese Monthly

Magazine did. It even performed better due to the principle of “being concise.”

There were no long essays in the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine , and there were no serial stories as well. On the editorial aspect, the content was listed clearly at the beginning of each issue for the ease of reading. The structure of different sections were basically stable, there were only slight variations when necessary. The editor sometimes added his own editorial messages at the end of the articles. It was a new practice in the history of Chinese journalism, and was then adopted by many Chinese newspapers and magazines.

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In a word, Eastern Western Monthly Magazine , to a certain extent, was in the shape of a modern newspaper. The magazine, in December 1833, carried an article entitled “A Discussion of Newspaper Strategy” (Xinwenzhi luelun 新 聞 紙 略 論),

which had introduced the emergence of newspapers, the current situation, and the freedom of press. It was the first discussion on journalism printed in a Chinese newspaper. Eastern Western Monthly Magazine was significant in history since it was the first modern Chinese publication in China. In May 1834, once the tenth issue had been released, the magazine ceased publication. It was republished in February the year after. However, it ceased publishing again in July. The circulation number of the debut issue was 600, and it was reprinted with an extra 300 copies. There were many Chinese readers in Guangzhou, but only a few had subscribed. It was also sent to some major cities such as Beijing and Nanjing, yet not much feedback was received. On November 20, 1834, the foreigners in China set up the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in China (SDUK) in Guangzhou. James Matheson (1796–1878) and William Jardine (1784–1843), the major British opium merchants, had been the first and the second chairmen, respectively. D.W.C. Olypltant, an American merchant, was the treasurer. The Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British Subjects in China and the consuls in Guangzhou were the honorary members. After February 1835, Gutzlaff handed the Eastern Western

Monthly Magazine over to SDUK. Due to operational needs, SDUK relocated its

publishing arm to Singapore, but the magazine could not be resumed publishing immediately. They just compiled all the released issues into two volumes with a circulation number of 1,000. They were then distributed in the Chinese residences in the South Pacific regions. The magazine had only resumed publication in Singapore in February 1837, and it was called the “New Eastern Western Monthly

Magazine .”

Soon in Guangzhou, another Chinese publication entitled Countries News (Geguo xiaoxi 各 國 消 息) had emerged. It was a monthly magazine founded in October 1838. The London Missionary Society’s Medhurst was its founder and chief editor, and Medhurst’s son-in-law, Charles Batlen Hillier (?–1856) was the assistant editor. Since other Chinese publications had ceased publishing, the Countries News had become the only Chinese publication at that time. It was also the earliest Chinese magazine printed by polyautography. It mainly reported worldwide news, international shipping information, and the current prices of commodities. In May 1839, the Sino-British relationship became more intense.

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Many British merchants and missionaries had left Guangzhou. As a result, only

eight issues of the Countries News were published. Only the first and the second

issue can be found nowadays.

From 1837 to 1838 (the seventeenth and the eighteenth years of Daoguang’s

reign), there was a bilingual publication in Macau published by the Europeans. It was called Yijing Miscellany (Yijing zashuo 依涇雜說). Half of the content was in

English printed with type; another half was the Chinese translation printed with woodblocks. However, the original of this publication had not been preserved.

Among the above Chinese publications, the first five were derived from the same origin. The Yijing Miscellany was more unique, and it had no relationship with the other five publications. Its significance was due to its bilingual nature in the history of journalism in China.

The beginning of foreign publishing in China During the pre-Opium War period, among all the publications in China, the

development of foreign publications surpassed the Chinese ones’. There were a total of six types of publications at that time, including the Chinese Monthly

Magazine published in the South Pacific. However, only three of them were

published in China. On the other hand, foreign publications had reached the

number of 17. Most were more large-scale ones in general (mainly referred to as

the English titles), and they had a longer publishing history as well. Some of them lasted for 18 to 20 years. The longest publishing period of a Chinese publication

was six years, yet three publications had only lasted for a year. According to the general statistics, between 1822 and 1839, there were nine Portuguese publications released in Macau. Founded on September 12, 1822, A Abelha da Chine (Mifeng

huabao 蜜蜂華報) in Portuguese was misunderstood as the first newspaper in a

foreign language. It was run by the ruling party in Portugal.

Two influential Portuguese newspapers emerged between 1834 and 1836. One was A Chronica de Macao (Aomen chaobao 澳門鈔報). It was founded on October

12, 1834. It carried news as well as political materials. It was once a weekly, and

became a bi-weekly later. It had ceased publishing in 1837 (some said it was 1836). Another one was Macaista Imparcial (Diguo aomenren 帝國澳門人) which was

founded on June 9, 1836. It was a competitor of A Chronica de Macao , and was released on every Monday and Thursday. Its publisher and chief editor was Felis Felicano da Cruz.

Some other publications such as O Corrcio Macaense (Aomen youbao 澳門郵報),

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O Commercial (Shang bao 商報), and O Verdadeiro Patriota (Zhen aiguozhe 真愛國者)

were also founded in the pre-Opium War period. Due to the Macau Government’s autocratic policy, intense party struggle, and financial difficulty, these Portuguese publications had encountered various changes. Most of them did not last for long. These newspapers were more focused on the internal issues of Portugal and Macau, showing less interest in China’s affairs. The Portuguese newspapers in Macau generally stayed towards the Sino-British Opium War. Some of them even showed the tendency of supporting China. In a word, although there were a lot of Portuguese publications, they were not influential at all. They did not report much on the development of China. Therefore, it was the English publications who took up that role. The publishers of English newspapers were mainly British merchants. After experiencing the economic crisis in 1825, the British bourgeoisie actively expanded the China market. Since the mid-1920s, Britain started to gain its power in Guangzhou. As mentioned before, in the early 1930s, foreigners could settle in Guangzhou and they reached a total number of 300. Half of them were British. Thus, there was an urge to publish English newspapers. The first English newspaper was Canton Register (Guangzhou jilubao 廣州紀錄報) founded by James Matheson (1796–1878), a British opium merchant, in November 1827. The first editor was an American businessman William W. Wood. Between 1830 and 1833, Arthur S. Keating and John Slade had been the editors in different times. It was first a bi-weekly, later, it became a weekly published every Tuesday.

Canton Register was a commercial newspaper. It claimed in its debut issue that “We aim at providing plentiful and accurate price updates of commodities.” This was also the most influential foreign newspaper with many foreign subscribers in Guangzhou at that time. According to data of 1836, 280 copies of each issue were sent to the South Pacific regions, India, the U.K., and the U.S. The newspaper office also distributed Canton General Price Current (Guangzhou hangqing zhoubao 廣州行情週報). The circulation number of each issue was 320 in 1836. This newspaper was relocated to Hong Kong just before the Opium War. After the War, it was moved to Hong Kong, and was renamed as Hong Kong Register (Xianggang jilubao 香港紀錄報) to continue publishing. Eight years after the debut issue of the Canton Register , another influential English newspaper, Canton Press (Guangzhou zhoubao 廣州周報), emerged in Guangzhou. The newspaper was founded on September 12, 1835. It was regarded as a British free trade newspaper, a major competitor with the Canton Register .

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The Canton Press had made a lot of enemies at the beginning, losing some of its foreign power and support in Guangzhou. On the financial aspect, it also could not compete with Canton Register. However, it still continued publishing and was further developed. Its success was due to the rich content, distinctive viewpoints, and effective management. There was an extra section for the newspaper entitled “Commercial Price Current” ( Shangye hangqing bao 商業行情報) which was published independently. In 1839 when the Sino-British relationship became tense, it was relocated to Macau. It then ceased publishing in March 1844. Apart from the two newspapers mentioned above, the British had issued an English magazine in Guangzhou in 1831 entitled The Canton Miscellany (Guangzhou

zazhi 廣 州 雜 誌). It was finely printed with the cover made with silk and satin.

Some of the articles were contributed by famous authors, but this monthly magazine ended after releasing five issues. Not only the British, but the Americans also started publishing English newspapers and magazines in Guangzhou. American merchant marines were allowed to enter Guangzhou in 1784. Since then, there was a rapid development of the America-China trade. In 1800, it was the first time that the number of the American ships was more than those of the British. However, the interests of the American and the British merchants were not consistent. There were divaricated opinions between the two parties, yet, the conflict also led to the first American-run English newspaper — Chinese Courier and Canton Gazette ( Zhongguo chaibao yu Guangzhou chaobao 中 國 差 報 與 廣 州 鈔 報). This newspaper was founded by the American businessman Wood on July 28, 1831. He once worked for an American firm in Guangzhou. In November 1827, he joined the launching activity of Canton Register, and became its first editor. The newspaper actively promoted the free trade policy. It was opposed to the East India Company and defended the American interests. Therefore, it had a serious debate with the Canton Register. The debate soon became the attack between the editors Wood and Keating. Since the East India Company and the Canton Register had gained their power in the foreign society in Guangzhou, the Chinese Courier

and Canton Gazette had lost many subscribers, causing financial difficulty to

the newspaper. This newspaper emphasized the reporting of European news. It valued European news as important as the American news. It also took account of the Chinese news, so there was a section named “Guangzhou.” This American-run Chinese Courier and Canton Gazette came and went in haste. Another newspaper, Chinese Repository (Zhongguo congbao 中 國 叢 報), run by an American missionary, was a totally different story. Elijah Coleman Bridgman

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(1801–1861), the first American Christian missionary to China, was in charge of the Chinese Repository . He was born in Massachusetts. Once he had graduated from college in 1826, he continued his studies at the Andover Theological Seminary. When he finished his three-year studies, it was also the time the American churches prepared for their missionary activities in China. In October 1829, he served the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) as a protestant and was assigned to China for missions. He arrived in Guangzhou on February 25, 1830. He stayed in the American business residence to start the preparation work and to learn Chinese. In May 1835, the renowned English magazine, the Chinese Repository , edited by Bridgman had made its debut issue. The Chinese Repository was aimed at providing China and its nearby countries with the most reliable and valuable information. This 50-page monthly magazine sometimes published religious news and articles on religion, but they were rare and not placed at the high priority. Much social news was reported in detail including those items related to the government, political system, law and ordinance, civil and military officials, army, diplomacy, trade, natural resources, river and harbor information, agricultural activities, cultural education, languages, religion, morality, customs, etc. The Chinese Repository provided a platform for the Westerners to discuss the China policy. It was also a pool of different kinds of articles including essays, travelogues, letters, records of major events, research materials, book critiques, documents, etc. Besides, it published some news pieces and editorial notes. It occasionally included pictures. After the Opium War, the news column was cancelled. Bridgman had been in charge of the Chinese Repository for a long time. In October 1833, ABCFM’s missioner Samuel Wells Williams (1812–1884) entered Guangzhou with the responsibility of for the printing and the circulation of the publication. He was also engaged in editorial work. Since 1847, Bridgman had been in Shanghai most of the time, and the Chinese Repository was mainly edited by James Granger. Williams took up the editorial work since September 1839 until the end of the publication. Compared with the foreign-run Chinese newspapers in the same period, these English newspapers presented a wholly different image to the readers. The Chinese publications conveyed scientific knowledge and encouraged kindness and friendship. They also promoted world peace and harmony. They always presented a mild and polite attitude. On the other hand, the English newspapers reported opium trafficking, transfer of intelligence, spying upon the situation, and research on the tactics. They were focused on how to cope with China.

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In terms of the business development, these English newspapers were more

advanced than the Chinese publications at that time.

Portuguese publications and other newspapers in Macau Macau had been a part of China. When it was occupied by Portugal in the

sixteenth century, there was an increasing number of Portuguese. It also attracted

a certain number of foreigners from other places, leading to the phenomenon

of “when East meets West.” In the early nineteenth century, Macau had become an important communication hub for Chinese and foreigners. Many British and American missioners and merchants planned to run newspapers here. Due to

Portuguese hostility towards Christianity, the restriction on the press had limited their dream. In the 1920s, motivated by the internal political struggle of Portugal,

a batch of Portuguese publications emerged in Macau. In 1841, there were a total of 10 different kinds of publications. The earliest one was A Abelha da Chine,

founded on September 12, 1822. It was the first newspaper in a foreign language published in China. It was issued on a monthly basis with various kinds of

supplements. It was the official newspaper of Portugal’s radical party, a supporter of the current government. The chief editor Antonio de S. Goncalo de Amarante

was the leader of the Macau church and a member of the ruling party of Portugal. However, the original ruling party was overthrown in January 1824, and the newspaper could only cease publishing. He escaped to Guangzhou and then to

Calcutta, India. Then Gazeta de Macao (Aomen bao 澳門報) emerged. It was the official newspaper of the Conservative Party of Portugal, which had an opposite viewpoint towards A Abelha da Chine . Once A Abelha da Chine had ceased publishing in January 1824, Gazeta de Macao took over its printing equipment for publishing. It was

focused on reporting the commercial news and it lasted for around two years, but it ended finally due to financial difficulty.

Since then, the newspaper industry of Macau had been quiet for a short period of time until 1834. Chronica de Macao was the first to rise after the period. It made

its debut issue on October 12, 1834. It was a weekly at the beginning, and then it

became a bi-weekly. It published different kinds of news and political documents. It had aroused much attention from Guangzhou newspaper circle. Many people placed high expectations on it becoming a competitor with the Canton Register . One of the influential Portuguese newspapers at that time would be Macaista

Imparcial . This bi-weekly was founded on June 9, 1836, released on every Monday

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and Thursday. On September 5, 1838, Boletin Oficial do Governa de Macao (Aomen zhengfu gongbao 澳門政府公報), a pro-government newspaper, had made its debut

issue. It was published with the support from both the Macau and the Portugal governments. It was regarded as the pioneer of the official newspaper of the Macau Government. It had ceased publishing in 1843. Besides, O Commercial and O Verfadciro Patriota were founded in 1838; O Pharol Macuense (Aomen dengta bao 澳 門 燈 塔 報 ) emerged in 1841, but they all ended in 1842. The rise of the

Portuguese publications was due to the intense political struggle of China, so they were more political in nature. Apart from the Portuguese newspapers, there were also English and Chinese ones. One was the Yijing Miscellany founded in 1828. It was the first bilingual

publication of China. However, it was then forbidden because of its attacks on the government. Another one was the Evangelist and Miscellanea Sinica (Aomen zawen bian 澳門雜文編) founded by Morrison in 1833. When Morrison arrived in China in 1807, he decided to set up a Christian publishing arm in Macau. However, the Portuguese in Macau were Catholic so they were confrontational to Protestants. So Morrison encountered a lot of difficulties. Later, Morrison stayed in Macau as a staff member of the East India Company. In 1832, he set up a printing house for English publications in Macau — Albion Press. On May 1, 1833, this printing house published his work Evangelist and Miscellanea Sinica . When it came to the fourth issue, the printing house was forbidden, and the Evangelist and Miscellanea Sinica could only come to an end. There were a total of four issues, with a total

circulation of 20,000 copies. During the Opium War, the English newspapers published in Guangzhou were continued in Macau. Some of the English newspapers in Hong Kong were also published in Macau at the beginning. All these factors led to the rise of journalism in Macau. However, it was only an exceptional phenomenon which faded immediately after the war.

The Rise of Hong Kong’s Newspaper Industry after the Opium War Hong Kong’s position and condition in the development of foreign newspapers After the Opium War, the foreign newspapers in China had stepped into a new era. The publishing venue was relocated from the South Pacific regions,

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Guangzhou, Macau, to many coastal cities in China, even to the inland areas and to the capital of Beijing.

In the development of the foreign newspapers, Hong Kong played a very

significant role. Obviously, foreign newspapers had gained the power in China since the Opium War. At first, Hong Kong had become the headquarters for the

foreigners to run newspapers in China. Between 1841 and 1850, there were a total of nine different publications (English), but only one of them was published in

Shanghai. In 1860, the total number of both English and Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong surpassed other cities in China (including Shanghai). Since 1861,

the development of Hong Kong’s foreign newspapers was falling behind that of

Shanghai. On the other hand, in terms of the quantity and the influence, Hong

Kong was in the second position of China, arousing attention around the world. Furthermore, even after the 1860s, Hong Kong still played the leading role in

terms of experience and other newspaper publishing techniques. In the early 1970s, the publisher of Shanghai’s Shen Bao even assigned people to come to

Hong Kong to research. The development, undoubtedly, was not an accident. Hong Kong was privileged in developing foreign newspapers.

The ups and downs of Hong Kong’s newspaper industry (especially the

commercial newspapers) were related to the change of Guangzhou’s economic position. For a certain period of time, Guangzhou’s demand for newspapers had

been satisfied by Hong Kong. Before the Opium War, Guangzhou was the only

treaty port in China. In the first few years of the “Five Treaty Ports,” Guangzhou

was still the dominant city in terms of its exports to Britain which reached

75 percent. It even rocketed to 91.3 percent in 1846. The rise of Hong Kong’s newspaper industry was related to the prosperity of Guangzhou.

The sudden rise of English commercial newspapers The English newspapers were the first to gain popularity. Most of the English

newspapers were commercial. In 1895, before the Hundred Days’ Reform, their development could be divided into two stages discussed as follows.

The period between the Opium War and 1860 was a golden stage of the

newspaper industry in Hong Kong. There were 24 English publications in the whole country in which 17 were in Hong Kong, contributing 70.83 percent of the total number. Hong Kong was in an advantageous position in terms of the

quantity, and its influence was incomparable. Hong Kong Gazette (Xianggang chaobao 香港鈔報) was the first one. It was founded

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on May 1, 1841 in Macau and was relocated to Hong Kong later. Its founder was John Robert Morrison (1814–1843), the elder son of Morrison. He was also called “Morrison Junior.” The Hong Kong Gazette was supported by Hong Kong’s military bureau. This newspaper was not a commercial one at the beginning, while it had been a commercial newspaper in Hong Kong the year after. During this period, there were four influential English newspapers in Hong Kong: (1) Friend of China (Zhongguo zhi you 中國之友)

It was founded on March 17, 1842 in Macau and was relocated to Hong Kong when the second issue was released on March 24. The founder was Richard Oswald. In 1843, the copyright was sold to John Carr, and William Tarront received the copyright in 1850. He also became the publisher and the chief editor. Then the style of the newspaper had been changed. (2) Hong Kong Register (Xianggang jilubao 香港紀錄報) It originated from Canton Register. Canton Register was moved to Macau in 1839, and was relocated to Hong Kong in 1843 with the new title. It was run by Jardine Matheson & Co. Ltd. In 1849, it was transferred to Robert Strachan, a British merchant. With a series of transfers of the copyright, this newspaper had stopped publishing in 1863. (3) China Mail (Dechen bao 德臣報)

It was founded in Hong Kong in February 1845, becoming the most influential English newspaper with the longest history in Hong Kong. The founder and the chief writer was Andrew Shortrede, a British publisher. Later, Andrew Dixon, a British merchant, participated in the founding of the newspaper, and he had become the publisher in 1858. (4) Daily Press (Mala bao 孖剌報) Founded in 1857, it was renamed as Hong Kong Daily Press (Zila xi bao 孖剌西報)

in 1861. It was co-founded by the American and British merchants George M. Ryder and Yorick Jones Murrow. They were the publisher and the editor respectively. In the year after, it was fully owned by Murrow. Its Chinese title was the transliteration of “Murrow.” It was the first foreigner-run daily in China. Among the above four newspapers, the Daily Press was the latest, and

its influence was focused on the second stage. Before the 1860s, the English newspaper market in Hong Kong was dominated by the Friend of China , the Hong Kong Register , and the China Mail . The newspapers took different viewpoints towards the British Hong Kong

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Government. The Hong Kong Register and the Daily Press always criticized the government while the China Mail was the supporter for the government. The Friend of China showed a positive attitude towards the government, but once Tarront took over the newspaper, it became more radical to oppose the government. The reason for it opposing the government was different from other newspapers.6 The different standpoints had always led to furious debates between the newspapers. The Friend of China’s Tarront and the Daily Press’s

Murrow even attacked the maladministration and spoiled system of the British Hong Kong Government by pointing out the names of the senior officials and even the governor. After the 1860s, there were also some new English newspapers such as the Hong Kong Mercury and Shipping Gazette (Xianggang xinshi he hangyun bao 香港信使和航運報) and the Hong Kong Times (Xianggang shibao 香港時報). But their short life spans did not form a great influence. The face-off between two newspapers had faded until the emergence of the Hong Kong Telegraph (Shimie xi bao 士蔑西報). Hong Kong Telegraph was founded on August 15, 1881 by Robert Fraser-Smith, a British merchant.7 It was the time when evening newspapers started to appear. The earliest was the Evening Mail and Hong Kong Shipping List (Wan youbao he xianggang

hangyun lu 晚郵報和香港航運錄) published by The China Mail Office. Some of the

English newspaper offices started to release Chinese newspapers as well. It was a significant change. Most of the editors were merchants, but more professional journalists emerged to take up the job. Although Hong Kong was no longer advantageous on both political and economic aspects, its favorable factors like population, commerce, industry, transportation, communication, and civil construction also motivated the long-term development of the newspapers. The commercial newspapers had once dominated the newspaper circle in Hong Kong, but other different kinds of English newspapers still maintained their own position. One of the examples was the newspaper of the British Hong Kong Government. The newspaper offices of the Friend of China and the Hong Kong

Register undertook the publishing of the government newspaper. The newspapers

were also renamed as Friend of China and Hong Kong Gazette (Zhongguo zhi you

yu xianggang gongbao 中國之友與香港公報) , Hong Kong Register and Government

Gazette (Xianggang jilu yu zhengfu gongbao 香港紀錄與政府公報), etc. Founded

in May 1841, the Hong Kong Gazette was not the official newspaper, but it was still supported by the government. In 1858, the government newspaper was undertaken by Noronha Printing House which independently operated with

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the name of the gazette of the British Hong Kong Government. There were also religious newspapers such as the Hong Kong Catholic Register (Xianggang tianzhujiao jilubao 香港天主教紀錄報), a semimonthly founded in 1877. It was the earliest newspaper produced by Catholic groups in China.

Relocation of Ying Wa College to Hong Kong and the publishing of Chinese Serial Most of the English publications were published by foreign merchants; while the Chinese publications were published by foreign missionaries. This trend was similar to the situation during the pre-Opium War period. The first Chinese newspaper after the Opium War was Telescope (Qianli jing 千里鏡 ). Founded in early 1843, it was considered the continuation of the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in China. Issued on a monthly basis, it reported on the foreign situation and knowledge with only a few news pieces. Yet, its publishing location remains a myth.8 Based on the current information, the first Chinese publication in Hong Kong appeared in 1853. It was Chinese Serial (Xiaer guanzhen 遐邇貫珍), a monthly magazine, co-published by Ying Wa College and the Morrison Education Society. It was founded on September 3, 1853. It was organized by the Morrison Education Society, and printed by Ying Wa College.9 Medhurst, Hillier, Legge had been

the chief editors in different times as well. It was subsidized by the Morrison Education Society from donations from the British and the Americans in China. The circulation number was 3,000 of which some were sold and some were complimentary copies. It was circulated in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Shanghai, and even overseas. To cater to the need of foreign readers, each issue was printed with English content page, 10 a breakthrough for Chinese publications. One of the major characteristics of the Chinese Serial was its emphasis on news. It revolutionized news coverage. Regarding the quantity, there were only a few news pieces in every issue of Chinese publications, 10 was the maximum. The Chinese Serial usually published 10 to 20 news pieces, and it sometimes reached 40 pieces. The content structure was different too. The Chinese publications in the past published international news most of the time (translated from foreign newspapers). Foreign newspapers seldom published China’s internal news besides those commercial news pieces, shipping information, and summaries

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of the capital gazettes. On the other hand, the Chinese Serial always published

China’s internal news. The news covered Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and other

cities and prefectures in China. It also included the topics that were rarely discussed such as military matters, diplomacy, cultural information, celebrity news, civil construction, etc., so the content became richer. More importantly,

this magazine also reported on the activities of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Since the debut issue, it had been publishing serial reports on the activities of the Taiping Armies, and it included coverage of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

in every issue. It reported the battle results of the Taiping Armies and the failure

of the imperial army. It disclosed some falsified news on the capital gazettes. The Chinese Serial was the earliest and the only Chinese publication including coverage of the activities of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. These news pieces are still quoted by many historians for the research on the Kingdom. This

magazine also revolutionized journalistic writing style and etiquette. The Chinese Serial was the first Chinese publication that adopted the movable-

type printing which had basically ended the era of modern block printing for Chinese publications. The Chinese Serial had made great progress in the

modernization of newspaper business development. It was the milestone in the development of Chinese publications. However, it did not last long. It ceased publication after May 1856 once the thirty-third issue was released. The Chinese

Serial emerged in a later stage with a short lifespan. No one was going to continue

to operate it. It reflected that the foreign missionaries did not feel the need to

publish Chinese publications in British Hong Kong. It gave rise to the Chinese commercial newspapers.

The development of Chinese commercial newspapers When the missionaries’ Chinese publications were going into a silent age, it was also the time for the rise of Chinese commercial newspapers. Hong Kong’s newspaper circle had become the center of commercial newspapers.

Chinese commercial newspapers were closely related to English commercial

newspapers, and most of them were published by English commercial newspaper offices. The first one was Hong Kong Prow Goods Price Post (Xianggang chuantou

huojiazhi 香港船頭貨價紙) published in early 1858 by Daily Press Office. In other

words, soon after the release of the Daily Press , this Chinese newspaper had

appeared. Three issues were issued on every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It

targeted the shop owners in Hong Kong. It was a one-page two-sided publication.

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It mainly published commercial trends, shipping schedules, and advertisements. There were two to three news pieces in each issue, about one-tenth of the whole newspaper.11 Same as the Daily Press , it was commercial but simpler. Yet, in light

of its form, content, and issue period, it could be regarded as a newspaper — the first Chinese commercial newspaper.

Between late 1864 and early 1865, the Hong Kong Prow Goods Price Post was

renamed as Hong Kong Foreign New Post (Xianggang zhongwai xinbao 香港中外

新報).12 This was a more influential newspaper, however the earlier issues could

not be found. The earliest issue found nowadays was the one released on May 4, 1872. The details of this newspaper were mainly based on some information in

the Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser (Shanghai xinbao 上海新報) and the Chinese and Foreign Weekly (Zhongwai xinwen qirilu 中外新聞七日錄). The target readers of the newspaper at the beginning were the merchants, but it also catered to the

needs of the general public. The proportion of news reports was increasing. It had been improved when compared with the past. According to the Hong Kong

Foreign New Post in 1872, it was a four-page publication. Commercial news,

shipping schedules and advertisements were still the main content, yet there was

an increase in the news pieces. The second page was the news section. Part of the third page was for news reports as well. The news section was divided into

different columns such as “local news,” “Guangzhou news,” and “selection from the capital gazette” (sometimes it included the news selected from the Chinese

Shipping List & Advertiser ). It was published on every Wednesday with the

“Current Prices List.” It had then become a daily in 1873, a great progression in the modernization of the newspaper.

Chinese and Foreign Weekly , founded on March 18, 1871, was published on

every Saturday. Although it was only a one-page newspaper, the viewpoint was distinctive.

On April 6, 1872, the Chinese and Foreign Weekly had ceased publishing,

becoming the Chinese Mail (Xianggang huazi ribao 香港華字日報). This newspaper was expanded into a four-page one which was released independently. Although it was still published by China Mail Office, it was the first newspaper produced by Chinese people.

In Hong Kong, another Chinese newspaper the Hong Kong News (Jinshi bianlu 近事編錄) emerged in 1864. The founder was a British citizen — Noronha — and some said that he had been in contact with China Mail Office. Wang Tao,

the renowned political commentator and journalist in China, was the chief editor. It was the first newspaper that Wang Tao was in charge of. Apart from current

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prices, shipping schedules, and advertisements, the Hong Kong News mainly published press releases. In the traditional Chinese newspapers, social news just appeared occasionally. Yet social news started emerging during this period, especially those items related to strange phenomena.

The early publication law in Hong Kong On April 5, 1843, the British Hong Kong Government was officially established. On February 28, 1844, the government had passed the first publication law, signed by the Hong Kong Governor Henry Pottinger. It was the Second Act in 1844 of the British Hong Kong Government. The government, in fact, did not impose a laissez-faire policy on the publications. It was because Hong Kong was governed by Britain. When there were some issues regarding the content, the government could cite the local law of Britain. It was not necessary to set up the Hong Kong publication law individually at that time. At the time when the publication law was enforced, the existing newspapers, the Friend of China and Hong Kong Gazette and the Hong

Kong Register , maintained a harmonious relationship with the government. The China Mail , founded in 1845, was even a great supporter of the government.

The relationship between the newspapers remained calm. However, due to the transfers of the Friend of China and the founding of the Daily Press , conflicts between the newspapers and the governments started to occur. The government officials, even the governor, were usually attacked by the newspapers. The editors criticized each other as well. The government had arrested Daily Press’s Murrow and Friend of China’s Tarront, they were accused of libel according to the law of Britain.

Shanghai as the Publication Center of Commercial Newspapers The change of Shanghai’s position in foreign newspaper publishing in the Opium Wars After the Opium War, Shanghai and Hong Kong both became the headquarters of foreign newspaper publishing in China. According to the statistics between 1841 and 1894, around 80 percent of the foreign newspapers in China (Portuguese publications excluded) were published in these two cities. Over 50 percent of the Chinese publications were published in Shanghai and Hong Kong as well. However, the development of foreign newspapers in Shanghai started much

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later than that in Hong Kong. English newspapers only emerged in Shanghai in 1850, i.e., the seventh year after the opening-up of Shanghai. Shanghai’s first Chinese newspaper was published in 1857, four years later than Hong Kong’s. Before the 1860s, regarding the favorable publishing location of the foreign newspapers, Shanghai did not overtake Hong Kong. On the other hand, since the 1860s, or after the Second Opium War, the trend had changed a lot. Based on the general statistics, between 1861 and 1895, there were eight new English publications in Hong Kong, while there were 31 in Shanghai, almost four times the number in Hong Kong. That number reached over 55 percent of the total number of English publications in China. For Chinese publications, between 1861 and 1894, Hong Kong had an extra three publications, while Shanghai had an extra 31, over 10 times the number in Hong Kong. Shanghai’s publications dominated over 57 percent of the total Chinese publications in China. From the 1860s to the 1890s, not only the British and the American had run newspapers in Shanghai but the Portuguese, French, Germans, and Japanese also had. Besides English newspapers, there were publications in Portuguese, French, German, and Japanese. This phenomenon had never been seen in any other cities in China. Shanghai, in the late nineteenth century, was regarded as the publishing center of the international publications. Foreign news agencies also started their activities in Shanghai since the 1870s. During the 1850s, as a significant foreign trade city in China, Shanghai had already shown its privileges by providing the modern publications with the fundamental factors for further development. On the other hand, Shanghai was still falling behind Hong Kong at that time. Its privileges had not been fully noticed.

English editions of North China Herald and North China Daily News North China Herald (Beihua jiebao 北華捷報), founded on August 3, 1850, was the

first modern publication since the opening up of Shanghai. It was released on every Saturday with four pages per issue. Since Shanghai had been a very important commercial center, the number of news and commercial materials was increasing. The newspaper office had released a daily entitled Daily Shipping News (Meiri hangyun xinwen 每 日 航 運 新 聞 ) in 1856. It was renamed as Daily Shipping and Commercial News (Meiri hangyun he shangye xinwen 每日航運和商業新聞) in 1862.

On July 1, 1864, it was developed as an independent daily with the fixed title North China Daily News (Zilin xi bao 字林西報). Since then, the North China Herald had become a weekly supplement to the North China Daily News , while it was

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renamed as North-China Overland Herald and Market Report (Beihua haiwai jiebao yu shichang xiaoxibao 北華海外捷報與市場消息報). In 1865, the word “overland” (haiwai 海外) was deleted from the title. On January 4, 1870, the North China Herald and Market Report merged with the Supreme Court and Consular Gazette

(Beihua jiebao ji zuigao fating yu lingshi gongbao 北華捷報及最高法庭與領事公報),

bought by the newspaper office in 1869. Moreover, the newspaper office had published an English newspaper North China and Japan Market Report (Beihua

yu riben shichang bao 北華與日本市場報; 1858–1865) and the Chinese publications

Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser and Shanghai Daily News (Zilin hu bao 字林 

滬報). The newspaper office of the North China Herald and North China Daily News was in Hankou Road in the British concession, and it was then moved to Jiujiang Road. It was relocated again to the Shanghai Bund in 1901. The North China Herald emphasized the commercial materials including

advertisements, current prices, and shipping schedules. There were also critiques, local and foreign news, articles from the British embassy and other

commercial parties. It also selected content from other publications. Since it was then published separately, the North China Daily News started to value critiques, commenting on diplomatic relationships, China’s political environment, and other

social issues. Although it had become more political in nature, it still included rich

content of shipping issues and commercial information. The North China Herald and the North China Daily News represented the

British power in China on the political aspect. It reflected the British bourgeoisie’s

viewpoints and demands. It followed the style of the English newspapers. To maintain and expand the British interest in China, the two newspapers in their

coverage showed their opposition and attacks to the Chinese revolt against the

government. Regarding the diplomatic relationships, the two newspapers usually

adopted the standpoints of the foreign invaders. They not only defended the British and the American invasion activities, but also showed sympathy towards Japan for its invasion in Taiwan. The North China Herald and the North China

Daily News possessed a strong team of writers and communicators, including a

group of missionaries who had stayed in China for a long time and were familiar with the environment. It included comprehensive coverage in detail with rich materials on politics, economy, culture, and society in China.

Other English publications before the First Sino-Japanese War Eleven years after the debut of the North China Herald , there was another English newspaper in Shanghai — Shanghai Daily Times (Shanghai meiri shibao 上海每日時報 )

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founded in September 1861 by W. Wynter & Co., a British company. Since then, English newspapers had been developing rapidly in Shanghai. In 1894, the city had seen the rise of a total of 30 kinds of publications, becoming the publishing center of the whole country (see Table 2.1). Table 2.1

Some English newspapers published in Shanghai before the First Sino-Japanese War Publication

Details

Shanghai Daily Times ( Shanghai meiri shibao 上海每日時報)

·· The first daily in Shanghai ·· Weekly edition issued ·· Criticized the viewpoints in the North China Herald from time to time ·· Ceased publishing after a year of publication due to financial difficulty

Shanghai Recorder ( Shanghai jizai bao 上海記載報)

·· ·· ·· ··

Founded in 1862 C. Treasure Jones was the chief editor Weekly edition provided Overseas edition: Supreme Court and Consular Gazette (Zuigao fating yu lingshi gongbao 最高法庭與領事公報) ·· Ceased publishing in 1869 ·· Supreme Court and Consular Gazette was then taken over by the North China Daily News

The Shanghai Evening Express ( Shanghai wanchabao 上海晚差報)

·· Founded on October 1, 1867 ·· The first evening newspaper in Shanghai ·· C. Treasure Jones, from France, was the founder and the chief editor ·· In cooperation with C. Do Rozario ·· J o n e s l e f t C h i n a i n 1 8 7 1 , s o i t c e a s e d publishing

Shanghai News-Letter for California and Atlanta ( Shanghai tongxun 上海通訊)

·· Founded on October 16, 1867 ·· The founders were American merchants: John Thorne and Howard Twombly ·· The first newspaper run by Americans ·· Taken over by a business merchant, Hugh Lang ·· Renamed as Shanghai News-Letter

The Shanghai Evening Courier ( Shanghai wanyoubao 上海晚郵報)

·· Founded on October 1, 1868 ·· Hugh Lang was the founder and the editor ·· Hugh Lang purchased its Shanghai News-Letter for California and Atlanta in the late 1873

Shanghai Budget and Weekly Courier ( Shanghai jinnang yu Shanghai chabao 上海錦囊與上海差報)

·· Founded on January 4, 1871 by Hugh Lang ·· The Shanghai Evening Courier was purchased to become its overseas edition

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(Cont'd) Publication

Details

Evening Gazette (Wan bao 晚報)

·· Founded on June 2, 1873 by Frederic Henry Balfour, a renowned British journalist ·· Hugh Lang passed away in 1875, then Balfour received the copyright of the Shanghai Evening Courier , merged with Evening Gazette ·· Renamed as Shanghai Courier and China Gazette (Shanghai chabao yu zhongguo gongbao 上海差報與中國公報) ·· It was sold once Balfour passed away

Celestial Empire (Huayang tongwen 華洋通聞)

·· A weekly founded in 1874 by a Portuguese, Pedro Loureiro ·· Balfour was the chief editor ·· In 1874, Balfour received the copyright, becoming the mail edition of the Shanghai Evening Courier ·· The copyright was sold after Balfour’s death

Shanghai Mercury (Wenhui bao 文匯報)

·· Founded in April 1879 by a British merchant, John D. Clark ·· A major competitor of the Shanghai Evening Courier ·· The chief editors included: T. W. Kingsmill, R. D. Neish ·· When Balfour passed away in 1889, Clark received the copyright of the Shanghai Courier and China Gazette , merged with the Shanghai Mercury ·· Clark purchased the copyright of The Celestial Empire which had then become the mail edition of the Shanghai Mercury

There were other newspapers like The Cycle (Xunhuan 循環) and China Gazette (Jie

bao 捷報) and other professional publications.

Apart from a large quantity of commercial newspapers, other publications in

different natures had gained their popularity: The Cycle mainly published political

and literary articles. Shanghai Charivari (Zhongguo youmo huabao 中國幽默畫報) was a literary illustrated magazine. Besides, there were also professional publications related to medicine, customs and trade, and forbidden alcohol.

These English newspapers were the representatives of the interests of their

own countries. They actively pleaded for the colonial policy. Shanghai Daily Times

claimed that they should not be limited by any treaties, and they carried on the invasion activities in China. The American Shanghai News-Letter for California

and Atlanta encouraged establishing an American Far East navy headquarters to

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strengthen the invasion position of the U.S. North China Daily News had become a communications agency for the foreigners in China. When English newspapers had been developed prosperously, Reuters from Britain also started its activities in Shanghai. Reuters, founded in 1850, began providing newspaper offices with press releases in 1858.

Newspaper activities of France, Germany, Portugal, and Japan in Shanghai Once the Opium War ended, the French Government had sent missions to China in 1843 to discuss the trade issue and opening up of trade ports. Since the 1870s, France had started its newspaper business in Shanghai. The earliest French publications were Le Nouvelliste de Changhai (Shanghai xinwen 上海新聞), Le Progres (Jinbu 進步), and Le Courrier de Changhai (Shanghai chabao 上海差報) published between 1870 and 1873. The chief editor of Le Nouvelliste

de Changhai was M. Beer. It was regarded as the transmitter of the official ideas and

policies of France, and it was a supporter of the Catholic Church. The chief editor of Le Progres was Emile Le’pissier. These two newspapers had polarized viewpoints

which led to frequent debates, yet they both ceased publishing in 1872. Founded in 1873, Le Courrier de Changhai was aimed at continuing the business of Le Nouvelliste de Changhai . However, it had already ended after releasing three issues. Thirteen years later, in 1886, a new French newspaper L’Echo de Changhai

(Shanghai huisheng bao 上海回聲報) emerged, but it ceased publishing in a short

period of time. French publications were not well-established in China in this stage. Since the 1870s, French started to run Chinese publications. They made use of the Chinese publications issued by the Catholic Church, including Tiwen News (Yiwen lu 益聞錄), Hui Bao (匯報), and Sacred Heart News (Shengxin bao 聖心報), to

expand their influence. Germany was much later than France to cultivate its colonialism in China. Its newspapers also entered Shanghai 16 years later than the French ones. Germany only established its own publication Der Ostasiatische Lloyed (Dewen xinbao 德文新報) in January 1886. It claimed itself as “the voice of the Far East German.” Moreover, it maintained a close business relationship with Le Courrier de Changhai and the Shanghai Mercury . The publications run by the Portuguese were concentrated in Macau at the beginning. Most of them were in Portuguese. Since the Opium War, Portuguese publications had emerged in Hong Kong. Since the 1860s, Portuguese newspapers

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started to appear in Shanghai, including O Aqailao (Beifang bao 北方報; founded in 1867) and Oprogresso (Qianjin bao 前進報;  founded in 1888). They actively participated in the

party struggle in Portugal, so the publishing activities were more political in nature. The Japanese had started newspaper activities in China in the 1890s. Shanghai was their first publishing base. Actually, modern newspapers appeared in Japan in a much later stage than they did in China. In the midnineteenth century, many newspapers were published in China such as the Chinese Serial , the Hong Kong News (Xianggang xinwen 香港新聞), the Universal Miscellany (Liuhe congbao 六合叢談), and the Chinese and Foreign Gazette. These newspapers were always reproduced in Japan for promotion (with additional Japanese symbols). They had been the official versions of the Hong Kong News , the Universal Miscellany , the Chinese and Foreign Gazette , etc.

Between 1890 and 1894, the Japanese had begun their earliest newspaperrunning activities in Shanghai. They had published a total of four newspapers in which three of them were in Japanese. One of them was the weekly magazine Shanhai Shinpo (Shanghai xinbao 上 海 新 報 ). It was founded on June 5, 1890 by Matsuno Heizaburo at Xiuwen Bookstore in the British concession. The second one was the magazine Shanghai Times (Shanghai shibao 上海時報) founded in 1892 by Japan Youth Man Association of Shanghai. Founded in 1894, Shanghai Weekly News (Shanghai zhoubao 上海周報) was more focused on the trade issues. Since the 1870s, Britain and the U.S. had no longer dominated the newspaper circle of Shanghai. (To be more specific, it was the newspaper circle of China.) Shanghai proved itself a significant base of news activities for foreign countries.

The first Chinese newspaper in Shanghai — Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser Shanghai’s first Chinese newspaper was Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser , founded in September 1861. It was published by the North China Daily News Office. It was a weekly at the beginning yet three issues were published in a week, excluding Sundays. And it had become a daily in July 1872. The Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser was a commercial newspaper. As the capitalist countries expanded their power in China, they needed Chinese publications for advertising, printing commercial notices, and transmitting commercial messages, in order to boost sales in China. The Chinese Shipping List

& Advertiser was aimed at catering to the needs of the foreigners in China.

The Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser always put the business matters at the

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first place. The whole layout was dominated by different kinds of commercial information. The common columns found in the newspaper included shipping information, exchange rates, the available commodities and current prices in different trade ports, and advertisements. These columns were well-organized and eye-catching. The chief editors were the British and the American Christian missionaries like M. F. Wood, J. Fryer, and Y. J. Allen. Besides, a few Chinese assisted in the editorial process. There were only two pages at first: The first page was for commercial information and news; the second page was full of business matters. Since the revised edition in February, it had become a four-page publication. News and opinions were concentrated on the second page. The first, the third, and the fourth pages were advertisements, shipping news, current prices, and other special columns. In the 10 years after the debut of the Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser , it was still the only Chinese newspaper in Shanghai. There was no competitor at all. However, in 1872, the publication of Shen Bao ( 申報 ) affected the status of the Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser . Shen Bao was printed on maotai paper 13 while The Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser was printed on premium printing paper. The high

production cost had led to financial difficulty to the Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser . It was finally closed on December 31, 1872, withdrawing from the newspaper circle in Shanghai.

An important milestone of Chinese commercial newspapers — Shen Bao The founder of Shen Bao was Ernest Major, a British merchant. He and his brother, Frederick Major, arrived in Shanghai in the early years of Tongzhi’s reign. They engaged in tea and fabric businesses, and they established Kiangsu Chemical Works around 1862. In 1871, they were preparing for Shen Bao . Major invited his friends, C. Woodward, W. B. Pryer, and John Machillop, to be his partners to set up Shen Bao . Each of them had contributed 400 taels of silver, i.e., 1,600 taels in total, and Major took full responsibility for the newspaper. Shen Bao had made its debut issue on April 30, 1872. It was once a bi-daily, and it had then become a daily since the fifth issue (excluding Sundays). It was an eightpage newspaper produced by movable-type printing. Different from the Chinese Shipping List & Advertiser , the editorial works and other operation processes of Shen Bao were carried out by Chinese people.

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Before the First Sino-Japanese War, Jiang Zhixiang, He Guisheng, Qian Xinbo, and Huang Xiexun (in chronological order) were the chief editors of the newspaper in different times. Zhao Yiru and Xi Yuqi were the compradors. Most of the other staff were Chinese as well. Major aimed at making a profit by publishing Shen

Bao . Running a newspaper was the continuity of his business activities. In a word,

Shen Bao was a profit-making publication and it was solely responsible for its

profits or losses. A piece of critique was put on the front page of each issue. It also published literary works which had made culture and literature become a musthave column in a newspaper. Shen Bao also emphasized social news, altering the style of news reports. The improvements catered to the needs of officials, merchants, scholars, and the general public, attracting a wide range of readers in order to boost sales. The general business-running strategy was applied to the operation of the newspaper so as to compete with the Chinese Shipping List &

Advertiser for increasing sales.

Apart from Shen Bao , Shen Bao Office (Shen Bao guan 申報館) also engaged in other publications. On November 11, 1872, it released a monthly literary magazine — Around the World (Yinghuan suoji 瀛寰瑣記). This was the earliest literary and cultural journal in China. They even published a notice to solicit contributions to the journal, many people submitted their works. Due to the limited space of each issue, the editorial team selected the most suitable pieces. On March 30, 1876, a more popular newspaper entitled People’s News (Min bao 民 報 ) was issued. It was released on every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It was written with simpler words which many people could understand. On May 8, 1884, Shen Bao Office published the first lithographically-printed current affairs pictorial in China — Dianshi Studio Illustrated (Dianshizhai huabao

點石齋畫報 ). It was printed by the Dianshi Studio Bookstore (also called the Dianshi Studio Gallery). The famous painter, Wu Youru, was the chief editor. This pictorial was issued every 10 days. What made this pictorial so outstanding was that it was very news-oriented. As emphasized by the pictorial itself, it transformed the most exciting and extraordinary news into pictures. Its content was much diversified and it related to a wide range of topics: the Sino-French War, the Sino-Japanese War, building of railways, launches of marine vessels, government activities, and major political events. The majority of articles were about the daily life of the general public (sometimes extraordinary articles were included). The publishing principle of the Dianshi Studio Illustrated was consistent with Shen Bao . They were complementary to each other. Dianshi Studio Illustrated had gained popularity since its debut. It sold out quickly and had to be reprinted

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again. It lasted for 13 years until issue 473 in late 1896. Before the emergence of this pictorial, Shen Bao Office had distributed Globe Illustrated (Huanying huabao 寰 瀛 畫 報) from Britain in April 1877. This pictorial was published in Britain and illustrated by British painters, with the Chinese descriptions written by Cai Erkang, a famous journalist in China. The copies were then sent to Shen Bao Office for sale once they were ready. It mainly reported on many foreign events and people which were not related to the Chinese society. After receiving disappointing feeback, it had ceased publishing after the fifth volume. Shen Bao Office had also established the Shenchang Bookstore, reproducing old books and publishing new titles. This bookstore and Dianshizhai Bookstore had published many precious Chinese books, preserving many influential pieces of literature. These publishing activities were supported by the profitable Shen Bao . These businesses, at the same time, supported Shen Bao financially in a sense. The favorable factors gave rise to the business of the Shen Bao Office, proving Major a successful merchant. He had then become an incomparable newspaper capitalist. In 1889, he restructured Shen Bao Office into Major Bros. Ltd. with the board of directors. The brothers collected the capital of 2,000 shares (around 100,000 taels of silver) and returned to Britain.

The publishing of Shanghai Daily News and News Daily and the era of the three newspapers After Shen Bao , the foreign investors in Shanghai published the influential Shanghai Daily News and News Daily (Xinwen bao 新聞報). The Chinese newspapers run by foreign investors had entered the golden age. The founder of the Shanghai

Daily News was Frederic Henry Balfour. He was a renowned journalist in

Shanghai. In 1879, he went to Tongwen Guan to teach. In 1881, he became the chief editor of the North China Daily News . He was ambitious in the newspaper industry. When he saw a whole set of not-yet-used Chinese lead types in the office, he thought it was a waste of resources. So, he suggested the firm to start publishing. The publication was called Shanghai News at first, and it was then renamed since issue 73. Chinese people, Dai Pusheng and Cai Erkang, were employed as the chief editors of the Shanghai Daily News and Shen Bao . Regarding the content and the style, the North China Daily News had changed the monotony of the Chinese

Shipping List & Advertiser . It started to value opinions which were published in

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every issue. Its writers commented on current affairs and encouraged foreign trade. Its publishing objective was more or less the same as Shen Bao . On November 24, 1897, The Gossip (Xiaoxian bao 消閒報), regarded as the first supplement in China, was published along with the Shanghai Daily News . The Shanghai Daily News reported on a wide range of news including international

news, Shanghai news, and the information from other regions. Besides, the newspaper also assigned reporters to explore more information to expand the data pool. It even received news from Reuters which was a key feature of the newspaper. Its distinctive features and practice were incomparable with other newspapers’. Same as Shen Bao , The Shanghai Daily News was also printed on

maotai paper. On February 17, 1893, Shen Bao’s competitor News Daily emerged. It was first co-founded by both Chinese and foreign investors. Zhang Shuhe, a Chinese merchant, was one of the founders. Cai Erkan was the first chief editor, yet he left half a year later due to disagreement of opinions. Yuan Zuzhi and Sun Yusheng then became the chief editors in different times. The style the paper used and the printing of the News Daily were similar to other newspapers in Shanghai. Its price was the same as the Shanghai Daily News’s , reflecting that it would like to become a competitor of the other two newspapers. However, its financial support was not as much as Shen Bao’s and the Shanghai Daily News ’s. Therefore, A. W. Danforth, the newspaper owner, had a hard time running the business. Two years later, News Daily’s business performance was still unsatisfactory. Although opinions were included in every issue, the quantity of news was similar to that of Shen Bao and the Shanghai Daily News . It did not receive much feedback and was not able

to contribute much to the newspaper circle. It had only become a more important newspaper in a later stage. (It was generally believed that it was because John C. Ferguson had taken over.) Its privileges had not been fully formed at the beginning. At the same time, its business and its power were still developing. In 1893, its circulation number was only 300, only half of the Shen Bao ’s. Yet, a year later, the number had reached 3,000. Although there was still a long way to go to compete with the other two newspapers, it maintained its status when facing the strong competitors. The Chinese newspaper circle in Shanghai was dominated by Shen Bao , the News Daily , and the Shanghai Daily News . This phenomenon also showed that Shanghai had provided the commercial newspapers with more favorable factors. The two newspapers had experienced a hard time to survive; now three newspapers could find their own way to develop. At the same time, a more

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intense competition between newspapers had begun. Undoubtedly, it was only a beginning. The real competition had started after the First Sino-Japanese War, especially entering the twentieth century. This kind of competition was a mighty motivation to the newspaper development.

The Development of Religious Publications in Shanghai After the First Opium War, Shanghai had been taking the place of Guangzhou to become the major coastal city of China. Shanghai had also become the base for foreign missionaries to run newspapers.

The first missionary publication in Shanghai — Universal Miscellany On January 26, 1857, Universal Miscellany was officially issued in Shanghai. It was not only the first publication run by missionaries, but also the first Chinese publication in Shanghai. The chief editor of the Universal Miscellany was Alexander Wylie, a missionary

of the London Missionary Society. The London Missionary Society Mission Press, founded by Medhurst in Shanghai, was responsible for the printing process. It was issued on a monthly basis. Wylie was assigned to China in 1847. He handled the publishing of the Bible at the London Missionary Society Mission Press. The Universal Miscellany ’s articles were not only written by Wylie, other missionaries like William Muirhead, Alexander Williamson, and Joseph Edleins were contributors as well. Although the Universal Miscellany was published in Shanghai, Wylie was ambitious to enhance its influence to all over the world. Yet, Wylie’s ambition was not realized. The publication had only lasted for a year.

From Church News to The Globe Magazine In the 1860s and the 1870s, Christian missionary newspaper activities had stepped into a new era. During this period, the missionaries had issued many publications: Shanghai Miscellany (Zhongwai zazhi 中外雜誌 , 1862), Church News (Zhongguo jiaohui xinbao 中 國 教 會 新 報, 1868), Chinese Recorder ( Jiaowu zazhi 教 務 雜 誌, 1871), Bible News (Shengshu xinbao 聖書新報, 1871), Gospel News (Fuyin xinbao 福音新報, 1874), Child’s Paper (Xiaohai yuebao 小孩月報, 1875), A Miscellany of Useful Knowledge (Yizhi xinlu 益智新錄, 1876), Chinese Scientific Magazine (Gezhi huibian 格致匯編, 1876), etc.

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The publications founded by the Christian missionaries could be identified into

religious and non-religious ones. Chinese Recorder , Bible News , and Gospel News

were religious; and Shanghai Miscellany , A Miscellany of Useful Knowledge , and

Chinese Scientific Magazine were non-religious. Church News showed its uniqueness

among all the publications. It was renamed as The Globe Magazine (Wanguo

gongbao 萬 國 公 報) which had been transformed from a religious publication to a

non-religious one.

The Church News was first a religious newspaper. Its emergence was due to

the missions carried out by the foreign Christian missionaries. As the missionaries had gained the freedom of witnessing as stated in the Treaty of Tianjin and the

Conventions of Beijing, the development of their mission activities had been in

a stable progress. There were 31 foreign Christian missionaries in China in 1844. It increased to more than 100 in 1860. The number of Chinese followers had

increased from 6 to more than 2,000. In 1877, the number of missionaries reached 470. There were near 10,000 Chinese followers at that time. While the mission

activities had been developing rapidly, the Church News was officially released

on September 5, 1868 in Shanghai. It was a weekly published under the name of

Linhua College. It was printed by The American Presbyterian Mission Press in Shanghai. The founder was Young John Allen, a missionary from the American

Methodist Episcopal Church. It was aimed at advocating the faith, contacting followers, and conveying messages of the missions. Although the Church News

was edited, printed, and published in Shanghai, the founder intended to use the publications to stimulate the mission activities in China.

In the years after the debut of the Church News , the missionaries considered

the publishing of the newspaper as their important duty. It was a religious publication.

Different from the Chinese Scientific Magazine , The Globe Magazine was not a

publication introducing Western knowledge and technology. To be more specific, it was a news-oriented publication. It also published those articles about the

Western studies and culture like “Chemistry” (Gewu tanyuan 格 物 探 源) and “A Brief Introduction of Telegraphy” (Dianbao zhanlue 電報戰略).

The further development of Christian publications The Sino-French War in the mid 1880s was a turning point. The Christian

missionary newspapers had come to a new stage. In the 10 years when the SinoFrench War ended and the Hundred Days’ Reform failed, both religious and

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non-religious publications issued by the Christian missionaries were developed

unprecedentedly. The prosperity of the publishing activities also made Shanghai a key center for the missionaries to run newspapers. From the 1880s to the 1890s, a new batch of religious publications emerged in Shanghai: Chinese Christian

Review (Zhongxi jiaohui bao 中 西 教 會 報, 1891), Holy News (Shengjiao xinbao 聖

教 新 報, 1895), Christian Church News (Jidu jiaohui bao 基 督 教 會 報, 1896), Youth (Qingnian 青年, 1897), etc. Chinese Christian Review , published by the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese (SDCGK),

was the most influential one at that time. In February 1889, The Globe Magazine , which had ceased publishing for six years, had resumed publishing. In the spring of 1890, the Chinese Scientific

Magazine , which had ceased publishing for eight years, was on sale again.

The republishing of The Globe Magazine was to serve as the official newspaper

of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the

Chinese, the largest foreign publishing agency formed by Christian missionaries in November 1887.

In accordance with the founding document and the constitutions, SDCGK

treated the publications as the tactics to open the mind of Chinese people and to interfere in the politics of China. The republished The Globe Magazine actively

promoted aspects of Western civilization like politics and technology, at the same

time, it also grabbed the opportunity to propose different political suggestions and measures so as to achieve the goal of society. This was also the objective of the new The Globe Magazine . From the failure of the Hundred Days’ Reform to the First Sino-Japanese War, The Globe Magazine for more than 10 years was so

influential in both society and politics. Throughout the Hundred Days’ Reform, it was a valuable missionary publication.

The beginning of Catholic publications in China Catholicism was introduced to China much earlier than Christianity. It was directed by the Roman Catholic Church with a well-organized structure and

operation. On the other hand, the missionary activities were for attracting more followers. Compared with Christianity, Catholicism was less focused on the written-form sermons and promotions.

The Catholic newspaper-running activities in China began in the late 1870s. The first newspaper was in English — Hong Kong Catholic Register (Xianggang tianzhujiao jilubao 香港天主教紀錄報). It was founded in 1878 in Hong Kong, and was renamed as Catholic Register . The newspaper mainly reported the religious

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affairs and the news from different Catholic churches. It also commented on local events. The Society of Jesus, the largest Catholic sect in China, published Tiwen News

on March 16, 1879 in Xujiahui, Shanghai. It was the beginning of the Catholic Chinese publications in China. The newspaper was one-side printed with maotai paper. There were six pages in each issue. It was a bi-weekly and became a weekly in a later stage. Three years later, it was published on every Tuesday, until it was merged with Scientific Review (Gezhi xinbao 格致新報). The chief editor was Li Di, and Zuo Tao was invited as the chief writer assisting in the editorial work. Li Di was the first Chinese editor of the publication of the foreign church. Tiwen News was focused on current affairs and news. There were at most one to two pieces about the Catholic doctrine and the church figures. The wider readership also enhanced the influence of Catholicism to the society. On July 21, 1887, Sacred Heart News , another Catholic publication, was released in Shanghai. It was a monthly edited by Li Di. It mainly published the church affairs, so it was not as influential as the Tiwen News . Yet, it was the most long-lasting newspaper issued by the Shanghai Catholic Church. It only ceased publishing in May 1949. The characteristics of the early Catholic publications were as follows: (1) The publications were not so religious in nature. They were not aimed at advocating the doctrine, but enhancing the influence to the society. (2) They regarded France as their patron. The words “Great France” (Da faguo 大

法國) were even printed on the header of the newspapers to declare that the newspaper was run by the French church. (3) France was not strong enough at that time to influence the political events in China. Therefore, most of the publications did not have unique standpoints. They were just too conventional, parroting other newspapers. (4) Although they provided rich content about the Western scientific knowledge, the news and the critiques were not quite distinctive at all. So, they were not that influential and only had limited circulation. Yet, with the support from different churches, they could survive for a longer period of time.

The Expansion of Foreign Newspapers in Guangzhou, Beijing, Tianjin, and Other Regions The rebirth of foreign newspapers in Guangzhou Before the Opium War, Guangzhou was once the significant publishing center

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for foreigners. The missioners and the merchants had actively founded a large number of both Chinese and English publications. In the autumn of 1839, the

Sino-British relationship had become tenser. Many of these publications either ceased publishing or relocated to Macau, withdrawing from Guangzhou. Since the Opium War and the Treaty of Nanjing, the foreign newspaper activities in

Guangzhou had been revived. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, there had been

nine English publications and five Chinese publications (based on the current information). Macau came third in the whole country, while Shanghai and Hong Kong were the first two cities. The Chinese Repository was the first to be published. Founded in Guangzhou

in 1832, this English publication had been moved to Macau in the autumn of

1839. In October 1844, it was relocated to Hong Kong again. It returned back to Guangzhou in July 1845.

The relocation of the renowned Friend of China to Guangzhou was a

controversial event in the Hong Kong-Guangzhou newspaper circle. Tarront, the

chief editor, was famous for his straightforwardness and courage. In 1859, he was imprisoned by the British Hong Kong Government for libel. His Friend of China then ceased publishing on September 21 in Hong Kong. Apart from the Chinese Repository and the Friend of China , there were various

English newspapers in Guangzhou (most of them were dailies). They were

commercial in nature with many advertisements and shipping information. This feature was shown by their titles: Daily Advertiser (Meiri guanggao bao 每日廣告報),

Canton Daily Shipping News (Guanggao meiri hangyun xiaoxi 廣州每日航運消息), Canton Daily Advertiser (Guangzhou meiri guanggaobao 廣州每日廣告報), etc. Yet

they did not last long while the most lasting one could not last for more than three years. Some of the less lasting ones like Celestial Times (Zhonghua diguo shibao

中華帝國時報) had only been published for three months. The Chinese publications emerged in 1865 when the Chinese and Foreign Weekly and the Canton News (Guangzhou xinbao 廣州新報) made their debuts. They were regarded as the earliest weekly magazines in China. They were both run by foreign missionaries.

The Chinese and Foreign Weekly was published on February 2, 1865 by John

Chalmers, a missionary from the London Missionary Society. Chalmers was also the first editor as well. The two-page newspaper was divided into four columns

in which two columns were news reports. Sometimes there would be more. It was produced by woodblock printing. It covered a wide range of different topics including international news.

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The Canton News was published by John Glasgow Kerr, an American

missionary doctor. He arrived in Guangzhou in May 1854, and established a new hospital in 1863. Two years later, he founded the Canton News . This was a one-side printed one-square feet mini weekly. It was sold on the streets in Guangzhou. It was sold at half of the price of the Chinese and Foreign Weekly , yet

it ceased publishing in 1871. Kerr had also founded a monthly, Medical News (Xiyi xinbao 西醫新報), in 1884. In 1887, when he was the chairperson of the Medical

Missionary Society of China, he published the China Medical Missionary Journal ,

released in both Chinese and English editions. This publication was still a very significant supplement to medical research. Kerr even founded the Child’s Paper for children in Guangzhou in 1874, but it ceased publishing after a few issues.

Guangzhou was still active in the development of foreign newspapers in

China. Compared with the period before the Opium War, it was no longer that

dominant. In terms of the quantity, it fell back to third place which was still

considered influential. The key problem was there had not yet been a sustainable and influential newspaper. Until the days before the First Sino-Japanese War, no Chinese daily appeared in Guangzhou. Guangzhou could not compete with

Shanghai and Hong Kong, in terms of both Chinese and foreign publications. It was not as influential as Tianjin as well.

Missionary newspaper-publishing activities in Beijing The Qing imperial court imposed many restrictions on foreigners, so running a

newspaper was not an easy task for the foreigners. The situation had changed

since The Conventions of Beijing in 1860. More and more missionaries went to Beijing: W. W. Lockhart and John Shaw Burdon from Britain; Samuel Issac Joseph and W.A.P. Martin from America. They wanted to explore a new religious region.

In the winter of 1871, some of the foreigners in Beijing discussed the publishing

of Chinese newspapers. At that time, it was very challenging to produce a Chinese daily in Beijing. Their ambition could not come true until August 1872. SDUK had launched their own official monthly publication Peking Magazine (Zhongxi wenjianlu 中西聞見錄). It was the first modern Chinese publication in Beijing. However, it had only been published for three years in Beijing, it did not have much influence. The situation reflected the difficulty of publishing a modern newspaper in Beijing.

This publication had also announced a breakthrough — Foreigners could run newspapers in China. As the imperial court allowed the foreigners to enjoy the freedom of press, it meant that the whole of China was opened to them.

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The expansion of foreign newspapers in Tianjin Tianjin was the gate of the capital Beijing; it was a hub of communication of Northern China which had attracted many foreign colonialists. Before the Opium War, Tianjin had become the biggest smuggling port in the north for the foreign countries. Between 1860 and 1861, Britain, France, and the U.S. had set up their own concessions in Tianjin to control the customs. Many foreign merchants were attracted to Tianjin to expand their businesses. In the early years of Guangxu’s reign, more than 30 foreign firms were set up in Tianjin by Britain, the U.S., Russia, Germany, France, etc. Foreign publications emerged in Tianjin along with the increasing power of the foreign countries and the expansion in the north. Northern Post (Beifang youbao 北方郵報) was the first to emerge. It was published between 1880 and 1881. It mainly reported the statistics of trade customs. As the newspaper was not political in nature, it did not show much influence to the society. In 1886, Eastern Times (Shi bao 時報) in Chinese and China Times (Zhongguo

shibao 中國時報) in English were published, indicating the real beginning of the

activities of foreign publications in Tianjin (including the northern part of China). These two newspapers were published by the same newspaper office. It was widely believed that this newspaper office was subsidized by Jardine Matheson & Co. Ltd. in Tianjin, and supported by Gustar Detring (1842–1913), the Inspector of Maritime Customs Service in Tianjin. The Eastern Times in Chinese were closely related to Li Hongzhang, Viceroy of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang. Eastern Times

was a daily first published in August 1886. It was printed with a long sheet with the critique section on the top. Conducted by Timothy Richard,14 the Eastern Times had become a political newspaper. Its promotion echoed SDCGK’s The Globe Magazine , and it resumed publishing in 1889. China Times was an English Weekly, first published in November 1886. It was three months later than the Eastern Times . Its chief editor was Alexander Michie (1833–1902). Michie was a British citizen. He arrived in Tianjin to become a communications agent of London’s The Times in China . He had put much effort in editing this newspaper, and was regarded as one of the most talented editors of the foreign newspapers in China. Regarding the status of the newspaper, it was a top English newspaper run by foreigners in China. Both the China Times and the Eastern Times ceased publishing in 1891. The former ended in March 1891 due to its poor circulation. R. S. Britton claimed in the book, The Chinese Periodical Press , that China Times ended due to the retirement of Michie, yet it may not be the truth. In late

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June 1891, the Eastern Times had ceased publishing as Timothy Richard was assigned to the Shanghai branch of SDCGK. The properties of the newspaper office were purchased by William Bellingham’s Tianjin Printing Company. In March 1894, Tianjin Printing Company founded the most influential English newspaper in Northern China — Peking Tientsin Times ( Jingjin taiwushibao 京津泰

晤士報). William Bellingham was the manager and the chief editor. It was first a weekly and was changed to a daily in 1902. The newspaper confessed that it was a newspaper operated from the viewpoint of Britain. It was actually a mouthpiece of the municipal committee of the British concession in Tianjin. It followed the conventions of China Times and emphasized the news of Beijing, Tianjin, and other trading ports. It seldom published European news besides the major events. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, it was suppressed by Japan and would only cease publishing in 1941. Since it was strategic to run newspapers in Tianjin, the foreign journalists here were more experienced and talented. The newspapers were supported by many important foreigners in China. Some of them were even protected and subsidized by foreign governments, so the hardware of the newspaper offices was more topof-the-line. For example, the newspaper office of the Eastern Times possessed the top printing equipments in the publishing circle. The newspapers in Tianjin were developed at a later stage, so the number was not competitive. Yet, its rapid development had already exceeded Guangzhou’s, becoming the third in China.

Foreign newspapers in other regions in China A large number of Chinese and English also emerged in Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo, Yantai, Hankou, and other coastal cities. Fuzhou was one of the cities with the largest number of foreign newspapers. On the days before the First Sino-Japanese War, there had been more than 10 different kinds of Chinese and English publications. Fuzhou was transferred into a trading port since the Treaty of Nanjing. The earliest was Foochow Courier (Fuzhoufu chabao

福州府差報) founded in December 1858. It had only lasted for around a year. It was then followed by Foochow Advertiser (Fuzhou guanggaobao 福州廣告報) and Foochow Daily Advertiser and Shipping Gazette (Fuzhou meiri guanggao yu hangyunbao 福州 每日廣告與航運報). In 1873, the more influential Foochow Herald (Fuzhou jiebao

福州捷報) emerged. The manager was J. P. Macmahon and the chief editor was John Patrick. It was a weekly with Foochow Daily Advertiser (Fuzhou meiri guanggaobao 福州每日廣告報) as its supplement. The first two English newspapers were believed

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to be related to the Foochow Herald . In 1873, there was a newspaper with a longer history in Fuzhou — Foochow Daily Echo (Fuzhou meiri huishengbao 福州每日回 聲報). Its founder and chief editor was D. Rosario. It was still published after after the People’s Republic of China had been established. Chinese publications had only appeared in Fuzhou at a later stage. The first one was Chinese Reader (Zhongguo duzhe 中國讀者) published by missionaries in 1868. It

mainly introduced religious, scientific, and cultural knowledge. This monthly was then relocated to Shanghai. In 1874, Mr. and Mrs. Nathan J. Plumb had founded the Child’s Paper and Zion Herald (Xunshan shizhebao 郇山使者報), respectively. Around 1876, there were other church publications like Gospel News and Peking Magazine . Besides, missionaries had produced a Fukien publication, Church Messenger ( Jiaohui shizhe 教 會 使 者 ), in Fuzhou with the use of Latin phonetic symbols. The first English newspaper in Xiamen, Amoy Shipping Report (Xiamen hangyun baodao 廈門航運報道), was published in 1872. It was then restructured and renamed as Amoy Gazette and Shipping Report (Xiamen gongbao he hangyun

baodao 廈門公報和航運報道) in 1878. The post of chief editor was once served by

A.A. Marcal and J. F. Marcal. It was still published after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Amoy Times and Mercantile (Xiamen shishi shangye bao 廈 門 時 事 商 業 報) also appeared in 1891. The manager and the chief editor

was W. J. Allen. The first Chinese publication in Xiamen emerged in 1886. It was Amoy News (Xiamen xinbao 廈門新報) founded by C. Budd. This monthly reported

current affairs and church news, and was written in Fukien dialect, yet it had ceased publishing after a few issues. Foreign publications were not found in Ningbo, but there had been Chinese ones since the very early days. The first one was Chinese and Foreign Gazette (Zhongwai xinbao 中外新報) founded in 1854. It was the third Chinese newspaper in China since the war. This four-page newspaper was a bi-weekly. It mainly published local news, as well as China and international news. Some materials from the capital gazette were also selected. At the same time, it also published the content related to religion, science, and literature. It had ceased publishing since the fourth volume (one volume a year) in 1857. In February 1881, Ningpo News (Yong bao 甬報) had made its debut. This monthly, with eight pages in each issue,

was another modern newspaper in Ningpo. It was circulated in the southeastern cities, Beijing and Tianjin. It ceased publishing in 1882. The earliest publication in Hankou was an English commercial newspaper, Hankow Times (Hankou shibao 漢口時報). F.W. Thomson was both the publisher

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and the manager. He also published another commercial English newspaper covering business news. That newspaper was also recognized by many journalists as well. The materials had been cited usually, but it was ended in 1868. For Chinese publications, the foreigners had put much effort in publishing a daily from 1870 to 1880. In 1874, P. Rhodes founded Hankow Daily (Hangao ribao 漢皋 日報). The Christian church published Zhaowen News (Zhaowen ribao 昭文日報) in 1880. These two newspapers had only last for a short period of time. Hankow News (Zilin hanbao 字林漢報), a daily founded by the British Chinese in 1893, was a more influential one. The Chinese journals were run by foreign missionaries at the beginning. Religious News (Tandao xinbian 談道新編), a monthly published by the London Missionary Society in 1872. The editors were Shen Zixing and Yang Jiantang, who were Chinese.15 It ceased publishing in 1876. The missionaries had also founded Wuhan News (Wuhan jinshibian 武漢近事編) in May 1883. In February 1887, it was renamed as Yiwen Monthly News (Yiwen yuebao 益 文 月 報 ). It was produced by woodblock printing with 30 pages in each issue. It was focused on introducing the knowledge on natural science and reporting current affairs and literary works. Yang Jiantang was still in charge of the editorial process. Besides, in 1885, the missionaries had even founded the magazine Church News (Jiaohui xinwen 教 會 新 聞 ) written in local dialect in Taiwan. In 1889, they published the monthly Teochew News (Chaohui huibao 潮惠會報) in Shantou, and Church Advocate (Hujiao zhe 護教者) in Jiujiang. In 1894, H. Sietas, British merchant, founded Chefoo Express (Zhifou kuaibao 芝罘快報) written in English, yet it ceased publishing in 1902. There were a total of around 30 kinds of publications in the eight regions mentioned above. Two-thirds of them were in Chinese, while others were English publications. These publications, generally, did not last long with limited circulation. Therefore, they were not competitive with the major newspapers in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tianjin.

The Early Journalistic Ideology of Foreign Newspapers and the Newspaper Business The discussions on “news” and “newspaper” The term “news” (xinwen 新聞) can be found in the historical documents of China, yet its popularity only occurred after the emergence of modern Chinese publications. In 1828, the first Chinese newspaper labeled with the term “news” — Universal

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Gazette (Tianxia xinwen 天下新聞) — was published in Malacca. Founded in 1833,

the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine was published with the column “News.”

Since then, “news” had become a common term in Chinese newspapers and other publications.

The “newspaper” (baozhi 報 紙) was once called “xinwen zhi 新 聞 紙” when modern newspapers started emerging in China. It can be traced from the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine . This form of address was then accepted by the Chinese. During the Opium War, when Lin Zexu was organizing the translated foreign newspapers, he used the term “xinwen zhi .” This form of address had

become popular after the Opium War. Since the mid-1850s, people started to use “xinbao 新報” (literally meaning “new newspaper”) to refer to modern newspapers. It

was used to distinguish the difference between the modern ones and the traditional “imperial gazettes.” The use of the term “xinbao ” in the title of newspaper had

gained its popularity such as Chinese and Foreign Gazette (Zhongwai xinbao ), Shanghai Shinpo (Shanghai xinbao ), Canton News (Guangzhou xinbao ), Church News (Zhongguo jiaohui xinbao ), Amoy News (Xiamen xinbao ), etc.

The organization of newspaper offices Newspaper office (bao guan 報館) was once called “news office” (xinwen guan 新聞 館 / xinwen zhi guan 新聞紙館). It was also called “newspaper bureau” (xinwen zhi

ju 新聞紙局 / bao ju 報局). The term “newspaper office” started to gain its popularity

since the 1870s. It had been widely accepted before the Hundred Days’ Reform.

Both Chinese and foreign newspaper offices were small-scale ones at the

beginning, and the organizations were simple. Before the Opium War, there was only one editor in each foreign newspaper office in Guangzhou. The editor was

not only responsible for the editorial works of the whole newspaper, but also had to attend some news events sometimes. There were a few general staff members

to handle some daily miscellaneous duties. Most of the newspapers only had limited capital. The largest English newspaper office in Guangzhou, Canton

Register Office, only had 2,000 dollars of capital. It did not own a private printing

house. The Chinese newspaper offices were much simpler. They mainly published monthly publications for the missionaries. The publishing unit was usually at

the church. There was always only one editor who was not fulltime. For instance, William Milne, the editor of the Chinese Monthly Magazine , was the editor of another English monthly. He was also the principal of Ying Wa College. Editing the Chinese Monthly Magazine was not his first priority.

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The Chinese newspapers published by foreigners in China appeared after the Opium War. Many of them were published by English newspaper offices at the beginning such as Shanghai Shinpo, Hong Kong Foreign New Post , Chinese Mail , etc. The most representative one was Shen Bao Office. Printing industry was closely related to publishing business. The first Christian printing base for the China market was set up in Malacca. It was established in 1815, capable of producing publications in Chinese, English, and Malay. Chinese Monthly Magazine and the English edition of Indo-China News (Yindu zhina huibao 印度支那匯報) were printed in this base.

After the Opium War, Ying Wa College was relocated from Malacca to Hong Kong in 1844, becoming the first printing house with Chinese movabletype printing equipments in China. Joshua Marshman and Samuel Dyer, the major contributors to Chinese movable-type printing, went to Hong Kong from Southeast Asia at that time. They also brought along their research result. They were both British Christian missionaries. Dyer even had a close relationship with Ying Wa College. The Chinese movable-type printing equipment at Ying Wa College were their contributions. The college had founded the first Chinese publications printed with movable type — Chinese Serial . Polyautography was introduced to Shanghai in the 1870s. Tushanwan Press, established by Shanghai Catholic Church, set up a polyautography department in 1874. The owner of Shen Bao Office, Major, opened Dianshizhai Press which published the first pictorial in China — Dianshi Studio Illustrated .

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Chapter

The Beginning of the Chinese Publishing Newspapers

A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 1

Since the two Opium Wars, there has been a rapid development of the capitalist economy in China. Western culture and ideology continued to influence China to form a favorable environment for the Chinese people to publish modern publications. The Self-Strengthening Movement and the social demand for reform had directly motivated Chinese people to create their own modern publications. During the First Opium War, some Chinese activists were conscious of the functions of modern publications. Since the 1850s, Chinese people had attempted to publish their own newspapers. In the early 1870s, the Chinese-run newspapers emerged in Hankou, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, etc (appeared earlier overseas). The publishers were Westernization reformists, merchants, and the scholar-reformists. The emergence of these newspapers was due to serious national conflicts and social crises. They had expressed their opposition to the foreign invasions and the eagerness for social progress. However, the newspapers were suppressed by the local governments and the foreign power, causing ups and downs in the development.

Newspaper Translation Activities Organized by Lin Zexu The background of newspaper translation activities organized by Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan In the early nineteenth century, foreigners had introduced the newspaper, an advanced news medium, to China. However, the Chinese people at that time did not realize it was important to publish their own publications by following the foreign publishing system. They were even contemptuous of this news medium. Lin Zexu, a senior official of the Qing government, was the first in China to value modern publications. Yet, he was not considering to run a newspaper at first, but to translate newspapers. He transformed the foreign “invasion weapons” into his own tactics. He decided to use the information provided by foreign newspapers to tackle foreign invaders. In 1838, Lin was promoted as the imperial commissioner to suppress opium. He arrived in Guangzhou on March 10, 1839. The fatuous and arrogant Qing imperial court was so ignorant of other parts of the world. They did not understand the British invaders. Lin had been concentrating on research on developing the country in his early years. He was one of the open-minded and conscious officials in the imperial court. He knew that suppressing the opium trade was a very important and challenging mission. His strong anti-Britain

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determination and nationalism had motivated him to make a breakthrough to traditional ideas. He understood that he should be more open-minded and regard the understanding of the foreign countries as his urgent task. Once he entered Guangzhou, he assigned his subordinates to collect different kinds of foreign publications published in Macau. He selected top translators to translate the newspapers. He adopted newspaper translating to know more about the enemies. It was a pioneering work in the history of China. The translation team mainly translated the current affairs items related to politics, military, trade between China and other countries, etc. To meet the need of the anti-Britain struggle, it was understandable for the team to translate these topics. The deeper the understanding, the richer the content, so he began to be alert to the basic situation of some Western countries. Lin had widened his horizon after his arrival in Guangzhou. He treated “understanding the foreign countries” as his lifelong and strategic goal. This had motivated him to translate Gazetteer of the Four Continents (Sizhou zhi 四洲志) and Foreigners about China (Huashi yiyan 華事夷言).

Wei Yuan, further developed the newspaper translation activities of Lin Zexu, advocated reformism to the country when he was young. He was a good friend of Lin. He had participated in the Zhedong Anti-Britain Dispute in 1841. In August, he met Lin Zexu in Zhenjiang. Lin asked for his help to publish his Gazetteer of

the Four Continents and other materials about foreign countries. Wei finished the

renowned book, Gazetteer of the Maritime Countries (Haiguo tuzhi 海國圖志), based on these translated materials and other documents. He proposed the viewpoint of “acquiring foreign technology to compete with foreigners” (shi yi zhi chang ji yi zhi

yi 師夷之長技以制夷), enriching Lin’s idea of “understanding foreigners.” At the

same time, newspaper translation organized by Wei Yuan had been developing based on Lin’s idea. Same as Lin Zexu, Wei Yuan stressed foreign newspapers. In the Gazetteer of the Maritime Countries, he distinguished a special column for

translated foreign newspapers. The ideas of Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan had become enlightenment for later development.

Newspaper translators Once Lin Zexu arrived in Guangzhou, he started the translation works for newspapers and books. Finding translators was his first challenge. There was no such human resource in the imperial court. Although there were Chinese Interpreter-clerks at Guangzhou customs and the Thirteen Guilds, they only had a little bit of commercial knowledge, limiting cultural accomplishment. It was

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difficult for them to handle such a heavy responsibility for translating foreign newspapers and books. Lin sent invitations via different channels; he had finally formed a large translation team and started the project immediately. It is hard to trace back the details of the translators nowadays. What follows is the basic information of four of the team members: •• Yuan Dehui His original family was from Sichuan. He had studied at a school organized by the Roman Catholic Church in Penang Island. He studied Latin. •• Liang Jinde He was born in 1820 and he came from Guangdong. He was a craftsman at the London Missionary Society. He was the son of Liang Fa, the first Chinese Christian missionary. •• A Lin His name was transliterated as Liaou Ahsee. His English name was William Botelho. He was then employed as a translator by Lin Zexu. •• A Meng His father was Chinese while his mother was from Bangladesh. He had studied at a church school for more than 10 years in India. Some foreign missionaries and merchants were also in the translation team. Lin invited them to translate, proofread, and provide information. Most of them were Americans such as Peter Parker and S.R. Brown, missionaries, and William C. Hunter from Russell & Co. In November 1840, Lin Zexu was dismissed by Emperor Daoguang. Qi Shan became his successor. Lin’s translation team was then dismissed.

Canton Press and Chinese Repository Some of Lin’s translated materials are well-preserved, including the famous Canton Press (Aomen xinwenzhi 澳門新聞紙) and Chinese Repository (Aomen yuebao 澳門月報),

providing valuable sources for the research on the history of journalism in China. Six volumes of the Canton Press can be found nowadays, including the one dated July 16, 1838. Others are from the period between July 23, 1839 and November 7, 1840, lasting for a year and three months. Lin Zexu was officially dismissed on October 3, 1840. The dates showed that the translation work had been continued for more than one month after his dismissal. The translated news pieces in these six volumes were quite complete, but not the whole picture. A few pieces in the Canton Press were translated from the newspapers in

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London, Mumbai, Bangladesh, Singapore, etc. Others were from the two English newspapers, originated in Guangzhou and relocated to Macau in the summer of 1839. One was the Canton Press published on Saturdays, and the other was the Canton Register published on Tuesdays. The six volumes of the Canton Press were

the compilation of Lin’s translated materials. They were edited and organized by his successors. Lin Zexu participated in newspaper translation for intelligence purposes. The Chinese Repository can be found in Wei Yuan’s Gazetteer of the Maritime

Countries , translated by Lin Zexu. The translations were based on the materials in

the Canton Press . As it had to be passed to Emperor Daoguang, it might be edited by Lin himself (or under his supervision). Lin Zexu’s newspaper translation was the first time Chinese people were in contact with modern newspapers. It was the first time for Chinese people to use these to serve themselves. However, Lin just made use of the newspapers for intelligence exchange. He still did not develop the function of communication into full play to push his own career, so he could only translate newspapers but not run a newspaper. At that time, undoubtedly, Chinese people had not yet created an environment to publish their own modern newspapers.

Newspaper Publishing Strategy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Written propaganda of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was the largest and the latest peasants’ rebellion in modern Chinese history. Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, had learned propaganda from some foreign missionaries. He used written words at the beginning of the reform. In 1836, he read Lasting Stories to Awaken the World , written by the missioner Liang Fa. He made use of the Western religious figure, Heavenly God, and the early Christian doctrine to enhance the power for peasants’ rebellion, founding the God-worshipping Society. Hong had written various booklets to convey his message, including A Song on the Origin of Tao and Salvation (Yuandao jiushige 原道救世歌), Original Way to Awake the World (Yuandao xingshixun 原道醒世訓), Original Way to Make the World Realize (Yuandao jueshixun 原道覺世訓).

He used simple words to promote the Society in order to attract more followers, preparing for an armed uprising. The doctrine of the God-worshipping Society

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was different from that of Western Christianity. It was the reformist principle of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In the early stage, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom often paid a higher price to collect the capital gazettes published in Beijing for military use. They even gathered both local and foreign news from the foreigners in China to get the intelligence about the enemies. According to the current information, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had not run any newspaper or publication to promote the reformist objective and to conduct the uprising activities based in Tianjing. Their written form of propaganda was somehow inferior to the armed uprising activities. In 1903, Zhang Taiyan concluded in his foreword in Zou Rong’s “Revolutionary Army” (Geming jun 革命軍) that the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was due to their neglect of promotional works.

Hong Rengan’s suggestion of the establishment of a news office and provincial news officers Hong Rengan proposed to set up news offices and to assign provincial news officers in 1859, the later stage of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. His suggestion was one of the important parts of “New Thesis of Economics and Politics” (Zizheng

xinbian 資政新篇), a comprehensive political program proposed to Hong Xiuquan

when he arrived in Tianjing. Hong Rengan (1822–1864) was born in Hua County, Guangdong. He was also a family member of Hong Xiuquan. He was one of the earliest participants of the God-worshipping Society. He could not participate in the 1815 Jintian Uprising due to various reasons. Later, he joined Hong Xiuquan again in Guangxi. As the Taiping Armies had been transferred to other regions, he returned to Guangdong to prepare for the uprising. Once the uprising failed, he escaped to Hong Kong and taught in the home of a foreign missionary. He had expressed his viewpoints on journalism: (1) A newspaper was a tool to maintain central authority and to strengthen the power of governance of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He expected that newspapers could be used as a medium to enhance the communication between the central government and local authorities so as to facilitate the information flow within the whole Kingdom. (2) He considered newspapers a tactic to realize democracy. He advocated the use of a newspaper to enhance the communication between the central authority and the general public in the policy-making process.

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(3) He believed a newspaper could educate the public and change the culture so as to alter the social environment. (4) He believed that a newspaper could be a political monitor. In other words, a newspaper could supervise the local governments and officials in order to strengthen the central authority. To guarantee this function, he also emphasized the comparative independence of the news officers. Hong Rengan’s suggestions of journalism in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were generally agreed to by Hong Xiuquan.

The importance of Hong Rengan’s suggestions and the reasons for the failure “New Thesis of Economics and Politics” was Hong Rengan’s reform strategy for the declining Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It was a significant proposal on both political and ideological aspects at that time. As the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had come to a downfall rapidly, the journalistic theory proposed by Hong Rengan could not be realized. Tianjing had entered the dark era since the fifth year after the release of New Thesis of Economics and Politics. Hong Xiuquan committed suicide, and Hong Rengan was captured when he was protecting the young leader of the Kingdom. In November 1864, he also committed suicide in Nanchang. Generally speaking, limited by the environment, Hong Regan’s journalistic and political ideas were not compatible with the development of China at that time. It was difficult for his ambition to come true in the unstable era. In fact, it might not be successful even if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could rule the whole country.

The Publications Operated by Chinese People Before the First Sino-Japanese War The earliest publications published by Chinese people Since the 1860s, there had been a rapid development of the capitalist economy in China. China had much more connections with other foreign countries. In the Tongzhi Restoration, the social conflicts in China became more and more serious, arousing the eagerness to reform. All the factors had motivated Chinese people to run their own newspapers. Foreigners had been publishing Chinese publications for half a century. The system and the knowledge of running modern newspapers had been introduced

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in China. Moreover, a group of scholars were invited to participate in the editorial works of foreign newspapers in the 1860s. The rich experience had created the essential favorable factors for Chinese people to found their own newspapers. Finally, Chinese people ran their own newspapers in the 1870s. The first one should be the Chinese Mail . Although this newspaper was not considered to be fully owned by Chinese people, it was a milestone of the newspaper circle in China. Its original was the Chinese edition of the China Mail — Chinese and Foreign Weekly . It was renamed as the Chinese Mail in April 6,

1872, becoming an independent Chinese newspaper. Chen Aiting, the chief editor of the Chinese and Foreign Weekly , was responsible for the editorial duties. It was still published by The China Mail Office. The nature of this newspaper had been introduced in the China Mail . Chinese people could enjoy the freedom to organize different materials and could have a say on the content. The owner of The China Mail Office could not interfere in the process. The power of the Chinese people had already exceeded the general duties of a chief editor. It was still a myth if the Chinese Mail was the first newspaper run by Chinese people. Yet it was a turning point for the Chinese people to run their own newspapers. This newspaper was closer to the goal. To a certain extent, it was a pioneer of Chinese-run newspapers. The relationship between the Hong Kong Chinese and Foreign Gazette and the Daily Press was also like that. The Hong Kong Chinese and Foreign Gazette was fully run by Chinese people, had no relationship with the Daily Press Office. In a word, there was not enough evidence to support the Hong Kong Chinese and Foreign Gazette was founded by the Chinese, although this newspaper was edited

by Chinese people and had a close relationship with the academic sector in China. The Chinese Mail and the Hong Kong Chinese and Foreign Gazette were fully controlled by the Chinese in the 1890s, just before the First Sino-Japanese War. The two newspapers had been publishing for quite a few years. The first newspaper founded by Chinese people was probably Zhaowen News (Zhaowen xinbao 昭文新報), published in Hankou. It made its debut in August 1873. The founder was Ai Xiaomei. The Hong Kong and Shanghai styles were adopted

in this newspaper. It was printed on bailu paper. It was first a daily, yet with disappointed circulation, it was then published every five days and was compiled into a book in the next three months. However, the readership was still limited and it had soon ceased publishing. The original of this newspaper cannot be found nowadays. In accordance with Shen Bao , it was profit-making and not very classy at all. The value of the Zhaowen News was that it proved Chinese people’s attempt to run their own newspapers. This newspaper indicated a new era of the Chinese newspapers. 1

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The Cycle edited by Wang Tao and other Chinese-run newspapers Among the first batch of Chinese-run newspapers, the most influential one with the longest history was The Cycle , edited by Wang Tao in Hong Kong. This

newspaper was organized by the Chinese General Printing Office (founded by Wang Tao, Huang Pingfu, Wen Qingxi, etc.). It was first published on February 4, 1874 with Wang Tao as the chief writer.

Wang Tao (1828–1897) was born in Wu County, Jiangsu (Suzhou nowadays). He

had been receiving cultural education in his hometown before the age of 22. With rich knowledge in literature and history, he was awarded as Xiucai when he was 18. In

1862, he was accused of writing to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so he escaped to Hong Kong. He also changed his name from “Han 瀚” to “Tao

” Once he arrived in

Hong Kong, he assisted the British missionary, James Legge, to translate classics

and scriptures. In the winter of 1867, he was invited by Legge to go to Britain to continue the translation projects. He had stayed in Britain for three years and had

been to France two times. He returned to Hong Kong in 1870. In the next 10 years in Hong Kong, he had gained much understanding of the Western literature and political environment, equipping him to run a newspaper. The conflicts of the

Self-Strengthening Movement and the national crises had enhanced his eagerness to take reform. These factors had motivated him to become a great journalist.

Once Wang Tao returned to Hong Kong, he and Huang Pingfu had purchased

the printing equipments from Ying Wa College to form the Chinese General Printing Office. They founded The Cycle in the year after. Before the launch of the

newspaper (May 1873), Huang Pingfu left Hong Kong to go to the U.S. Therefore, the newspaper was operated by Wang Tao. The Cycle was aimed at providing

information of the Western advanced technology to enhance Chinese culture to resist the foreign invasion. It was to advocate patriotism. The Cycle stressed

learning Western culture to tackle the problems in China. The newspaper included the translation of the Western scientific materials. The collection provided a

valuable source to understand the foreign culture and customs. By learning those

strengths, Chinese people could open their horizon to reform the society. As a newspaper fully run by Chinese people, The Cycle defended the Chinese interests. The newspaper consisted of two-side printed four pages. It was published on a daily basis (excluding Sundays). The yearly subscription fee was five taels of silver, while half a tael of silver for a month.

In the year after it ceased publishing, the important current affairs were

compiled into a book. It was a monthly, priced at one tael of silver. It had only lasted for a year due to disappointing circulation. In 1878, it provided delivery

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service to enhance its competitiveness. It offered evening delivery as well, becoming the first evening newspaper in Hong Kong. Four years later, it was resumed as a morning newspaper. Critique is a perfect indicator to represent the objective and the principle of a newspaper. The Cycle published a piece of argumentative essay in each issue of the Chinese and Foreign Weekly . Sometimes, there were two to three pieces. The content was mainly about the political events in China and in foreign countries. It extensively revealed the ambitions of Russia, Japan, Britain, and France invading China. It conveyed the message that all Chinese people should be united to resist the foreign invasion. The articles also uncovered the disturbing issues of the overseas Chinese laborers, criticizing the foreign environment full of discrimination. Some of the articles were also discussions on the new strategies to strengthen China. It was believed that to resist the foreign power, the Chinese people should first strengthen themselves. The contributors of the articles had proposed a series of measures: building military vessels, producing weapons, training armies, stabilizing the territory’s defense, constructing railways, setting up electricity, opening mines, improving agriculture, selecting real talents, promoting trade, understanding foreign culture, advocating law and order, etc. The articles were also focused on the shortcomings of the structure of the government and the bureaucratic system. The advocators supported that the mines should be operated by merchants. Human resources were important to the management of foreign issues, so The Cycle promoted the restructure of the imperial examination system. The articles also united the general public and the government, showing its concern about the conflicts between the officials and the general public. The Cycle had systematically promoted the idea of strengthening China to combat with the foreign power via these critiques. It not only criticized the conservative party, but also revealed the chaos and the shortcomings of the SelfStrengthening Movement. In 10 years, it had promoted the message of reform and had motivated the society. Its contribution was unprecedented, becoming an outstanding newspaper renowned for its political comments. On the other hand, what The Cycle proposed was also limited. The new strategies were still the “Sunday School truths.” It did not mention much on the government structure itself. Since its debut, Wang Tao had been the chief writer for 10 years. His assistants included Qian Xinbo (became Wang Tao’s son-in-law later), Hong Ganfu (Xiucai in Guangdong). Since 1879, Hu Liyuan had served the newspaper. In the first few years, Wang Tao had devoted much time and effort,

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but his passion had faded soon. In 1876, he transferred the duties of the chief writer to Hong Ganfu. He did only the confirmation work before the release of the newspaper. He mainly focused on his own works. According to the current materials, Wang Tao’s publishing objective and political standpoint could be reflected in The Cycle , but there was still room for conservation. For example, The Cycle promoted the importance of citizens and uncovered the shortcomings of the imperial examination system in the Qing Dynasty. Wang Tao had shown his appreciation towards the Western congress system, especially the British Constitutional monarchy, in his own books. At the same time, he criticized the autocratic monarchy in his own articles. However, these viewpoints were not reflected in The Cycle . The Cycle had gained popularity in the society, and its articles were often

cited in both China’s and overseas publications. It was regarded as a pioneer of political newspapers in China. In the time when Wang Tao left Hong Kong, the equipment and the printing technique had been improved. The business had been progressing as well. However, as the newspaper became conservative, its influence had dropped. Wang Tao had stayed in Shanghai, and supervised Foochow College. He even opened Taoyuan Bookstore and had articles published in Shen Bao and The Globe Magazine . He passed away in 1897. Apart from The Cycle , Chinese people also published Reform Daily (Weixin ribao 維新日報) and Yue Bao (粵報) in Hong Kong. Reform Daily was founded in 1880 by Lu Jichun. He once worked with Noronha Printing House to publish the Hong Kong News . However, he had left due to disappointing cooperation. He established the Reform Daily on his own. The style and the layout of the newspaper were the same as that of The Cycle . It consisted of four pages. The second page was also the news section, divided into three columns. Other pages were current commodities prices, advertisements, etc. The Sino-French War had broken out as soon as the newspaper had been issued. The newspaper supported the anti-France struggle. It reported the news about the victory, so it was popular. Liu Shaoyun took over the newspaper and renamed it as National Daily (Guomin ribao 國民日報) in the year after. It ceased publishing in 1912. Yue Bao was founded in 1885 by Luo Heming, a comprador of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. He opened a newspaper office and a printing house as well. The capital was 30,000 dollars, but it had been used up within a year. Then Luo Jingzhi purchased the copyright and continued publishing. The newspaper was stopped again four years later. The original of this newspaper cannot be found, so it is difficult to give much analysis.

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Narrative Post and Guang Bao in Guangzhou The Chinese-run newspapers in Guangzhou emerged 10 years later than those in

Hankou, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Guangzhou was once the only trading port in China; it was a communications hub with other countries. After the Opium

War, it was still an important commercial city with rapid development in both industries and the commercial circle. It was also a human resource; many talented journalists in Hong Kong and Shanghai were from Guangzhou. The Chinese-

run newspapers only appeared at a later stage because Guangzhou is near Hong Kong. The newspapers in Hong Kong also targeted Guangzhou people as

their readers. It was convenient to send the newspapers to Guangzhou as well. Therefore, there was no urge to run a newspaper in Guangzhou.

The newspaper publishing activities emerged in Guangzhou since the SinoFrench War, and the more influential ones were Narrative Post ( Shu bao 述報) and

Guang Bao (廣報).

Narrative Post was founded on April 18, 1884. It was a newspaper printed

with polyautography technique. It was bound into a booklet form. Its size was (L) 23.5 centimeters × (W) 13.5 centimeters. There were 23 lines per page, 48 words

per line. It was single-side printed on sailian paper by Haimolou Polyautography Press in Guangzhou. In “The Background of the Narrative Post,” an article in the

debut issue of the Narrative Post , it was claimed that the Narrative Post was a

breakthrough for the daily newspapers. It was exactly the case with the following features:

(1) The Narrative Post was the earliest daily newspaper printed with polyautography

technique. The polyautography technique was introduced to China from Europe. In fact, Countries News , a Chinese publication issued in Guangzhou in 1837, was the first newspaper printed with this technique. It was a monthly instead of a daily.

In 1844, Shen Bao’s Dianshi Studio Printing House used polyautography to publish the Dianshi Studio Illustrated . It was only a 10-day supplement to Shen Bao . The Narrative Post was the first independent daily with news and

critiques printed with polyautography technique. (2) The Narrative Post was the first daily in Guangzhou run by Chinese people. It

was issued two years earlier than Guang Bao , the daily misunderstood as the

earliest in Guangzhou. (3) The Narrative Post considered the importance of news pictures. Since its debut issue, pictures were included along with the written content. One or more

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pictures were published in the news section and the critique section to help the readers understand the news. The Narrative Post also selected valuable and significant pieces from both Chinese and foreign publications. Although this practice was not considered a breakthrough in the newspaper circle, it had become a feature of the newspaper. The publishing period of the Narrative Post was also the time of the First Indochina War and the Sino-French War. Therefore, 70 percent of the news pieces were the information and the critiques of the wars. It reported the battle between Liu Yongfu’s Black Flag Haw and the French army; the French army’s invasions in Guangxi, Ningbo, Taiwan; the Naval Battle of Mawei; the negotiation after the war, etc. It included comprehensive coverage of the whole war including the processes, war reports, government strategies, reactions of the general public, etc. The Narrative Post’s critiques were prescient and accurate. The news pieces served as a great source for the research on the Sino-French War. In its second year, the Narrative Post tried to revolutionize the style, but it ceased publishing on April 3, 1885 due to various reasons. One year later, on June 24, 1886, the second Chinese daily, Guang Bao , was published in Guangzhou. Its publishing office was established in Hualingli named Guang Bao Office (Guang bao ju 廣報局). The founder was Kuang Qizhao. The chief writers were Wu Taiyou and Lin Hanying; the writers were Xiao Zhupeng and Luo Peiqiong. Two years later, Lao Baosheng took over the duties as the chief writer. Wu Zitao was the writer. The editor was Zhu He, and Xiong Zhangqing was the successor. The layout of Guang Bao followed that of Shen Bao . The two Chinese characters “Guang Bao” (廣報) were put on the top central position. The issue date, publisher’s address, and distribution locations were on the left and the right of the title. There was also an invitation notice for manuscript submission. There was a slogan under the title — “Respecting and treasuring the words and papers was a virtue” ( jingxi

zizhi, gongde wuliang 敬惜字紙，功德無量). The middle and the bottom parts were

divided into different columns: The first column was a weather report; the second column was the content section; the third column was for advertisements; the fourth column was for news reports. At the beginning, most of its content was selected from the capital gazettes. The content was restructured later including different sections such as critiques, provincial news, China news, and international news. There were also imperial news stories, “yuanmen” (Qing government) news, and current prices. Guang Bao was available in many different places. Apart from Guangzhou, Guang Bao was also sold in Foshan, Xinan, Daliang, Chencun, Jiangmen Xinhui,

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Xiangshan, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Wuzhou, etc. It was also available overseas in places such as Singapore, Vietnam, San Francisco, the Philippines, etc. In 1891, Guang Bao published the memorial on impeaching an official, arousing

the anger of Li Hanzhang, the Viceroy of Liangguang. Then Li ordered Panyu and Nanhai to forbid Guang Bao . After the inspection, Kuang Qizhao relocated the newspaper office to the Shamian Concession, and it was renamed as Chinese

Daily Paper (Zhongxi ribao 中西日報) to continue publishing. The layout was larger

than that of Guang Bao . In 1895, Sun Yat-sen and Yang Quyun were planning their uprising in Guangzhou, and Chinese Daily Paper also reported this event to gain its popularity. In 1900, it published the victory of the Boxer Rebellion and the

failure of the Eight-Nation Alliance. Then Britain, France, and other nations forced Guangdong to inspect the newspaper. In the winter, the Chinese Daily Paper was

renamed as Yueqiao News (Yueqiao jiwen 越嶠紀聞). Yet it ceased publishing duo to several limitations. When Guang Bao was inspected, Lingnan News (Lingnan ribao 嶺南日報) was published at the same time with the Chinese and Western Daily . Lao Baosheng and Wu Zitao were in charge of the newspaper, and Zhu He was the chief writer. Its editorial objective was the same as Guang Bao ’s and the Chinese and Western

Daily ’s. It ceased publishing in 1897.

Guang Bao had been inspected and renamed many times to strive for

publishing opportunities. It reflected that the bourgeoisie in China kept using the news media to fight for their political status and financial interests.

Hui Bao and Xin Bao in Shanghai Shanghai was another important publishing center of Chinese-run newspapers. Since the Second Opium War, Shanghai had expanded its economic connection

with other cities in China. It was not only a hub for internal trade, but also the most significant center for foreign trade. Since the rise of the Self-

Strengthening Movement in the 1860s, the foreign activities in Shanghai were

getting more frequent. The enterprises with a capitalist nature, including the government-owned, the governmemt-private-owned, and the private-owned,

also mushroomed in Shanghai. These factors created a perfect environment for Chinese people to start newspapers in Shanghai.

The first Chinese-run newspaper in Shanghai was Hui Bao ( 匯報 ), published on June 16, 1874 (five months later than The Cycle ). Rong Hong was the organizer.

In 1872, he became the director of the American mission. He prepared for this

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newspaper when he returned to China for a short period of time. Soon he went to the U.S. again without any participation in the newspaper. The capital was around 10,000 taels of silver, divided into 200 shares. Most of the shareholders were the people living in the hometown of Rong Hong. The chief officer of the China Merchants Bureau, Tang Jingxing, actively supported the newspaper; he was an important shareholder. It was supervised by Kuang Qizhao. Guan Caishu was the chief writer; Huang Jihan and Jia Jiliang were the editors. It consisted of eight pages printed on lianshi paper. Four pages were about current prices, shipping schedules, advertisements. News (including critiques) dominated another four pages. The content included the capital gazettes, the administrative issues of Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Susheng, Zhesheng, and Esheng, and both China and foreign news. Each issue was priced at 10 pennies, and was sold at 12 pennies in other provinces. The newspaper had carried a notice inviting foreign manuscripts. It claimed that they had set up offices in Beijing, each of China’s trading port, Hong Kong, Macau, as well as Kobe, Yokohama, and Nagasaki, Japan (they were only distributors actually). It published a critique on alternative days, commenting on the current affairs and emphasizing self-strengthening. On the aspect of national policy-making, it was proposed in the newspaper that the government should enhance the national defense, adopt the Western technology to improve the channel system, build ships, export silk fabrics and teas, and suggest other urban planning strategies. However, these ideas were expressed in a more subtle way which did not arouse much noise. It also defended the interest of China, criticizing the behaviors that would harm the status of China. It once published an article complaining about the consular jurisdiction of foreign countries in China. It condemned some foreigners in Shanghai for their misbehaviors with this special right. To protect the interest of China, the newspaper had debated with the North China Daily News and Shen Bao, which were operated by foreigners. Hui Bao’ s radical coverage had aroused disappointment from the government, so many shareholders decided to withdraw. The whole newspaper was restructured while it had only been published for two and a half months. It ceased publishing on August 31. On September 1, it was renamed as Fa Bao (疺報) to continue publishing. The British merchant, Grey, was the nominal owner and the chief writer. In fact, he only used his foreign identity to protect the newspaper. The copyright remained unchanged. Then the original chief writer, Guan Caishu, left due to a disagreement. Other Chinese editors took over the editorial works. There were only some minor variations regarding its style. All the materials from

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the capital gazettes were recorded. The government documents, such as the copies from viceroys, were relocated from the eye-catching positions to the back of the news reports and literary columns. The critique section was put on the front page. These changes indicated that the newspaper had already been fully operated by foreigners. Besides, Hui Bao did not publish literary articles in general, but Fa Bao

did publish quite a few poems and prose pieces. The number of crime cases also increased, and there was a specific column for that — “New Yamen Case Studies” (Xinyamen anlue 新衙門案略). By analyzing the style, it seemed Fa Bao had taken Shen Bao as a reference. Not even published for a year, Fa Bao faced critical financial difficulty again. So it cleared all the debts and invited new shareholders. It was renamed as Yi Bao (益報) and published on July 16, 1875. Compared with Fa Bao , Yi Bao was in a completely different style in terms of the layout and the content. Edicts, imperial news, and memorials, the content copied from the capital gazettes, were put on the front page of the newspaper. On the other hand, the number of critiques had dropped, and the quality was not satisfactory at all. The coverage of current affairs was diminishing, while vulgar social news and literary works had increased. On political, ideological, and business aspects, Yi Bao was falling behind Hui Bao and Fa Bao . On December 3, 1875, Yi Bao announced that the chief writer, Zhu

Liansheng, had resigned. The newspaper stopped publishing the day after. Within a year, another newspaper run by Chinese people appeared in Shanghai — Xin Bao (新報). It was issued on November 23, 1876. The capital was 10,000 taels of silver, divided into 200 shares. It was co-published by different business groups in Shanghai, and the capital mainly came from the treasury of the Circuit Intendants. This newspaper was only private-owned nominally, it was in fact a co-published newspaper controlled by the Circuit Intendants. In the late Daoguang’s reign, the Circuit Intendants also took up the job of foreign affairs. The Circuit Intendant at that time, Feng Junguang, was a Westernization reformist. There were many negotiations between China and other countries, so foreign business activities had become more frequent. Feng Junguang used this newspaper to promote himself in order to affect the standpoint of the foreigners in Shanghai. Xin Bao consisted of eight pages per issue. The content and the columns were more or less the same as that of Hui Bao and Fa Bao , but there were more outbound provincial and foreign news items (most were translated from foreign newspapers). It also emphasized economic and business content which was different from general newspapers. It had published the serial “Returns of Trade at the Treaty Ports and Trade Ports” (Tongshang geguan huayang maoyi zongce

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通商各關華洋貿易總冊), a Sino-foreign trade material. It was an unprecedented practice at that time. It never covered literary works and the extraordinary issues which were popular in other newspapers. It often published the critiques to advocate the need to learn the Western technology and to encourage modern industries. It also educated the general public on morality and ethics. On the other hand, it held back from the decaying government and the conflicts of the Self-Strengthening Movement. To attract more foreign readers, the newspapers

reported the news in bilingual format. However, not many foreigners read the newspaper. The practice of publishing English content was continued until June 9, 1877. With the support from the government, the publishing of Xin Bao was quite stable. It had been published for six years, until the new Circuit Intendant of Shanghai was not willing to continue the practice. It was forced to cease publishing on February 14, 1882. Since then, there had not been any Chinese-run newspapers in Shanghai except Summary of Foreign Events (Xiguo jinshi huibian

西國近事彙編) (1873–1898), the publication with a lot of translated content issued by Jiangnan Arsenal, and Feiyingge Pictorial (Feiyingge huabao 飛影閣畫報) (1890– 1895). Besides those major cities like Hankou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, the Chineserun newspapers were rarely found in other regions before the First Sino-Japanese War. According to the current historical research, there was Xiamen Pictorial (Xiamen huabao 廈門畫報) in Xiamen in 1889, yet it ceased publishing soon. In Hankou, Han Bao (漢報) was founded in 1893 along with the Zhaowen News .

Political Standpoints of the Chinese-Operated Newspapers Natures and backgrounds of the newspapers Before the First Sino-Japanese War, Chinese people had published a total of 20 different kinds of newspapers, including the Chinese Mail , the Hong Kong Chinese and Foreign Gazette , and the Hong Kong News , which were transferred to Chinese owners. Most of them were daily. The newspaper journalists were mainly formed by three kinds of people as follows: •• The people received the Western education, and they were the scholars who were urging for a social reform such as Wang Tao, Huang Sheng, Rong Hong, Kuang Qizhao, etc.

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•• Another type was businessmen. They often had certain relationships with the government, such as the provincial business parties in Shanghai. Some of them were even closely related to the foreign merchants, like Luo Heming, Lu Jichun, etc. •• The third type were Westernization officials, such as Feng Junguang. These three parties were interrelated with one another. Some people even took up the three roles at the same time, just like Tang Jingxing. This was a unique phenomenon in the development of the newspapers in China. Most of these newspapers were privately-owned. The Cycle was published by Chinese General Printing Office, a private company. Reform Daily and Yue

Bao were founded by sole proprietors, at the same time, some newspapers were

organized by several shareholders, just like Hui Bao . Yet, the capital of some newspapers was unknown, such as the Narrative Post . It was believed that their situation was more or less the same as other newspapers’. Thus, the first batch of Chinese-run newspapers was mostly capitalist and privately-owned. They can be regarded as non-official newspapers. The situation of Hui Bao (including Fa Bao and Yi Bao ) was more complicated. The capital was contributed by different shareholders. Since many shareholders were local government officials, and the leading staff members engaged in the newspapers were imperial officials at the same time such as Rong Hong and Tang Jingxing, etc., Shen Bao claimed that Hui Bao and Fa Bao were established for officials and the government. The officials of all ranks were also shareholders, and not many Chinese merchants were involved, so it could not be regarded as a non-official newspaper. In fact, Shen Bao’ s viewpoint was not valid at all. First, Hui Bao was funded with the capital of 200 shares, there was no evidence to prove that all shareholders were government officials and no Chinese merchants. More importantly, these officials became the shareholders in their own private capacity. They contributed with their own money instead of from the official treasury. Generally speaking, the government did not interfere in the copyright, financial status, and personnel matters of the newspaper; therefore, it was still a privateowned non-official newspaper. Xin Bao was another different story. This newspaper was also founded by various shareholders. It had publicly announced the invitation for raising capital by floating shares. However, Xin Bao was not an official newspaper completely, since there were shareholders from the business sector. It did not carry out any activities with the identity of official newspapers. It was different from the Beiyang Official Gazette and the Nanyang Official Gazette. In a word, this newspaper was

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still capitalist in a certain sense.

These Chinese-operated newspapers appeared after the two Opium Wars

when the society was disorganized and the bourgeois class came into shape.

It reflected the need of the development of capitalism in China. However, the bourgeois class was limited by the production relation.

Patriotism from the foreign invasion The most obvious ideology of these newspapers was promoting the urge to react against foreign invasion and patriotism.

Between the 1870s and the 1890s, international capitalism interfered in the

development of imperialism, reinforcing the political, economic, and cultural invasions in China. The capitalist countries gradually set up the semi-colonialist

law and order. With the unequal treaties and other privileges, they continued to suppress and plunder China. Their behaviors also led to the emergence of the

Chinese newspapers. Resisting foreign invasion and defending Chinese interests had undoubtedly become their most important goal. Wang Tao kept emphasizing that publishing The Cycle was to strengthen China to resist foreign power. Hui Bao also announced that it was a Chinese newspaper, so it protected the Chinese

interests. It reported any information which supported the Chinese interests

without any fear of disappointing any Westerners. Other newspapers like the Reform Daily , Guang Bao , and the Narrative Post also showed this standpoint. These newspapers often reported that China was facing the risk from Britain,

Russia, France, and Japan. The newspapers always expressed the need to enhance the armed forces and to strengthen the frontier defense. They also stressed that Chinese people should always stay alert without any recklessness. The Cycle

even proposed adopting the diplomatic strategy by gaining support from other countries in accordance with the conflicts among the foreign countries.

These newspapers revealed the misbehaviors of some foreigners in

China. They took advantages in China and oppressed the Chinese people.

So the newspapers also criticized the unequal treaties imposed on China.

The newspapers were especially outraged by the consular jurisdiction. The newspapers were also concerned about the cruelty and bad living environment

received by the overseas Chinese laborers. They requested the imperial court to set up an embassy in the countries accordingly so as to protect the rights of the Chinese people. The Cycle and Xin Bao had published articles to exhort people not to go to San Francisco due to the unfavorable environment for Chinese.

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These newspapers published a lot of content to boycott the foreign economic expansion so as to defend the economic interests of the Chinese people. They asked the government to improve the development of electrical manufacturing, ship-building industry, and shipping business. In the wars of resisting foreign invasions, the patriotism of the newspapers had been obviously shown. The time when The Cycle and Hui Bao were released was the time when Japan invaded Taiwan. These two newspapers, especially The Cycle , had used much ink to criticize Japan’s invasion of Taiwan for a long period of time.

The demand for reform and the ambition to strengthen the country Promoting the urge to reform and encouraging the action to strengthen the country were the inclinations of these newspapers. The first batch of Chinese-run newspapers emerged along with the SelfStrengthening Movement in the Qing Dynasty. These newspapers were related to the Movement, supporting the “self-strengthening policies” proposed by the Westernization reformists. During that period, the “new policies” had aroused a serious debate among the imperial officials. Many conservatives claimed that “it was a shame to take foreign ideas as reference,” attacking the new policies proposed by the Westernization officials. The Cycle and Hui Bao were defending the Westernization reformists. They explained that learning Western ideas to change the old-fashioned practices was necessary to strengthen the country. The

Cycle even published special articles to criticize the pedantic people. In the 1870s,

some Westernization representatives started to focus on the principle of “demand for wealth,” proposing “wealth is the key to a stronger country.” They began to set up the official businesses such as the China Merchants’ Steam Navigation Company and the Kaiping Mining Bureau. These newspapers had started an extensive debate on the issue of “demand for wealth.” Hui Bao even published an article entitled “Wealth is the Key to Strength” (Qiangbixianfu lun 強必先富論),

supporting the new development of the Self-Strengthening Movement. Although there were serious limitations in the Self-Strengthening Movement, it was regarded as great progress in history. These newspapers had played vital roles in promoting the Movement, motivating China to accept new ideas to carry on the development of modernization. In the Self-Strengthening Movement, as the conflicts in the society had been more intensified, the issues of the Movement were also rising. In this

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period, the people in charge of these newspapers (Wang Tao was one of the outstanding representatives) had different opinions, but a majority had a deeper understanding of the social conflicts, resulting in the disappointment to the Movement. Due to objective factors, the critiques published by these newspapers were overcautious and indirect, but at the same time, they had to occasionally express their disappointment and concern to the imperial court. Sometimes they were radical and straightforward. The newspapers started to be alert to the shortcomings of the Self-Strengthening Movement. On the days near the SinoFrench War, the criticisms towards the Movement had become more furious. The widely-promoted self-strengthening policies did not lead to a stronger China. Both internal revolts and foreign invasions were still threatening China. On the other hand, the cruel reality motivated the people to rethink and to explore. The newspapers had shown a new direction by overcoming the limitations of the Self-Strengthening Movement. The newspapers widely promoted the policies to enrich people to advocate the development of civil businesses and industries. It was consistent with the rise of reformism proposed by the Chinese scholars. It had prepared for the Hundred Days’ Reform in the 1890s.

The Ups and Downs of the Early Chinese-Operated Newspapers The beginning of the newspapers was sandwiched by difficulties Since the mid-nineteenth century, some of the Chinese-operated newspapers expressed the urge of developing capitalism in China. They were the tools of the bourgeois class at that time. However, they had already faced a lot of obstacles at the very beginning. The development was full of ups and downs. One of the obstacles was in the economic aspect. A few decades after the Opium War, the self-running businesses and industries in China had come to rapid development, but their power was still feeble. They could not provide enough favorable factors for the newspapers to survive and to develop. From the economic perspective, running a newspaper might not be profitable. Profitmaking newspapers were difficult to survive at that time. The failure of Hankou’s Zhaowen News was one of the examples. Other newspapers published in China also encountered serious financial difficulties which made financial independence a more challenging task. The major pressure was the political one. First, the newspapers were

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suppressed by the Chinese government. China, controlled by the Qing’s imperial court, was not entitled to any freedom of speech and press. After the Opium War, the Qing government did not allow the Chinese people to found a newspaper, only foreigners were allowed to.2 The Chinese-run newspapers were not protected by law at that time. The local officials could ban them once they were disappointed. As mentioned before, Guang Bao published the news about an official being impeached, which had aroused the anger of Li Hanzhang. Then Li ordered the newspaper to be prohibited. Shanghai’s Hui Bao was also facing difficulties since it had published some current affairs with government officials who were involved. It was forced to rename itself later. The Chinese-run newspapers were also suppressed by the foreign colonialism. The Lingnan News in its article named the foreigners as “yi 夷 ” (a negative way to refer to foreigners). Then it was forbidden in Shamian, the British concession. Later, the imperialists also urged the Guangdong Province to abolish the Chinese Western Daily News since it had reported that the Qing army defeated the Eight-Nation Alliance. With the pressure from these two aspects, the Chinese-run newspapers experienced their ups and downs in the development path. As these newspapers were related to the different parties mentioned above, they would compromise when they were facing the pressure. Once they encountered political pressure, they had given in. It was a characteristic of the Chinese-run newspapers in the Qing Dynasty. However, to survive, the newspapers had adopted the following three remedies: (1) They sought for political shelter. Besides the ones in Hong Kong, all the newspapers published by Chinese people in China had a close relationship with the government. They should be supported by a certain senior official, or invited officials to organize the newspapers. Otherwise, it was probably impossible for them to survive. (2) They published under the name of a foreigner. Some newspapers found a foreigner as the nominal founder. Therefore, some Chinese-run newspapers were published under the name of a foreigner in order to gain the Extraterritorial Right, escaping from the suppression from the Qing imperial court. (3) Some newspapers were published in concessions. According to the privileges stated in the unequal treaties, the Qing imperial court could not interfere in the events in the concessions. Publishing newspapers in concessions was another way to escape from the monitoring of the Qing Dynasty. In the semi-colonized China, the Chinese publications came to an uneasy

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development path. These three remedies represented a certain typical meaning, especially the last two. They were the solutions for the newspapers to escape

from the traditional governance in the democratic and reforming period. This phenomenon was rare in the world history of journalism.

The effects brought about by the immature social environment Given the new favorable factors, the Chinese-run newspapers were able to emerge. The capitalist production relations had been developed in China, and the

bourgeois class started to appear. The scholars, educated with the Western ideas, had become more active. The social conflicts motivated the idea of reform in the

whole country. These social factors not only provided a favorable environment

for the Chinese-run newspapers, but also realized the whole picture. Moreover, these factors had also established the patriotic and anti-conservative nature of the Chinese-run newspapers, becoming the tool for the national progress. It was also a distinctive difference between the Chinese-run newspapers and the foreignerrun newspapers in China.

However, the social environment at that time was not mature enough.

The social conflicts had been very serious already, but they had not yet been

fully exposed. They were covered by the Tongzhi Restoration. People were not conscious of the intensifying conflicts and the urge to reform. There had been minor changes since the failure of the Sino-French War. Until the time before the

First Sino-Japanese War, Zhen Guanying still considered his criticisms and reform advocating viewpoints as the “warnings” in the seemingly “prosperous age.”

Therefore, before the Hundred Days’ Reform, the demand for the social reform could only arouse a weak power of reformism. It was not enough to result in a

revolutionary political movement. These conditions had brought about many changes.

Regarding the content, these newspapers were mainly focused on driving

the Westernization movement. They expressed the demand for developing the

capitalist economy, but seldom talked about the political opinions. On the attitude, the newspapers were often overcautious and full of misgivings. Comments on political decisions and officials had become the restricted areas. Moreover, the

reformist thinkers and political commentators at that time were courageous to

express their own opinion, including Wang Tao, Ma Jianzhong, Xue Fucheng,

Zheng Guanying, Chen Qiu, Chen Zhi, He Qi, Hu Liyuan, etc. They commented on the policies and advocated the reform. They had given out many critiques in

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which many of them were outstanding pieces. Yet, maybe they were not used to adopt a newspaper as their mouthpiece, or maybe they still had scruples in expressing their opinions via newspapers, but those political comments were rarely found in the publications at that time. This had accordingly lowered the quality of these publications. The Cycle was one of the examples. Its quality on both the political and the ideological aspects was not as high as the newspaper in Wang Tao’s era. The political and ideological levels were generally lower than the level of the reformist scholars. Chinese failure in the Sino-French War had intensified the social conflicts in the country. The social frustration was giving rise to a revolutionary change. People did not realize that the newspaper circle in China had become sluggish and withered. The foreign missionaries were so sensitive to notice this new trend, and transformed The Globe Magazine into a political publication. Tianjin’s Eastern Times included much more political comments under the supervision of Timothy Richard. It also commented on the new policies to encourage the reform. The reform aimed at revolutionizing China. The advocates who published the newspapers had aroused attention from the political sector in China. The pioneers of journalism in China could not entertain the ever-changing demands. A group of new talents in journalism was ready to take on the challenge. They led the scholars in China to open a golden age of newspaper development in the Hundred Days’ Reform.

Newspaper Publishing Ideology and the Newspaper Business The publishing ideology of the early reformist scholars In the Gazetteer of the Maritime Countries , Wei Yuan used very brief wordings to express his understanding of the Western newspapers. He said that the newspapers in Britain were published every day to report the political events in the country. The general public was allowed to comment on any disappointing political performances. Therefore, some officials would be blamed for not making wise decisions.3 A few sentences had already revealed the key point to the issue. He could even analyze the newspaper operation along with the Western democracy. It was an uneasy task at that time. This was probably the earliest record about Chinese people which revealed the socio-political function of newspapers. Hong Rengan, a leader of the peasants’ uprising, was the first

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Chinese person to discuss his own newspaper publishing ideology. He explained different functions of a newspaper. He would like to use newspapers to overcome the decentralism in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. A newspaper would be an effective tool to enhance the centralization. However, since both the internal and external factors were not mature enough at that time, the discussion on newspaper issues was rarely found. Due to the rise of reformism in China, the scholars extensively demanded the starting up of a newspaper. There were more and more discussions on the functions and ideas of newspapers since the 1870s. The first article about the nature of a newspaper was Chen Aiting’s “Brief Discussion on the Chinese Mail” (Chuangshe huazi ribao shuolue 創設華字日報說略). Later, Wang Tao, Zheng Guanying, Ma Jianzhong, He Qi, Hu Liyuan, Chen Qiu, Chen Zhi wrote to explain their viewpoints and ideas of journalism and publishing newspapers. These ideas had been the important elements in constructing the climate for reforms. They took the newspaper development in the West as a reference point, and conveyed the positive effects created to the society on different aspects like national administration, judiciary, diplomacy, industry, agriculture, trade, science, education, morality, customs, etc. They believed that a newspaper was multifunctional in stimulating the progress of a society, and its effects were everywhere. They emphasized the following aspects: (1) They expected that a newspaper could be a mouthpiece and a representative of the general public. This was the reason why they wanted to publish newspapers. (2) They emphasized the functions of transmitting knowledge, reporting current affairs, and opening the mind of the general public. (3) They advocated using a newspaper as a monitor. By publishing critiques and news reports about the government, newspapers could rectify the discipline of the government officials. (4) They requested to use a newspaper as a platform to have paper battles with the foreign power. To realize their newspaper publishing ideas, the reformist scholars had even fought for the freedom of the press. First, they demanded abolishing the ban on newspapers so that Chinese people could form their own newspapers. They suggested the Qing imperial court to announce that the general public could run the private-owned newspapers. These newspaper publishing ideas had reflected the patriotism of the reformist scholars and the demand for democracy. At the same time, it was also

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shown that they expected newspapers could be drivers for changing society so as to strengthen the country. However, due to different factors, their ideas could not come true at that time. Yet, they still had prepared the Chinese people for the first peak of newspaper publishing during the Hundred Days’ Reform.

The operation of newspaper publishing and political comments At the time when Chinese people began to run their own newspapers, the

foreigners had already published newspapers in China for about half a century. The environment was different from when the Chinese Monthly Magazine and

the Eastern Western Monthly Magazine were published. These publications had to

adapt to the environment, so they asked the scholars in China for their opinions. They were packaged with the image that could cater to the needs and the habits

of the Chinese readers. Now, the status of the newspapers had been very stable already, and they had an extensive connection with the Chinese readers. They had accumulated a certain level of operation experience as well. If Chinese people decided to run their own newspapers, they had to consult the foreigners.

The modern newspapers founded by the Chinese people adopted the style of

the foreign newspapers. Yet it was rare for them to take the traditional imperial

gazettes and capital gazettes as references. Some of the journalists, like Wang Tao,

had worked for the foreign newspapers for a long time. It was inevitable for them use their experiences in running foreign newspapers on their own newspapers.

Since the modern newspapers operated by the Chinese were based on the

prototype of the modern foreign newspapers, by referring to their publishing experiences, they were well-equipped at the very beginning. The Chinese

newspapers run by foreigners had been in a book-form for more than 40 years. In

half a century, they had been transformed from the simple-structured newspapers with monotonous content to more modernized ones with news, critiques, literary

works, and advertisements. These features had already been realized at the very beginning of the era of newspapers founded by Chinese people.

Undoubtedly, Chinese-run newspapers were unique to a certain extent. Besides the daily newspaper, the news office of The Cycle also published a monthly, with

selected major critiques and news in each month. It was to enhance the influence of

the daily and entertain the requests from readers. The practice was unprecedented in the Chinese newspaper circle. Later, Zhili Bao (Zhi bao 直報) and Collection of National

News (Guowenbao huibian 國 聞 報 匯 編) founded by foreigners also had a similar

nature.

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Shanghai’s Xin Bao published both Chinese and English content on the same newspaper, stimulating the Self-Strengthening Movement. Although this practice had not been enforced for a long time, using English as a promotional strategy was a breakthrough in Chinese publications. Before the Opium War, the foreigners had published a bilingual magazine — Yijing Miscellany . It offered a convenient channel for the foreigners to learn Chinese. It had a different objective from Xin

Bao’ s.

The Chinese people had contributed a lot in the breakthrough of the political comments published in the newspapers. Although there were critiques in the Chinese Monthly Magazine , the first modern Chinese publication, it was only an article about religious doctrine. There was no critique about politics and current affairs. The Eastern Western Monthly

Magazine had a specific column for critiques. Its political nature had made the

earliest foreigner-run newspaper value political comments. On the other hand, most of the writers were foreigners with lower fluency in Chinese. Their writings were difficult to understand and could not arouse attention from the readers. Then, the Chinese publications (including the newspapers with Chinese people as the chief editors) had not included any critique for a long time. Political comments were rare until Shen Bao was founded in 1872. It set critique as a part of the permanent content and led to the trend of publishing critiques. Since then, the Chinese newspapers run by foreigners, the Shanghai Daily News and the News

Daily , also followed this trend. Most of the critiques were about current affairs,

and many of the writers were criticizing the politics. The political comments in newspapers had become a common writing style. This new writing style was named as “news writing” in the early 1820s. Obviously, its emergence and its features were related to newspapers. These features are summarized as follows: (1) The critiques were mainly about the current affairs. They did not explain the standpoints in an academic way. They were not aimed at being handed down for generations. (2) In respect of the writing style, the writers should be able to express their ideas clearly. Content was more important than the form. It was not limited by traditional practice. (3) The word choice should be clear and concise so that the general readers could understand. The critiques should not be too bookish and conventional. The above three points were not that special individually, but all three of these factors combined to form the unique style of this form of writing.

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From the Chinese traditional political comment to anther unique form of writing, the political comment in newspapers had gone through a long history. It appeared in some Chinese publications run by foreigners at the very beginning. Shen Bao and the Shanghai Daily News had also promoted this form of writing. These newspapers had published many articles on current affairs and encouraging reform. Some of them were outstanding pieces. These articles were more freestyle which could cater to the readers from different backgrounds. The words were simple and less crafted. The features of the political comment had already emerged in this stage. The earliest political comments in China were published in these newspapers. The Chinese-run newspapers had given rise to the development of the political comments in China. As mentioned above, these newspapers concerned about the political environment and the future of China. They expected that they could help build a stronger country. Publishing political comments had become one of the effective ways for them to realize their expectation and to evaluate their standpoint systematically. A new form of political comment, favorable to newspapers, had emerged when they were striving to execute this significant mission.

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Notes Chapter 1

1. “Zhenren ” is a title of the official historian responsible for divination in the Shang Dynasty. 2. Kotou Takeo 後藤武男, Xinwenzhi yanjiu 新聞紙研究 (Research on Newspaper), trans. (Shanghai: Shanghai guanghua shudian, 1930), 16. 3. Sukimura Koutarou 杉村廣太郎, Xinwen gailun 新聞概論, trans. (An Introduction to Journalism) (Shanghai: Shanghai xiandai shuju, 1930), 25. 4. Zhang Guogang 張國剛, Liangfen dunhuang jinzou yuan zhuang wenshu de yanjiu 兩份敦煌進奏院狀 文書的研究 (Research on the Two Copies of Dunhuang’s Liaison Gazette), Xueshu yuekan 學術月刊 1986, no. 7. 5. See Jiutangshu Sun Chuxuan chuan 舊唐書．孫處玄傳 (Biography of Sun Chuxuan, The Old History of Tang Dynasty). 6. Feng Su 馮宿, Jin banyin shi xianshuzou 禁版印時憲書奏 (Letters for Prohibition of  WoodblockPrinted Constitutions) in Vol. 624 of Chuan tang shu 全唐書 (Complete Tang Proses) and Jiu tang shu wen zhong ji 舊唐書．文宗記 (Records of Wenzong, The Old History of Tang Dynasty). 7. “Zhiguan shisi ” 職官十四 (Chapter 14 of Official), Wenxian tongkao 文獻通考 (Historical Documents), 60. 8. The title “imperial gazette” was widely used to refer to the official newspaper from the Song to the later Qing. Some foreign official newspapers were sometimes translated as imperial gazette as well. 9. Some of the emperor’s speeches and edicts happened during the emperor-courtier meetings. While recording the edicts, the officials might also inevitably record some conversations between the emperor and the courtiers. 10. The term “tianbian 天變” literally means “change of sky.” It actually refers to some natural phenomena that could not be explained in ancient times. 11. Vol. 1 of Qi  Jianbiao ji 祈佳彪集 (Collection of Qi Jianbiao). 12. Duoergun shezheng riji 多爾袞攝政日記 (Dorgon's Diary as Prince Regent), 29 June, the second year of Shunzhi’s reign. He expressed his point of view during the meeting with courtiers. 13. Tan Qian 談遷, Vol. 98 of Guoque 國榷 (Discussion on Country) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1988), 5939. 14. It means “may you be an official of the first degree at the imperial court.” 15. It means “rapid and lofty promotion.” 16. It means “may the ruler of Heaven bestow good fortune.” 17. It means “promotion to the nobility.” 18. When an issue was compiled with two-day news, there would be more number of pages. 19. The Qing Dynasty had organized the military unit “banner (qi 旗)” at the same time it served as the civil administration unit. There was a total number of eight banners at that time. 20. Roswell Sessoms Britton, an American journalist in Yenching University, estimated to be 10,000 copies. See Hu Daojing 胡道靜, Xinwenshi shang de xinshidai 新聞史上的新時代 (A New Era of the History of Journalism) in Baotan yihua 報壇逸話 (Anecdote about Newspaper) (Shanghai: Shijie shuju, 1946), 2. 21. See the records of Rutherford Alcock, British consul. Pan Xianmu 潘賢模, Qingchu de yulun yu chaobao 清初的輿論與鈔報 (Opinion and Report in the Early Qing), Xinwen yanjiu ziliao 新聞研究資料 1981, no. 8.

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Notes

22. Since January 19, 1882 (the eighth year of Guangxu’s reign), the full texts of the capital gazettes were reprinted daily to be the free supplement of Shen Bao . The capital gazettes used on this day were published on January 1–3, 1882, which was two weeks before the issue of Shen Bao . 23. Some of the newspaper offices still published the capital gazettes after the 1911 Revolution to report the daily life of the president Yuan Shikai and his orders. They only ceased publishing in 1913.

Chapter 2 1. Xiucai is a title of an official selected because of his knowledge and intelligence. 2. Hong Xiuquan (1814–1864) led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, establishing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom over varying portions of southern China, with himself as the “Heavenly King” and selfproclaimed brother of Jesus Christ. 3. William Milne, A Retrospect of the First Ten Years of the Protestant Mission to China (Malacca: Ying Wa College, 1820). 4. Ibid. 5. Walter Henry Medhurst (1796–1857), was an English Congregationalist missionary to China, born in London and educated at St Paul’s School, was one of the early translators of the Bible into Chinese language editions. 6. Tarront had different viewpoint towards some of the British invading activities in China. He was once a civil servant but then he was dismissed from his job. This experience had led to his greater disappointment towards the government. 7. Some believed that the founder should be an American, J. W. Noble. Hu Daojing 胡道靜, Xinwenshishang de xinshidai 新聞史上的新時代 (A New Era of the History of Journalism) (Shanghai: Shijie Shuju, 1946). 8. Chinese Repository, issued in February 1843, had mentioned this monthly magazine, but it did not state the publishing location. 9. The disclaimer “Printed by Hong Kong Ying Wa College” was printed on the cover. Before that, the printing unit was not clearly stated in the Chinese publications run by foreign missioners. This had led to disappointment for the readers. 10. The English content page was not fully consistent with the Chinese version. Some books misunderstood that it was a bilingual magazine. 11. Zhuo Nansheng 卓南生, Zhongguo jindai xinwen chengli shi 中國近代新聞成立史 (The Beginnings of Modern Chinese Newspapers and their Development in the 19th Century) (Dongjing yuankan she, 1990), 130–171. 12. It was renamed again as Chinese and Foreign Gazette (Zhongwai xinbao 中外新報) in the 1970s. 13. Maotai paper was a kind of Chinese coarse writing paper made with bamboo. 14. Timothy Richard (1845–1919) was a Welsh Baptist missionary to China, who influenced the modernization of China and the rise of the Chinese Republic. 15. Chen Zhong 陳忠, “Wanqing jidujiao baokan jianjie ” 晚清基督教報刊簡介 (An Introduction to Christian Publications in Late Qing), Wuhan xinwen shiliao 武漢新聞史料 1983, no. 2: 119.

Chapter 3 1. 2. 3.

126

Bailu paper is a high-quality paper, mainly used by the imperial court. Zheng Guanying 鄭觀應, “Shengshi weiyan ribao ” 盛世危言．日報 (Warnings to the Seemingly Prosperous Age), Zhen Guanying ji 鄭觀應集 1982, no. 1: 347. Wei Yuan 魏源, Haiguo tuzhi 海國圖志 (Gazetteer of the Maritime Countries), vol. 53, 1876.

Index advertisements 42, 72-3, 80, 88, 107, 109, 111, 122 appointments 19, 37-8 bans 14-15, 24, 28, 45, 50, 52, 118, 121 Bible 51-2, 84 British 48, 50-1, 57, 61-3, 68-70, 74-5, 77, 80, 93, 111 British Hong Kong Government 69-70, 73, 88 capital gazettes 5, 35-46, 55, 59, 71-2, 92, 102, 109, 111-12, 122 capitalist countries 49, 79, 115 carriers 4, 8, 12 Catholicism 86-7 channels 3, 18, 32, 39, 100 chief editor 60-1, 68, 70, 72, 76-8, 80-4, 87-8, 90-2, 104, 123 chief writer 68, 87, 105-7, 109-12 Chinese merchants 83, 114 Chinese newspapers 5-6, 54, 56-7, 59-60, 64, 70-4, 79, 82, 89, 93-5, 104, 115, 122-3 Chinese residences 53, 60 Chinese society 48, 82 Christian 50, 52, 54-6, 85-6 Christianity 52-3, 65, 86 church 56, 58, 87, 94 circulation activities 23, 28, 30, 32 circulation number 31, 60, 62, 70, 83 cities 31, 40, 60, 67, 71, 73-4, 76, 88, 91, 110, 113 columns 59, 72, 80-1, 88, 94, 107, 109, 112, 123 commercial news 65, 72, 74 commercial newspapers 62, 67-9, 71-3, 77, 79-80, 83 communication 2-4, 12, 17, 20, 28, 30, 34, 48, 69, 90, 101-2

competitor 42, 61-2, 65, 77, 80, 83 concessions 90, 118 conflicts 51, 63, 73, 103, 105-6, 113, 115-17, 119-20 copiers 22, 40-1, 43-4 copyright 68, 77, 107, 111, 114 courier gazette 23-4 courtiers 12, 15, 19-20, 22, 24, 27-8, 32-3, 37-8 daily newspapers 108, 122 delivery 11, 23, 30, 32, 34, 105 distribution 32-3 documents 7, 17, 19, 21, 23, 32-3, 38, 64, 99 downfall 15-16, 18, 30, 41-3, 103 duties 11, 13, 20, 30, 32-4, 37, 39, 43, 85, 107, 109 economy 38, 46, 75 edicts 3-4, 13, 15, 18-22, 26-7, 32-4, 37-9, 42-3, 52, 112 edit 21-2, 51, 57 editorial work 38, 64, 87 editors 56, 59, 62-3, 68-9, 73, 76, 87-8, 93-4, 109, 111 emperor 4, 8, 11, 13-15, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 32-4, 37-8, 50 enemies 3, 16-17, 28, 30, 63, 99, 102 English commercial newspapers 67, 71, 92 English newspapers 62-7, 69, 74-8, 90-1, 101 English publications 62, 67, 70, 74-5, 88, 93 escape 43, 118-19 failure 71, 86, 102-3, 110, 117, 119 falsification 22, 41 followers 85-6, 101 foreign countries 49, 79, 90, 99, 103, 106, 111, 115 foreign invasions 48, 98, 105-6, 115-17

127

Index

foreign missionaries 52, 70-1, 84, 88, 93, 100-2, 120 foreign publications 61, 89-90, 92, 99, 109 foreign trade 49, 110 founder 57-8, 60, 68, 72, 76, 80, 82-3, 85, 92, 104, 109 freedom 45, 58, 60, 85, 89, 104, 121 functions 16, 98, 101, 103, 121

missionaries 50-4, 61, 71, 75, 84-6, 88-9, 924, 100 missionary activities 52, 54, 56, 64, 86 modern newspapers 38, 42-3, 45-6, 48, 54, 60, 79, 89, 92, 94, 101, 122 modern publications 2, 48, 74, 98 monthly magazine 56-7, 60, 63-4, 70 morality 54, 57-8, 64, 113, 121

header 9, 16, 36-7, 40, 44, 87 headquarters 53, 67, 73, 77 historical records 10, 12-13, 18, 29

natural sciences 58-9, 93 news column 59, 64 news media 16, 32-3, 45, 110 news office 94, 102, 122 newspaper copiers 26, 31, 39 newspaper translation 98-9, 101

imperial examinations 8, 20, 24, 27, 38 imperial news 17, 33-4, 37, 40, 42-3, 112 imprisonments 24, 26, 28 international news 70, 83, 88, 92, 109 journalists 5, 72, 82, 93, 122 knowledge 52, 58-9, 70, 92-3, 103, 105 language 2, 4, 17, 64 layout 15, 33, 80, 107, 109-10, 112 liaison gazette 4, 6-13, 18 limitations 14, 17-18, 28, 41, 46, 110, 116-17 literary inquisition 35, 41 local governments 6-7, 10, 12, 17-18, 20-1, 23-4, 29, 33, 35, 39-40, 43, 98, 103 London Missionary Society 50-2, 54, 56-7, 84, 88, 93, 100 magazines 56, 58-60, 63, 71, 88 media 8, 10, 15, 29-30 medium 2, 4, 18, 102 memorials 4, 15, 19-22, 26, 28-9, 31-5, 37-8, 41-3, 110, 112 military commanderies 6-7, 9-10, 12 military intelligence 15, 22-3, 26 military use 3-4, 102 ministers 13, 15, 37-8, 40, 90 ministries 20-1, 24-5, 31-5, 38, 41-5

128

official documents 3-4, 6-7, 9-12, 34-5, 40 overseas Chinese laborers 106, 115 pictures 4, 81, 100, 108-9, 119 policies, closed-door 46, 49, 58 political comments 106, 120, 122-4 political events 6, 15-17, 20, 37, 81, 87, 106, 120 politics 75, 86, 99, 102-3, 123 popularity 17, 35-6, 67, 77, 81, 93-4, 107, 110 printing 22, 33-4, 45, 52, 54, 64, 79, 83 printing house 58, 66, 107 prohibition 15, 17-18, 35, 41 promotional strategies 57-8, 123 publishers 16, 19, 31, 40, 42, 61-2, 67-8, 92, 98 rebellion 29-30, 101 reformism 117, 119, 121 religious publications 54-5, 57, 84-6 restrictions 28, 35, 39, 41, 49-50, 65, 89 rulers 18-19, 31, 33, 35, 41, 45 scholar-officials 2, 12, 14, 17-19, 25-7, 31, 38-9, 42

Index

shares 82, 111-12, 114 shipping schedules 72-3, 75, 111 shortcomings 42, 55, 106-7, 117 speeches 13, 17, 28-9, 41, 45, 48, 118 standpoints 17, 69, 75, 112, 115, 123-4 subscribers 38-9, 63 supplement 25-6, 65, 74, 89, 91 tabloids 11, 16-19, 33-5, 40-1, 44-5 translators 51, 99-100 unofficial newspapers 2, 16, 30, 36, 45 uprising 29, 102, 110, 120 versions 5-6, 11-13, 17-18, 21 woodblock printing 10, 14, 25, 31, 88, 93 writers 34, 75, 83, 109, 123

129

102 mm

187 mm

187 mm

This series provides a comprehensive history of journalism in China. It chronicles two millennia of journalistic history from the 2nd century BC to the 1990s, and includes coverage of newspapers, periodicals, news agencies, broadcast television, photography, documentary film, journal cartoons, journal education, as well as information about reporters, journalists, and other aspects of journalism. Volume 1 tracks the development of journalism in ancient China, from the Pre-Qin period to the late Qing Dynasty. It also draws a full picture of the early publishing activities of both foreigners and the Chinese in nineteenth century China.

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Chinese Historical Studies

Edited by Fang Hanqi

Fang Hanqi is a Professor, Doctoral and Graduate Supervisor of the Journalism School at the Renmin University of China, Counselor of the Journalism and Social Development Research Center, and Director of the Academic Committee of the Renmin University of China. He has been appointed a member of the Editorial Board of the “Encyclopedia of China • Press and Publication,” Editor of the “Chinese Journalism” section of the Encyclopedia, and President of the Chinese Association for History of Journalism and Mass Communication.

JOURNALISM IN CHINA Volume 1

Volume 1

260 mm

A History of Journalism in China Volume 1

A HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN CHINA

Examines the Development of Journalism in China from the Pre-Qin Period to the Modern Age

A HISTORY OF

Edited by Fang Hanqi

102mm