A History of Journalism in China 9789814332910, 9789814332286

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A History of Journalism_V4_Jacket.pdf 1 12年12月31日 下午5:41

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187 mm

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A History of Journalism in China Volume 4

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Volume 4 offers a detailed depiction of the development of journalism in China from the 1911 Revolution until the end of the Long March. This chaotic period witnessed the confrontation between the conventional and conservative feudal powers and the emerging and innovative revolutionary forces. In this period, foreigners also founded their own newspapers, news agencies, and radio stations in the country. In addition to covering major historical incidents such as the May Fourth Movement, the founding of the CPC, and the First KMT–CPC United Front, this book provides a systematic account of the political circumstances of the era and the publications in China at that time.

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. Chinese Historical Studies

Edited by Fang Hanqi

EDITOR IN CHIEF

JOURNALISM IN CHINA Volume 4

Volume 4

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260 mm

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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.

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

Journalism Vol.4c_Toc & content.indd 216

12年12月31日 下午5:32

A History of Journalism in China

A HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN CHINA 4 Volume

Edited by Fang Hanqi

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

Website: www.enrichprofessional.com

A Member of Enrich Culture Group Limited Hong Kong Head Office:

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English edition © 2013 by Enrich Professional Publishing (S) Private Limited Chinese original edition © 2004 China Renmin University Press Translated by Ben Ma Edited by Glenn Griffith and Ben Ma 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

and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without prior written permission from the Publisher.

ISBN (Hardback)

978-981-4332-28-6



978-981-4332-92-7 (epub)

ISBN (ebook)

978-981-4332-91-0 (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 Chapter 8

.Journalism in the May Fourth Movement............................................. 1

Chapter 9

The Founding of the Communist Party in China and Journalism



during 1924–1927................................................................................... 67

Chapter 10

.The CPC’s Journalism during the Chinese Civil War...................... 157

Notes................................................................................................................................ 199 Index................................................................................................................................ 209

8

Chapter

Journalism in the May Fourth Movement

A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 4

The May Fourth Movement not only witnessed the transition of Chinese history from the era of Old Democratic Revolution to the era of New Democratic

Revolution, but also turned a new page of Chinese journalism. The occurrence

and development of the New Culture Movement — whose foundation was mostly laid by newspapers and journals — acted as the main thread running through the history of journalism during the period. In the meantime, La Jeunesse (Xinqingnian

新青年 ), a magazine started by Chen Duxiu, was the flag-bearer directing the New Culture Movement for it brought about epoch-making changes in intellectual history and the history of journalism. As a result of the promotion of the freedom

of speech and the freedom to publish in the May Fourth period, more than 400 journals filled with new thoughts sprang up in China within a single year. The

restructuring of La Jeunesse , as well as the establishment of the monthly magazine

Communist (Gongchandang 共產黨 ) and worker publications proclaimed the birth of Chinese proletarian journalism, starting a brand-new chapter in the history of Chinese journalism. More importantly, these publications paved the way for the emergence of Chinese Communist movements in the future. In addition, the May Fourth period marked the significant transformation of Chinese journalism. With the popularization of political commentaries and academic discussions, a democratic atmosphere was created by the contention of various schools of thought in journals. At the same time, newspaper supplement evolved into a garden for dissemination of new thoughts and cultures, going beyond its leisurely nature. Additionally, the literary form of newspapers and journals underwent an unprecedented change — the extensive adoption of vernacular Chinese (baihuawen 白話文 ) and new punctuations. As a result, newspapers became increasingly lively and interesting because of improvements in editing as well as diversification in topics.

La Jeunesse and the Chief Editor The founding of La Jeunesse and the development of Chen’s ideology Chen Duxiu, the founder of La Jeunesse , was born into a family of land-owning

bureaucrats in Huaining County (known as Anqing City now), Anhui Province in 1879. Being influenced by the ideology of Liang Qichao and Kang Youwei, Chen devoted himself to groups like Chinese reformers led by Kang, the revolutionary

party, and later the CPC. He also took part in editing the revolution newspaper

National Daily (Guominri ribao 國民日日報 ) before establishing the influential

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Anhui Common Saying Newspaper (Anhui suhuabao 安徽俗話報 ). After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, Chen became the General Secretary of the Military Affairs Commission of the Republic of China. By the beginning of 1914, he went to Japan to assist Zhang Shizhao in editing the magazine The Tiger (Jiayin 甲寅 ) and returned to China in autumn the same year. A year later, he said, “After travelling from the Anhai Province to Shanghai, I decided to establish a magazine that should make a noise in the world.”1 Hence, Chen founded and edited the magazine La Jeunesse , or New Youth (called Youth Magazine for the first volume). Through the referral of one of Chen’s countrymen, Wang Mengzou, the first issue of La Jeunesse was published by Shanghai Qunyi Press (Qunyi shushe 群益書社 ) on September 15, 1915. Chen’s determination to break away from past political party movements was embodied by the aim of the magazine — to “reform the youth’s mind”2 instead of criticizing political issues or problems. This was why he later dedicated himself to the launch of a national movement.

Initiation of the anti-Confucianism movement in La Jeunesse and early propaganda In the first volume of the magazine, Chen consecutively published several enlightening articles called “Warning the Youth,” “1916,” and “My Final Realization,” where the flags of science and democracy were held high while Western bourgeois values — freedom, independence, equality, and human rights — were enthusiastically praised in order to call upon teenagers to rise up and strive for liberation from feudal fetters in moral, law, academia, and etiquette that had existed for thousands of years. On February 2, 1916, the publication of La Jeunesse was halted after one volume, or six issues were published. During the suspension, there were compelling changes in China’s political scene. After Yuan Shikai failed to revive the monarchy and died in despair, Li Yuanhong became the president and a new cabinet was formed by Duan Qirui, thus gathering all members of the parliament at Beijing. In August, 1916, the parliament reconvened and the resumption of Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China (Zhonghua minguo linshi yuefa 中華民國臨時約法 ) was announced. To the Chinese people, these incidents were as heartening as light in the darkness. In September the same year, Chen decided to change the Chinese name of La Jeunesse from “Youth Magazine” to “New Youth” and resume its publication. At this moment, Chen was still optimistic about the development of politics in China.

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However, the republication of La Jeunesse could not help the people to get away from the pain brought by the reality of various political scenes. There were increasingly fierce fights among various warlords as well as power struggles among different military cliques after the death of Yuan. In the end, the parliament, which had become the venue for conflicts among the members, was forced to be dismissed. Besides, political reactions were going counter to the prevailing ideological flow. Meanwhile, the Confucianism movement, originally planned to create opinions for the revival of monarchy, was getting active again. Right before the parliament was restored, there was a heated debate about Confucianism, where Duan and his fellows publicly supported retaining Confucian articles in the Tiantan Constitution Draft (Tiantan xianfa caoan 天壇憲法 草案 ) which said “national education should cultivate one’s moral character with the Confucian path as the principle.” Leaders of the Confucian Association (Kongjiaohui 孔教會 ) like Chen Huangchang had once remained silent, but they at last submitted the proposal “Confucianism as the State Religion” in September 1916. On the other hand, Kang wrote a public letter to Li Yuanhong and Dui requesting to “set Confucianism as the state religion and incorporate it into the constitution.” Even though the severity of the reality had considerably shaken Chen’s thoughts, he still firmly believed that anti-feudalistic thinking was a must to transform China’s society while criticism against Confucius or Confucianism was of the top priority. Eventually, a violent attack on Confucianism was initiated in La Jeunesse . In fact, the criticism against Confucianism and Confucian studies were part of Chen’s opposition to the feudal Chinese culture as well as traditional ethics and morality, but he did not intend to realize the ideas at the very beginning. The first initiator of criticism against Confucianism was Yi Baisha — who wrote an essay titled “Comments on Confucius” and published in the sixth issue in the first volume as well as the first issue in the second volume of La Jeunesse . Yi criticized Confucius of “mistakenly contributing to the rise of despotism for he honored the emperor ’s authority boundlessly” as well as “his fault in creating mind dictatorship by not allowing in-depth questions to be raised during lectures.” Yi’s article had two primary objectives: to reveal Confucian studies’ autocratic nature in politics and thinking, as well as to clarify the reason why the autocrats and traitors to the people would promote Confucianism. Unfortunately, the article could barely focus on analyzing the essence of the idea of autocracy in Confucian studies, nor could it pinpoint the problems of Confucianism. On the contrary, the emphasis of the article was to elaborate that Confucianism should in itself be

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an advancement of traditional theories so “the autocrat and traitor to the people who made use of Confucian concepts were indeed going counter to the Confucian spirit.” Nonetheless, it was certain that Yi’s action created positive effects. Yet, the prime promoter of anti-Confucius movement was still Chen, who published a series of influential articles from the second issue of the second volume to the sixth issue of the third volume of La Jeunesse — which dated from October 1916 to June 1917. These works included “Refutation of Kang Youwei’s Letter to President and Premier,” “Constitution and Confucianism,” “Confucius’ Way and Modern Life,” “Yuan Shikai Resurrected,” “Old Thoughts and National Issue,” and “Revival and Confucius,” which attacked the Confucius-developed form of Confucianism, and gave a serious blow to the rampant promotion of the ideology. This was the beginning of the far-reaching anti-Confucianism movement. Chen believed the continual failure of the establishment of a constitutional republic was not only because of the lack of suitable conditions but also related to the dominance of conservative beliefs in the people’s minds — which was represented by the existence of Confucianism. Moreover, according to Chen, because “a Western constitutional republic system valuing independence, equality, and freedom” 3 was contradictory to sayings in the Three Cardinal Guides — which emphasized respect, seniority, and hierarchy, therefore the two concepts “were incompatible with each other and preservation of one idea would be equivalent to the abolishment of the other one.”4 Thus, Chen’s fundamental idea was to destroy Confucianism in order to build a real constitutional republic in China. Furthermore, he pointed out that Confucianism was the root of various problems in the country and stressed that the Confucian issue was “the fundamental problem in Chinese morality.”5 Unless the problem was tackled, “political and academic problems are simply minor, and it is nothing extraordinary but normal for the people to gradually regain old perceptions, given they momentarily abandon traditional ideas for new thoughts without altering their basic mode of thinking.” 6 According to Chen, as long as such traditional ideology continued to exist, “the appearance of another Yuan Shikai — who attempted to abolish the republic system and revive the monarchy — would be perfectly natural and unsurprising.”7 With reference to Darwinism, Chen attacked Kang and his fellows for wrongly worshiping Confucius. Kang was blamed for being ignorant of the theory of evolution, which stated that “matters in the universe are constantly changing at all times, how could ethics and morality be the exception?” As seen in “Path of Confucius and the Modern Life,” an article published in the fourth issue of the

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second volume of La Jeunesse , what Chen hoped Kang could understand was that “Confucius was born during the feudal era, thus the morality upheld in the past was feudal morality; the rites and living status promoted in the past was feudal rites and living status; and the politics advocated in the past was feudal politics.”8 In short, the worship of Confucius was not encouraged as Confucianism was incompatible with modern life. Furthermore, Chen told the youth with gusto that they should decisively annihilate Confucianism for it had been suffocating the people’s minds for thousands of years. As his powerful criticism against Confucianism created great repercussion in society, the intellectual field eventually shattered its silence and actively debated on the problem, invigorating the correspondence column in Chen’s magazine. Soon, a renowned man in the Sichuan Province, Wu Yu also echoed these sentiments. By the beginning of 1917, he wrote letters to Chen and sent him several articles to show support for the anti-Confucianism movement. Starting from the sixth issue of the second volume of La Jeunesse , Wu sequentially published writings like “Basis Theory of Family System as Despotism,” “Drawbacks of the Confucian Hierarchy,” and “Cannibalism and Rites” — in which he assailed Confucianism as well as Confucian studies from the perspective of the rule of law and the consolidation of family structures and hierarchies over the past thousands of years. He condemned Confucius for “leaving disasters that would cause people to suffer for generations.”9 Because of his impressive writings, he was called the “independent anti-Confucius hero in the Sichuan Province.” With Wu’s participation, the anti-Confucianism force was substantially strengthened. What followed was the publication of A Madman’s Diary in La Jeunesse , a piece by Lu Xun where literary form was adopted as a means to express his critical opinions on feudal rites, which greatly facilitated the development of the anti-Confucianism movement. Admittedly, the anti-Confucianism activities in La Jeunesse can be considered as the prelude for anti-feudalistic thinking during the May Fourth Movement as well as prologue to the New Culture Movement. Nevertheless, even though the “ideological weapons” used by Chen — individualistic values like freedom, equality, human rights borrowed from the West — were obviously powerful in the battle against conservative thinking, these concepts could not entirely account for the worship of Confucius in the past and now, nor were they effective solutions to the root problems in China. When it came to practical political issues, the weaknesses of them would surface. This could be

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illustrated by articles about the declaration of war on Germany and the promotion of power struggle between the Premier and the President in La Jeunesse . Unluckily, Chen failed to understand the nature of the First World War — a fight for colonies and spheres of influence among imperialist nations. Instead, he had mistaken the war as a battle between advanced civilizations and barbarity. In the very first issue of La Jeunesse published on September 15, 1915, there was an article titled “The French People and Modern Civilization” introducing France’s contribution to modern civilization, in which Chen wrote “[the] creators of this civilization fought with the militarist Germany” and “although we did not know the intention of British and Russian attack on Germany, we knew if it were the French people who declared war, they mostly fought for equality, love, and freedom.”10 This viewpoint had been Chen’s guiding ideology of his promotion of the First World War. Moreover, he still held hope in the government ruled by Li Yuanhong, Duan Qirui, and their politicians. However, they and Yuan Shikai were indeed tarred with the same brush. On the other hand, he showed great indignation over Zhang Xun’s restoration and his opposition against Zhang’s force, to a certain extent, protected Li’s and Duan’s political legitimacy and authority. In addition, Chen was unable to realize that conflicts and clashes between Li’s Zhili Clique and Duan’s Anhui Clique of the Beiyang Army were the outcomes of the American–Japanese struggle in China. This explained why in the power struggle between the Premier (led by Li) and the President (led by Duan) — caused by disputes on whether China should break and fight with Germany — Chen made a report in the column “National Memorabilia” in La Jeunesse to show his support for Duan and the declaration of war on Germany. He believed initiating a battle on Germany was “the only opportunity for the people to demonstrate patriotism, their ability, personalities, as well as the spirit of submission to right but not might.” He also thought that the war would provide China with financial assistance from the Triple Entente for he claimed “given that the military discipline is tightened and national finance is improved while schools are built and businesses are rewarded, the people will still have a chance to exert themselves. This only happens once in a blue moon, does it not? If this opportunity is disregarded, there will be no way to save the country.” Equally important, Chen assumed that after China took part in the war, “the northern and southern army would unify in hard times and leave their territorial clashes behind.”11 For those who objected to the war, Chen seriously challenged their reasons and kept extolling Duan and Liang. However, the reality went against Chen’s expectation. After the announcement

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of breaking off relations with Germany, the Triple Entente did not keep their words as no financial benefits were given to China. On the other hand, Japan intensely prompted the Anuhui Clique to “take a further step” in proclaiming

war on Germany. In response, Duan called for a military conference gathering

military governors from different provinces to put pressure on the Parliament.

The group of military governors forcefully entered Beijing and disrupted the state conference, as well as entertained and pleased some parliament members. Thugs and ruffians were hired to hit some parliament members, making them panic and

resign. The struggle between the Premier and President reached the climax when

the military governor group demanded that the Parliament be dismissed and the Premier removed.

Facing such a great and unexpected political disturbance, Chen had no choice

but to regret. In the article “Thoughts on Current Political Situation” in the fourth issue of La Jeunesse ’s third volume, he mentioned that “the government has been

divided into two sides which both aim at political struggles. They make use of

diplomacy and bet the future of the nation.”12 In relation to the situation, Chen attempted to discuss on whether a federal system or centralization should be

adopted and analyze the political views as well as the conduct of various military

cliques and politicians. However, like the many worried and anxious intellectuals, Chen could not identify the nature of the political struggle, so it was impossible for him to find optimal solutions.

Ever since the start of the debate on diplomacy with Germany, Chen was in

support for the participation in the war. In particular, his pro-Duan propaganda had aroused criticism among his readers and some backbone writers were so

enraged that they refused to provide scripts. In August 1917, after three full volumes of La Jeunesse were published, the journal was cut as “the magazine was

not widely disseminated [so] the publisher decided to suspend it.”13 Later, owing

to Chen’s efforts in negotiating with the writers, the magazine was resumed in January 1918.

Relocation and restructuring of La Jeunesse , and the advocacy of literary revolution Originally, La Jeunesse was single-handedly edited and published by Chen in

Shanghai. By the end of November 1916, Wang Mengzou stayed and accompanied

Chen in Beijing for more than a month to deal with the floating of shares of the Oriental Book Company and Qun Yi Press. By then, Cai Yuanpei, who just took

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the office of the President of Peking University, invited Chen to be the Dean of the Arts Faculty. As a result, the editorial procedure of La Jeunesse moved from Shanghai to Peking University. In addition, Cai was responsible for getting in touch with professors who advocated intellectual reform to jointly push forward the New Culture Movement. Eventually, Peking University became the center of the movement, while La Jeunesse was the horn of the movement. The Imperial University of Peking, the predecessor of Peking University, was an institution created during the Hundred Days Reform. It was reorganized as the National Peking University and became the highest institution in the country after the foundation of the Republic of China. However, under the manipulation of several warlord governments, the university was brimming with feudalistic thinking which provoked discontent among the growing group of abroad students and young intellectuals nurtured in newly emerged schools — those who intended to transform the conservative academy into an institution of higher education where Western bourgeois thinking could be disseminated. In September 1916, Cai received a phone call from the Beijing government which asked him to come back to China and fill the position of the President of Peking University. At that time, although Cai was concentrating on matters related to students abroad, he took the position after thorough consideration. During his term, a cluster of new professors were called upon to conduct a series of reforms in academic structure, learning content, and teaching crew. As some had recommended appointing Chen the Dean of Arts of Peking University, and Cai had been familiar with Chen’s role in the 1911 Revolution (especially with his publication of Anhui Coming Saying Newspaper and La Jeunesse ), Cai decided to go on a visit to Chen’s home to offer him a position in the school. Beginning his career in Peking University since early 1917, Chen formulated the arts curriculum and broke the tradition — shifting the emphasis from Confucianism to realistic and demotic literary works. Besides, additional teaching staff with progressive thoughts were employed and drastic changes were made to reform arts education. In “Correspondence to Cheng Yansheng,” a work in the sixth issue of volume two of La Jeunesse , Chen publicly stated that “for the advocacy of national studies and literature, various schools should be equal with no single school being outstanding; demotic and common literature should also be promoted. These two thoughts have to be spread throughout the country and the arts subject in the university would not be independently advocated.”14 In the course of systemizing and building the arts subject in Peking University, Chen made use of La Jeunesse to spread his thoughts. In the summer of 1917, Hu

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Shi — who was in favor of a literary revolution — came back from the U.S., so Chen proposed that Hu was to work as a professor in the university. In the end of the year, Liu Bannong was back from Shanghai to join Peking University as a professor. Under the encouragement from fellows like Chen and Qian Xuantong, Lu also took part in the editing and copywriting of La Jeunesse while still serving in the Department of Education of the Beijing government. Lu’s younger brother, Zhou Zuoren gradually interacted with La Jeunesse after starting work in the Academia Historica of Peking University. Before he came back from studying in Japan in May 1916, Li Dazhao had written an article called “Youth” for La Jeunesse . Thus, Li became a freelance writer of the magazine once he returned.15 Following Zhang Xun’s restoration, Li reviewed his experiences since the 1911 Revolution and it seemed as if the past revolutions had almost been in vain. So, Li was determined to explore a path towards a new China. By 1918, he began to serve in the library of Peking University and assumed the position of chief librarian later. He purchased a large quantity of books, newspapers, and magazines which advertised new thoughts, while taking a more active role in La Jeunesse . Additionally, because of Chen’s referral, a number of teachers who had progressive minds and advocated reformation were employed by Peking University. They had formed an essential basis in La Jeunesse , which was important in contributing ideas to the content and design of the magazine. Since the first issue of the fourth volume, La Jeunesse was no longer chiefedited by Chen but collaboratively edited and discussed by the editorial board formed by members of the magazine. It was announced that “starting from the first issue of the fourth volume, the rules of article submission have been omitted. The selection procedure would be borne by all members of the editorial board. No extra scripts would be bought. When one issue is published, an editorial meeting would be held to pick out works for the next issue.” For the position of chief editor, who would have the power to eliminate content, the role would be filled by every editorial member in turn. There were two types of editorial staff — one type was “rotating editors,” including Chen Duxiu, Qian Xuantong, Liu Bannong, Hu Shi, Li Dazhao, Shen Yinmo, etc.; and the other type was “guest editors” who would produce writings and attend editorial meetings to express views on important matters like editing and publishing but not take part in serving as the chief editor. Guest editors included Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Gao Yihan, Tao Menghe, Wang Xinggong, Chen Daqi, and Zhang Shenfu. The editorial board once decided that La Jeunesse should not go into the area of politics, even though the magazine had already broken the promise of not

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criticizing current affairs. Instead, the magazine advocated the overthrow of old concepts in education, thinking, and culture in order to establish the new ones and build the basis for the construction of capitalist politics. In response, Chen said “some members’ refusal to talk about politics is temporary, not permanent; it is also relative, not absolute. They are reluctant to debate on politics because they are stimulated by power struggles in the pseudo politics. They are not fundamentally against politics.”16 According to this saying, the primary rationale for the decision of separating from politics was to avoid being used by the warlords again. But according to Hu Shi’s subsequent saying, it was because of “the ugliness of the publishing industry” and “the dreariness in the education field,” so political issues were to be avoided in the coming 20 years to lay the groundwork for capitalist politics in areas of ideology, culture, concepts, and morality. Back then, members of La Jeunesse assembled under the banner of anti-feudal culture despite differences in ideology, which justified why La Jeunesse would inevitably scatter when the New Culture Movement touched upon socialism. Under the direction of non-politicization, the column “Memorabilia” — where great events in and outside the country were included — was cancelled since the first issue of the fourth volume of La Jeunesse , and essays pointing out mistakes in politics were also missing. On the other hand, there was a large quantity of translated fiction, play scripts, and works about Western philosophies and social sciences; literary works like new poems produced by members of the magazine were also published. The column “Correspondence” became the place for scholars and professors to carry out academic discussion, so many fewer letters from readers about concrete solutions to solid problems were published. As a result, the sales of the fourth volume of La Jeunesse remained bad. Moreover, its publication often failed to come out on time, and bookstores generally turned a cold shoulder to the magazine. While the professors and scholars were still constructing the so-called foundation for a capitalist democratic politics, the Duan-led Anhui Clique had already been proceeding to feudal autocracy. The Duan side made enormous sums of loans to initiate civil wars, and even secretly signed the Sino–Japanese Joint Anti-Enemy of the Military Agreement not only to give away national benefits but also to stimulate patriotism and heat up anti-Japanese spirit so that objection from students abroad in Japan could be suppressed. Besides, the News Inspection Bureau was established to confine topics published to critical issues like news on the dispatch of troops and diplomacy. Public opinion was also restrained by the specialized news agency which was in charge of bribing both Chinese and Western newspapers as well as founding and buying newspapers. In September,

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1918, the National Police Agency arrested and sealed up nine newspapers and agencies including National Gazette (Guomin gongbao 國民公報 ) and Morning

Bell Newspaper (Chenzhong bao 晨鐘報 ) for they had published the article “Alas! Three Loans!” Some of these editors were given criminal detention and some were even sentenced. Later, the Newspaper Ordinance was issued to further suppress public voices. The expansion of warlord dictatorship had encouraged the many apologists for feudalism — who obstinately defended the conservative culture and ethics — to carry out brutal attacks on the New Culture Movement. These collectively triggered ideological changes among members of La Jeunesse . Starting from the fourth issue of volume four of the magazine, a column “Record of Thoughts” was added, and Chen put short essays pinpointing social problems. He also changed his pro-Duan stance, as he began to criticize Duan of exhausting all resources to build up his own army as well as his contempt for the Parliament. Chen was strongly against warrior politics and he thought “whoever possesses military power would perform evil deeds and commit all manner of crimes. The people would neglect the national law and become unscrupulous. What kind of world would it become?”17 Again, through writing another article, he firmly denied the saying that “members of the magazine and its readers” discouraged discussions on current politics, stressing that it was now a matter of the nation’s life or death, so no one could pretend to be ignorant of it. Chen also pinpointed that “there were uncertainties in politics and society and several rebellious theories were haunting.” Thus, he decided to “wake the youth up by delivering bold words.”18 The rise of political consciousness had facilitated the progression of the anti-feudalism movement, enabling the New Culture Movement to expand in broader fields. During the course of anti-Confucianism movement, a magnificent literary revolution also unfolded, merging with the anti-Confucianism trend to push the New Culture Movement to the climax. The earliest advocate for literary revolution was Hu Shi, who developed his theory on literary revolution in the last two years of his study in the U.S. Chen and Hu had known each other, and Chen asked him for manuscripts while they were editing La Jeunesse . Then he briefly introduced his view about literary revolution, immediately grabbing the attention of Chen, who replied and asked Hu to “write an article in which the reasons are elaborated and the gain and loss are presented.”19 Hence, Hu’s work titled “The Attempting Discussion of Literary Reform” was published in the fifth issue (January 1, 1917) of La Jeunesse ’s second volume. In the writing, he advocated the “eight-don’ts-ism” (Babu zhuyi 八不主義 ), or eight guidelines to writing:

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i. Do write with substance ii. Do not follow or intimate the ancients iii. Do stress on grammar and syntax iv. Do not make a fuss about nothing v. Do eliminate hackneyed and formal language vi. Do not use allusions vii. Do not use parallelism viii. Do not avoid the use of common and vulgar diction Opposite to the classical writing style of the era, the first principle emphasized that literature was valued as it directly revealed humans’ emotions and thoughts. The eight guidelines, which greatly challenged the mind-restricting “old literature,” formed a crucial part in the anti-feudalism battle. Moreover, the advocacy of vernacular Chinese had broken limitations faced by the language in late-Qing dynasty. At that time vernacular Chinese was considered unofficial as it was originally more common in promotions to lower levels and ordinary people, but its legitimacy was enhanced by the expansion of its usage, which generated great importance and far-reaching influences.

Owing to Chen’s appreciation of the advocacy in literature, Hu was called “the vanguard holding the banner of righteousness,” and Chen correspondingly wrote an essay titled “Theory of Literary Revolution” in the sixth issue of La Jenuesse ’s second volume. The essay proposed three major ideologies for the literary revolution, which stated that “to overthrow the ornate, flattering aristocratic literature, and instead establish a plain, emotional national literature; to overthrow the fusty, extravagant classical literature, and instead establish a fresh, truly realistic literature; and to overthrow the pedantic, abstruse scenic literature, and instead establish a clear, common social literature.” Even though Chen shared the same thoughts with Hu in various perspectives, their views towards literature were different. To Hu, the forms of expressions took most of his attention, so he mentioned very little about the content of writings and barely elaborated how the revelation of emotions would make literature valuable, nor did he touch upon the tendency and social function of literature. On the contrary, Chen’s essays had put the content and ideological tendency of literature in an outstanding status. His criticism against the old literature covered both the content and forms of expression. The reason why he opposed to aristocratic literature, classical literature, and scenic literature was because “their forms and structures — following an old routine — are like meat without bones, a body without the spirit, so they are indeed ornaments, not necessities for literature; the

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content has never gone beyond the emperor or nobility, fairies or evil spirits, or individual fortune.”20 Chen also put considerable weight on the social function of literature as well as literature’s relation with social advancement. He said, “European culture has mostly benefited from political scientists, but benefits from literati are also remarkable.” Back then, China was desperate for progression, so “the reformation of literature conveying such political ideology must take place.”21 Like pushing forward the anti-Confucianism movement, Chen devoted enormous efforts to the promotion of literary revolution, endeavoring to remove conservative thoughts planted in the people’s minds in order to pave the way for democracy in China. After the publication of Chen’s and Hu’s essays, a literary revolution striking the literary world began, yet it took some time for the incident to bring impact to society. At the very beginning, the reaction was small as there were limited supportive voices, and even some disapproving ones. In a bid to spark off debate, a “drama” was planned to take place in the third issue of the fourth volume of La Jeunesse , in which Qian Xuantong wrote a letter to the editor in the name of Wang Jingxuan listing various points in objection to the literary revolution. Then, Liu Bannong composed an essay titled “To Wang Jingxuan” condemning Wang’s opinions. Such a play smoothly yet sharply castigated the obdurate conservative party as well as satirized those pedantic people who had neither knowledge nor skills but pretended to be well educated. Later in the fourth issue of the fourth volume of La Jeunesse , Qian published another essay titled “The Problem of Chinese Language Hereafter” — which stated that “if China is to survive, if Chinese people are to be a civilized race in the 20th century, the abolition of Confucianism and the extermination of Taoism would be the fundamental solutions, while the eradication of essays about Confucian thoughts and Daoism is the root of the fundamental solutions.” Also, Qian’s suggestion that the Chinese language was to be substituted by Esperanto had greatly shocked the community. Although members of La Jeunesse ’s editorial board shared diversified views over the idea of abandoning the Chinese language, they were in full support of Qian’s critical spirit against traditional culture when opposition arose. Chen said it was perfectly reasonable for Qian, an expert in Chinese phonology, to understand the rule of language evolution. The rationale behind Qian’s revolutionary idea was “almost every single copy, page, and line of books and works written in Chinese since the ancient times convey the stink against democracy and science.”22

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In the fifth issue of the fourth volume of La Jeunesse , the first baihua novel

— A Madman’s Diary — written by Lu Xun, was published. Composed in

the style of a fable, the story used an analogy of cannibalism to criticize the traditional values promoted by the dictators of past dynasties. Meanwhile, the

novel signified young intellectuals’ aspirations to freedom as well as resistance against oppression from feudalism. Under the encouragement and urging of La

Jeunesse ’s editors, Lu produced more realistic novels revealing the dark side of a feudal society and the “chronic illness” of the national character. It was said that these works “have excited a portion of young readers, as the way of expression and format are unique.”23 Furthermore, extensive impacts were created as the editors of the magazine conducted a discussion on theories in the new form of literature which covered realism and naturalism — concepts that exposed human nature and were advocated by Chen and Hu — to the “human literature” and “people’s literature” promoted by Zhou Zuoren. In the magazine, although there were discussions on traditional Chinese opera where a considerable amount of radical sayings and even fallacies existed, more people were concerned with the development of literary revolution because after all, it was a debate against the tradition in the area of popular literature and art. Starting from the fourth volume of La Jeunesse , vernacular Chinese and new punctuations were used, which was significant in marking the beginning of a new trend.

Contribution of La Jeunesse Overall, La Jeunesse was a magazine about ideological theories and culture instead of current affairs and politics for its main task was to introduce new thoughts

and a new form of literature. Yet, under the influence of the political situation, the spread of the magazine was closely connected with political struggles, that

was why the development of the magazine was an invaluable experience to propagation via journals and newspapers.

First, La Jeunesse was in collaboration with revolutionary struggles and

brought considerable influences on the public opinion.

Ever since its establishment, La Jeunesse had been leading the history and

became the intellectual banner against feudalism. The magazine absorbed the

lessons drawn from the failure of the Xinhai Revolution and carried out an ideological battle against feudalism in order to awaken people to liberate their minds. While enabling the public to be ready for and providing ideological

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initiatives for the May Fourth Movement, the battle also settled the way for the spread of Marxism in China. At that time, obstacles faced by the New Culture Movement included defenders of feudalism as well as atrocious political forces like Zhang Xun and Duan Qirui. Additionally, feudalistic warlords — who restricted public opinion and were determined to destroy new culture and new thoughts — and objectors were enemies to the spread of the movement. The development of La Jeunesse proved that the only way for a publication to exert its greatest influence was to be associated with revolts; if not it would become distant to the people and lose its brilliance as it became disconnected from reality. Hence, changes in whether and how La Jeunesse criticized current affairs and commented on politics explained that journals and newspapers would generate enormous power as long as they consciously served for political struggles as well as the progressive and revolutionary force. Second, from the ideological battle, the dauntless militancy and indomitable spirit of La Jeunesse could be seen. In order to effectively collaborate with political struggles, journals had to aim at fighting for truth. Editorial members including Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, and Lu Xun were the ones who resolutely sought for truth and facts, no matter they were persecuted by the warlord government, attacked by the existing conservative force, or stabbed in the back. As the founder and chief editor of the magazine, Chen, who had a rigid stance, was the one unifying members of the magazine as well as initiating and directing ideological struggles. Regarding ideas against democracy and science, according to his work “Warning the Youth,” he considered them useless and wasteful “although they were [the] heritage of our ancestors, teaching of sages, advocacies of the government, or concepts upheld by society.” However, to things he considered fitting the democratic and scientific spirit, he would firmly make his efforts to promote them even though they were viewed as heterodoxies and heresies. In media feuds, he wrote in reply saying that “the difference between right and wrong is obvious, so there should be no room for objectors to argue, and what we advocated is absolute truth. Thus, nothing is needed to be rectified.”24 According to Chen, the only way to cope with nonsensical sayings from ignorant and presumptuous people was to condemn them.25 After gaining the support of Lu, Qian, and Liu, Chen’s advocacy became the argument style of La Jeunesse . The editors were good at grasping the key points of their opponents before they persistently revealed and attacked the crucial concepts in media feuds, so that the ugliest and most ridiculous ideas could be exposed to the readers. On most occasions, such a strategy gave a fatal blow to their opponents, which was worth

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appreciating in an intellectual war. Third, La Jeunesse ’s editors often chose to debate with influential parties about ideological theories. At the same time, attention was paid to readers’ reflection and thoughts — which were combined with criticism against the opponents to provide answers to questions raised by readers. Efforts were also spent to better the column “Correspondence” — where letters responding to questions from readers and looking into certain issues were published. Not only did the editors critically analyze the ideologies of their rivalries, new and important issues were also developed in these letters. This trend not only educated the readers but also stimulated their thinking, as well as spotting new writers, strengthening the editorial team and the influence of the magazine. It was noteworthy that young authors were discovered and nurtured in the process; hence, newspaper and journal workers should pay attention to this point. Fourth, when reviewing the development of La Jeunesse , the effect of public opinion in political struggles should be clearly identified. Readers of the magazine often praised Chen for the “persistence of his own ideology” and “vigorous efforts to change the situation,” and depicted his contributions as “echoes in a vacant cave” and “light in a dark room.” Chen’s propaganda conveyed the effect of enlightenment but some did not have a great rebound and even received negative comments. At its most basic level, significant repercussions in society would be aroused by propaganda which reflected the progression of history or representing an advanced class and social power, and vice versa. For example, Chen’s essays could represent the trend of anti-feudalism and the wave of social politics as they criticized classical literature as well as feudal ethics and discipline, so there was a strong reaction in society. On the contrary, propaganda in favor of Duan Qirui like the promotion of the initiation of war on Germany was disconnected with the public and social trend, thus people were barely motivated and even became indifferent to the news. From the relocation of La Jeunesse from Shanghai to Beijing, to the set-up of the editorial board, until it became the horn of the New Culture Movement, the magazine was becoming increasingly influential in society while the New Culture Movement was eventually developing into a social ideological trend as well as an intellectual movement. If Chen was considered the “commander in chief ” of the May Fourth Movement, then only the strong army which formed the New Culture Movement was worth this commander. Thus, only if journalists represented the people, would the people agree with the journals. Only when one stands ahead of the trend and history and pushes the progression of history, can one become a hero. After all, circumstances make the man.

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May Fourth Movement and Journalism Formation of a new front of journals and the battle between old and new thoughts Owing to the catastrophic changes brought by the October Revolution in Russia and the end of the First World War, Chinese people were ideologically impacted

and were encouraged to understand the world, the national political situation, and China’s future through reading journals and newspapers. Around the end of 1918 and the beginning of 1919, there were dramatic changes in the global circumstances, arousing people’s concern about the political situation. At that

time, the two major concerns were first, whether China could raise its international

status in the Paris Peace Conference and second, whether the negotiation between the Beiyang government in the north and the militarist government in the south

could bring a brighter future to the nation. As a large-scale monthly magazine on

theoretical discussions, La Jeunesse ’s publication consumed too much time and sometimes its publication was delayed, which could not satisfy readers’ demands

of commentaries on current affairs. Moreover, some editors insisted on not touching upon politics, restraining the content of La Jeunesse . As a result, Chen and Li

Dazhao began another publication — The Weekly Review (Meizhou pinglun 每週 評論 ).

Propaganda during the May Fourth period First published in Beijing on December 22, 1918, The Weekly Review was a small

four-page newspaper. There were a total of 37 issues in which the first 25 issues were edited by Chen. Other contributors included Li Dazhao, Hu Shi, Zhou

Zuoren, Gao Yihan, Wang Guangqi, Zhang Shenfu, etc. As mentioned in the

foreword of the first issue, the aim of the newspaper was to “advocate justice, fight against powers,” showing Chen’s opposition to, externally, aggressions from big countries against the freedom and equality of other countries and, internally,

aggressions from warlords against the freedom and equality of the common people. In fact, this was the early guiding principle of The Weekly Review adopted

to produce critiques about local and international political events, which was considered positive at that time. Putting the guiding principle into practice, the

newspaper expressed doubts over the North–South Peace Negotiation, castigating the warlord-controlled “warrior politics,” especially the Anhui Clique headed

by Duan Qirui. On the other hand, blindly believing there was real justice, Chen

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fancied the imperialism proposed by Woodrow Wilson. Meanwhile, there was a tendency of socialism among some contributors of the newspaper. For instance, Li Dazhao wrote an article “New Era” in The Weekly Review and selectively translated the Communist Manifesto . Since the 26th issue, the newspaper was turned into a place for Hu Shi — who took over the position of chief editor after Chen was arrested in the May Fourth Movement — to promote pragmatism. By the time the 37th issue was published, the warlord government forced the newspaper to close down. Indeed, the publication of The Weekly Review carried deep significance as it complemented La Jeunesse — in the sense that the former one focused on comments about facts while the latter one emphasized the expounding of intellectual thoughts. The combination of intellectual and political struggles exactly represented the new direction of the New Culture Movement. Furthermore, The Weekly Review based on critiques about current affairs and contained columns like “Comments on Foreign Matters,” “Comments on Domestic Matters,” “Record of Thoughts,” and the editorial column — which closely delivered opinions in relation to the latest development, catching people’s attention. As it marked a new form of newspaper, it also evolved into a model to follow. Hence, newspapers emerged during the May Fourth Movement including Shian Kian Weekly Review (Xiangjiang pinglun 湘江評論 ), Review of a Week (Xingqi pinglun 星期評論 ), and Qianjiang Review (Qianjiang pinglun 錢江評論 ) either imitated the pattern or adopted a similar structure of columns. Since the initiators and core members of the New Culture Movement were teaching at Peking University, the school became the center of the movement. On the silent campus, students were inspired and stimulated by the expansion of the intellectual movement. Eventually, as the movement continued progressing, a bunch of student publications appeared by early 1919. Two noticeable examples were Nationals (Guomin 國民 ) and The Renaissance (Xinchao 新潮 ). Nationals was a publication of the Students’ Society for National Salvation — a countrywide organization founded in May 1918 by a group of Beijing students and students returned from Japan, after Duan signed the Sino–Japanese Joint Anti-enemy of the Military Agreement . In October, the society established the Citizen Magazine Society. The monthly magazine Nationals — edited by Deng Zhongxia, Huang Rikui, Xu Deyan, and Duan Xipeng — was published on January 1, 1919, with the assistance and guidance of Li Dazhao. Cai Yuanpei wrote the preface for the magazine with patriotism and anti-imperialism as the main themes. The magazine was to criticize Japanese imperialism and Japan’s support to the Duan’s government. In addition, Li wrote an article called “Pan-

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Asianism and New Greater Asianism” to expose the intention of the Japanese government. In terms of culture, the magazine was a mixture of the old and new as classical Chinese was still used in early issues. The magazine was suspended in May 1921, after the fourth issue of the second volume was published. The Renaissance , a student journal published by the New Trend Society — a literary organization in Peking University — carried greater cultural influence. The chief editor of the monthly journal had been Fu Sinian, Luo Jialun, and Zhou Zhuoren. Gaining support from Chen and Hu, the journal was subsidized by Peking University. In addition, the publication included the writings of Li and Lu Xun. Before the May Fourth Movement, The Renaissance primarily emphasized anti-feudal ethics as well as classical literature and participated in the New Culture Movement, which contributed much more than La Jeunesse did in stimulating the creation of new fictions and poems. However, owing to the political bias of the editorial team after the May Fourth Movement, bourgeois thoughts were to a certain extent promoted. The monthly was published until March 1922 when the publication was cut at the second issue of its third volume. The appearance of Nationals and The Renaissance did help multiply the influence of the New Culture Movement. A number of newspapers and newspaper supplements in Beijing and Shanghai, like The Morning Post (Chen bao 晨報 ), Beijing Post (Jing bao 京報 ), and National Gazette in Beijing, as well as Republic Daily (Minguo ribao 民國日報 ) and Journal on Current Affairs (Shishi xinbao 時事新報 ) in Shanghai also followed the trend created by the movement. Consequently, newspapers and journals formed a new frontline giving La Jeunesse a big hand in promoting and spreading new culture. Certainly, the conservative force would not remain silent in the face of such a situation. In February 1919, Lin Shu (whose county name was Qinnan), a writer of ancient prose from the anti- La Jeunesse Tongcheng school of literature, published his fiction Jingsheng in New Shen Bao (Xin shen bao 新申報 ), an Anhui Cliquecontrolled newspaper. Here is the main idea of his work: there were three young men named Tian Qimei, Jin Xinyi, and Di Mo (respectively representing Chen Duxiu, Qian Xuantong, and Hu Shi) meeting at Taoran Pavilion in Beijing to discuss how to promote the abolition of classical Chinese and Confucianism as well as the adoption of vernacular Chinese. Suddenly, a husky fellow Jingsheng (representing the feudalistic side) broke the wall and scolded the three men, blaming them for destroying the moral order which existed since the country was established more than four thousand years ago. Then, the three were brutally beaten and the big

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Journalism in the May Fourth Movement

man left with a victory. Lin’s work was not playful in the sense that it clearly reflected the intention and trendency of the conservative force. After La Jeunesse publicly attacked feudalism, parties against the magazine arose, but they were of different backgrounds. The national essence (guocui 國粹 ) school, which included some editors of the monthly magazine National Heritage (Guogu 國故 ), objected to advocacies in the magazine from an academic perspective. Aside from that, having connections with the revolutionary political power, the conservative force intended to devastate the New Culture Movement through the help from the revolutionary force. As a result, in collaboration with Lin’s fiction, members of the “Anfu parliament” — the country’s second parliament whose election was manipulated by a political body named Anfu Club (Anfu julebu 安福俱樂部 ) — threatened Fu Zengxiang, the Republic Minister of education to lay off professors from Peking University supporting the New Culture Movement. In March, the Anfu Club-controlled newspaper Public Voice (Gongyan bao 公言報 ) published Lin’s public letter to Cai, the Principal of Peking University, condemning the proposition of overthrowing Confucius and Mencius and removing traditional ethics. Being concerned with the messages Jingsheng expressed, pro-new culture newspapers immediately counter-attacked against the conservative power. For instance, the full text of Jingsheng was reprinted in the 12th issue of The Weekly Review , and the editorial note pointed out that the authority of the warrior politics was used as to suppress the New Culture Movement. Meanwhile, The Morning Post reprinted Li Dazhao’s essay titled “The Battle between New and Old Thoughts,” which said “it is necessary to know that if there are conscious youngsters, they will definitely not be petrified of conservative suppression. Even your husky fellows are unable to dampen their determination.” On April 1, Cai also published an article called “To Public Voice and Lin Qinnan” in Public Voice clarifying that his philosophy in running the university was “to adopt pluralism while following the principle of liberty of thought” — indicating that he was in supporter of the New Culture Movement. Experiencing several years of propaganda about anti-feudalism, the opinion of the general public almost entirely inclined to the New Culture Movement. Simply by looking at “Public Opinions about Old and New Thoughts” in the 12th and 19th issues of The Weekly Review , where various articles were compiled, it could be sure that at least 15 newspapers publishing 27 commentaries shared the same stance as La Jeunesse and condemned the Beiyang government of interfering in academic freedom. An article in Republic Daily said “since Cai Yuanpei became the President of Peking

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University, the decadence had be cleared, completely cleared…Publications

like La Jeunesse and The Renaissance clearly exposed the ugliness of the world, ushering the Chinese intellectual world into a new era.” Matchless Newspaper

(Gaishi bao 蓋世報 ), a Beijing publication, wrote that “politics is used to interfere with the academia…the spread of established improper practices is expected to restore the era of despotism.” Some journals advocated the continuation of attacks

on Confucianism in order to reform people’s thinking, which helped promote the New Culture Movement. Zhejiang Education Weekly (Zhejiang jiaoyu zhoubao

浙江教育週報 ) also published an article saying that “new ideas are germinating

while old ideas are still prevailing. It is hoped that reformers could realize the significance of their responsibilities as well as the dominance of old thoughts. They have to fight and resist with the aspiration for independence and the spirit of sacrifice. The truth lies where life and death are.”

Frankly speaking, the so-called battle between new and old thoughts

was nothing about intellectual debates but the demonstration of strength in

newspapers and journals among the new and conservative frontlines. In nature,

the struggle was for freedom of thought and freedom of speech. The fact proved

that the new culture — a direction pursued by the journalistic world — had rooted in people’s hearts and was irreversible. Such a battle provided a concrete ideological basis for the May Fourth Movement.

Journalism in the May Fourth Movement In Chinese modern history, the May Fourth Movement in 1919 was undeniably

the most ground-breaking anti-imperialist movement. Various journals, newspapers, and news agencies expressed an unprecedented consistency in

opposing imperialism and the warlord government, revealing that the journalistic world was constantly making progression. On the other hand, active reports and shouts made by the journalistic world did contribute to the birth of a remarkably extensive mass movement.

Forced to sign unequal treaties, China was humiliated in the Paris Peace

Conference which directly provoked the May Fourth Movement. Even several months before the movement occurred, attention had been paid and there were

reports about the peace conference held in January 1919. Since late-March the

same year, students studying in France like Zhou Taixuan continuously updated China on the situation of the conference by making reports through their news

agency in Paris. When these students got to know that the peace conference

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was biased towards the American delegation and China had no chance to recover Qingdao, they instantly shared the news with the Chinese press through telegrams.26 In the meantime, the political enemy of Duan Qirui, the Research Clique led by Liang Qichao, was on a visit to Europe. The members made use of their identity of consultants in the Paris Peace Conference to send updates back to China through The Morning Post and Journal on Current Affairs . On April 15, 1999, 83 newspapers including Republic Daily from Shanghai and The Morning Post jointly founded the National Newspapers Association to call upon journalists in the country to eliminate their political differences and gather their power, so as to “externally, back delegates in the peace conference and internally, act as guides of the northern and southern representatives.”27 Apparently, Liang intended to use the press power to foster diplomatic success and realize peace in the country. While reports on newspapers had caught the attention of the country, every single change in the political situation would bring about echoes among the public. Under such a circumstance, the public, society, and the journalistic world were shaken by news that China’s demands were rejected in the peace conference. On May 2, The Morning Post and National Gazette published that Lin Chenmin, a representative of the Nationals’ Association for Diplomacy had received a phone call from Liang telling him Qingdao was to be given to Japan. Once the newspaper was out, the public was immediately enraged. Knowing the Beiyang government had approved the signing of the terms, student organizations like the Citizen Magazine Society of Peking University and the New Trend Society called for a meeting on May 3 night — where Shao Piaoping, the chief editor of Beijing Gazette delivered a speech encouraging students to “save the nation from subjugation so as to survive as well as rise up with ardor and struggle.” Participants of the assembly also shared their own thoughts while tears were welling in their eyes.28 Eventually, it was decided that students would march on the next day at Tiananmen Square in protest of the betrayal act of the Beiyang government. The incident marked the beginning of the May Fourth Movement, and some 30 students were arrested by armed policemen. In spite of the authority and power of the Beiyang government, the press still made detailed reports about the movement as well as published supportive articles. On May 5, on the second page of Beijing Gazette , no. four type metals were used to publish slogans, leaflets distributed by the students, an article named “Warning the Government on Diplomatic Problems,” and writings proposing bailing the arrested students out — which were written by three individuals including Wang Daxie, the chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Relations and sent to the Director of the

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National Police Agency. Besides, there were in-depth reports about the situation of the movement. When the news expanded to Shanghai, Republic Daily took the initiative to take part in reporting and commenting on the movement. Since May 6, three new columns which constantly followed the movement — “Patriotic Movement of Beijing Students,” “Admonition of Shangdong Problem,” and “Fight between the Dark Force and Education Field” — were added to Republic Daily . For consecutive days, the chief editor of the newspaper published commentaries in order to call on readers “to unify and fight against the thief.” Since May 12, the supplement Republic Novel (Minguo xiaoshuo 民國小說 ) was replaced by the special column “Let’s Expel the Thieves and Save Our Nation” — where letters from readers and one of Chen’s works, “The Fundamental Crime of Foreign Relation with Japan,” were published. Contrary to their usual style of politically conservative, big newspapers including Shun Pao and Daily News (Xinwen bao 新聞報 ) from Shanghai, Ta Kung Pao (Dagong bao 大公報 ) from Tianjin, and Social Welfare (Yishi bao 益世報 ) from Beijing used large headlines and great lengths to cover reports about the student movement. Additionally, commentaries on the incident were published. On the whole, they were of a patriotic stance. Aside from publishing news and commentaries, journalists around the world also began to take part in the anti-imperialist movement. For instance, Beijing newspapers sent telegrams to the Paris Peace Conference to tell the international community not to ignore China’s request for recovering her rights. The Shanghai Daily Newspapers Association (Shanghai ribao gonghui 上海日報公會 ) also contacted the Beiyang government requesting the release of detained students in order to entertain the public opinion. Apart from expressing solidarity with the student movement, newspapers in Shandong, Tianjin, Hunan, and Hubei Provinces disclosed the atrocity of the Garrison Commander of Shandong Province Ma Liang, the Tianjin Police Chief Yang Yide, the Provincial Military Governor of Hunan Province Zhang Jingyao, and the Provincial Military Governor of Hubei Province Wang Zhanyuan — to brutally suppress the massive patriotic movement. In order to give a direct hit on imperialism, the National Press Federation suggested newspapers in the country refuse to publish Japanese advertisements by issuing a notice, which said “no Japanese advertisements would be published until the Shangdong Problem is properly handled. As it is a matter of stance of the nation, I sincerely hoped you all would resolutely enforce this practice, so as to show the patriotism and enthusiasm of the press industry.”29 Hence, despite different political stances of various newspapers, journalists in the country were now united by patriotism. What is worth noting is, Chen’s The Weekly Review still played a leading role in affecting the public opinion. Although

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the publication was not as effective as daily posts were in delivering news of the movement, it still exerted the advantage of commentaries owing to its format. For the five consecutive issues after the 21st one was published on May 11, there were repeated highlights of the movement. A news summary “Major Civil Activities in Beijing of the Week” and a piece of press material “History of Failure of Qingdao Negotiation” were published to fight back against the attacks from Shuntian Times (Shuntian shibao 順天時報 ) and Public Voice . Moreover, supportive commentaries of some Beijing newspapers were compiled into an article titled “Regarding the Public Opinion on Beijing Student Movement.” Most importantly, The Weekly Review provided critical comments and analyses of the nature, future, and lessons of the movement. Chen Duxiu produced articles including “Two Fruitless Peace Conferences,” “The Root Wickedness of Using Diplomacy with Japan,” “Shandong Issue and People’s Consciousness,” and “Whether We Should Love Our Nation” to reflect on his thought — universal truth must defeat the authority. Eventually, he ruled out that first, universal truth was not to be singly relied on, and second, the regime could not be manipulated by a small group of people. Meanwhile, in the article “Secretive Diplomacy and the World of Bandits,” Li Dazhao wrote “against aggression and banditry from the world of bandits,” i.e. he was against any form of imperialism. Additionally, he suggested the implementation of national selfdetermination. Apparently, these advocacies in The Weekly Review were far more provident than the general opinion. As a result of the participation and influence of the journalistic world, the May Fourth Movement became even more threatening to the Beiyang warlord government. This explained why since the outbreak of the movement, the Beiyang government colluded with imperialists and suppressed freedom of speech and publication. After some newspapers and journals made factual reports about students’ demonstrations, the Japanese Minister in China immediately met with the Department of Diplomacy of the Beiyang government, and vilified National Gazette for “intentionally publishing stirring articles which had led to the occurrence of the riot where university students set fire and beat others,” hoping to force the Beiyang government to take prompt actions — “to ban anti-Japanese assemblies and distribution of leaflets, as well as to limit the content of newspapers.”30 Once after receiving the order, the Director of National Police deployed staff to inspect the office of National Gazette . Within a dozen days after the May Fourth Movement took place, the National Police Agency successively sealed up publications like May Seventh Daily (Wuqi rikan 五七日刊 ), Common People’s Weekly (Pinmin zhoubao 平 民 週 報 ), and Patriotic Weekly (Aiguo zhoukan 愛 國 週 刊 ), accusing them of

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“criticizing the government, jeopardizing diplomacy, and having overly extreme opinions.” Any newspapers and journals of a similar nature were also banned from publication and distribution. In the evening of May 23, some 30 policemen seized the office of Social Welfare and editor Pan Wenchao was arrested. From that day onwards, the police agency sent staff to the office of The Morning Post to check every single script, or no scripts could be published. In the meantime, there was an abnormal scene within the Shanghai French Concession — where freedom of the press, according to the imperialists, had been fully safeguarded. The authority of the region, claiming “it had bad influence on security,” suppressed Joint Students Daily (Xuelian ribao 學聯日報 ) of the Shanghai Students’ Federation, and on a groundless basis, closed down Salvation Daily (Jiuguo ribao 救國日報 ), which was a publication of students returned from Japan. In Shanghai, there had been no standard press regulations or law, but since powers of different countries were confronting each other within the border, press legal terms were hastily formulated and issued. On June 22, the Rule of Issuance and Publication within Shanghai Concession was issued. On July 10, tax-paying Westerners in the border held a meeting suggesting the proposal of Printing Additional Rule . Although owing to a multitude of reasons, the proposal was not approved by the consular corps, the principle was still practiced in reality. In late-July, the Head Police Station of the concession condemned Republic Daily for “inciting the people and upsetting public order” and “openly encourage assassination,” so publication of the daily was suspended for two days. The above incidents reflected that the imperialist powers were frightened by the awareness of Chinese people as well as the dissemination of Marxism. In the face of oppression from imperialism and the warlord government, newspapers, wanting to fight for freedom of press, continued their indefatigable struggle. The 24th issue of The Weekly Review published an article titled “The Course of Censorship of Joint Publications with Disorderly Conduct,” which reported the details of how the Beiyang government intended to realize Sino– Japanese friendship — sealing up newspapers and journals, censoring scripts, and closing down printing houses — in order to arouse public attention. Li Dazhao wrote articles like “Powerful Government” and “Dangerous Ideology and Freedom of Speech” to sarcastically depict the Japanese embassy in Beijing Legation Quarter as the “overlord government” of Beiyang government. On June 11, Chen was arrested for distributing leaflets and his residence, also the editorial office of La Jeunesse in Beiheyan Jiangan Lane was ransacked. Consequently, newspapers and journals in various parts of the country published reports and commentaries pointing out that “the arrest of Chen and close down of Social

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Welfare are both recent literary inquisitions in Beijing.”31 Responding to the public voice in Beijing, Republic Daily successively published “Beijing Government Ruined Public Opinion” and “Beijing Government Destroyed Public Opinion Again.” These efforts created an extensive public voice demanding freedom of speech and publication, as well as castigating the government for being autocratic. Breaking the melancholic atmosphere since the Second Revolution (a failed armed movement against Yuan in 1913), the exceptional mass movement during the May Fourth period displayed how effective newspapers and journals were in propagating the movement. Concurrently, the development of newspapers and journals was significantly stimulated. Across the country, there were numerous youths forming political organizations and starting political publications. In Beijing, for example, the Young China Association published Journal of Young China Association (Shaonian zhongguo 少年中國 ), and then another publication Youth World (Shaonian shijie 少年世界 ). Another example was New Society (Xinshehui 新社會 ) — a periodical published once every 10 days — which was founded by Qu Qiubai and his fellows in the Russian Language Institute of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Young Society of the Affiliated Middle School of the Beijing Higher Normal Education School also founded a seminonthly Teenagers (Shaonian 少 年 ). At the same time, manager of the Publishing Office of Peking University chief edited a small weekly called New Life (Xinshenghuo 新生活 ). Aside from Beijing, in Hunan, where student movement was very active, a multitude of newspapers and journals also sprang up. Among the many publications, Shian Kian Weekly Review — the official newspaper of Hunan Students Federation (Hunan xuesheng lianhehui 湖南學生聯合會 ) edited by Mao Zedong — was the most influential. Additionally, nearly every key secondary specialized school in places such as Changsha, Xiangtan, and Hengyang founded their own small newspapers or journals. For instance, Xiangya Medical Technical School founded New Hunan (Xinhunan 新湖南 ) and Zhounan Girls School published A Tocsin for Women (Nüjiezhong 女界鐘 ). In the meantime, all over the country, there were countless youth political publications which were quite important and influential. Table 8.1  Youth publications in the May Fourth period Place Tianjin

Name of publication

Person(s) in charge

The Tientsin Student (Tianjin xuesheng liangehui bao 天津學生聯合會報 )       Zhou Enlai Consciousness (Juewu 覺悟 )

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A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 4

(Cont'd) Place Wuhan

Zhejiang

Sichuan

Name of publication

Person(s) in charge

Wuhan Review of the Week (Wuhan meizhou pinglun 武漢每週評論 )           Yu Daiying and  Student Weekly                         Lin Yu’nan (Xuesheng zhoukan 學生週刊 ) Double Tenth (Shuangshi 雙十 ) Zhejiang New Trend (Zhejiang xinchao 浙江新潮 ) Qianjiang Review (Qianjiang pinglun 錢江評論 )

Sunday (Xingqiri 星期日 ) Sichuan Students Tide (Sichuan xueshengchao 四川學生潮 )

—

—

Indeed, the number of these small journals and newspapers was unprecedented, as evidenced by an unknown source that there were more than 500 publications. Similarly, thoughts and ideas spread through these publications were overwhelming. Although most newspapers and journals were published in the name of “dissemination of new thoughts,” the ideas which they contained were indeed rather multifarious. Some, like the monthly Engineering (Gongxue 工學 ) of the Beijing Higher Normal Education School, advocated the Leo Tolstoy’s “panlaborism”; while some, like the monthly New People (Xinren 新人 ) published by the New People Society in Shanghai, promoted the New Village Movement (a kind of anarchic movement); and some, like the weekly magazine Common People (Pingmin 平民 ) published by Fudan University, were devoted to the spread of corporatism. As the ideological liberation movement had never appeared in the past, the above scene should be an inevitable result. Gratifyingly, under the influence of progressive intellectuals, a considerable portion of these immense and disordered journals revealed a weak yet growing tendency towards socialism. This was exactly what Qu recalled later: “The discussion on socialism always arouses limitless interest. However, as if looking at fog through the veil, schools of socialism and the meaning of socialism are chaotic and ambiguous. Like pouring water running out of a long obstructed and then opened sluice, although the water is spouting and splashing, we can still figure out its flowing direction.”32 Another change brought by the May Fourth Movement to the journalistic world was that the Kuomintang (Guomindang 國民黨 ) or the KMT, led by Sun Yat-sen, began to strengthen the promotion of its newspapers and journals. In the initial stage of the movement, as Sun and his fellows did not realize what changes would be brought to the Chinese community, the content about new culture and new thoughts in KMT’s journals was very limited. Yet, after the outbreak of the

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May Fourth Movement, Sun was greatly encouraged and inspired. This can be seen in his letters written to overseas members of the KMT: “This new cultural

movement, at this moment, is indeed an uncommon change.” He also admitted

witnessing the promotional function of journals: “Tracing back to the origin, the movement was just the advocacy of one or two conscious men, but as the

advocacy went into the public voice, it illuminated and spread the trend over the

country.”33 Understanding this fact, the KMT adjusted the direction of its press work. With Dai Jitao and Shen Xuanlu as chief editors, Review of the Week —

whose design imitated that of The Weekly Review — was published in Shanghai

on June 8, 1919. In the same month, the old form of supplement in Republic

Daily was substituted by a new supplement called Consciousness , which was established and edited by Shao Lizi. By August, under Sun’s leadership, a

theoretical journal named Reconstruction (Jianshe 建設 ) was founded and Zhu Zhixin,

Wang Jingwei, Dai Jitao, and Liao Zhongkai formed the Reconstruction Society with some other members. Even though the above three publications displayed different

political viewpoints owing to changes in the person in charge, a close relationship was still built up between them and the May Fourth Movement, and thus spreading various political thoughts. For instance, Reconstruction systematically elaborated

Sun’s old Three People’s Principle (anti-Manchurian natured) and published “The International Development of China” — a plan formulated by Sun to envision

the building of a bourgeois republic with free industrial development. But in the meantime, Marxist economic theories were introduced and long lengths of The

Economic Doctrines of Karl Marx were published. Da Jitao, the chief editor of Review of the Week also expressed support for socialism and introduced labor

movement on the globe. Near May Day in 1920, a celebratory special issue of the periodical was published and it contained Li Dazhao’s essay “History of May

Day Movement.” Then, articles about Marxism written by Li Hanjun and Chen Wangdao were also published. However, generally speaking, the publication

tended not to promote scientific socialism, and it could not clearly lead the way of labor movement in relation to workers’ problems. For the supplement

Consciousness , it became increasingly socialist under Shao Lizi and clearly

pointed out that Marxism was to be the guiding ideology in transforming Chinese society. Consequently, the newspaper, being a close partner of the

communist initiator in Shanghai, was transformed into a crucial base for the spread of Marxism.

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The Shian Kian Weekly Review and Mao’s journalistic activities In the tide of the New Culture Movement, The Shian Kian Weekly Review

published in Hunan Province was one of the publications conveying significant

influence in China. The chief editor of the publication was one of the founders of

the New People Institute (Xinmin xuehui 新民學會 ), an important mass organization in the province, as well as an organizer of Mouvement Travail-Études in France. The chief editor, was Mao Zedong.

When Mao was young, he loved reading and treasured newspapers and

journals. While he was studying at Hunan First Normal School, about one third of his expense went to newspaper subscription. Reading over newspapers every day and pondering on political affairs and social problems, Mao especially liked to

study La Jeunesse and had even submitted scripts to the magazine. Eventually, an

article “The Study of Physical Education” — which was signed “Mr. 28 Strokes” (as Mao’s full name written in traditional Chinese contains 28 strokes) — was

published in the magazine in 1917. The meaning of “28 strokes” could be traced

back from an article “We Are All Surnamed Gong”34 written by Tong Yin and Li

Feng published in People’s Daily on May 29, 1984. The article quoted what Mao had said in 1938: “When I wrote articles in the past, I used the pen-name Mr.

28 Strokes. Others might think it was because my full name has 28 strokes, but

indeed, 28 strokes are referring to the word ‘gong’35 — after all I am a member of the Communist Party.” However, his remarks seemed doubtful because back then

the Communist Party in China (CPC) was yet to be established and he was not a Communist member, but such articles were published in La Jeunesse .

Between the summer of 1918 and the spring of 1919, Mao visited Beijing for the

first time and worked in the Library of Peking University, where Li Dazhao was in

charge. During this period, Mao participated in a seminar on journalism in Peking University, where he attended journalism courses instructed by Shao Piaoping

and Xu Baohuang. After six months of study, Mao obtained a certificate upon the

completion of the program. Later when Mao recalled the seminar, he remarked that the teaching of Shao, a renowned journalist, benefited him tremendously.

Not long after the outbreak of the May Fourth Movement, Mao took up the

position of chief editor of The Shian Kian Weekly Review , a small four-page

weekly newspaper founded on July 14, 1919. In August the same year, when the 5th issue of the newspaper was about to be published, it was terminated by Zhang Jingyao from the Hunan Army. Thus, only the first four issues and an

ad hoc extra edition were left. In a letter dated September 5, 1919, written to Li Jinxi, a linguist in Chinese, Mao said “the publication of the fifth issue of The

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Journalism in the May Fourth Movement

Shian Kian Weekly Review has been forbidden. Now a copy of the issue has been sent to you, please kindly receive it.” Published in the name of Hunan Students Federation, The Shian Kian Weekly Review had exerted utmost importance in facilitating revolutionary activities in Hunan. The Shian Kian Weekly Review was primarily composed of commentaries, with reports on current affairs combined with comments of the author. Mao’s works also composed a remarkable portion of the articles in the newspaper. Columns in the newspaper included: •• “Review on Western News” •• “Revizew on Eastern News” •• “Review on Shian Kian News” •• “Comments on the World” •• “Comments on Shian Kian” •• “Speaking Aloud” As mentioned in Mao’s “Founding Manifesto,” the main task of the newspaper was to disseminate new thoughts. The manifesto also stressed that “to sum up any kinds of reform, they are simply to obtain freedom by power. Democracy is the fundamental ideology of any kinds of fight against the authority.” Furthermore, The Shian Kian Weekly Review carried out substantial antiimperialist and anti-feudalistic propagation. The newspaper disclosed the fact that the Paris Peace Conference was merely an attempt among powers to divide the spoils and it also rebuked the heads of imperialism for being “close bandits” and “constantly talking about equality and justice” but indeed lying to the people. The newspaper also warned the imperial powers that “the last judgment would come soon.” Moreover, The Shian Kian Weekly Review pinpointed the nature of the warlord authority — which was “republic on surface but autocratic in nature.” The promotion of Confucianism, advocated by the conservative power, was also satirized. The conservative power was indeed acting against the trend as if they were “going in reverse to the flow of the Yangtze River, then climbing over the Kunlun Mountains, and finally reaching Europe” — which was a mission impossible. Last but not least, there were remarks disclosing the unfairness of the feudal moral system — “the so-called ‘chastity’ was only confined to women!” and “there are temples commemorating women died for chastity, but where are those for men?” Like striking thunders, the propagation in The Shian Kian Weekly Review “aroused the deaf and awakened the unhearing.” On the other hand, The Shian Kian Weekly Review praised the victory and success of the October Revolution. Mao wrote: “The Russians had defeated

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aristocracy and expelled the affluent. Workers and peasants worked hand-in-hand to form a new government, while the Red Army was deployed across the country to wipe out the many enemies. The attitude of the Triple Entente changed, and the world was shocked. Meanwhile, there was the rising up of Hungary, where a new government was developed by workers and peasants in its capital Budapest. Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia also united to fight against opposition parties in their countries. Then, the tide left the West and moved eastward to Britain, France, Italy, and the United States, where there were numerous largescale job actions. In India and Korea, there were great revolutions as well. A new force suddenly emerged and the May Fourth Movement took place in between the Great Wall and Bohai Sea. Subsequently, the influence proceeded southward, crossing the Yellow River and reaching Yangtze River. There were movements in Whampoa and Hangao, and the climax was in Fujian. The world is favoring the Soviet Union, and the evil would stay away.” The above vividly depicted how the October Revolution affected the world as well as clearly pointed out that the May Fourth Movement was born under the influence of the October Revolution. What is more, The Shian Kian Weekly Review expounded the idea that “the power of people’s unity was the strongest.” In the second to fourth issues of the newspaper, an essay “People’s Great Unity” was published in which Mao encouraged workers and peasants in the country to begin with small-scale unity, and then moved onto the large-scale one to carry out revolution. He pointed out that “Russian people were united to confront the alliance of aristocracy and capitalists, thus gaining the victory of social transformation eventually.” According to Mao, such a victory “could spread around the globe.” Critically, Mao concluded that the Xinhai Revolution failed because “it was distant from most common people.” He also predicted that “the great unity of the Chinese race would be more successful than that of any race in any region. Our golden and bright world is just ahead!” Back then, these remarks were encouraging to the Chinese people — who had suffered a lot from hardship. For example, there were sentences in The Shian Kian Weekly Review advocating the fearless spirit against the conservative world: “do not be afraid of the Heaven; do not be afraid of the Ghosts; do not be afraid of the Dead; do not be afraid of the Bureaucrats; do not be afraid of the Warlords; and do not be afraid of the Capitalists.” Basically, the guiding ideology of The Shian Kian Weekly Review was democracy, and there were certain socialist elements. Yet, from some of its points, it could be seen that it was influenced by anarchism. Mao’s articles like “Founding

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Journalism in the May Fourth Movement

Manifesto” and “People’s Great Unity” promoted Peter Kropotkin’s theory of mutual aid and cooperation, which was considered even broader and profounder than Marxism. As a result, “Advice Movement” and “Bloodless Revolution,” instead of “Blood Revolution,” were advocated. Apparently, this reflected that Mao was not a Marxist. Until the summer of 1920, he resolutely stated that he had become a Marxist and was previously much affected by anarchism. Therefore, The Shian Kian Weekly Review had witnessed the process of Mao’s transition from a revolutionary democrat to a Marxist. Generating an immense effect on revolution, The Shian Kian Weekly Review was called the “roar of Xiang Jiang,” while the article “People’s Great Unity,” which gained popularity, was republished in Chengdu’s Sunday , Beijing’s Youxin Daily (Youxin ribao 又新日報 ), and Shanghai’s China Times . There were 4,000– 5,000 copies per issue of The Shian Kian Weekly Review , and the copies were sold out quickly. When Mao was still the chief editor of The Shian Kian Weekly Review , he proposed the setting-up of Changsha Federation of Student Magazine (Changsha xuesheng zhoukan lianhehui 長沙學生周刊聯合會 ) — which was formed by people in charge of student publications including The Shian Kian Weekly Review , Yuelu Weekly Magazine (Yuelu zhoukan 岳麓週刊 ), and Jiagong Weekly Magazine ( Jiagong zhoukan 甲工週刊 ). They cooperated in order to achieve consistency in propagation, strengthening the propagating power of journals and newspapers. Soon after the suspension of The Shian Kian Weekly Review , Mao began to head New Hunan (a student publication of the Siangya Medical Technical School) since its 7th issue. New Hunan was a four-page weekly newspaper and in the 7th issue, a manifesto of reformation was published to state the principles of the publication — “First, to criticize society. Second, to reform people’s thinking. Third, to promote learning. Four, to discuss on problems” — while the belief of the newspaper was “everything could be sacrificed but the principle of the newspaper.” In addition, Mao composed scripts for the newspaper condemning the reactionary rule of the conservative warlord government. It was said that New Hunan was the incarnation of The Shian Kian Weekly Review , and it was subsequently sealed up by Zhang Jingyao of the Hunan Army after the 10th issue was published. Mao was also a freelance writer of Ta Kung Pao . Once there was a bride who killed herself in a decorated wedding Chinese litter ( Jiao 轎 ) to show her resistance to the traditional marital system, and in response to the incident, Mao published nine articles in a row in Ta Kung Pao castigating feudal and traditional practices. He pointed out that it was not a personal but social institutional problem which

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A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 4

could only be resolved by reconstructing the old society. Thereafter, Mao continued to produce articles and expanded the revolutionary propagation. In December 1919, intending to initiate the movement of expelling the Hunan Army, Mao led the anti-Zhang delegation to Beijing. He started the Commoner’s News Agency (Pingmin tongxunshe 平 民 通 信 社 ) in Beijing and acted as the president. Since then, active anti-Zhang propagation was carried out — articles were sent to newspapers in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Wuhan and there were about 150 free copies for each press release. In May 1920, Mao visited Shanghai, where the crew led by Peng Huang founded the weekly magazine Querying the

Sky (Tianwen 天問 ). Mao’s works were published in this magazine as well as China Times and Shun Pao to promote anti-Zhang movement and advocate Hunan selfindependence and the Hunan transformation. In September, the Cultural Book Store (Wenhua shushe 文化書社 ), founded by Mao, began to operate in Changsha. It sold progressive newspapers, journals, and books in order to spread the new culture and Marxism. Initially, some 40 kinds of magazines and several newspapers like La Jeunesse , The World of Labor (Laodongjie 勞動界 ), New Life , and Chen Bao were for sale. Mao also compiled letters between members of the New People Institute during 1918 and 1921 into Communication of the New People Institute (Xinmin xuehui huiyuan tongxin 新民學會會員通信 ), which was separated into three volumes and printed by the Cultural Book Store. The series was delivered to the members as well as readers outside the institute. These letters conveyed considerable significance as they recorded the discussions among members on various important ideological issues, especially towards the establishment of the CPC. The Cultural Book Store was in good condition not until 1927, when it was disturbed by the KMT during the May 21st Incident. Also in September, He Shuheng assumed the presidency of Hunan Popular Education Hall (Hunan tongsu jiaoyuguan 湖南通俗教育館 ), and Xie Dangzai was invited to be the chief editor of the hall’s publication — Hunan Popular Journal (Hunan tongsu bao 湖南通俗報 ). Mao often visited the newspaper office and provided opinions on how to manage a newspaper. In the first editorial meeting, Mao said that “a newspaper should have a bright and clear attitude over what it would advocate and is against. Hunan Popular Journal is a means to carry out education on the general public, so the wordings have to be simple, lively, and short. Words have to be based on truth instead of abstract principles.”36 All his comments provided concrete help in relation to the management of the newspaper. In June 1921, He Shuheng was dismissed by the warlord authority, and Hunan Popular Journal was thus suspended.

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In January 1921, Mao delivered a speech during a meeting among members of

New People Institute in Changsha, saying that “first, I would like to be a teacher, and second, I would like to be journalist.”37

The Tientsin Student and Zhou Enlai’s journalistic activities In northern major cities like Tianjin, Zhou Enlai edited The Tientsin Student and

other publications, giving rise to the appearance of another propagation center of the May Fourth Movement. Unlike Mao, Zhou had already edited a number of publications when he began to head The Tientsin Student , so he was rather

experienced and had his own viewpoints over the operation of newspapers.

Between August 1913 and June 1917, while Zhou was still studying in Tianjin

Nankai High School, he spread concepts of democracy by forming a student body with his schoolmates to edit and publish student publications.

In March 1914, Zhou took part in founding Focus on Work, Entertain the

People ( Jingye lequnhui 敬業樂群會 ), a student association of Nankai High School. The aim of the association was “to take intellectual development as the main body and morality as the ultimate goal; and to compensate the deficiencies of

academic subjects by improving the connection between students.” Later, Zhou became the Secretary for Intellectual Development, then the Vice President, and at

last the President of the association, as well as the chief editor of the association’s magazine Focus on Work (Jingye 敬業 ). The magazine, founded in October 1914,

and suspended in June 1917, was a biannual publication with a total of six issues,

where a number of Zhou’s theses, casual literary notes, annals, and literary works were published. Among these works, Zhou’s earliest poem Idle Thoughts on a

Spring Day (Chunri oucheng 春日偶成 ) was included as well. Using “Fei Fei” as the pen name, Zhou opened the column “Fei Fei’s Pen,” where he specifically put his casual literary notes. These poetic works reflected Zhou’s patriotism and the spirit of struggle against warlords. By the autumn of 1916, Zhou took the positions of documentary editor and president of the weekly journal of Nankai High School — School Trend (Xiaofeng 校風 ) — where quite an amount of school news reports were included. Valuable historical materials were well reserved through this publication as reports like Zhou obtaining outstanding academic results were published. During May and June in 1917, when Zhou was about to graduate, he repeatedly published a long article “View on the Responsibility of the Association,” summarizing his experience in managing the weekly journal. This piece was a crucial work in the

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A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 4

sense that it revealed Zhou’s early thoughts on journalism. In the article, Zhou pinpointed that School Trend was the official journal of Nankai High School and “it is the organ representing students’ speech and the venue for students to freely express their views,” thus the journal acted as the mouthpiece of the students. Additionally, Zhou wrote that “editorial members of School Trend bear official responsibility, while the journal should in particular bear the responsibility over where it is situated.” Moreover, he pointed out the connection between students and society by stressing that students had “the responsibility of suggestion” and “[students] could observe school affairs today, and would be able to discern the social situation tomorrow.” Reviewing the past of School Trend , Zhou stated that the journal — whose editorial members were once appointed instead of publicly elected — had been managed by only a few editors and thus became a de facto government publication. Back then, according to Zhou, “students all stand aloof and the journal’s content is degrading.” Until the autumn of 1916, the quality of School Trend began to improve as the editorial members were elected by student representatives from every class, and Zhou encouraged students to actively submit scripts. In addition, Zhou recommended that monitors of each class and presidents of each society would become “reporters” (fangshiren 訪事人 ), while each hostel would elect two students to be the “interviewers” (fangyuan 訪 員 ). These reporters and interviewers would write news reports for the school journal. Zhou emphasized that news reports had to “be rich in content, based on facts, and recording everything heard without bias, so as to cater to the readers.” In terms of managerial duties, Zhou believed matters like printing, publishing, proofreading, and advertising possessed great significance, and could even control the life and death of a publication, so these duties should be seriously dealt with. Generally speaking, the above points reflected that Zhou took a rather liberal and democratic view towards newspaper management and operation. Before Zhou published his article that initiated the May Fourth Movement, he completed his study in Japan and returned to Tianjin, and he quickly devoted himself to the movement. Back then the Tianjin Students Federation was established and the person in charge invited Zhou to establish and manage a bulletin of the federation. Under Zhou’s leadership, The Tientsin Student , a singlefold broadsheet bulletin, was founded on July 21, 1919, just within two weeks. On July 12, 1919, Zhou wrote an article “Purport of Publishing The Tientsin Student ” stating that the publication was the official bulletin of the federation, so it should always be consistent with the federation. Besides, the article elaborated that “there are two must-weapons when [the federation] is seeking social sympathy — one is

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Journalism in the May Fourth Movement

speeches and the other is newspapers. They are entirely the products of thoughts of students.” The passage also mentioned that “[the bulletin] is responsible for guiding and monitoring government policies” and “justly criticizing” society and various disciplines, as well as “introducing to the community the prevailing thoughts.” For the first issue of The Tientsin Student , Zhou composed an editorial about reformation and reforming the heart, suggesting merging the idea of national reformation with reformation ideology. There were two catchy mottos — which were also the guiding ideologies of the bulletin — printed on the bulletin: “Reforming and reforming the heart as the principle” and “All advocacies based on democracy.” Columns like “Advocacy,” “Commentary,” and “Current Affairs” were included. Most of the influential articles were written by Zhou, with “Fei Fei” as the pen name as well. The Tientsin Student , like a horn, resoundingly triggered off the tide of antiimperialism and anti-warlordism. Zhou wrote articles to call upon people to fight against warlords as well as the “accompanying external force” — apparently indicating that there was collusion between the warlords and imperialist powers. The Tientsin Student incited people to struggle by organizing job actions, shopkeepers’ strikes, and demonstrations, while pointing out “the only thing we rely on is mass movement” and encouraging “the nation to stay united and cooperative.” The Tientsin Student echoed with The Shian Kian Weekly Review , enhancing the anti-imperialist and anti-warlords propagation. Aside from Tianjin, The Tientsin Student was sold in Beijing, Shanghai, and various cities as well. The sales of the bulletin for a single issue reached 20,000 copies at most, showing that the bulletin was popular and widely supported. There were some workers giving their daily salaries to students selling the bulletin, saying “Go publish more newspapers like this!” while some tram drivers gave free rides to these students. Several newspapers and journals praised the bulletin for “having vitality” and “being courageous to speak.” Moreover, The Tientsin Student was called “the champion of national student bulletins.”38 Inevitably, the reactionary warlord government tried all means to limit the publication of the bulletin — banning its registry, prohibiting publishing houses from producing them, and even proclaiming internal secret orders in the government. The Tientsin Student was once suspended on September 22, 1919, but Zhou was determined to resist, thus the publication — changed from published daily to every Tuesday — was resumed on October 7. More than a hundred issues of The Tientsin Student were published and its 100th issue was titled Strive to reveal its spirit of struggle. On January 25, 1920, the Tianjin Police Agency started to seal up patriotic bodies

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and organizations, including the Tianjin Students Federation. On January 29, Zhou was arrested and the publication of The Tientsin Student was consequently suspended, but the exact date was unknown. At present, only 17 issues of The Tientsin Student were discovered over the country. When Zhou was the chief editor of the bulletin, there were just several editorial members, so he had to take part in various duties such as editorial works, scripts writing, proofreading, and even selling. Zhou had a hard time back then since he needed to do editorial duties at night and participate in the movement during daytime. Occasionally, he worked with the workers of the publishing house while he went there to proofread the scripts. The publishing machine Zhou had used was once displayed in the Museum of Chinese Revolution and History. Valuing scripts and works from the outside, he tried his best to edit these scripts in the hope to publish every single piece instead of abandoning them. With The Tientsin Student as the core, a number of student journals in Tianjin including Awakening World Weekly (Xingshi zhoukan 醒世週刊 ), Nankai Daily (Nankai rikan 南開日刊 ), and Teachers’ Teaching Daily (Shifan rikan 師範日刊 ) were gathered to form the Tianjin Student Journals Association (Tianjin xuesheng baoshe lianhehui 天津學生報社聯合會 ). The principle of the association was to “create strong and powerful opinions in order to influence society and monitor the government and press organs excluded from the association.” In September 1919, Zhou established and led the Consciousness Society (Juewu she 覺悟社 ), which united male and female activists in Tianjin to initiate revolutionary struggles. The society founded the magazine Consciousness (Juewu 覺悟 ) whose only issue was published on January 20, 1920. Owing to the arrest of Zhou and his mouvement travail etudes in Europe later, the second issue of Consciousness was unable to be published. In the only issue, Zhou wrote an article titled “Conscious Manifesto,” which proposed that “militarism unsuitable to modernization, the bourgeoisie, warlords, bureaucracy, inequalities between the male and female, stubborn ideas, conservative morality, conservative ethics…… should all be removed and reformed.” This showed that the fundamental ideology of Consciousness was democratic and to a certain extent contained socialist elements. Interestingly, the editorial members of the magazine used numbers from drawing lots to represent themselves in the articles. The members also used similar pen names or pen names with similar pronunciations. Since the winter of 1920, Zhou went to Europe to study and he began to take part in revolutionary activities, and he returned to China in August 1924. Before he went to Europe, Zhou was employed by a Tianjin newspaper Social Welfare as

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Journalism in the May Fourth Movement

a freelance correspondent. Between March 1921 and May 1922, around 50 pieces

of Zhou’s letters written in Europe were published and there were more than 20,000 words. These letters recorded the revolution situation in Europe and how

Chinese people there struggled. In one of his works “New Changes in the World

of Labor,” he pointed out that “socialism is not to be looked down upon, as it indeed has become an inevitable trend.” From this, Zhou’s ideological transition

from democracy to socialism could be witnessed, explaining why he started to propagate Marxism. As mentioned in a letter written by Zhou to his friend in the

Consciousness Society dated March 1922, he said “the ideology I believe must not alter, and I am determined to work for the propagation of this idea.”39

The Birth of Proletarian Journalism in China Proletarian journals and newspapers — where Marxism was the guiding ideology and socialism was the goal — first appeared after the May Fourth Movement.

In fact, the appearance of proletarian publications was the inevitable outcome of

the May Fourth Movement, since the worker class, for the first time, entered the arena of history and demonstrated to the world their ability to transform society. Owing

to the far-reaching impact of the Russian October Revolution and drills during the

May Fourth Movement, the thinking and ideology of the democratic intellectuals had

undergone mammoth changes. As a result, it was much clearer that the country was moving towards Marxism and socialism. Additionally, after several years of New

Culture Movement, an immense amount of newspapers and journals of good quality had been reserved, and a new generation of journalists and propagandists had been

nurtured. Apparently, there were several matured conditions — the class basis, guiding ideology, editorial crew, and of course, readership.

Pioneer of proletarian journalistic activities: Li Dazhao Undoubtedly, Li Dazhao’s contribution was a key part in the discussion about the birth of proletarian journalism in China.

Born in Hebei in 1889 and died in 1927, Li was one of the early Chinese

intellectuals receiving Marxist ideas and one of the founders of the CPC. During

the 14 years between 1913 and 1927, he edited nearly 20 types of publications and wrote some 300 pieces of political commentaries, current affairs commentaries, newsletters, and poems. Influenced by Western constitutional politics and

democratic ideas in his early years, he upheld ideological freedom and freedom of

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speech as well as emphasized the authority and value of independent journalism and public opinion. Also, believing that journalists had the responsibility to “awaken the world with their prophetic understanding,” Li once said “even the force of a three-inch feather pen could illuminate the darkened world.” Ever since he decided to study politics, he paid much attention to writing articles as well as running newspapers and journals. In 1913, when Li was still a student at the Beiyang Legal Studies Technical School in Tianjin, his articles were so well written that they were complimented the best of the school. He was nominated as the editorial manager of the Legal Studies Society and took charge of the founding of the society’s magazine Studies in Politics (Yanzhi 言治 ). His masterpieces in the magazine included “Great Sorrow,” “The House of Sound of Ancient Lute and Shadow of Sword: About Zhu Shunshui,” a piece of news review, and “A Note on a Trip to Jieshi Mountain.” Overall, his works either recounted people’s hardships or eulogized past sages. As readers were moved and inspired, Li’s works were republished in various newspapers and journals. The magazine Studies in Politics — Li’s first democratic and patriotic publication — was also the starting point of his journalistic activities. By the spring of 1916, Li became the editorial manager of the Clerical Committee of the Association of Chinese Students in Japan. During his study in Japan, Li edited the first issue of the magazine Human Relations (Minyi 民彝 ), whose founding article “Human Relations and Politics,” written by Li, was overflowing with revolutionary and patriotic thoughts. From the perspective of a reporter, Li criticized Yuan Shikai of “stealing the country like a bandit” who claimed to replace the feudal monarchism with a democratic constitutional system but then decided to “re-transform China.” By May 1915, Li returned to China and he began to edit the Morning Bell Post (Chenzhong bao 晨鐘報 ), whose founding

article was titled “The Mission of Morning Bell Post .” Considering it as “a friend of the youth” and “the mouth of the youth,” the only mission of the post was to encourage young readers to struggle in order to build up a young and lively China. However, Li quit awhile later because his political views clashed with those of the people in charge. By January 1917, Li became an editor of the Tiger Daily (Jiayin rikan 甲寅日刊 ). Within a couple of months, he produced more than 70 pieces of articles to criticize the autocratic power and the Confucian trend while spreading new ideas like bourgeois freedom, universal love, and equality. In these works, Li also commented on socialist movements in various European states, and by evaluating the February Revolution in Russia, he propagated that “autocracy is not to be recovered, civil rights are not to be suppressed, the republic is not to be destroyed, and monarchy is not to be revived,” in order to point out

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the nature of the warlord government — to develop bureaucratic politics in the name of constructing a republic. Again, Li stopped editing the newspaper as long as his ideas were not entertained by his fellows. From 1918 to 1919, Li was employed as a librarian manager and an economics professor by Peking University. He also joined the editorial team of La Jeunesse and became one of the major authors. Later, he founded The Weekly Review with Chen Duxiu. In addition, Li was an editorial manager of the Young China Association (Shaonian zhongguo xuehui 少年中國學會 ), who edited the Journal of Young China Association . Afterwards, Li reformed The Morning Post Supplement (Chenbao fukan 晨報副刊 ) and guided the university publications Nationals and The Renaissance . In October 1920, a Communist group was established in Beijing to lead Voice of Labor (Laodong yin 勞動音 ), a publication for general workers and laborers. Between 1921 and 1925, when the CPC was just founded and developing, Li had already been a member of the Central Committee, the Secretary of Commission of Beijing Area, and an executive member of the KMT during the First United Front. For political publications, Li edited some communist publications like Worker’s Weekly (Gongren zhoukan 工人週刊 ) and Political Life (Zhengzhi shenghuo 政 治 生 活 ), as well as the KMT’s newspaper Citizen’s News (Guomin xinbao 國民新報 ). The followings are Li’s contributions in building up a new form of journalism in China — proletarian journalism. First, Li initiated the propagation of Marxism in Chinese newspapers and journals. Back in April 1889, more than half a century after Marxism was proposed, the ideology was first mentioned in a monthly published by the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese (Guangxue hui 廣學會 ) — A Review of Times (Wanguo gongbao 萬國公報 ), where various theories of political ethics in the West were introduced. By the beginning of the 20th century, partial introduction of Marxism was made by revolutionary newspapers and journals of the bourgeoisie in China. For instance, in 1903, an article titled “Theories of a New Society” in the eighth issue of Tides of Zhejiang

(Zhejiang chao 浙江潮 ) gave a brief outline of Marxist theories. In 1906, since the second issue of The Mingpao Magazine (Minbao 民報 ), a number of articles on Marxism — for instances “A Profile on German Social Revolutionists” (written by Zhu Zhixin) and “An Account on Anarchic Camp and Revolutionary Camp” (written by Ye Xiasheng) — were published in consecutive issues. However, a thorough understanding of Marxism was absent because these articles, or authors, viewed and evaluated the ideology from a democratic perspective, and the socialism propagated back then was nothing but empty.

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“When the October Revolution exploded, we (Chinese people) were given the ideology of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.”40 — This was a remark of Mao which instantly caught Li’s attention. As a result, in March 1918, Li published the article “Comparison of French Revolution and Russian Revolution” in the third issue of Studies in Politics to contrast the differences between the two movements. He pointed out “[the French Revolution] was a revolution based on nationalism,” while the Russian Revolution in the early 20th century was different, for it “was a revolution based on socialism, and it combined socialist revolution with the radiance of revolutions in the world.” Also, he wrote that “the former originated from nationalism, while the latter inclined towards cosmopolitanism; the former is always the cause of war, while the latter is the hope of peace.” The article also aimed at comforting the readers, who might be disappointed by the temporal chaos in Russia subsequent to the October Revolution. Readers were encouraged to “raise their heads and welcome the light of a new civilization.” With regards to the description of the October Revolution, this piece of political commentary was considered more appropriate among various Chinese newspapers and journals. In November the same year, , Li wrote two more political commentaries — “Victory of the Common People” and “Victory of Bolshevism” — in the fifth issue of the fifth volume of La Jeunesse to analyze the end of the First World War and the failure of German militarism. He pointed out that it was not the victory of the allied powers, nor was it the victory of the Beiyang military government. Instead, it was “the victory of the common people in the world, the victory of democracy, the victory of socialism, the victory of Bolshevism, the victory of the Red Flag, the victory of the worker class, and the victory of the new trend in the 20th century.” Also, he explained the concrete idea of Bolshevism: “Precisely, their ideology is simply revolutionary socialism; their party is simply revolutionary socialist party. They all follow the principles of Karl Marx, the German socialist economist.” Moreover, he assuredly predicted that “[the October Revolution] is just a Tung Oil Tree leaf striking the autumn…for the world in the future, it must be the world of the Red Flag.” Hence, the fifth issue of La Jeunesse ’s sixth volume was made into a special edition about Marxist studies, where Li’s article “My View on Marxism” was published. On the New Year’s Day of 1919, Li wrote a political commentary “New Age” for The Weekly Review exalting the success of the October Revolution. The above commentaries signified that China was in acknowledgement of the Russian Revolution while showing that progressive people, whose minds were basically communist, began to foresee the country’s destiny with a proletarian view.

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Second, efforts were made to unite progressive newspapers and journals. When the May Fourth Movement, the editorial team of La Jeunesse began to dissolve, yet Li focused on the unity of La Jeunesse from the beginning to the end. On the eve of the May Fourth Movement was about to break out, Li wrote a letter to Hu Shi persuading him not to start another publication and telling him “to bring together people of La Jeunesse , The Renaissance , and The Weekly Review ” in order to continue with the New Culture Movement and fight against the conservative force. He believed that advocacies of individuals in bodies promoting the New Culture could vary, but “the direction towards the bright future has to be the same.” Apart from this, he emphasized that “unity of La Jeunesse has to be considered.”41 Yet, after the May Fourth Movement took place, Hu suggested starting another publication, revealing his intention to separate. In response, Li still insisted on one prerequisite — “not to destroy the spiritual unity of La Jeunesse .” Under Li’s influence and leadership, the major editor of La Jeunesse Chen Duxiu changed from doubting to recognizing the October Revolution, and he eventually accepted Marxism. As a result, socialist elements in The Weekly Review and La Jeunesse increased steadily, which gathered a large number of young readers to move forward. By editing Journal of Young China Association and other youth publications as well as uniting various youth organizations. According to one of Li’s speeches, he “walked hand-in-hand [with the youth], moving along a clear ray of light directing towards a bright future.”42 In addition, he led the publication of the Dawn Society (Shuguang she 曙光社 ), The Dawn (Shuguang 曙光 ), which changed from one formerly colored by idealism and reformism to propagating socialism and Marxism, displaying a clear socialist tendency that echoed with La Jeunesse . In the meantime, with thanks to Li’s guidance, Zhou Enlai’s Consciousness Society grew tremendously and finally manifested that the society was communist in the supplement of Consciousness . Owing to Li’s efforts to unite different forces within the journalistic world, an anti-imperialist and anti-feudalistic front of the press and public opinion was born. During the May Fourth period, Li pushed forward the transformation of newspaper supplements into places where new knowledge, new culture, and new cultivation could be introduced. Li and Chen jointly constructed a united front of newspapers and journals headed by The Weekly Review in the battle between old and new thoughts, which greatly supported students’ patriotic movements and the New Culture Movement while attacking the suppression and autocratic rule of the warlord government. For a long period of time, Li tried hard to maintain the contact with progressive journals and newspapers in various places and

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insisted on writing scripts for them. When it came to the 50th anniversary of Shun

Pao , Li was invited to write a political commentary for the commemoratory issue 50 Years of Shun Pao (Shenbao zhi zuijin wushinian 申報之最近五十年 ) and so “The Paris Commune in 1871” was written. Through the referral of Li, the renowned journalist Shao Piaoping became a secret communist member directing Beijing News and Beijing News Supplement (Jingbao fukan 京報副刊 ). From the October Revolution, the May Fourth Movement, and the June Third Movement (where workers initiated job actions in opposition to anarchism and despotism in 1919), Li experienced the power of people’s unity, and he hoped various occupations and organizations in the country could soon form a united force, so that transformation of Chinese society could be carried out. That was why he devoted himself to expand the unity within the journalistic world. Third, Li contributed much to the establishment of proletarian journalism and the reflection of the oppression of workers and peasants. Having dug into how Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin conducted revolutionary activities, Li considered the collective propagation of revolutionary newspapers and journals a necessary means to carrying out Communist movement. Furthermore, Li no longer expounded the concept of freedom of speech and press abstractly but adopted class analysis on the journalistic phenomenon. He also expressed his appreciation of the October Revolution by saying that there was a need “to put the ruling authority in the hands of the masses…including depriving the oppressor class of the freedom of speech and press.”43 What is more, according to Li, press activities of imperialist countries in China were just “journalistic aggression,” and the conventional journalism, backed by the warlord authority, merely served the ruling classes like provincial military governors and the rich, thus it surely could not reveal the pain the oppressed masses were suffering. For the capitalist system, Li said there were only two ways to combat with — first, the advocacy of public opinion, and second, unity of workers. Consequently, ever since Li and Chen organized the Communist movement in China, they took great pains to build up proletarian journalism in China, which gave birth to the first batch of press organs — ranging from theoretical journals and common workers publications — for the CPC as well as the worker class. Distinctively, these publications propagated Marxism and reflected the voice of the workers and peasants.

Restructuring of La Jeunesse as CPC’s publication in Shanghai After distributed leaflets of the Declaration of the Beijing People , Chen

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was arrested on June 11, 1919, and sentenced to more than three months of

imprisonment. With the support of various parties, Chen was released on September 16. Thereafter, he resigned from the position of Dean of the Arts

Faculty of Peking University. In a meeting of the editorial board of La Jeunesse on

October 5, it was decided that “since the seventh volume, the magazine would be

solely edited by Chen.”44 Then, in the first issue of the seventh volume published

in December that year, Chen wrote an article “Manifesto of the Magazine,” reiterating the principle of the magazine: “We believe countless sins had been

created by militarism and capitalism, so it is time to discard them.” Apparently, the magazine appeared to be taking an anti-capitalist stance. Also, the manifesto

declared that “we advocate mass movements and social transformation, so we

are absolutely irrelevant to political parties, no matter whether now or then.” Such clarification showed that Chen, having absorbed the lessons of the May

Fourth and June Third Movements, was now ready to launch another political struggle. In the meantime, the manifesto covered concepts of idealism and experimentalism, showing that the internal conflicts within the editorial board

had been temporarily resolved. Hoping to avoid the surveillance and oppression

from the Beiyang government, in February 1920, Chen fled from Beijing to Tianjin under the protection of Li Dazhao and finally settled in Shanghai. Therefore, since

the fourth issue of the seventh volume, La Jeunesse was processed and published in Shanghai.

Ever since the June Third Movement, the center of the May Fourth Movement

moved from Beijing to Shanghai. Beginning to integrate with the growing labor movements, the New Culture Movement went beyond the boundary of mere academic knowledge. After moving to Shanghai, Chen put his focus on the study of labor problems and took part in solid worker movements. Since then,

workers became the targets of the propagation in La Jeunesse which aimed

at awakening them. In his article “What the New Culture Movement Was,” Chen stated several new points: “The New Culture Movement has to extend its

influence to other movements. [Industrially,] workers should be aware of their own status. [Politically,] a new political ideology has to be constructed, or we would be restrained by the existing politics…We need to create a united force.”45

In April 1920, Li met with Communist International officials working in China like Grigori Voitinsky in Beijing and they conducted repeated discussions on the establishment of a Communist Party in China. Later in the same month, the

officials were invited by Li to visit Chen in Shanghai. By May, with the assistance

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from Communist International, Chen actively participated in the formation of a Communist Party in the country. In the same month, Labor Day Celebration (Laodongjie jinian 勞動節紀念 ), a special edition of the sixth issue of the seventh volume of La Jeunesse was published. This edition acted as a milestone for the integration of the magazine’s propagation with labor movements, as well as a “new junction” in the New Culture Movement. Containing around 360 pages, more than a double of a usual edition — this edition included one of Chen’s speeches, “Consciousness of Workers,” which was delivered in the Joint Meeting of Shanghai Shipping and Warehouse Workers. The speech said “only workers are the most useful and valuable” and they were the backbones of society, so Li hoped the workers could first be aware of “asking for meals,” i.e. to demand capitalists to provide better treatment of workers. The second thing Li wanted workers to be aware of was “to make their own meals,” i.e. to be in control of the politics, military, and production. Meanwhile, the press in Changsha was severely attacked after demanding Mu Ouchu, a cotton mill owner who was regarded as a capitalist, to improve the payment on behalf of a Hunan female worker. In response, Chen compiled 13 articles on the issue quoted from newspapers including Ta Kung Pao , Hunan Daily , Journal on Current Affairs , and The Weekly Review as well as the letters written back by Mu into a 50 pages long article, “A Female Worker of a Cotton Mill in Shanghai.” Chen commented that “administrative power has already become the pursuit of the labor movement in the 20th century…Workers demanded [that] capitalists improve the treatment, and the people demanded [that] the emperor implement a policy of benevolence, yet both of them worked fruitlessly.” In order to disclose the hardship of workers under capitalism and feudalism, over half of the content focused on reporting on labor movements in Nanjing, Tangshan, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Changsha, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and the E-Yu-Wan region (an area at the borders of Hubei, Anhui, and Henan Provinces) as well as the investigation reports and photographs of the living environment in these areas. The reports also reflected that after the May Fourth Movement, a number of workers in Shanghai and Tangshan were aware of the necessity to organize new labor bodies. In fact, a considerable amount of these materials were collected by reporters of La Jeunesse and progressive student organizations by making in-depth investigation, while certain materials were scripts and inscriptions composed by workers. On the other hand, Li wrote History of May Day Movement (Wuyi yundon gshi 五一運動史 ) to glorify the victory of workers in the world, hoping that workers in China could regard May Day as a “day of consciousness.” Besides, Li intended to turn “verbal movements” in several

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newspapers to a real movement of the worker class. In the appendix of the special edition, the article “Opinions on the Announcement of the Russian Government” and USSR’s first declaration to China (also known as the “Karakhan Declaration”) — which first appeared in Chinese newspapers in July 1919 — were published. Besides, public opinions in newspapers including Social Welfare , The Weekly Review , Republic Daily , and Chen Bao were also included, helping to develop the support for “regarding Russia as our friend.” Admittedly, Labor Day Celebration marked the advancement of La Jeunesse — to move towards the liberation of the worker class. Around July and August 1920, the first Chinese Communist Team was founded in Shanghai and it was decided that starting from the first issue of the eighth volume published on September 1, La Jeunesse would become the official publication of the team. On one hand, the reformed La Jeunesse maintained its role as a united front in the New Culture Movement and the scripts produced by the existing editors and authors were still used; on the other hand, new editors and writers were recruited to invigorate the editorial team, and propagation of Marxism increased proportionately. In such a way, former authors and readers could have time to catch up with the alteration. At the same time, attacks from the reactionary force could be prevented by not adopting a purely Marxist orientation. Apparently, the reformed La Jeunesse was transforming into a proletarian magazine. Even though Chen was still the chief editor, his stance changed from democratic to proletarian, as proved by the fact that he even became a major member of the Chinese Communist Team in Shanghai. Apart from this, there were new members from the communist team joining La Jeunesse ’s editorial team — for instances Li Hanjun, Chen Wangdao, and Yuan Zhenying — who performed editorial duties and supplied articles to the magazine. In relation to printing, the New Youth Society (Xinqingnianshe 新 青 年 社 ) was founded to specialize in the printing of La Jeunesse , after an announcement was issued to state that the magazine was no longer linked with its former publisher Qunyi Press. Hence, the leadership of the Chinese Communist Team in Shanghai over La Jeunesse was structurally and financially strengthened. A year later, 95 selling points of the magazine were set up in 38 major cities over the country (including Hong Kong). Outside the border, a distribution office in Tokyo and a European distribution head office in Paris were set up. Eventually, a distribution network covering territories within and outside the country was formed, which greatly enhanced the influence of La Jeunesse . Since the eighth volume, there was a new cover design — the Earth was at the center with two arms stretching from the sides and the hands holding

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each other. Shen Yanbing, an editor of La Jeunesse and a member of the communist team, explained the meaning of the design: “This indicates that the Chinese people and the Soviet Union should be united, and also reveals that the proletarian class in the world should stand up and cooperate.”46 In terms of column setting, a new column “Russian Studies” was added, where a total of 36 articles were published since the first issue of the eighth volume to the third issue of the ninth volume. Most of these articles — which were translated news reports or materials from the U.S., Britain, France, and Japan — concerned the situation and various policies in Russia, as well as the introduction of Lenin and his works. In particular, 14 pieces of articles in a New York weekly Soviet Russia were selected and translated. Major translators included Li Hanjun, Yang Mingzhai, Yuan Zhenying, Chen Wangdao, Li Da, and Shen Yanbing. One of the translators Chen Wangdao explained the significance of the new column: “We produced some translated articles and developed the new column ‘Russian Studies,’ thus we could be the pioneers.”47 In terms of content, the restructured La Jeunesse renewed columns like “Comments,” “Communication,” and “Records of Thoughts,” where socialism and Marxism were infused. In the first issue of the eighth volume of La Jeunesse , Chen Duxiu wrote “About Politics” — the first political declaration for the transformed magazine — in which he stated that Western bourgeois democratic politics had been abandoned and that he now declared support for the Marxist proletarian revolution and proletarian dictatorship. From this issue until the magazine was closed at the sixth issue of the ninth volume, 10 pieces of political commentaries and monographs about Marxism and socialism were published in the column “Comments,” which provided an obvious direction for the magazine. Moreover, the editorial team published two compelling special editions — About the Discussion on Socialism (the fourth issue of the seventh volume) and Discussion on Anarchism (the fourth issue of the ninth volume) — where the distinctions and differences between Marxism and the many ideologies were clarified through argumentation, paving the ideological way for the CPC to be officially established in 1921. The column “Communication” published a total of 10 letters between authors and readers, which covered discussions, doubts, and arguments about labor problems, social revolution, and proletarian dictatorship. In these letters, Chen sometimes objected to readers’ opinions. For instance, a reader whose pseudonym was “Aware of Shame” (Zhichi 知恥 ) was criticized as opposing education about the labor movement without any elaboration. Aside from that, Cai Hesen wrote letters in France to Chen in support of Marxism and proletarian dictatorship. Some readers also submitted letters to show their recognition of Chen’s advocacy

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of labor rule. For the column “Records of Thoughts,” some 49 short reviews and informal essays — in which Chen signed 29 pieces — were published, primarily due to the insistence on socialism and the target of counterattacking anti-socialism trends and speech. In short, a firm control over the propagation of Marxism in La

Jeunesse was established as the columns were interrelated. After the CPC was officially founded in July 1921, La Jeunesse was turned into the Party’s theoretical journal. In September the same year, Chen again took the position of chief editor and the publication was suspended after one issue was out. Later in July 1922, interestingly, another issue was published, but the journal was then closed. Unsurprisingly, Mao spoke highly of the magazine: “The May Fourth Movement nurtured cadres for the Communist Party in China. Back then La Jeunesse was edited by Chen Duxiu. The magazine and May Fourth Movement had awakened quite a number of people, and some of them joined the Communist Party. These people were considerably influenced by Chen and his fellows, or it could even be said it was Chen and his fellows who brought people together and established the party.”48

Establishment of the monthly Communist After the Chinese Communist Team was established in Shanghai, other communist groups were founded in places like Beijing, Wuhan, Jinan, Changsha,

and Guangzhou, implicating that the preparatory work of establishing the CPC was undergoing. However, there existed questions: How to unite groups in

various provinces to a centralized party? What criteria should we follow in the

establishment of the party? Hence, members of the Chinese Communist Team decided to start a publication other than La Jeunesse to handle these questions.

On November 7, the monthly Communist (Gongchandang 共產黨 ) was officially

published in Shanghai. Certainly, naming the journal Communist and picking the third anniversary of the October Revolution as the founding date were no coincidence. In the eyes of the founders, the mission of the journal was “to

propagate and fight for the establishment of a Bolshevist Communist Party in China which follows the path of the October Revolution.”

A publication of the Chinese Communist Team in Shanghai, Communist was

a semipublic journal where authors used pseudonyms and the details of editing,

printing, and distributing location were absent. Yet, advertisement and the contents of the journal were put in every single issue of La Jeunesse . According to the advertisement, the selling office was in the Republic Bookstore (Gonghe shuju

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共和書局 ) in Shuangmendi (Known as Beijing Road nowadays), Guangzhou, but in fact the editorial office was at no. 625, Fude Lane, within the French concession in Shanghai. The chief editor was Li Da, and the editorial board of La Jeunesse

supplied scripts whose writers were mostly members of the Communist Team in Shanghai, namely TS (Chen Duxiu), P.Y (Shen Yanbing), C.T (Shi Cuntong), and Zhenying (Yuan Zhenying). Communist was a sixteenmo and there were around 50 pages in each issue. An editorial-like article titled “Brief Words” about 1,000 words long was published on the first page of every issue and the main content was about translated works of Marxist ideas and articles about the study on Chinese revolutions. Like other journals, there were several columns — “Global News,” “News of the Country,” and “News of Chinese Labor.” Besides, the American revolutionary novel Ruby was also translated and published. This monthly magazine was the very first one to hold high the flag of Communism in China, which proclaimed the primary advocacy of the members of the CPC. In the founding issue of Communist , the article “Brief Words,” written by Chen Duxiu, promulgated the main idea of Manifesto of the Communist Party in China — which was drafted by the Chinese Communist Team in Shanghai. The article began with “economic transformation occupies a substantial status in the transformation of humanity. Either capitalism or socialism would be our production method, and there are no other alternatives. In Europe and America, capitalism is already moving from prosperity towards dissolution…Spontaneously, socialism is the substitution for capitalism, while Russia is the largest and latest testing ground of such a production method.” The article also mentioned facts about China, stating that “Chinese laborers are all over the world…Those abroad are certainly slaves of the foreign capitalists, and domestic laborers are slaves of either capitalists in China or foreign capitalists, both directly and indirectly. If our compatriots are to be extricated from slavery, laborers have to be united, revolution has to be carried out to defeat the bourgeois class, and we have to follow the Russian Communist Party — to experiment with the new production method.” At last, Chen ended the article by writing “all means of production are to be possessed by the workers, and all rights are to be exercised by the workers. This is our belief.” Basically, the content of the journal can be divided into three categories: First, there was propagation of the establishment of the Communist Party, as seen in materials about the Communist International and world revolution, and works of Lenin. Second, there was discussion on China’s path of revolution and strategies of the CPC, which showed that only socialism and communism could liberate the nation and

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suggested that the proletarian class unite and seize control of the state power.

Most importantly, this kind of content was the means to criticize non-Marxist ideologies, including the bourgeois reformism promoted by the chief editor of

Journal on Current Affairs Zhang Dongsun and anarchism, a more influential ideology among teenagers. Third, there were reports on the development of labor movements in China, which inculcated Marxist ideas in the minds of the masses of workers, peasants, and soldiers. Apart from the above categories, there were also news reports on job actions and the progress of labor movements in Shanghai, Beijing, Tangshan, Guangzhou, and Kailuan. In particular, there was an in-depth introduction about the process and success of the strike of thousands of employees from the British American Tobacco, which was launched and led by the Chinese Communist Team in Shanghai. The formation and activity situation of the labor union in Changxindian, Beijing was mentioned too. In addition, the Declaration of the Chinese Communist Labor Secretariat (Zhongguo laodong zuhe shujibu xuanyan 中國勞動組合書記部宣言 ) and the founding article of the secretariat’s official publication Labor Weekly (Laodong zhoukan 勞動週刊 ) were published. Therefore, the direction of the emerging labor movement became clearer and more obvious. The publication of Communist was stopped in July 1921, after the sixth issue was published. At its peak, 5,000 copies were issued, and the scope of the journal’s impact was surely not within Shanghai but the whole country. Not only was the journal a necessary source for early Chinese communists to acquire the basic knowledge of the Communist Party, it was also a decisive means for communist groups in various regions to exchange ideas, communicate, and facilitate the construction of the CPC. Recommended by Mao, articles in Communist like “History of Russian Communist Party” and “History of Vladimir Lenin”49 were republished in Ta Kung Pao . Undoubtedly, Communist laid the ideological as well as organizational foundation for the coming of the CPC.

The first tide of worker publications In the second half of 1920, communist groups were founded in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou one after another, and journals like The World of Labor , Voice of Labor ,

and The Workers (Laodongzhe 勞動者 ) were published. These publications, which

propagated Marxism and stimulated the development of labor movement, were the first popular worker journals targeting workers in China.

A worker publication of the Chinese Communist Team in Shanghai, The

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World of Labor had a total of 24 issues and was a weekly founded on August 15, 1920, and cut on January 23, 1921. The chief editors were Chen Duxiu and Li Hanjun, and editors included Shen Xuanlu, Zheng Peigang, etc. For writers, there were Chen Wangdao, Yuan Zhenying, Chen Weiren, Li Da, and Shao Zili. With the pen name Wu Tingkang, Grigori Voitinsky, the representative from the Communist International, had also written for the weekly. A thirty-twomo with 16 pages per issue, The World of Labor was printed by the New Youth Society. The weekly was rather informative as there were a number of columns: •• “The Chinese Labor World” •• “The International Labor World” •• “The City’s Labor World” •• “Speeches” •• “Communication” •• “Investigation” •• “Current Affairs” •• “Novels” •• “Poems” •• “Leisure Talks” •• “Interesting News” •• “Readers’ Submissions” Here were the goals of the weekly publication — to arouse workers’ consciousness of their class, to foster unity among workers, and to facilitate the development of labor. In the founding foreword “Why Was This Journal Published?” written by Li Hanjun, the hardship of workers was disclosed by the fact that the bosses, even though they were not working, could have an extravagant lifestyle. Li wrote: “In our world, workers are the bitterest ones, and Chinese workers are even more painful than Western workers. What does this mean? Western workers got to know a bit about what should be known, but Chinese workers knew nothing about what should be known. The publication of this journal aims to enable Chinese workers to learn what they ought to know and understand. And then, we must have a better future.” Undertaking this mission, simple language and vivid examples were used in The World of Labor , clearly yet profoundly expounding basic Marxist theories — value of labor, capitalist exploitation and surplus value, the conflicts between employees and employers, and liberation of labor. Workers were “guided to believe in socialism and practice socialism.”50 Additionally, the weekly publication pointed out that the cause of workers’ exploitation was the “capitalist means of production.”51 Hence, as

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history continued to progress, capitalism must be replaced by socialism, and

private ownership must be substituted by public ownership. Moreover, there was much coverage in The World of Labor on domestic and foreign labor movements

as well as news and experiences obtained from labor strikes in Shanghai,

Nanchang, Guangzhou, Tangshan, Wuhan, Changxindian, Nanjing, Shuikoushan, etc. With reference to the Soviet Union, the weekly journal encouraged workers to unite and rise up to change their oppressed status.

Even though The World of Labor somehow favored economism and

reformism, its main direction was constructive, as it emphasized the interaction with the masses of labor. Furthermore, the journal did convey the utmost

importance in disseminating Marxism, unifying and educating workers, and boosting the growth of the Communist movement in China.

Another publication, Voice of Labor , was a popular worker journal

founded by the Beijing Communist group. Like Communist , Voice of Labor

was also founded on November 7, 1920 — the third anniversary of the October

Revolution. Its layout and principles imitated those of The World of Labor . At

present, only the first issue and the fifth issue (published on December 5, 1920) could be discovered. Initially, the journal was edited by two anarchists Huang

Lingshuang and Chen Derong, who were also in charge of the publication. Soon, Luo Zhanglong overtook the position of chief editor as Huang and Chen quit

the communist team. Under the guidance of Li Dazhao, Voice of Labor paid

much attention to the integration of theories and practices. In its early issues,

shortcomings of some past revolutionary intellectuals conducting socialist

movements were raised: “[They] merely carried out ‘theoretical’ propagation to the intelligentsia, but by not taking concrete actions to the proletarian class,

it was just an empty talk after all…It was just laziness and committing suicide by having empty talks.” The publication of Voice of Labor marked the starting

point of “real and concrete labor movements”52 — as intellectuals began to take

part in educating and unifying workers. As seen in the only two existing issues, the main idea was to expose the hardship of exploited workers and the anti-

repression strikes. In the first issue, catchy titles — “600 Workers Dead in an Hour” and “Profits Eight Times the Capital But 60 Yuan Each Life” — were used in a detailed news report about a tragic gas blast in a coal mine in Tangshan that happened in October. The news report disclosed how workers were cruelly

exploited and oppressed by the imperialists. For the fifth issue, there was much

coverage on some 10,000 weaving workers disturbing the provincial assembly and beating up the members. Correspondingly, a commentary on the incident

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was written, which on one hand uncovered the economic root of the incident and praised the fearlessness of the workers, and on the other hand unveiled the truth that the workers were used by the capitalists and suggested to the workers the appropriate ways to struggle. Voice of Labor was widely circulated in workers’ living areas in Changxindian and Nankou. By December 1920, the average sales of Voice of Labor were 2,000 copies.53 The third popular worker journal was The Workers , a publication of the Communist group in Guangzhou. Founded on October 3, 1920, and closed down on January 2, 1921, The Workers was a thrity-twomo with 7,000–8,000 words and 2,000–3,000 copies per issue. It was exclusively distributed by two newspapers — People of the Heaven (Tianmin bao 天民報 ) in Guangdong and The Social (Guangdong qunbao 廣東群報 ) in Guangdong. Anarchists in the communist team (Liang Bingxuan, Liu Shixin, and Huang Lingshuang) were responsible for editing and compiling, while the budget was sponsored by two Soviet representatives sent to set up the branch office of the Russian Telegraph Agency (the former Information Telegraph Agency of Russia) in China. The founding article “The Workers!” revealed that although workers were deligent, they still had poor and difficult lives; on the contrary, officials, gentries, proprietors, and the affluent did not work much to enjoy prosperous lives. Moreover, the article asserted that the aim of the journal was to launch labor movements so that workers were induced to unify and liberate themselves. According to the investigation report published in The Workers , mechanics and shoe manufacturers were loaded with work but paid little, showing that they were exploited by the capitalist owners. There was also news on the establishment of labor unions and the occurrence of strikes and job actions in areas like Hunan, Shanghai, and Tangshan. Besides, not only the experience of the October Revolution, labor movements, women’s movements, and land policies proposed and led by the Soviet Russian government were introduced in The Workers as well. Yet, owing to the influence of anarchist editors, the journal contained marked traces of anarchism and syndicalism. In January 1921, Liang Bingxuan and the others left the communist group and The Workers was officially suspended. In short, The World of Labor , Voice of Labor , and The Workers shared similar backgrounds in history, foundation, principles, readership, and even format of layout, which accounted for why the three publications were honored as “journal brothers.” Their publication signified that the dissemination of Marxism had begun to merge with the labor movement, which was a perfect starting point for the intellectuals in the labor movement.

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The Development of Private Newspapers After the outbreak of the First World War, the advancement of the capitalist economy in China created the favorable conditions for the rise of private

newspapers. However, the situation varied in different regions. In Shanghai, owing to the relatively rapid economic development and certain protection within

the concession areas, the business of private newspapers tended to be more prosperous, and an exceptional step in “enterprization” and modernization of the

newspaper industry was taken as well. Among the many Shanghai newspapers,

Shun Pao (Shen bao 申報 ) and News Daily (Xinwen bao 新聞報 ) were two typical examples. Due to interference from the unstable warlord government, private newspapers in the North were progressing along a different, more meandering path. One of the distinctive features of their development was their interaction and conflicts with the warlord power.

Modernization of Shun Pao Being the sole investor of Shun Pao , Shi Liangcai had a hard time managing

the newspaper. Still, Shi eventually managed a remarkable achievement — the

number of copies issued daily rose from 7,000 in 1912 to 50,000 in 1922 on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the newspaper. Also, the capital accumulated allowed Shun Pao to evolve into a strong, modernized newspaper.

The key of the advancement of Shun Pao was the expansion of the

advertisement business. Back then, the majority of people did not understand the

function and importance of advertisements in newspapers and journals because industries and commerce in China were not well developed. Even the newspaper industry itself disregarded the advertisement business — as seen by the fact that

not only was the quantity of advertisements small, but the designs were also rough. However, the situation changed after Shi’s assumption of office. Noticing the importance of advertisements, Shi employed Zhang Zhuping, who was

familiar with management, as the manager of Shun Pao . As a result, staff was sent

out to solicit advertisement clients instead of waiting for orders. In the meantime, the design of advertisements was improved, while graphics were drafted and

textual descriptions were written for clients. Welcomed by the industry and commerce field, the advertising in Shun Pao attracted clients in droves. Hence,

the portion of advertisements in the newspaper increased markedly. Before 1910,

advertisements only made up 50–60% of the space of the newspaper, but the

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proportion went up to 60–70% after 1910. Since the amount of advertisements grew, the number of pages of the daily newspaper was increased accordingly from three-and-a-half pages to four-and-a-half or five pages, or six pages or so during festivals. Needless to say, the growth in the number of advertisement entries was more significant. In order to attract more clients, the publication and distribution of the newspaper had to be expanded. The more copies were issued, the more advertisement clients would be captured. Therefore, in the course of broadening the advertisement business, attention was also paid to the improvement of the publication. At that time, the competition among newspapers in Shanghai was fierce. With the upper class in society and the political field, as well as the intellectuals, being the main readers, the non-local subscription of Shun Pao was extended on the basis of stable local subscriptions. Branch offices of Shun Pao and sale agencies in the country were made use of to seek subscriptions from organizations and individuals. As the train system had been developed, the delivery department of Shun Pao formulated the delivery route in accordance with the train schedule so that newspapers could be printed in advance and thus transported to other cities. Therefore, it could be ensured that readers in the neighboring cities around Shanghai could read the latest Shun Pao . In addition, there were more than 10,000 long-term subscribers outside Shanghai and 70,000–80,000 copies of Shun Pao , or almost half of the total sales, were sold outside Shanghai. In terms of hardware, advanced technology was introduced and facilities were upgraded and this effort constituted the material basis for the modernization of Shun Pao . Evidenced by history, most forms of development depend on material resources. When China entered the 20th century, the prosperity brought about by new scientific technologies became a determining element for economic development. Thus, the introduction of new technology and upgrading of facilities were indispensable components of the overall progression of the newspaper industry. After repaying 240,000–250,000 taels of reparation, Shi spent some 700,000 yuan on the construction of a new Shun Pao office with five storeys and more than a hundred rooms. Also, in 1919, a new American printing machine that could produce some 30,000 newspaper copies per hour was purchased and another two were bought in 1922. Moreover, new relevant supporting facilities were purchased too. They included copperplate printers, casting machines, flatbed printers, stereotype casting machines, and copper-type molds. Thanks to the equipment, more than 100,000 copies of Shun Pao could be printed within two hours and the newspapers could be delivered to the readers as soon as possible

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by vehicles owned by Shun Pao . Possessing the top printing facilities in the

country, Shun Pao was advantaged in the battle among newspapers, and it was

very unlikely to be the loser.

Despite the success of Shun Pao ’s management and the newspaper’s rapid

development, the newspaper had long been taking a conservative political stance in an attempt to avoid being devastated by political struggles — as the warlords were still contending for power and wealth — and this brought about an unstable

political scene. As a result, reports were made on certain political issues but there were no comments, so the newspaper could remain noncommittal. Sometimes,

frequent reports were made on political issues but the comments on these issues were ambiguous. As a patriotic bourgeois newspaper, Shun Pao certainly

supported China when there were national crises. After the boycott of Japanese products which occurred during the May Fourth Movement, Shun Pao joined

the seven leading newspapers including News Daily and the Journal on Current Affairs to refuse publishing Japanese advertisements and declare that no Chinese scripts delivered by the East News Agency (Dongfang tongxunshe 東方通訊社 ) and Common News Agency (Gongtong tongxunshe 共同通訊社 ) — two Japaneseowned news organs — would be used. Moreover, in order to show its support for the student movement, thorough reports on the patriotic movement in Beijing were published in Shun Pao .

Prosperity of News Daily At that time, Shun Pao and News Daily were collectively called “brother newspapers.” In fact, News Daily was established 21 years later than Shun Pao

and it had gone through a series of battles to become one of the country’s top newspapers. Its daily sales jumped from 20,000 in 1914 to 50,000 in 1921, which

contributed to the appearance of two newspapers advancing in tandem. All such progression was inseparable from the efforts of Wang Hanxi.

One of the reasons News Daily succeeded was its commerce orientation. Since

there was keen competition among the several big newspapers in Shanghai back then, each newspaper had to develop its distinctive style — Shun Pao was a rather

all-rounded newspaper with an emphasis on current affairs and political news;

Journal on Current Affairs was good at the introduction of academic thinking; and Eastern Times (Shibao 時報 ) was famous for sports, education, cultural, and entertainment news. After taking the office, Wang confirmed that News Daily was to focus on economic news while targeting at the industry and commerce field.

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In News Daily , there was a specific column on economic news which contained a daily review of market trends and commerce quotations. As readers were wellinformed with economic information, News Daily became increasingly popular and got attention in the industry and commerce field. In 1922, economic experts were paid highly to manage a newly-launched column “Economic News.” In order to secure the sources of economic news, not only were reporters hired, but correspondents in various industries and large enterprises were also recruited to provide information at any time. Aside from the industry and commerce field, News Daily also attempted to gain support from the common people. Hoping to cater to the needs of the readers, the proportion of news reports was raised by hiring extra freelance reporters to gather material in joint trial courts, fire stations, police stations, and hospitals. In the early years of the Republic of China, when some newspapers were keen to publish long articles, News Daily adopted a unique style by dividing editorials into short reviews titled “Editorial 1,” “Editorial 2,” “Editorial 3,” and so on. As the reviews — short in length and written in refined, yet precise, language — were easy to read and understand, they became popular among the general public. Additionally, there were various columns and a supplement of an intellectual yet entertaining nature to meet the demands of readers from different stratum. Overall, the valuable experience demonstrated by News Daily was the acquisition of profits through a regime of self-improvement. At that time, Wang put much emphasis on the reservation of resources, especially the reserve of white paper, as this could generate profits in addition to mere consumption. Although the price of white paper fluctuated, Wang ensured a stable supply of paper throughout the year by purchasing a large quantity of paper from the international market whenever the price dropped. By doing this, the risks of production being interrupted or the need to purchase high-priced paper could be avoided. In addition, after the First World War began, the supply of paper in China was very limited owing to the suspension of world transport, thus paper prices back then kept surging. Seizing the moment, Wang made a big fortune by selling the paper reserve of News Daily . However, News Daily was still lacking money since it was just a new publication, and obtaining temporary profits was not a sustainable method to accumulate capital. Hence, Wang invited people from the financial sector in Shanghai to make investment in stocks, and he later applied for bank loans through them to purchase the necessities for the newspaper office. When borrowing money, he followed two principles — first was to ensure the ability to repay loans when they were due. If there was insufficient money at

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the moment, the loans would be repaid by funds obtained from other possible sources; second was to utilize the money only in the expansion of production or the purchase of resources, not for entertainment purposes. Eventually, Wang borrowed and repaid debts repeatedly, and the more money the loans made, the faster the development of News Daily , and the process went on until the debts were all cleared. Since Wang also put an emphasis on the renewal of printing facilities, additional equipment was therefore purchased. As early as 1914, a rotary printing machine with two cylinders which was able to produce some 7,000 copies per hour was imported, and this ended the era of planographic printing. In 1916, News Daily became more competitive in the press battle because a rotary printing machine with three cylinders and two rotary printing machines with four cylinders were acquired and these greatly raised the printing speed and shortened the publication time. In 1922, the first radio station in a newspaper office was set up in the office of News Daily . At that time, foreign news published in Shanghai newspapers were translated via foreign telegraphs sent by foreign news agencies, so the publication of the news was usually delayed for a day or so, and thus the content of foreign news in different newspapers was more or less the same. After owning a radio station, News Daily was able to copy the telegraphs of foreign news agencies in the daytime and produce translated versions at night every day. Thus, foreign news was first published in News Daily under the section “Foreign News.” Gradually, News Daily became renowned for its quick access to information and comprehensive coverage. Together with the unique features in its own translated foreign news, the newspaper enjoyed a good reputation and, naturally, its sales were boosted. Furthermore, the advertisement business of News Daily developed rapidly as well. In the eyes of Wang, advertisements were the main source of big profits, so extensive efforts were devoted to attracting clients and refining the design of advertisements. Comparing News Daily and Shun Pao , the advertisements in the former generally made up more space than in the latter. In order to ensure the proportion of advertisements, a specialized preparation office was established to calculate the ratio of advertisements to news after receiving the scripts of the day, so as to confirm the number of copies to be issued or if any pieces of news would have to be taken away to maintain a fixed proportion of advertisements. Also, extraordinarily forceful phrases were often used to catch readers’ attention. As the primary aim of this was to gain more profits, vulgar or even obscene advertisements could often be seen — which was apparently a symbol of capitalism.

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During the May Fourth period, News Daily was still an American-owned

newspaper (with considerable shares owned by the Chinese), thus politically speaking, the newspaper had no choice but to express the ideas of imperialism.

At the beginning of the May Fourth Movement, when the mass movement

was directed at Japanese imperialism and Duan Qirui’s government, News Daily adopted a conciliatory attitude when reporting the incident and the comments on it were quite favorable to those imperialist forces. However, as the mass movement continued to develop and began to threaten the benefits of imperialist powers in China, voices of opposition began to appear in News Daily . For example, after the June Third Movement, there were student strikes, job actions, and strikes in Shanghai. In response, News Daily expressed its panic over the phenomenon, as seen in these remarks: “Shopkeepers go on strike when students’ strikes have not yet ceased, and now there appear employees going on strike. If the scale and momentum of the strikes continue to develop, the people will panic.”54 After a national strike appeared, the editorial team of News Daily became even more worried and wrote that “there is a growing trend of strike… the country could possibly reach the point of no return…it is extremely necessary for the country to return to normal.”55

Founding of Chen Bao and Beijing News and the development of newspapers in Beijing and Tianjin In August 1916, Li Yuanhong assumed the presidency after Yuan Shikai’s death,

and Duan Qirui filled the post of prime minister of the new cabinet. It appeared that China had returned to the path towards being a republic. In the meantime, the

Beiyang government decided to remove the ban on newspapers and abolish the

Newspaper Ordinance in order to “relieve the worries of the people and stimulate public opinion.” Subsequently, the press in Beijing began to recover. After the ban on newspapers disappeared, the number of newspapers, including both resumed and newly-founded newspapers, exceeded 70 at most.56 In particular, the recovery of political parties’ publications was the most notable. At that time, a number of newspapers were published by different factions of the KMT and there were three major newspapers. The first one, Tiger Daily , was founded on January 18, 1917, and its chief editor was Zhang Shizhao. Initially, Tiger Daily was known as “a newspaper with its attitude and rule” because its layout was beautiful, the news was up-to-date, and republicanism was propagated. Yet, the daily was no longer revolution-oriented as Zhang gradually favored the warlord government and the major editor Li Dazhao

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had left owing to political differences. Consequently, Tiger Daily lost popularity in society and it was closed down during Zhang Xun’s restoration. The second newspaper China New Paper (Zhonghua xinbao 中華新報 ) — whose president was Zhang Yaozeng, chief editor was Zhang Jiluan, and manager was Kang Xinru — resumed publication as an official publication of KMT’s Political Clique in September 1916. Even though the politicians managing the newspaper kept running interference between the Northern and Southern warlords, they promoted peace with merely empty words. Also, the way used by China New Paper to present an argument was not objective enough. The third newspaper was East Land People’s Daily (Dongdalu minbao 東大陸民報 ), founded by Zhang Qiubai, a member of the KMT who had just returned to China from the Malay Archipelago determined to build up an independent press business. Due to its outstanding content and format, the appearance of East Land People’s Daily shocked the press in Beijing. Unfortunately, the newspaper was also closed when Zhang Xun’s restoration took place later. The publication of National Gazette was also resumed by the Constitution Studies Society, also known as the Research Clique, with Lan Gongwu and Liang Qichao as writers. In August 1916, the Research Clique started another newspaper, Morning Bell Post , which was managed by Liang Qichao and Tang Hualong. Employed as the chief editor, Li Dazho wrote the founding article “The Mission of Morning Bell — Creation of Youth China,” suggesting that newspapers should awaken teenagers to take part in transforming the “gray-haired China” to the young China. Yet, politicians of the Research Clique who took charge of the newspaper were inclined towards the conservative warlord party led by Duan and they even made use of Morning Bell Post to support Duan. In June 1917, the press in Beijing was severely affected by Zhang Xun’s restoration, and 14 newspapers including National Gazette , East Land People’s Daily , and The Great China News Magazine were closed down within a couple of days. The printing of Morning Bell Post was also temporarily carried out in Tianjin. Thereafter, Duan organized a rally to pledge a resolution to go to war against Zhang Xun in Machang City, Tianjin. Moreover, Duan expanded his influence in the party and formed the Anhui Clique — which took the control of Public Voice , New People’s Daily , National Affairs Newspaper (Guoshi bao 國 事 報 ), the English Beijing Daily , etc. Established on September 1, 1916, Public Voice was financed by Duan — who supplied some 100,000 yuan for the expenses of the newspaper — and its major writers included Wang Youling and Lin Wanli. The newspaper, called “the film of Duan and the speaker of Anhui Clique,” was closed down as a result of disturbances from the Zhili Clique. In addition, most of the newspapers

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were bought off by the Anhui Clique, who kept the Beijing press under tight control by stating that “anyone who dared to criticize the weakness of the Anhui Clique would be attacked, regardless of political background.”57 Consequently, Morning Bell Post and National Gazette , which had supported the unpopular Duan authority, were boycotted and thus lost their influence. By the end of 1917, Morning Bell Post became a supporter of the opposition party and frequently criticized Duan’s armed unification through commentaries on current affairs, quotations of comments from other newspapers, as well as letters from readers. In September 1918, having disclosed that Duan’s government relinquished a certain sovereignty of China to the Japanese government in exchange for great sums of loans, a dozen newspapers and news agencies in Beijing and Tianjin were closed down. On December 1, 1918, the publication of Morning Bell Post was resumed and it was renamed The Morning Post and it then became a rather influential newspaper in Northern China. The Morning Post , a quarto with eight pages, was not a lengthy publication but its content was concrete and solid, and the layout design was clear. Together with the use of captivating headlines, important news could be highlighted. In February 1919, as active members of the newspaper collaborated, an individual single-page publication The Morning Post Supplement was published and this provided an important ground for the spread of new culture and a new form of literature. During the peak of the May Fourth Movement, the daily sales of The Morning Post rose to 20,000 copies, a double of the usual sales. On two particular days, all the copies were sold out just in the Beijing region. Since The Morning Post was out of stock, the newspaper office issued a notice announcing that the office was willing to buy back the copies at original prices, so that subscribers outside Beijing could receive their orders. Nonetheless, with its nature unchanged, The Morning Post began to resist Marxist dissemination as well as the CPC under the guidance of Liang Qichao after the May Fourth Movement. The newspaper started to incline towards the Fengtian Clique since June 1926 and was once suspended in 1928, when the army of the KMT entered Beijing. On August 5 the same year, after Yan Xishan, the Commander of Beijing and Tianjin Garrison, purchased the printing facilities, The Morning Post was renamed New Morning Post (Xin chenbao 新晨報 ) and republished. By September 1930, as Yan was defeated and he withdrew from Beijing, the publication of New Morning Post came to an end. In December the same year, The Morning Post revived and began to adhere to the KMT power in Nanjing after the Manchurian Incident. At last, before the Anti-Japanese War took place, the publication of The Morning Post stopped.

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In the May Fourth period, the most prominent development of Beijing private

newspapers was contributed by Shao Piaoping — who strived to establish a type of journalism independent from the warlord politics. In 1916, Shao moved from Shanghai to Beijing and worked as Shun Pao ’s special correspondent in Beijing.

His work was to send daily 2,000 to 3,000-word telegrams and write letters and reports to the newspaper. These efforts made the column “Beijing Special

Communication” well known all over the country. These letters aimed to reveal the various realities of China — the real story behind the power struggle between the Premier and the President, the clownish behaviors of how different parliament

members sowed intrigue against, or even beat up, each other, the fact that people suffered as the warlords were internally separating the country and externally

betraying the nation for loans, and last but not least, the voice of people — to

monitor the government. Aside from Shun Pao , Society Daily (Shehui ribao 社會 日報 ) founded by Lin Baishui and The World (Shijie ribao 世界日報 ) founded by Cheng Shewo were two other significant newspapers. The former was founded in Changchun in 1921 and was formerly called New Society Daily (Xinshehui

ribao 新社會日報 ). Later in August 1926, Lin was killed as his works riled the warlord government. On the other hand, Cheng not only founded The World but also Evening World (Shijie wanbao 世界晚報 ) and World Pictorial (Shijie huabao 世界畫報 ). Moreover, Cheng set up his journalism technical school, thus a more structured and comprehensive news group was developed. Despite the claim that it was a private publication aiming to reveal public opinion, it was still impossible for The World not to be attached to any one of the warlords. Other than the bigger private newspapers mentioned above, there were quite a number of baihua tabloids and evening papers. The content of these publications was primarily about culture, entertainment, local news, as well as the lives of the people. •• Collective Strength (Qunqiang bao 群強報 ) •• Yandou Post (Yandou bao 燕都報 )

•• Truth in Baihua (Shihua baihua bao 實話白話報 ) •• Patriotic Baihua News (Aiguo baihua bao 愛國白話報 )

•• National Power (Guoqiang bao 國強報 ) •• Select (Xuan bao 選報 )

•• Pingyang Post (Pingyang bao 平報 ) •• Beijing Evening News (Beijing wanbao 北京晚報 )

In September 1916 in Tianjin, Ta Kung Pao , a newspaper founded by Ying

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Hua, was sold to Wang Zhilong, a parliament member from the Anhui Clique. Wang appointed himself as the director and employed Hu Zhengzhi as the chief editor and manager. After the ownership was transferred, the selling of Ta Kung

Pao was limited within the concession because its readers felt a distaste for the newspaper due to the adoption of a pro-Anhui Clique and pro-Japan direction. Eventually, Ta Kung Pao was suspended in November 1925. At that moment, Social Welfare , a newspaper started by Vincent Lebbe, a Catholic priest in China, began to serve the Beiyang government. The general manager of Social Welfare , Liu Junqing became a councilor of the Zhili Province and even served as the adviser of the Zhili Clique. Working for Cao Kun in practicing bribery in the presidential election, Liu took the position of the Director of the Tianjin Telegraph Office. In a nutshell, newspapers had to rely on different politicians in the warlord government in order to maintain their existence and sustain their development. Examples included Yon Pao (Yong bao 庸報 ), Commercial Daily (Shang bao 商報 ), Peking and Tientsin Times (Jingjin taiwushi bao 京津泰晤士報 ), Great China Times (Dazhong shibao 大中時報 ), Huabei News (Huabei xinwen 華北新聞 ), and The Far Eastern Times (Dongfang shibao 東方時報 ).

Warlord politics and regional newspapers in Beijing Back then, there were endless armed conflicts in Beijing — the ruling center of

the Beiyang authority — where various military cliques scrambled for power

and wealth. In political and military conflicts, weapons and ammunition were

used, while newspapers were used to create propagation full of exaggeration, fabrication, alienation, and slander. In order to achieve this goal, the cliques

made use of their wealth and power to buy newspapers, forcing them to serve as their mouthpieces and even weapons in the war for public opinion. Thus, the

function of newspapers in Beijing was figuratively described as “performing traditional Chinese opera in celebration of the civil wars.”58 In most cases, the bigger newspapers in Beijing were in the end turned into the tools for struggles

among warlords. At that time, there were some 70 newspapers in Beijing, in which two-thirds of the 35 more important ones possessed political backgrounds.

Unsurprisingly, the behavior of these newspapers altered with the development of power struggles — they acted extremely arrogant when their backers got the upper hand, and suffered a disastrous slump when their backers’ fortunes

declined. As the only goal for these newspapers was to benefit their own party, they continued giving false accounts of the truth, trying to deceive and blackmail

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each other. For example, Public Voice of the Anhui Clique wantonly praised and flattered Duan’s power and its affiliated cliques, while attacking and provoking any non-Duan or opposition parties. Criticizing the behavior of Public Voice , the Republic Daily in Shanghai published an article reproving the newspaper for “attributing accomplishment to Duan Qirui and not blaming members of the Anhui Clique.” Whenever there were differences in political views, councilors from various cliques not only literally fought for the podium in the parliament, but also started media feuds in newspapers. Consequently, countless conflicts appeared — New People’s Daily of the Anhui Clique and People’s Welfare (Minfu bao 民福報 ) of the Communications Clique reproached each other for their hidden sins; members of the KMT accused members of the Research Clique over the constitutional issue; and Chen Bao , which had lost its influence, regarded Public Voice , the newspaper in power, as its political enemy. Generally, the content of the two confronting newspapers were poles apart and irrelevant to reality which rendered newspapers a complete personal tool. Hence, society and, most importantly, the people lost trust in newspapers. Tempted by power and wealth, certain politicians and scholars — who entered the press industry to cater to those in power — considered starting a newspaper as a way to obtain political and economic success as well as a means to secure their own benefits. However, they lacked both the basic occupational ability as well as the heart to manage their business. Niao Zesheng and Kang Shiduo, who were respectively in charge of New People’s Daily and Vision of the People (Minshi bao 民視報 ), were two of those scholars and politicians. The two appeared to be representatives of the public opinion, yet they were indeed working for Yuan’s attempt to revive the monarchy. Subsequently, they helped advocate Duan’s conspiracy of reforming the parliament. Moreover, the two were repeatedly elected as councilors during the short-lived monarch’s reign and councilors of the “Anfu Parliament.” People back then ridiculed such kind of people: “There have been three major changes in the political scene but their behavior has remained unchanged. [I] would not be so fallen to acquire such wealth.” At that time, some managers and editors of newspapers simply ran a newspaper or took up several positions in exchange for attractive subsidies and salaries, while some had to work as reporters just to fill up vacant positions, and their opinions were manipulated by those in power. Besides, some just promoted the good of the authority and resorted to sophistry regarding the bad, or were out of control over their stance, thus ambiguous remarks were made. The press was overwhelmed by messages and news of military governors and important people,

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while the content of newspapers was dominated by political news about internal conflicts, the cabinet, the parliament, and diplomacy. Consequently, newspapers became lifeless and dull. Meanwhile, there were still righteous journalists, although just a few, who persisted in developing an independent press. In the aspect of construction of such a press industry, Beijing Post , The Morning Post , and The World had made remarkable contributions. Unfortunately, under the autocratic rule of the warlord government, there were never-ending seizures of newspapers, monitoring of letters and telegrams, the closing of newspaper offices, and even the deaths of reporters. Most of the time, progressive newspapers came to untimely ends once the reporters were imprisoned. Two typical examples were the death of Lin Baishui and the assassination of Shao Piaoping. To sum up, the development of major newspapers in Beijing showed that newspapers serving the old politics could barely be a symbol of public opinion but a sign of the old politics’ downfall and death. No matter how hard private newspapers struggled and how much they progressed, they were still unable to escape from the shackles of the conservative political power.

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Chapter

The Founding of the Communist Party in China and Journalism during 1924–1927

A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 4

The National Revolution (Guomin geming 國 民 革 命 ) period between 1924 and 1927 witnessed significant development and gargantuan changes in Chinese journalism. One of the prominent characteristics of the development of the press in this period was the rise of Chinese Communist journals and newspapers. Under the leadership of the Communist Party in China (CPC), the emergence of youth publications, worker publications, student publications, and even military publications, gave birth to an unprecedented trend. Combining with Communist journals and newspapers, these publications formed a powerful propagation team that was active in anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism. There were a multitude of diversified manifestations in these publications, which marked the development of revolutionary publications. Accompanying the KMT– CPC cooperation, the revival of the KMT journals and newspapers was another feature of press development in this period. While the publications of the KMT and the CPC fought side by side, anti-imperialist and anti-warlord mottos and ideas were spread throughout the country. Yet, as the revolution began to take shape, divergence appeared among the KMT journals and newspapers — for the leftists insisted on revolution, while the rightists initiated attacks on Communism and the “three great policies” proposed by Sun Yat-sen. Hence, the directions of newspapers became rather perplexing. Additionally, the subsequent anti-Communism of Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei severely frustrated revolutionary publications. Apart from party newspapers, private newspapers and journals made considerable progress as well. Two commercial newspapers, Shun Pao (Shen bao 申報 ) and Daily News (Xinwen bao 新聞報 ), had business expanded and operation improved, while Eastern Times (Shi bao 時報 ), after its ownership shifted, went through notable changes in its direction. Concurrently, Ta Kung Pao (Dagongbao 大公報 ) returned to the spotlight within the journalistic world. An unparalleled progression of tabloids was observed as there was an abundance of various tabloids. Evidenced by these phenomena among private newspapers, the private capitalist economy had achieved a certain success. Moreover, these signs subtly displayed the influences of fierce political struggles of private newspapers. As for the Northern and Southern warlords, their manipulation over the press was reinforced as well. Other than subsidizing and purchasing some influential newspapers, the warlords also produced their own publications in places like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, and He’nan. In the meantime, progressive and dissident publications and journalists were brutally suppressed, thus there occurred incidents such as the deaths of Shao Piaoping and Lin Baishui, two renowned journalists.

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On the other hand, the impact of the British and American press in China was

maintained with their propagation strengthened by the establishment of new publications and their crews strengthened by the coming of Western reporters.

After entering the 20th century, the number of Japanese publications in China was boosted and the number continued to grow after the May Fourth incident. As a

result, among various countries in China, the publications of Japan were the most discovered. During the National Revolution period, when there were movements against the rule of Britain, the U.S., and Japan in China, exceptionally violent

struggles of the Chinese against imperialism could also be identified on the press

front. In the international journalistic world, a new scene was being created owing to the appearance of Bolshevist journals.

Meanwhile, the rapid development of the journalism industry was marked by

the popularization of news agencies, the presence of radio stations, and the rise of

news photography and newsreels. Furthermore, the establishment of journalism education was greatly stimulated by the advancement of the journalism industry,

and standard journalism departments were founded in Chinese institutions of higher education around this period. Accordingly, studies on journalism and

dissemination gained momentum, and a multitude of noteworthy journalistic works were published.

Early Journalism of the CPC CPC’s official newspaper:The Guide Weekly and Cai Hesen After the CPC was officially established, propagation work in newspapers and

journals was much emphasized by the Party, as in the First Representative Conference of the CPC, the publication of new magazines, daily newspapers, and weekly newspapers was discussed. Managed by the former Chinese Communist Team in

Shanghai, Communist (Gongchandang 共產黨 ) and La Jeunesse (Xinqingnian 新

青年 ) could no longer cope with the latest situation, thus the two publications were suspended in July 1922. In the Second Representative Conference of the CPC, an in-

depth discussion was conducted on the propagation of party newspapers. By August 1922, in a CPC meeting held in West Lake, Hangzhou, it was decided that an official political newspaper named The Guide Weekly (Xiangdao 嚮導 ) would be published.

CPC’s first official newspaper: The Guide Weekly Cai Hesen, who was responsible for party propaganda work, was the chief editor

of The Guide Weekly , a newspaper founded in Shanghai on September 13, 1922.

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There were quite a number of people who were also engaged in editing and writing scripts, including Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Qu Qiubai, Luo Zhanglong, Zhang Guodao, Zhao Shiyan, and Peng Shuzhi. As Cai passed away in Beijing in June 1925, Peng Shuzhi, the Director of the Propaganda Department of the CPC, assumed the position of chief editor, and editing processes were done by the Secretary of the Propaganda Department of the CPC, Zheng Chaolin, while publishing matters were taken care of by Zhang Bojian, the Officer of the Propaganda Department of the CPC. In the spring of 1927, following the CPC’s relocation to Wuhan, the office of The Guide Weekly was also moved, and Qu Qiubai, who handled the Party’s propaganda matters, became the chief editor, with Yang Muzhi as the assistant. In July 1927, because of Wang Jingwei’s split from the CPC, The Guide Weekly was forced to close down after the 201st issue was published. Ever since its establishment, the content and propagation of The Guide Weekly were centered on anti-imperialism and anti-warlordism — two missions suggested in the Second Representative Conference of the CPC. Applying Lenin’s theories on imperialism and analyzing the nature of imperialism, The Guide Weekly , using facts, explained that various military cliques competed for power and wealth because they were backed by imperial powers and that this was the root of the continuous civil wars and widespread poverty in China. In order to let the people understand the principles advocated by the CPC, it was necessary to expound the ideas of anti-imperialism and anti-warlordism. One of the goals of The Guide Weekly was to promote the Party’s policy of a united front, so as to foster the realization of the cooperation between the KMT and the CPC. In order to achieve this goal, repeated discussions were held to explain the possibility and necessity of bringing the proletarian class and capitalist class together to form a united front during the stage of democratic revolution, as well as to criticize the exclusionism within the Party. On the other hand, a series of articles were published to review the past failures of Sun-led KMT. Besides, these articles pointed out that the revolution would fail unless the proletarian class and the working masses were united. With the support from the CPC, Sun was able to clarify and confirm the “three great policies” — to ally with Russia, to admit the Communists, and to assist the workers and peasants. Most importantly, the cooperation between the CPC and the KMT was achieved for the very first time. All in all, The Guide Weekly did contribute to the facilitation and consolidation of building the united front. The propagation of the worker and peasant movement was launched in The

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Guide Weekly , which substantially pushed forward the growth of revolution. Soon after the KMT and the CPC cooperated, the worker and peasant movement reached a critical stage. Then, The Guide Weekly provided a bright direction for the movement by analyzing past mass movements and introducing the masses the CPC’s policies on workers and peasants. Additionally, the many fallacies defaming the worker and peasant movement were bitterly criticized, hence the momentum of the movement was sustained. In brief, The Guide Weekly was warmly supported by its readers as it held high the flag of anti-imperialism and anti-warlordism, highlighting the way of struggle. Therefore, the sales of the newspaper rose from 2,000–4,000 copies, to some 20,000 copies in two years' time. By July 1926, more than 50,000 copies were sold per issue and the sales even approached to 100,000 copies after the office was

moved to Wuhan, where the center of revolution was. In fact, the success of The Guide Weekly was largely due to the endeavors of Cai Hesen, who was born in 1895 in Xiangxiang, Hunan, and died in 1931. Aside from being an outstanding cadre of the CPC, Cai was also an expert in proletarian theories as well as a brilliant journalist. In his early years, he was engaged in student movements and guided the May Fourth Movement with Mao Zedong. Thereafter, he participated in Mouvement Travail-Études , where he studied in France as well as diligently read and translated the works of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. In November 1921, he returned to China as a stern Marxist and joined the CPC. Later in the Second Representative Conference of the CPC, Cai was nominated as the central committee member specializing in propaganda. Despite suffering from illness, Cai still insisted on working as well as reading and writing after being the chief editor of The Guide Weekly . Specifically, among the many articles written by Cai, those signed “He Sen” alone already mounted to 130 pieces, and occasionally Cai used “Zheng Yu,” the pen name of Xiang Jingyu to respond to readers’ enquiries in the name of “reporters.” Therefore, his articles represented the standard of theories and style of struggle of The Guide Weekly . Not long after the outbreak of the May Thirtieth Movement in 1925, Cai, because of illness, left the editorial team of The Guide Weekly and Peng Shuzhi subsequently took over the position of chief editor. Thereafter, the rightist socialist camp began to grow and it occupied the leading position within the party. As a result, there appeared a false decision about the propagation of The Guide Weekly — as a communist publication, the newspaper neither disclosed nor gave a strong blow to the rightist anti-revolutionary movements of the KMT. Moreover, articles written by Chen Duxiu and Peng Shuzhi — which castigated the peasant movement for 1

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being “over” and opposed to the Northern Expedition — were published instead of Qu’s articles about the significance of the Northern Expedition. Nevertheless,

reviewing the propagation carried out in The Guide Weekly , the success achieved

was immense and the shortcomings were simply incomparable.

La Jeunesse and Qu Qiubai Similar to The Guide Weekly , the CPC also resumed La Jeunesse to enhance its

theoretical support and propaganda. Founded in Shanghai on June 15, 1923,

La Jeunesse was turned into a quarterly with Qu Qiubai, who had just come back to China, as the chief editor. After four issues were published, the Fourth Representative Conference of the CPC — where it was proposed that “efforts will be concentrated on running La Jeunesse ” — endorsed that the quarterly publication would be transformed into a monthly magazine which was to be 2

edited by Peng Shuzhi. By April 1925, when the first issue was published, Qu again became the chief editor of La Jeunesse as Peng was in the hospital. However,

in reality, owing to the shortage of both manpower and resources, La Jeunesse

literally became an irregular journal as its publication was often out of schedule. The fifth issue was published in July 1926, but after that the publication stopped as the Party was focusing its attention on the Northern Expedition.

Primarily, the mission of the resumed La Jeunesse was “to become the

compass of proletarian revolution in China,” i.e. to spread Marxism and introduce the experience in the movement obtained by Communist International. 3

Thus, several special editions were made, including Comintern , National

Revolution , Lenin , and World Revolution . Aside from publishing essays selected from The Principle of Leninism , which systematically defined the idea of Leninism, works like Lenin’s The State and Revolution , Regenerated China , The Awakening of Asia , and National and Colonial Questions , as well as Stalin’s Marxism and the National Question were partly translated and published. Besides, the principles and strategies of the Communist International and the experience of Russian proletarian revolution were also shared. Publishing these materials, La Jeunesse was turned into a resourceful venue for Chinese people to learn about Marxism-Leninism, as well as to understand the situation of Russian socialism after the October Revolution. As for the content, the practical problems of Chinese revolution were analyzed on the basis of the basic theories of Marxism. Constructive opinions were also offered regarding the problems of peasants, revolutionary army, and battles in a

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democratic revolution. Moreover, the problem of the leadership of the revolution was mentioned. It was pointed out that the Chinese capitalist class “relied on world capitalism and was constantly seeking compromise,” thus, in a democratic revolution, only the proletarian class could be “in the position of leader of the

revolution…[revolution] under the leadership of the non-proletarian class will fail.” What is more, La Jeunesse proactively engaged in the theoretical struggle as well. In 1923, a debate over science and the view of life was sparked off within the idealism camp. Represented by Zhang Junmai and Liang Qichao, one side openly advocated ideological freedom, reasoning that thinking was the mother of facts, so the view of life could not be interpreted by mere science; while the other side, with Ding Wenjiang and Hu Shi as the representatives, was in support of preserving science and opposed to Neo-Daoism (Xuanxue 玄學 ) — which was indeed using a more subtle idealism to object to a more public idealism. Despite being hostile to each other, both sides agreed that scientific explanations were inadequate to interpret the view of life, and they both disapproved of historical materialism. Hoping to safeguard Marxist theories, the chief editor of La Jeunesse Qu published “The Natural World and the Certain World” and “Experimentalism and the Philosophy of Revolution.” At the same time, Chen Duxiu issued “Science and the Outlook on Life,” which conducted a critical and thorough analysis of the debate and pinpointed that both of them were primarily anti-Marxist while refuting their fallacious points. Most importantly, Chen elaborated upon the consistency of Marxist views in the world, history, and life. Chen’s actions signaled that pragmatism had received another massive hit from revolutionary ideologies ever since the May Fourth Movement. In the course of republishing La Jeunesse , the CPC started another magazine, The Vanguard (Qianfeng 前鋒 ) on July 1, 1923, in Shanghai, also with Qu as the chief editor. In order to deceive the opponents, the printing house of The Vanguard was in Guangzhou, as printed on the cover. Originally, the magazine was planned as a monthly, yet its publication never followed the schedule, just like the resumed La Jeunesse . At last, the magazine was suspended by the third issue. The main feature of the magazine was its emphasis on the research and study on practical issues — to tackle the specific problems of revolution through the application of Marxist theories. For most of the time, detailed statistics and plentiful factual materials were presented to support the argument, which not only made the conclusion more convincing, but also demonstrated that party publications were concrete and solid. Echoing with each other ideologically, theoretically, and politically, The Vanguard , La Jeunesse , and The Guide Weekly constructed an 4

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impressive and compelling propaganda front which substantially fostered the success of the National Revolution.

Hot-Blooded Daily in the May Thirtieth Movement The May Thirtieth Movement, began when protesters in Shanghai’s International Settlement were shot, was a major anti-imperialist movement which astounded the country as well as the world. Responding to this incident, the frightened imperialists not only used violent suppression but also rumors and slander in the press to defend themselves. Furthermore, major Chinese newspapers within the Shanghai concession including Shun Pao , Commercial Journal , News Daily , China New Paper , The National Herald , and Republic Daily adopted a passive or even pro-foreign attitude and were reluctant to make truthful reports. Shockingly, some newspapers even misrepresented the facts about the death of Chinese protesters and instead reported that the British policemen were forced to shoot as the mass was out of control; some voluntarily became the propagandists of the imperialist powers by publishing unedited rumors released by pro-imperialist news agencies; while some refused to publish declarations and telegrams of revolutionary bodies and protesters; and some gave in by reason of the need to spread the views of appealing to justice or resolving the issue through legal procedures. Under such circumstances, the CPC realized that there was a need to reinforce Party propaganda. As a result, aside from strengthening The Guide Weekly , the Party decided to start its own daily newspaper, and Hot-Blooded Daily (Rexue ribao 熱血 日報 ) was born. Organized and edited by Qu, Hot-Blooded Daily was founded on June 4, 1925. The CPC assigned Zheng Chaolin, Shen Zemin, and He Weixin (later renamed He Gongchao) — who, respectively, came from the Propaganda Department of the CPC, Republic Daily , and the Commercial Press — to carry out the editorial and publishing duties. Hot-Blooded Daily contained columns like “Editorial,” “Local News,” “National News,” “Important Messages,” and “Judgment of Public Opinion.” In the supplement “Voice,” short speeches, short essays, short letters, and literary works were published. A quarto newspaper with four pages, HotBlooded Daily was a rather informative small newspaper. The distinctive feature of Hot-Blooded Daily was its strong sense of political agitation. In the foreword of the first issue of the newspaper, it was written that “now the blood of all Shanghai people has been heated and boiled by the bullets of foreigners. The struggle for national freedom is a general and sustaining fight. Certainly people of Shanghai have to keep their blood boiling, which

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could be utilized to, geographically, heat the blood of the entire country and, chronically, boil the blood of the successors of the revolution.” As depicted by Hot-Blooded Daily , China at that time was just being temporarily weak, so “as long as we Chinese have hot blood, we must have cold iron in the future. When hot blood merges with cold iron, it will be the doom of those in power.” There was also extensive coverage on the magnificence of the anti-imperialist movement in Shanghai and the country as well as the bravery of revolutionists in the anti-imperialist struggle. Besides, Hot-Blooded Daily castigated the Beiyang government for selling out the national interest, while disclosing and bitterly criticizing the Shanghai compradors for their shameful behavior of obstructing the patriotic movement. According to the daily, “the occurrence of the Shanghai incident was no coincidence” but an inevitable outcome of the prolonged oppression from the imperialists. The fundamental solution to the problem was “to abolish every single unequal treaty, and revoke all the privileges enjoyed by the imperialist powers.” Methods like offering indemnities or making apologies were unacceptable. With its stern attitude and clear direction, Hot-Blooded Daily had interesting content and a fresh format. Together with its vivid use of language and convincing arguments, the daily was widely supported by the public. Until the tenth issue was published, it was said that “the sales had mounted to 30,000 copies and there were hundreds of letters and supporters coming to the office.” Risking being killed anytime, a number of people still went to sell the daily in the streets, while some voluntarily offered donations to support the publication. However, the imperialists, who were resentful of such publications, would certainly try any means to crush them. Consequently, the owner of the printing house was arrested, which forced Hot-Blooded Daily to close down by its 24th issue.

Regional newspapers of the CPC As the revolution progressed, the power of the CPC also achieved dramatic growth, as organizations of the Party were gradually developed at the regional level, and local committees took the initiative to start their own publications. As a result, a propaganda network consisting of Party publications — which spread out from the Central Government to the many regions in China — was preliminarily constructed. The first CPC regional newspaper was Political Life (Zhengzhi shenghuo 政治 生活 ), the official newspaper of the local committee in Beijing founded on April 27, 1924, with Zhao Shiyan as the chief editor and Li Dazhao, Cai Hesen, Luo

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Yinong, and Chen Weiren as writers. After the establishment of the Northern District Committee of the CPC in the autumn of 1925, it later became the official newspaper of the committee. Issued on every Sunday, the newspaper’s last issue was the 79th issue published on July 22, 1926. Basically, the newspaper was against the invasion of imperialism and civil wars among warlords, since back then Beijing was under the control of the Fengtian Clique, a supporter of Japanese imperialism. Thus, struggles in this period were directed against Japanese people and the clique. It was clearly stated that “we should overthrow Zhang Zuolin and wipe out Japanese imperialists. We should also demand the establishment of a

government formed by the people and resistant to any cabinets.” After 1925, as the peasant movements in China entered into a crucial stage, a close eye had been kept on them. In that era, the important works of Li Dazhao, including “Lands and Peasants” and “The Red Spear Society in Henan, Shangdong, and Shanxi,” were published in Political Life to highlight the importance of enabling peasants to participate in revolution. The articles explained: “If the huge population of peasants in the country could come together and be engaged in the National 5

Revolution, we would not be far from success.” Although the newspaper was rather temporal, several thousand copies were still sold, proving that massive influence was exerted upon northern workers, students, and the intellectuals. An avid reader of Political Life , Lu Xun kept three issues of the newspaper which are now exhibited in the Beijing Luxun Museum. An official publication of the Hunan District Committee of the CPC, Warrior (Zhanshi 戰士 ), a journal filled with political theories, was founded in December 1925 in Changsha. The major writers were Li Weihan, Mao Zedong, Tan Pingshan, Xia Xi, and Jin Hua. A quarterly magazine at first, Warrior was changed to a weekly magazine since the 14th issue and its publication was terminated in April 1927, with a total of 42 issues published. At the time of the founding of the journal, as the peasant movement in Hunan was growing and gathering strength, the prime task of Warrior was to propagate and direct the movement. More importantly, Mao’s work A Report on An Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan (Hunan nongmin yundong kaocha baogao 湖南農民運動考察報告 ) was first published in the 35th–39th issues (except the 37th) of Warrior . In this report, concrete and vivid examples were cited and emotional words were used to praise the heroism of the revolutionary peasants. Besides, there was the correction of fallacies over the peasant movement raised by the rightists of the KMT, landlords, and gentries. Additionally, the misconceptions of the rightist opportunists within the party were criticized. From a Marxist point of view, the report surveyed 6

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the process of the peasant movement, therefore showing recognition for the

status and role of peasants in a revolution. Moreover, the document stressed the importance of launching mass movements in rural areas, uniting and equipping

the people, and establishing a peasant regime. In the article “The Way Out of

Revolution in Hunan,” Li Weihan asserted the need to resolve the land problem, pinpointing that “the solution of the land problem would be the final struggle

to overthrow the dominance of the feudal class [and] the completion of the democratic revolution.” Hence, the key issue in this period was how to tackle the

land problem. While directing the course of the peasant movement, propaganda in Warrior also enriched the Party’s theoretical knowledge over the peasant issue, 7

which was of great significance to the CPC.

In Guangzhou, on February 7, 1926, the Guangdong District Committee

started the magazine People’s Weekly (Renmin zhoukan 人民週刊 ), which stopped

publishing on April 30, 1927, after the publication of a total of 50 issues. Zhang Tailei was the chief editor, and Yun Daiying, Zhou Enlai, Deng Zhongxia, Zhang Guodao, and Huang Ping were the writers. At the time of its founding,

People’s Weekly was a sixteenmo but since the 26th issue, it had been turned into a single piece of publication attached with a single-page supplement where theoretical articles were published. From the 46th issue, the magazine was merged with Young Vanguard (Shaonian xianfeng 少年先鋒 ), the official publication of the Guangdong District Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, also known as China Youth League (Gongqingtuan 共青團 ). Considering that it was the period right before the Northern Expedition was launched, Young Vanguard initially focused on preparing for the expedition and solidifying the revolutionary base in Guangdong through propaganda. Once the expedition began, the magazine became the tool to propagate the meaning of the war and to motivate the people to support the war. Even after the Northern Expedition Army had captured Wuhan, Young Vanguard still reminded the people to stay alert — in order to nose out any destructive acts from the enemies, and thus protect the fruits of revolution. In addition, Zhang wrote a passage “After the Capture of Wuhan” suggesting that the bureaucratic politicians should be prevented from attempting to destroy the newly-established regime after their loss of Wuhan.

Publications of the Socialist Youth League of China Publications of the Socialist Youth League of China (Zhongguo shehui zhuyi

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qingniantuan 中 國 社 會 主 義 青 年 團 ) emerged around the time when party publications appeared. The publications of the league and the league itself were closely connected with each other as they moved forward at the same pace. In August 1920, when the Chinese Communist Team in Shanghai was just established, Yu Xiusong, the youngest member of the team, was assigned to coordinate the founding of the Socialist Youth League of China. On August 20, the league was officially established and Yu filled the position of Secretary. Soon, Socialist Youth Groups were set up in Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Changsha, and Wuchang. At this point, the Tianjin Socialist Youth Group published Labor Gazette (Lao bao 勞報 ), the first newspaper of the Socialist Youth League of China. In November 1920, Zhang Tailei, who was also the secretary, founded the Tianjin Socialist Youth Group with help from Li Dazhao. Soon after the establishment of the group, young workers were given the opportunity to receive Marxist ideas, and the daily version of Labor Gazette was published. After some 20 days of sale among workers in Tangshan, Nankou, and Changxindian, Labor Gazette was forced to close. Thereafter, the office was moved to the concession in Tianjin and the newspaper was renamed Lai Bao ( 來報 ), which was a transliteration of the word “labor.” By mid-January 1921, Lai Bao was seized by the police. Then, Ma Qianli helped continue with the publication of the newspaper by renaming it the Tianjin Gazette (Jin bao 津報 ). As a result of external interference, publications of the league were not well developed, since generally speaking, scientific socialism failed to take root in the organization, and new members were publicly recruited instead of going through strict auditions or being referred by existing members. Therefore, whenever a condition arose, there would be diversified opinions and views among the members, which led to constant clashes. Eventually, the Socialist Youth League of China was declared dissolved in May 1921. Undertaking the commission from the Young Communist International and the Provisional Central Committee of the CPC, Zhang Tailei was responsible for the resumption of the Socialist Youth League of China. By November 1921, the league was re-established and Marxism was confirmed as the guiding ideology. Since then, the league continued to develop and its publications were improved. In the year of 1922, local publications began to surface — the Beijing Socialist Youth Group published Pioneer (Xianqu 先驅 ) in January; the Guangdong Socialist Youth Group published Youth Magazine (Qingnian zhoukan 青年週刊 ) in February; and the Sichuan Socialist Youth Group published The Voice of Mankind (Rensheng 人 聲 ) in March. By June, Zhao Shiyan, Zhou Enlai, and Chen Yannian, who were

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still in Paris, founded the Young Communist Party of China (Zhongguo shaonian

gongchandang 中國少年共產黨 ). Two months later, the monthly journal, which shared the name of Chen Duxiu’s magazine, La Jeunesse (Shaonian 少年 ) was published. By February 1924, the monthly was renamed Red Light (Chiguang 赤光 ). Overall, China Youth (Zhongguo qingnian 中國青年 ), a publication of the Socialist Youth League of China was the longest published and most successful revolutionary publication in the initial stage of the CPC’s establishment and during the first Chinese Civil War. China Youth was a thirty-twomo with 16 pages per issue. Since the 100th issue, its length was increased and there was the inclusion of new columns: “Editorial,” “Comments on Current Affairs,” “Discussion,” “Small Weapon,” “Review of New Journals,” “Book Introduction,” “Youth News,” and “Culture and Literature.” Since the 101st issue, the column “Communications” was added and “Our Age” was added since the 126th issue. Comics and illustrations were also put into the magazine starting from the 118th issue. Therefore, rich in content and diversified in style, China Youth became a freshly illustrated magazine welcomed by the younger generation. Generally, the sales reached 10,000–20,000 copies per issue, occasionally 30,000. In the foreword of China Youth ’s first issue, it was written that in order to cater to the youth, “a faithful and friendly publication would be provided.” It was also stressed that the magazine was “to lead the youth to the path of movement, to introduce ways of conducting movement, as well as to state the experiences obtained from previous movements…to lead the youth to the way of strength. The stories and remarks of great men should also be introduced, and any materials that could alert the youth should also be used to wipe out their laziness…The youth should be guided towards a practical road, so worthwhile references should be supplied for study. The youth should also be assisted to obtain the appropriate and useful knowledge which is unreachable in school.” These comments in the foreword helped identify the goals and direction of the editorial work of China Youth .

Public newspapers and journals of the CPC While commanding the mass movement, the CPC started a number of public

newspapers and journals. In August 1921, Labor Weekly (Laodong zhoukan 勞動

週刊 ), the official publication of the Chinese Labor Secretariat (Zhongguo laodong

zuhe shujibu 中國勞動組合書記部 ) and the first national worker journal of the CPC, was published in Shanghai. Zhang Guodao was the editorial director and Li

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Qihan also participated in editing the magazine. There were still some others who

had performed editorial duties — Li Zhenying, Bao Huiseng, Dong Chuping, and Li Danxin. The purpose of the weekly was to casually explain the idea of Marxism

to the general workers, so they would come together and subsequently launch

socialist movements. Meanwhile, the regional organization of the CPC in Beijing

published the Worker’s Weekly (Gongren zhoukan 工人週刊 ). By June 1922, as the Labor Weekly was closed by the International Settlement in Shanghai, the Chinese Labor Secretariat, which was forced to relocate to Beijing, chose Worker’s Weekly to be its official publication. The various divisions of the secretariat also started their own publications too. Between 1922 and February 1923, a bunch of worker publications emerged along with the very first climax of the labor movement in China. Yet, after the February Seventh Strike — a general strike of workers of the Jing–Han railways in 1923 — most of these publications were seized by the warlord government. As the worker movement resurged after 1924, some other new worker publications were founded. As a result, there were a dozen kinds of important worker publications in China: •• Chinese Workers (Zhongguo gongren 中國工人 )

•• Shanghai Workers (Shanghai gonggren 上海工人 ) •• Young Workers (Qingnian gongren 青年工人 )

•• Labor Periodical (Laodong xunkan 勞動旬刊 )

•• Farm Labor Periodical (Nonggong xunkan 農工旬刊 ) •• Railway Workers (Tielu gongren 鐵路工人 )

•• Shipbuilding Workers (Zaochuan gongren 造船工人 ) In particular, Chinese Workers asserted a profound importance.

Founded in October 1924 in Shanghai, Chinese Workers was edited by Deng

Zhongxia and Luo Zhanglong. Writers included Liu Shaoqi, Qu Qiubai, Ren Bishi, Zhang Tailei, and Li Lisan. After the establishment of the All China Federation

of Trade Unions (Zhonghua quanguo zonggonghui 中華全國總工會 ) in May

1925, Chinese Workers became the official journal of the federation. Since May 1926, it was distributed in Wuhan and was closed after Wang Jingwei became pro-

Japanese. Unlike past worker publications, Chinese Workers , appeared when the

worker movement was still in growth, had laid the foundation for the climax of the

movement through recounting the experiences of past struggles and sharing the success and failure of movements in other parts of the world. In addition, Chinese

Workers was one of the early critics against the rightist opportunists within the Party — which was the reason why this post was different from the others.

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Owing to the high tide of worker movements sparked off by the May Thirtieth Movement, a notable amount of new worker publications sprang up as well. On June 11, 1925, the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions published the Daily of Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions (Shanghai zonggonghui rikan 上海總工會 日刊 ), which conveyed a marked effect on leading the May Thirtieth Movement as well as the subsequent anti-warlord battle. On June 24, 1925, the Canton-Hong Kong Strike Committee published Road of the Workers (Gongren zhilu 工人之 路 ), a daily published four-page quarto. With Deng Zhongxia as the chief editor, Road of the Workers was also edited by Lan Yuye and Luo Mingcan, while Su Zhaozheng, Zhou Enlai, and Huang Ping provided articles for the newspaper. The longest published daily newspaper during the National Revolution, Road of the Workers was suspended on January 21, 1927.The newspaper was the mental nourishment for the workers taking part in the Canton-Hong Kong Strike, as its sales went from some 3,000 copies initially to over 10,000 copies. In the meantime, there were other worker publications in many places. Table 9.1 Worker publications in various parts of China Province Hubei

Hunan Shanghai Tianjin

Guangdong

Name of Publication

Worker News (Gongren daobao 工人導報 ) (later renamed Workers’ Daily on June 11, 1927) Hunan Workers (Hunan gongren 湖南工人 ) Coolies Weekly (Kuli zhoubao 苦力週報 )

Shanghai Workers Laboring Youth (Laodong qingnian 勞動青年 ) Plebian Daily (Pingmin ribao 平民日報 )

Workers’ Tabloid (Gongren xiaobao 工人小報 )

Canton-Hankou Workers (Yuehan gongren 粵漢工人 )

In the northeastern part of China, there were Manchurian Workers (Manzhou gongren 滿州工人 ), Railway Workers , Pressmen (Yinshua gongren 印刷工人 ), and Seamen of China (Zhongguo haiyuan 中國海員 ). Evidently, there was a prosperous development of worker publications in China. Due to the propaganda of the CPC, there was thriving peasant movement, and the many peasant associations led by the Party also produced their own publications. In July 1925, the peasant association in Haifeng, Guangdong, assisted by Peng Bai, an advocate for the peasant movement, published Haifeng Semimonthly (Haifeng banyuekan 海豐半月刊 ). In January 1926, the peasant association in Guangdong Province published its official publication — Plowshare (Litou 犁頭 ) — whose chief editor was Luo Qiyuan, a member of the standing committee of the peasant

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association in Guangdong Province. The articles of the journal were supplied by Yun Daiying, Li Qiushi, Deng Zhongxia, and Peng Pai. In addition to reporting the situation of the peasant movement in Guangdong Province, Plowshare also contained resolutions, declarations, plans, regulations, and essays regarding the peasant movement. By February 1926 in Wuchang, the peasant association in Hubei started to run its official publication Hubei Peasants (Hubei nongmin 湖北農民 ), which was a semimonthly at first and later a periodical published every 10 days. Hoping that the peasants could comprehend the national situation, Hubei Peasants carried news reports and comments on major incidents in the province as well as within the country, so as to reflect the latest developments of the peasant movement. Similar to other Communist publications at that time, Hubei Peasants rectified the misconceptions about the peasant movement and exposed the cruelty of landlords and the gentry class. At first, around 5,000 copies were printed for each issue, but as the newspaper progressed, the number of printed copies broke 20,000 at the peak. In May 1927, the peasant association in Hubei began to run new publications like the monthly Peasant Movement (Nongmin yundong 農民運動 ) and Hubei Peasant Pictorial (Hubei nongmin huabao 湖北農民畫報 ). In March 1927, Jiangxi Peasants (Jiangxi nongmin 江西農民 ), Hoe (Chutou 鋤頭 ), and The Blood Tide Pictorial (Xuechao huabao 血潮畫報 ) were published by the peasant association in Jiangxi Province; Friends in the Farm (Nongyou 農友 ) was published in Hunan; Shandong Peasants (Shandong nongmin 山東農民 ) and Shandong Peasant Pictorial (Shandong nongmin huabao 山東農民畫報 ) were published in Shandong; and Farm Cattle (Gengniu 耕牛 ) was published in Shanxi. Besides, propaganda materials including “wall newspapers,” slogans, and comics could be found easily. In brief, a new page of Chinese journalism had been turned by the appearance of worker publications. After the First KMT–CPC United Front was achieved, there was sustainable development in the student movement and, consequently, an immense amount of student publications were created. In the eighth general meeting of the Students’ Federation of the Republic of China held in July 1926, it was concluded that the number of publications of the federations alone was more than 40, excluding those published by a dozen student federations in other provinces. Among the many journals of student federations, The Chinese Student (Zhongguo xuesheng 中國學生 ), the official publication of the Students’ Federation of the Republic of China, was the longest published and the best-selling one. Established in 1924 in Shanghai, The Chinese Student was originally a semimonthly and was later changed to a weekly publication. Due to the increasing demands from students in the country, the number of copies printed rose from the initial 5,000 to 13,000.

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Aside from publishing documents of the federation and announcing previous

endorsements, essays about student movements were published as well — these

on one hand discussed the difficulties in student movements, and on the other hand explained the obstruction from the imperialist force and warlords. For journals of students’ federations in other places, they included Shanghai Student

(Shanghai xuesheng 上海學生 ), Beijing Student (Beijing xuesheng 北京學生 ), Hunan

Student (Hunan xuesheng 湖南學生 ), Hubei Student (Hubei xuesheng 湖北學生 ), and Hong Kong Student (Xianggang xuesheng 香港學生 ). For Shanghai Student and Beijing Student , there were 5,000 copies of each issue. Some other journals were also published by student bodies and schools. For example, New Student (Xinxuesheng 新學生 ) was a semimonthly started by the Guangdong New Student Society, which was under the control of the Committee on the Student Movement of the China Youth League Guangdong Division. Yuan Xiaoxian, one of the major people in charge, took the initiative to spearhead the propaganda of the journal. Likewise, the women’s movement in China also continued to advance with the help from the CPC. Simultaneously, women’s publications emerged. Published on December 13, 1921, Women’s Voice (Funü sheng 婦女聲 ) was the first women’s Party publication whose articles were often written by Chen Duxiu, Shen Zemin, and Shao Lizi. On August 22, 1923, a supplement The Women’s Weekly (Funü zhoukan 婦女週刊 ) — which then became an important channel for the Party to manipulate the women’s movement — was added to Republic Daily with Xiang Jingyu as one of the chief editors, and Chen Duxiu, Yun Daiying, and Qu Qiubai as the major writers. Later, the All-China Women’s Federation published Women of China (Zhongguo funü 中國婦女 ), the Hubei Women’s Association started Hubei Women (Hubei funü 湖北婦女 ), and the Hankou Women’s Association ran Women’s Movement (Funü yundong 婦女運動 ) and Red Women’s Magazine (Chinü zazhi 赤女雜誌 ). In Tianjing, Women’s Daily (Funü ribao 婦女日報 ) was founded while Women Bell (Funü zhong 婦女鐘 ) and Women’s Friend (Funü zhi you 婦女之友 ) were printed in Beijing.

News agencies of the CPC Shortly before and after the establishment of the CPC, a number of news agencies

were set up by the Party to further spread Marxism-Leninism in the country and

introduce the Russian October Revolution. Most essentially, the aim of these bodies was to report and facilitate the revolution of the country. They played an important role in encouraging the people to unite, rise up, and take part in revolution.

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Founded in Shanghai, the Sino-Russian News Agency (Zhonge tongxunshe 中俄通訊社 ) was the first news agency of the Party. In April 1920, Li Dazhao met with Grigori Voitinsky — the leader of the Communist International team sent to China — in Beijing to discuss about the feasibility of building up a Communist party in China. By May, with the assistance of Li, the Russian team arrived in Shanghai to have a meeting with Chen Duxiu and his fellows, and it was decided that a Chinese Communist party would be built. Afterwards, the Communist International team founded a public propaganda body by early July to help form the ideological basis for the establishment of the CPC. This body was known as the Sino-Russian News Agency, whose president, Yang Mingzhai, was a member of the Communist International Team as well as an active revolutionist. The office of the Sino-Russian News Agency was located at no.6, New Yuyang Lane, Xiafei Road (known as Huaihai Middle Road nowadays) within the Shanghai concession. A number of party organizations, both public and semi-public, had set their offices at this address, including the Foreign Language Association, Shanghai Socialist Youth League, and Education Committee. Furthermore, young revolutionists of these bodies contributed to the production, printing, and publishing matters of the Sino-Russian News Agency. On July 2, 1920, “The Situation of the Russian Cooperation,” the first news dispatch of the news agency, was published in Republic Daily . After the Chinese Communist Team was set up in Shanghai, the news agency, whose president was still Yang Mingzhai, was managed by the Communist Team. Generally, the dispatches of the news agency could be divided into two categories. First, there were ample translated pieces of materials or news reports about the USSR. and Communist International. Most of these materials were chosen from sources from Russian cities like Chita, Vladivostok, and Moscow, while some were from newspapers in Britain, France, and the U.S. Second, there were Russian translations of major news pieces selected from Chinese newspapers and journals, which would be sent to Moscow through telegrams and published in Russian newspapers. Aside from quantity, the dispatches were rich in content as well, for they covered a multitude of issues including politics, economics, war, culture and education, the workers’ movement, women’s movement, etc. Besides, there were diversified styles of reporting such as messages, news reports, interviews, speeches, profiles, data, etc. The region of the distribution of the dispatches was not confined to Shanghai but extended to Beijing. Back then, foreign news agencies enjoyed a monopoly over global news published in Shanghai newspapers. Provided that foreign reporters, presumably in

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support of capitalism, were hostile against socialist Russia, hence biased accounts of the October Revolution were made and published in newspapers to assault the Soviet regime. At the same time, in the hope of safeguarding its regime, the warlord government attempted to deceive the masses by propagating fraudulent news, so as to prevent them from seeing reality. In response, the Sino-Russian News Agency supported the new Soviet government by spreading plenty of news reports and articles objectively depicting the new Russian government as well as Russian social changes. In a dispatch of the news agency titled “An Overview on the Structure of New Russia” dated January 1921, the intention of the news agency publishing pro-Russia materials was elaborated. The author wrote that “over the years, various nations have been paying too much attention on the Bolsheviks from Russia. They were initially startled, then proceeded to conduct research and study on the ideology, and generally ended up publishing their many criticisms over the ideology. Some have integrated their personal opinions into the articles, but eventually contradicted themselves…Our people know increasingly more about the ideology, yet only a few understand what kind of tool has constituted the new Russia. The tool which constructed the new Russia was nothing but mere organizations. Thus, we purposely translated the methods of forming various types of organizations, so researchers on the new Russia can make reference to the translated versions.” In the same period, the Sino-Russian News Agency also delivered other major dispatches including “The History of Bolshevik,” “Historiette of Lenin,” “A Report about Soviet Russia,” Lenin’s Speeches on the Workers’ Movement,” and “Lenin’s Response to Questions from A British Reporter.” Facts employed to disprove the vilification of the Russian revolution eventually became the materials for the study of the Russian revolution. Yang Mingzhai, the leader of the Sino-Russian News Agency, also played an active role in performing translation and scriptwriting, so as to introduce the condition of the mass education, trade unions, and the new regime in Russia. In addition, then Sino-Russia News Agency sent reporters to have interviews with the masses of workers in Shanghai, which revealed the hardship of people’s lives and the need to transform. The news agency once published a long essay titled “About Workers’ Socialism,” where a dialogic format was adopted to illustrate the dark deeds of the bourgeois class as well as to show workers’ discontentment and disgust with the bourgeoisie. The essay wrote that “in factories, there are various sorts of products piling up like mountains, but factory workers are not wearing adequate clothes. The affluent possess hundreds of kilograms of grain, but the poor are starving all day long.”

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The dispatches of the Sino-Russian News Agency were primarily published

in La Jeunesse and Republic Daily in the columns “Russian Studies” and “World Highlights.” These articles resulted in the amplification of the influence of Marxism-Leninism as the market of the two reputed publications was quite big.

The Sino-Russian News Agency had made notable achievements during the construction stage of the CPC, but due to limited manpower and resources, the

provision of dispatches was occasionally intermittent. Still, a considerable number

of articles were produced. According to rough research, the number of dispatches of the Sino-Russian News Agency published in Shanghai during July 1920 and

July 1921 was over 140. After the Communist party was officially founded in July

1921, the news agency continued to dispatch news for a sustained period of time. Established a little later than the Sino-Russian News Agency, the Labor News 8

Agency (Laodong tongxunshe 勞動通訊社 ) in Beijing was an affiliated propaganda body of the editorial team of Worker’s Weekly . Founded on July 31, 1921, and published by the Communist group in Beijing, Worker’s Weekly was positioned

as a newspaper to direct the way of the labor movement, and it subsequently became the official publication of the Northern Division of the Chinese Labor

Secretariat. Before 1923, the standing committee of the editorial board of Worker’s Weekly consisted of Li Dazhao, Song Tianfang, Gao Junyu, He Mengxiong, and Luo Zhanglong, who was the chief editor. For the Labor News Agency, there was a separate editorial board whose members included Gao Junyu, Wang Youde, Han Linfu, Yu Fangzhou, Miu Boying, Yang Mingzhai, Li Meigeng, Wu Rongcang, and Huang Rikui. A communist member, Liu Mingxun was in charge of dispatching news. Within the country, the news agency hired reporters and special correspondents including Yuan Xiaoxian, Wang Yingxie, Zhao Xingnong, Li Fengchi, Gao Bu’an, Jin Tai, Xu Xingkai, Meng Bing, etc. These journalists made an enormous amount of news reports covering the conditions of labor movements across the border as well as the demands of the people. Other than being published in Worker’s Weekly , dispatches of the Labor News Agency were also sent to major newspapers in the country, like Chen Bao in Beijing and Shun Pao in Shanghai. Thereafter, a close relationship was established between the Labor News Agency and the renowned journalist Shao Piaoping as well as his Beijing Post (Jing bao 京報 ) and News Editing Society (Xinwen bianyishe 新聞編譯社 ). Personnel of the two parties occasionally cooperated in gathering materials. Aiming to improve the quality of management, Shao also shared his experiences on how to run newspapers. On April 26, 1926, Shao was executed after being arrested and accused of conducting “red propaganda,” which put a halt to the Labor News Agency.

9

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The Sino-Russian News Agency and Labor News Agency, one in Beijing

and the other in Shanghai, were the two earliest news agencies of the CPC. The

two agencies were crucial in the sense that they helped foster the spread of

Marxism by promoting mass movements and the worker movement. Evidenced by the appearance of the news agencies, it could be concluded that proletarian

journalism in China was growing with the birth of the CPC. Exhibiting the spirit of struggle, proletarian journalism became an indispensable component of the Party’s propaganda.

In places like Hubei, Guangdong, and Shandong, news agencies were also

established by local Communist groups. The People’s News Agency (Renmin

tongxunshe 人 民 通 訊 社 ) was established in Hubei with Chen Tanqiu as the president; the Communist group in Guangdong founded the Aiqun News Agency (Aiqun tongxunshe 愛群通訊社 ), which had published the tabloid Love the Crowd (Aiqun 愛 群 ) ; and the Communist group in Shandong founded the short-lived Shandong News Agency (Qilu tongxunshe 齊魯通訊社 ). In Shanghai by June 1925, the CPC founded the National News Agency (Guomin tongxunshe 國民通訊社 ) — the first nationwide press organ — with Shao Ji’ang as the president, who was arrested in the May Thirtieth Movement and succeeded by Song Yunbin. Once suspended by the warlord government in the summer of 1926, the National News Agency, with He Weixin as the president, was restored by the CPC during the worker uprising which took place in Shanghai in March 1927. The news agency was then relocated to the new office of the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions. After the April 12 Incident in 1927 — when the organizations of the CPC were brutally suppressed by the military force of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions of the KMT — the National News Agency, having enthusiastically reported about the worker uprising in Shanghai, was seized.

Journalism during the First KMT–CPC United Front KMT publications before the first united front Prior to the first KMT–CPC United Front, the KMT had already carried out press activities in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and several minor areas in Shanghai. In the

winter of 1917, when the First Constitutional Protection Movement was still ongoing, the Chinese Revolutionary Party published several newspapers including Democracy

Daily (Minzhu bao 民主報 ), People of the Heaven (Tianmin bao 天民報 ), and Pearl River Daily (Zhujiang ribao 珠江日報 ) in Guangzhou, but sadly they were all short-

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lived publications. By the spring of 1918, an experienced member of the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance (Tongmenghui 同盟會 ), Xia Chongmin, collected donations from overseas Chinese in the name of Sun Yat-sen so as to fund the operation of the Hong Kong Morning Post (Xiangjiang chenbao 香江晨報 ). Being the president and the chief editor, Xia received generous support from the readers, for he actively promoted the upholding of the constitution — which stimulated the daily sales to rise to 4,000 copies. Similarly, China New Paper (Zhonghua xinbao 中華新報 ) and Republic Daily in Shanghai followed the practice of Xia and propagated the idea of protecting the constitution. Encouraged and inspired by the success of the October Revolution and the outbreak of the May Fourth Movement, Sun Yat-sen — who understood the power of newspapers and journals — founded Review of the Week (Xingqi pinglun 星期評論 ) in Shanghai in June 1916. On August 1 in Shanghai, another theoretical monthly journal of the KMT, Reconstruction (Jianshe 建設 ) was developed. Unfortunately, as the political concepts propagated in these publications were not up to standards, together with their limited quantity, internal ideological disunity, and loose organization, the influence of them was rather small. Owing to the failure of both the First and Second Constitutional Protection Movements, Sun faced a sticky wicket and realized he needed support from the CPC. Hence, under the assistance from the Party, Sun was able to re-organize the party and carry on with his press activities. In November 1923, a theoretical monthly journal New Construction (Xinjianshe 新建設 ) was published in Shanghai. The journal, with Yun Daiying as the chief editor, was a sixteenmo containing about 130,000 words in each issue. Several well-known Communists including Liu Shaoqi, Deng Zhongxia, and Xiao Chunü also submitted articles to the journal. Presenting a systematic account of the political scene and revolutionary strategy, New Construction also covered brief ideas of social sciences and the situation of Russia. Furthermore, with the inclusion of articles on economic theories, the readers were offered a useful reference composed of political and economic materials of the country as well as the globe. Besides, New Construction was valuable reading for the study of social sciences. Meanwhile in Guangzhou, The New Republic (Xin minguo bao 新民國報 ) started to be subsidized by the KMT since 1921, which made it gradually become a propaganda channel of the KMT in the south. Coincidentally, Guangzhou Morning Post (Guangzhou chenbao 廣州晨報 ) adopted a pro-Sun attitude and acted against the warlord Chen Jiongming. In the aspect of promoting revolution, an active role was played by Guangzhou Phenomenon (Guangzhou xianxiang bao 廣州現象報 ), a journal published in the autumn of 1922. In the winter of 1923, efforts were made by the Central Propaganda Department of the KMT to restructure the deteriorating

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Hong Kong Morning Post in the hopes of transforming it into the propaganda base of the KMT in Hong Kong. Aside from the south, the KMT published newspapers and journals in Beijing as well. Thanks to the appearance of the above publications, the propaganda of the KMT eventually became more effective. Yet, in the face of the vital revolutionary mission, neither the quantity nor quality was close to satisfactory. More importantly, the ideological understanding of these publications was not standardized in the course of creating propaganda, which not only resulted in disputes and clashes but also brought about chaos in propagation. In brief, the publications of the KMT were in need of regulation and facilitation.

The development of KMT publications after the United Front and the Central News Agency After the realization of cooperation between the KMT and the CPC, the

propaganda bodies of the KMT were slowly developed. First of all, the

Guangzhou Republican Daily acted as the official newspaper of the party as it was under the control of the Central Propaganda Department. Funded by the Guangzhou City Hall, the daily newspaper was a reconstruction of The New Republic , which was founded in 1918 and terminated by the winter of 1923. In October 1924, the Central Propaganda Department took control of the newspaper, while Feng Yuxiang launched the Beijing Coup — a coup d’état against the Chinese President Cao Yun — and Sun was then invited by Feng to travel north. Subsequently, numerous declarations and speeches delivered by Sun in the north were published in the Guangzhou Republican Daily and editorials were written to delineate the goal and meaning of Sun’s trip to the north. Additionally, in order to influence the public opinion in Hong Kong, the Central Propaganda Department restructured Hong Kong Morning Post . Later on, the department also took charge of Republican News (Guomin xinwen 國民 新聞 ) in Guangzhou, which was formerly manipulated by reactionary force, and rendered it the official newspapers of the KMT in the Guangdong Province. Concurrently in Shanghai, the Central Propaganda Department set up the official newspaper of the Shanghai Executive Department of the KMT by reforming Republic Daily , whose chief editor was Ye Chulun and manager was Shao Lizi. Shen Zemin and Yun Daiying took part in the editing as well. For the supplement of the newspaper Awareness (Juewu 覺悟 ), a variety of topics were covered and it was edited by Shao Lizi and Chen Wangdao. The scripts of the

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supplement were contributed by several Communist members, for instances Qu Qiubai, Deng Zhongxia, Yun Daiying, Xiao Chunü, Shen Zemin, and Jiang Guangci. Sticking to the advocacy of cooperation between the KMT and CPC, Awareness promulgated Sun’s “three great policies” and included Marxist articles. In comparison with other publications of the KMT, Awareness was a more prominent one. As the KMT–CPC cooperation continued, the democratic revolution in China attained tremendous progression and frequent publications were produced by the KMT — whose various departments also began to start their own publications. Table 9.2 Publications of KMT Departments Department of the KMT

Name of Publication

Propaganda Department

Politics Weekly (Zhengzhi zhoubao 政治週報 )

Worker Department

Revolution Workers (Geming gongren 革命工人 )

Peasant Department

Youth Department

Military Department Women Department

Chinese Peasants (Zhongguo nongmin 中國農民 ) Peasant Movement (Nongmin yundong 農民運動 ) Revolution Youth (Geming qingnian 革命青年 ) Youth Work (Qingnian gongzuo 青年工作 ) Military Weekly (Junren zhoubao 軍人週報 )

Voice of the Women (Funü zhi sheng 婦女之聲 )

Moreover, publications were also started by the provincial headquarters of the KMT, as shown in the followings: Table 9.3 KMT Publications in Various Places Places

Hunan Jiangxi Hubei Beijing Fjian

Hong Kong

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Name of Publication

Changsha Republic Daily (Changsha Minguo ribao 長沙民國日報 ) New People (Xinmin 新民 ) Hunan Workers

Nanchang Republic Daily (Nanchang minguo ribao 南昌民國日報 ) Implement Daily (Guanche ribao 貫徹日報 ) Chuguang Daily (Chuguang ribao 楚光日報 ) Hankou Republic Daily (Hankou minguo ribao 漢口民國日報 ) Wuhan Review of the Week (Wuhan xingqi pinglun 武漢星期評論 ) Beijing Republic Daily (Beijing minguo ribao 北京民國日報 ) Citizen’s News (Guominxinbao 國民新報 )

Fuzhou Republic Daily (Fuzhou minguo ribao 福州民國日報 )

Hong Kong News (Xianggang xinwen bao 香港新聞報 )

The Founding of the Communist Party in China and Journalism during 1924–1927

There were some other publications issued by the provincial headquarters in Sichuan, Shanxi, Hebei, and Tianjin. Even the county headquarters of the KMT published their own newspapers, including Hainan Republic Daily (Qiongya minguo ribao 瓊崖民國日報 ), Shantou Republic Daily (Shantou minguo ribao 汕頭 民國日報 ), Wuzhou Republic Daily (Wuzhou minguo ribao 梧州民國日報 ), Ningbo Republic Daily (Ningbo minguo ribao 寧波民國日報 ), Wuxi Republic Daily (Wuxi minguo ribao 無錫民國日報 ), and Songjiang Republic Daily (Songjiang minguo ribao 松江民國日報 ). For overseas newspapers and journals, the KMT published the daily newspaper People and the Mass (Dangmn ribao 黨民日報 ) in Rangoon, the Thai version of Republic Daily , as well as Awakened Chinese Post (Xinghua bao 醒華報 ) in Mexico. At the same time, there was a new trend in the development of KMT publications — the initiation of military publications, as shown in the following table. At that time, there were more than 30 military publications in Guangdong from early 1925 to 1927. Table 9.4 Publications of Military Organizations Publisher

Name of Publication

Whampoa Military Academy

Military Weekly (Junren zhoubao 軍人週報 ) Whampoa Daily (Huangpu rikan 黃埔日刊 ) The Revolutionary Army (Gemingjun 革命軍 ) Tide of Whampoa (Huangpu chao 黃埔潮 ) Precursors (Xiansheng xunkan 先聲旬刊 )

Chinese Young Soldiers Association (Zhongguo qingnian junren lianhehui 中國青年軍人聯合會 )

Chinese Soldiers (Zhongguo junren 中國軍人 ) Young Soldiers (Qingnian junren 青年軍人 )

General Political Department of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA)

Revolutionary Army Daily (Gemingjun ribao 革命軍日報 ) Political Work Weekly (Zhengzhi gongzuo zhoukan 政治工作週刊 ) Soldiers’ Club (Junren julebu 軍人俱樂部 )

Student Corps of the General Headquarters

Military Students Daily (Xuebing rikan 學兵日刊 )

1st Troops of the NRA

Assault (Tuji 突擊 )

2nd Troops of the NRA

Vanguard (Xianfeng 先峰 ) Revolution (Geming 革命 )

4th Troops of the NRA

4th Troops Weekly (Sijun zhoukan 四軍週刊 ) Voice of the Army (Junsheng 軍聲 )

6th Troops of the NRA

Struggles Weekly (Fendou zhoukan 奮鬥週刊 )

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(Cont'd) Publisher

Name of Publication

7th Troops of the NRA

Revolutionary Soldiers (Geming junren 革命軍人 )

8th Troops of the NRA

Precursory Voice (Qiansheng 前聲 ) Voice of the Party (Dangsheng 黨聲 )

What is more, the First United Front did not stop but boosted the development of KMT publications. According to research quoted from the 14th issue of Politics Weekly (Zhengzhi zhoubao 政治週報 ), by June 1925, there were a total of 66 newspapers and journals published by 14 provincial headquarters of the KMT (Beijing and Guangdong excluded) — which formed another peak of KMT publications since the establishment of the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance. In addition to the increase in quantity, the advancement of KMT publications, most importantly, was manifested by the enhancement of the quality of political ideas — as a benefit of being assisted by the CPC and the Soviet Union. Furthermore, KMT publications were regulated by a number of CPC members — Mao Zedong, Li Dazhao, Dong Biwu, Zhou Enlai, Yun Daiying, Xiao Chunü, Deng Zhongxia, and Peng Pai — who collaborated with the leftists of the KMT to strengthen the propaganda in KMT publications. Hence, a resolute stance was adopted over the propaganda of the political platforms announced in the First Party Congress of the KMT, i.e. to promulgate Sun’s “three great policies,” to encourage the people to initiate mass movement, to overturn imperialism and the rule of warlords in China through armed movements, and to construct a new republican regime. Last but not least, these Communist members assisted the KMT in terms of theoretical research and disciplinary regulation, which helped lay a solid foundation for future development. In the course of consolidating the construction of its publications, the KMT made efforts to form its news agency as well. On March 28, 1924, the Central Executive Committee of the KMT issued no.19 notice, which stated: “We, for the sake of the reliability of news and generalization of propagation, hereby announce that the Propaganda Department would bear the responsibility to establish the Central News Agency. Indeed, any messages about central and regional party work, social, economic, political, diplomatic, and military news, as well as the latest updates of the world, or anything that could be made reference to for national construction, are all in-depth research or systematic depictions, which should be introduced to the people of the country.” By April 1, with the guidance of the Central Propaganda Department, the Central News Agency started to release dispatches.

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The Founding of the Communist Party in China and Journalism during 1924–1927

In earlier times, the news agencies had been founded by foreigners — who

were able to make use of the agencies to spread imperialist ideas. After the Xinhai

Revolution, domestic news agencies began to surface. Owing to their limited equipment and scale, these news agencies were either short-lived or centralized

in a certain region so they failed to create an overwhelming effect in society. Yet, a nationwide news organization, the Central News Agency, in spite of its small scale

and basic facilities, was able to disseminate the updates of the revolutionary base

in Guangdong and news of various places — which consequentially smashed the dominance of foreign news agencies.

Inevitably, the Central News Agency took up an increasingly important role

in the National Revolution. Reporters were sent to accompany the army, so timely news reports were made on the updates of the establishment of local regimes

and the victory of the First Eastern Expedition — in which Chen Jiongming, the objector against the Northern Expedition was defeated. The news agency also

highlighted the conspiratorial attempt to undermine the Nationalist Government

in Guangzhou and the anti-revolution acts of the merchant volunteer corps. After the Northern Expedition was kicked off, reporters — who were again deployed

to follow the troops — sent urgent telegrams to the head office in Guangzhou

as soon as the troops conquered a new area. Bringing their own mimeograph machine, the reporters were also able to produce daily military dispatches to

cover the progress of the war and how the expedition troops were supported by the masses of peasants and workers. Right after Wuhan was captured, the office

of the Central News Agency was moved to Hankou, a major city in Wuhan. Since

the founding of the news agency, the number of reporters and correspondents was on the rise along with improving business. The frequency of news releases

increased from once to twice per day, and at last three times a day; plus the expanded amount of words, the Central News Agency became progressively important and influential.

Significance of Politics Weekly and Hankou Republic Daily A weekly newspaper founded on December 5, 1925, in Guangzhou by the

Central Propaganda Department of the KMT, Politics Weekly was initially edited by Mao Zedong, who was once the Acting Director of the Central

Propaganda Department. Aside from Mao, Shen Yanbing, the Secretary of the Central Propaganda Department, and committees of the department like Deng

Zhongxia and Zhang Qiu were the editorial members of the weekly newspaper.

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A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 4

Some scripts were written by Liu Shaoqi, who later became the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China. Up to June 5, 1926, 14 issues were published, and on average 40,000 copies were printed per issue. The first four issues of Politics Weekly were edited by Mao, who left the editorial board and was then succeeded by Shen Yanbing. After the 14th issue was published, Shen was ordered to travel and work in Shanghai, so Zhang Qiuren became in charge of the newspaper. On March 20, 1926, the Zhongshan Warship Incident took place in which the Communist Captain Li Zhilong was suspected to be planning the kidnapping of Chiang Kai-shek and this eventually sparked a power struggle between the KMT and the CPC. Later, the Resolution on the Regulation of Party Work (Zhengli dangwu jueyian 整理黨務決議案 ) was endorsed in the Second Party Congress of the KMT held in May, which stated that Communists were to be cleared from organizations and bodies of the KMT. As a result, Politics Weekly was terminated as the Communists editorial members were excluded. Still, the newspaper contributed to the development of journalism in China. In “Rationales for Running Politics Weekly ,” an article about newspaper management written by Mao, it was clearly stated that the newspaper was founded “for the revolution…for the liberation of the entire Chinese race, for the realization of the rule of the people, and for the economic well-being of the people.” Besides, the propagation principle of “speaking with facts” was raised too. The article also pointed out that “the way we adopt to counterattack will not be argumentation but objective and faithful reports about the facts of our revolutionary work.” Additionally, the article highlighted the mission of the newspaper — “to resist anti-revolutionary propaganda, so as to destroy anti-revolutionary propaganda.” Aiming at achieving national liberation and the rule of the people, these remarks elaborated on what the principle of publications was — to assist the revolution and be faithful to the truth — while encouraging publications to fight against rival political ideas. Unlike bourgeois works, these viewpoints were entirely different in the sense that they neither promoted supra-class and supra-political concepts nor the idea of “recording everything heard,” a pessimistic attitude common among newspapers back then. Therefore, these opinions were constructive towards the growth of revolutionary journalism. Moreover, Politics Weekly gave a heavy blow on the rightists in the KMT. At the time when the newspaper was founded, the KMT was split by the 14 rightists in the Central Executive Committee, including Lin Sen, Ju Zheng, Zou Lu, Xie Chi, and Shi Ji, who held a meeting at the Temple of Azure Clouds in the Western Hills, Beijing, and openly expressed opposition against the united

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front and Sun’s “three great policies.” Accordingly, Politics Weekly — being turned into a place for criticism against the anti-revolution rightists, — disclosed the traitorous behavior and unlawful activities of the revolting KMT members, which led to a countrywide condemnation against these members. Since the first issue, the column “Counterattack” was specially designed to publish short essays denouncing the deeds of the rightists, so as to let the people know the collusion among the rightists, imperialists, and warlords — whose plot was to undermine the National Revolution. In the fourth issue of Politics Weekly , Mao published his article “Cause of the Split of KMT Rightists and Its Influence to the Revolution,” where the method of Marxist class analysis was utilized to interpret the appearance of rightists within the KMT as an inevitable phenomenon, so as to comfort the general mass. According to Mao’s article, as the rightists were the minority, their split was “far from obstructing the development of the KMT…far from impeding the National Revolution.” Furthermore, Politics Weekly held high the flag of the New Three Principles of the People — to ally with the Soviets, admit the Communists, and assist the peasants. At the same time, the newspaper suggested that the “three great policies” acted several roles — the foundation for cooperation between the KMT and the CPC, the momentum for the National Revolution, as well as the center of struggles between the revolutionary and anti-revolutionary forces. Founded on November 25, 1926, in Hankou, Hankou Republic Daily was a joint effort made by the Hubei Provincial Headquarters of the KMT, the General Political Department of the Northern Expedition Troops, and the Special Municipal Party Office in Hankou after the expedition troops took control of Wuhan. By March 1927, the newspaper became the official publication of the Hubei Provincial Headquarters. After Wang Jingwei launched a coup d’état against the CPC on July 15, the daily newspaper and other leftist publications of the KMT were forced to close. After all, Hankou Republic Daily could be regarded as the first large-scale

daily newspaper of the CPC as there was a dominance of Communist personnel. First, the manager of the newspaper was Dong Biwu, who was also a member of Hubei Provincial Committee of the CPC, a member of the Standing Committee of Hubei Provincial Headquarters of the KMT, a member of the Standing Committee of Hubei Provincial Government, as well as the Head of the Peasant Department of Hubei Provincial Government. Second, the position of chief editor was successively taken by Wan Xiyan (the Director of Hankou Minicipal Propaganda Department of the CPC), Gao Yuhan, and Shen Yanbing; and editors included 10

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Ma Zhemin, Sun Jidan, Li Dake, and Shi Xinjia, who was the only KMT member.

Third, Qu Qiubai, who worked in the Central Propaganda Department of the CPC, offered specific instructions to the newspaper from time to time.

In Hankou Republic Daily , there were not only reports on domestic and

foreign major news, and the victory of the expedition army, but also messages, resolutions, and orders — which were delivered by the Central Headquarters

of the KMT, the Nationalist Government, Military Commission, provincial party headquarters, and provincial governments to propagate the “three great policies.” In the section “News of the City,” there were news reports about anti-

imperialist mass movements and the strikes organized by labor unions. Besides, there were two sections in support of peasant movements — “News of the

Province” and “Mass Movement,” where relevant news were included. In order

to ensure the continuation of the peasant movement, the column “Fight between Light and Dark” was developed to criticize the rightists in the KMT and the

rightist opportunists in the CPC, for they described the movement as “over” and “messed up.” Additionally, ample news reports and articles favoring the peasant movement were published too.

Supported by readers from various fields, Hankou Republic Daily featured an

immense amount of news, timeliness, accurate information, as well as extensive

coverage. Besides, the expression of political views was emphasized too, as there

were sometimes one or two editorials published every day. These commentaries

and reviews — which expounded principles based on facts — were convincing as they were closely related to either current significant incidents or issues of

concern to the public. What is more, the content and layout of the newspaper was innovative and readable, thus it became one of the most popular newspapers in

Wuhan. At first, only 4,000 copies were printed per day, but the number soon rose to 8,000–9,000, which reached some 10,000 copies at the peak.

Among the publications collectively managed by the KMT and the CPC,

Chinese Peasants was of relatively greater impact. A publication of the Peasant Department of the KMT, Chinese Peasants was published on January 1, 1926, in Guangzhou. After the Central Executive Committee of the KMT and the Nationalist Government were moved to Wuhan, the office of the journal was also moved. The publication of the monthly journal was once suspended in December, but was then resumed in June the next year. Generally, its content was connected with the peasants. The first issue of the second volume was a special edition on the land problem. For the second issue of the second volume, as decided in the meeting of the Propaganda Office of the Central Peasant Department, the content

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The Founding of the Communist Party in China and Journalism during 1924–1927

would basically be “a neat and organized textual record of the formation of the

National Peasant Association and the condition of peasants in Hunan.” Even though an advertisement stating that “the third issue of the second volume will 11

be out soon” and the contents of the coming issue were published on August 1, the actual copy of the third issue was yet to be discovered.

The Development of Private Journalism General situation of private journalism Since the 1920s, owing to the appearance of certain favorable conditions, private journalism in China had room to grow.

First of all, years of military conflicts among the warlords had diverted their

attention and eventually weakened their reactionary rule. As for the central

government, there were no peaceful days as it had always been the target of various warlords. At first, the Anhui Clique, led by Duan Qirui, was expelled

by the united force of the Zhili Clique and Fengtian Clique. Thereafter, when the Beijing coup launched by Feng Yuxiang facilitated the collapse of the Zhili

Clique, the Fengtian Clique, seizing the chance, travelled to Beijing and took

control of the central government. To put it succinctly, warlord powers sometimes

came to compromises, and sometimes went to military conflicts. Due to such a

circumstance, control of the warlords over the press was no longer as stringent

and powerful as it used to be under the rule of Yuan Shikai and Duan Qirui. While the warlords were facing a chaotic situation, there was a tiny yet hopeful opportunity for private journalism to develop and prosper.

The question was, how substantial was the growth of private journalism at

that time? Although no solid conclusion could be drawn owing to the lack of relevant statistical research, and the related materials were loosely organized, a positive tendency could still be observed with reference to the remaining data.

According to a report on the Second World Newspaper Congress, by 1921, there were 1,137 regular publications in China consisting of 550 daily newspapers, 6

newspapers published every 2 days, 9 newspapers published every 3 days, 9 newspapers published every 5 days, 154 weeklies, 46 periodicals published every

10 days, 54 semimonthlies, 303 monthlies, 4 quarterlies, 1 annual publication, and 1 biennial publication.

12

Until 1926, the number of dailies amounted to 628, and

there were 155 news agencies. Even though the above figures were inclusive of governmental and official newspapers of the KMT and the CPC, private 13

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publications still accounted for a substantial share. Besides, newspapers were hardly published by the warlords; even if they intended to publish, or financially supported newspapers, the publications still had to seemingly be operated by the private sector. This was a distinguishing feature of journalism under the rule of the Beiyang government. In accordance with the mentioned statistics, it can be estimated that there was a generally ongoing development of private journalism. During the Beiyang period, certain newly founded private newspapers, with their successful management, were able to develop into characteristic major newspapers later. For example, Shanghai Business Daily (Shanghai shangbao 上海商報 ), founded on the eve of 1921, caught the attention of the press for its chief editor, Chen Bulei, wrote a daily column signed “Weilei 畏壘 ,” meaning “grand and vast.” Another feature of the newspaper was its column “Business Finance” — where reviews and commentaries on business and government bonds, as well as articles about concepts of economics, were published. Additionally, there was news about exchange rates, trading, and the local market, so the newspaper was in vogue among different industries, particularly the business sector. Gradually, the

daily became one of the leading newspapers in Shanghai. Likewise, The World (Shijie ribao 世界日報 ), established in 1925 in Beijing, was a renowned newspaper in northern China owing to its unique management method — a bourgeois style, i.e. to catch the readers’ eyes with scoops and stirring headlines, and to cater to the readers’ tastes by intriguing serial stories. Furthermore, Cheng Shewo, the ambitious person in charge, started evening newspapers, daily newspapers, and pictorials one by one so as to eventually form an independent press system. Outside of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, private newspapers flourished in medium-size cities as well. In the coastal city of Qingdao, for example, there were at least a dozen private newspapers in the 1920s. In fact, the limited period when the sovereignty of Qingdao had been returned from German and Japanese hands to China favored the development of private newspapers. 14

Table 9.5 Well-known newspapers in Qingdao Year

Newspaper

1923

Qingdao Daily (Qingdao ribao 膠澳日報 )

1925

The Pin Min Pao or Common People Post (Pingmin bao 平民報 )

1924

1926

98

Qingdao Citizens (Qingdao gongmin bao 青島公民報 ) Qingdao Times (Qingdao shibao 青島時報 )

Zheng Bao ( 正報 )

The Founding of the Communist Party in China and Journalism during 1924–1927

Given the rise of new circumstances, some existing newspapers also achieved stable development in this period. For example in Shanghai, Shun Pao (Shen bao 申報 ) and News Daily — provided that the shares of News Daily were largely possessed by John C. Ferguson and management was chiefly done by Chinese people — solidified the foundation of enterprization of the press after undergoing a series of reforms. With over 50,000 copies sold daily, the aggregate sales of the two newspapers were more than 150,000 copies, which not only broke the record of the distributed amount of past Chinese newspapers, but also brought generous profits to Shun Pao and News Daily . As a result, the number of pages printed increased to eight or so, sometimes reaching 14. Besides, the content was getting more manifold, as shown by the appearance of numerous columns, special issues, supplements, and supplementary issues. Meanwhile, another Shanghai newspaper Eastern Times , having its director switched, was able to stop the newspaper from a steady decline through the use of catchy pictures and popular, or even exaggerated, news stories to boost the sales. The newspaper was consequently moving closer to yellow journalism. The most noteworthy change was the reconstruction and resumption of Ta Kung Pao — which was previously a long established newspaper of the Anhui Clique. After remaining quiet for a few months, Ta Kung Pao was finally taken over and jointly managed by Wu Dingchan, Hu Zhengzhi, and Zhang Jiluan. In spite of their close relationship with the conservative political force, the renewed Ta Kung Pao was undeniably a privately operated newspaper. When the publishing of the newspaper was resumed, the ideas of “no collusion with cliques, no pursuit of selfish interests, no betrayal to the country, and no blind obedience” were promoted, indicating that the publication heads were determined to build a non-governmental newspaper free from the control of any political party (yet the newspaper was inevitably involved in later political struggles). Because of its wonderful opinions, critical viewpoints, and clear page layout, Ta Kung Pao was popular among readers, especially the intellectuals. Therefore, not just the northern press but the entire country had a completely new appraisal of the newspaper. In brief, Ta Kung Pao had entered a brand-new stage of development. However, after all, there were limitations to such progression. As the country was still in a state of being a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, there was no room for private journalism to expand and reach the heights of real prosperity. Indeed, private newspapers in this period shared one similarity: progression in business and management but a cautious and conservative attitude in political stance and opinions. For instance, Shun Pao and News Daily , which carried a lot of weight in the press industry, failed to create much of an impact, not to mention

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their weakened roles in leading general opinion. On certain occasions, they were

even subjected to the despotic power of the imperialists and conservatives. One proof was that in the May Thirtieth Movement in 1925, the anti-propaganda

advertisement made by the imperialists was published in Shun Pao , merely

because of business considerations. Another case was The World : after its person

in charge (Cheng Shewo) was arrested by the warlord, it did not publish a

commentary for a year. Clearly, the status of private journalism and its feebleness were closely related.

The development of Shun Pao and News Daily Benefiting from a concrete foundation laid by earlier development, Shun Pao

and News Daily enjoyed further room for development and gradually achieved economic independence owing to the accumulation of capital. To be specific, the

sole owner of Shun Pao Shi Liangcai, succeeded in buying back the shares and

claiming property rights over the newspaper after repaying the compensation

— which was brought by his losses in a lawsuit made by the previous owner Xi Zipei. By the end of 1923, the secured loans of News Daily were paid off as well.

Moreover, the construction of new offices and the purchasing of new equipment,

as well as printing machines, provided a material basis for the expansion of the two newspapers. In general, the 1920s marked the stable and continual development of Shun Pao and News Daily .

As mentioned, the two newspapers did break the record of annual newspaper

sales at that time by selling over 50,000 copies. The amount was indeed a composite index reflecting the revenue and quality of the newspaper as well as a symbol of the newspaper’s scale.

Table 9.6 Sales of Shun Pao and News Daily in the 1920s

15

Year 1920 1921 1922 1923

50,788 59,349 74,284 81,737

1924

105,727

1926

141,717

1925

100

News Daily

127,719

Amount of Sales

Shun Pao 30,000 45,000 50,000 — —

100,170 141,440

The Founding of the Communist Party in China and Journalism during 1924–1927

(Cont'd) Year 1927

News Daily 144,079

1928

150,152

1930

150,028

1929

150,150

Amount of Sales

Shun Pao 109,760 143,920 143,120 148,240

As shown in the table, Shun Pao and News Daily were favored by a healthy and improving business condition in this period — which explained why they could become the top newspapers in Shanghai, and essentially, in the country. In terms of content and layout, the two newspapers were becoming more comprehensive. A multitude of columns were included and additional issues were published by both of the newspapers, yet Shun Pao was chiefly about culture, education, and science, while News Daily focused on commerce and economy. On August 31, 1919, the Shun Pao Weekly Supplementary Issue (Shen bao xingqi zengkan 申報星期增刊 ) was launched as the prelude to the new columns and supplementary issues. An eight-page newspaper published every Sunday, the Shun Pao Weekly Supplementary Issue was a publication on issues of international relations. Back then, after the First World War, the people became more concerned with relations among countries as well as the future of China and the world, thus, as a response to people’s needs, an additional issue of Shun Pao was published. In fact, this issue was more like an extension of the international news section of Shun Pao . In each issue, there was the inclusion of the column “Global Issues of the Week” containing summaries of major foreign news pieces of the previous week and commentaries on international issues written by specially hired scholars. Given that this weekly supplement was more appealing to the intelligentsia, another supplementary issue General Knowledge (Changshi 常識 ), founded on June 1, 1920, was more suitable for the middle and lower class. A two-page daily publication, General Knowledge offered common sense stories on morality, law, hygiene, and economic issues. On the whole, the publication was rather attractive to readers, not merely because of its rich content but also thanks to its use of colloquial language and diversified presentations — mottos, reviews, stories, etc. Aside from these two issues, the supplementary issue Automobiles (Qiche zengkan 汽車增刊 ), a four-page journal published on Saturdays, appeared on November 27, 1921. Fusing advertisements and information together, Automobiles included details about the use of cars in the country while promoting the functions and prices of European and American vehicles. Additionally, the dos and don’ts of driving and matters on car maintenance were shared. The supplementary issue had an exclusive feature —

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a customer service office responsible for introducing appropriate cars to customers, recruiting drivers, and reselling used vehicles. Apparently, vehicle distributors were the prime targets of Automobiles . In addition, there were two other more important supplementary publications of Shen Pao — Education and Life (Jiaoyu yu rensheng 教育與人生 ) and City Supplement (Benbu zengkan 本埠增刊 ). A daily publication with eight pages, City Supplement was started on February 8, 1924, and its selling and distribution were confined to Shanghai. The starting of the supplement was

entirely “to facilitate and promote advertising business.” Since 70%–80% of the layout was occupied by advertisements, the supplement was indeed like a branch of Shun Pao . This revealed how successful the advertising business of Shun Pao was. Later, in order to enhance the attractiveness of City Supplement , a column “Arts” was added to introduce popular movie stars and their news, as well as art reviews. In brief, City Supplement , specializing in news of the local business community, was welcomed by advertisers as they could pay less in postage. Therefore, other newspapers in Shanghai imitated Shun Pao , and eventually, similar supplementary issues emerged. As for the weekly Education and Life , since Shun Pao had established a close relationship with the education and cultural fields, the weekly was published in October 1923 to take care of their needs. A relatively small-scale magazine, Education and Life was individually printed and it was primarily about the news of the cultural and education fields. To stimulate discussion on education problems in China, relevant theories and teaching approaches in other countries were also introduced. Additionally, two columns “The Friend of Youth” and “Sports” were added to interact with young readers. With a number of high quality articles and useful materials published, Education and Life created a big impact in the education sector. For instance, Li Dazhao’s advocacy of personality education was introduced through an interview with him. Outside the education field, the magazine also gained popularity, and readers of Shun Pao found it inconvenient to separately purchase the magazine. Therefore, after the publication of the 60th issue, Education and Life was transformed to a column “Education News” in Shun Pao on December 8, 1924. Surprisingly, even though it was published daily and its length was increased, well-written articles were less common. A major competitor of Shun Pao , News Daily , aiming not to get surpassed by its rivals, opened new columns and produced supplementary issues — such as New News (Xin xinwen 新新聞 ), an imitation of the Shun Pao Weekly Supplementary Issue published on November 2, 1919; New Knowledge (Xin zhishi 新知識 ), a copy of General Knowledge started on January 14, 1922; and City Addition (Chengshi fukan 城市附刊 ), a copy of City Supplement founded on April 1, 1926. Among the 16

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many columns and supplements of News Daily , the most impressive one was the column “Economic News” — which was launched on April 15, 1922, and edited by the economist Xu Cangyong. The column comprised business information as well as reports and analysis of the market trend. Furthermore, international trading and economic conditions were presented and ideas of economics were shared and expounded. Even though News Daily was not the pioneer in running economic

columns, “Economic News” was considered a successful example, for it contained up-to-date news and credible content, i.e. reviews, charts, and graphs, which were highly demanded by businesspeople. Hence, Shun Pao and News Daily , with their informative and multidimensional columns and supplements, evolved into comprehensive publications. Yet, owing to the limited scope for news reports to flourish, publications like Shun Pao and News Daily were forced to explore new methods such as the publication of supplementary issues and columns to beat their opponents. This sort of thing was a common tendency of private newspapers in that period. With the introduction of new elements, the lengths of Shun Pao and News Daily were increased to more than 20 pages, or from three to five and even seven broadsheets, and even more during festive times or on different anniversaries. Eventually, Shun Pao and News Daily became respectable newspapers in Shanghai. Nevertheless, there was an uncertain political scene, as reflected by endless warfare among warlords and frequent changes of the central regime. Considering the chance of seizure, the two newspapers remained politically vigilant to safeguard their businesses. Comparatively speaking, News Daily was more rightist than Shun Pao , as seen by the fact that it was once prohibited from distribution in the administrative regions of the Wuhan and Guangzhou revolutionary government. For Shun Pao , its owner Shi Liangcai recalled the hardship of running a private newspaper: “If Shun Pao was a boat, my fellows were being ferried to fight in the battle. We have overcome storms and rains and gone through dawns and dusks together. Fortunately, there are no signs of being 17

capsized; therefore we are saved from suffering the fatal calamity.” In short, the public opinion could not be represented by Shun Pao and News Daily as they lacked the power to unite the people with their cautious political attitude — which came into stark contrast to their significant business progression. Occasionally, the newspapers, tempted by economic benefits, went against the mainstream opinion and knuckled under the reactionary power. A typical example was the publication of Sincere Words (Chengyan 誠 言 ). Originally a propaganda 18

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leaflet, Sincere Words was produced during the May Thirtieth Movement, a large-

scale anti-imperialist movement in Shanghai triggered by the death of a worker

Gu Zhenghong. Since a strong anti-imperialist front was formed by laborers, .

businesspeople, and students, the imperialists decided to publish reactionary material to slander and frustrate the opposition force. Thus, some 50,000 copies of Sincere Words were distributed in Shanghai and the details of the writers, publishing dates, and publishing location were absent. Subsequently on July 11, under the pressure from Carl Crow Inc., a Western advertising company,

the full text of Sincere Words , which made up half a page, was published in the

advertisement columns of Shun Pao and News Daily — whose owners were frightened of displeasing the Municipal Council of the Shanghai Concession. As a 19

result, the Shanghai masses were enraged while the Journal of the Union of Labor,

Commerce, and Education (Gongshangxue lianhehui bao 工商學聯合會報 ), China Youth , and Blood Tide (Xuechao 血潮 ) published articles and extras to condemn the two newspapers. Representatives from the fields of labor, commerce, and education also negotiated with the two newspapers, requesting them to make public apology and deny the rumors. Consequently, on July 17, an article “Announcement” was published in Shun Pao as an apology and the flyer Refuting Sincere Words (Pi chengyan 辟誠言 ) — which was of the same length as Sincere Words — was included in the advertisement column. The above incident illustrated how politically crippled the two newspapers were and revealed how closely they were related to the authority within the concession. All in all, during the “semi-colonial” period, private newspapers remained politically conservative in exchange for business development — which was a major limitation of private newspapers at that time.

The re-establishment of Ta Kung Pao On September 1, 1926, Wu Dingchang, Hu Zhengzhi, and Zhang Jiluan, after founding the New Record Company (Xinji gongsi 新記公司 ), re-established Ta

Kung Pao in Tianjin. Formerly founded in 1902, Ta Kung Pao was previously under the control of Ying Lianzhi and it was well known in northern China for its critical opinions. However, as Ying’s ambition to establish a constitution was shattered by the Xinhai Revolution, he was reluctant to continue with the business of Ta Kung Pao and so transferred the ownership of the newspaper to Wang Zhilung, a capitalist from the Anhui Clique. Yet, from then onwards, the Anhui Clique began to lose its

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influence and the sales of the newspaper started declining due to its increasingly pro-Japanese stance. At last, by November 27, 1925, Ta Kung Pao was suspended and its owner Wang passed away in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. Hence, the New Record Company purchased the ownership of the newspaper from the offspring of Wang. The New Record Company was a combination of the labor of Hu Zhengzhi and Zhang Jiluan, two renowned journalists, and the capital of Wu Dingchang, a tycoon as well as a politician. Owing to Wu’s unique views on journalism and peculiar method of investment, the development of Ta Kung Pao asserted a certain importance in the history of Chinese journalism. In fact, the cooperation of Wu, Hu, and Zhang could be traced back to 1924, when Hu was still running the National News Service (Guowen tongxunshe 國聞 通訊社 ) and started the National News Weekly (Guowen zhoubao 國聞週報 ), while Zhang was managing China New Paper (Zhonghua xinbao 中華新報 ) in Shanghai. Noticing that the businesses of his friends were worsening, Wu, who studied with Hu and Zhang in Japan, suggested founding their own press body to publish a daily and a weekly newspaper. In fact, Wu’s underlying idea was to combine the companies of Hu and Zhang. Besides, Wu shared his analysis of the newspaper industry in China and his thoughts on running newspapers; he said: “Most of the newspapers could not succeed, as they merely focus on subsidies or sponsorship obtained by blindly established political relationships, so when the political scene fluctuates, they would crumble. Therefore, I am planning to invest 50,000 yuan in founding a newspaper; no political relationships would be established and no external partners would be accepted. Only one general manager and a chief editor would be hired with each being paid 300 yuan in monthly salary. A sum of three years of their annual salaries would be given, so they would not need to focus on other matters or acquire money from other

sources.” In spite of Hu and Zhang’s support for the recommendation, the plan was suspended owing to the abrupt halt of China New Paper and the appointment of Zhang as the manager of the Longhai Railway. A year later, as the political alliance which the National News Service and the National News Weekly relied on began to dissolve, sources of money were also cut. Even though Hu tried hard to broaden the sources of income and reduce expenditure, the business was still tough to maintain. Thus, Hu sought assistance from Wu, who was willing to spend 300–400 yuan on the operation of the National News Weekly . By doing so, the weekly newspaper would become a place to publish Wu’s articles on financial and economic issues — which helped 20

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develop his image as an economist in the local community. On August 2, 1925, in the anniversary issue of the National News Weekly , Wu’s article was published

for the first time. Later, Wu wrote using the pseudonym “Qianxi 前溪 ,” literally “Brook Forward,” and Wu and Hu then had closer cooperation. By the spring of 1926, Zhang no longer worked as the manager of Longhai

Railway due to warfare and he began to live in seclusion in Tianjin. Afterwards,

when Zhang was invited by Hu to be involved in the National News Weekly ,

he replied: “Writing just a single weekly editorial definitely cannot satisfy my

craving. I would be so willing to join if you were running a daily.” Coincidentally, Ta Kung Pao was suspended and the three met to devise a plan on the reestablishment of the newspaper. As a result of their discussion, five principles were formulated: 1) Wu Dingchang would be solely responsible for the financing of the newspaper, and no parties would be approached for sponsorship.

2) The three are to be concentrated on running the newspapers, so no one should take any paid official positions within the coming three years.

3) Hu and Zhang are to purchase the shares by labor, and a proportionate amount of shares would be given to the two by the end of the year.

4) Wu Dingchang would be the President, Hu Zhengzhi would be the

Manager and Vice–Editor-in-Chief, and Zhang Jiluan would be the Editor-in-Chief and the Vice Manager.

5) An editorial committee is to be formed by the three to study current

affairs issues, exchange relevant ideas, and decide on the topic. The

three would take turns in composing the editorial, with Zhang Jiluan being responsible for the final editing. Whenever opinions or ideas clash, the majority would rule. When the three are of separate opinions, Zhang’s would be followed. This is a verbal agreement.

21

The division of work was as follows:

The position of President was taken by Wu Dingchang without any salary,

and he was responsible for the purchase and management of the foreign reserves

of the company. In daytime, Wu worked in the Yien Yieh Commercial Bank and visited the newspaper office at night to have discussions on news with Hu

and Zhang. As a financier, Wu’s specialty was the settlement of the exchange of

foreign currencies, so he was to handle the purchase of imported printing paper whose price varied with the exchange rates — which might bring losses to the

company. Yet, thanks to Wu’s efforts, profits were recorded. In addition, trying

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not to interfere as much as possible, Wu gave his partners free reign to handle the management of the newspaper and editorial matters. The position of Manager and Vice–Editor-in-Chief was taken by Hu Zheng Zhi, whose National News Service became nominally independent — as scoops made by the news agency were first published in Ta Kung Pao . Thus, the National News Weekly was literally turned into a subsidiary of Ta Kung Pao after its office was moved from Shanghai to Tianjin. The elites from the National News Service were also shifted to Ta Kung Pao . In terms of daily duties, Hu dealt with the managerial business in the morning, and attended the editorial meeting in the afternoon, where the content of different newspapers was reviewed. At night, he had a meeting with Wu and Zhang to discuss company affairs and current news, as well as to select themes for the editorials. Additionally, Hu composed several pieces of editorials in a week. Being fully in charge of the newspaper, Hu had got used to working for some 11 to 12 hours per day. Still, for a short period of time after Ta Kung Pao was resumed, Hu would squeeze time to travel to Beijing at weekends not just to collect news there or guide the work done by National News Service’s branch office, but most importantly, to see his family. The position of Editor-in-Chief was taken by Zhang Jiluan, who was to host the editorial meeting and be the first one to learn from major newspapers in Tianjin and Beijing by reviewing their strengths and weaknesses in the content and layout. The gist of the reviews — which either praised them for reporting exclusive news or alerted them if they had missed any important news — would be sent to various news agencies through telegrams. Additionally, Zhang was responsible for assigning tasks such as checking external manuscripts and the research on the latest issues to the editorial staff. Besides, he had to make predictions about upcoming news in order to prepare relevant materials beforehand as well as to draft the outline of the newspaper the next day. At night, he met with the other two fellows and composed editorials, sometimes doing the final editing of Wu and Hu’s manuscripts. Moreover, Zhang, a dedicated chief editor, processed important news reports by his own hands. From the headlines to the layout design, he thought over a number of factors and made repeated amendments. Last but not least, Zhang performed a crucial task — to receive visitors, who came whenever he was in the office, no matter day or night. They were mostly political figures whom Zhang discussed social and current issues with. Having a wide social network, he often had the chance to obtain side-street news and exceptional viewpoints. As a result, Zhang’s thinking was tremendously inspired owing to quick access to sources of information.

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In the aspect of page layout, Hu and Zhang went against the conventional format — to separate the page by types of work such as Presidential Orders, special dispatches, telegrams by news agencies, and regional works. Instead, they introduced the editing practice of the Japanese newspaper industry, i.e. a composite editing approach — to produce a well-proportioned page layout by arranging news reports according to their content and using various sizes of types. Hence, readers soon took notice of Ta Kung Pao ’s refreshing page layout and substantial content, and most essentially, its incisive opinions. Apart from sales growth, the re-established Ta Kung Pao also fostered and facilitated the reformation of the press industry in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai. At the time when Ta Kung Pao was just bought up by the three journalists, no more than 2,000 copies were printed. Yet, by May 1927, within less than a year’s time, some 6,000 copies were sold. Meanwhile, the revenue from advertising grew from some 200 to 1,000 yuan, while the company overcame a deficit of 4,000 yuan and managed to break even. From then onward, the business continued to expand and the profits multiplied accordingly. Gradually, Ta Kung Pao , which was second to none in the northern China region, played a key role in influencing the general opinion.

Transformation of Eastern Times Reputed for its precise and critical commentaries, Eastern Times did stimulate the reforms of the press industry. The office of the newspaper was the Easter Times Tower, whose garden on the top floor was the activity center for the constitutionalists, and the bourgeoisie and gentry class in Jiangzhe often gathered before the Xinhai Revolution. After the revolution, Eastern Times was going downhill. Some editorial members resigned and became government officials or businesspeople. Nonetheless, what hit the newspaper most was the loss of its well-known backbone: chief commentator Chen Leng. Persuaded by Zhang Jian and Shi Liangcai, Chen left Easter Times and joined Shun Pao . In the following several years, the sales dropped yearly and the financial deficits increased. Di Chuqing, the aging owner of Eastern Times , regretfully decided not to carry on with the business after the deaths of his wife and son. Hence, in 1921, with Chen Leng as the middleman, Di sold the entire business of Eastern Times at 80,000 yuan to Huang Bohui, who came from an affluent family. Huang possessed a considerable amount of property in Shanghai and operated four big Chinese private banks, namely “Cheng Yu 承裕 ,” “An Yu 安裕 ,” “Geng Yu 賡裕 ,” and “Heng Xiang 恒祥 .” Indeed, Huang’s interest in running a newspaper was

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nurtured in his youth — when he often accompanied his father, a friend of Chen

Leng, to visit the Eastern Times Tower during their stay in Shanghai. After Huang had experienced the prosperity and robustness of Western journalism during his

study in Europe and America which had greatly widened his horizons, he became more intent on owning his newspaper. Subsequently, Chen Leng was invited by

Huang to draw plans to revolutionize Eastern Times , as Huang understood it was

necessary to do so in a press industry already dominated by Shun Pao , News Daily ,

and Journal on Current Affairs (Shishi xinbao 時事新報 ).

The immediate change of Eastern Times brought by Huang was its emphasis

on social and sports news. Editorials and commentaries were rarely published,

as the focus was put on the collection of social and sports news. Intended to

revitalize the newspaper, Huang hired Jin Jianhua — who had been the editorial

writer of Shun Pao and had launched the reformation of the newspaper in 1905 — to handle editorial affairs. Also, Ji Xiongbai, Jin Jianhua’s nephew, was hired

as the assignment editor who headed eight field reporters. Taking advantage of

the circumstances to catch public attention, the transformed Eastern Times made

detailed yet somehow exaggerated reports on controversial news in the 1920s

and 1930s, such as a painter Liu Haisu drawing portraits of naked female models at the Shanghai Arts Technical School, the taboo romantic relationship between a master and a servant, and the divorce case of an infertile woman in Pudong.

Wanting to appeal to the general public and absorb readers of other newspapers, the quality of sport news in Eastern Times was raised. In April 1930, the Fourth National Games of the Republic of China were held in Hangzhou. Believing that

his business was strong enough, Huang not only mobilized his entire staff to get

involved in the event but also personally handled the arrangement of interviews,

editing, publishing, and other stages of work. However, Shanghai was 200 kilometers away from Hangzhou, and the very few trains which ran between

the two places were slow. How could news of competitions get published on the

following days so that Eastern Times would not be overtaken by newspapers in Hangzhou? In order to resolve the issue, Huang chartered a railway carriage to

set up an office and a darkroom, so that once the games of the day were over, his staff could hurry to the railway station and start working on the train — with

reporters bent over their desks writing manuscripts while photographers were

busy developing photographs. Therefore, when the train arrived in Jiaqing — halfway between the two cities — the reporters could head back to Hangzhou after wrapping all the scripts and photographs in bundles, which would then

be delivered to Shanghai. Additionally, a private plane was reserved to deliver

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newspapers printed in the early morning to Hangzhou, so the distribution time could be shortened. While copies of other major newspapers from Shanghai were transported to Hangzhou by noon, Eastern Times would already be sold out. Accordingly, Eastern Times won a glorious victory in the newspaper competition in the National Games, which established the newspaper ’s superiority and features in sports news. Apart from sports news, another feature of Eastern Times was press photography. Before the newspaper was taken over by Huang Bohui, its editor Ge Gongzhen founded The Eastern Times Photo Supplement (Tuhua shibao 圖畫時報 ), which was an unprecedented publication at that time. Published on June 9, 1920, the weekly supplement attracted a considerable amount of readers as it contained photos of domestic and foreign major news stories. Later, in May 1930, when Ge was hired by Shun Pao , he also started Shun Pao Pictorial Supplement (Tuhua zhoukan 圖畫週刊 ), which was a free publication attached to the newspaper. A fan of photography, Huang strengthened the pictorial news reports. In the office of Eastern Times , several cameras were available for reporters to use when they were going out for interviews. Each reporter was given a box of 12 sheets of photographic films, if two photos were selected to be published, the reporter could get the remaining films for free, which encouraged reporters to take more photos. On the fourth floor of the office of Eastern Times , whose refurbishment was not yet complete, a photography office and a plate-making office were specially installed, which made developing photos extremely convenient. The scale of the photo processing office was so large that it could even compete with that of the photo studios in Shanghai. Having a close relationship with amateur photographers, the photography office was the place where the famous photographic group China Photographic Study Society was founded. As the content of reports was also improved and the quantity of news photos was larger than other newspapers, Eastern Times succeeded in maintaining an excellent balance of news reports and photographs. Regarding facilities, Huang carried out the construction of a new office in Foochow Road, within the International Settlement. In the summer of 1927, a German rotary printing machine capable of producing 160,000 four-color broadsheets per hour was imported. In June the same year, color copper plate photogravures were first used in New Light (Xinguang 新光 ), the supplement of Eastern Times . By the 10,000th issue of Eastern Times , the first three-color overprinted picture in the nation was used. At the same time, Eastern Times Evening News (Shibao wanbao 時報晚刊 ) was published — earlier than when similar publications appeared — and its sales reached some 100,000 copies, a double 22

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of the sales of its daily newspaper. For a time, Beijing and Hangzhou editions of

Eastern Times were published and they were delivered together with other local newspapers to readers in the two places in the morning. Despite the achievement of Eastern Times , there were still shortcomings. For 23

example, in order to make a stir in society, bloody headlines were used for crimes

of passion and robberies, like what tabloids did. Therefore, Eastern Times was

criticized for using the tricks of William Randolph Heart, the initiator of yellow

journalism, and this sort of behavior “earned Di Chuqing a bad reputation in the

press.” Note that “yellow journalism” here refers to the American meaning, as the interpretation differs in the U.S. and China — the American meaning refers 24

to the type of journalism containing gossip, little or even no legitimate wellresearched news, and exaggerated headlines, while the Chinese one generally

refers to “blue journalism,” as “yellow” conveys the meaning of something erotic in nature in Chinese. Yet, since Di Chuqing and Huang Bohui were two individuals from different eras in different circumstances, it was perfectly

reasonable for them to have different objectives. In fact, the early Eastern Times ,

even though it performed well, was just comparable to its successor, which also had an impressive story; that paper’s owner, Huang Bohui, the eldest yet uneducated son of an affluent family, had put not only large sums of money

but also painstaking time and efforts into running Eastern Times . It was exactly Huang’s endeavors to foster innovations that enabled the newspaper to become a strong competitor in the fierce press competition at that time.

Subsequently in the Second Sino-Japanese War, Eastern Times was rigorously

condemned by patriots in the newspaper industry for securing its survival by accepting the censorship of the press from the Manchukuo — Japanese puppet regime in China. Nevertheless, humiliation and compromises could not prevent

the coming of the destined fall. On September 1, 1940, smelling traces of the

hijacking of his newspaper, Huang resolutely informed the authorities of the

concession to request that his assets were to be protected by policemen as the newspaper office was to be closed — which marked the end of the 36-year history of Eastern Times .

Shao Piaoping and the Beijing Post On September 7, 1920, the Beijing Post was republished and its owner Shao

Piaoping, who was resolved to facilitate the modernization of Chinese newspapers,

suggested that the newspaper would “serve as a precedent of modernization of

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the journalism industry of the country.” In just five years’ time, the upgrade of facilities and the renewal of typesetting and printing machines were completed. Given the provision of new hardware, the Beijing Post was transformed into a four-page broadsheet and the daily sales climbed up to 4,000–6,000 copies. As commented on by Pan Gongbi, a friend of Shao, the newspaper was “lively 25

and extremely good at presenting ideas.” Additionally, the Brilliant Printing House (Zhaoming yinshuaju 昭 明 印 刷 局 ) was opened and reporters were sent to branch offices in Tianjin, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. There were more than a dozen members on the editorial board of the Beijing Post , such as Sun Fuyuan, Xu Lingxiao, Wu Dingjiu, Pan Shaoang, Zhou Jiren, and Shao Xinchang. On October 26, 1925, the newspaper office was moved to no. 35, Weiran Alleyway, Luomashi Mainstreet, Xuanwu Gate (demolished), Beijing. Since Beijing was not yet well developed back then, the office of the Beijing Post , a double-storey building, was quite an uncommon construction in the city. Regarding how to improve the quality of news, Shao believed the nurturing of reporters was of the greatest urgency as it could — over time — generate more authentic news stories. In order to achieve this goal, Shao wrote The Practical Application of Journalism (Shiji yingyong xinwenxue 實際應用新聞學 ) and Pandect of Journalism (Xinwenxue zonglun 新聞學總論 ) in addition to instructing on news gathering at the Beijing Pingmin University and the National Politics and Law University. Little by little, the fruits of the reformation of the Beijing Post began to surface — there was a profuse amount of timely news reports. Besides, the newspaper managed to be the first to report and comment on a number of historic events such as the Washington Naval Conference, Beijing Coup, the establishment of the Sino-USSR diplomatic ties, the May Thirtieth Movement, and the March 18 Massacre. Delivering solid and detailed information, the Beijing Post , in addition to leading public opinion, recorded history as well. The Beijing Post , within less than a month’s time after its republication, started publishing articles on socialism and the history of the Soviet Union. At the same time, a dozen of Shao’s articles such as “The Revolutionary History of Russia” and “Russian College Students and Reformation” were included as well. Shao, 26

wanting to “allow the people to understand the conditions of Russia,” chose to 28 publish articles including Li Dazhao’s “The Economic Basis under Socialism” 29 and Qu Qiubai’s “The Education Policies of the Soviet Union.” Additionally, focused attention was paid to the reports on Soviet achievements from the second half of 1922 to the beginning of 1923. During 1923 and 1924, special issues were published twice to introduce Lenin as well as to celebrate Karl Marx’s birthday. 27

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Furthermore, these issues recounted the commemorative activities organized by the various Marxism research bodies in Beijing. Shao, an early advocate for the normalization of Sino-Russian diplomatic relations, indeed proposed his ideas after 1919. Afterwards, when the Soviet Union sent representatives to China, he wrote articles to suggest that “the Soviet Union and China should work handin-hand to uphold the peace in the Far East, the sooner the better…a new era of

diplomatic relations between the two countries is to be established.” In the aspect of fostering Sino-Soviet diplomatic relations, Shao and the Beijing Post did make an enormous contribution by elucidating Shao’s advocacy, the desire of the people, and propositions of the Soviet Union. Moreover, the Beijing Post stiffly fought against the imperialist interference while subtly criticizing the indecisiveness and languidness of the Beijing government. A renowned journalist in China, Shao played a special role between the Russian representatives and the Beijing government. In order to express his gratitude to the Russian delegation, Shao personally organized a celebration party where a Chinese silk scroll with the words “Imitable Spirit 精神可師 ” was given to the delegation. Gradually, in terms of the dissemination of Marxism, the Beijing Post replaced Chen Bao in northern China. In CPC-led strikes such as the February Seventh Strike and the Kailuan Coal Mines Strike in Tangshan, Shao, an intimate fellow of the CPC, not only published articles in support of the labor movement in the Beijing Post but also secretly provided material assistance; for instance the publication of The Sacrifice of Workers of the Jinghan Railway (Jinghan gongren liuxueji 京漢工人流血記 ) and Worker’s Weekly . Utilizing his connection with the upper levels of the Party, 30

Shao supplied crucial political and military information as well as trained a new generation of progressive journalists. In 1924, since Shao became a secret member of the CPC under the assistance from Li Dazhao and Luo Zhanglong, the stance of the Beijing Post began to synchronize with the direction of the Party. Therefore, the newspaper acted as the vanguard in the anti-unequal treaties movement, the 31

National Conference Movement, as well as the subsequent anti-Fengtian Clique 33 movement. The slogan “Overturn any unequal treaties,” first uttered by Shao, emerged in northern newspapers. More importantly, he was a proactive supporter of the National Conference, which explained why he greatly pushed forward the 31

implementation of “Politics of the People 人民的政治 .” A magnate in the press industry, Shao and his Beijing Post became so reputed that the key figures of the central regime and leading warlords could not give them a cold shoulder. Not disguising his admiration for Sun Yat-sen and his support to Feng Yuxiang’s Northwest Army, Shao clandestinely cooperated with 34

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the KMT. Meanwhile, Sun Yat-sen, having realized that the stance of the Beijing Post matched his viewpoint, sent a photo of himself to the newspaper on his way to the North. Hence, the photo was published in the founding issue of the Beijing Post Pictorial Weekly (Jingbao tuhua zhoukan 京報圖畫週刊 ) with the title “The Man Admired by the Country: Mr. Sun Yat-sen.” In fact, since the failure of the Second Revolution of 1913, most of the newspapers and journals lagged too far behind the Beijing Post — whose antiimperialist and anti-warlord orientation was obvious. For example, after the May Thirtieth Movement took place in 1925, unbiased reports of the movement were consecutively published in the Beijing Post for some 20 days since the newspaper received news on June 1; and sums of money were collected to publish three special issues. In this period, Shao composed more than 20 commentaries to reveal that the movement was caused by unequal treaties as well as to promulgate the slogan “Crumble Any Foreign Bandit Imperialism.” Responding to the heated anti-Fengtian struggle by the end of 1925, the Beijing Post included a full page of portraits whose captions included “The Utterly Isolated Smuggler of the Age, Zhang Zuolin,” “The Common Enemy of Shandong People, Zhang Zongchang,” and “The Public Enemy of the Nation, Li Jinglin.” On the second day after the March 18 Massacre occurred, reports on the ins and outs of the incident were published in the Beijing Post . After that, Shao wrote five commentaries in a row — “The Palpable Interference of Japan and Britain,” “The Meaning of a Strong and Powerful Government,” “Warning against the Judicial Circles,” “Eradication of Vermin of the Human World,” and “Humble Advice to Students of the National Law and Politics University” — to state that Duan was leading a traitorous government which “provided several thousand yuan of foreign loans in exchange for the title of pro-Japanese party…[and] Duan’s strong government has been

longed for by foreign powers.” Shao also wrote that “we would awaken every single party and clique in the country to rise up, denounce, and subsequently exterminate the vermin in our nation, which could wipe out the national shame of being barbaric and cruel.” Simultaneously, in the Beijing News Supplement (Jingbao fukan 京報副刊 ), a number of Lu Xun’s works were published — “The Pitiable and Laughable” (dated on March 28), “How to Expel the National People’s Army” (dated on April 10), and “Explication of Subtleties” (dated on April 16). In the end, Shao successfully transformed the Beijing Post into a front of public opinion. 35

Profusion of tabloids Since the 1920s, there was a steady development of tabloids whose quantity

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reached a historic peak. Roughly estimated, there were some 700 tabloids

published between 1926 and 1931 and these accounted for 70% of the amount of tabloids in China’s past.

At that time, the leading status of literary tabloids — which existed in the

late-Qing Dynasty and early Republic — was gradually replaced by a new wave of tabloids in Shanghai. For more than a decade, these tabloids led the trend of

publication regardless of the format (quarto), publication period (every three days), and style.

Among various tabloids, the four most influential ones — The Crystal (Jing

bao 晶報 ), The Diamond (Jingangzuan 金剛鑽 ), Sherlock Holmes (Fuermosi 福爾 摩斯 ), and Robin Hood (Luobinhan 羅賓漢 ) — were called the “Big Four.” Published on March 3, 1919, The Crystal was originally an attachment of The National Herald (Shenzhou ribao 神州日報 ). It was named “jing 晶 ” — a Chinese character composed by three “ri (day) 日 ” — to show that the tabloid was published every three days and to carry the meaning of brightness, which was the meaning of “jing.” Having employed a group of gifted classical writers to produce serial stories and literary notes, The Crystal was very much welcomed by the readers and it suddenly rose up as a powerful tabloid. Qian Jiechen, the owner of The National Herald , started and regarded the tabloid as a tool to delay the decline of the newspaper. Surprisingly, the tabloid attained remarkable success and there were an increasing number of publications. Not only could The National Herald be financially supported, the social influence of The Crystal was also wider. The example of The National Herald and The Crystal exemplified how a “child newspaper” could support and even surpass its “mother.” Three years later, The Crystal was separated from its “mother” and was published individually. With more reporters employed to report and comment on current affairs, the sales of the tabloid mounted to more than 50,000 copies, which ranked the top among its opponents. The founder of The Crystal was Yu Daxiong, an advocate for reformation, who was born in Anhui and had studied in Japan in his early years. He later joined the constitutionalist organization under the referral of his friend Liu Tiexiong, and was once in charge of Liang and Kang’s New post in Japan (Liudong xinbao 留東新報 ). After returning to the country, Yu joined the Plan for Peace Association (Chouan hui 籌安會 ) and the Anfu Club (see Chapter 8). During his few years stay in Beijing, Yu was a correspondent of various newspapers such as Min Li Pao (Minli bao 民立 36

報 ), China Daily (Zhongguo ribao 中國日報 ), and Chinese and Foreign Gazette

(Zhongwai xinbao 中外新報 ). After he moved to Shanghai, Yu became the editor of

The Great Republic (Dagonghe bao 大共和報 ) while doing translation and writing

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commentaries for The National Herald . In 1919, a year after Yu was given the managing power of the herald by Qian Jiechen, The Crystal was founded. At last, having managed the tabloid for more than a decade, Yu was murdered as a result of a conflict over tea duties in 1937, which directly led to the suspension of the tabloid in May 1940. Published on October 18, 1923, The Diamond was founded by a group of the initial writers of The Crystal — who were discontented about Yu’s leadership and therefore decided to run their own publication. Other than naming the publication “diamond” — which meant to engrave the crystal with diamonds — an official denunciation of Yu was published in the first issue which created controversies in the press industry. The Diamond featured novels and anecdotes of celebrities, and its chief editors included Lu Dan’an, Feng Mengyun, and Wei Lanshi. By August 1937, the tabloid was terminated due to the outbreak of the Battle of Shanghai. Founded and edited by Hu Xiongfei, Wu Weiyu, and Yao Jiguang, Sherlock Holmes was published on July 3, 1926. The adoption of the British detective’s name was to imply the intention of the tabloid — to pry out the inside stories of the community. Unlike major newspapers at that time, the tabloid contained certain behind-the-scenes news, so attacks from different parties were directed against Sherlock Holmes and numerous lawsuits were filed against the publication too. The last one of the big four was Robin Hood , a tabloid founded on December 8, 1926, and whose chief editors included Zhu Shouzhu, Zhou Shidong, and Tang Bihua. At first, the content was divided between news on traditional Chinese opera and movies. Later, the tabloid concentrated on the publication of news and updates in the traditional Chinese opera industry, and there were special issues about renowned actors from both the north and the south, such as Mei Lanfang, Xun Huisheng, Ma Lianliang, and Zhou Xinfang. Together with the many stage photos of the reputed actors, the newspaper industry regarded the tabloid as “an exclusive megaphone of the Beijing opera industry and celebrities…the origin of Chinese opera newspapers.” Robin Hood was once halted during the SinoJapanese War, but was resumed owing to China’s victory, and at last closed on July 9, 1949. Given the achievement of the “Big Four,” there was an upsurge in the publication of tabloids during 1926 and 1930. By content, these smaller newspapers could be categorized into four groups: 1. Integrated tabloids This kind of tabloids constituted the backbone of the industry, as they

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were the allies of the “Big Four.” The content of these publications was

chiefly news and commentary on current affairs, and to a small extent this

was supplemented by romantic fiction, detective stories, Kung Fu novels,

stories of harlots, etc. Whenever there were momentous social events

or significant changes in the political scene, these tabloids spoke with a sharp tongue, which successfully drew a wider range of readers than

the other tabloids did. Sound examples included Jade (Qiong bao 瓊報 ), Reporting News (Bao bao 報報 ), The Great Crystal (Dajingbao 大晶報 ), The Saturday (Libailiu 禮 拜 六 ), Shanghai Bund (Shanghai tan 上 海 灘 ), Good Fortune (Fu bao 福報 ), The New Tsuncheo (Xin chunqiu 新春秋 ), Ping Pao (Ping bao 平報 ), and The Iron (Tie bao 鐵報 ). 2. Blue tabloids

Just as its name implies, blue tabloids, which usually appeared as quartos or octavos, covered sensationalistic news pieces, like murder cases, and

crimes, in order to please the readers. Undoubtedly, blue tabloids were of the cheapest quality in the industry. Still, the number of them surpassed

180 at the peak and, for a certain period, local society was overwhelmed

by this wave of salacious news. Targeting at “disclosing hidden social news and rectifying people’s lives,” a considerable quantity of articles

about eating, drinking, gambling, and frequenting the brothels, as well as sexual life, were published to cater to the vulgar tastes of the readers.

For publications of this kind, people could have an inkling of the content simply by looking at the names — The World of Prostitution (Baixiang

shijie 白相世界 ), Bagnio News (Tangzi xinwen 堂子新聞 ), Sea of Affection (Qing hai 情 海 ), New Sex Post (Xin xingbao 新 性 報 ), and Protuberant Bosoms (Qifeng tuchu 奇 峰 突 出 ). There were sections such as “Classics of the Bagnio,” “Introduction to Prostitution,” “Common Sense of Intercourse,” and “Guides to Sex” which were commonly seen as obscene and filthy. Similarly, there was the emergence of “beauty tabloids,” which exclusively included news of popular harlots. Aside from the publication of photos, directories, narratives, and stories of ladies of the night, a harlot election was even held to help promote renowned prostitutes. At that time, even journalists of the tabloid industry despised these types of publications and described them as representing “the decadent stage of tabloids” and the “vermin and the black sheep of society.” Some even proposed “knocking down these extortionate tabloids.”

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3. Tabloids of mass organizations, professions, and rural committees

These tabloids differed in backgrounds as they were started by various

mass organizations founded by scholars. With particular attention paid to literary works, updates of their organizations, and arts news, these

tabloids could further be separated into two categories according to the publishers — either modern literary organizations or literary bodies of

the genre of Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies (Yuanyang hudian pai 鴛鴦

蝴蝶派 ). This genre advocated plots about love stories of gifted scholars and charming ladies. The former category was greatly influenced by the New Literature Movement, while the latter inherited the style of

literary tabloids of the late-Qing Dynasty. Framed by the old ruts, works of the latter genre were mostly pessimistic and sentimental verses and

poems distant from reality. More famous examples of the kind included

Prospering Post (Xin bao 鑫報 ) published by the Jin Society, Luster Post (Ying bao 瑩報 ) published by the Luster Society, Bie Dang (Bie dang 別黨 ) published by the Biedang Society, and Xian Se Pao (Xianshi bao 現世報 ) published by the Iron Cloud Society. Tabloids of industries were mostly founded and funded by large companies and stores. Not only were the advertisements and advertising articles related to their own industries published, serial stories and domestic news stories were also included. Examples of these tabloids included the Three Friends Industrial Corporation, which published Light of the Triangle (Sanjiao zhi guang 三角之光 ), and Wing On Company, which published Wing On (Yongan 永安 ). For tabloids of rural committees, as their principle was to strengthen the fellowship among villagers, their main content was news of hometowns. These tabloids were generally founded by wealthy and powerful migrants from other provinces or different hometown associations (Tongxianghui 同鄉會 ). However, the readership of tabloids of industries and rural committees was small, so the number of copies published was limited and they were often given out for free. 4. Entertainment and informative tabloids

There were two kinds of entertainment tabloids, namely movie tabloids and

Chinese opera tabloids. Mostly founded by people from the movie industry, movie tabloids — such as Screen Weekly (Dianying zhoubao 電影週報 ), Stars

(Mingxing 明星 ), and Chaplin (Zhuobielin 卓別林 ) — were popular for their

introductions of movies and stars as well as movie reviews. Chinese opera tabloids, like The Player Press (Liyuan gongbao 梨園公報 ) and Elegant Song

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(Ya ge 雅歌 ), were started by amateur performers. Tabloids of this kind were of high historical value because in addition to news of amateur performers and anecdotes of actors and actresses of Chinese opera, they also covered works as well as private copies of rare books owned by famous performers. For informative tabloids, daily life experiences were shared and local customs and practices of Shanghai were introduced, so there was a wide readership and successful examples included Common Sense (Changshi 常識 ) and Shanghai Common Sense (Shanghai changshi 上海常識 ). Under this category, there were medical tabloids started by doctors — including the reputed ones — to spread and promote medical knowledge. Examples of this branch included The Health Weekly (Kangjian bao 康健報 ), founded by Chen Cunren, and the Hygienic Weekly (Weisheng bao 衛生報 ), started by Ding Jiwan. Indeed, the immense growth of tabloids in the 1920s was the result of economic and cultural progression in developed or developing coastal cities since the beginning of the 20th centuries. With a thriving economy and frequent internal and external communication, a burgher class of a considerable size was created. These citizens, the lowest class in a city, to a certain extent had a craving for cultural and spiritual satisfaction, as they were not highly cultured, yet they were sensitive to social changes. Therefore, a diversity of tabloids was developed to assuage the manifold needs of the people. Overall, tabloids of different scales shared one similarity — the inclusion of stories on rare and uncommon incidents, “keyhole information,” hearsay and gossip, or anything usually unseen or roughly reported in broadsheets. At that time, popular news in Shanghai included the relationship of Lu Xiaoman and Xuzhimo, as well as the case of the actress Hu Die, also known as Butterfly Hu. Occasionally, these tabloids even relied on verbal battles to boost the sales and attract more readers. On the whole, tabloids, like a supplement to broadsheets, viewed society from an entirely different angle, as well as worked to satisfy the people’s desire to enrich their cultural and spiritual life. If the burgher class was absent, the profusion of tabloids would not have taken place. Moreover, the development of tabloids, aside from the burgher class, was also stimulated by the gathering of culturati. Generally, the editorial team and reporter crew of a tabloid were rather sophisticated, for they were made up of three groups of personnel: 1. Editors and reporters of broadsheets They made use of their own leisure time to write scripts for tabloids, or even started their own tabloids.

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2. Traditional literati At that time, traditional literati were losing influence and some simply wrote for a living. They constituted the backbone of the tabloid industry. These literati, either long established in the industry or those who had built up their own tabloids, possessed rich and invaluable experience in operating newspapers. These people included Yu Daxiong, Hu Xiongfei, Huang Zhuantao, Lai Lansheng, Luo Wuye, Wang Xuechen, etc. 3. Others They were mostly professionals engaging in the tabloid industry who came from various sectors, including celebrities of the film world, the descendants of officials, practicing doctors, as well as the heads of newspaper vendors. As a result of a sophisticated crew, the development of tabloids also became multidirectional. Certain tabloids, for example The Crystal , developed their styles due to the founders’ efforts and became quite outstanding. On the contrary, a number of tabloids with low quality editing and printing, which merely aimed at higher sales and stirring society, resorted to making up news and spreading rumors. Even worse, some tabloids adopted a nasty style and included obscene materials, just to play to the gallery. In a nutshell, tabloids were a component of the culture of the old Chinese cities whose complexity was a symbol of the economy and culture in the semicolonial and semi-feudal era. Yet, in an ever changing world, the decline of tabloids was inevitable. By the end of the 1920s, the abundance of tabloids began to dissipate. As the 1930s came along with the wave of the transformation of tabloids, the multitude of publications was gradually eliminated.

The Commercial Press and The Eastern Miscellany After the May Fourth Movement, The Commercial Press (Shangwu yinshuguan 商務印書館 ), the largest national capitalist publishing enterprise in China, began to alter its editorial direction through the replacement of the existing staff. A new cluster of personnel — who received modern education and favored democracy and science — was recruited to fill the positions of the director of the compilation and translation office and the persons in charge of large publications such as The Eastern Miscellany (Dongfang zazhi 東方雜誌 ), Monthly Fiction (Xiaoshuo yuebao 小說月報 ), Education Magazine (Jiaoyu zazhi 教育雜誌 ) and The Ladies Journal

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(Funü zazhi 婦女雜誌 ). In terms of structure, the compilation and translation office set up branches sorted by disciplines such as Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics, and Physiochemistry. 10 editorial committees covering publications like textbooks and dictionaries, and 8 magazine offices were set up as well. The size

of the compilation and translation office ran up to some 240 employees at peak. Thereafter, the business continued to grow and within a decade, the company was able to publish books (excluding series and textbooks) on a daily basis — which

firmly established the decisive role of The Commercial Press in the publishing industry of the country.

Rule of the Beiyang Warlords over Journalism In terms of maintaining its reign, the Beiyang Warlords not only relied on violent means but also affirmed the function of newspapers, thus newspapers became the targets of manipulation.

Financing a newspaper was one of the methods used by the warlords to establish

control over a newspaper. However, the warlords remained separated from the

operation. Even Lin Baishui, a renowned journalist, was influenced by the warlords.

He once reluctantly joined and served the Anfu Clique by starting a newspaper for them. In February 1919, the Shanghai Peace Conference between the North and the

South was convened to discuss a peace settlement. Hence, supported by Duan’s government, Lin founded the Placid Daily (Pinghe ribao 平和日報 ) in Shanghai to

advocate peace. As the negotiation collapsed eventually, the daily was closed and Lin

returned to Beijing. Yet, Duan’s government again financially supported Lin to run another newspaper — Public Voice (Gongyan bao 公言報 ) — to bolster the influence of the warlords and as a means to counter the New Culture Movement. Apart from

Lin’s two newspapers, Duan Qirui also personally funded Zhang Shizhao, the Minister for Education as well as the Minister of Justice, to publish a weekly The

Tiger (Jiayin 甲寅 ) in Beijing. At that time, the CPC’s publication The Guide Weekly pointed out that The Tiger was used by Zhang to serve Duan’s government. Besides, Lu Xun stated that The Tiger , instead of a non-official publication, was more like a semi-official weekly. Another warlord, Zhang Zongchang, subsidized a reporter Xue Dake to publish the Yellow Post (Huang bao 黃報 ) in Tianjin and Beijing. Additionally, some warlords even funded the publication of foreign newspapers. Zhang Zuolin, the subsequent leader of the Fengtian Clique, sponsored Bertram Lenox Simpson, a British journalist in China, to publish The Far Eastern Times (Dongfang shibao 東方時報 ). Afterwards, the newspaper was suspended due to the

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defeat of the Fengtian Clique in the First Zhili–Fengtian War. Yet it was resumed in

Tianjin after the Fengtian Clique snatched the victory in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War. At last, The Fat Eastern Times came to the end when Zhang Zuolin was killed by

a bomb in 1928.

Aside from offers of funding, warlords published their newspapers as well.

In 1924, a warlord Sun Chuanfang — whose reign covered places such as Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangsu — founded the Great Zhejiang Post (Da zhejiang bao

大 浙 江 報 ) as the official newspaper of his warlord. In addition to the 2,000 yuan

budget provided by Sun, 300 yuan was collected monthly from the provincial government office. In 1926, the newspaper was once suspended since Sun was

knocked out from Zhejiang, but it was soon resumed when Sun was back the next year. Subsequently, Zhejiang was occupied by the Northern Expedition Army and the Great Zhejiang Post was seized by the KMT. In 1924, Sun started to serve as

the Superintendent of the Fujian and Guangdong Frontier, and the Superintendent of Military Affairs of the Fujian Army, Zhou Yinren founded the National Affairs

Daily (Guoshi ribao 國是日報 ). Meanwhile, Sun purchased New Shen Bao and successfully transformed it into his mouthpiece in Shanghai by inviting Song Xueqin, the Chief of the Shanghai Office of his clique, to head the newspaper. By 1927, when the Northern Expedition Army entered Shanghai, New Shen Bao was closed by the Political Office of the General Front Headquarters, which was under the East Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army. The Fengtian Clique later took control of the Northeast Provinces People Post (Dongsansheng minbao 東三省民報 ), which was founded by members of the KMT in 1921 in Shenyang. In 1926, Xiong Shaohao founded the Chinese version of The Times in Tianjin, but it was purchased by Zhang Zuolin after the Fengtian Army conquered Shanhaiguan, one of the major passes of the Great Wall. When the Fengtian Army was expelled later, the publication of the newspaper stopped. In Henan, the Joint Army Official News (Lianjun guanbao 聯軍 官報 ) was published by Wu Peifu, a member of the Zhili Clique. It was also very common for warlords to bribe newspapers and reporters by providing them with subsidies. Owing to the backward economy in China at that time, newspapers, except the several major ones, failed to attain economic independence, thus they had no choice but to rely on external assistance. Therefore, warlords could seize the chance to “help” and manipulate the newspapers. In the hope to control the public opinion, Sun Changfang, after occupying Fujian in 1924, ordered the Provincial Financial Department to offer a monthly subsidy of 1,500 yuan to fund the newspaper industry, and the amount was raised to 3,000 later on. Among various warlords, the bribery of newspapers

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was the most common under the rule of the Beijing warlords. In 1925, a “joint office” was formed by six bodies of the Beiyang Warlord Government — the National Council, the National Constitution Drafting Commission, the Military Follow-up Committee, the Financial Rehabilitation Committee, the Preparation Office for the National Conference, and the Consultation Committee on National Policy — to claim a “promotion fee” of 20,000 yuan from the Financial Department, which was to be spent on 125 newspapers and news agencies across the country. The recipients of such subsidy were separated into four ranks as follows: Table 9.7 Recipients of subsidies offered by the “joint office” Ranking

Premium

Number

6

Primary

39

Secondary

38

Ordinary

42

Examples

The Far Eastern Times Shuntian Times Social Welfare Yellow Post Social Daily Beijing Post

The World Beijing Daily Northern Times Northern Evening News Evening World The Tiger Sino-American Evening News Divine Land News Agency National News Service

Evening Continent Great Chinese Evening Sino-British Cooperative News Agency n/a

Amount of Subsidy (in Yuan) 300 or more

200

100 50

Apart from regular subsidies provided by the “joint office,” the six composing bodies also offered extra funding to the closely connected ones. For instance, according to reports made by the World News Agency, the National Constitution Drafting Commission was alleged to offer The Morning Post a monthly subsidy of 1,000 yuan, not to mention the many bureaucratic politicians who personally sponsored newspapers or reporters. One of the examples was The World  — which was alleged to receive 3,000 yuan from the Minister of Finance He Delin. In the meantime, the warlords maintained a close relationship with influential newspapers, trying to render them tools to control the public opinion. For

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example, the Ta Kung Pao , purchased by Wang Zhilong, became the mouthpiece

of the Duan’s government used to suppress revolutionary activities. Another

example was the religious newspaper Social Welfare (Yishi bao 益世報 ). In order to obtain protection and financial assistance, the head of the newspaper Liu Junqing contacted the warlords and by 1922, he openly expressed his support for

the Zhili Clique. In 1923, since Social Welfare and its Beijing edition published supportive comments to promote Cao Kun — a man alleged to acquire his

presidency by bribing assembly members — Liu was appointed the assemblyman of the Zhili Province (now known as Hebei Province) and was subsequently

appointed the Director of the Tianjin Telegraph Office. Then, Social Welfare was

controlled by Zhang Xueliang and became the “speaker” of Zhang’s father, Zhang

Zhuolin, after Liu was arrested in the First Zhili–Fengtian War. As the Fengtian Clique was defeated in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War, Liu’s control over the

newspaper was re-established. There were also other connections between

warlords and newspapers — such as the Research Clique and Chen Bao and the

Journal on Current Affairs , and Awakened Lion (Xingshi 醒獅 ) of the Chinese Youth Party — proving that newspapers were to a certain extent the tools of political forces at that time.

Attitude of the Beiyang warlords towards journalism The Beiyang warlords carried out more exclusionist policies in the hopes of influencing and leading public opinion.

In fact, the warlords across the country were so despotic that there were

frequent cases of the ransacking of newspaper offices as well as the deaths of

reporters. After Sun Chuanfang settled in Zhejiang, a warrant of seizure was issued to expel a couple of local newspapers as well as branch offices located in Hangzhou. Table 9.8 Seized newspapers and branch offices Category

Chinese names 浙江晨報 三江日報 新浙江報

Local newspapers

浙江日報 杭州報 浙江民報 平湖日報

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Translated names

Zhejiang Chen Bao Sanjiang Daily New Zhejiang

Zhejiang Daily

Hangzhou Post

Zhejiang People News Pinghu Daily

The Founding of the Communist Party in China and Journalism during 1924–1927

(Cont'd) Category

Chinese names 申報 新聞報

Branch offices

時事新報 商報

Translated names

Shun Pao

News Daily

Journal on Current Affairs Commercial Journal

After the May Thirtieth Movement, Duan’s government, being sensitive to

anti-imperialist and patriotic materials, cast out 19 more newspapers in Beijing, although some were not progressive in nature.

Likewise, the reactionary Beiyang warlords wanted to eliminate

revolutionary and progressive publications. Thus, from the central to regional levels, revolutionary propaganda was strictly prohibited. By May 1926, in the security regulations promulgated by Wang Huaiqing, the Commander in Chief

of the Beijing garrison, it was stressed that “any propagators or advocates for Communism are to be executed, regardless of their ranks.” In April, the base troops stationed in Zhangjiakou (a city in Northwestern Hebei) proclaimed 37

martial law stating that “without approval from the Commandant, any sort of

assembly, distribution of leaflets, and posting of public notices are forbidden.” By October, a curfew was imposed in Bengbu (a city in Northern Anhui) and

38

it was declared that “any assemblies, organizations, newspapers, journals, books, advertisements, and leaflets deemed destructive to the situation are

to be suspended…mails and telegrams are to be censored…the government office would act accordingly as long as there are any Communist propaganda

or rumormongers.” The regulation implemented by Wu Peifu was even more stringent — in addition to seizure of newspapers and censorship of telegrams, 39

there were even unauthorized amendments of the content of telegrams. For example, a telegram dated April 5, 1926, delivered by a Wuhan reporter stationed

in Beijing was altered — the content was changed from “no remarkable progress made by the Northern Expedition Army, and the public order in Beijing was

undisturbed” to “significant progress was made by the Northern Expedition Army, and the public order in Beijing was undisturbed.” Generally, the warlords were against Communist publications. Soon after 40

Pioneer was published in Beijing by the Beijing Socialist Youth Group, the headquarters of Beijing garrison sent a submission to the central government there, stating that “whereas it is reported that Pioneer , a semimonthly recently published by Peking University, is primarily advocating Socialism…if no prompt actions are taken to terminate the publication and censorship is not strictly

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enforced, it is regrettable that the impact would grow vigorously and bring harm

to the city.” As a result, the office of Pioneer was forced to move to Shanghai after three issues were published. Shortly after the CPC’s official newspaper The 41

Guide Weekly was founded, the government in Beijing issued orders to ban post offices from delivering copies of the newspaper. Concurrently, Chen Jiongming, a warlord in Guangdong, deployed soldiers to rummage bookstores selling Communist publications like The Guide Weekly and La Jeunesse , so as to prevent the people from buying and reading them. There were also other publications of the CPC being attacked, including Youth China (Zhongguo qingnian 中國青年 ), which was repeatedly banned and closed. Aside from interrupting publications, there were other means to weaken the CPC. For instance, Sun Chuanfang seized progressive publications as well as bookstores in Shanghai set up by the CPC, claiming “[they] are inciting people to initiate strikes, thus they are disturbing the public order.” Similarly, in other parts of the country, publications of the CPC were terminated and there were deaths of editors. On the second day after the outbreak of the February Seventh Strike, a warlord Xiao Yuenan, seized the Truth Tribune (Zhen bao 真報 ), a newspaper published in the course of the Jing– Han Railway Strike, by claiming that the publication was “disrupting public order by encouraging the people to go on strikes.” The office of the Truth Tribune was rummaged, and unfortunately, Shi Yang, one of the editors, was killed. In 1926, the Worker’s Weekly , a major publication of the Party in the north, was suspended — which brought an end to the Labor and Peasant News Agency. Attempting to suppress any progressive or dissident publications, the Beiyang warlords also cracked down on publications of the KMT and a number of private newspapers. In Beijing, KMT publications such as the Republic Daily , Republic Weekly (Minguo zhoubao 民國週報 ), and Beijing People News (Beijing minbao 北京民報 ) were closed and the editorial staff members were arrested. Citizen’s News and Citizen’s Evening News (Guomin wanbao 國民晚報 ) were stopped, too. In Tianjin, the Hubei News (Huabei xinwen 華北新聞 ) was forbidden from being sold by the local authorities. The Beiyang warlords also adopted Legal attempts. After the Xinhai Revolution, particularly after the May Fourth Movement, the warlords in power, owing to the thriving of democratic movements, pretended to be advocates for democracy and a just legal system. Aside from declaring that the Press Law and Public Order and Police Regulation formulated by Yuan Shikai were still in effect, the Ordinance of Regulation on Newspaper Operation was formulated in April

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1925, which stated that “owners of newspapers, for the sake of responsibility, should present proper guarantees when submitting reports…the publishing

offices of newspapers and magazines, as well as news agencies, should be located in addresses with the approval of the property owners.” Indeed, newspapers and other publications faced more restrictions under the new ordinance.

Foreign Journalism in China since the May Fourth Movement British journalism in China Among the many foreign countries in China at that time, Britain was the first one

to start publishing newspapers. Not only did British publications make up the

largest share, British publications were also the most influential ones. For a long period of time, Britain had enjoyed an extensive advantage in different places in the world. Yet, between 1919 and 1927, the scene changed — Japan surpassed Britain and ranked top in terms of the quantity of publications. Besides, previous Chinese

publications were either closed or transferred to the hands of the Chinese. Therefore, it could be deemed that Britain was no longer involved in Chinese media.

Still, among the foreign powers in China, Britain was the most outstanding

in the press industry. By the late-Qing Dynasty, she gradually developed the

backbone of her journalism — the dominance of English newspapers in both northern and southern major cities, and thus constituted an incomparable force of public opinion.

British publications were the most prosperous in Hong Kong, where

British rule was imposed. Such publications included China Mail (Dechen

bao 德臣報 ), Hongkong Daily Press (Mala bao 孖剌報 ), Hongkong Telegraph (Xianggang dianxunbao 香港電訊報 ), and the later published (1903) yet more influential The South China Morning Post (Nanhua zaobao 南華早報 ). In Shanghai, the Britons founded the historical North China Daily News (Zilin xibao 字 林 西 報 ), The Shanghai Mercury (Wenuhixibao 文 匯 西 報 ), and The Shanghai Times (Shanghai taiwushibao 上海泰晤士報 ). In particular, North China Daily News was the most powerful newspaper among its counterparts and it occupied a leading position over a sustained period of time. In 1894, the Peking and Tientsin Times (Tianjin taiwushibao 京津泰晤士報 ) was founded in Tianjin to act as a major British press organ in northern China. The editorial focus of the newspaper was strong, too, as the chief editor was filled

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by the experienced British journalist H. G. W. Woodhead, while W. V. Pennell was the deputy editor-in-chief.

By 1923, there appeared The Far Eastern Times , which was a combination

of British and Chinese elements since its founder was a Chinese-born British reporter Lenox Simpson, the consultant of Zhang Zuolin. Even though the sales

of the newspaper were rather satisfactory, it was still halted along with the failure of Zhang’s Fengtian Clique in the year 1928. In the end, Lenox Simpson was assassinated.

Another important British press organ in China was the Central China Post (Chu

bao 楚報 ), which was founded in Hankou in 1904, and grew steadily afterwards. More importantly, Reuters took a more active role within the border. The Far East Branch Office of the Reuters agency, whose general manager was William Turner and chief editor was M.J. Cox, was established in Shanghai in 1872 and it initially supplied articles to North China Daily News only. Since the Republic of China was officially founded in 1912, the office expanded its scope of service, and there were 18 newspapers ordering articles from the office. This number of newspapers was large enough to cover the main newspapers in the whole country. As the business of Reuters continued to grow with the advancement in telegrams in China, there were permanent reporters stationed at various key telegram stations. However, the dominance of Reuters in the press industry was challenged after the May Fourth Movement, but after all it was still able to be the most authoritative news agency. Furthermore, major British newspapers sent reporters to big cities in China to gather news stories. Examples included D. S. Fraser of the Times , H. B. Elliston and Arthur Ransome of The Manchester Guardian , and Lawrence Impey of the London Post . Smaller British newspapers sending reporters to China included The Daily Telegraph , the Morning Post , and the Daily Mail . Thereafter, there were big changes in the situation in China owing to the May Fourth Movement. Under the leadership of the CPC, an anti-imperialist and antifeudal revolution spread across the country. Logically, the greatest threats to foreigners were their established benefits in China. Hence, they made use of their press bodies in China to oppose and prevent the revolution from developing. As a result, the mass movements were attacked by these foreign newspapers. Revolting laborers were described by the North China Daily News as “demons” and it was asserted that students, depicted as “rioters,” had assaulted the police in the May Thirtieth Movement. The Shanghai Times condemned the striking 42

businesspeople for “giving up their spine,” requesting them to resume business.

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The Shanghai Mercury even wrote that “the various Western powers could no

longer tolerate the many disturbing behaviors.” The British also strived to discourage the revolutionary government in Guangzhou as well as to undermine the Northern Expedition. The North China Daily News , speaking on behalf of the Guangzhou government, said “the act of banning foreign ships from entering the ports was against the treaties” while 44

opening expressed that violent suppression was to be carried out. Due to the 46 rumors spread by Reuters, every citizen of Guangzhou was jittery. British newspapers also reported on the development of the Northern Expedition — the Peking and Tientsin Times published comments promoting that “the Northern 45

Expedition Army is doomed to failure.” In the course of influencing the opinion of the people, these organs also demanded the establishment of a condominium in China. Some newspapers even advocated the declaration of war on China. For example, the North China Daily News criticized the British government for implementing “overly-weak policies,” and wrote that “towards a ‘mobbish’ country like China, nothing could be done 47

but the adoption of tough means.” Such kind of advocacy for armed interference sprang up after the Northern Expedition Army captured Wuhan. 48

American journalism in China As the Americans ran newspapers later than the Britons did, the influence of American newspapers was relatively smaller. Just before the Xinhai Revolution took place in 1911, the American newspapers that had been started in the lateQing Dynasty were suspended, except two newspapers, one in English and the other in Chinese. The press activities of Americans remained dormant not until the outbreak of the First World War. Subsequent to the war, a number of new English newspapers were published and the business of the news agencies was expanded. During 1919 and 1927, the Americans succeeded in building up a considerably enormous and weighty press business in China with Shanghai as its base of publication. In the above period, the News Daily , a country-wide authoritative newspaper, was largely under the control of John C. Ferguson, the major shareholder. Ferguson strengthened the financial power of the newspaper and improved the facilities of the office after the world war. By the winter of 1922, the News Daily was further developed thanks to the acquisition of a wireless radio in the newspaper office. In 1916, 33,000 copies of the News Daily were sold annually, and the number broke 141,000 in 1926.

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The China Press (Dalu bao 大陸報 ), founded by Thomas F. Millard in August 1911, was the most prominent American newspaper in China. In 1918, the newspaper was transferred to a Jewish businessman Edward Ezra. The newspaper, described as “an American Chinese newspaper,” viewpoints even after the transfer.

49

continued to adopt American

There were some other English periodicals. The most renowned one was

The China Weekly Review (Mileshi Pinlunbao 密勒氏評論報 ), founded by the American journalist T.F. Millard in 1917. Two years later, the weekly was headed by John B. Powell, also an American journalist. The weekly once pronounced that “we (the weekly) have been of the view that China is an independent and autonomous state, instead of being an appendage of Japan or the West.” Another American periodical, the China Digest (Shiguo jiping 十國集評 ), was founded in 1925 in Beijing and its office was moved to Shanghai in 1926. Other periodicals included the Far Eastern Review (Yuandong shibao 遠東時報 ), a monthly about engineering and commerce, and the commercial weekly Capital and Trade (Shangwu zhoubao 商務週報 ). By 1918 in Tianjin, Charles J. Fox, an American journalist and attorney, founded North China Star (Huabei mingxing bao 華北明星報 ). The newspaper emphasized the quality of news reports, and news articles delivered by various news agencies in the country were included. Dong Xianguang, a Chinese journalist and writer, was once the director and editor of North China Star . In 1926, the newspaper was taken over by R. T. Evans. On average, 3,000 copies of North China Star were sold daily until it was closed in 1940. In 1923, an American journalist Grorer Clark bought Peking Leader (Beijing daobao 北京導報 ) — a commonly known English newspaper originally founded by Chinese people in 1920 in Beijing — and became the president as well as the chief editor of it. The director of the newspaper was W. H. Gleysteen, a churchman of the Presbyterian Church. In 1928, Peking Leader came under the full control of the Nationalist Government in Nanjing. In Hankou, Bruno Schwartz, collaborating with a Chinese Peter Jowe, started an English newspaper Hankow Herald (Ziyou xibao 自由西報 ) in 1923 with Wilfred Ling as the chief editor. An important press organ to the Americans in central China, the Hankow Herald was purchased by the Nationalist Government in 1932. For news agencies, the United Press extended its scope of service to China since 1922. Other than locating the Chinese head office in Shanghai with H. R. Ekins as the manager, there were branches in Beijing, Tianjin, Hankou, Nanjing, and Hong Kong — where the reporters were sent to. At that time, a considerable

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number of newspapers adopted news dispatches of the United Press. Some other American news agencies such as the United Press International also assigned reporters to stay in China. Prior to the Xinhai Revolution, there were just a handful of reporters of American newspapers, and the number of them rose afterwards. Here are several examples. Table 9.9 American reporters in China after the Xinhai Revolution Chinese name of newspaper

English name of newspaper

紐約時報

New York Times

基督教科學箴言報

Christian Science Monitor Chicago Tribune

芝加哥論壇報

Chicago Daily

芝加哥日報

Reporter

Randall Gould

Frederick Moore

W. H. Chamberlain C. A. Dalley W. R. Giles

In the perspective of propagation, these media, in particular The China Press , were generally against the increasingly robust revolutionary activities in China. Even for the Far Eastern Review , whose content focused on construction, finance, and commerce, the propagation was clearly against the revolutionary trend. Overall, American publications were basically consistent with the British ones in the stance towards revolutions in China. Yet, unlike the British ones, the American ones somehow differed in the tactics of propagation. Over certain issues, the comments made by the Americans were somewhat different from the British ones. One peculiar example was The China Weekly Review , for it had adopted a relatively objective stance in the presence of revolution at that time. In 1927, when various Western countries attempted to interfere in China matters, The China

Weekly Review was considered “the only foreign newspaper in China opposing

to such policy.” Moreover, among the many foreign reporters in China, some were supportive of China. One impressive example was Anna Louise Strong, a female American reporter who visited China in 1925. She demonstrated a friendly and intimate attitude to the Chinese people, as evidenced by the fact that news stories written by her on the Canton-Hong Kong Strike and peasants in Hunan agreed to the spirit of Chinese workers and peasants. 50

Japanese journalism in China Japan did not start publishing newspapers in China until the 1890s, which was

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much later than Western countries. However, since the 20th century, Japanese newspapers attained tremendous development and prior to the May Fourth Movement, the accumulated number of Japanese newspapers rose more than 50%. There were 21 Chinese newspapers published by Japanese scattered over Taiwan, Northeast China, and 20 some newspapers in coastal cities. In terms of prosperity and coverage, Japan went far beyond the Western states. After the May Fourth Movement, the momentum of Japanese journalism in China remained vigorous. Therefore, between 1919 and 1927, more than 40 newspapers were founded in addition to the substantial amount of existing newspapers. This amount of publications was higher than in other countries. Most of the Japanese publications were located in Northeast China, which was historically known as Manchuria. After the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), there was a rapid development of Japanese publications. Up to 1918, there were nearly 30 Japanese newspapers, which accounted for half of the Japanese newspapers published in central China. Thereafter, there was continuous development and another 17 newspapers were started within a decade. In Northeast China, Japanese newspapers enjoyed a dominant position and newspapers in Japanese language took up the largest portion. The more important ones included the Liaodong New Newspaper (Ryōtō shinhō 遼東新報 ) in Dalian, Shenyang News (Fengtian shinbun 奉天新聞 ) in Shenyang, Harbin Everyday News (Harubin nichinichi shinbun 哈爾 濱日日新聞 ), Andong New Post (Antō shinhō 安東新報 ), and Manchurian News (Manshū shinbun 滿 州 新 聞 ). In 1906, Nakashima Masao founded Sheng Ching Shih Pao ( 盛京時報 ), literally “Prosperous Beijing Times,” which later became a prominent Chinese newspaper in Shenyang. In 1926, the newspaper business was transformed into a limited company headed by Sawara Tokusuke. The daily sales of the popular Sheng Ching Shih Pao even mounted to 16,000 copies. Additionally, the North Manchurian Telegraph News Agency was established. Initially, more than half of the Japanese newspapers published in China assembled in Shanghai. However, due to the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, the center of Japanese publication gradually moved northward. In 20 years’ time, merely a few newspapers were founded in Shanghai and the previous Chinese newspapers were no longer in operation. Nevertheless, publications were thriving in the key region of Japanese journalism — Shanghai. Between 1919 and 1927, there were four Japanese newspapers — Shanghai Daily (Shanghai nippō 上海日報 ), founded by Toide Sanrō in 1904; Shanghai Everyday News (Shanghai nichinichi shinbun 上 海 日 日 新 聞 ), founded by Myaji Nukiji in 1914; Shanghai Mainichi News (Shanghai mainichi shinbun 上海每日新聞 ), founded by Saku Jirō

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in 1918; and Shanghai Commercial Daily (Shanghai keizai nippō 上海經濟日報 ), founded by Hukamachi Sakujirō in 1918. Hoping to compete with Britain and the U.S., the Japanese also purchased English newspapers published in Shanghai. Consequently, in 1923, a portion of shares of The Shanghai Mercury was purchased by the Japanese, and Far Eastern Review began to receive subsidies from the Japanese. In the north, the Japanese publication base was located in Tianjin. Yet, only a limited impact was constituted in the community due to frequent internal changes in a few newspapers such as Tianjin Daily News (Tianjin riri xinwen 天津日日 新聞 ), written in Chinese, and the Japanese newspapers Tianjin Daily (Tianjin nippō 天津日報 ) and Peking and Tientsin Everyday News (Kyōtsu nichinichi shinbun 京 津日日新聞 ). In Beijing, the most essential Chinese newspaper was the Shuntian Times (Shuntian shibao 順天時報 ) — as the newspaper unearthed crucial warfare and political news under the restrictive press policy at that time. Thus, the Shuntian Times attracted enormous attention and 10,000–20,000 copies were sold daily. The person in charge of the newspaper, Saitō Jirō, who treated Britain and the U.S. as rivals, started an English newspaper North China Standard (Huabei zhengbao 華北正 報 ) with Watanabe Tetsushin as the president. As a result, in Beijing, there was keen competition between North China Standard and the American publication Peking Leader . Additionally, Morikawa Shōtai founded the Japanese Beijing News (Beijing shinbun 北京新聞 ) in 1923. In Shandong, the Japanese published two short-lived Chinese newspapers — Shandong Daily (Shandong ribao 山東日報 ) in Jinan and Chefoo Daily (Zhifu ribao 芝罘日報 ) in Qingdao. During the First World War, even more newspapers were established while the Japanese invaded Shandong. From 1915 to 1917, the Japanese ran two Chinese newspapers and a Japanese one in Qingdao, and a Chinese newspaper and four Japanese ones in Jinan. Until 1927, there was robust growth of Japanese newspapers — aside from the nine newspapers written in Japanese, three more Chinese newspapers and a new Chinese newspaper were launched. Among these publications were the Japanese Qingdao New Post (Chintao shinpō 青島新報 ) and the Chinese Jinan Daily (Jinan ribao 濟南日報 ). Moreover, the Japanese published newspapers in Fuzhou as well. In Fuzhou, the Chinese newspaper Min Post (Min bao 閩報 ) was launched in December 1897 and there was the founding of Fuzhou Times (Fukushū jihō 福州時報 ), a Japanese newspaper. In Hankou, two Japanese newspapers Hankou Everyday News (Kankō nichinichi shinbun 漢口日日新聞 ) and Hankou Public Opinion (Hankō kōron 漢口公論 ) were started. In 1908, the New Fujian Daily (Quanmin Xinribao

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全閔新日報 ) was published. The Japanese Guangzhou Daily (Guangzhou nippō 廣州日報 ) was published in Guangzhou and the South China Post (Minami china shinpō 南支那新報 ) was published in Hong Kong. Needless to say, Taiwan, under direct Japanese control, was a critical base for Japanese publication. In 1896, a year after Japan occupied Taiwan, the Taiwan New Post (Taiwan xinbao 台灣新報 ) was published in Taipei. Once the RussoJapanese War started, 17 Japanese newspapers across Taiwan were launched by the Japanese government to promote as well as strengthen colonial rule. The colonial government also kept a close eye on the press industry so as to get rid of dissidents — for example Takasagun (Gaoshanguo 高山國 ), a political magazine, was forced to close. Furthermore, newspapers founded by the Japanese barely had a connection with the Mainland. In the 10 years after the Russo-Japanese War ended in 1905, no new publications were started in Taiwan, as the Japanese directed their attention to Northeast China. At that time, the Japanese might consider that there was no urgent need to launch more publications since a rather stable press order had been formed in Taiwan, therefore the establishment of a news network in Northeast China, the new target of Japan, was a top priority. In 1916, East Taiwan News (Dong taiwan xinwen 東台灣新聞 ) was founded in Hualien. Together with the existing Taiwan Everyday News (Taiwan riri xinwen 台灣日日 新聞 ) in Taipei, Tainan News (Tainan xinwen 台南新聞 ) in Tainan (southern Taiwan), as well as the Taichung Mainichi News (Taizhong meiri xinwen 台中每日新聞 ), the Japanese were able to create a Taiwan-wide network of newspapers, which prevailed until 1927. For news agency, the first Japanese news organ in China, the East News Agency (Dongfang tongxunshe 東方通訊社 ), was founded in 1914. In 1920, the news agency was reorganized as an organ under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan with its branch offices established in various Chinese cities, where Japanese reporters were sent to. In 1926, the news agency was combined with the International News Agency (Kokusai tsushinsha 國際通信社 ) to form the Japan News Association (Nihon shinbun rengōsha 日本新聞聯合社 ), yet news stories were still dispatched to China in the name of East News Agency. Another press body, the Japan Telegraph Agency (Nihon denhō tsushinsha 日本電報通訊社 ), started dispatching news articles to China since 1918. A few years later, branches of the agency were set in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Hankou, Dalian, and Liaoning. Reporters were also assigned to other cities in China. Several Japanese newspapers including Asahi Shinbun ( 朝日新聞 ), literally “Morning Sun News,” The Mainichi (Mainichi shinbun 每日新聞 ), literally “Daily News,” and Jiji Press (Jiji tsūshin 時事通信 ), literally

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“Current Affairs Press” also sent reporters to China.

Therefore, it could be seen that the development of Japanese journalism in

China was exceptionally fast, which gave birth to a strong journalistic power after the May Fourth Movement. Even though most publications were written in the

Japanese language and there were just a handful of Chinese who could speak

Japanese, the impact of Japanese publications could not be underestimated. This was because in China, customarily and traditionally, there was an anti-Japanese

spirit, thus the Chinese people were alerted to Chinese newspapers published by the Japanese, regardless of the quantity of publications.

For Japanese media in China, they shared one similarity — under varying

degrees of control from the Japanese authorities. On most occasions, reporters

stationed at China were official intelligence agents as well, which added an aggressive image to Japanese propagation in China. After the May Fourth Movement, such tendency became even more obvious.

During the May Fourth Period (1915–1921), anti-Chinese propagation

and arguments for Japanese invasive policies could be spotted in Japanese newspapers. For example, Sheng Ching Shih Pao asserted that the concession

of Shandong was merely to obey an article of the Treaty of Versailles instead of an act of aggression. Besides, according to the newspaper, the May Fourth Movement was nothing but an exaggeration, and Japan would mobilize her

people to resist. Afterwards, when the workers’ and peasants’ movement as well as the Northern Expedition War took place, Japanese newspapers publicly 51

expressed their support for the warlords — especially the Fengtian Clique and Anhui Clique — by attacking the war and mass movement, and disapproving

the “reddened” movement in China. After Wuhan was captured by the Northern

Expedition Army, the Shuntian Times and North China Standard spread rumors

saying that naked women went on demonstrations after Wuhan was occupied by the Northern Expedition Army.

52

Russian journalism in China The beginning of Russian journalism dated back to the early 20th century. On August 14, 1901, Josef Rovenský founded a Russian newspaper in Harbin called

Harbin Daily Telegram Advertising Post (Haerbin meiri diangxun guanggao bao 哈爾濱每日電訊廣告報 ). Not only was it the first Russian newspaper in China, it was also the first modern newspaper in Heilong Jiang. Up to 1917, a total of 30 Russian newspapers were published, mostly in Harbin.

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Generally, these newspapers had a short history except for a few such as Der Ferne Osten (Yuandong bao 遠東報 ), literally the “Far East Newspaper.” For those published by Russians before the October Revolution — such as Der Ferne Osten and (Xin shenghuo bao 新生活報 ), literally “New Life” — they were still in publication after the incident. At this time there was also the founding of new publications, namely the Light Post (Guangming bao 光明報 ), founded by General Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov in Harbin on March 5, 1919; (Xiaguang bao 霞光報 ), literally “Dawn,” founded by an experienced journalist M.C. Gilliam (E sheng bao 俄聲報 ), literally Beach in Harbin on April 15, 1920; “Russian Voice,” founded by a former Russian constitutional assemblyman on July 1, 1920, and renamed Russian Word (E yu bao 俄語報 ) in January 1920; and a Russian evening newspaper (Chuansheng bao 傳聲報 ), literally “Horn,” founded by a group of Russian Jews in October 1920. According to statistics in 1916, there were only 12 Russian families in Shanghai, which explained why no Russian newspapers were in operation at that time. Gradually, as a considerable number of White Russians fled to Shanghai due to the Russian Revolution, Russian newspapers appeared in the city. Just in a year’s time between 1921 and 1922, Shanghai Life Daily (Shanghai shenghuo ribao 上海生活日報 ), Russian Echo (Luxiya huishengbao 露西亞回聲報 ), and Free Russian Ideological Trend (Ziyou de eguo sichao 自由的俄國思潮 ) were founded by White Russians. In Free Russian Ideological Trend , it was proclaimed that the principle of the newspaper was “to unite Russians in the Far East to safeguard the benefits of our motherland.” Later, New Life was founded but was seized by the police of the Shanghai concession in September 1926 for disrupting public order. By 1925, a more influential and saleable Russian newspaper in Shanghai — , transliterated as “Zarya” (Chaila bao 柴拉報 ) — was published and 1,500–2,000 copies were sold. Under the leadership of the Bolsheviks, journalism of the new Russia extended to China beginning from the 20th century. On March 1, 1920, in Harbin, the Chinese Eastern Railway Russian Workers’ Association (CERRWA) founded Forward (Qianjin bao 前 進 報 ) as its official newspaper, as well as the first Bolshevist newspaper on the border of China. On August 2, 1922, the Harbin Committee of the Soviet Siberian Young Socialists established its official publication Southern Socialist Revolutionists (Nanfang shehuizhuyi gemingzhe bao 南方社會主義革命者報 ). Additionally, (Fengwen bao 風聞報 ), literally “Hearsay,” and (Huisheng 回聲 ), literally “Echo,” were founded in 1924 and 1925, respectively. Concurrently, the New Life Post became

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more pro-revolution. These newspapers propagated the October Revolution and collaborated with the revolutionary publications in Harbin. Furthermore, there was competition between Bolshevist publications and the White Russian ones. Like most of the revolutionary newspapers, the Bolshevist materials also faced suppression. In March 1921, the Regulatory Rules on Newspaper Operation was issued by the police headquarters of the Special District of the Eastern Province (Dongsheng tebie xingzhengqu 東省特別行政區 ), which soon took action to arrest the chief editor of Forward on April 18, claiming that the newspaper was “promoting an extreme ideology.” By June 5, the newspaper, with a total of 370 issues published, (Eluosi bao was forced to close. In response, the CERRWA started 俄羅斯報 ), literally “Russian Newspaper.” Yet, on July 5, 1922, it was seized by the authorities of the Special District of the Eastern Province, who again claimed the newspaper was “promoting an extreme ideology.” A month later, the CERRWA started another Russian publication — (Luntan bao 論壇報 ), literally “Tribune” — but it was closed down on April 26, 1925. In order to further clamp down on Russian publications, Zhang Zuolin promulgated and issued the Interim Measure of Limiting the Publication of Russian Newspapers on November 14, 1925. In November the following year, Echo and New Life Post — where articles and photos of the ninth anniversary of the October Revolution were published — were suspended for 14 days. In December, Echo , allegedly “promoting Communism,” was prohibited from publishing. In September 1923, Mikhail Markovich Borodin came to China as a representative of the Soviet Union and the Communist International. In 1924, New Russia (Xin e 新俄 ), the official publication of the Communist International was founded in Shanghai by H. Bourrier. It was started as a means to introduce the Chinese people to the social conditions of the Soviet Union. After Borodin went to Guangzhou, he established the official material of the Guangzhou Soviet region, Guangzhou Bolshevik (Guangzhou buershenweike 廣州布爾什維克 ), which was renamed Guangzhou since the seventh issue. In this publication, extensive discussions were conducted over issues on revolution, such as problems of the Northern Expedition, and how a new regime could be built in CPC areas. After the Nationalist government moved westward to Wuhan, the publication of Guangzhou was accordingly moved to Wuhan. For a short period of time, Pacific Workers (Taipingyang gongren 太平洋工人 ), a publication of the Pacific branch of the Red International of Labor Unions, was published in Wuhan. With the assistance from the Shanghai Communist group, the branch of Russian Telegraph Agency was set up in China in June 1921, and reporters were

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sent to Beijing the year after. In 1925, the agency was renamed the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia, and it assigned reporters to Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hankou. The branches of the agency extended to Harbin in August 1925. Borodin had once led the agency too. Aside from press agencies, Russian reporters were also sent by newspapers (Zhenli bao 真理報 ), literally “True,” (Laodong bao 勞動報 ), including literally “Labor,” and (Jingji yu shenghuo 經濟與生活 ), literally “Business and Life.” Yet, when compared to the journalistic power of Britain, the U.S., and Japan in China, Soviet power was rather confined, as the readership of the publications was too small. For the White Russian newspapers, their influence was rather limited as they merely concentrated on countering Bolshevist activities while some papers did not have a stern stance. Therefore, only certain aged White Russians read these newspapers to “recollect the joyful imperial life in St.

Petersburg in the past.” As for the Soviet government and the Bolsheviks, even though their publications were few, they did bring shocks to China, for the material was, after all, new to the nation. Meanwhile, Soviet news agencies played an important role in breaking the dominance of Western news agencies in China as well as spreading the information on Chinese society and revolution. Moreover, Soviet journalists shared their experience in running newspapers with Chinese journalists at that time. For example, Borodin wrote a report on the establishment of Party newspapers for journalists of both the KMT and CPC.54 53

Journalism of other countries in China Among other foreign countries, French publications took up a relatively great portion and they had quite a long history, for they appeared since 1870. Up to 1919 prior to the May Fourth Movement, there were a dozen French newspapers in Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin. But subsequently, they were closed down one after another. L’echo de Chine (Zhongfa xinhuibao 中法新匯報 ), founded in 1897, had been dominant among French newspapers in China even after the May Fourth Movement. It was suspended on February 10, 1927, and was resumed five months later with the new name Shanghai French Daily (Shanghai fawen ribao 上海法文日報 ). In 1915, the Shanghai French Chamber of Commerce published a monthly named Far East Business (Yuandong shangwu 遠東商務 ) at the time of founding, and it was later renamed Bulletin de La Chambre de Commerce (Shanghai fa shanghuibao 上 海法商會報 ). The bulletin was the official publication of the Chamber of Commerce

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of France in China, and the chief editor was M. Predet, who was also the secretarygeneral of the chamber. In 1927, the Shanghai French Chamber of Commerce founded another publication Le Journal de Shanghai (Shanghai xinwen 上海新聞 ), whose

chief editor was Jean Fontenoy, a French journalist of Havas. Additionally, the journal received subsidies from the Municipal Council of the Shanghai Concession, the French Consulate General in Shanghai, and the French Legation in Beijing.

In Beijing, Le journal de Pékin (Beijing xinwen 北京新聞 ) was founded in 1911.

Its ownership was transferred to Albert Nachbaur and he became the chief editor, until the journal closed in 1933. There was also a French weekly La Politique de

Pékin (Beijing zhengwen bao 北京政聞報 ) whose chief editor was A. Monestier and it was turned into a monthly publication later. In Tianjin, Albert Nachbaur founded Le Tientsinois (Tianjin renbao 天津人報 ) in 1921, in addition to Le journal de Pékin . Altogether, around 600 copies of the two newspapers were sold. Subscribers were chiefly French migrants, French and Italian missionaries, and French soldiers in Beijing and Tianjin. There was also the short existence of Echo de Tientsin (Tianjin huisheng bao 天津回聲報 ). For news agencies, the French ones had appeared in China since the end of the May Fourth Movement. The first one which came to China was the Pacific Annam Radiogram Agency, which was the official news agency of the French government in Annam (Vietnam as French colony). Reporters of the agency were sent to Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin, and Hong Kong to dispatch overseas news stories to the head office in Saigon. These dispatches were then sent on to Havas to be further spread all over the world. Until 1931, a branch office of Havas was set up in China. In terms of propagation of political news and current affairs, L’echo de Chine and La Politique de Pékin were the active ones among the French newspapers, as they both voiced comments regarding political problems in China at that time. Overall, the French newspapers were opposed to China and were critical against activities of the CPC, but they failed to create a great impact on Chinese society. The first German newspaper in China was Der Ostasiatische Lloyd (Dewen xinbao 德文新報 ), which was seized in 1917 when China declared war on Germany. As a result, no new German publication appeared in China. In Shanghai, a year after Sino–German diplomatic relations returned to normal in 1921, a German living in China called G.W. Richter started a weekly Deutsche China (Dehua xinwen zhoukan 德華新聞週刊 ) which was a business-oriented publication written in German, Chinese, and English. Yet, the printing quality was significantly worse than the publications produced prior to the war. By 1925 in Shanghai, a German G.

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Traus founded another weekly named Die Brücke (Heng qiao 衡橋 ) where news

articles from Chinese and foreign newspapers were translated and published. The

sales of this weekly were less than 200 copies. Another German, P. Kettner, started a German publication in Beijing as well, yet that only sold 200 copies.

The news agency, the Trans-Ocean News Service, in 1921, established its

branch in Beijing, and the office was moved to Shanghai in 1928. News dispatches of the agency were delivered to newspapers in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hankou,

and Harbin. A handful of German reporters visited China to make news reports, and some were supportive of the revolutions in China.

The Rise of Broadcasting in China The setting up of foreign radio stations in China Before wireless communications were invented, the development of wire broadcasting had attained certain success, yet the growth was too slow and the scope of influence was limited. In 1895, a Russian professor Alexander

Stepanovich Popov and an Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi separately built the prototype of radio receiver and detector. In 1899, Marconi, backed by the British authorities, successfully transmitted the first wireless signal across the English

Channel. In 1901, it was announced that a message was successfully transmitted

from Poldhu, Cornwall, to St. John’s, Newfoundland (now part of Canada). Soon, such technology was applied to aspects such as military communication, transfer of business updates, and media releases. In the meantime, European scientists

were devoted to experiments on the wireless transmission of verbal signals. In 1906, the transmission of the first wireless speech took place in America. During

the First World War, research and development in wireless telephony was paused for the sake of confidentiality. After the war, research was resumed and

experimental radio stations appeared in the U.S. On November 2, 1920, KDKA was founded as the first commercial radio station and was licensed to Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania. Correspondingly, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union started

building up their own broadcast journalism. Gradually, wireless broadcasting, a new technology in modern journalism, began to flourish in the world.

Although wireless broadcasting was still in an experimental stage in the

U.S., the Shanghai magazine The Eastern Miscellany for the first time introduced

this emerging technology to the Chinese people by making a report titled “The Wireless Transmission of Music and News” in August 1920. The report provided a

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brief account of the functionalities and advantages of wireless broadcasting and it

stressed the convenience for families of getting the news reports via wireless radio instead of from newspapers, as well as the joys of listening to music for pleasure

at home. Similar to the development of modern publications and news agencies, radio 55

stations in China were also first established by foreigners. By mid-December 1922,

intending to establish a radio station in Shanghai, E.G. Osborn — the manager of the Radio Corporation of China, a subsidiary of the Radio Corporation of the Orient — brought along a set of radio facilities to China. Collaborating with

English newspapers in China, Osborn established the Osborn Radio Station in

the office of the Robert Dollar Company situated in the Shanghai Bund and the radio station started operating on January 23, 1923. The first radio broadcast

covered local and foreign news reports, as well as live music performances and

the playing of records. On the next day, The China Press reported that “the radio broadcast last night was a notable success…hundreds of people ‘listened’ to the miracle of the era.”

The call sign of the Osborn Radio Station was XRO, and the transmitting

power output was 50 watts with a wavelength of 200 meters. In addition to the

news stories provided by The China Press , abundant entertainment programs were hosted every night. On Sundays, there were religious programs such as

Preach and Pray . In order to boost the sales of radio receivers, the radio station even held talks on the basic knowledge of radio communications. On January 26, 1923, the radio station broadcast Sun Yat-sen’s declaration of peaceful reunification issued later that day. Accordingly, Sun expressed his gratitude through The China Press , saying that “we, the advocates for the reunification of China, warmly welcome the advancement in wireless communications.” Given the radio programs produced by the Osborn Radio Station, a tide of 56

radio broadcasting was triggered in the Shanghai concession, which stimulated

the study on radio transmission among amateur organizations and this generated sales for shops selling radio equipment.

During the 1920s in Shanghai, foreigners opened a number of radio stations, of

which the one founded by the Kellogg Switchboard and Supply Company on May 15, 1924, had the longest history and widest influence. The call letters of the station were KRC, and the transmission power output was 100 watts with a wavelength of 365 meters, which was increased later on. Besides, the company worked with Shun

Pao to set up a studio in the office of the newspaper to facilitate news reporting. As

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a result, there was a two-hour long news report in the morning and evening, and

promotions of programs would be made by Shun Pao . The programs of this radio station appealed to the Chinese as well as foreigners, for they covered a variety

of elements including Chinese and English news reports, local and foreign music, weather reports, market updates, time telling, Peking opera, and storytelling.

Like the Osborn Radio Station, talks were also organized to promote their radio programs. The broadcasting business of Kellogg Switchboard and Supply Company ran for about five years, and was closed in October 1929. Indeed, the

loosening of the restrictive rule over broadcasting had directly contributed to the development and success of these foreign radio stations in China.

Changes in the broadcasting laws of the Beiyang government The introduction of radio communications to China dated back to 1905,

during the late-Qing Dynasty, and the technology was first utilized in military communication — radio detectors and receivers were installed on warships of the

Beiyang Fleet and in places such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Baoding. Under the rule of the Qing government, no foreign countries or foreigners were allowed to set up 57

radio stations or to receive and transmit wireless telegrams in the country unless they had obtained permission from the authorities. After the Beiyang government

took over, its Telecommunication Ordinance basically followed the principle

of the Qing government, i.e. to limit the right to operate telecommunications facilities to the government only. Between 1923 and 1924, although a number of foreign radio stations emerged in Shanghai, the Beiyang government still

appeared to be ignorant of this modern technology. The authorities, considering wireless communications the same as wireless broadcasting, prohibited the Chinese from setting up their radio stations. Moreover, the authorities, failing to identify the differences between radios and wireless receptors, unreasonably

banned the sale of any radio receptors, regardless of their application. In May 1924, once Shun Pao reported that the radio station of the Kellogg Switchboard

and Supply Company started broadcasting, the Ministry of Communications

immediately mailed the authorities of Shanghai, requesting them to tighten the law accordingly. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Communications, after shutting

down several radio stations, ultimately understood that ordinary wireless stations were different from the ones broadcasting news and music. The Ministry at last succeeded in distinguishing between radios and wireless receptors.

According to the records of the Telecommunication Department of the

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Ministry of Communications, there were several emphases in the discussion on the drafting of wireless broadcasting decrees.

First, who was to operate broadcasting stations, the government or the

business sector? In the beginning, the private ones were preferred, but it was the other way eventually.

Second, should radios be sold in the market or in franchised stores?

Third, should broadcasting fees be collected? Or should various license

charges be imposed?

There were four or five regulations proposed in the meeting, but only

one had been announced so far. The first decree on wireless broadcasting, the

Interim Regulations on the Installation and Use of Wireless Radio Receptors was announced by the Ministry of Communications in August 1924. Drafted in accordance with the Telecommunication Ordinance , the Interim 58

Regulations contained a total of 23 articles and preliminarily explained the procedures, charges, and points for attention of the installation of wireless receivers (i.e. radios), as well as the penalty of breaching the regulations. Here are the key points: i.

A license should be applied for and approved by the Ministry of Communications prior to the installation of a wireless receiver.

ii. The receivers could only be set up in major cities. No receivers could be installed in restricted areas of the government, military frontiers, and naval frontiers.

iii. For any Chinese person to install a receiver, he (or she) should obtain

a certificate issued by one of the designated, recommended officials,

or a substantial, recommended firm, of the Sixth Rank or above. For

any foreigner who was to install a receiver, he (or she) should obtain a certificate issued by the envoy or consul of his (or her) country, or two

certificates issued by two substantial firms whose owners were of the same nationality.

iv. The receivers should only be utilized for the reception of the broadcast of music, news and weather reports, time checks, and speeches, as well as

for experimental use. The receivers were not means to make profits, and any telegram received should remain strictly confidential.

v. For the installation of each vacuum tube radio, a yearly license fee of 6

yuan would be collected. For the installation of each crystal radio, a yearly license fee of 4 yuan would be collected.

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vi. The penalty for violating the Regulations ranged between 5 to 200 yuan, or the device of the offenders would be confiscated. Viewed now, these regulations may seem tedious and harsh. However, the promulgation of the regulations indeed illustrated the change of the direction of the Beiyang government: from absolute control over radios to limiting the setting-up of radio stations. Hence, the founding of broadcasting stations, and the sale and installation of radios were no longer illegal. Therefore, it is reasonable to regard the appearance of the Interim Regulations as a stimulant to the development of broadcasting in China. Nonetheless, the loosening of the Beiyang government’s control over broadcasting did not represent its consideration for the people. At that time, owing to years of civil wars, the people were lacking food and clothing, not to mention the purchasing of radios, which were utterly unaffordable for the masses. More importantly, radios were merely an entertainment and time killer to the warlords, officials, wealthy men, and foreign colonists.

The appearance of Chinese radio stations While drawing up broadcasting regulations, the Beiyang government also made efforts to establish official radio stations. In February 1925, the Ministry of Communications, which was under the influence of the Anhui Clique, began planning for building radio stations in Beijing and Tianjin. For example, the authorities conducted experiments in Beijing — where some news reports and music were broadcast through the wireless telephone, and the signals were successfully received at a pavilion in Zhongshan Park. Yet, the preparatory work was suspended due to political instability. In April 1926, Duan was deposed amid widespread discontent among the people. In the following year, provinces in the North were fragmented by warlords of the Fengtian and Zhili Cliques till June 1927, when the Zhili Clique finally collapsed. Then, Zhang Zuolin, the head of the Fengtian Clique, formed the China Military Government, proclaiming himself the “generalissimo,” and brought about the last generation of the Beiyang warlords. In October 1926, a delegation was sent by the Beiyang government to attend the International Wireless Telegraph Convention in Washington. Afterwards, the Chinese delegation visited Europe, the U.S., and Japan, where broadcasting was thriving and prosperous. When the delegation returned to China, they again urged the government to commence work on an official radio station. Backed by the Fengtian Clique and supported by Ye Gongchuo, the Minister

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of Communications, the ministry founded the Radio Broadcast Company to handle the issue of starting a radio station. At that time, as broadcasting just emerged in China, there were different translations of the term, for instance “broadcasting voice” and “transmitting sound.” Thus, Wu Tiqing, a specialist in telecommunication, fixed the translation of the word broadcasting which was endorsed by the Ministry of Communications and thus used universally in the country. While the development of radio broadcasting in Beijing and Tianjin remained stagnant, the first Chinese radio station was already built up in Harbin, under the assistance of the Fengtian Clique. In 1922, the Fengtian Clique, frustrated in the First Zhili–Fengtian War, was forced to retreat. In the hope of staging a comeback, the clique consolidated its military power as well as developed military wireless communication. Hence, the Northeast Provinces Radio Station was founded and branches were extended to Shenyang, Changchun, and Qiqihar. By May 1923, the branch in Shenyang was turned into the head radio station of the Northeast Provinces, and the former one in Harbin was downgraded to a branch station. Also in 1923, a total of 14 broadcasting stations were constructed across the Northeast. The growth in telecommunication in the Northeast was very much favorable to the opening of more radio stations in the nation. Liu Han, an early Chines expert in radio, was the Deputy Manager of the Northeast Provinces Radio Station. He was a teacher at a radio school in his early years and in 1923, he carried out an experimental broadcast in Harbin. Later in 1926, Liu, greatly supported by the Fengtian authorities, began making preparation for opening a radio station. On October 1, 1926, the Harbin Broadcasting Radio Station, the first radio station in China, came into operation. The call sign was XOH, and the transmitting power output was 100 watts. The duration of broadcasting was two hours per day, covering news reports, music, speeches, and commodity prices. Subsequently, thanks to the capital garnered by Liu, extra equipment was purchased to construct a new station. On the New Year ’s Day in 1928, the new building of Harbin Broadcasting Radio Station

was officially in use. The call sign was changed to CHOB, and the transmitting power output was strengthened to a maximum of 1,000 watts. At that time, there were Chinese, Russian, and Japanese programs. On the same day, the Shenyang Broadcasting Radio station also started functioning. The call sign was COMK, and the transmitting power output was 2,000 watts. The two channels were managed and under the supervision of the Northeast Radio Monitoring Office (Dongbei wuxiandian jianduchu 東北無線電監督處 ).

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With its head office in Shenyang, the Northeast Radio Monitoring Office was founded in 1923 and was an early regional organ responsible for the management of radio communication. Apart from setting up two radio stations in Harbin and Shenyang, the office also built the first radio station in Tianjing and Beijing. In October 1926, the office drafted three sets of regulations to constrain radio communication — namely the Radio Broadcasting Regulations , the Regulations on the Installation of Radio Receivers , and the Regulations on Transportation and Sale of Radio Receivers — which were endorsed by General Zhang Zuolin. Compared to the Interim Regulations issued two years ago, these three sets of regulations were more comprehensive and feasible, which was constructive to the progression of broadcasting in China. There were all in all 43 articles in the three sets of regulations whose highlights are as follows: i.

Radio stations would be constructed by the Northeast Radio Monitoring Office in the borders of the Northeast Provinces, so as to promote art and culture, to share market information, and to handle relevant matters. ii. The radio stations should daily broadcast items such as news reports, market information, music, and speeches in the designated period or time of the day. iii. Inhabitants of the Northeast Provinces should install radios receivers to listen to the broadcast, given that the Regulations on the Installation of Radio Receivers were strictly observed. iv. Trading companies, both the local and foreign ones, were allowed to trade and sell radio receivers and the accessories needed in the Northeast Provinces, given that the Regulations on the Transportation and Sale of

Radio Receivers were strictly observed. v. No person, party, or organization was permitted to open and run radio stations, or to smuggle, sale, or set up radio devices without authorization in the border of the Northeast Provinces. vi. Any person or party making public announcement or speech through radio stations in the Northeast Provinces should first seek the approval from the radio station concerned regarding the manuscript, and should offer a considerable amount or fee. vii. Trading companies who were selling radio receivers and households with radios installed should hand in license fees according to the regulations; all radio devices of the offenders would be confiscated, and the offenders should repay a certain amount of penalty.

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By March 1927, more branch offices of the Monitoring Office were established in Beijing and Tianjin to prepare for building additional radio stations in the two places. Later by May 15, the Tianjin Broadcast Radio Station began operating with COTN as the call sign and its transmission power output was 500 watts. On September 1, the Beijing Broadcast Radio Station started broadcasting. Its call sign was COPK, and the transmission power output was 20 watts, which was raised to 100 watts later on. Programs of both radio stations contained news reports, market information, music, talks, and even Chinese operas. At that time, Peking opera was popular in Beijing and Tianjin, thus Tianjin radio station often rebroadcast the performances of Peking opera in the same day through long distance telephone lines, which was quite appealing to the audience. In between 1926 and 1928, as the Fengtian Clique came to possess the controlling power of the Beiyang government, Beijing and Tianjin were also subjected to the mentioned regulations on installation, transportation, and sale of radio devices. With reference to a survey conducted in late-June 1928, at least 1,900 households owned radio receivers and there were 45 stores selling radios. The radio stations were also capable of breaking even or accumulating profits by

paying and collecting monthly license fees. In addition to the four official radio channels, there appeared civilianrun radio stations in 1927. On March 19, 1927, the radio station of the Sun Sun Company Limited (Xinxin gongsi 新新公司 ) started broadcasting. With reference to existing materials, it was the first private radio station in China. By the end of 1927, another private channel, the Swallow Voice Radio (Yansheng guangbo diantai 燕聲廣播電台 ), was founded in Beijing. Looking back, the broadcasting of the Beiyang warlords (1923–1928) was rather rudimentary. Even though a dozen radio stations were founded by foreigners and Chinese citizens, the output of transmission power was generally low, thus the coverage of broadcasting was limited to cities and regions where the radio stations were located. Moreover, according to related materials, it was estimated that there were around 10,000 radios in the country at that time, yet a nation-wide central radio channel was still missing. 59

Press Photography and Newsreels The beginning of press photographic activities The appearance of pictorial supplements A supplement of the Eastern Times , the Pictorial Weekly (Tuhua zhoukan 圖畫週刊 )

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was founded on June 9, 1920. The forerunner of pictorial newspaper supplements, the publication paid attention to major news in China and the world. Published on Sundays, each issue of Pictorial Weekly occupied one page or two, and the supplement was attached to the daily. Additionally, the Eastern Times started another publication called The Eastern Times Photo Supplement (Tuhua shibao 圖畫時報 ), which was printed with offset paper. A comprehensive pictorial welcomed by readers, The Eastern Times Photo Supplement chiefly published photos of current affairs, and there were also paintings and Chinese calligraphy. Owing to the success of The Eastern Times Photo Supplement , a number of pictorial supplements sprang up across the country throughout the 1920s. Table 9.10 Examples of pictorial supplements in the 1920s Affiliated Newspaper

Beijing Post

The Morning Post

The World People of the Heaven

Name of Publication

Beijing Post Pictorial Weekly (Jingbao tuhua shibao 京報圖畫時報 )

Date of publication December 26, 1924

The Morning Post Sunday Picture September 6, 1925 Section (Chenbao xingqi huabao 晨報星期畫報 ) World Pictorial (Shijie huabao 世界畫報 ) Photo Supplement (Tuhua fukan 圖畫副刊 )

October 1, 1925

August 28, 1926

The content of most pictorials was a balanced combination of current affairs and artwork, except The Morning Post Sunday Picture Section which emphasized art. For the 50 issues published in the first year of publication, the works of one artist or two were introduced in almost every single issue. Yet, despite the careful selection of materials, the supplement had one drawback — the proportion of text was too small, making the supplement lack room for rumination. Indeed, the emergence of photo supplements signified an important stage towards press photography. Since the content of pictorial supplements was lively and easy to digest, readers, regardless of sex and age, appreciated this kind of publication. As a result, pictorial supplements developed rapidly and by the beginning of the 1930s, there were dozens of photo supplements started by dailies and evening papers in the country.

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The appearance of photographic agencies Founded in the early 1920s, the Central Photo Agency (Zhongyang xiezhen tongxunshe

中央寫真通訊社 ) was the first agency supplying photographs to newspapers. The key figure of the agency was Zhu Baoheng, a student of Peking University. In fact, the agency was an amateur photographic organization founded by students

of Peking University. Basically, the activities of the agency were targeted at the academia of Beijing, yet news photos from the agency, which were of high

quality, were still published in Shanghai newspapers such as Eastern Times , which indicated that the scope of the service of the agency could go beyond Beijing. According to Ge Gongzhen, a journalist of that time, “on average, there

are eight dispatches in a month. With a monthly charge of 10 yuan, the materials

provided are quite suitable to newspapers.” However, as copperplates could not be produced at most newspaper offices, there were just a handful of subscribers; 60

hence the Central Photo Agency was closed soon.

Subsequently in Shanghai, another photo agency was founded. The agency

stipulated clear requirements over the categories of dispatches, rankings of

dispatches, and payment requirements. Unfortunately, due to the lack of budget, no photos had been delivered by the agency.

By the late 1920s in Shanghai, the China Photography Society (Zhongguo

sheying xuehui 中國攝影學會 ) set up its press office to dispatch news photographs to both local and foreign newspapers and magazines. Subscribers were also welcomed to contact the office so that photographers could be sent to cover news and produce “on-the-spot” reports. Aiming to boost its business, the office recruited a considerable number of freelance photographers in the city.

The birth of The Young Companion In early June of 1925, Pictorial Shanghai was officially published. Once it was out, there were positive comments on the pictorial, as the May Thirtieth Movement was reported in a rather objective manner. As a result, “a frenzy for pictorials”

was sparked off, and for a time there was an upsurge of pictorials. Given this

background, The Young Companion (Liangyou 良友 ) was founded in 1926. A year later, there were only several pictorials left in Shanghai, yet The Young Companion

still remained thriving.

Published in February 1926, The Young Companion was an octavo printed

with better paper, and it was the first large scale comprehensive photo pictorial

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in China. Undertaking the mission of “promoting education and enriching culture,” the pictorial was of substantive content made of cautiously chosen materials. It was also one of the most influential pictorials in the country during the 1920s. The Young Companion used a color-printed portrait of the celebrated actress Hu Die as the cover of its first issue and this initiated the trend of placing female socialites on the cover of pictorials. In November 1926, something meaningful was also published — the first special issue of The Young Companion . The special issue, titled A Supplementary Issue in Commemoration of Dr. Sun Yatsen Father of the Chinese Republic (Sun zhongshan xiansheng jinian tekan 孫中 山先生紀念特刊 ), included a total of 55 pages containing nearly 200 photographs. As for the ordinary issues, not only were political, economic, and cultural updates shared, but literary works were also published. An enormous number of literati, experts, and scholars had submitted works to the pictorial — which indicated the reputation and status of the pictorial in the cultural world. As a result, the influence of The Young Companion grew steadily. The first chief editor of The Young Companion was Wu Liande, who dedicated to his career and made great efforts to better quality pictorials. After receiving a letter from a reader criticizing the inferiority of the content of the first issue and the absence of categorization, he published the full text of the letter in the first section of the second issue, so as to give credit to the reader. Wu wrote in the preface: “After reading The Young Companion , please feel free to write us letters to point out our shortcomings and to offer suggestions. Critical mails are even more welcomed than the complimentary ones.” Undeniably, the modesty and persistence of Wu did contribute to the improvement of The Young Companion . Also the general manager of the Young Companion Printing House, Wu, due to heavy workload, had no space to focus his attention on the editorial matters of The Young Companion . Thus, since the fifth issue, editorial matters were handed over to Zhou Shoujuan. Yet, as Zhou was weak in managing the business of a pictorial, there was little growth in the publication. Consequently, Wu hired Liang Desuo, a student of Cheeloo University, to handle the editorial work of his pictorial. An able painter, Liang was also a brilliant photographer and a good writer. Since he filled the position of chief editor by the beginning of 1927, Liang made efforts to reform the content and layout of The Young Companion . Within a year or two, the monthly sales of the pictorial reached some 40,000 copies, and it was published in five continents. At that time, it was said that wherever there were Chinese people, there would be The Young Companion .

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Press photographic work Subsequent to the May Fourth Movement in 1919, photos in newspapers slowly transformed from attachments of textual reports to “news photos” — an independent piece of information constituted by a photograph with a title and a brief caption. Examples included “The Single-Legged Cabinet Minister of the

Duan’s Government” and “The Cossack Cavalry,” which were published in The Morning Post on April 5, 1926, and May 2, 1926, respectively. The use of this 61

presentation opened a new way of photographic news reporting. Additionally, there were improvements in the columns. The Ta Kung Pao started and published

six columns within a month — which was rare in that era. Each column was put on one particular topic and contained two to eight photographs. These columns 62

formed a comprehensive structure, leaving strong impressions on readers’ minds.

Moreover, the content was diversified as in addition to domestic news, there was a photo column on international news. Thereafter, other supplements started

refining their content by including photographs, publishing scientific tidbits, or introducing artistic and literary updates, depending on the nature of the

supplement. Even though these photos were of low news value, they were still necessary for they became entertainment to the readers.

In terms of layout, some newspapers divided the photographs into different

categories and sections, as well as standardized the number of sections and their

positions, which greatly enhanced readability. In order to arouse the interest of

the readers, photographs in newspapers appeared in various designs — with a blank background, or with a newly made pattern, shaped into a circle, or framed

with fancy borders. Tabloids such as Rumble (Hong bao 轟報 ) and The Diamond were particularly skillful in this regard.

Still, news photos in this period were mostly portraits or photos of assemblies.

For live photos of scenes, they rarely appeared in newspapers. Besides, some

newspapers had a poor and disordered layout — photographs about the same issue were used in different sections. In addition, portraits of important figures

were repeatedly published, which made the readers feel both funny and annoyed. In a nutshell, there was much room for improvement in the photographic content of newspapers at that time.

The start of revolutionary press photography In May 1920, in the special issue of La Jeunesse in commemoration of May Day,

photographs of the daily life of Chinese workers were published. In total, there

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were 32 photographs of workers in printing houses and molding factories, tailors and cobblers in Ningbo, apprentices of blacksmiths in Wuxi, dredgers, and child laborers hired by tram companies. These pictures represented a breakthrough in the history of journalism in China, as for the first time, the poor working conditions and low living standards were disclosed by photographs. In the first issue of Communist , a publication of the Chinese Communist Team in Shanghai, a large-sized portrait of Lenin was published — which was the first photograph in proletarian publications as well as the first visual introduction of the Marxist revolutionist in China. In worker publications such as The World of Labor , photographs were also adopted as means for propaganda. In spite of their limited quantity, the revolutionary stance of these publications was made more noticeable. Between 1922 and 1923, photographs about the first country-wide labor movement appeared. In The Anniversary of the Victory of Strike (Bagong shengli zhounian jiniance 罷工勝利週年紀念冊 ), the portraits of the deceased Communist Lin Xiangqian and Comrade Shi Yang were published and this marked a historical page in the development of the labor movement. After the National Revolution was launched, there were new developments in press photography, which worked in line with revolutionary propagation. First, it was the use of close-up photos. For instance, in the center of the front page of the Hankou Minguo Daily , there was a close-up picture of Mr. Li — a longshoreman whose belly had been stabbed by a British soldier. In fact, closeup photos — which could reveal the details of things — appeared in various newspapers since the 1900s, yet they were uncommon in publications of the CPC. Second, emphasis was given to photos in the columns. A notable example was a column in the People’s Weekly titled “The Truth of the Imperialists Ready to 63

Slaughter Shanghai Citizens — Armed Interference in the Chinese Revolution.” Seven photos stretching across two pages were published in the column, taking up almost half of the length of the issue. Third, there was the creation of the propagation format: photographic reviews. Moreover, according to textual records, the earliest delivery of directions over military photography from high ranking cadres of the Party also took place in the 1920s. During the second Eastern Expedition in 1925, Zhou Enlai, the Director of the Political Department of the Eastern Expedition Army, considered photographic propagation an utterly crucial task. Thus, in his Outlines for Propaganda in Warfare (Zhanshi zhengzhi xuanchuan dagang 戰事政治宣傳大綱 ), it was stated that “[the propagation team] should bring along cameras to shoot 64

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photos of the battlefield or the gathering of soldiers and common people. Then,

photos should be developed and printed as soon as possible, so that they could be displayed in parties of the soldiers and the people or be given to representatives from the many sectors.”

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Newsreels and revolutionary movements After the May Fourth Movement, the movie industry grew tremendously and there was a group of private movie studios which aside from producing feature movies, also shot landscape movies and newsreels, as well as made films of daily

life or the stories of important political figures. At the same time, some invested in the movie industry, while some raised funds to run movie studios as movies were regarded as tools to raise social standards.

In 1921, a couple of youngsters visiting the U.S. founded the Great Wall Studio

(Changcheng huapian gongsi 長城畫片公司 ) in New York City. The studio was

opened as a response to the success of The Red Lantern (Hongdenglong 紅燈籠 ), a movie which displayed warped images of Chinese culture in the 1920s, which

provoked outrage among overseas Chinese. Therefore, these youngsters were determined to promote the history and culture of their motherland through the

production of movies. As a result, Chinese Costume (Zhongguo de fuzhuang 中國的 服裝 ) and China’s National Art (Zhongguo de guoshu 中國的國術 ) were produced.

Zhang Jizhi — a patriotic capitalist who advocated saving the country by

engaging in industry — founded the China Film Limited Company (Zhongguo

yingpian zhizao gufen youxian gongsi 中國影片製造服份有限公司 ). Productions of the studio included several landscape videos and The Story of Mr. Zhang Jizhi (Zhang jizhi xiansheng de fengcai 張季直先生的風采 ) and Nanjing Police (Nanjing jingzheng 南京警政 ). A pioneer in China’s movie industry, Hong Shen, after joining the studio, proposed that “movies are efficient instruments for the dissemination of our culture… [Movies] could promote education and enhance the standards of the Chinese people.” This indicated that the educational function of movies was well noted. In 1923, the studio, before it was closed, shot a 66

short film titled National Foreign Affairs Parade (Guomin waijiao youxing dahui

國民外交遊行大會 ), which recorded a demonstration organized by the Shanghai

people on March 25, 1923. The protest, which some 50,000 Chinese attended, was

held against Japan — who refused to abolish the Twenty-One Demands and to return the sovereignty of Lüshun and Dalian to China.

In Hong Kong, Li Minwei founded the Minxin Film Company, also known as

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the China Sun Film Company (Minxin dianying gongsi 民新電影公司 ) in 1923. The company basically produced newsreels covering ball games, dragon boat races, and police drills. Among Li’s productions, the more influential ones were the records of Sun Yat-sen’s activities. After the relocation of the film studio to Xiguan in Guangzhou, he started shooting newsreels for Sun Yat-sen. Born in Guangdong, Li loved photography when he was small. With his patriotism sparked by the Second Guangzhou Uprising in 1911, he joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance founded by Sun Yat-sen in Hong Kong. Thereafter, he became a follower of Sun. In a video about the First Representative Conference of the KMT recorded by Li in Guangzhou, there was a shot of Sun Yat-sen and Li Dazhao entering the conference room shoulder to shoulder which became a valuable historical record. Within two years’ time, Li also completed the following newsreels: •• Mr. Sun Yat-sen Hosting the Opening Ceremony of the Yunnan Cadre School •• Liao Zhongkai Inaugurating the Guangdong School for Young Workers in Arsenal •• Mr. Sun Yat-sen Travelling Northward •• A Tour to Dongbei Jiang •• The Funeral Procession and Commemoration Ceremony of Mr. Sun Yat-sen In 1927, Li completed compiling a 90-minute long documentary titled The Fighting of Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the National Revolutionary Army (Guomin gemingjun hailukong dazhanji 國民革命軍海陸空大戰記 ) — which was a rather all-rounded documentary of the revolutionary activities in Sun’s later stage. Owing to Sun’s impact on the masses and the status of the Northern Expedition in a democratic struggle, there were more than a dozen films about Sun and the Northern Expedition at that time. The upsurge of these films showed that news documentaries were to present major incidents concerning the people. Besides, it was apparent that the Central Propaganda Department of the KMT put more attention to propagate through newsreels. Moreover, there were newsreels of historical incidents. The Great Wall Studio and Youlian Film Studio (Youlian yingpian gongsi 友聯影片公司 ), respectively, produced The City Assembly in Shanghai on May 30 (Shanghai wusa shimin dahui 上海五卅市民大會 ) and The May 30th Trend in Shanghai (Wusa huchao 五卅滬潮 ) in relation to the May Thirtieth Movement which occurred in 1925. The latter production — whose subtitles were written by Xu Bibo — was supervised

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by Chen Jianran, and filmed by Liu Liangchan and Guo Chaowen. Just an hour after the incident broke out in Nanjing Road, Shanghai, the cameramen of the Youlian Film Studio hurried to the scene to film how demonstrators and protesters were murdered. Risking death, these cameramen succeeded in taking records of various scenes — such as the bodies of martyrs, students of the Tongji University marching with coffins, the blockage of Shanghai University, strikes, and British soldiers landing and protesting in Huangpu Tan. What is more, cameramen dressed up as medical staff to sneak into the hospital, and successfully videotaped the condition of the seriously injured. In a shot when a doctor was holding a justtaken-out bullet on his palm, the subtitle showed: “Alas! This is the bestowment

from the imperialists!” Apparently, the patriotism and anti-imperialism of the producers of the video were reflected. In the 1920s, approximately 20 studios had shot news documentaries to record the story of renowned figures, including: 67

•• Jinan Massacre (Jinan canan 濟南慘案 ) •• The Tragedy of Zhang Zuolin (Zhang zuolin canan 張作霖慘案 ) •• Sun Chuanfang ( 孫傳芳 ) •• Lu Xiangting ( 盧香亭 ) •• Wu Peifu ( 吳佩孚 ) •• Feng Yuxiang ( 馮玉祥 ) In 1925 and 1927, two videos — titled The Great Sailing and Chinese Civil Wars (Weida de hangxing yu zhongguo guonei zhanzheng 偉大的航行與中國國內 戰爭 ) and The Record of Shanghai 1927 (Shanghai jishi yijiuerqi 上海紀事 1927) — were filmed by Soviet cameramen in China. The former was composed of sections of 10-minute clips recorded in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, while the latter was an hour long film about Shanghai before and after the April 12 Incident. More importantly, the 1925 film was the first Soviet news documentary to be screened in Western Europe, thus it was significant in the sense that it enabled the world to get to know the situation of the anti-imperialist struggle in China as well as the revolutionary government in Guangzhou at that time. Undoubtedly, both of the two newsreels — other than being invaluable records of China and the national struggle — also conveyed a strong emotional sense through the visualization of the people’s opinions. Last but not least, the videos displayed the friendliness and sympathy of the Soviet Union towards the Chinese people and the revolutionary movement in China.

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10

Chapter

The CPC’s Journalism during the Chinese Civil War

A HISTORY OF Journalism IN CHINA VOLUME 4

Indeed, the Party’s journalism was on the edge of crumbling due to the failure of the first KMT–CPC cooperation during the National Revolution (1924–1927). At the moment when the regime of the KMT was officially established in 1927, it was declared that its rival was to be replaced — thus the CPC was coerced to carry out underground activities in order to rebuild its own journalistic network. As a result, Shanghai became the publication center of the Party where a number of official newspapers such as Bolshevik (Buershenweike 布爾什維克 ), Red Flag (Hongqi 紅旗 ), Red Flag Daily (Hongqi ribao 紅旗日報 ), Red Flag National Post (Hongqi guobao 紅旗國報 ), as well as common newspapers like The Shanghai Pao (Shanghai bao 上海報 ) were founded. In addition, revolutionary bodies in Shanghai published their own materials too. Other than publications, the Party also established the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Correspondents Association (Zhongguo gongnong tongxunshe 中 國 工 農 通 訊 社 ). At that time, the Party and revolutionary organs stealthily published newspapers and journals in areas ruled by the KMT. Due to the press control policy implemented by the KMT, the circumstances became more unfavorable to the development of Communist journalism. Moreover, affected by the emergence of the “leftist venturism” in the Party, the CPC had a hard time and suffered financial burdens, which hindered the publication of Communist materials in KMT-controlled areas. Therefore, leaders of the CPC directed the Party’s attention to rural areas — where the Red Army and the revolution base areas were born. Subsequently, these base areas created room for the reconstruction of the Party’s journalism. In the Central Revolutionary Base Area (Zhongyang genjude 中央根據地 ) in Jiangxi Province, the Red Chinese News Agency (Hongse zhonghua tongxunshe 紅色中華通訊社 ) and a bundle of publications including Red China (Hongse zhonghua 紅色中華 ), True Words of Youth (Qingnian shihua 青年實話 ), and Red Star News (Hongxing bao 紅星報 ) were founded. Meanwhile, in other base areas, divisions of the Red Army started some other materials. In between 1931 and 1934, war raged and there was a shortage of resources and the journalism industry learned valuable collective lessons during this period. By October 1934, as the Red Army withdrew from the base areas to start the Long March, earlier publications, accordingly, began to contract and close down. Once the Red Army arrived in Shanbei by October 1935, the Party resumed the publication of Red China as well as the operation of the Red Chinese News Agency. Afterwards, along with the coming of the second KMT–CPC cooperation in the face of the Japanese invasion, new changes took place in Yan’an, the hub of the Party’s journalism. Red China was renamed Xin Zhungxua Bao (Xinzhonghua bao 新中華報 ), literally the “New China Post,” the Red Chinese News Agency was

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renamed the Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua tongxunshe 新華通訊社 ), and a new weekly Liberation (Jiefang 解放 ) was started there. As marked by these changes,

the Party’s journalism was moving in a new direction.

With the center of focus shifted from cities to villages, publications of the CPC

were able to survive, and most importantly, the Party identified a new way out in rural areas. In the process, not only were the strengths and weaknesses reviewed, theories on operating Party newspapers were also developed.

The CPC’s Journalistic Business in KMT-Ruled Areas Reconstruction of Party publications after the failure of the National Revolution After the end of the National Revolution, the superiority of the Beiyang warlords could no longer be maintained since a new warlord had been developed in

Nanjing by Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the KMT, which aimed to get rid of its opponent and implement anti-CPC policies. Consequently, there were

terminations of Communist bodies and a considerable number of CPC members and revolutionists were arrested, not to mention the various Communist publications — which were closed, reorganized, or forced to voluntary suspend

publication. On the contrary, the Party and its publications, in reality, went from public to underground and continued to pave their way for revolution.

On August 7, 1927, the CPC called an urgent meeting in Hankou suggesting

that “organizations of the Party are to be conserved at all means, and they are not to be unearthed by the reactionary force. Strongly fortified yet ambitious privy

organs should be formed.”1 On August 21, notices were issued to encourage cadres

of different levels to put the essence of the meeting into practice, i.e. to regulate and strengthen the propagation of the Party, and to plan for the launch of internal and external publications. For internal publications, apart from the already existing

Central Communication (Zhongyang tongxun 中央通訊 ), provincial party committees as well as city committees and county committees of larger scale were required to publish their own internal materials. For external publications, The Guide Weekly (Xiangdao 嚮導 ) was scheduled to be resumed with the focus on political analysis and the length halved. Additionally, a brochure on theoretical articles was to be published. Provincial committees were strongly recommended to run small scale official newspapers — preferably dailies or materials published every two to three days — which would concentrate on propaganda. Qu Qiubai, one of the leaders of

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the CPC, was in charge of the reconstruction of Party newspapers.

Due to the emergence of new circumstances and the adjustment in goals, names

of the publications during the National Revolution were no longer adopted. Hence, instead of The Guide Weekly , the republished official newspaper of the Party was

named Bolshevik . For China Youth (Zhongguo qingnian 中國青年 ) — the official

publication of the China Youth League which was published in Shanghai — the name was first changed to Young Proletarian (Wuchan qingnian 無產青年 ), and

later to Lenin’s Youth (Liening qingnian 列寧青年 ). On the other hand, there were a handful of publications whose names remained unchanged. For instance, Chinese

Workers (Zhongguo gongren 中國工人 ), in spite of its suspension since July 1927, was resumed on December 1, 1927, using the same name. Starting from 1927, central organs such as the CPC, the China Youth League, and various labor unions gradually resumed publishing in Shanghai, where exceptionally good conditions for printing and delivery were created by a mixture of Eastern and Western culture as well as a large population. As the many recovering party organs and labor committees in the country regarded the resumption of publication a vital mission, accordingly, Communist publications appeared in more advantaged places such as Shanghai and Wuhan. Hence, Churning Dust (Feisha 飛 沙 ) and The Great River (Dajiang bao 大江報 ) were founded in the second half of 1927, and since 1928, publications began emerging in other regions. In medium and large cities, ample mimeographed and letterpress printed materials as well as handwritten wall newspapers were produced by CPCinfluenced parties including mass organizations, cultural groups, factories, and schools. By June 1928, the CPC decided that one or several “grey publications” were to be published. The aim of “grey publications” was to alienate readers from the influence of KMT. Therefore, these publications, designed to be neutral and objective, neither included party materials nor embedded a Communist tone in the content. In such a way, the manipulation of the CPC would not be uncovered. As a result, “grey publications” were published by Communist groups in places such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangzhou.2 By the end of the 20th century, a network of CPC publications — comprised of central and regional materials, mainly periodicals — had been established.

CPC publications in Shanghai After the unsuccessful National Revolution, the publication center of CPC

materials was positioned in Shanghai, where newspapers and journals of various

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sized revolutionary bodies were published.3 Additionally, there were mimeo newspapers and wall newspapers produced by factories and schools. In order to further propagate the proletarian revolution in the country, on October 22, 1927, the Central Committee of the CPC endorsed the publication of an official journal named Bolshevik , suggesting that the journal would act as “a pointer towards the new direction of revolution — to struggle against imperialism, warlords, the gentry, and bourgeoisie…[and as] the vanguard of the workers’ and peasants’ revolution.” Qu Qiubai, Luo Yinong, Deng Zhongxia, Wang Ruofei, and Zheng Chaolin were assigned to form the editorial board under the leadership of Qu Qiubai.4 Briefly, the content of Bolshevik consisted of commentaries on internal and external circumstances as well as political and economic issues. Specifically, aside from publishing documents and materials of the Central Committee and Communist International, there were columns such as “Local Communication,” “Voice of Readers,” and “Small Weapon.” Additionally, the journal was a platform to commemorate revolutionary martyrs — the first section of the first issue was titled “Mourn for Zhao Shiyan, Chen Yannian and other Comrades Killed by the KMT,” and a column “Our Descendants” was published from the 11th to 27th issues. Originally a weekly, Bolshevik had been transformed into a semimonthly, a monthly, and a bimonthly publication with a counterfeit cover, so that investigation from the KMT could be avoided. The first volume (dated from October 1927 to October 1928) was printed in sixteenmo. Since the first issue of the second volume published on November 1, 1928, the journal was printed in thirty-twomo. The last identified issue was the first issue of the fifth volume dated July 1932. On November 20, 1928, another Party journal Red Flag was founded. Headed by the Central Propaganda Department of the CPC, Red Flag was initially a weekly, and was published every three days after June 19, 1929. The journal had been published in different sizes — sixteenmo, thirty-twomo, and also an octavo single page. In terms of content, Red Flag was less linked with revolutionary activities and focused on reviewing and commenting on national issues, so as to motivate the readers to take part in politics. Later on, in order to exert its guiding function, the majority of the content was occupied by documents and files, making the publication dry and boring. Starting from the 40th issue, Red Flag was positioned as a “political publication of the country” which would lead the revolution while providing opinions on the changing political scene. With the target expanded to the entire country, the journal, unlike previous issues, was no

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longer merely concerned with Shanghai. The Central Committee also assigned persons in charge of Regional Committees to be the special correspondents of Red Flag . In August 1930, the Central Committee announced the idea of combining The Shanghai Pao with Red Flag to form the Red Flag Daily , which was officially launched on August 15, 1930. In its founding article titled “Our Mission,” it was written that “the mission of the newspaper is not just to publish daily political news of the country or to recap revolutionary activities, but also to proclaim viewpoints and advocacies of the Party over problems which arose during revolutions in accordance with the principle of Marxism–Leninism.” On the right hand side of the page, there were two mottos on the sides of the masthead — “The Great Union of the Proletarian Class and Oppressed Races in the World!” on the left, and “The Official Newspaper of the Central Committee of the CPC” on the right. Since February 14, 1931, or the 162nd issue, the right motto was rewritten as “The Official Newspaper of the CPC and Jiangsu Provincial Committee.” For the content, other common elements such as commentaries and Party documents, letters from revolutionary base areas and messages from Moscow and Europe were also included. Besides, there was a weekly commentary which provided a systematic account of domestic and foreign trends. Aside from the supplement Red Flag Club (Hongqi julebu 紅旗俱樂部 ), a separate supplement Genuine Words (Shihua 實話 ) was published on October 30, 1930. It was a quarto in single page attached to the Red Flag Daily and published every five days. Primarily, the independent supplement was about the Party and revolutionary articles. Around the first three years of the Ten Years Civil War (1927–1937), the still underground CPC provided elaborations on policies and conducted the work of the Party by delivering notices to Party organs at different levels. By early 1931, however, the Central Committee decided to alter this practice — commentaries in Party newspapers, instead of notices, would represent the CPC Central Politburo when carrying out political analysis and offer strategic opinions. With regard to important instructions and guidelines, resolutions would be made to pass on the messages. Therefore, Party newspapers became the means to direct internal works and news of the struggle. On January 27, 1931, the Central Politburo endorsed the Resolution on Party Newspapers , clearly delineating the nature of the four official publications — the Red Flag Daily would be the official newspaper of the Central Committee, Genuine Words would be the official economic and political publication, Bolshevik would be the official theoretical publication, and Construction of the CPC would be the official publication on Party structural issues. Each publication was to be under one chief editor, and a Central

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Committee on Party Newspapers would be formed by the four chief editors. At the same time, the Central Newspaper Committee of the CPC would be founded to undertake the responsibility of directing Party newspapers. Moreover, an internal publication, Propagandist (Xuanchuanzhe 宣傳者 ) was published on February 2, 1931, by the Central Propaganda Department for its officials. Even though the Party was facing challenges from the KMT, a network of Party newspapers was still reconstructed. However, owing to the “leftist adventurism” within the Party, particularly Wang Ming’s “adventurist” leadership after January 1931, the network was shattered. By January 1933, when the Provisional Central Committee of the CPC was forced to flee from Shanghai to the Central Revolutionary Base Area, the only CPC publication remaining in Shanghai was the Red Flag Weekly (Hongqi zhoubao 紅旗週報 ), which was started on March 9, 1931, after the suspension of the Red Flag Daily . Although its title, cover, and even size were frequently amended, its publication still fell behind schedule — for 5 months at the longest stretch. The Red Flag Weekly ceased publication in March 1934. After the KMT launched a coup d’état in Wuhan on July 15, 1927, the printing of China Youth was secretly conducted in Shanghai until it was terminated in October. On November 7, the material was resumed in the name of Young Proletarian , but the publication was soon stopped. At present, only five issues have been found. On October 22, 1928, again, the publication, which was renamed Lenin’s Youth , was republished with Lu Dingyi as the chief editor. Similar to previous publications of the CPC, counterfeit covers were used. On February 20, 1929, the Central Standing Committee of the China Youth League proposed the Resolution on the Function of Newspapers of the League (Tuanbao gongzuo jueyian 團報工作決議案 ), suggesting that the main function of Lenin’s Youth was to publicize the assertions of the league, as well as the league’s standpoints and opinions over various youth problems and political issues. Furthermore, Lenin’s Youth was to gather youngsters under the influence of the league. Likewise, once “leftist adventurism” began to affect the ruling power of the league, the influence of the league’s publications quickly abated. Ultimately, due to the oppression from the KMT, these materials could not be sustained. The publication of Lenin’s Youth prevailed until the first half of 1932, and the identified final publication was the third issue of the fifth volume, which was published on May 10, 1932. Besides, with reference to documents of the China Youth League, there was a two-year long underground publication of Young Vanguard (Shaonian xianfeng 少年先鋒 ), but the copies of it were not found. There were two other

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short-lived internal publications — Communication of the League (Tuanzhongyang tongxun 團中央通訊 ) and Studying (Xuexi 學習 ). Communication of the League was founded on March 10, 1929, and the last existing copy was the sixth issue published on June 30, 1930, but the exact date of suspension was unknown. For Studying , it was an internal educational publication, and the only existing copy was the first issue published on May 10, 1929. The All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) published some material as well. On February 1, 1929, after the republication of Chinese Workers , Worker’s Handbook (Gongren baojian 工人寶鑒 ) was published as a platform to share articles on the labor movement. Only two copies of the handbook were discovered. On February 15, 1930, the secretariat of the federation published the monthly ACFTU Communication for the cadres of the federation, but only five issues were discovered. Some industrial unions started their publications too. For instance, Red Seamen (Chise haiyuan 赤色海員 ) was started by the National Seamen’s Federation on September 7, 1930. At that time, revolutionary bodies also started their publications. For example, in December 1930, the National Benefit Society for China’s Revolution started the Sea Light Post (Haiguang bao 海 光 報 ), a quarto which was published every two days at first, and became a daily later on. At present, the last issue was the 28th issue published on February 8, 1931. The Chinese Soviet Weekly (Zhongguo suweiai zhoubao 中國蘇維埃週報 ) was founded by the Central Preparatory Committee of the National Soviet People’s Delegates Conference and published in Shanghai. Up to now, only the issue published on August 15, 1930, was found. Comparatively, CPC and revolutionary organizations, inclusive of certain bodies in Jiangsu Province and the Shanghai Special Municipal, published more journals and newspapers. Factories and schools also founded tabloids, but their publication was unstable, so the quantity was limited. Table 10.1 Examples of publications of CPC and revolutionary organizations Founder

Name of Publication

Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the CPC

Majority (Duoshu 多數 ), started on September 10, 1928 Mass Daily (Qunzhong ribao 群眾日報 ), started in 1931

Zhejiang Provincial of the China Youth League

True for Youth (Shaonian zhenli bao 少年真理報 ) Transition (Zhuanbian 轉變 ) Vanguard (Xianfeng 先鋒 )

Shanghai Executive Committee of the China Youth League

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(Cont'd) Founder

Shanghai Labor Union

Name of Publication

Shanghai Young Workers (Shanghai qinggong 上海青工 ) Gungrhen Bao (Gongren bao 工人報 ), literally Worker Post Telephone Worker (Dianhua gongren 電話工人 )

The Shanghai Pao Among publications of the CPC, The Shanghai Pao , described as “the best local

newspaper in the country,”5 was the most distinctive one. Founded on April

17, 1929, and closed on August 14, 1930, the newspaper was originally called

Vernacular Daily (Baihua ribao 白話日報 ), and was renamed The Shanghai Pao on May 19. Owing to censorship and tracing from the KMT, the publication, aside from being printed in different sizes, also appeared under a number of different names, such as Seaborne Daily (Haishang ribao 海上日報 ), Shanghai River Daily (Hujiang ribao 滬江日報 ), Sound of the Sky (Tiansheng 天聲 ) and Morning Light (Chenguang 晨光 ). Li Qiushi and Xie Dangzai were members of the editorial team. Basically, the mission of The Shanghai Pao , which was targeted at workers, was to report and support the labor movement in China. Ever since it was published, the newspaper disclosed how workers had been suppressed by a member of the Standing Committee of the Sixth District Party Committee of the KMT, and how workers had subsequently resisted him. The sale of The Shanghai Pao was healthy, as evidenced by the fact that 500 copies were sold out in a factory within one single day. For those who failed to get a copy, they voluntarily traveled to the concession area to purchase the newspaper. In addition, The Shanghai Pao also reported the demands of railway workers — to justly settle the issue of pensions. While the KMT government required the people to deposit their pensions in the bank, The Shanghai Pao proposed “stuffing the pensions into our own pockets.” Once the newspaper was published, this line became the motto of the workers’ struggle. The KMT government, as a result, had no choice but to implement compromising measures — increasing housing allowance for instance — so as to alleviate the agitation of the laborers. Struggles covered by The Shanghai Pao included post officers requesting pay rises and opposing relocation, tram workers demanding subsidies for rice prices, and workers of the secondhand clothes industry and pharmacy going on strike. Hence, the newspaper soon gained support from laborers and its reputation grew. Certainly, the content of The Shanghai Pao was not confined to the labor movement. It also presented stories on the everyday lives of workers, and included commentaries on the international political scene as well as introductions

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on the Soviet Union and the conditions of labor movements around the globe. Additionally, a supplement, which took up a quarter to one-third of the length of the newspaper, was designed for workers. At the beginning, only literary works, word games, and drawings were included, and short theoretical articles and material on politics was published. As there were changes in the name of the newspaper, there were also a number of variations of the supplement’s name — Little Vernacular (Xiaobaihua 小白話 ), Aftertaste (Yuwei 餘味 ), Vaudeville (Zashuachang 雜耍場 ), and Club on the Sea (Haishang julebu 海上俱樂部 ). A color-printed pictorial supplement of The Shanghai Pao was also published. Featuring plain language, The Shanghai Pao was easy to understand. The editorial team strived to meet the needs of the readers from verbal expressions to the layout design. Not only were manuscripts from correspondents and readers chosen, ready materials in Chinese and foreign languages from other publications and news agencies were also selected. Regarding these external materials, the editors of The Shanghai Pao were careful in modifying and polishing the content, especially in rewriting the classical Chinese into baihua , or vernacular Chinese. Overall, The Shanghai Pao stuck to the principle of being dependent on workers and revolutionary bodies. At the time of foundation, the newspaper was publicly circulated and had a mailing address, where more than 50 letters were sent by readers per day. Months later, although the newspaper went underground, it still insisted on nurturing correspondents among workers. Table 10. 2 Composition of the correspondents of The Shanghai Pao Period April–December 1929 May 1929–April 1930

Factory workers

Villager

Student

Reporter

Total

61

1

1

8

0

62

53

13

2

77

Despite the success, the printing and distribution of The Shanghai Pao faced difficulties. Soon after the newspaper office was founded, it was sealed up by the KMT government. Not only were the facilities confiscated, one of the staff was arrested and sentenced to prison for three years. Even if the publication of the newspaper went underground, challenges still arose. Instead of relying upon a single publisher, alternate printing houses were used and the publication of The Shanghai Pao was switched between them every few days. Occasionally, no firm was willing to print the newspaper in spite of the decent offer. There were even instances of printing houses being closed and owners being arrested.

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In the beginning, copies of The Shanghai Pao were delivered to news vendors. In an event commemorating the May Thirtieth Movement, it was reported that 8,000 copies were sold out within five hours. This extraordinary phenomenon caught the attention of the KMT government, who consequently mobilized policemen to arrest the vendors and confiscate the newspapers. Thus, vendors selling The Shanghai Pao were imprisoned, fined, or even wanted by the authorities. Hence, underground publication was the only choice left for the newspaper to survive. Besides, a network of distribution was developed and newsboys were specially employed. When the newspaper was open for orders, more than 800 subscriptions were reported within a week, which was out of the expectation of the editors. Heartened by the support from readers, the founders of The Shanghai Pao set up distribution points in various regions to deliver copies of the newspaper to the hands of readers. Nonetheless, under the surveillance of the KMT government, the publication of the newspaper, though already underground, was confined to a very small area. The Shanghai Pao was still very much challenged — sometimes it could not get printed; sometimes the printed copies could not be distributed; and sometimes, members of the staff were beaten or arrested. In April 1930, the First Year Anniversary Commemorative Brochure of The Shanghai Pao (Shanghai bao zhounian jiniance 上海報週年紀念冊 ) was published and was given to the correspondents. The 16 articles and congratulatory speeches in the brochure summed up the work of The Shanghai Pao over the previous year, while introducing the revolutionary newspapers at that time, as well as sharing the experience in running “factory tabloids” and how worker and peasant correspondents carried out their duties. As reflected by an employee of The Shanghai Pao , “we should glorify the workers, who not only maintained but also cultivated the newspaper. In the meantime, they educated us — the inexperienced scholars.” This commemorative brochure offered fascinating material for the study of theories and practice of CPC publications.

Underground CPC publications in KMT-controlled areas While the CPC was undergoing reconstruction, a bunch of revolutionary materials — consisting of irregularly published mimeograph tabloids as well as lead letterpress printed newspapers and materials — were secretly published in KMT-governed areas. In cities such as Wuhan and Guangzhou, where the influence of the CPC was prominent, immense underground publication activities were underway.

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In Wuhan, after Wang Jingwei’s split from the CPC on July 15, 1927, the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee, as well as the regional party organizations in Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, shifted to covert operations. Thus, the tabloid Changjiang ( 長江 ) — later renamed River (Dajiang 大江 ) — was published by the Provincial Committee with the position of chief editor taken up by Xiang Jingyu, a distinguished female journalist. In 1927 and 1928, publication of River was suspended but then resumed on February 7, 1928, as a mimeo publication and Xiang Jiangyu was still Chief Editor. The first issue of the republished version was titled the River Special Issue , and it included an article written by Xiang to commemorate those who died in the February Seventh Strike (1923). Basically, River contained commentaries on politics and news reports on the peasants’ and workers’ movements. Needless to say, it was a tool to propagate the revolutionary ideas of the Party as well. There were also commentaries and popular poems composed by Xiang, as Cai Hesen once wrote: “Jingyu composed a number of essays, which could easily be found in River .”6 After Xiang was arrested on March 20, 1928, River was consequently closed. On May 1, Xiang died in a police shooting. Around 1929, newspapers such as Chill (Leng bao 冷報 ), Collision (Peng bao 碰報 ), and Pointed (Xi bao 犀報 ) were started by the District Committee of Wuyang County, a regional Party organ in Wuhan. Yet, owing to the influence of “leftist adventurism” as mentioned, the existence of these newspapers was rather transient. In November 1927, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPC stealthily started a semiweekly Red Flag , a four-page sixteenmo tabloid, to propagate and comment on the revolutionary movements in Guangdong. On December 11 of the same year, the Guangzhou Uprising broke out, and the semiweekly was renamed the Red Flag Daily , which became the official newspaper of the Guangzhou Commune. Just hours after the start of that incident, some 250,000 copies of the Red Flag Daily were printed and distributed across the streets and alleys in the city.7 Three days later, the uprising ended in failure and the daily came to an end. According to a survey published in First Year Anniversary Commemorative Brochure of the Shanghai Pao , up to 1930, there were 12 revolutionary newspapers published in KMT-controlled areas. Note that these newspapers were only the ones discovered by the staff of Shanghai Pao , together with the unlisted literary publications and tabloids of factories and schools; the actual quantity of revolutionary publications was likely greater in other regions of the country.

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Table 10.3 Revolutionary publications up to 1930 Location Tianjin

Northern China

Harbin

Zhengzhou Hubei

Name of publication

Tianjin Post (Tianjin bao 天津報 )

Northern Red Flag (Beifang hongqi 北方紅旗 ) Proletariat (Wuchanzhe 無產者 ) Vernacular Journal (Baihua bao 白話報 )

For the Workers and Peasants (Gongnong xunkan 工農旬刊 ) Henan Post (Henan bao 河南報 )

Wuhan Tabloid (Wuhan xiaobao 武漢小報 ) Hubei Red Flag (Hubei hongqi 湖北紅旗 )

Fuzhou Workers (Fuzhou gongren 福州工人 )

Hong Kong

Xiamen Workers (Xiameng gongren 廈門工人 )

Hong Kong Journal (Xianggang xiaoribao 香港小日報 ) Hong Kong Weekly (Xianggang zhoukan 香港週刊 )

Category of publication —* Weekly Periodical Periodical —* Semiweekly Semiweekly —* Weekly Semiweekly Daily Weekly

* Category of publication unknown. By 1930, even though Communist publications were intermittently produced,

the quantity was very limited and they could hardly be maintained. On March 25, 1932, the official material of the Hebei Provincial Committee of the CPC Northern

Red Flag was resumed. It contained an abundant amount of documents of the CPC and the Provincial Committee as well as decrees issued by the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic. The publication also openly encouraged workers and peasants to donate as well as to initiate struggles in support of the Red Army and the regime of the CPC base area. As a result, despite the use of a fake cover, Northern Red Flag , was barely publishable in the face of oppression, and ultimately, its publication was only maintained for a year. On July 10, 1932, the Hebei Provincial Committee of the China Youth League founded Northern Lenin’s Youth (Beifang liening qingnian 北方列寧青年 ) —

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a mimeo periodical comprising Communist documents and speeches. Similar to Northern Red Flag , the periodical also launched a donation campaign whose targets were youngsters and members of the China Youth League in Hebei. Considering its Communist nature, Northern Lenin’s Youth could not be extensively distributed, so only four out of the several published issues were discovered. Among these issues, the second and third ones formed a combined issue, and the estimated publication time of the fourth issue was September 1932. Certainly, there were other Communist publications. For instance, a mimeo weekly Road of the Workers (Gongren zhi lu 工人之路 ) was published by the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC on March 28, 1932, yet only one issue was published. Other short-lived publications included Southern Red Flag (Nanfang hongqi 南方紅旗 ) in Guangdong, Manchurian Red Flag (Manzhou hongqi 滿州紅旗 ) in Liaoning, and Northwest Truth (Xibei zhenbao 西北 真報 ) in Shaanxi.

Activities of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Correspondents Associations During the ten years of civil war, the CPC, in addition to founding underground publications, also ran certain news agencies. The tasks of the agencies were to disseminate revolutionary messages and to promote the political ideology of the CPC against the oppressive policies implemented by the KMT. Normally, these news agencies were small in scale and had no fixed addresses. Moreover, the many tasks such as interviewing, editing, printing, and even delivery were taken up just by a few members. Among these news agencies, the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Correspondents Association (CWPCA) was a more prominent and influential example. In 1931, the Chinese Workers’ Correspondents Association (CWCA), the predecessor of the CWPCA, was founded in Shanghai. A year later, the association was renamed CWPCA and was put under the direct control of the Central Propaganda Department of the CPC. Reporters of the association once used the name “Times Correspondents Association” for external activities. The first meeting of the association — covertly held in Ximo Road (now known as Shanxi Bei Road) in Shanghai — was attended by Li Yimang, the representative of the Central Propaganda Department, as well as Lin Dianyan, Tong Woyu, Zhu Ming, and Feng Da, who all subsequently became the founders of the association. Early on, Lin Dianyan was in charge, and leadership duties were alternately performed by Zhu Jingwo, Dong Weijian, and Li Shaoshi later on. Communist members such

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as Pan Qizhi and Liao Mengxing were also involved in the association's work. Aside from doing interviews and writing news reports, they were engaged in performing translations as well. The CWPCA distributed bilingual (mainly English) news dispatches every ten days or once a week which consisted of approximately 3,000–4,000 characters. For Chinese dispatches, seven or eight handwritten copies were made each time, and they were secretively sent to Party newspapers and journals in the KMTcontrolled areas. For English dispatches, some 80 typewritten copies were made each time, and they were mailed to domestic and foreign progressive publications. Consisting of correspondence and articles, the news dispatches of the association served no one but the journalistic network of the CPC. In terms of content, the news dispatches could be categorized as follows: •• Introduction of CPC’s policies and the progress of Party construction in Jiangxi •• News reports on the struggles launched by the Red Army, workers, and peasants in revolutionary base areas •• Updates of workers’ movements in the country

•• The anti-Japanese and national salvation movement following the Manchurian Incident •• Revelation of the anti-Communist policies of the KMT •• Commentaries with analysis of various ideas in society Backed by renowned authors including Ying Xiuren, Ding Ling, and Hong Shen, the CWPCA received considerable assistance in editing, translation, and protection. For example, Ding Ling’s place was once the usual meeting venue of the association. Other than renowned writers, the CWPCA was closely connected with several progressive foreign writers and reporters who lived in Shanghai, including the American female writer Agnes Smedley, Japanese leftist reporter Ozaki Hotsumi, and Harold Isaacs, the person in charge of a bilingual publication named China Forum (Zhongguo luntan 中國論壇 ). In their publications and articles on revolution in China, dispatches of the association were abundantly cited. Some also clearly marked that the materials were from the CWPCA. Furthermore, foreigners contributed in external circulation via their relationships with foreign progressive publications. Hence, CWPCA's English dispatches could be mailed abroad, which helped spread the news of the Chinese revolution around the world. As the KMT strengthened its oppressive measures, the CWPCA was increasingly challenged. In 1935, the delivery of news dispatches was forced to

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stop due to the arrest of the persons in charge of the news agency. In spite of its temporal presence, the association did make an indelible contribution to the revolutionary propaganda in China, particularly in external propagation.

Journalism in Revolutionary Base Areas The emergence of publications in revolutionary base areas After the fruitless National Revolution, the CPC was determined to build up

the Red Army and to develop base areas in rural areas, as well as to establish an independent regime of workers and peasants by armed force, so as to carry

out the revolutionary activities of the party. When the revolutionary base areas were first founded, the Red Army was devoted to tasks including equipping the

masses, eliminating the reactionary forces, and establishing a new regime. As the Party aimed to motivate the masses to take part in these tasks, propagation became very important.

However, the launching of publications in base areas was not as easy as

expected.

On most occasions, the base areas were situated in remote rural areas at

the junctions of several provinces, where the economy and culture were utterly backward. Because of the barriers set by the KMT, these rural areas were short

of labor and resources. Hence, in the beginning, the Red Army could only carry

out propagation through simple methods — slogans, leaflets, notices, wall posts, bulletins, etc. These approaches were widely used in the Jinggang Mountains, where the first revolutionary base area of the CPC was established.

As soon as the Red Army traveled to a new region, copies of slogans were

written by members of the propagation team. Initially, paper was used, but

considering its durability and portability, other mediums such as walls, planks, steles, and slates were used instead. Later on, the propagation team simply used raw materials, such as bamboo skin and thatch and lime water for ink. Besides, a “floating” promotional approach was invented. After a slogan was written on a

piece of bamboo or wood chip, a layer of Tung oil was applied to the chip, which would then be put on the water’s surface and the chip would continue to float. Afterwards, lithographic machines were used to produce slogans after the capture

of Yongxin County. When the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army School

was founded, the previous slogans were compiled into a book titled Anthology of Revolutionary Slogans (Geming biaoyu ji 革命標語集 ).

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For policies and decisions of the CPC and Red Army, they were mostly announced through notices, in which the texts were generally in four or six Chinese characters. These rhyming and widely read notices constituted a propagation method which fit the social condition in China at that time. One remarkable illustration was the Notice of the Headquarters of the Fourth Army of the Red Army (Hongsijun silingbu buhao 紅四軍司令部佈告 ), which was drafted by Mao Zedong in January 1929. Another frequently adopted propagation method was “wall papers.” At first, wall papers were managed by military committees of a company, and the content, which covered politics and everyday issues, was mainly written by soldiers. Later on, the troops and columns of the Red Army founded The News Bulletin on Current Affairs (Shishi jianbao 時事簡報 ) which consisted of domestic and international political news, updates on the mass struggles in guerrilla areas and on the work of the Red Army. This bulletin was produced once a week, written on broadsheets. Subsequently, the Red Army and local authorities extensively and regularly produced this bulletin, and copies were widely posted in base areas. In March 1931, Mao Zedong, the Director of the General Political Department of the Central Military Commission of the CPC, endorsed a common order titled The Popularization of The News Bulletin on Current Affairs (Pubiandi juban shishi jianbao 普遍地舉辦〈時事簡報〉), which was attached with a pamphlet titled How to Run the Bulletin (Zeyang ban shishi jianbao 怎麼辦〈時事簡報〉). According to the pamphlet, the Red Army and local regimes established by the workers and peasants were required to start these handwritten large “wall papers,” which were regarded as “crucial weapon[s] boosting the fighting spirit of the masses in Soviet areas as well as destructing the conservative ideas of the masses.”8 Instead of articles or essays, The News Bulletin on Current Affairs only published local and foreign news stories, proving that news stories were much favored by the base areas at that time. However, as the base areas were isolated from outer communication, out-of-town newspapers could not be obtained, which severely blocked the flow of external information. In order to understand the current situation and acquire more information, leaders of the Red Army deployed soldiers to gather newspapers in nearby towns. Whenever a battle was over, newspapers came first among other war trophies. Occasionally, conflicts broke out as a result of newspaper collection. An aged solider of the Red Army recalled: “Once the newspapers fell into his hands, Mao started rewriting the content into brief news pieces. After writing on wax paper and doing proofreading, he ordered others to produce copies and distribute them. Hence, we

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comrades got to know how the political situation changed, so that we were not out of any information.”9 Even though slogans, leaflets, notices, “wall papers,” and bulletins could not be categorized as publications, they were still significant propagation tools for the Red Army. Initially, when the base areas were first constructed, the Red Army started several newspapers targeted at workers and peasants after the capture of a city. These newspapers were generally products of mimeograph and lithography, and some were letterpress printed. Table 10.4 Newspapers founded by branches of the Red Army Branch

Red Army Fifth Army Red Army Seventh Army Red Army Eighth Army Red Army Third Army Group

Name of newspaper

Publication time

Yougyangh Yizbau (Youjiang ribao 右江日報 )*

November 1929

Worker-Peasant Army (Gongnongbing 工農兵 )

Worker-Peasant Army Post (Gongnongbing bao 工農兵報 ) Red Army Daily (Hongjung ribao 紅軍日報 )

September 1929

February 1930 July 1930

* The only newspaper of the Red Army started after the Baise Uprising. Founded on July 29, 1930, and soon suspended on August 4, the Red Army Daily was the first and only letterpress printed broadsheet newspaper of the Red Army. In fact, the newspaper was printed with facilities obtained from the KMT. After the Red Army Third Army Group, led by Peng Dehuai, captured Changsha on July 28, 1930, the facilities like offices and printing houses, and resources like paper of the KMT’s Citizen Daily (Guomin ribao 國民日報 ) were snatched by the Red Army. On the following day, the Red Army Daily was published in the name of the General Political Department of the Red Army Third Army Group. In the end, a total of six issues were published since the publication was stopped as a result of the Army Group’s withdrawal from Changsha on August 5. With workers, peasants, and the masses as the target audience, this informative and resourceful newspaper published the Ten Major Platforms (Shida zhenggang 十大政綱 ) and

Land Policy (Tudi zhenggang 土 地 政 綱 ) as well as a comprehensive supplement titled “Red Army.” With the failure of the National Revolution, more than 100 armed uprisings occurred in the country up until the end of 1928. For a time, some workers and

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peasants were able to establish their regimes and start their publications, which were widely supported.

Table 10.5 Publications started by workers and peasants Region

Publication

Pingjiang County, Hunan

Soviet (Suweiai 蘇維埃 )

Guangzhou

Red Flag Daily (Hongqi ribao 紅旗日報 )

Liuyang City, Hunan Shanwei

Huiyang District, Guangdong Western Fujian

Huang’an County, Hubei (known as Hong’an County now)

New Liuyang (Xin liyang 新瀏陽 )

Path of the Masses (Qunzhong zhi lu 群眾之路 ) Red Post (Hong bao 紅報 )

Revolutionary Tabloid (Geming xiaobao 革命小報 ) Blaze (Liehuo 烈火 ) Red Tide (Chichao 赤潮 ) Young Vanguard (Shaonian xianfeng 少年先峰 ) Masses (Qunzhong 群眾 )

Macheng City, Hubei

Battle (Zhandou 戰鬥 )

Eastern Hubei

International (Yingtenaxiongnaier 英特納雄耐爾 )

Xiaogan City, Hubei

Firing Line (Huoxian 火線 )

Red China and the Red Chinese News Agency The CPC established a press organization in the Central Base Area, which was formed by Red China , the official newspaper, and the Red Chinese News Agency (RCNA), the official news agency — both of which were located in Ruijin, Jiangxi. The foundation of the RCNA was indeed closely related to the construction and expansion of the wireless facilities of the Red Army. On January 3, 1931, the Red Army clinched the victory of the First Encirclement Campaign, and successfully seized two radio receptors and one transmitter owned by the KMT. Three days later, the Wireless Radio Team of the Red Army was established in Xiaobu City, Ningdou County of Jiangxi. With its leader and staff previously working in KMT’s radio stations, the team was responsible for receiving news telegrams sent by the Central News Agency as well as intercepting the internal messages and military information of the KMT for the ruling bodies to refer to. On January 10, the team started a training course on the use of wireless radio. Subsequently, owing to the Red Army’s success in the Second (May 30) and Third Encirclement Campaigns (September 15), additional telecommunications equipment was acquired, which laid a basis for the birth of the RCNA.

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In the First National Soviet People’s Delegates Conference convened in Ruijin on November 7, 1931, it was announced that the RCNA be founded along with the establishment of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic. The appearance of the RCNA — the official news agency of the provisional government — marked an advancement of journalism in the Central Base Area. The press releases of the RCNA were drafted by members of Red China . After scripts of the newspaper were processed, reviews about victories of the Red Army delivered by the Central Revolutionary Military Commission as well as reports of economic construction in the Chinese Soviet Republic written by different departments were compiled and summarized into telegraphic dispatches of 2,000 words or so, which were issued on a daily basis. As no radio station was exclusively used by the RCNA, the agency at first had to rely upon the radio transmitters of the provisional government, and later those of the Central Military Commission. By early 1933, the Military Commission allocated a radio station to the RCNA. Hence, a specialized news radio channel headed by Luo Yuexia and operated by only two people was set up in March. The administration of the radio was under the control of the Central Military Commission, while the management of business was handled by the RCNA. The call sign of the radio was CSR, the abbreviation of Chinese Soviet Radio. Afterwards, the call sign was adopted by the Xinhua News Agency until September 1956, when facsimile machines capable of delivering Chinese news reports were adopted. The first broadcast of the RCNA dealt with the news of the commencement of the First National Soviet People’s Delegates Conference as well as the telegrams and documents of the conference. In addition to spreading news reports, the radio station compiled domestic and foreign news stories into an internal publication called Radio Materials (Wuxiandian cailiao 無線電材料 ). The telegraphic dispatches of the RCNA could reach nearly every corner of the country. Party organizations in base areas such as the E-Yu-Wan Region, Sichuan, and Shaanxi, as well as underground bodies in KMT-controlled areas, like the Chinese Communist Team in Shanghai, had received the dispatches. These dispatches were published as well. In Shanghai, the secretively published Communist Fighting (Zhengdou 鬥爭 ) and publications in base areas also published news stories disseminated by the RCNA. The underground CPC organization in Shanghai even retransmitted the dispatches to overseas places. As a result, on May 1, 1934, even a New York newspaper, The Chinese Vanguard (Xianfeng bao 先鋒報 ) published the news about the Red Army’s capture of Guihua City and Yong’an City

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and the army’s acquisition of eight rifles and ten canons. Since the Long March began on October 16, 1934, the broadcasting of the RCNA was terminated, but foreign news dispatches were still being collected. Founded on December 11, 1931, Red China , the official publication of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic, was at first a weekly publication. The four Chinese characters of the masthead of Red China were the work of early Chinese revolutionist Zhou Yili, and by August 1, 1934, they were switched to the artistic calligraphy written by Huang Yaguang, a Communist member who later designed the banknote of the Chinese Soviet Republic. Since the 50th issue dated February 10, 1933, Red China became a joint official publication of the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area of the CPC, the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic, the ACFTU, and the China Youth League. It was also turned into a semiweekly, and was subsequently published once in two days since the 148th issue. A letterpress printed quarto, Red China ran from between two to ten pages in length but usually averaged between four to eight pages. Since the 72nd issue, an irregularly published literary supplement “Roaring Flame” was founded. The first chief editor of Red China — which hit a peak publication rate of 40,000 copies — was Zhou Yili, who later became too sick to continue with this position. Hence, the newspaper was managed by a number of people, including Xiang Ying, Wang Guanlan, Yang Shangkun, Liang Baitai, Li Yimang, Sha Kefu, Xie Ranzhi, Qu Qiubai, Ren Zhibin, and Xu Mingzheng. Even though the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic had been established prior to the publishing of Red China , the many resolutions made by the Party and government could not be forwarded to the people, merely because of the absence of an official publication. While the Red Army was striving to crumble the Third Encirclement Campaign started by the KMT, the Central Base Area had been broadened to encompass more than 20 counties. Yet at this time, the KMT was plotting to begin the Fourth Encirclement Campaign, hence the consolidation of the Soviet regime was seen as a pressing need. Concurrently, Japan launched the Manchurian Incident and violated the territorial sovereignty of China, but in response, the KMT government adopted a compromising attitude and proposed a reactionary measure — “to first preserve domestic peace and then resist foreign invasion.” Under such a perplexing circumstance, Red China was started to publish plentiful notices issued by the Provisional Government as well as the speeches delivered by leaders of the Party and government. Therefore, the masses residing in the Chinese Soviet Republic

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could understand the policies and guidelines of the Party. Besides, as success of

the Red Army was extensively reported in Red China , the people were also likely

to join and thus support the Red Army.

With a mission to reinforce regional Soviet construction, Red China

highlighted the leadership of the Central government by including serial articles

and elaborating on the significance of building up a regime. Furthermore, news of the establishment of Soviet areas and experiences in the founding of the Soviet areas in China were shared with readers.

Concerning Japanese imperialism, Red China uncovered the invasive actions

of Japan. There was also criticism against the KMT and its reactionary policies.

As an official publication, Red China promulgated the Party’s proposition against Japanese invasion — to unite the people to form an anti-Japanese front. Anti-

Japanese armed struggles in the Northeast and the national salvation movement were reported in Red China as well.

In the hopes of making the newspaper distinctive so as to reach the desired

propagation outcome, a variety of columns were used in Red China including: •• The Editorial •• Major News

•• Highlight Dispatches

•• Construction of Red Regions

•• News of the Central Base Area •• Life of the CPC

•• Communication for the Red Fighters

•• Communication for Workers and Peasants •• Little Red Dictionary •• Commandos

•• Glorified Red Plates Catering to the educational and cultural standards of the people in the Soviet

area, Red China made relevant modifications to the content and published abundant picture posters. Owing to constraints in printing, the pictures were produced from woodcuts. Yet, with the simple designs and clear lines, even the uneducated could understand the brief ideas of the newspaper.

When the Long March was launched in October 1934, Qu Qiubai and Han Jin

continued to stay in the Soviet area and keep up with the work of Red China . In

order to carry on with propagation of the Red Army and to distract the KMT’s attention, the local branch of the Central Committee of the CPC ordered Red

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China to be published with the same format, the same order of issues, and the same publisher — the Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic. After the main force of the Red Army successfully withdrew from the Central Base Area, Red China was published in the name of the Central Office of the CPC. Thereafter, as just a few thousand copies were circulated, the weekly publication of Red China dropped from three times a week, to twice a week, to finally only once a week. By February 1935, in accordance with the telegraphic instructions of the Central Committee, the above newspapers were suspended in the interest of engaging in guerrilla warfare. Overall, Red China was also impacted by “leftist adventurism,” as seen by the propagation of false messages — radical policies in land, commerce and industry, labor — and the elimination of opponents. In terms of writing style, the language was full of the flavor of the eight-part essay.

The people’s army and publications of revolutionary bodies Along with the growth of the Red Army and the revolutionary base areas, publications of the Red Army also underwent further development. While “wall papers” were popularized by the many companies, units of the Red Army — divisions, military regions, troops, and the Central Military Committee — started their own tabloids and newspapers using mimeographs, lithography, and letterpress printing. At present, there are more than 30 existing copies of publications in the Central Base Area. Table 10.6 Publications of the Red Army in the Central Base Area Publishing unit

Central Military Committee Headquarters of the First Front Army of the Red Army

Name of publication

Revolution and War (Geming yu zhanzheng 革命與戰爭 ) Red Battlefield (Hongse zhanchang 紅色戰場 )

Political Department of the First Front Army of the Iron Fist (Tiequan 鐵拳 ) Red Army

Third Army Group of the Red Army

Firing Line

Jiangxi Corps of the Red Army

Red Light (Hongguang 紅光 ) Daybreak (Fuxiao 拂曉 )

Fifth Army Group of the Red Army

Advancement (Mengjin 猛進 )

On December 11, 1931, the General Political Department in Ruijin founded Red Star News as the official newspaper of the Central Military Committee of

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the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. Deng Xiaoping was the first chief editor and then Lu Dingyi and the publication symbolized a significant step of the press activities of the Red Army. A letterpress printed publication, Red Star News was supposed to be published every five days, but in fact its publishing schedule was rather uncertain — ranging from two days to half a month between issues, and extra issues were produced occasionally. Generally, the newspaper appeared as a four-page quarto, but sometimes in two, six, or eight pages. In March 1933, Red Star News was turned into a mimeo thirty-twomo periodical. On August 6 the same year, it reverted to a letterpress printed quarto. Additionally, the Red Star Supplement (Hongxing fukan 紅星副刊 ) was published to introduce the experiences of the Russian Red Army in political work, as well as the performance of different Soviet units in the fields of politics, culture, and hygiene. By 1933 in the Soviet area in Jiangxi alone, 17,300 copies of Red Star were sold. Founded on July 1, 1931, True Words of Youth was the official publication of the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area of China Youth League — whose head editorial office was located in Yudou, Jiangxi, and the head sales office was in Changting, Fujian. Afterwards, both of the offices were moved to Ruijin. After two issues were published, True Words of Youth was halted due to the Third Encirclement Campaign. On December 10 the same year, it resumed publication and then changed from a semimonthly to a periodical published every ten days. Starting from its second volume published in January 1933, True Words of Youth was restructured as a weekly. Besides, the publication was presented in various forms. At first, it was a poster and beginning from the third issue, it was fixed as an octavo “wall paper.” From the 10th issue dated on February 15, 1932, it was developed into a mimeo thirty-twomo booklet with an illustrated cover. At present, the last identified issue was the 113th one published on September 30, 1934, when the Long March began. Major editors and writers of True Words of Youth included Gu Zuolin, Lu Dingyi, Kai Feng, and Zhang Aiping. In the founding issue, Gu Zuolin composed an article titled “The Guiding Function of Founding Official Newspaper” suggesting the missions and functions of True Words of Youth : “[It] is the most authoritative newspaper of the Soviet area…[it] should become the conductor of the league’s work and mass work, [it] should become a powerful means of the league to amplify political impact among the youth, [and it] should become the coordinator among the youth.” Within three years of propagation, True Words of Youth dutifully served these functions. For the Central Executive Board of the ACFTU in the Soviet Area, its official newspaper Workers of the Soviet Area (Suqu gongren 蘇區工人 ) was published

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in Ruijin in May 1932. Like True Words of Youth , the head sales office was also

located in Changting. It was initially a mimeo octavo tabloid published twice a month. On general occasions, six pages were printed, but somehow four, eight, or

ten pages were produced from time to time. After June 1933, it was transformed to a sixteenmo magazine whose sequence of issues restarted from one. Following the publication of the 17th issue on May 25, 1934, Workers of the Soviet Area

went through another change — published as a four-page octavo tabloid. At last, similar to its counterparts, it was closed once the Long March was carried out in early September 1934.

By the summer of 1932, the size of the Labor Union of the Soviet Area

exceeded 150,000 members, and the Standing Committee of the ACFTU — proposing that “[the publication] would enable the federation to be the principal

backbone of the Soviet regime in China” — began establishing more trade unions at provincial, county, and city levels. The primary aim of Workers of the Soviet

Area was to lead and push forward the development of the workers’ movement within Soviet areas in China. In the first year of publication, attention was given to news reports on the workers’ movement, so as to lay the foundation for workers to fight for their economic benefits as well as the introduction of the labor law. Thereafter, the focus was shifted to inspire workers to participate and assist in the revolutionary movement. Aside from sections such as “Editorial” and “News,” there were also columns revealing the life and struggles of workers in the Soviet areas, namely: •• “Guidance for the Workers’ Movement”

•• “Correspondence about the Workers’ Movement” •• “Struggles of Workers in Soviet Areas” •• “Revolutionary Competition” •• “Red Army Expansion”

•• “Participation in Soviet Construction” •• “Criticism and Guidance” •• “Red and Black Boards”

In addition, “Q & A,” “Self-Criticism,” and “Factory Correspondence” were

effective in fostering the relationship among workers, writers, and the newspaper.

In sections such as “Workers’ Struggles in White Areas” and “World and China,” the progress of local and global workers’ movements was introduced. In the

second year of publication, after Workers of the Soviet Area became a periodical,

the emphasis was put on the dissemination of the ACFTU’s declarations, notices,

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and key comments related to problems of the workers’ movement. A lengthy literary work was also published to depict the bravery of Red Army workers in the Nanchang Uprising (1927).

Furthermore, Workers of the Soviet Area reflected the liberation of the people

in Soviet areas and how workers were in control of their lives, winning the

support of the masses of workers. In Jiangxi, the Provincial Executive Committee of the Trade Unions endorsed a resolution requesting trade unions in various

counties to appoint someone to be the correspondents of the ACFTU who would

also assist in publishing. Meanwhile, a donation campaign was launched to support Workers of the Soviet Area financially, so that the quantity could be raised. In order to capture and gather more readers and peasants, clubs and newspaper-reading groups were organized. County trade unions even listed

the submission of writings for Workers of the Soviet Area and the starting of

newspaper-reading groups as one of the “revolutionary competitions.”10

Certainly, there were other publications started by revolutionary bodies in the

Central Soviet Area, yet it is impossible to review all of them.

Table 10.7 Other revolutionary publications in the Central Soviet Area Publisher

Name of Publication

Publishing Time

Anti-Imperialism, Support for the Soviet (Fandi yongsu 反帝擁蘇 )

February 1933

The Central Corps of Young Pioneers of the Soviet Area

Young Vanguard

Central Child Welfare Bureau of the Soviet Area

Always Be Prepared (Sheke zhunbeizhe 時刻準備著 )

The Pro-Soviet and AntiImperialist Alliance of the Soviet Area

January 1932

October 1933

Revolutionary publications in other revolutionary base areas In the second half of 1933, the CPC, having gone through about five years of

establishing armed independent regimes of workers and peasants, led the Red

Army to open up a dozen revolutionary base areas at the borders of 14 provinces, building up and consolidating its regime. Regional political and military bodies, as well as mass organizations produced an overwhelming amount of

publications in this period. Unfortunately, most of these publications were destroyed or lost in the flames of war. As recorded by the utterly incomplete

historical materials and relevant textual documentation, a brief introduction of these publications follows.

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Publications in the Xiang–Gan Revolutionary Base Area In 1930, the Propaganda Department of the Riot Commission of the Xiang–Gan Border11 published the Political Newsletter (Zhengzhi jianbao 政治簡報 ) to spread its policies and decisions, as well as to propagate news in the battlefields. The Southwestern Jiangxi Special Committee of the CPC, founded in February 1930, also published Red Flag and Political Newsletter . In 1931, the Xiang–Gan Provincial

Committee of the CPC was founded, and by the end of the year, the committee started its official semimonthly publication Xiang–Gan Red Flag (Xianggan hongqi 湘贛紅旗 ), which was renamed Struggles of Xiang–Gan (Xianggan douzheng 湘贛鬥爭 ) in July. It was the principal publication introducing and directing the Party’s work in the region. At present, only six issues have been preserved. In the First Conference of Party Representatives of the Xiang–Gan Region, it was decided that a Party Publication Committee — a 5-people organ formed by Gan Siqi, Wang Shoudao, etc. — was to be set up in the region. Gan Siqi would be the Secretary who was at the same time responsible for editing. In the meantime, a number of Communist publications were founded in the Xiang–Gan region. By August 1934, when the Sixth Army of the Red Army directed their attention to the Long March, these publications gradually stopped.12 Table 10.8 Publications in the Xiang–Gan Revolutionary Base Area Publisher

Chinese Soviet Republic

Name of Publication

Red Xiang–Gan (Hongse xianggan 紅色湘贛 )

Red Xiang–Gan Supplement (Hongse xianggan fukan 紅色湘贛副刊 )

Xiang–Gan Red Star Political Department of the Provincial Military Command (Xianggan hongse 湘贛紅星 )

Political Security Bureau of the Court of Revolution Provincial Soviet Government (Geming fating 革命法庭 )

Special Correspondence Ministry of Finance of the Provincial Soviet Government, (Tebie tongxun 特別通訊 ) National Economic Department Provincial Committee of the Young CPC

West Branch Subcommittee of the Southwestern Jiangxi Special Committee of the Young CPC

Lenin’s Youth (Liening qingnian 列寧青年 )

Life of the Party (Tuan de shenghuo 團的生活 )

Propagation Correspondence (Xuanchuan tongxun 宣傳通訊 )

Publishing Year 1933 1934 —* —* 1932 —*

1931

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(Cont'd) Publisher

Political Department of Red Hospitals of the Provincial Military Command

Provincial Child Welfare Bureau

Name of Publication

Hospital Tabloid (Yiyuan xiaobao 醫院小報 )

Publishing Year

Red Child (Honghaier 紅孩兒 )

1932 1932

* Time of publication unknown.

Publications in the Min–Zhe–Gan Revolutionary Base Area In July and August 1930, the Northeastern Jiangxi and Northern Fujian branches of the Red Army formed the Tenth Army of the Red Army, which allowed the Northeastern Jiangxi Revolutionary Base Area to transform into the Min–Zhe– Gan Revolutionary Base Area. By the end of 1932, the Northern Jiangxi Province was restructured as the Min–Zhe–Gan Province13 — which was a solid and strong revolutionary base area which came just after the first revolutionary base area in the Jianggang Mountains. In January 1934, in the Second National Soviet People’s Delegates Conference, Mao complimented the success of the Northeastern Jiangxi region, describing it as “the model province of the Chinese Soviet Republic.” In this area, the publications were extensively developed.14 Table 10.9 Provincial publications in the Min–Zhe–Gan Revolutionary Base Area Publisher

Provincial Soviet Government Provincial Party Committee Provincial Military Command Provincial Trade Union

Provincial Committee of the China Youth League Provincial Benefit Society

Xin River Special Committee

Name of Publication

Workers and Peasants (Gongnong bao 工農報 ) The Red Northeastern (Hongse dongbei 紅色東北 )

Assault (Tuji 突擊 ) Construction of the Party (Dang de jianshe 黨的建設 ) Red Star (Hongxing bao 紅星報 ) Battlefront (Qianxian 前線 )

The Workers (Gongren tekan 工人特刊 )

Lenin’s Youth True Words of the Youth Construction of the League (Tuan de jianshe 團的建設 ) Life of Mutual Aid (Huji shenghuo 互濟生活 ) Red Flag Post (Hongqi bao 紅旗報 )

In the Division of Northern Fujian, there were Red Northern Fujian (Hongse minbei 紅色閩北 ), The Youth and War (Qingnian yu zhanzheng 青年與戰爭 ), Red Shooter (Hongse sheshou 紅色射手 ), The Great Anti-Imperialist Alliance (Fandi

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datongmeng 反帝大同盟 ), and the internal publication Construction of the Party . Among these publications, Workers and Peasants , started by the Provincial Soviet Government in Geyuan City, had a longer history, and hence a greater influence at that time. Among the existing six issues, four were mimeo octavos in eight to 10 pages, while the other two were lithographic single-page publications. With the editorial written by Fang Zhimin, a strategist of the Party, the publication exerted an excellent guiding function. In addition to messages and information, news on warfare was also well disseminated via the following columns. Table 10.10 Columns in Workers and Peasants Categories

Columns

Featured News

“Featured News of the Province,” “Major News in the Soviet Area,” and “Major news in the Country”

News

Updates of the Soviet Area Others

“News,” “Special Telegrams,” and “Victory of Red Army”

“The Soviet Court” and “The Soviet Election”

“Correspondents of Workers and Peasants,” “Activities of the Saving Movement,” “Commando,” “Opinions from Readers,” and “Red Board”

In the Fourth Encirclement Campaign that occurred in September 1932, the

Tenth Army of the Red Army enjoyed spectacular success in the second attempt on Northern Fujian. Consequently, the area became the bridge linking up the

Northeastern Jiangxi Revolutionary Base Area and the Central Revolutionary

Base Area. Concurrently, the victory of the Tenth Army was widely reported in Workers and Peasants , The Red Northeastern , and Lenin’s Youth . In May 1933, the People’s Council of the Northeastern Jiangxi Provincial Soviet Government stipulated that Workers and Peasants , Red Flag Post , and Lenin’s Youth were to be the teaching materials of every school in the revolutionary base area. Additionally, theoretical ideas in the official publication of the Provincial Party Committee Assault were expressed in simple language, thus it became a piece of study material among party members too. In January 1934, the Provincial Propaganda Department even formulated a set of questions with reference to the fourth issue of Assault to examine the cadres and party members, as well as to “arouse and strengthen Comrades’ attention to study on theories.” As a result of the efforts on propagating newspapers, reading the newspaper became a daily practice among armed troops, factory workers, village and government officials, and students at school clubs. Meanwhile, newsreaders associations were founded

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in rural areas, and newspaper-reading instructors were assigned at district levels to promote reading in an organized manner. In a word, publications in the Min– Zhe–Gan Revolutionary Base area made tremendous success in the aspects of

raising the cultural standards of the masses, reinforcing their political belief, and nurturing new Soviet fighters.

Publications in the Western Xiang–E Revolutionary Base Area The Western Xiang–E Soviet Government 15 was officially established in the

autumn of 1930. In the following year, there were more than 20 mimeo and lithographic publications in the region.

Table 10.11 Publications in the Western Xiang–E Revolutionary Base Area Publisher

Western Xiang–E Branch of the CPC Provincial Soviet Government

County Soviet Government of the Western Xiang–E Political Department of the Red Army Second Army Group

Provincial committee of the China Youth League

Name of Publication

Red Flag Daily Bolshevik (A weekly)

Workers’ and Peasants’ Daily (Gongnong ribao 工農日報 )

Western Xiang–E Soviet (Xiangexi suweiai 湘鄂西蘇維埃 ) (Published every three days) Red Star (Hongxing 紅星 )

Lenin’s Youth

The Great Anti-Imperialist Alliance Anti-Imperialist Post (Fandi bao 反帝報 ) Provincial Red Hospital

Hospital Tabloid

Publishing Year 1931 1931 1930 —* —* —* —*

* Time of publication unknown.

Regarded as “sister newspapers,” the Red Flag Daily and Workers’ and

Peasants’ Daily were the most noticeable publications in the area. The Red Flag Daily was a mimeo quarto published twice a day with three to four pages each time. More than 2,000 copies were printed for each issue, and they were distributed not only in the base area but also to guerrilla areas as well as KMT-controlled areas. Mao Jianqing was the chief editor of the daily. Born in Pinjiang, Hunan, he had studied in Japan and served as the Secretary of the Party Committee of Pinjiang County during the period of the National Revolution. The editorial member of The Shanghai Pao , Xie Dangzai, praised him for “[being] a rather moral

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and knowledgeable man.” However, Mao was mistakenly arrested in the course of eliminating counterrevolutionaries, and he eventually died of illness in the jail. The successive chief editor Li Peizhi, who had studied in the Soviet Union, was

publicly regarded as a “female xiucai .”16 As for the Workers’ and Peasants’ Daily ,

it was a quarto tabloid published twice a day. The former chief editor of the daily, Xie Dangzai, believed newspapers for workers and peasants should be colloquial and lively. He once expressed that “proclamations in the past were written for the intellectuals, so their language was as showy as possible. Now that the articles

are to be consumed by the masses of workers and peasants, although inclusive of

the intellectuals, a considerable amount of terms could no longer be used. Even if they are to be adopted, they still need to be comprehended first and then remolded

by workers and peasants.”17 Hence, he opened a section called “The Definition

of New Nouns” in the Workers’ and Peasants’ Daily . Overall, the publications

in the Western Xiang–E region, owing to their lively content, received extensive support from the public. The President of the Regional Soviet Government, Cui

Qi, who was previously an illiterate farm laborer, learned how to read these easily understood newspapers after receiving a certain amount of schooling. An aged

man reminisced the times in the Red Flag Daily through a ballad of the Western

Xiang–E region: “Soviet cadres are dedicated, and their newspapers are delicate. The evening breeze stirring the twigs, newspapers are read in the Taiwan village.”18

By October 1932, after the Honghu Soviet Area was lost in the Fourth Encirclement Campaign, the above publications were all suspended.

Publications in the E–Yu–Wan Revolutionary Base Area In the E–Yu–Wan Revolutionary Base Area, over 20 publications were founded. Table 10.12 Official publications in the E–Yu–Wan region Publisher

Name of publication

E–Yu–Wan Provincial Committee of the CPC

Lenin’s Post (Liening bao 列寧報 )*

Political Department of the Red Army

Red Fighters (Hongse zhanshi 紅色戰士 ) Report of Updates (Xiaoxi huibao 消息匯報 )

Provincial Soviet Government

E–Yu–Wan Branch of the CPC

Central Branch of the Young CPC

E–Yu–Wan Soviet Post (Eyuwan suweiai bao 鄂豫皖蘇維埃報 )

Red Flag (Hongqi 紅旗 )

Young Vanguard (Shaonian xianfeng 少年先鋒 )

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(Cont'd) Publisher

Name of publication

Soviet Women Committee of the Northwestern Anhui Special Committee

Luxembourg (Lusenbao 盧森堡 )

Child Welfare Bureau of the CPC’s Branch Red Children (Chise ertong 赤色兒童 )

* Lenin’s Post, a weekly founded by the end of 1930, was originally managed by the E– Yuan Special Committee. It was headed by the Provincial Committee after 1932, and was subsequently chief edited by Cheng Fangwu, the Director of the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Committee.

Countless publications were also started at the county levels. In the spring

of 1931, publications of the E–Yu–Wan Special Committee of the CPC and the

Provincial Soviet Government were open for subscriptions, and surely, the many bodies and organs in counties and villages ordered these materials. Thus, more

than 2,000 copies of Lenin’s Post were circulated. Similar to other revolutionary base areas, the people already regarded reading newspapers as a routine cultural activity. Afterwards, these official publications, as a result of the spread of “leftist adventurism,” conducted counterrevolutionary propagation — which was contradictory to the CPC’s policy at that time.

Publications in the Chuan–Shan Revolutionary Base Area Developed around the year-end of 1932, the Chuan–Shan Revolutionary Base Area soon evolved into one of the largest revolutionary base areas in the country. From 1933, there was an upsurge of mimeo publications. 19 and 20

Table 10.13 Official publications in the Chuan–Shan Revolutionary Base Area Publisher

Chuan–Shan Provincial Committee of the CPC

Name of Publication

Communist Post (Gongchandang 共產黨 )

Remarks

Chuan–Shan Provincial Committee

Soviet Post (Suweiai 蘇維埃 )

•• Successor of The Poor of Northern Sichuan (Chunabei qiongren 川北窮人 ), which was founded in January 1933 •• Published every five to six days •• Founded in August 1933 •• Six issues preserved

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•• Published every three days •• Founded in August 1933, suspended around April 1934 •• Five issues preserved

The CPC’s Journalism during the Chinese Civil War

(Cont'd) Publisher

Name of Publication

Remarks

Chuan–Shan Provincial Committee of the Young CPC

Young Vanguard

Military Committee on the Northwestern Revolution

A Must to Cadres (Ganbu bidu 幹部必讀 )

•• Published twice a week •• Founded between August and September 1933 •• Suspended around April 1935

General Political Department of the Red Fourth Army

Red Army Pictorial (Hongjun huabao 紅軍畫報 )

Battlefield Daily Provincial Political Department of the Red (Zhanchang ribao Army Military Committee 戰場日報 ) on the Northwestern Revolution

•• Founded in January 1933 •• Over 40 issues published •• One issue preserved •• Renamed Red Army Post (Hongjun bao 紅軍報 ) in August 1933 •• Published every three days •• Four issues preserved •• 98th issue published on August 7, 1934

•• A theoretical publication founded in January 1933, and suspended in June 1935 •• A total of 127 issues published •• An irregularly published periodical

Additionally, there was a tide of octavo mimeo tabloids published by departments of the Provincial Soviet Government, political departments of the Red Fourth Army, and various mass organizations. Table 10.14 Tabloids in the Chuan–Shan Revolutionary Base Area Publisher

Name of Publication

Chuan–Shan Provincial Federation of Trade Unions

Axe (Futou 斧頭 )

Political Department of the Provincial Workers’ and Peasants’ Hospital

Small Daily (Xiaoribao 小日報 )

Red Fourth Army

Red Flag

Provincial Soviet Financial Committee and Committee Economic Construction (Jingji jianshe 經濟建設 ) for Economic Affairs

Political Department of the Red Army Hospital

Scarlet Bloom (Xuehua 血花 )

Red Ninth Army

Fight till Victory (Busheng buxiu 不勝不休 )

Red Thirtieth Army Red Thirty First Army

Redden Sichuan (Chihua quanchuan 赤化全川 ) Red Star (Hongxing 紅星 )

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Furthermore, the Chuan–Shan Provincial Committee of the CPC specifically fixed Communist Post , Red Army Post , and Soviet Post as the compulsory reading materials for the cadres of regional branches and Party organs. Aside from that, they were required to carry out discussions on featured articles in these newspapers. Other than newspaper-reading groups in villages and companies, mobile reading groups were also started by the Red Army to gather and unite more readers.

Publications in the Hainan Revolutionary Base Area Subsequent to the establishment of the Hainan Soviet Government in December 1928 until 1932, a number of publications were started in this revolutionary base area. Table 10.15 Publications in the Hainan Revolutionary Base Area21 Publisher

Name of Publication

Propaganda Department of the Hainan Special Committee of the CPC

Hainan Red Flag (Qiongya hongqi 瓊崖紅旗 )

Hainan Soviet Government and Lehui County Soviet Government

Worker-Peasant Army Post

Propaganda Department of the Hainan Special Committee of the China Youth League

Life of the Party

Propaganda Department of the Hainan Special Committee

Bolshevist Life (Buersaiweike de shenghuo 布爾塞維克的生活 )

Hainan General Corps of the Red Light Post Young Pioneers (Chiguang bao 赤光報 )

Remarks

•• A mimeo pamphlet on handmade paper •• Published between July 10, 1930, and January 5, 1930 •• 15 issues in total

•• A mimeo pamphlet made of handmade paper •• Published in September 1929 •• Publication stopped on December 7, 1931 •• An internal publication with a total of six issues

•• Published until October 30, 1931 •• Seven issues in total •• Founded in the autumn of 1931

In order to propagate the policy of “establishing armed regimes of workers and peasants,” publications in different revolutionary base areas conducted impactful propaganda through spreading news about the Red Army struggling against the encirclement campaigns, as well as encouraging and organizing the masses to resist the KMT’s rule and the invasion of Japanese imperialism. This was extremely constructive to the growth in politics, military, economy, and the culture of society. Despite its marked contribution, they were still influenced by “leftist adventurism” to a certain extent.

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Post-Long March Journalism in Shanbei The resumption of Red China and the Red Chinese News Agency Surviving a year-long tough journey, the Red First Army finally arrived at Wuqi Town, Shanbei on October 19, 1935, and joined forces with the Red Army in

Shanbei. By November 25, Red China was republished in Wayaobu, Shanbei. At the

same time, the RCNA also resumed work, delivering dispatches to the Red Fourth Army as well as republishing Reference News (Cankao xiaoxi 參 考 消 息 ). Just as before, the RCNA and the newspaper together constituted a strong press organ, which was collectively called the Red China Agency.

The resumed Red China , following the previous sequence of issues, continued

to serve as the official publication of the Provisional Central Government of the

Chinese Soviet Republic. At that time, as lead letterpress printing machines were absent, the printing of the newspaper could only rely on mimeographs. Published

every five days at first, Red China , starting from the 247th issue dated on January

9, 1936, was published every three days, i.e. to be published on the 3rd, 6th, and

9th of every month, and so on. After the renowned female writer Ding Ling came

to Yan’an in November 1936, the Red China Supplement (Hongzhong fukan 紅 中副刊 ), which was to be edited by Ding, was added to the newspaper after the

313th issue published on November 30. Additionally, from the 314th issue dated on December 8, Mao’s inscription replaced Wang Yagaung’s artistic calligraphy in the masthead of the newspaper.

In the early days of RCNA’s resumption, the agency was led by Ren Zhibin,

the Secretary General of the Northwestern Office of the Central Government of

the Chinese Soviet Republic. The Document Department of Ren’s office was also responsible for the printing and delivery of Red China . Ordinarily, only several

hundred or just more than a thousand copies were printed for each issue. By the spring of 1936, the RCNA came under the control of Xiang Zhonghua and

in early July the same year, it was relocated to Baoan County together with the Party Central Committee and the Soviet Central Government. Afterwards, Liao Chengzhi went to Baoan in December to share the work of the RCNA, and Xiang Zhonghua then focused his attention on Red China .

While the resumption of Red China took place in Shanbei, the Japanese

invasion of China was also intensifying in the country, which brought a life-or-

death crisis to the nation. However, in the face of this situation, the strength of the Red Army was below 30,000 due to the Long March. Therefore, there was

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intense argument for the expansion of the Red Army and the anti-Japanese forces in Red China . For instance, in the first issue after the resumption of publication, the entire front page was occupied by news about the expansion of the Red Army in various places which was surrounded by large-font slogans — “Armed workers and peasants went to the front and crumbled the Three Encirclements, they are prepared to confront the Japanese!” and “Dauntless men, come join the anti-Japanese Red Army!” Meanwhile, Red China shared how the Red Army was strengthened and highlighted the existing problems, as well as accredited the prominent contributors in order to propagate the idea that it was of the highest glory to be a member of the Red Army or have family members in the Red Army. On December 25, 1935, the Party Central Committee convened a political meeting in Wayaobu agreeing upon the strategy of setting up an anti-Japanese united front. Thereafter, the propagation in Red China went from “opposing Chiang fighting against Japan” to “forcing Chiang to resist Japan.” Hoping to foster the establishment of a united front in the face of Japanese aggression, Red China subsequently reported how troops of the KMT and the Red Army defeated the Japanese. Furthermore, it was announced that any attacks towards the KMT were to be stopped, which showed that national salvation was the primary aim of the CPC at that time. Admittedly, the willingness of the Party to work with the KMT was constructive to the foundation of a national united front. When the Xi’an Incident took place on December 12, 1936, the KMT government in Nanjing, unfortunately, was reluctant to reveal the truth. On the contrary, Red China had a clear-cut stance in supporting the advocacy of Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng — to unite the country and defeat Japan. On the subsequent day of the incident, there was a detailed report in Red China recounting the ins and outs and dissecting the causes of the incident. In addition, Red China clearly stated that “[the incident] would quickly evolve into a largescale anti-Japanese national revolutionary war.” The second and third pages of the newspaper that day published catchy slogans saying “Supporting Zhang Xueliang’s and General Yang Hucheng’s uprising in Xi’an! Expel the Japanese bandits out of China!” In brief, Red China played a substantial role in revealing the truth of the Xi’an Incident to the people and in shattering the rumors from the KMT. More importantly, people’s misunderstandings were clarified and supportive comments arose in and outside of the country. At this point, Nanjing was on the brink of another civil war as Chiang Kaishek mobilized his troops, threatening that Zhang and Yang would take military action against the Communists. In response to this severe condition, two eye-

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catching messages were published in the front page of Red China on January 16, 1937, to disclose the fact that the Nanjing authority possessed a strong military force and was plotting to launch an attack in Xi’an. There was also an editorial titled “Discontinue with Civil War and Rise Up for Peace” which pointed out: “The invasion of the Japanese bandits is growing rapidly, and the whole race is at a critical juncture. All Chinese people are now looking for peace and are unwilling to see the Chinese fighting against each other. Now the country passionately desires national unification, hoping that the civil war would become an antiJapanese revolutionary battle.” Meanwhile, the editorial demanded that Chiang Kai-shek keep the promise he made at his withdrawal from Xi’an, i.e. not to initiate civil wars in the country anymore. Furthermore, it was warned that if anyone dared to make the most dreadful mistake — to assault the anti-Japanese forces — the people, troops, and the Red Army would give a head-on blow at whatever cost, so that the obstacles in the anti-Japanese path and underlings of the Japanese could be wiped out. Given the existence of an overwhelming public opinion, the Nanjing authority, with its main military force deployed to Xi’an, did not take any action. On the other hand, a battlefront was opened in Xi’an, for the sake of self-defense. In the end, Chiang’s military ambition was yet to be realized. As the only newspaper of the Central Committee of the CPC, Red China was meritorious in propagating the idea of the birth of a national united front against Japanese aggression. For the RCNA in Shanbei, not only were telegrams sent to the Red Fourth Army, dispatches of news agencies in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Nanjing were also selected, edited, and then published in Red China . Since early September 1936, the RCNA began contacting with Moscow and collecting dispatches from foreign news agencies. Gradually, international news appeared in Red China and editorials and commentaries were written in relation to international issues. On September 6, two pieces of Soviet dispatches — “Interrogation of the Soviet Union over the Counterrevolutionary Trotskyists” and “The Soviet People Happily Purchasing New Bonds” — were published, which marked the first appearance of foreign news in Red China . On December 16, 1936, Zhou Enlai led a CPC delegation to Xi’an in the hopes to peacefully settle the Xi’an Incident. Thereafter, the Xi’an Branch of the RCNA — the first division of the agency — was formed by Li Yimang, a member of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the CPC, as well as other personnel including Chen Yangshan, Chen Kehanm, and Chen Bo. The branch was responsible for sending news dispatches of the RCNA and CPC’s statements and notices to

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various newspapers and mass organizations in Xi’an. Additionally, news and updates in Xi’an were sent back to the office in Yan’an.

The turn of the anti-Japanese trend and changes in propagation On December 25, 1936, there was a new political scene in the country — the Xi’an

Incident was smoothly resolved, the Chinese Civil War was basically ended, and the cooperation between the CPC and KMT had been primarily achieved. In order

to further facilitate the emergence of the anti-Japanese front and to respond to the new circumstances, the Central Committee of the CPC decided that Red China

was to be renamed Sin Zhungxua Bao (Xinzhonghua bao 新中華報 ), literally “New China Post,” on January 29, 1937, and the RCNA was to be renamed the Xinhua

News Agency. At the moment, the newspaper and the news agency still stayed as a single press organ.

With the sequence of issues unchanged, Sin Zhungxua Bao , a mimeo

published every three days, continued to serve as the official newspaper of the

Chinese Soviet Republic. Similarly, the Red China Supplement was reamed Sin Zhungxua Supplement . The editorial office of Sin Zhungxua Bao and the Central Committee of the Party were moved from Baoan County to Yan’an altogether. Just as before, Xiang Zhonghua still headed the newspaper while Liao Chengzhi was still in charge of the news agency. When Liao was ordered to take part in founding the magazine Liberation (Jiefang 解放 ), Xiang Zhonghua took control of both Sin Zhungxua Bao and the Xinhua News Agency. As a result of Chiang’s traitorous military action and the detainment of Zhang Xueliang, the enraged soldiers of the Northeastern Army voiced out slogans such as “Defeat Any Imperialism,” “Anything in Nanjing is Vile,” and “Exterminate the Central Army.” Besides, there were extreme opinions towards the armed confrontation in Xi’an and its subsequent settlement. On February 2, 1937, General Wang Yizhe, who had been involved in the Xi’an Incident, was murdered by the hawks in the Northeastern Army. In response, as the official publication of the Chinese Soviet Republic, Sin Zhungxua Bao published writings to criticize this tendency towards violent means, pinpointing that it would hinder the progression of revolution, and it would conveniently be used by Japanese invaders and traitors to China. It was stated that this tendency was neither favorable to the alliance of anti-Japanese forces nor beneficial to the appeal for international sympathy and assistance. The editorial wrote: “Those who deliberately acted violently are no outstanding revolutionists. Lenin has

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sneered at those who wrote ‘revolution’ in capitalized letters.”22 Additionally, Sin Zhungxua Bao helped reveal the grief of the people in the Soviet Area and the CPC, while condemning the instigators of the murder. The newspaper, looking into and explaining the defects of the violent methods, clarified that the CPC only approved of a friendly and peaceful attitude as well as restated the Party’s objection against “leftist adventurism,” which helped clear the ideological path for the countrywide battlefront. On February 10, the CPC specially sent telegrams to the Third Plenary Session of the Fifth KMT Central Committee requesting the KMT to stay allied at once and resist the Japanese. In this way, the KMT would transform from advocating civil conflicts to advocating peace; from practicing dictatorship to practicing democracy; and from adopting a nonresistant to a resistant policy towards Japan — which could speed up the construction of the anti-Japanese front in the country. Collaboratively, Sin Zhungxua Bao promulgated this telegram since February 13, and by consecutively publishing disambiguating articles on the telegram, the newspaper elucidated the need to compromise for the sake of national liberation and revival. While providing an opportunity for the masses to understand the essence of the special telegram and persuading the KMT to put the telegram into practice, Sin Zhungxua Bao also encouraged the people to transform themselves in accordance with the development of the environment. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out on July 7, 1937, the KMT received the Communist Cooperation by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (Zhongguo gongchandang weigongbu guogong hezuo xuanyan 中國共產黨為公佈國共合作宣言 ) from the CPC on July 15. Two days later, CPC’s representatives (Zhou Enlai, Qin Bangxian, and Lin Boqu) met with the KMT’s representatives (Chiang Kai-shek, Shao Lizi, and Zhang Chong) in Lushang, Jiangxi Province, to conduct negotiation on the united front issue. Having Chiang Kai-shek verbally recognize the Shanxi–Gansu–Ningxia Border Region Government, the agreement on reorganizing the Red Army as the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army was achieved. On September 6, the Chinese Soviet Republic was officially renamed the Shanxi–Gansu–Ningxia Border Region Government, and on September 9, Sin Zhungxua Bao became the letterpress printed official publication of the border region government. In January 1, the RCNA was renamed the Xinhua News Agency, with Bo Gu as the first President. Major staff included Liao Chengzhi, who translated foreign news into Chinese, and Li Zhunan, who deciphered Chinese news telegrams. Liao and Xiang Zhonghua drafted and edited telegrams with a total of 2,000 Chinese

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characters dispatched on a daily basis.

The business of the Xinhua News Agency grew continuously with the

development of the anti-Japanese sentiment in the country. By April 1937,

the news agency purchased two three-tube superheterodyne radio sets and a

100-watts transmitter, and the news channel was founded with Shen Yili as the Director and George Hatem as the English consultant. The number of Chinese

characters dispatched everyday rose to about 5,000 subsequent to the beginning of the Second Sino–Japanese War. The strength of the Xinhua News Agency even

grew to more than 20 people by December 1937. At that time, Reference News 23

was also produced for the CPC cadres and various organs to read. In January 1939, the Xinhua News Agency established its branch in northern China.

The weekly publication Liberation While cooperation between the CPC and the KMT was again realized, the new

task of the Chinese people was to defeat Japan and achieve racial and social liberation. Therefore, the Central Committee of the CPC founded a weekly publication to help fulfill the mission.

On April 24, 1937, Liberation was officially founded in Yan’an. Back then,

there was an acute shortage of resources, thus Sin Zhungxua Bao could only

be printed once every three days, and Liberation was a letterpress printed

sixteenmo. The weekly publication included not just sections and columns on commentaries, works, translated pieces, correspondents, and literature and art, but also published engraved illustrations. Writings of CPC leaders such as Mao

Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Luo Fu, and Bo Gu, as well as speeches, telegrams, and resolutions of the Party were published in Liberation .

The propaganda focus of the weekly was to motivate hundreds and thousands

of people to get involved on the anti-Japanese front. In the first issue of Liberation ,

a telegram to the KMT dated on February 10, 1937, “To the Third Plenary Session

of the KMT,” was published in the section “Publication of Documents.” In this

telegram, the CPC listed several requirements and pledges in relation to the cooperation of the two parties. Besides, Mao’s works were published in the weekly. In the second and fourth issues in the first volume, “The Tasks of the Chinese Communist Party in the Period of Resistance to Japan” and “Win the Masses in

their Millions for the Anti-Japanese National United Front,” two of Mao’s articles,

were published to analyze the circumstances back then as well as to elaborate on the role and work of the CPC in building up the united front against the Japanese.

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Considering that the country was temporarily peaceful, Mao proposed three mottos — “Consolidate Peace,” “Fight for Democracy,” and “Realize the AntiJapanese War” — and stressed that “fighting for democracy is the core of the still developing revolution,” for peace could only be strengthened and the victory of the anti-Japanese could only be secured by the realization of democracy. Mao also believed that a two-sided democratic reformation had to be conducted in the country at once. First, in terms of the political institution, the one party and one class dictatorship of the KMT should be transformed to a democratic system, in which parties and classes cooperated with each other. Second, the freedom of speech, assembly, and association for the people should be achieved.24 In brief, Mao, on behalf of the CPC, proposed and announced these suggestions and proposals which became the guiding viewpoints and the main content of the weekly Liberation . Subsequently, in the Third Plenary Session of the KMT convened in February 1937, it was decided that a National Assembly would be held on November 12.25 Responding to this decision, Liberation published commentaries in a row, looking into issues like the amendment of regulations on the National Assembly, the preparatory work, and core mission. Practical recommendations in the guiding principles as well as specific measures were also put forward. At the time of Liberation ’s foundation, the Seven Gentlepersons Incident26 was unsettled, and the seven people were still imprisoned in Suzhou. In the meantime, the KMT promulgated an order for the arrest of Tou Xingzhi and the remaining members. Accordingly, the first commentary on current affairs in Liberation was written and titled “Patriotic Leaders in Shanghai Prosecuted!” Aside from defending the victims of the incident, the commentary also demanded the release of the seven “gentlepersons” and other political prisoners, as well as the withdrawal of their arrest warrants. In addition, the commentary proposed limiting the scope of application of the Emergency Law of Endangering the Republic (Weihai minguo jinji zhizuifa 危害民國緊急治罪法 ) to traitors to the country, quislings, and spies of Japan. Afterwards, numerous commentaries were issued regarding the incident until the seven were released. Equally important, opinions against democracy were bitterly attacked by

Liberation . Back then, a small number of Trotskyists in the country argued on the idea of “unification,” claiming that “the prerequisite for the united front was the abolishment of the feudal power, instead of objection against imperialism. We Chinese should be unified in the sense of domestic affairs, not an external war.”27 Concurrently, the Trotskyists advocated “absolutely democratic slogans and platforms” and “encouraged the people to initiate attacks on the despotism in

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Nanjing.”28 Correspondingly, Liberation criticized these viewpoints, pointing out that their aim was to undermine the anti-Japanese sentiment and to foment civil wars — which had been longed for by the Japanese imperialists. Liberation also affirmed that at the current stage, Chinese Communists should resolutely struggle for the Three People’s Principle, while the Chinese race should stick to the path of “consolidating peace,” “fighting for democracy,” and “realizing the anti-Japanese war” In Liberation , attention was given to the international condition as well. Via Zhu De’s “On the Spanish Civil War” — published in the second issue of the first volume — the sympathy and support of the Chinese over the anti-Fascist forces of the Spanish people was manifested and it was highlighted that “the Spanish Civil War is a precious lesson which we Chinese people need to learn.” In general, the texts and illustrations in the weekly publication were closely linked with politics. Hence, it was described as “a publication of the people.”29 Overall, it was widely circulated in both the revolutionary base areas and the KMT-controlled areas. It was noteworthy that the weekly responded quickly to major events in China. For example, as soon as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out, an additional section — where several telegrams issued by the CPC were included — was added to the almost-published tenth issue of Liberation . Since then, the weekly had sustained growth and was ultimately suspended by the time of the 134th issue of the seventh volume on August 31, 1941. Other than Liberation , the Liberation Society was at the same time founded to publish the Lenin series, which was comprised of Lenin’s Two Tactics of SocialDemocracy in the Democratic Revolution , Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder and The State and Revolution . There was a large quantity of small mimeo publications in the Shan–Gan–Ning region as well.

198

Notes Chapter 8 1.

“Anhui aiguoshe nizhang” 安徽愛國社擬章 (The Draft on the Anhui Patriotic Club), Su bao 蘇報 (Jiangsu Post), June 7, 1903.

2. La Jeunesse 青年雜誌, September 15, 1915. 3.

Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, “Wuren zuihou zhi juewe” 吾人最後之覺悟 (My Final Realization), La Jeunesse 新 青年, February 15, 1916.

4.

Ibid.

5.

Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, “Xianfa yu lijiao” 憲法與禮教 (Constitution and Feudal Rites), La Jeunesse 新青年, November 1, 1916.

6.

Ibid.

7.

Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, “Yuan shikai fuhuo” 袁世凱復活 (The Revival of Yuan Shikai), La Jeunesse 新青年, December 1, 1916.

8.

Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, “Kongzi zhi dao yu xiandai shenghuo” 孔子之道與現代生活 (The Confucian Way and Modern Life), La Jeunesse 新青年, December 1, 1916.

9.

Wu Yu 吳虞, “Jiazu zhidu wei zhuanzhi zhuyi zhi genju lun” 家族制度為專制主義之根據論 (About Family System as the Evidence of Despotism), La Jeunesse 新青年, February 1, 1917.

10. Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, “Falanxiren yu jinshi wenming” 法蘭西人與近世文明 (The French People and Modern Civilization), La Jeunesse 青年雜誌, September 15, 1915. 11. “Dui de waijiao” 對德外交 (Diplomacy towards Germany), La Jeunesse 新青年, March, 1917. 12. “Shiju zagan” 時局雜感 (Thoughts on Current Political Situation), La Jeunesse 新青年, June, 1917. 13. Lu xun quanji 魯迅全集 (The Complete Collection of Lu Xun), Vol. 11 (Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House, 1981), 345. 14. “Tongxin da cheng yansheng” 通信‧答程演生 (Correspondence to Cheng Yansheng), La Jeunesse 新 青年, February, 1917.

15. La Jeunesse 新青年, October, 1916. 16. “Tan zhengzhi” 談政治 (Talking about Politics), La Jeunesse 新青年, September 1, 1920. 17. “Suiganlu” 隨感錄 (Records of Thoughts), in La Jeunesse 新青年, April, 1918 18. Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, “Jinri Zhongguo zhi zhengzhi wenti” 今日中國之政治問題 (Current Political Problems in China), La Jeunesse 新青年, July 15, 1918. 19. Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, “Da shi zhi wenxue geming” 答適之文學革命 (In Response to Hu’s Literary Revolution), La Jeunesse 新青年, October 1916.

199

Notes

20. Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, “Wenxue geming lun” 文學革命論 (Theory of Literary Revolution), La Jeunesse 新 青年, February 1, 1917.

21. Ibid. 22. Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀 , “Benzhi zuian zhi dabianshu” 本誌罪案之答辯書 (The Written Plea of La Jeunesse), La Jeunesse 新青年, January 15, 1919. 23. “Zhongguo xinwenxue daxi: xiaoshuo erji xu” 中國新文學大系︰小說二集序 (New Literature in China: A Preface to Two Novels), Lu xun quanji 魯迅全集 (The Complete Collection of Lu Xun), Vol. 6 (Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House, 1981), 238. 24. “Tongxin” 通信 (Correspondence), in La Jeunesse 新青年, May 1, 1917. 25. Ibid, June 15, 1918. 26. Zhou Taixuan 周太玄, “Guanyu canjia faqi shaonian Zhongguo xuehui de huiyi” 關於參加發起少年中 國學會的回憶 (Memories on Starting the Young China Association), Wusi shiqi de shetuan 五四時期的 社團 (Organizations during the May Fourth Period) (Beijing: Joint Publishing, 1979).

27. Ge Gongzhen 戈公振, Zhongguo baoxueshi 中國報學史 (History of China’s Newspapers) (Beijing: Joint Publishing, 1955), 284. 28. Beijing daxue xuesheng yundong shi 北京大學學生運動史 (A History of the Student Movement in Beijing) (Beijing: Beijing Publishing Group, 1979), 20. 29. Minguo ribao 民國日報 (Republic Daily), May 16, 1919. 30. Wusi aiguo yundong dangan ziliao 五四愛國運動檔案資料 (Materials on the Patriotic May Fourth Movement) (Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 1980), 201, 495. 31. “Beijing zhi wenziyu” 北京之文字獄 (Literary Inquisition in Beijing), Shun Pao 申報, June 17, 1919. 32. Qu qiubai wenji 瞿秋白文集 (Collected Works of Qu Qiubai), Vol. 2 (Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House, 1953), 23. 33. Sun zhongshan quanji 孫中山全集 (Collected Works of Sun Yat-sen) (Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1985), 209. 34. “Gong 共” refers to the pronunciation first character of “communist party” written in Chinese. 35. In Chinese, the number 28 can be separated into three characters which look similar to the Chinese character of “gong 共” when overlapped. 36. Dou Qiwen 竇其文, “Mao zedong tongzhi baokan huodong jianbiao” 毛澤東同志報刊活動簡表 (A Profile of Comrade Mao’s Publications), Xinwen ynajiu ziliao 新聞研究資料 (News Study Materials), Vol. 28 (Beijing: China Social sciences Press, 1984), 42. 37. Ibid, 48. 38. Wusi shiqi qikan jieshao 五四時期期刊介紹 (Introduction of Periodicals in the May Fourth Period), Vol.2 (1) (Beijing: Joint Publishing, 1979), 329. 39. “Wu de shici” 伍的誓詞 (My Oath), Wusi qianhou zhou enlai tongzhi siwen xuan 五四前後周恩來同

200

志詩文選 (Selected Works of Zhou Enlai around the May Fourth Movement) (Tianjin: Tianjin renmin

chubanshe, 1979), 387. 40. Mao zedong xuanji 毛澤東選集 (Selected Works of Mao), Vol. 4 (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 1991), 1471. 41. “Zhi hu shi” 致胡適 (To Hu Shi), Li dazhao wenji 李大釗文集 (Complete Works of Li Dazhao), Vol. 2 (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 1984). 42. Li dazhao xuanji 李大釗選集 (Selected Works of Li Dazhao) (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 1959), 235. 43. Chen bao 晨報 (The Morning Post), November 8, 1922. 44. Zhou Zuoren 周作人, Zhitang huixianglu 知堂回想錄 (Reminiscences of Zhou Zuoren) (Hong Kong: Xianggang sanyu tushu youxian gongsi, 1980), 357. 45. Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, La Jeunesse 新青年, April 1, 1920. 46. “Maodun huiyilu” 茅盾回憶錄 (Reminiscences of Mao Dun), Xinwenxue shiliao 新文學史料 (Historical Documents of Modern Literature), Vol. 4 (Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House, 1979). 47. “Chen wangdao guanyu shanghai makesi zhuyi yanjiuhui huodong de hui yi” 陳望道關於上海馬克思 主義研究會活動的回憶 (Chen Wangdao’s Memory about the Marxism Seminar in Shanghai), Fudan

daxuebao 復旦大學報 (Journal of Fudan University), 1980, no. 3. 48. People’s Daily 人民日報, July 16, 1981. 49. Duan Qihan 段啟咸, “Gongchandang yuekan de lishi zuoyong” 共產黨月刊的歷史作用 (The Historical Function of CPC’s Monthly Publications), Jianghan luntan 江漢論壇 (Jianghan Tribune), 1981, no. 1. 50. “Laodongzhe yu shehui zhuyi” 勞動者與社會主義 (Workers and Socialism), Laodongjie 勞動界 (The World of Labor), November, 18, 1920. 51. “Laodongzhe yinggai ruhe nuli” 勞動者應該如何努力 (How Workers Should Endeavor), Laodongjie 勞 動界 (The World of Labor), October 17, 1920, no. 10.

52. “Laodong yundong de xin shengming” 勞動運動的新生命 (New Life of Labor Movement), Laodongjie 勞動界 (The World of Labor), August 15, 1920, no. 1.

53. Chen bao 晨報 (The Morning Post), December 21, 1920. 54. “Bashi zhong zhi mianmianguan” 罷市中之面面觀 (Aspects of Strike), Xinwen bao 新聞報 (News Daily), June 7, 1919. 55. Zheng chao 政潮 (Tide of Politics), Xinwen bao 新聞報 (News Daily), June 15, 1919. 56. “Beijing xinwenjie zhi yinguolu” 北京新聞界之因果錄 (The Story of the Beijing Journalistic World),

Zhongguo jindai baokan fazhan gaikuang 中國近代報刊發展概況 (An Overview of the Development of Publications in Modern China) (Beijing: Xinhua Publishing House, 1986), 172. 57. Xiong Shaohao 熊少豪, “Wushinian lai beifang baozhi zhi shilue” 五十年來北方報紙之事略 (A Sketch of Newspapers in the North in the Past 50 Years), Zhongguo jindai baokan fazhan gaikuang 中國近代報

201

Notes

刊發展概況 (An Overview of the Development of Publications in Modern China) (Beijing: Xinhua Pub-

lishing House, 1986), 436. 58. Sa Kongle 薩空了, Kexue de xinwenxue gailun 科學的新聞學概論 (An Outline on Scientific Journalism) (Hong Kong: Xianggang wenhua gongyingshe, 1946), 35.

Chapter 9 1.

Cai Hesen 蔡和森, “Zhongguo gongchandangshi de fazhan tigang” 中國共產黨史的發展提綱 (The Outline of the Development of CPC’s History), Zhengzhi shenghuo 政治生活 (Political Life), no. 79.

2.

4th National Congress of the CPC, “Duiyu xuanchuan gongzuo zhi jueyian” 對於宣傳工作之決議案 (Resolution on Propaganda Work), January 1925. Qu Qiubai 瞿秋白, “Xinqingnian zhi xuanyan” 新青年之宣言 (Declaration of the New Youth), La Jeu-

3.

nesse 新青年, June 15, 1923. 4.

Ibid.

5. Zhengzhi shenghuo 政治生活 (Political Life), no. 59. 6.

Ibid, no. 62–67.

7. Zhanshi 戰士 (Warrior), no. 41. Chen Shaokang 陳紹康 and Zhu Shaowei 朱少偉, “Wodang zuizao de tongxunshe” 我黨最早的通訊

8.

社 (The Earliest News Agency of the Party), Xinwen jizhe 新聞記者 (Shanghai Journalism Review), April

1984. Luo Zhanglong 羅章龍, Chunyuan zaiji 椿園載記 (Chunyuan Records) (Beijing: Joint Publishing,

9.

1984). 10. Mao Dun 茅盾, “Yijiuerqinian dageming” 1927年大革命 (National Revolution in 1927), Xinwenxue

shiliao 新文學史料 (Historical Documents of Modern Literature), Vol. 4 (1980), 3. 11. Hankou minguo ribao 漢口民國日報 (Hankou Republic Daily), June 18, 1927. 12. Guan Yixian 管翼賢. Xinwenxue jicheng 新聞學集成 (Journalism Collection), Vol. 7 (Zhonghua xinwen xueyuan, 1934), 51. 13. Zhongguo baoxueshi 中國報學史 (History of China’s Newspapers) (Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1927), 175. 14. Hu Daojing 胡道靜, “Shanghai de ribao” 上海的日報 (Daily Newspapers in Shanghai), Tongzhiguan

qikan 通志館期刊 (Periodicals of History Museum) (Shanghai: Tongzhiguan, 1935), 283. 15. Li Songsheng 李嵩生, Shenbao de yange 申報的沿革 (50 Years of Shun Pao ), February 1922. 16. Zhang Zhuping 張竹平, “Yu suojinian yuci jinianrizhe” 余所紀念於此紀念日者 (Commemorating This Anniversary), Shun Pao 申報, November 29, 1928. 17. Commercial Journal (Shangbao 商報) started the column “Finance and Commerce” on the New Year Day in 1921, which was a year earlier than News Daily did.

202

18. Shi Liangcai 史量才, “Shenbao faxing erwanhao jinian” 申報發行二萬號紀念 (Celebration for the 20,000th Issue of Shun Pao ), Shun Pao 申報, November 29, 1928. 19. “Shanghai chengyan fadong xuanchuan yinfa shimo” 上海〈誠言〉反動傳單印發始末 (Ins and Outs of the Publication of Sincere Words ), Historical Archives 歷史檔案, 1982, no. 3. 20. Cao Gubing 曹谷冰 and Wang Yunsheng 王芸生, “1926 zhi 1949 de jiudagongbao” 1926至1949的舊 大公報 (The Old Ta Kung Pao during 1926 and 1949), Wenshi ziliao xuanji 文史資料選輯 (Selection of

Historical Materials), no. 25, 33. 21. Hu Zhengzhi 胡政之, “Huishou shiqinian” 回首17年 (Looking Back the Past 17 Years), Ta Kung Pao 大 公報, April 15, 1949.

22. Shao Yizhi 邵翼之, “Wo suo zhidao de shanghai shibao” 我所知道的上海時報 (The Eastern Times I knew), Baoxue 報學 (The Newspaper Industry), Vol. 1: 8. 23. Ibid. 24. Xu Zhucheng 徐鑄成, Baohai jiuwen 報海舊聞 (Old News in Newspapers) (Shanghai: Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1981), 23. 25. Shao Piaoping 邵飄萍, “Jingbao sannianlai zhi huigu” 京報三年來之回顧 (Reviewing the Beijing Post over the Past Three Years), Jingbao 京報 (Beijing Post), October 10, 1922. 26. Pan Gongbi 潘公弼, “Jinian piaoping xiansheng” 紀念飄萍先生 (Missing Mr. Piaoping), Jingbao 京報 (Beijing Post), April 14, 1929. 27. Jingbao 京報 (Beijing Post), September 17, 1923. 28. Ibid, November 16, 1923. 29. Ibid, February 14, 1923. 30. Shao Piaoping 邵飄萍, “Cu zhonge waijiao guanxi zhi jinbu” 促中俄外交關係之進步 (Fostering the Improvement of Sino–Soviet Diplomatic Relations), Jingbao 京報 (Beijing Post), August 20, 1922. 31. Luo Zhanglong 羅章龍, “Yi beijing daxue xinwenxue yanjiuhui yu shao zhenqing” 憶北京大學新聞學研 究會與邵振青 (Recalling the Seminar on Journalism in Peking University and Shao Zhenqing), Xinwen

yanjiu ziliao 新聞研究資料 (News Study Materials), 1980, no. 4. 32. A conference held by representatives of the business sector, workers, peasants, student organizations, and other occupational bodies aiming at resolving political issues in China back then. 33. Jingbao 京報 (Beijing Post), July 3, 1924. 34. Shao Piaoping 邵飄萍, “Jinggao guomin” 敬告國民 (Warning the People), Jingbao 京報 (Beijing Post), January 13, 1925. 35. Shao Piaoping 邵飄萍, “Kewei qiangyouli zhi zhengfu yi” 可謂強有力之政府矣 (Might Be Said as a Strong Government), Jingbao 京報 (Beijing Post), March 20, 1926. 36. A political association founded to promote the revival of the monarchy and advocate the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.

203

Notes

37. Shanghai minguo ribao 上海民國日報 (Republic Daily Tribune), May 11, 1926. 38. Ibid, April 16, 1926. 39. Ibid, October 14, 1926. 40. Ibid, April 5, 1926. 41. Wenshi ziliao xuanji 文史資料選輯 (Selection of Historical Materials), Vol. 11, 60. 42. “Qingkan waiguo baozhi pohuai women de yanlun” 請看外國報紙破壞我們的言論 (See How Foreign Newspapers Interfere Our Opinion), Rexue ribao 熱血日報 (Hot-Blooded Daily), June 4, 1925. 43. Ibid. 44. “Chi wenhuibao jizhe” 斥文匯報記者 (Criticizing Reporters of Wenhui Bao), Rexue ribao 熱血日報 (Hot-Blooded Daily), August 31, 1925. 45. Wei Qin 魏琴, “Guanshui huiyi yu sifa diaocha” 關稅會議與司法調查 (Meeting on Customs Duties and Investigation on Jurisdiction), Xiangdao 嚮導 (The Guide Weekly), August 31, 1925. 46. C.T., “Xinwen de qinlue” 新聞的侵略 (News Aggression), Xiangdao 嚮導 (The Guide Weekly), June 18, 1924. 47. “Yingmei zai yuandong de baozhi yu zhongguo shibian” 英美在遠東的報紙與中國事變 (British and American Newspapers in the Far East and Incidents in China), Xiangdao 嚮導 (The Guide Weekly), October 12, 1926. 48. See note 45. 49. “Waiguo baozhi zhong suojian de geguo zhengce zhi butongyi” 外國報紙中所見的各國政策之不統 一 (The Inconsistency of Various Powers As Seen in Foreign Newspapers), Rexue ribao 熱血日報 (Hot-

Blooded Daily), June 5, 1925. 50. Zhao Minheng 趙敏恒. Wairen zaihua de xinwenshiye 外人在華的新聞事業 (Foreign Journalism in China) (Chinese Institute of Pacific Relations, 1932), 54. 51. “Duiwai yu duinei” 對外與對內 (Internal and External), Sheng Ching Shih Pao 盛京時報, May 16, 1927. 52. Shuntian shibao 順天時報 (Shuntian Times), April 12, 1927. 53. Zhao Minheng 趙敏恒. Wairen zaihua de xinwenshiye 外人在華的新聞事業 (Foreign Journalism in China) (Chinese Institute of Pacific Relations, 1932), 73. 54. The report, titled The Report on How to Run Party Newspapers , was written on January 11, 1927, and was published in Hankou Republic Daily in April 1927. 55. Vol. 17 of The Eastern Miscellany 東方雜誌, August 1920, no. 15. 56. Shanghai minguo ribao 上海民國日報 (Republic Daily Tribune), January 28, 1923. 57. Lü Shiqin 呂世勤, “Wuxiandian heshi yinjin zhongguo” 無線電何時引進中國 (The Introduction of Wireless Communication to China), Zhongguo keji shiliao 中國科技史料 (The Chinese Journal for the History of Science and Technology), 1983, no. 1.

204

Notes

58. Jiaotongshi dianzhengbian 交通史‧電政編 (History of Transportation: Telecommunication), November 1936. 59. Zhao Yuming 趙玉明, “Beijing guangbo shiye fazhan gaikuang” 北京廣播事業發展概況 (Summary on the Development of Broadcasting in Beijing), Wenshi ziliao xuanbian 文史資料選編 (Selected Historic and Cultural Materials) (Beijing: Beijing Publishing Group, 1982). 60. Ge Gongzhen 戈公振, Zhongguo baoxueshi 中國報學史 (History of China’s Newspapers) (Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1955), 250. 61. Chen bao 晨報 (The Morning Post), April 5 and May 2, 1926. 62. Ta Kung Pao 大公報, October 1926. 63. Hankou minguo ribao 漢口民國日報 (Hankou Republic Daily), January 3, 1927. 64. Renmin zhoukan 人民週刊 (People’s Weekly), February 1927, no. 44. 65. Vol. 22 of Guangdong wenshi ziliao 廣東文史資料 (Guangdong Humanity and Historical Materials), 16. 66. Cheng Xiuhua 程秀華編 ed., Zhongguo dianying fazhanshi 中國電影發展史 (The History of the Development of Movies in China), Vol. 1 (Beijing: Zhongguo dianying chubanshe, 1980), 41 and 42. 67. Xu Bibo 徐碧波, “Jilupian wusa huchao paishe jingguo” 紀錄片《五卅滬潮》拍攝經過 (The Shooting of The May 30th Trend in Shanghai ), Zhongguo dianying 中國電影 (China Movie), May 1957. 68. Russian Academy of Sciences ed., Sulian dianyingshigang 蘇聯電影史綱 (Outline of the History of Soviet Movies) (Beijing: Zhongguo dianying chubanse, 1983), 100.

Chapter 10

1. Liuda yiqian — dang de lishi cailiao 六大以前 — 黨的歷史材料 (Historical Materials of the Party before the Sixth National People’s Congress) (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 1980), 918. 2. Zhongguo gongchandang xinwen gongzuo wenjian huibian 中國共產黨新聞工作文件匯編 (The Compilation of Documents of the CPC’s Press Work), Vol. 1 (Beijing: Xinhua Publishing House, 1980), 39. 3. Zhongguo gongchandang zai shanghai 中國共產黨在上海 (The CPC in Shanghai) (Shanghai: Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1991), 86. 4. Zhongguo gongchandang xinwen gongzuo wenjian huibian 中國共產黨新聞工作文件匯編 (The Compilation of Documents of the CPC’s Press Work), Vol. 1 (Beijing: Xinhua Publishing House, 1980), 29. 5.

“Faxing geming baozhi shi yizhong qunzhongxing de zhengzhi douzheng” 發行革命報紙是一種革命性 的政治鬥爭 (The Publication of Revolutionary Newspapers As A Political Struggle), Hong Qi 紅旗 (Red

Flag), May 27, 1930, no. 105. 6.

Cai Hesen 蔡和森, “Xiang jingyu tongzhi zhuan” 向警予同志傳 (A Biography of Comrade Xiang Jingyu),

Xiang jingyu wenji 向警予文集 (Collection of Xiang Jingyu’s Works) (Hunan: Hunan People’s Publishing House, 1985).

205

Notes

7.

Huang Liusha 黃流沙 and Su Qian 蘇乾, “Zai guangzhou qiyi qianxi chuban de hongqi bao” 在廣州起義 前出版的紅旗報 (The Publication of Red Flag before the Guangzhou Uprising), Xinwen yewu 新聞業 務 (Journalism Business), 1963 no. 2.

Mao Zedong 毛澤東, “Pubiandi juban shishi jianbao” 普遍地舉辦時事簡報 (The Popularization of The

8.

News Bulletin on Current Affairs), Mao zedong xinwen gongzuo wenxuan 毛澤東新聞工作文選 (Selected Works of News Activities of Mao Zedong) (Beijing: Xinhua Publishing House, 1983), 26. 9.

Liu Xing 劉型, “Huangyangjie baoweizhan qianhou” 黃洋界保衛戰前後 (Around the Huangyangjie Battle), Huiyi jinggangshan douzheng shiqi 回憶井岡山鬥爭時期 (Memories about Struggles in the Jinggang Mountains) (Jiangxi: Jiangxi People’s Publishing House, 1979).

10. “Revolutionary competition” is a method adopted by the CPC to train a large number of robust fighters. It advocated competition in study, in work, and ultimately in battle, thus a wide variety of activities were organized. 11. The Xiang–Gan Revolutionary Base Area lied at the borderline of Hunan and Jiangxi Provinces. 12. Xianggan geming genjudi douzheng shi 湘贛革命根據地鬥爭史 (A History of Struggles in the Xiang– Gan Revolutionary Base Areas) (Jiangxi: Jiangxi People’s Publishing House, 1982), 104–105. 13. Min–Zhe–Gan refers to the borderlines of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi. 14. Minzhegan geming genjudi shigao 閩浙贛革命根據地史稿 (Historical Manuscripts of the Min–Zhe– Gan Revolutionary Base Area) (Jiangxi: Jiangxi People’s Publishing House, 1984). 15. Western Xiang–E refers to the borders of Western Hubei and Hunan. 16. Xiucai is the title of an official selected because of his knowledge and intelligence. 17. Xie dangzai riji 謝黨哉日記 (The Diary of Xie Dangzai) (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 1984). 18. Li Guangting 李光庭, “Yi hongqi ribao” 憶〈紅旗日報〉(Reminisces of the Red Flag Daily ), Hubei xin-

wenshiliao huibian 湖北新聞史料彙編 (Collection of Historical Sources on Journalism in Hubei), 1985, no. 1. 19. Zhang Zhihua 張之華, “Jieshao chuanshan geming genjudi de baokan” 介紹川陝革命根據地的報刊 (Introducing Publications in the Chuan–Shan Revolutionary Base Area), Xinwen yanjiu ziliao 新聞研究 資料 (News Study Materials), Vol. 8, November 1981.

20. Shen Guozheng 沈果正. “Chuanshan geming genjudi de baokan” 川陝革命根據地的報刊 (Publications in the Chuanshan Revolutionary Base Area), Xinwen yanjiu ziliao 新聞研究資料 (News Study Materials), Vol. 40, December 1987. 21. Xing Guyi 邢谷宜. “Qiongya zaoqi geming baokan” 瓊崖早期革命報刊 (Early Revolutionary Publications in Hainan), Guangdong geming baokan yanjiu 廣東革命報刊研究 (The Study on Guangdong Revolutionary Publications), Vol. 1. 22. “Fandui guozuo de qingxiang” 反對過「左」的傾向 (Objection against ‘Leftist’ Tendency), Sin Zhunx-

ua Bao 新中華報, February 9, 1937.

206

23. Reference News was renamed News Today (Jinri xinwen 今日新聞) and printed with mimeograph machines. By March 10, 1940, it was produced with letterpress printing machines. 24. “The Task of the Chinese Communist Party in the Period of Resistance to Japan,” Marxists Internet Archive, accessed December 12, 2012, http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/ volume-1/mswv1_14.htm. 25. The assembly was not organized eventually due to the outbreak of the Second Sino–Japanese War. 26. The Seven Gentlepersons Incident refers to the KMT arresting seven anti-Japanese members of the National Salvation Association (Quanguo gejie jiuguo lianhehui 全國各界救國聯合會). 27. Liang Ping 亮平. “Chi ye qing zhang difei ren yuli xuejia zhu tuoluosijipai” 斥葉青張滌非任一黎學稼諸 托洛斯基派 (The Trotskyists in China), Jiefang 解放 (Liberation), May 11, 1937.

28. Ibid. 29. As printed on the back cover of Jiefang .

207

Index advertisement business 55-6, 59 advocacies 8-9, 13, 16, 21, 25, 29, 37, 43-4, 90, 129, 162, 192 All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) 80, 164, 177, 180-2 American Newspapers 129, 131 anarchism 32-3, 44, 48, 51, 54 Anhui Clique 18, 61-2, 64-5, 97, 99, 104, 144 anti-Confucianism movement 3, 6, 12, 14 anti-Japanese front 178, 194-6 anti-warlordism 37, 70-1 Beijing 17-18, 27, 34, 45-6, 51, 60-4, 83-4, 978, 107-8, 111-12, 121, 125-6, 130, 133-4, 138-40 Beijing garrison 125 Beijing government 9-10, 113 Beijing Post 20, 66, 86, 111-14, 123 Beiyang government 18, 21, 23-6, 45, 60, 64, 75, 98, 142, 144, 147 Beiyang warlords 121, 124, 126, 144, 147, 159 Bolsheviks 85, 136, 138, 158, 161-2, 186 British 121, 127, 129, 131 broadcasting 140-7, 177 broadsheets 103, 119, 173 bulletin 36-8, 138, 172-4 call sign 141, 145, 147, 176 capitalism 45-6, 50, 53, 59, 85 capitalists 32, 46, 50, 54, 104

Central Base Area 175-9 Central Committee 41, 161-2, 178-9, 193-6 central government 75, 97, 125, 178-9, 191 Central News Agency 89, 92-3, 175 Central Propaganda Department 88-9, 92-3, 96, 154, 161, 163, 170 Changsha 27, 34-5, 46, 49, 76, 78, 174 Changxindian 51, 53-4, 78 Chen Bao 20, 34, 47, 65 Chen Duxiu 2, 20, 25, 41, 48-50, 73, 79, 83-4 Chen Leng 108-9 Chen Wangdao 47-8, 52 Cheng Shewo 63, 98, 100 chief editor 10, 19-20, 23-4, 29-30, 33-5, 4953, 60-1, 69-73, 81, 88-9, 116, 127-8, 130, 139, 162-3 China Youth 79, 104, 160, 163 China Youth League 77, 160, 163-4, 169, 177, 184, 186, 190 China, northern 62, 98, 104, 113, 127, 196 Chinese Civil War 157, 159, 161, 163, 165, 167, 169, 171, 173, 175, 177, 179, 183, 185, 193-5 Chinese Communist Team in Shanghai 47, 49-51, 69, 78, 152, 176 Chinese Eastern Railway Russian Workers' Association (CERRWA) 136-7 Chinese Labor Secretariat 79-80, 86 Chinese Soviet Republic 169, 176-7, 179, 184, 191, 194-5 C h i n e s e Wo r k e r s ' C o r r e s p o n d e n t s

209

Index

Association (CWCA) 170-1 Chuan-Shan Revolutionary Base Area 1889 classical Chinese 20, 166 classical literature 13, 17, 20 commentaries 18, 21, 24-5, 31, 37, 42, 53, 62, 96, 100-1, 114, 116-17, 161-2, 168, 196-7 Commercial Press 74, 120-1 Communist International 45-6, 50, 52, 72, 84, 137 Communist Party in China (CPC) 30, 445, 48-51, 68-81, 83-4, 86-90, 94-7, 113, 126, 158-65, 167-73, 177-9, 182-3, 186-8, 192-8 communist team 47-9, 53-4, 84 Communists 49-51, 53, 69-70, 88, 94-5, 152, 192 Confucian studies 4, 6 Confucianism 4-6, 9, 14, 20, 22, 31 Confucius 4-6 counties 177, 181-2, 188 democracy 3, 14, 16, 31-2, 35, 37, 39, 42, 126, 195, 197 democratic revolution 70, 73, 77, 90, 198 Deng Zhongxia 19, 77, 81-2, 88, 90, 92, 161 despotism 4, 6, 22, 44, 197 diplomacy 8, 11, 23, 25-6, 66 dispatches 84, 86, 139, 149, 171, 176, 191, 193 Duan's government 19, 62, 121, 124-5, 151 East News Agency 57, 134

210

Eastern Times 57, 64, 68, 108-11, 147-9 editorial board 10, 14, 17, 45, 86, 94, 112, 161 Europe 23, 31, 38-9, 50, 109, 144, 162 Fengtian Clique 62, 76, 97, 121-2, 124, 1445, 147 feudalism 12, 15-16, 46 foreign radio stations 140, 142 freedom 2-3, 5-7, 15, 18, 22, 26, 31, 39 French Revolution 42 Guangdong 54, 77, 81-2, 87, 89, 91-3, 126, 154, 168, 170 Guangzhou 49-51, 53, 73, 77-8, 87-9, 93, 96, 129, 134, 137-8, 154-5, 160, 167 Guide Weekly 69-74, 121, 126, 159-60 Hangzhou 69, 109-12, 124 Hankou 93, 95, 128, 130, 133-4, 138, 140, 159, 168 Hankou Republic Daily 90, 95-6 Harbin 135-40, 145-6 Hong Kong 87, 89, 127, 130, 134, 139, 153 Hu Shi 9-12, 18-20, 43 Hu Zhengzhi 99, 104-6 Hubei 46, 82, 87, 175 Hunan 24, 27, 31, 54, 71, 76-7, 82, 97, 131, 186 imperialism 19, 22, 24-6, 31, 60, 69-70, 76, 161, 197 imperialists 25-6, 53, 75, 83, 95, 100, 104, 155

Index

intellectuals 53-4, 56, 76, 99, 187 Japan 3, 8, 10-11, 19, 23-6, 36, 40, 48, 69, 115, 127, 130-2, 134-5, 138, 177-8 Japanese 76, 98, 132-5, 192-3, 195-6 Jiangxi 171, 175, 180, 182 journalists 17, 23-4, 35, 39-40, 68, 86, 108, 136, 138, 149 KMT 28-9, 34, 60-2, 70-1, 87-97, 122, 154, 158-61, 163, 165-7, 170-2, 174-5, 177-8, 192, 194-7 La Jeunesse 2-12, 15-18, 20-2, 26, 30, 34, 429, 69, 72-3, 79, 151 labor movements 29, 46, 48, 51, 54, 80, 86, 113, 152, 164-6 Labor News Agency 86 leftist adventurism 163, 168, 179, 188, 190, 195 Lenin 48, 50, 72, 112, 152, 194, 198 letterpress 160, 167, 174, 177, 180, 195-6 Li Dazhao 10, 16, 19, 25-6, 29-30, 39, 45, 70, 75-6, 78, 84, 86, 92, 102, 154 Liberation 3, 47, 52, 94, 159, 182, 196-8 literary revolution 8, 10, 12-15 Long March 158, 177-8, 180-1, 183, 191 manifesto 31, 33, 45, 50 Mao Zedong 27, 30-5, 42, 49, 51, 71, 76, 925, 173, 184, 187, 196-7 Marxism 16, 29, 33-4, 39, 41-3, 48, 72, 78, 80, 87 Marxist 29, 33, 73, 76, 152 May Fourth Movement 1-3, 5-7, 15-17, 19-

23, 25, 27-33, 35-7, 39, 43-7, 49, 57, 5963, 126-8, 135, 138-9 May Fourth Period 2, 18, 27, 43, 60, 63, 135 May Thirtieth Movement 71, 74, 81, 87, 100, 104, 112, 114, 125, 128, 149, 154, 167 mimeo 170, 186, 194 modernization 38, 55-6, 111 Morning Post 20-1, 23, 26, 62, 66, 123, 128, 148 National News Agency 87 National News Service 105, 107 National Revolution 68, 72, 74, 81, 93, 95, 152, 158-60, 174, 186 National Revolutionary Army (NRA) 91, 122, 154, 195 New China Post 158, 194 New Culture Movement 2, 6, 9, 11-12, 1617, 19-22, 30, 39, 43, 45-7, 121 New People Institute 30, 34-5 News Daily 55, 57-60, 74, 99-103, 109, 125, 129 news dispatches 140, 171 news photos 110, 149, 151 newspaper-reading groups 182, 190 newspapers, foreign 121, 128, 131, 140, 149 newsreels 69, 147, 153-5 Northeast Radio Monitoring Office 145-6 Northern Expedition 72, 77, 93, 125, 129, 137, 154 Northern Expedition Army 77, 122, 125, 129, 135 October Revolution 31-2, 42-4, 49, 53-4, 72,

211

Index

85, 88, 136-7 Osborn Radio Station 141-2 Paris Peace Conference 18, 22-4, 31 parliament 3-4, 8, 12, 65-6 patriotism 7, 11, 19, 24, 154-5 peasant movement 70-1, 76-7, 81-2, 90, 96 Peking University 9-10, 19-21, 30, 41, 125, 149 pen names 35, 37-8, 71 pictorials 98, 149-50 political struggles 8, 15-17, 19, 45, 57, 68, 99 portraits 109, 114, 151-2 power struggles 4, 7, 11, 63-4, 94 printing machines, rotary 59 private newspapers 55, 63, 68, 98-9, 103-4, 126 proletarian journalism 39, 41, 44, 87 Propaganda Department 70, 74, 92, 183, 188, 190 Provincial Committee 168-9, 183-4, 188 Provisional Central Government 169, 1767, 191 public opinion 11, 15, 17, 24, 40, 43-4, 60, 63-6, 89, 103, 112, 114, 122-4, 127, 193 Qingdao 23, 98, 133 Qu Qiubai 27, 70, 72, 80, 83, 90, 96, 112, 159, 161, 177

radio stations 59, 69, 141-2, 144-7, 176 Red Army 32, 158, 169, 171-80, 182-5, 1903, 195

212

Red China 158, 175-9, 191-4 Red Chinese News Agency (RCNA) 158, 175-7, 191, 193-5 Red Flag 42, 158, 161-2, 168 Red Flag Daily 158, 162-3, 168, 186-7 Red Fourth Army 189, 191, 193 Republic Daily 20-1, 24, 27, 29, 47, 74, 83-4, 89, 91, 126 Reuters 128-9 revolutionary base areas 162, 171-2, 179, 182, 185, 188, 190, 198 revolutionary newspapers 41, 44, 137, 167-8 revolutionary publications 68, 137, 168-9, 182 rightists 68, 76, 94-6, 103 Russian 31-2, 85, 136-7, 140, 145 Russian Revolution 42, 85, 136 Russo-Japanese War 132, 134 Shanbei 158, 191, 193 Shanghai 23-4, 44-7, 49-51, 53-8, 72-5, 84-9, 98-9, 101-5, 107-10, 126-30, 132-4, 13642, 153-5, 160, 162-4 Shanghai Concession 26, 74, 84, 104, 139, 141 Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions 81, 87 Shanghai Pao 158, 162, 165-8, 186 Shao Piaoping 23, 30, 63, 66, 68, 86, 111-14 Shen Yanbing 48, 50, 93-5 Shenyang 68, 122, 132, 145-6 Shun Pao 44, 55-7, 63, 68, 99-104, 108-10, 125, 141-2 Sincere Words 103-4 Sino-Russian News Agency 84-6

Index

Socialist Youth League of China 77-9 Soviet Area 177, 180-2, 195 Soviet Union 32, 48, 53, 92, 112-13, 137, 140, 155, 166, 187, 193 student movement 24, 27, 57, 71, 82-3 Sun Yat-sen 28, 68, 88, 113-14, 154 Ta Kung Pao 24, 33, 51, 63-4, 68, 99, 104-8, 124, 151 tabloids 68, 111, 114-20, 151, 168, 179, 187, 189 Taiwan 132, 134 Tangshan 46, 51, 53-4, 78 telegrams 23-4, 66, 74, 84, 93, 107-8, 125, 128, 143, 176, 193, 195-6, 198 Tenth Army 184-5 three great policies 68, 70, 90, 92, 95-6 Tianjin 24, 34-8, 45-6, 61, 63, 78, 91, 98, 104, 106-8, 121-2, 126-7, 130, 133-4, 138-40 transmission power output 141, 145, 147

Wuhan 34, 49, 53, 70-1, 77, 80, 93, 95-6, 135, 137, 160, 163, 167-8 Xi'an 192-4 Xinhua News Agency 159, 176, 194-6 Yan'an 158, 191, 194, 196 yellow journalism 99, 111 Young China Association 27, 41, 43 Yuan Zhenying 47-8, 50, 52 Yun Daiying 77, 82-3, 88, 90, 92 Zhang Jiluan 61, 99, 104-7 Zhang Tailei 77-8, 80 Zhang Xun's restoration 7, 61 Zhang Zuolin 114, 121-2, 128, 137, 144 Zhejiang 41, 68, 122, 124 Zhou Enlai 35, 77-8, 81, 92, 152, 193, 195-6 Zhou Zuoren 10, 15, 18

united front 43, 47, 70, 89, 192, 196-7 wall papers 173-4, 179-80 warlord government 9, 16, 19, 22, 26, 41, 43, 60, 63-4, 66, 80, 85, 87 warlords 4, 11, 18, 32, 35, 37-8, 57, 63-4, 68, 76, 83, 92, 97-8, 121-6, 144 Weekly Review 18-19, 21, 24-6, 29, 41-3, 46-7 White Russians 136-8 women's movement 54, 83-4 worker class 39, 42, 44, 47 worker publications 2, 51, 68, 80-2, 152

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A History of Journalism_V4_Cover_OP.pdf 1 12年12月31日 下午5:46

187 mm

187 mm

A History of Journalism in China Volume 4

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Volume 4 offers a detailed depiction of the development of journalism in China from the 1911 Revolution until the end of the Long March. This chaotic period witnessed the confrontation between the conventional and conservative feudal powers and the emerging and innovative revolutionary forces. In this period, foreigners also founded their own newspapers, news agencies, and radio stations in the country. In addition to covering major historical incidents such as the May Fourth Movement, the founding of the CPC, and the First KMT–CPC United Front, this book provides a systematic account of the political circumstances of the era and the publications in China at that time.

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. Chinese Historical Studies

Edited by Fang Hanqi

EDITOR IN CHIEF

JOURNALISM IN CHINA Volume 4

Volume 4

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260 mm

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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.

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