China’s Intelligentsia in the Late 19th to Early 20th Centuries: The Emergence of New Forms of Publications and New Modes of Intellectual Engagement 9783110661101, 9783110657197

Table of contents :
Contents
Introduction
Chapter One A Desire for Group Affiliation: Background of the Formation of the Intelligentsia
Chapter Two The Emergence of the Intelligentsia: The Subcultural World amid Social Restructuring
Chapter Three The Intelligentsia from Background to Foreground: Expansion of the Ideological Map
Chapter Four The Multiple Colors of the Intelligentsia: Newspapers and Academics
Chapter Five The Multiple “Colors” of the Intelligentsia: Newspapers and Politics
Chapter Six Book Publishers, Newspaper Publishers, and Scholars: Shared Commercial Interest
Chapter Seven The Other Side of the Intelligentsia: The Change in the Way of Expression of Scholars
Chapter Eight Reading Newspapers: “Ladder of Social Mobility” for Scholars
Conclusion
Postscript
References
Index

Citation preview

Qing Zhang China’s Intelligentsia in the Late 19th to Early 20th Centuries

Qing Zhang

China’s Intelligentsia in the Late 19th to Early 20th Centuries The Emergence of New Forms of Publications and New Modes of Intellectual Engagement Translated by Xiaoqin Zhang

ISBN 978-3-11-065719-7 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-066110-1 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-065722-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2023939558 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston First published as 清季民国时期的“思想界”, Social Sciences Academic Press (China), Beijing 2014. Cover image: 1970s/iStock/Getty Images Plus Typesetting: Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com

Contents Introduction 1 I A Journey from the West to China: Newspapers in the Late Qing Dynasty 1 II First Impression of Newspapers: Communication between the Upper and Lower Levels and between China and the West 11 III The Intelligentsia as a Field 17 Chapter One A Desire for Group Affiliation: Background of the Formation of the Intelligentsia 27 I Magazines, Newspapers, Societies, and Education Institutions as Hosts of “Group Affiliation” 28 II Newspapers and Magazines as an Element in Group Affiliation 34 III Representative Distribution: Establishment of Newspaper Sales Network 39 IV Self-Reform: Interactions with the Government 42 Chapter Two The Emergence of the Intelligentsia: The Subcultural World amid Social Restructuring 60 I Interpretation of the Intelligentsia in the Late Qing Dynasty 61 II From Grouping by Province to Grouping by Trade: The Formation of the Subcultural World 68 III The “Middle Society” and the Germination of its Class Consciousness 79 IV The Intelligentsia and the Reorganization of Chinese Society 85 V The Undercurrent in the Intelligentsia: Government’s Response 96 Chapter Three The Intelligentsia from Background to Foreground: Expansion of the Ideological Map 106 I The Ideological Map Epitomized by Periodicals of the Republican Era 106 II The Structure and Rhythm of the “Ideological Map” 114 III The Hidden Intelligentsia 133

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Chapter Four The Multiple Colors of the Intelligentsia: Newspapers and Academics 143 I Understanding Newspapers in Light of the “War of the Academics” 144 II Periodicals Influenced by the Concept of Disciplinary Studies 151 III Newspapers and Magazines in Compilations of Western Learning 160 IV School-Journal-Society: Another “Business” of Periodicals 169 V Academia over Politics: Popularity of the Ideological Revolution 178 Chapter Five The Multiple “Colors” of the Intelligentsia: Newspapers and Politics I Organization of Scholars and the Intensified Intellectual Conflict II The “Isms” of the Intelligentsia 205 III How Political Forces Found Support in the Intelligentsia 212 Chapter Six Book Publishers, Newspaper Publishers, and Scholars: Shared Commercial Interest 228 I Newspaper Publishing as a Business 229 II The Connection between Books and Newspapers 237 III Another Business: New-style Book Publishers and Scholars IV The Modus Operandi of Scholars 270

187 188

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Chapter Seven The Other Side of the Intelligentsia: The Change in the Way of Expression of Scholars 284 I Writing as One of the “Three Deeds to Immortality” 285 II New Media and Changes in Expressions 292 III Disputes over Newspaper Texts 300 IV The Other Side of the Intelligentsia 314 Chapter Eight Reading Newspapers: “Ladder of Social Mobility” for Scholars 323 I Cultivation of the “Reading Public,” Interaction between the Upper and the Lower Classes 324 II From Dibao to New-style Newspapers: A Turn in Reading 341 III Newspapers and New Knowledge: The Impact of the Imperial Examination System Reform 355 IV Reading Newspapers: The Ladder Leading Scholars to Society 367 V Center and Periphery: Different Reading Experiences 374

Contents

Conclusion 387 I New Media and the Construction of Civilization 388 II The Intelligentsia Key to Understanding Modern China III Review of the Intelligentsia 397 IV What is a Public Realm? Whose Is it? 400 Postscript

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References Index

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VII

Introduction The Intelligentsia as a Field: New-type Publications and Scholars The intelligentsia has been a widely used term in the studies of history and current society. Similar terms include the intellectual, academic, educational, and publishing circles. The author relates the intelligentsia to China at the turn of the twentieth century because the formation of the intelligentsia must be understood in a broader background, or more specifically, in the context of modern China. By doing some investigation in this regard, the author intends to address from a new angle some issues that deserve more attention, so as to enable a better understanding of the radical changes that modern China underwent. It is noteworthy that the emergence of the intelligentsia and other circles in the early twentieth century is an epitome of the drastic changes in the Chinese society at that time, indicative both of a new state-society relation and of Chinese scholars’ efforts to find new roles and identity for themselves after bidding farewell to imperial examinations. Based on this, the intelligentsia in China in the late Qing and Republic of China periods has some special connotations, involving mainly two aspects: newtype publications and Chinese scholars who had bid farewell to the imperial examinations. By focusing on the intelligentsia, the author tries to reveal the profound influence of these two aspects on how modern China had evolved and shed new light on modern Chinese history. Here, in the introduction, it is necessary to examine the emergence of new-type publications in modern China, to see how they, together with scholars, shaped the intelligentsia as a field.

I A Journey from the West to China: Newspapers in the Late Qing Dynasty The role of publications in the communication between two civilizations can never be overstated. Western learning saw its debut in China when Jesuits came to China on religious missions in the late sixteenth century. But the influence of Jesuit missionaries was no rival to that of the Protestant missionary efforts in China in the nineteenth century, as Protestant missionaries had a new means to spreading knowledge. While the Jesuits brought with them maps and apparatuses new to China, they mostly relied on books as the major medium of dissemination. New-type media of communication naturally played a critical role when Western learning was first introduced in China. The first newspapers in Chinese were like

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-001

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Introduction

a window through which Chinese people saw and learned from the West.1 In the words of Timothy Richard, a Baptist Missionary Society (BMS) missionary who came to China in 1870, “Why have newspaper publishers been established in large numbers in Western countries? Because many new policies have been released over the past century, mostly beneficial to society, and it is good to publish the policies in newspapers so that they can be widely known and people can choose the good ones to follow.”2 As a matter of fact, Western learning spread in China in the period thanks to newspapers which were seen as “a powerful leaven.”3 The assessment of new-type publications, newspapers in particular, as one of the two forces that shaped the intelligentsia, must cover both newspapers run by Westerners in China and the traditional dibao, or government gazette, in China. First established in China as part of the missionary efforts, foreign-run newspapers had not been part of the late Qing society until they covered wider ranges of topics. On the other hand, Chinese scholars in the late Qing Dynasty understood newspapers as a sort of extension of the centuries-old dibao, seeing newspapers as a means of communication between the superior and subordinates and between China and foreign countries, and as an important part of their efforts to build China into a strong country with powerful armed forces. Here, it can be seen that newspapers were born in modern China from a context different from that in the West. Making this clear facilitates understanding of how social and cultural factors influenced the development of newspapers in China and can shed some light on the fundamentals of the intelligentsia as a field.

 Ge Gongzhen, a pioneer of Chinese journalism, once said, “China’s modern newspapers were all established by foreigners.” See The History of Chinese Newspapers, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2002, p. 64. A Abelha da China in Portuguese published in Macao on September 12, 1822, is the first modern newspaper published in China. For related studies, see Li Changsen, Jindai Aomen Waibao Shigao (History of Foreign Newspapers in Modern Macao), Guangdong People’s Publishing House, 2010. While the author focuses on Chinese-language newspapers, this does not imply newspapers in other languages are not important.  Timothy Richard, “The Whole Story of Newspaper Publishers in China,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, September 1891, Vol. 32, p. 10.  Chang Hao, Chapter 5: Intellectual Changes and the Reform Movement, 1890–1898, in John King Fairbank and Kwang-ching Liu, eds., The Cambridge History of China Vol. 11: Late Ch’ing, 1800–1911, Part 2, Cambridge University Press, 2008, p. 279.

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“News paper”: A New-type Publication Brought to China by Missionaries It was natural for Christian missionaries to use what was then called “news paper” as a vehicle of their missions because newspapers had long been in use in their home countries. In 1438, Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type printing using metal type and printed books were born. The printing of newspapers soon followed. Periodicals were special in that they enabled authors and readers to have regular “meetings.”4 “News papers” were thus a natural choice for Christian missionaries. Robert Morrison, who was the first Protestant missionary to China, and the London Missionary Society (LMS) he belonged to played a key role in introducing newspapers to China. In his letter to William Milne in July 1815, Morrison claimed it necessary to “have our Chinese College, and our Extra-Ganges mission press” to fully spread the Christian beliefs.5 But as it was impractical to print Christian books in China at the time, Morrison and Milne chose Malacca. They proposed that “a small Chinese work in the form of a Magazine, be published at Malacca monthly, or as often as it can with propriety be done; in order to combine the diffusion of general knowledge with that of Christianity.”6 Chinese Monthly Magazine, established in August 1815 at Malacca, was the first magazine in Chinese published by Protestant missionaries. Even though the thread-bound woodblock printed magazine was still called a book, Milne, the editor-in-chief, explained the difference between Chinese Monthly Magazine and an ordinary book. First, it was a periodical that “was published at the beginning of every month, containing a couple of articles,” each of which “should be short and easy to understand.” Second, as an advertisement in the magazine went, “Those who want to read Chinese Monthly Magazine could ask for it in the first three days every month in the editor’s house.”7 It was a memorable event in the early history of press in China. Eastern Western Monthly Magazine, founded by Karl Gützlaff on August 1, 1833, in Guangzhou was the first magazine in Chinese published in the Chinese territory. It stayed in business till the sixth lunar month of the Yiwei year (1835) and

 Jean-Noёl Jeanneney, Une histoire des médias: Des origines à nos jours, Seuil, 2015, pp. 22–24.  Elizabeth A. Morrison, ed., Memoirs of the Life and Labours of Robert Morrison, D.D., Thoms, 1889, pp. 378–379.  William Milne, A Retrospect of the First Ten Years of the Protestant Mission to China, The Anglo-Chinese Press, 1820, p. 138. Morrison and Milne also received support from British and American institutions for missionary publications. See Ching Su, Morrison and Chinese Press, Student Book, 2000, pp. 19, 51–52.  William Milne, “Preface to Chinese Monthly Magazine,” Chinese Monthly Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, August 1815, p. 2.

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resumed publishing in Singapore in the first lunar month of the Dingyou year (1837). The magazine had not been prefaced until it reappeared in Singapore. As it went in the Preface, “Europeans attach importance to writings, and newspapers are published for wider dissemination.”8 In the issue of the twelfth lunar month of the Guisi year (1833), there was an article titled “A Brief Discussion on Newspapers,” introducing the origins of newspapers in Western countries.9 But “publications” like these were hardly attractive to Chinese readers, as Karl Gützlaff put it: “the Chinese themselves must . . . be incapable of appreciating a publication of this nature.”10 As discussed above, magazines in the Chinese language were a new type of publication different from books. Naturally, new knowledge would be introduced in a different way. Many other magazines, such as Xia Er Guan Zhen (Chinese Serial), Liu He Cong Tan (Shanghai Serial), Zhong Xi Jian Wen Lu (Peking Magazine), Wan Guo Gong Bao (A Review of the Times), and Ge Zhi Hui Bian (Shanghai Polytechnic), were founded one after another and left far-reaching influence. In the meantime, new issues await discussion in relation to these new-type publications.

Chinese Serial: “A Periodical of Both Chinese and Foreign Things” Founded on August 1, 1853, in Hong Kong, Chinese Serial stated its purpose in the inaugural issue: The periodical aimed at bringing Chinese readers who had never seen “a publication like this before” to understand the significance of the kind. The monthly “reports the latest news,” including “shipping information, visits by important people, and articles on diverse topics,” so that “readers can get down to every detail in no time” “once there is an important affair.”11 There was much to be discussed concerning the periodical’s content and publishing, though. News around the world was selected and published in the “Recent Newspapers” column from the inaugural issue on. The practice marked the formation of a newspaper network. In addition, like many other newspapers of the kind, Chinese Serial had to find a way to make itself financially viable from the

 Preface, Eastern Western Monthly Magazine, No. 1, 1837, in Huang Shijian, ed., Eastern Western Monthly Magazine, Zhonghua Book Company, 1997, p. 191.  “A Brief Discussion on Newspapers,” Eastern Western Monthly Magazine, No. 12, 1833. The article also appeared in No. 1, 1834, in Huang Shijian, ed., Eastern Western Monthly Magazine, Zhonghua Book Company, 1997, pp. 66, 76.  Charles Gützlaff, “A Monthly Periodical in the Chinese Language,” The Chinese Repository, Vol. II, August 1833, p. 187.  Preface, Chinese Serial, No. 1, Vol. I, August 1, 1853, p. 3.

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very beginning, as indicated by a notice: “Printed and published by Ying Wa College and priced at 15 cents per issue to cover the cost.”12 However, the circulation was far from what the editors expected. Among Chinese readers in particular, “Few cared to sell the periodical and none was willing to sponsor.” The 3,000 copies printed were “either sold or given free.”13 The newspaper resorted to advertising to cope with its financial strain, “We believe that merchants and charterers may find it a better way to post advertisements in our newspaper than putting up fliers in the street, for your information will spread farther and you will benefit more.”14 Nonetheless, the publication terminated in 1856, despite all the efforts. As indicated in the “Statement on the Termination of Chinese Serial,” the publication was terminated as a result of being unable to win Chinese readers’ recognition.15 Wang Tao, an important assistant to the newspaper’s editor-in-chief James Legge, despised his friends who asked him for copies of the newspaper.16 Guo Songtao was given Chinese Serial as a gift during his visit to Mission Press in Shanghai, and thought the periodical to be nothing more than “a compilation of newspapers.”17 Other missionary-run newspapers faced similar difficulties to Chinese Serial. Nevertheless, more newspapers were published in Chinese in China’s mainland. In 1857, the London Missionary Society’s Mission Press printed the monthly Shanghai Serial. The editor-in-chief Alexander Wylie stated that the periodical aimed to “help with communication between China and the West, report old and new things, and bring about changes.” The editors would “take down what is seen and heard and put the things into a monthly publication.”18 The newspaper began to publish information like shipping lists of exports and imports from its inaugural issue, indicating that it was a common practice to publish business information and post advertisements in newspapers. More importantly, Shanghai Serial marked new progress made by Western missionaries: alongside their missionary efforts, the missionaries had successfully introduced the new-type publications not only to

 “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Chinese Serial, No. 1, January 1, 1855, p. 1.  “Notes on Chinese Serial,” Chinese Serial, No. 12, December 1, 1854, pp. 1–3.  “On the ads in Chinese Serial,” Chinese Serial, No. 1, January 1, 1855, p. 1.  “Statement on The Termination of Chinese Serial,” Chinese Serial, No. 5, May 1, 1856, p. 1.  Wang Tao, “A letter to Sun Ti’an,” Correspondences from the Tao Garden, Vol. II, 1876 edition. Quoted from Shen Yunlong, ed., Continued Collectanea of Materials on Modern Chinese History, Wen Hai Press Company, 1983, p. 87.  Guo Songtao, Guo Songtao’s Diary, Vol. 1, February 9, 1856, Hunan People’s Publishing House, 1981, p. 33.  Alexander Wylie, “Introduction to Shanghai Serial.” Shanghai Serial, No. 1, Vol. I, January 26, 1857, pp. 1–2.

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Malacca and Jakarta, but also to Chinese cities like Guangzhou and Shanghai, and newspapers had a wider presence in the late Qing Chinese society.

Shen Bao: New Newspapers were Different from Government Gazettes The early newspapers established by the Protestant missionaries had little influence on the Chinese society. The situation changed when Shen Bao and Wan Guo Gong Bao were founded. Shen Bao was the first commercial newspaper in China and it emphasized news and issues of interest to Chinese. Wan Guo Gong Bao was reorganized and shifted from “a decidedly religious focus” to a new target audience of Chinese scholars. The change had a far-reaching influence. It is noteworthy that such newspapers designated pages for information from Chinese government gazettes. Consequently, modern newspapers were, in this sense, a “substitute” of traditional government gazettes, providing all sorts of information in a way unimaginable in ancient China. Gradually, Chinese scholars in late-Qing China turned from government gazettes to newspapers for information (see Chapter Eight for more details). Founded in 1872, Shen Bao was a newspaper that aimed “to report news and issues of significance” so that “readers are able to know what is happening around the world without stepping out of their homes.”19 Shen Bao was a success in every way. The newspaper aimed “to pick up every single urgent and vital piece of news within the boundary of China.”20 In addition, Shen Bao took effective measures to increase circulation. The newspaper “recruited news vendors” in Shanghai and set up distribution offices across the country.21 Beijing and the surrounding area was one of the newspaper’s target areas, because the publisher knew that “the capital city is the pivot for new newspapers in China.”22 Shen Bao was consciously engaged in the business and political life in the late-Qing Chinese society. The publisher made it clear from the beginning that the newspaper would “be run for good circulation,” “for a lower price, whatever possible news and wider distribution.”23 The section “Full Record of News from

 “Publisher’s Announcement,” Shen Bao, April 30, 1872, p. 1.  “On Our News Collection,” Shen Bao, July 10, 1875, p. 1.  “News Vendors Wanted. Newspaper Distributors Wanted,” Shen Bao, May 2, 1872, p. 7; “Announcement to Recruit Distributors,” Shen Bao, July 12, 1875, p. 1.  “A Distribution Office Set up in Beijing. Staff Wanted at Shen Bao Beijing Office,” Shen Bao, March 8, 1875, p. 1.  “For Advertising in the Newspaper,” Shen Bao, May 7, 1872, pp. 1–2.

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Beijing” was designed out of political consideration;24 that is, Shen Bao alone would be enough for information retrieval. Following the section focused on news from the capital there was the section “Daily News from the Provincial Government of Jiangsu.” The two sections covered all the news from the central and local governments. It was one of Shen Bao’s objectives to replace traditional government gazettes in China, as stated in the article “On Difference Between Government Gazettes and New Newspapers,” “New newspapers report events big as state affairs and anecdotes trivial as village rumors,” whereas traditional government gazettes in China “focus only on government affairs, without turning an eye on trifles in commoners’ life.”25 Another article published in the newspaper one year later stressed that newspapers could provide what government gazettes lacked and concluded that China “must develop a wide readership of new newspapers if the country intends to follow Western ways.”26 Shen Bao contributed to the formation of public opinion in China, as highlighted in “On New Newspapers,” “The public opinion on government affairs could not reach the Throne in the past, whereas their ideas could be heard once published in the newspaper.”27 The article “A Foreigner’s Talk” elaborated, from a Westerner’s angle, on the difference in superior-subordinate communication between China and the West.28 Disputes also arose, as Shen Bao was engaged in reporting issues concerning China, but it was thought “to speak to Westerners’ interests.” The newspaper defended itself with a Chinese editor’s article, “A Westerner himself, the publisher cares about Chinese readers and China.”29 Shen Bao tried to cope, to avoid displeasing the authorities: “A newspaper should be cautious about comments on current affairs or judgment on people, to avoid infuriating the authority and being banned.”30 In addition to news related to political affairs, Shen Bao also published information concerning the imperial examinations, including chief examiners’ profiles and

 “Rules and Principles,” Shen Bao, April 30, 1872, p. 2.  “On the Difference between Government Gazettes and New Newspapers,” Shen Bao, July 13, 1872, p. 1.  “Words after Last Issue of Shen Bao of the Thirteenth Year of the Tongzhi Era,” Shen Bao, February 4, 1875, p. 1.  “On New Newspapers,” Shen Bao, August 18, 1873, pp. 1–2.  “A Foreigner’s Talk,” Shen Bao, July 26, 1873, p. 1.  “On Frustration,” Shen Bao, October 19, 1874, pp. 1–2.  “On New Newspapers,” Shen Bao, August 18, 1873, pp. 1–2.

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Introduction

top lists.31 The newspaper spared no effort in the field, “On the eve of the provincial examination this year (1873), the newspaper office invites renowned scholars to select outstanding essays and prints the articles out, for candidates’ reference.”32 Shen Bao spent a lot on getting information sooner, as described in the notes attached to “List of Successful Candidates in the Provincial Examination of the Renwu Year in Shuntian Prefecture” published in the newspaper on October 25, 1882: The list of successful candidates was published at dawn on the thirteenth day in Beijing and arrived in Tianjin by eight in the morning, despite a 300-li distance between the two cities. The name lists of successful candidates from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces were then sent to Shanghai by telegram in no time. No message has been sent so fast before.33

It had been previously unimaginable to have the result of the imperial examination held in Beijing published in Shanghai the next day. Shen Bao published in October 1885 its second extra issue, to provide the list of successful candidates in the imperial examination.34 Another article published in Shen Bao in 1897 described how the newspaper obtained a message earlier regarding the results of the imperial examination held in autumn in Zhejiang by telegram. In the meantime, the article despised its counterparts “that are under-capitalized and afford no telegram fees” for “unauthorized reprint by pretending to receive the telegram message.”35 The early years of Shen Bao shed a light on the role newspapers played in the late Qing Chinese society. Lei Jin, the newspaper’s chief editor in the early days, was critical of the lack of “news” in the paper.36 Rather than a lack of news, Shen Bao was flooded with too many other things. But that was not uncommon for newspapers in late-Qing China, as was also the situation with Xinwen Bao (The News), first published on February 17, 1893. Sun Yusheng, a long-time employee of the paper, recalled that The News devoted a good deal of space to the imperial edicts, memorials to the throne, and gongmenchao (literally “palace-gate gazettes”) from

 “Profiles of Chief Examiners in Hubei, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi,” Shen Bao, August 14, 1873, p. 2; “List of Successful Juzi from Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the Provincial Examination Held in Shuntian Prefecture,” Shen Bao, November 13, 1873, p. 1.  “Publisher’s Announcement,” Shen Bao, April 3, 1873, p. 1.  “List of Successful Candidates in the Provincial Examination of the Renwu Year Held in Shuntian Prefecture,” Shen Bao, October 25, 1882, p. 1.  Xu Zaiping and Xu Ruifang, eds. Historical Material Collected from Shen Bao in the Last Four Decades of Qing, Xinhua Publishing House, 1988, p. 83.  “Shameless Thieves,” Shen Bao, October 10, 1897, p. 3.  Lei Jin, “Shen Bao Office in the Past,” in Shen Bao Office, ed., In the Past Five Decades: At the Fiftieth Anniversary of Shen Bao Office, Vol. III, 1923, pp. 117–122.

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Beiping or present-day Beijing. More than a trumpet for the authorities’ instructions, The News’s field reporters served as the bond of elites in communities.37 Newspapers and periodicals over the period in question usually focused on priorities in the imperial times, and voiced for governments and businesses.

Christian Literature Society for China and Wan Guo Gong Bao Wan Guo Gong Bao was a miniature of the evolution of newspapers and periodicals in late Qing China. Wan Guo Gong Bao was first published on September 5, 1868, in Shanghai, under the name Zhongguo Jiaohui Xinbao (The Church News), by the American Methodist missionary Yong John Allen, who founded and published the weekly publication for sake of Christianity.38 Four years later, the two hundred and first volume of the weekly was published on August 31, 1872, under the new Chinese name Jiaohui Xinbao. Undergoing the small change, the renamed periodical now also included articles on secular affairs. On the eve of the publication of the one hundredth volume of Jiaohui Xinbao, Young John Allen announced that the publication would be published from the three hundred and first volume under the name Wan Guo Gong Bao. It was a major change at this time, with the publication shaking off the “church” and targeting a larger audience.39 It was not the end of things, though. Wan Guo Gong Bao stopped publication for a long time after the publication of its seven hundred and fiftieth volume in 1883. When the publication was resumed in 1889, Young John Allen remained the editor-in-chief of A Review of the Times, which was run by Tongwen Shuhui (Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese). The Society changed its Chinese name as Christian Literature Society for China in 1892. Alexander Williamson founded the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese in 1887 in Shanghai, aiming to “diffuse good books to all”: “The Society takes the operation of Wan Guo Gong Bao . . . because the periodical has played a role in educating people in China; that is, it has brought news and messages from other nations in the world to China, broadening

 Sun Yusheng, The Past of Newspapers, pp. 2, 5. Sun opened the column The Past of Newspapers in Chen Bao (Morning Newspaper). The “Foreword” part was signed with “Sun Yusheng, a.k. a. Haishang Shushisheng, January 1935.” A paginated photocopy is in the collection of Fudan University.  Young John Allen, “Note of The Church News,” The Church News, No. 1, September 5, 1868, p. 3.  “The Publication to be Renamed Wan Guo Gong Bao,” Jiaohui Xinbao, Vol. 295, July 18, 1874, p. 316.

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Introduction

the horizon of the Chinese people.”40 The Society took over Wan Guo Gong Bao, believing that the periodical could win a larger audience than the other publication forms. Similarly, Timothy Richard put first priority of the Society on its targeted audience, “. . . the chief mandarins, together with the High Examiners, Educational Inspectors of counties, Professors of colleges, and a small percentage of the literati, with some of the ladies and children of their families, might be reached.”41 That was where the Society and Wan Guo Gong Bao converged: the Society found Wan Guo Gong Bao an ideal place to have the Society’s work and publications known to more, while Wan Guo Gong Bao would invite more Western scholars to its operation. The Society’s publications were usually published in installments in Wan Guo Gong Bao before being printed in separate editions. Evidently, the Society and Wan Guo Gong Bao mutually benefited. Wan Guo Gong Bao took multiple measures to get involved in social life in late Qing China. In addition to “Full Record of News from Beijing,” the periodical published information on imperial examinations, including past exam questions and top lists. It called for articles from scholars, in a form imitating discourse on politics. Wan Guo Gong Bao was a worthwhile case, both for its far-reaching impact and its model role for newspapers and periodicals. The announcement in Volume 193 made it clear that “the newspaper’s content . . . is, drawing on its style, focused on political comments, current affairs, and theories, with an introduction of new things around the world. First and foremost, the newspaper strived to be insightful and shed light on China’s future.”42 Fan Yi was candid on the issue: Newspapers and periodicals are the textbook for the public; similarly, reporters work as the public’s teachers. Whichever class one comes from, be it upper, middle, or lower, one generally gets information from newspapers and periodicals, which introduce the study of new things, opinion on new theories, and invention of new objects.43

Chapter Eight goes into the successful expansion of Wan Guo Gong Bao, as Young John Allen discussed in a meeting of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese in 1889: “The Society has seen an increasing circulation of its publications. Wan Guo Gong Bao is a good example. Its circulation has increased month by month, indicating its success with the Chinese,  Alexander Williamson, “Veritable Records of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 14, March 1890, pp. 2–3.  Timothy Richard, Forty-five Years in China: Reminiscences, T. Fisher Unwin, 1916, p. 221.  “Special Announcement by A Review of the Times,” A Review of the Times, Vol. 193, February 1905, front cover.  Fan Yi, “Congratulation on the Publication of the 200th Volume of Wan Guo Gong Bao,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 200, September 1905, p. 41.

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particularly the eminent officials and scholars.”44 But Timothy Richard told a different story in his memoirs: “During 1894 the circulation of the Wan Guo Gong Bao was doubled, and so great was the demand that one month a second edition had to be printed . . . But in 1895, after the appearance of Mackenzie’s ‘History of the Nineteenth Century’ and other books of the S.D.K., a great change came over the Chinese bookseller.”45 Timothy Richard’s comment was significant, because it indicated that Wan Guo Gong Bao and books of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese did not attract significant attention in China until the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. The Western impact on China has been a long-lasting topic in the academic circles. The year of 1895 was a watershed in history. Events in that year triggered radical changes never seen before in the Chinese history, while at the same time brought to China new things, newspapers and periodicals included, which had to endure ups and downs before being accepted. Moreover, the Western ideas and culture were not indiscriminately transplanted in China, but adapted to the Chinese context. In this sense, it was an exceptional experience for Chinese scholars of the late Qing Dynasty to accept Western-style newspapers and run newspaper publishers themselves.

II First Impression of Newspapers: Communication between the Upper and Lower Levels and between China and the West Even though the origin of modern Chinese newspapers and periodicals was attributed to those run by Westerners, the impact of traditional ways of information dissemination in China is not to be minimized. In fact, in their initial understanding of newspapers and periodicals, late Qing Chinese scholars were especially impressed with the way in which these publications functioned as a communication channel between the upper and lower levels and between China and the West. This was clearly an understanding in the context of the imperial system. Whether Chinese scholars can accept newspapers depends not only on the form, but more importantly on the traditional idea that “when everything is in order, the common people do not complain.” Newspapers played, anyway, a critical role in disseminating

 Alexander Williamson, “Veritable Records of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 14, March 1890, p. 1.  Timothy Richard, Forty-five Years in China: Reminiscences, T. Fisher Unwin, 1916, pp. 231–232.

12

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information, unmatchable by traditional government gazettes, as affirmed by Yao Gonghe in his A Brief History of Newspapers in Shanghai: Newspapers originated from government gazettes, which emerged from the record of discussions between the emperor and his prime minister on current political affairs, as well as the record of the emperor’s words and behaviors. Dibao was a channel for dissemination of political information. In contrast, books have been printed and published for the public to read. As such, newspapers and books differ in their functions.46

It may benefit further discussions of how the intelligentsia formed in China if the first impression that newspapers left on late-Qing Chinese scholars is carefully examined here. The intelligentsia, somewhat “public” in nature, is hosted by newspapers, a representation of public opinions, so it may help with the understanding of how the intelligentsia formed in the first place to examine closely what late-Qing Chinese scholars had done in running newspapers.

Government Gazettes: Information Dissemination in Imperial China It is a tradition to imagine what an exotic thing looks like by drawing on what one has at hand. This was how Chinese scholars saw newspapers. Wang Renjun, who believed that Western learning originated from China, argued that newspapers “emerged in the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty,”47 because in Tang Wen Cui (Extract of Tang Literature) there was an account of reading Kaiyuan Zabao (Bulletin of the Court in the Kaiyuan Era). Similarly, Shen Yugui stated in the preface to the resumed Wan Guo Gong Bao that newspapers were “roughly the same as the ancient tradition from the Zhou Dynasty that common people’s opinions reached the emperor via court officials and the emperor sent convoys to collect people’s ideas.”48 Foreigners drew similar comparisons to ease the pressure that newspapers, as something new, may exert on the Chinese. Timothy Richard was one of them: “so many newspapers are run in other countries; yet, all look at jingbao or court gazettes in China as the precursor.”49

 Yao Gonghe, “A Brief History of Newspapers in Shanghai,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 14, No. 6, June 15, 1917, p. 196.  “On Su Qiao,” in Wang Renjun, Ge Zhi Gu Wei (The Study of Ancient Chinese Texts), Family Wang’s block-printed edition of the Guangxu era of Qing, p. 87.  Shen Yugui, “Preface to the Resumed Publication of Wan Guo Gong Bao,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 1, January 31, 1889, p. 1.  Timothy Richard, “The Whole Story of Newspaper Publishers in China,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, September 1891, Vol. 32, p. 10.

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It was common for Chinese scholars to make such comparisons in their early days of running newspapers. Liang Qichao published “On the Benefits of Newspapers for State Affairs” in the inaugural issue of Shiwu Bao (Current Affairs), affirming that there were “signs of newspaper publishers in ancient times” and that “the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were prosperous because of this.”50 However, both dibao and jingbao were used to disseminate information in the top-down governance system of imperial China. For this reason, dibao as a way of communication between the upper and lower levels was an icon of authority. In the third year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty (1853), Zhang Fu, governor of Jiangxi, submitted a memorial to the throne, suggesting that “dichao should be published and sent to provincial authorities.” Emperor Xianfeng was furious at Zhang’s suggestion, and issued an imperial decree on the issue, stating that “it goes against the established system and may cause trouble” to have dichao published.51 Government gazettes in ancient China, whatever name they might take – jingbao, dibao, gongmenchao, yuanmenchao, or the like – were bulletins of government affairs and a channel through which scholars gained information. Despite modern newspapers, Chinese scholars in the late Qing Dynasty relied on dichao as the major access to political news. During the Hundred Days’ Reform of 1898, Chinese scholars looked to dichao for information on the situation. For instance, Ye Changchi wrote in his diaries that he “read dichao” and became informed that “Kang Youwei, a secretary to the Ministry of Works, and Zhang Yuanji, a secretary of the Ministry of War, would have an audience with His Majesty on the twentyeighth.”52 Hu Shouyi wrote in his diary of June 24, 1898, “I read the cabinet’s bulletin yesterday, ordering the replacement of eight-legged essays by articles on political affairs.”53 Generally, those who were keen on state affairs and governance or eager to make achievements preferred dibao or jingbao. Nonetheless, modern newspapers were different from traditional dichao and the like. For instance, Timothy Richard made it clear that newspapers were “substitutes” for dichao, because newspapers “report on issues around the world,” while

 Liang Qichao, “On the Benefits of Newspapers for State Affairs,” Current Affairs, Vol. 1, August 9, 1896, p. 1.  Veritable Records of Emperor Wenzong of Qing, Vol. 116, 12th lunar month of the third year of Xianfeng era. In Veritable Records of Qing, Vol. 41, Zhonghua Book Company, 1986, pp. 836–837.  Ye Changchi, “Diaries at the Yuandulu Cottage, 5,” June 13, 1898. Guangling Book Society, 2014, p. 2686.  Hu Shouyi, “Hu Shouyi’s Diaries 1894–1906,” in Association of Chinese Historians, ed., Collection of Historical Materials of Modern Chinese History: Hundred Days’ Reform, Vol. 1, Shenzhou Guoguang Society, 1953, p. 557.

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dichao “focuses on the country’s current affairs alone.”54 Dr. Ernst Faber stated in his book Civilization: From West to East that newspapers were not only better than traditional dibao, but paved the way for a new governance model, because “the common people can have their voices heard and difficulties seen by the authority without being stopped by government officials,” and “the imperial authority can have its instructions directly known to the common people without remaining obscure.”55 Robert MacKenzie talked about the situation in mid-nineteenth century in Britain: “It was fitting, in a country whose citizens were assuming the direction of their own affairs, that easy access should be enjoyed to such political information as an unfettered newspaper press may be expected to convey.”56 Information control, or rather information monopoly, which was an icon of power and authority, could not sustain in the face of modern newspapers. The governance model was affected, accordingly. But it was not easy to replace dichao with newspapers, in a complicated situation like that in late-Qing China.

Political Criticism by the Common People: Acceptable or Not Political criticism by the common people was traditionally unacceptable in ancient China. For this reason, modern newspapers were difficult to accept in lateQing China. Wei Yuan commented on the issue in his Haiguo Tuzhi (Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms) when talking about newspapers in Britain, where “daily newspapers are published to discuss state affairs. Common people are allowed to criticize government officials if there is anything wrong in governance; thus, government officials are cautious about inviting political criticism.”57 Wang Tao and colleagues founded Xun Huan Ri Bao (Universal Circulating Herald) on February 4, 1874, in Hong Kong. In an article published in the newspaper, Wang highlighted that Western daily newspapers “are all published for political criticism by the common people, for impartiality and just.”58 Political criticism

 Timothy Richard, “On Newspaper Publishers,” Essays for the Times, Vol. 1, The Christian Literature Society for China, 1898, p. 19.  Ernst Faber, Civilization: From West to East, Vol. 4, Zhong Hua General Printing House, 1884, 276–277.  Robert MacKenzie, The 19th Century: A History, Vol. VI (1), Nelson, 1880, p. 121.  Wei Yuan, Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, Vol. III, Chapter 51, Yuelu Publishing House, 1998, p. 1421.  Wang Tao, “Dailies Are Gaining Popularity in China,” In Collection of Essays from the Tao Garden, Zhonghua Book Company, 1959, p. 206.

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was traditionally exclusive to scholar-officials in ancient China, which is why scholars in late Qing China were unwilling to accept modern newspapers. Accordingly, newspapers were, in the eyes of scholars in late-Qing China, a way of communication between the upper and lower levels and between China and the West. Chen Chi stressed in the article “Newspaper Office” that “newspaper publishers provide the only access”59 to information on the outside world without stepping out of one’s own courtyard. Zhang Zhidong expressed his advocacy for newspapers in Exhortation to Study. He started the section dedicated to newspapers by quoting Li Han’s comment on Tongdian (Comprehensive Institutions), “Thanks to it, one can know what happens in the country without stepping out of the courtyard; one can understand the trend of changes despite having little experience; and one can understand the people without being a statesman himself.” According to Zhang, “The comment applies to today’s newspapers, too.”60 Modern newspapers in the late Qing Dynasty were accepted as a supplement to the traditional dichao. In 1898, Zhang Zhidong prepared for the establishment of Zheng Xue Bao and had to deal with the dichao issue. Zhang Taiyan, who was invited to be the editor-in-chief, became aware of dibao’s limitations in linking China and the outside world and suggested changes to the situation, “We must devote more space to articles selected and translated from newspapers in other countries. Messages from dichao can be omitted.” Zhang Zhidong agreed with Zhang Taiyan.61 Scholars in late-Qing China were inevitably fettered by long established theories. Moreover, newspapers were in their early days. On the one hand, they were far from satisfactory as the host of news; and the other hand, the circulation was limited. Therefore, newspapers remained for a long time exclusive to a small group. According to Xu Zhucheng, a journalist born in 1907 in Yixing, Jiangsu Province, Shen Bao was the first newspaper that “took the common people as the targeted readers,” and “is China’s first newspaper in the modern sense.”62 More importantly, news grew outdated when it reached readers due to slow delivery.

 Chen Chi, “Newspaper Office,” in Zhao Shugui and Zeng Yali, eds., Collection of Chen Chi’s Works, Zhonghua Book Company, 1997, pp. 105–106.  Zhang Zhidong, “Newspaper Reading from Exhortation to Stud,” in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 12., Hebei People’s Publishing House, 1998, pp. 9745–9746.  Zhang Taiyan, “Introductory Remarks to Zheng Xue Bao,” in Tang Zhijun, ed., A Selection of Zhang Taiyan’s Political Comments, Vol. 1, Zhonghua Book Company, 1977, p. 60; Zhang Zhidong, “Preface to Zheng Xue Bao,” in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 12, Hebei People’s Publishing House, 1998, pp. 10067–10069.  Xu Zhucheng, Baohai Jiuwen (Old Stories of Newspapers), Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1981, pp. 8–9.

16

Introduction

Timely delivery of newspapers and news was not secured until “railways were widely built and post offices easily accessible.”63 It is noteworthy that new-type media at the time were far more than newtype publications alone. As Luo Zhitian highlighted in an article, if modern newspapers brought new ideas to late-Qing China, “new things like telegraph, railway, and ships may have more direct impact . . . They made regional affairs known to more and receive wider attention from other regions.”64 But it is hard to decide which is more important, the new inventions in the nineteenth century or the new-type publications at the time, because they worked so closely together. The one thing that is certain is that a broader perspective must be taken when examining this issue, that in addition to printing, media like the telegram deserve attention as well, for their efficacy in information dissemination. In 1881, China’s first long-distance telegraph line, from Tianjin to Shanghai, was put into use, while Shen Bao had long employed the telegraph to obtain and deliver messages: “A message urgent or important is delivered via telegraph. No time is lost, and a long distance makes no difference. Telegraph is convenient to use and benefits the nation. It is a must in business operation.”65 When Ta Kung Pao was founded in 1902, it suggested that newspaper publishers be set up across the country, “With telegraph, the newspaper would gain influence across the country; and with posted copies, the newspaper would have far-reaching impact on other countries . . . The press would get most benefits.”66 Modern newspapers experienced many ups and downs in late-Qing China for a number of easily understandable reasons. After all, newspapers were a creature of society and mirrored what was happening in real life. No changes in reality, no breakthroughs expected from newspapers and periodicals—otherwise, new things in an old society were nothing more than old wine in a new bottle. Researchers investigated the gradual changes from the perspective of communication. New-type media were brought to China in the mid-nineteenth century by Western missionaries and merchants, and grew into a business in Chinese port cities, without gaining influence on the institutional system. A drastic change occurred in 1895, mainly caused by “the political use of new-type communication instruments from 1895

 Sun Yusheng, “A Review of the Past Three Decades of The News.,” in Shen Enfu, ed., Memento for the 30th Anniversary of The News, Yadong Library, 1923, p. 6.  Luo Zhitian, “From ‘Tianxia’ (All under Heaven) to ‘the World’: Changes in Late Qing Intellectuals’ Conceptions of Human History,” Social Sciences in China, 2007, No. 5, pp. 191–204.  Shanghai Telegraph Administration, “Advertisement on Telegraph,” Shen Bao, May 31, 1872, p. 7.  “A Plan for Offices Set up across the Country at the Example of The Times,” Ta Kung Pao, 22 December 1902, p. 2.

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onwards,” when Chinese intellectuals began to leverage newspapers for reshuffling political and social orders.67 Equally, we must be aware that scholars in late-Qing China were fettered by established ideas of dibao when looking at modern newspapers and periodicals; the new-type publications were seen as a link between the superior and inferior and between China and the outside. In addition, Chinese scholars were in face of the dilemma that the common people had no right to political criticism.

III The Intelligentsia as a Field From the above discussions we can see that people’s understanding of newspapers in late-Qing China is totally different from how people see newspapers today. It is thus necessary to examine the issue in the context of late-Qing China, which may help with the understanding of how the intelligentsia took shape. The intelligentsia consists of the media and the users, or specifically scholars of the time, thus is a complicated topic involving multiple facets. It is essential to review relevant discussions and previous studies and new topics that have kept emerging, concerning scholars and newspapers in late Qing China.

Scholars: A Long-standing Topic in Modern China Studies Research has been conducted from multiple perspectives on social changes in China since the late Qing Dynasty. Actually, Chinese scholars were the hardest hit when late-Qing China witnessed changes unseen in three thousand years and they have been viewed by researchers through different lenses. In the 1990s, Yu Ying-shih examined the transition of the Chinese scholars from scholar-officials to intellectuals, a process where the scholars were marginalized while some previously lesser people took center stage.68 It is true that Chinese scholars were pushed towards the margins of society, but it is hard to reach the same conclusion when it comes to the cultural and political realms in modern China. Western impacts caused new problems in China but also offered new options to address China’s problems. According to Luo Zhitian, under Western impacts, a shift of power emerged in the modern Chinese mindset. Perplexed, late-Qing China fell for  Li Renyuan, New-type Media and Intellectuals in Late Qing China: A Discussion Centering on Newspapers, Daoxiang Publishing House, 2005, p. 103.  Yu Ying-shih, “Marginalized Chinese Intellectuals,” Twenty-First Century, No. 6, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, August 1991, pp. 15–25.

18

Introduction

whatever was Western and new. The process of falling for the new was also the process of a power shift in Chinese society, represented by the decline of orthodoxy and the rise of what was marginal.69 Wang Fansen pointed out that neither the powerful warlords nor the wealthy and influential merchant class could shake scholars’ central position in people’s minds, even though scholars were away from the center stage in the political sense and still behind the wheel of the public opinion, particularly after the May Fourth Movement in 1919.70 This is an important reason why the topic of “transition” became popular. Hao Chang pointed out two major changes that happened to the Chinese mindset and culture over the 25 years from 1895 to 1920, a period critical to the intellectual and cultural transition in modern China. For one thing, institutional media like newspapers, periodicals, new schools, and societies emerged in large numbers; and for another, the intelligentsia took form as a group.71 Of course, there has been criticism on new media. For instance, Yang Guoqiang held that a neverbefore-seen “discourse circle” was shaped in late-Qing China, and in that circle, “any thought, theory, opinion, and wish could be written down as radical comments.”72 Luo Zhitian noticed that “magazines were a notable thing in China after the May Fourth Movement.”73 Wang Fansen was straightforward, noting that “The conservatives in the late Qing Dynasty seemed not good at using new media or horizontal organization. But in the early Republican period, the conservatives began to form their own organizations and newspapers to contend with the reformists.”74 Research revealed the significance of new-type media in examining the history of Chinese thoughts. It is also worth noting that to “look downward” is very important when doing relevant research. Ge Zhaoguang highlighted that between elite thoughts and the life of the commons, there is “a world of general knowledge, thoughts and beliefs” which, as part of the history thoughts and a continuation from elite thoughts,

 Luo Zhitian, “The Worship of the New: A Shift of Power in Modern Chinese Thought under the Impact of the Western Tide,” in Luo Zhitian, Shifts of Power: Modern Chinese Thought and Society, Lane J. Harris & Mei Chun trans., Brill, 1999, pp. 1–60.  Wang Fansen, “Changes in the Self-Image of Modern Chinese Intellectuals,” Humanitas Taiwanica, 56, May 2002, pp. 6–15.  Hao Chang, “Transition Period in Modern Chinese Intellectual History,” Twenty-First Century, No. 52, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, April 1999, pp. 29–39.  Yang Guoqiang, “Aloof and Famous Intellectuals of the Late Qing Dynasty,” in Late-Qing Intellectuals and the Ways of the World, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2008, p. 207.  Luo Zhitian, The State and Scholarship: Intellectual Debate on Chinese Culture in Late Qing China, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2003, p. 308.  Wang Fansen, Fu Ssu-nien: A Life in Chinese History and Politics, Wang Xiaobing, trans., SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2012, “Foreword for the Chinese edition”, p. 4.

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cannot be ignored.75 Li Hsiao-ti stressed the role of “newspaper-reading societies” and “activities like explaining news in simple words” which emerged as newspapers in vernacular Chinese came out and grew: We couldn’t expect immediate, substantial effects, just like in any other enlightenment movements and social reforms. It is even harder to imagine fast dissemination of new knowledge and new ideas in late-Qing China, especially in the lower strata of society, as the country has a vast territory with little transportation, communications or other infrastructure, plus a largely illiterate population.

That said, “people in large cities were still quite effectively enlightened and the situation seemed to be hopeful in some towns and villages, thanks to the efforts of local authorities and gentry.”76 Many more issues concerning the intelligentsia remain to be explored and some recent academic works can serve as good references. It is noteworthy that some scholars have realized that there were “multiple worlds” in modern China and there may have been “multichotomy.”77 Some other scholars focused on nonmainstream topics that may have been ignored in historical research, calling attention to “the stubborn bass” from marginalized thinkers.78 This book, dedicated to the intelligentsia in late-Qing China, represent efforts to understand modern Chinese history from a new perspective.

“History of the Media Contains an Immense Field of Research” New-type media have been approached from different angles, and many inspirations have been drawn from placing new-type media in the historical background. According to James Curran, “Protestantism can be viewed as a synthesis of the different disruptive tendencies set in motion by a new technique of mass  Ge Zhaoguang, An Intellectual History of China, Volume One: Knowledge, Thought, and Belief before the Seventh Century CE, Michael S. Duke & Josephine Chiu-Duke, trans., Brill, 2014; Ge Zhaoguang, An Intellectual History of China, Volume Two: Knowledge, Thought, and Belief from the Seventh through the Nineteenth Century, Josephine Chiu-Duke & Michael S. Duke, trans., Brill, 2018.  Li Hsiao-ti, Enlightening the Lower Stratum of Late Qing China: 1901–1911, Hebei Education Press, 2001, pp. 240–241.  Luo Zhitian, “Between the New and the Old: Multiple Worlds and ‘Voiceless’ Groups in Modern China,” Journal of Sichuan University, 1999, No. 6, pp. 77–81; Luo Zhitian, “Historiography in Facts: Possibilities in the Study of Modern Chinese History,” Historical Research, 2001, No. 1, pp. 22–40.  Wang Fanse, Stubborn Bass: Reflection on Ways of Thinking in History. SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2014.

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Introduction

communication . . . with a new system of communication based on the printed word.”79 There has been abundant research on print, such as Elizabeth Eisenstein’s monograph on the printing press. In this book, Eisenstein examines the shift from script to print in West Europe, and describes the features of the communications revolution and its consequences. She thus calls the invention of print an “unacknowledged revolution.”80 Naturally, we cannot ignore L’apparition du livre (The Coming of the Book), a recognized masterpiece co-authored by Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin on the history of the book. According to Febvre, “printed books” were “new books,” and inventions of and related to the printing press “greatly accelerated the output of books and prepared the ground for the newspaper, the most recent newcomer yet to the world of print . . . It characterizes the grip printing had on readers.”81 Peter Burke singled out two critical dates in the early modern period in his A Social History of Knowledge: From Gutenberg to Diderot: around the year 1450 when printing with movable type was invented in Germany, and the 1750s when the Encyclopédie was first published. In the chapter “Selling knowledge: The market and the press,” Burke stresses that “newspapers and journals, which began publication after 1600, were the literary genres which best illustrate the commercialization of information.”82 Encyclopédie is itself the research object seen as “the business of the Enlightenment.” Robert Darnton writes “a book about a book,” but the questions could be multiplied endlessly. There were too many things to be clarified in addition to the author of a book, such as the life of and relationship between printers, workshop owners, publishers, and readers.83 Histories of the book and of reading have been taken seriously in the framework of the new cultural history. Lynn Hunt stressed in “Introduction” to The New Cultural History, “the accent in cultural history is on close examination—of

 James Curran, Media and Power, Routledge, 2002, pp. 71–72.  Elizabeth Eisenstein, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change: Communications and cultural transformations in early-modern Europe, Cambridge University Press, 1980, p. 3.  Lucien Febvre, “Preface,” in Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin (1958), L’apparition du livre. English version: Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin (1976). The Coming of the Book: The Impact of Printing 1450–1880, David Gerard, trans., NLB, p. 12.  Peter Burke, A Social History of Knowledge: From Gutenberg to Diderot, Polity Press, 2000, p. 168.  Robert Darnton, The Business of Enlightenment: A Publishing History of the Encyclopédie 1775–1800, Harvard University Press, 1979, p. 1. Darnton in his later writing highlights the importance of understanding every single link in circulation of books, drawing on the communication circuit model. See Robert Darnton. What is the history of books? In Cathy N. Davidson, ed., Reading in America: Literature and Social History, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989, pp. 27–52.

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texts, of pictures, and of actions.”84 Roger Chartier contributed greatly to moving the history of the book into the mainstream of cultural history. In his essay “Texts, Printing, Readings” in Hunt’s book, Chartier, by taking text as an example, finds “an illegitimate simplification of the process by which works take on meaning. Restoration of its true complexity requires consideration of the close-knit relationship among three poles: the text itself, the object that conveys the text, and the act that grasps it.”85 Also, Chartier and Daniel Roche co-authored the essay “New Approaches to the History of the Book,” criticizing the old approach that focused solely on bibliography and quantitative analysis of books and stating, “The analysis of titles must be complemented by a clearer understanding of the social composition of the reading public . . . It must be remembered that not every book bought is read, and that, conversely, with the development of public libraries, reading a book does not necessarily imply buying it.”86 Accordingly, information dissemination provided an approach to modernity. According to Jürgen Habermas, in modern West Europe, the press is “the public sphere’s preeminent institution,” which clearly shows “the transformation of the public sphere’s political function.”87 Benedict Anderson focused his efforts on the impacts of print-capitalism on the spread of nationalism, and believed that printcapitalism above any other influence boosted the pursuit of nationalism.88 Anthony Giddens examines “cultural globalization” and points out, “It is that the global extension of the institutions of modernity would be impossible were it not for the pooling of knowledge which is represented by the ‘news’.”89 The aforementioned research facilitates studies on how newspapers or the press impacted the late-Qing Chinese society. Chinese scholars had their own observations. For instance, Hu Daojing observed, “Over the past century, journalism has played an unmatched role in the sectors of politics, economy, society, and culture.” He continued this observation by noting that journalism “has withstood

 Lynn Hunt, ed., The New Cultural History, University of California Press, 1989, p. 22.  Roger Chartier, “Texts, Printing, Readings,” in Lynn Hunt, ed., The New Cultural History, University of California Press, 1989, p. 161.  Roger Chartier and Daniel Roche, “New Approaches to the History of the Book,” David Denby, trans., in English edition: Jacques Le Goff & Pierre Nora, eds., Constructing the Past: Essays in Historical Methodology, The Cambridge University Press, 1985, p. 204.  Jürgen Habermas, Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit: Untersuchungen zu einer Kategorie der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft, 1962; English edition: Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society, Thomas Burger & Frederick Lawrence, trans., The MIT Press, 1989, p. 181.  Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Verso, 2006, p. 18.  Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, Polity Press, 1990, pp. 77–78.

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Introduction

intellectual and materials tests, and stood as the beacon of the times.”90 The study of new media must be based on full awareness that the history of the media contains an immense field of research, as Jean-Noёl Jeanneney claimed.91

Publishing and the Print Culture in Late-Qing China: A Review Research on publications in China has been on the rise. Topics concerning the interactions of new-type media with thinking, politics, and society in late-Qing China have been popular in China studies. The concepts of the “public sphere” and “civil society” in China studies in the U.S. have had significant influence over the past years, and drawn attention to “public opinion” and modern media.92 The journal Late Imperial China published a special issued focused on “Publishing and the Print Culture in Late Imperial China” in 1996, which was followed by many other monographs on the topic. Research focus gradually moved away from the technical aspects of printing itself, and towards the social and cultural aspects.93 Existing literature reviews provide a general understanding of theories and studies of the history of the book in late imperial China.94 Leo Ou-fan Lee and Rudolf G. Wagner made groundbreaking efforts in the study of Shen Bao. Lee noticed early the efforts of Chinese intellectuals to open new “public spaces” for cultural and political criticisms in late-Qing China, or perhaps even earlier than that. Wagner saw a delicate relationship between the power mechanism and the press in late-Qing China, as was indicated in Shen Bao’s coverage of Chinese officialdom.95 Outcomes in narrowed research areas

 Hu Daojing, A New Era in History of Journalism, World Bookstore, 1946, p. 11.  Jean-Noёl Jeanneney, Une histoire des médias: Des origines à nos jours, p. 1.  Frederic Wakeman, Jr., “Civil Society in Late Imperial and Modern China,” in Frederic Wakeman, Jr. & Wang Xi, eds., China’s Quest for Modernization: A Historical Perspective, Institute of East Asian Studies, 1997, pp. 325–351.  Tobie Meyer-Fong, “The Printed World: Books, Publishing Culture, and Society in Late Imperial China,” The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 66, No. 3, August 2007, pp. 787–817.  Zhang Zhongmin, “From the History of the Book to the History of Reading: On the History of Book/Reading in Late Qing China,” Historical Review, 2007, No. 5, pp. 151–180; Tu Feng-en, “History of Book in Late Imperial China: A Review Article,” Xin Shixue (New History), Vol. 20, No. 1, March 2009, pp. 181–212.  Leo Ou-fan Lee, “The Creation of ‘Spaces of Criticism’: From ‘Ziyoutan’ in Shen Bao,” in Leo Ou-fan Lee, The Quest for Modernity, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2000, pp. 3–22. Rudolf G. Wagner, “Shen Bao in Crisis: The International Environment and the Conflict between Guo Songtao and the Shen Bao,” Late Imperial China, Vol. 20, No. 1, June 1999, pp. 107–138. Wagner and others later expanded the research, and developed their research into a five-essay

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also deserve attention. For instance, Joan Judge’s book of 1996 looks at the period between a new print culture in the 1890s and the emergence of Shibao (The Eastern Times) in 1904, and sees it as the critical period for a “middle realm” to be staked out.96 Barbara Mittler’s monograph on Shen Bao concludes that the newspaper, as a “mouthpiece of the public,” played a major part in late-Qing China’s public opinions.97 The aforementioned research on late-Qing newspapers take new approaches by contextualizing them and combing through the information they conveyed. The research illustrated the dilemma the newspapers faced in late-Qing China. For instance, The Eastern Times and Shen Bao deserve attention for their distinctive features and far-reaching impacts, but to what extent did the messages in them touch the core of current affairs back then? What can we rely on for indepth and detailed analysis, by way of looking at the newspapers as a whole? A case study is required for every single publication to gain a full picture of the publication and relevant issues. Nonetheless, a comprehensive history of newspapers in modern China can hardly be reconstructed with separate case studies. Moreover, an accurate analysis grows more difficult, as material and technological conditions for information dissemination keep advancing. Also, in the study of the intelligentsia in late-Qing and republican China the influence of new-type media must not be evaluated in a manner that is too simple. A discussion in the field can easily fall into the trap of “unjustified simplification,” holding that the “influence” of the press is something “self-evident”; that is, “influence” was a natural outcome once a newspaper was founded or an article was published. What is worse, there are unjustified “assumptions,” like if a newspaper was popular in a city over a certain period of time or if the residents were undoubtedly its readers and under its influence. An illusion like this is far from convincing. Prudence is required when statistics are applied to draw an “intellectual map” of the press, because in common practice newspapers are indiscriminately put under the same statistical calibre, regardless of their issuance date, place, and circulation. More efforts are required from researchers to find better ways and prevent errors. Nonetheless, the discussion on the intelligentsia is not limited to social transformation, print, and publishing issues in late-Qing China, which were integral

monograph. See Rudolf G. Wagner ed., Joining the Global Public: Word, Image, and City in Early Chinese Newspaper, 1870–1910, State University of New York, 2007.  Joan Judge, Print and Politics: The Eastern Times and the Culture of Reform in Late Qing China, Stanford University Press, 1996.  Barbara Mittler, A Newspaper for China? Power, Identity, and Change in Shanghai’s News Media, 1872–1912, Harvard University Press, 2004.

24

Introduction

parts of the intelligentsia at the time, because the intelligentsia was a far broader concept. For instance, intellectuals in late-Qing China had more channel to see the world; beyond the press, which was a material form, Chinese intellectuals at the time made efforts to create societies and schools. The book focuses on the intelligentsia, and expects to arouse more thinking on the complexities in modern China. Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory is applied as the framework and basic approach when examining the formation of the intelligentsia and its significance.

The Intelligentsia as a Field “Field” is a core idea in Bourdieu’s complicated theory. It is appropriate to see the intelligentsia as a field, because “a considerable portion of Bourdieu’s work centers on fields of intellectual production.”98 Bourdieu applies the concept of “field” in many social areas, such as the “literary field,” “artistic field,” “cultural field,” and “intellectual field,” as he put it in his 1993 book The Field of Cultural Production.99 “Field” refers to something similar to jie, i.e. “circles” or “world.” The intelligentsia is, in a sense, no different to Bourdieu’s “cultural field” and “intellectual field,” except that it encompasses more elements and is more difficult to define. The intelligentsia had the press or media on the one hand, and scholars on the other, both of which developed complicated networks of their own. Thus, the intelligentsia cannot be denoted simply as the “cultural field,” or “cultural circle,” or “intellectual field,” or “intellectual circle.” Thus, the investigation of the intelligentsia over the period in question must lay equal emphasis on the wide range of elements that the intelligentsia contains. New cultural history draws reference from many other theories, including Bourdieu’s concept of “field,” theory of practice, idea of cultural reproduction, and notion of “distinction.”100 The “field” theory has been applied to studies on modern Chinese history as well. For instance, Benjamin Elman saw the civil service examinations in imperial China as something like a field in itself.101 Mittler stated in her study of Shen Bao, “I contend

 David Swartz, Culture and Power: The Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, The University of Chicago Press, 1997, p. 219.  Pierre Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, Randal Johnson, ed., Columbia University Press, 1993.  Peter Burke, What is Cultural History? (2nd edition), Polity, 2008, p. 58.  Elman applied Bourdieu’s theories in the investigation of civil service examinations in imperial China. See Benjamin Elman, “Political, Social and Cultural Reproduction via Civil Service Examinations in Late Imperial China,” The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 50, No. 1, February 1991, pp. 7–28.

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that the pre-modern Chinese public sphere was a field in which actors both from the top and from the bottom of the hierarchy appeared as players.”102 This is important: Chinese scholar-officials noticed from the very beginning of their contact with newspapers that newspapers create an “information world” and that this information world was growing in coverage. Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan, both among the first Chinese people to “step into the modern age” in pre-modern China, channeled outside information into the Chinese society, even though they did not found newspapers. Soon after his arrival in Guangzhou to ban opium trade, Lin “had English books translated and English newspapers purchased,” and compiled Aomen Xinwenzhi (Macao News) and Aomen Yuebao (Macao Monthly).103 Drawing upon Sizhou Zhi (Geography of the Four Continents), the unfinished translation work sponsored by Lin Zexu, Wei Yuan completed his masterpiece Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, which also referred to newspapers.104 First Chinese newspapers collected messages and information from foreign newspapers, and the “information world” kept growing. Current Affairs founded in 1896, for instance, widely translated articles in Western and Japanese newspapers, and reprinted contents from other Chinese newspapers. Xinshijie Xuebao (Journal of the New World), founded in 1902, declared, “The journal has a large repository of dozens of Western and Japanese newspapers, to broaden readers’ knowledge and horizon.”105 The Eastern Times and Dongfang Zazhi (The Eastern Miscellany) first published in 1904 were better examples. The “information world” constructed by newspapers stood as a tangible form of the intelligentsia, and manifested the penetrating role that the press played in the Chinese society. More importantly, as the best host of information in premodern China, newspapers portrayed social changes in late imperial China, as depicted in an article published to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Shen Bao: “Over the past five decades, people can see in the newspaper whatever advances have

 Barbara Mittler, A Newspaper for China? Power, Identity, and Change in Shanghai’s News Media, 1872–1912, p. 2. Mittler’s discussion is a response to Wagner’s. See Rudolf G. Wagner, “The Early Chinese Newspapers and the Chinese Public Sphere,” European Journal of East Asian Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, Brill, June 2002, pp. 1–33.  Liang Tingnan, Yifen Wenji (Notes on Foreigners), Vol. III, Zhonghua Book Company, 1997, pp. 68–69. The word “pioneer” was first used by Liang Qichao to praise Kang Youwei. Liang Qichao, “Biography of Revered Mr. Kang Youwei,” The China Discussion, Vol. 100, December 21, 1901, p. 3.  Wei Yuan, Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, Vol. III, Yuelu Publishing House, 1998, p. 1458.  “Preface to Journal of the New World,” Journal of the New World, Vol. 1 (No. 1 of Year Renyin), September 2, 1902, p. 4.

26

Introduction

been in thinking and materials, and whatever changes have been in customs and social life.”106 Therefore, the field created by the intelligentsia deserves attention. The field encompasses the “network” of newspaper editing, printing, and circulation, and the “network” of “newspaper-reading societies” and readers. What the intelligentsia in late imperial China looked like can be seen in these elements. The book examines the changes that the Chinese society experienced in the late Qing and republican periods, by looking at the intelligentsia in late-Qing China. The research focuses on the press, and newspapers and periodicals in particular, over these periods, and on the new role Chinese scholars took in the postimperial civil service examination period. More importantly, the intelligentsia is like a mirror in which we can see what modern China looked like. What Chinese scholars experienced in their life is one facet, and another one, which is more significant, lies in how new-type media have changed the history in a previously unimaginable way.

 Li Songsheng, “History of Shen Bao,” in Shen Bao Office, ed., In the Past Five Decades: At the Fiftieth Anniversary of Shen Bao Office, Vol. III, p. 29.

Chapter One A Desire for Group Affiliation: Background of the Formation of the Intelligentsia To discuss the intelligentsia in the context of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, it is necessary to first examine how the intelligentsia were formed. Linguistically, we can roughly pin the time of the emergence of “思想界” and other similar words referring to communities as Chinese neologisms. More detailed analysis will be given in the next chapter to show that these late-Qing Chinese neologisms are the key to grasping the social evolution. However, the emergence of words is usually lagging as words usually describe previous historical processes. The emergence of words referring to various “communities” in the late Qing Dynasty are no exception. They must be understood in conjunction with the evolution of society. Moreover, the word “intelligentsia,” or intellectual community, is somewhat different from other “communities” in that it is closely related to both the carrier of the expression and the subject: intellectuals. Therefore, to reveal the significance of the appearance of modern newspapers, it is necessary to elaborate further on what promoted the formation of the intelligentsia. The initial motivation undoubtedly came from the desire for group affiliation, but opinions differed over whether this group affiliation should be based on educational institutions, societies, or newspapers. It was against this background that newspapers were fully recognized as the basis for group affiliation. Huang Zunxian, who had been involved in establishing Current Affairs, commented on the late-Qing newspapers in 1902, “Qingyi Bao (The China Discussion) was far better than Current Affairs. However, Xinmin Congbao (New Citizen) is a hundred times superior to The China Discussion.”1 Hu Shih also said in 1923, “In the past 25 years, only three magazines have managed to represent three eras, that is to say, created them. The magazines were Current Affairs, New Citizen, and Xin Qingnian (New Youth).”2 Where the promotion of “group affiliation” was concerned, the role of Current Affairs must be fully recognized. Simultaneously, attention must also be paid to the newspapers that far superseded Current Affairs and represented another new era. This book also regards Current Affairs as a product of a transitional period. Only by going beyond the “self-reforming” period could

 Huang Zunxian, “To Liang Qichao,” 1902, in Wu Zhenqing, ed., Collected Works of Huang Zongxian (2nd Vol.), Tianjin People’s Press, 2003, p. 490.  Hu Shih, “To Gao Yihan, Tao Menghe, Zhang Weici, and Shen Xingren,” October 9, 1923, in Ji Xianlin, ed., Complete Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 23, Anhui Education Press, 2003, p. 415. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-002

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newspapers present an entirely new nature.3 Subsequently, the positioning of newspapers also changed gradually. Going beyond communicating with the top and the bottom of society and cultivating people’s awareness, they developed new functions, and eventually became the manifestation of a kind of “power.” Setting the formation of the intelligentsia against this background may better reveal that the emergence of the intelligentsia had a completely different meaning, thereby forming a “field” created by multiple factors.

I Magazines, Newspapers, Societies, and Education Institutions as Hosts of “Group Affiliation” Taking “group affiliation” as the driving force behind the formation of the intelligentsia helps with the understanding of how intellectuals evolved in the changing situation of the late Qing Dynasty. In the political convention of ancient China, “gentlemen loathed forming factions” is the hallmark of scholar-official politics, but intellectuals had long developed the habit of creating societies and associations, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties.4 The meaning of the scholarofficials status depended on “intermediates” ranging from clans, religions, and schools to guilds, guild halls, and hometown-based associations, which constituted the foundation of civil society.5 It is easily understandable because political life must first and foremost be seen as collective life: everyone gets involved in the political system somehow. Especially in a rapidly changing society, it is even more inevitable that fledgling social groups rise and participate in politics.6 For the same reason, the upheavals in the late Qing Dynasty gave rise to the desire for “group affiliation.” The abolition of the imperial examination system broke intellectuals’ social and political mobility ladder, forcing them to find a different position in the new political order. First of all, we must understand how the intention to “affiliate to a group” was born in the late Qing Dynasty before using the  “Self-reform” was coined by Gong Zizhen in his “Yibing Zhiji Zhuyi Diqi (The Seventh Political Comments Written in 1815–16),” in Complete Works of Gong Zizhen, Shanghai People’s Press, 1975, p. 6. Researchers regard this as a main theme of the late Qing thought. See Zhu Weizheng and Long Yingtai, Record of the Old Dream: China’s “Self-Reform” Movement a Century before the Hundred Days’ Reform, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2000.  Xie Guozhen, A Study on Parties and Societies in Late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, Zhonghua Book Company, 1982, “Self Introduction,” p. 1.  Yu Ying-shih, “The Marginalization of Chinese Intellectuals,” Twenty-First Century, Vol. 6, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, August 1991, pp. 15–25.  Samuel P. Huntington, Political Order in Changing Societies, Zhang Daiyun, trans., Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 1989, p. 9.

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understanding as our basis to analyze how magazines, newspapers, societies, associations, and educational institutions became the primary carriers of “group affiliation.”

Group Affiliation in the Absence of “Society” There must be many reasons why “group affiliation” became the focus of the lateQing intellectuals’ discourses. It is intriguing that although intellectuals accepted the meaning of “group affiliation” in all aspects, they might not find a suitable way to achieve this goal. It was because of the burden of inheriting the tradition and lack of understanding of the new ways of organizing societies or associations. It showed that the lack of “society” made finding support for “group affiliation” difficult, while the evolution of “society” was closely related to the formation of the modern concept of states. It became the key to the transition of modern China, upon which the realization of “group affiliation” was dependent. How the concept of a state in the modern sense came into being, as well as how it intertwined with the notions of nation and nationalism, has always been a key point in comprehending modern China’s transformation.7 A representative view is that “a large part of the history of modern Chinese thought was a process of turning tianxia (“the world”) into guojia (the state).” This insight of Joseph R. Levenson, without doubt, has been increasingly challenged, but related topics still receive much attention. Theorists refer to the model that governs this insight as the “culturalism-to-nationalism thesis.”8 Indeed, abandoning the concept of tianxia has potential significance both internally and externally. Externally, the move recognizes the existence of equivalent political entities based on the notion of “tianxia wanguo” (“tens of thousands of states in the world”) and accepts that the modern world is formed by “states.” Internally, the concept of a “state” in the modern sense has established a new political boundary within the country and put on the agenda the issues involving political lives, such as how to form a state, how to define the relationship between individuals and the state and between individuals and society. Therefore, a lack of awareness of “state” would make it difficult for “society” to find support, and, for that matter, it is not easy to realize group affiliation.

 Joseph Richmond Levenson, Confucian China and Its Modern Fate, Zheng Dahua and Ren Jing, trans., China Social Sciences Press, 2000, p. 87.  James Townsend, “Chinese Nationalism,” in Jonathan Unger, ed., Chinese Nationalism, M. E. Sharpe, Armonk, 1996, pp. 1–30.

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Yan Fu is worthy of a special mention here. In his article “Yuan Qiang (On Origin of Strength),” Yan based his interpretation of society on Charles Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest.” He said, “At the beginning, the homo sapiens species competed with one another. When they formed into clans, the clans competed with one another; and when the clans formed into states, the states competed with one another.” He particularly emphasized, “Only when clans learn to have social order can one cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and lead the world to peace.”9 But Yan Fu was confused about how to realize “group affiliation.” He touched upon the issue as he was engaged in his translation work earlier. Due to the apparent differences between China and the West, he struggled to find suitable words for his translations. In the translator’s note to his translation of The Wealth of Nations, Yan Fu transliterated the word “corporation” as “gepolulexian (歌颇鲁勒宪)” instead of translating it into something similar to today’s gongsi, shetuan, faren (公司, 社团or 法人) which make more sense. It is one of the primary forms of society. Yan Fu defended his transliteration method by arguing that people of the same profession, business, or academia are often associated in Europe and the West, and that “They are quite different” from the Chinese concepts of societies, guilds, gangs, and factions.10 Yan accepted the idea of “society” when he translated A History of Politics and other works later. He also noticed that “society” differed from other organizations in terms of how they were formed. He also stressed that an ideal state was organized under “society.”11 He even believed there would be no “state” without “society.”12 The questions raised here are worth contemplation. The key lies not in how to choose the correct wording in translation, but the fact that Yan Fu had to face the challenge of how to “affiliate to a group” when doing his translation. It was mainly a question of recognizing how “society” is constituted. He was fully aware that the social stratification in the West was primarily reflected in the social organizations that shared the power of the state. In contrast, China was different despite the availability of gangs and guilds. Questions like these confused Yan Fu, Liang Qichao, and Huang Zunxian.

 Yan Fu, On the Origin of Strength, in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Zhonghua Company, 1986, pp. 5–15.  “Translator’s Note to The Wealth of Nations,” in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 4, pp. 864–865. Yan Fu started translating the book in 1897 and did not finish the manuscript until 1900. The translation was published by the Shanghai Nanyang Mission College presided over by Zhang Yuanji in 1901–1902.  Edward Jenks, A History of Politics, Yan Fu, trans., The Commercial Press, 1981, pp. 115, 128.  Yan Fu, “A Few Words after Translating The Study of Sociology,” in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu Vol. 1, pp. 125–26.

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In an article published in Current Affairs in 1896, Liang Qichao expounded the purport of the concept that “the best Way is to aggregate.” He emphasized, “A few people aggregate to form a family, hundreds aggregate to form a clan, and millions aggregate to form a country.”13 Later, Liang Qichao explicitly stated, “There are many countries in the world because there are one’s own group and others’ groups” and that China was different from the West in that it “governs the group by tactics of the individual,” while the West based governance on “being good at grouping people” in the past century. Unfortunately, Liang Qichao’s thinking was still confined to the concept of tianxia. Because of that, he stressed that “there were groups as states and the group as the world. The West’s strategies are perfect for grouping people into states but not sufficient for grouping people into a world.”14 This also shows that the state, though a big group, might not necessarily have been the loftiest goal that Liang Qichao pursued at the time.15 When a “group affiliation” happened around the organization into states and embodied the manifestation of “power,” the question undoubtedly became sensitive. The perception of this issue by Huang Zunxian, Sun Yat-sen, and Zhang Taiyan revealed that “group affiliation” gradually led to the contemplation of “state” and “society.” In his Riben Guozhi (Treaties on Japan) completed in 1887, Huang Zunxian already shed light on “society.” He was deeply impressed by the phenomenon that “the Japanese associate whenever something comes up, and everyone joins a society or association.”16 Understanding “society” in terms of “joint forces” had not yet touched its role in the affairs of the “state.” The sign of a change came in 1902 when Huang Zunxian also proposed the ideal “way of group affiliation”: Suppose we can take advantage of the kinship of our clan system and the mutual-benefiting relationship of our guilds and factions and reference the established truth of Western sociology and ethics, the mutual benefiting theory of economics, and the self governance advocated in politics. In that case, we will have enlightened governance of the people, enhanced intelligence of the people, and boosted the morale of the people before we can talk about civil rights.17

 Liang Qichao, “On Colleges (13): Society (General Discussion on Reform 3–13),” Current Affairs, Vol. 10, November 5, 1896, p. 1.  Liang Qichao, “Preface to On Grouping,” Current Affairs, Vol. 27, May 22, 1897, p. 1.  Based on this, theorists argue that Liang Qichao did not advocate qunzhi (governance of the people) embraced by the Western countries but maintained that China must go beyond qunzhi and directly strive for the goal of tianxiaqun (group of all under heaven). See Luo Zhitian, “Tianxia and the World: The Transformation of Intellectuals’ Cognition of Human Society in the Late Qing Dynasty, Focusing on Liang Qichao’s Ideas,” China Social Sciences Press, Vol. 5, 2007, pp. 191–204.  Huang Zunxian, Treatises on Japan, vol. 37, Shanghai Classical Literature Publishing House, 2001, pp. 393–94.  “A Letter from the Owner of the Shuicangyan Red House,” New Citizen, Vol. 24, January 13, 1903, pp. 35–37.

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The thinking of Sun Yat-sen and Zhang Taiyan also changed at this time. In a speech he made in 1905, Sun Yat-sen said something interesting and meaningful: “When I advocated nationalism before, only guilds and factions responded. As for the middle and upper classes of society, very few people did so.”18 Because of the growth of nationalism, Sun found a way to “improve the governance of groups.” Hence, he decided the direction of forming and managing groups of people in China by advocating the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy, and livelihood of the people on which the evolution of the West had been based.19 In his 1906 speech about his transition, Zhang Taiyan explicitly stated, based on his personal experience, “Only after I read some Chinese and foreign books since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 did I obtain some theoretical understanding.”20 It is pretty clear that although the formation of the idea of a state did have something to do with the traditional “clan” concept, the more important are still the theories of modern Western nationalism. The contemplation of “group affiliation” gave rise to new understanding of “state” and “society.” It was undoubtedly a far-reaching change of mindset. As the concept of state in the modern sense came into being, the understanding of “society” also became clear gradually. The eleventh issue of New Citizen in 1902 gave such an answer to a reader confused with the terms “group” and “society,” “Society, translated as “社会” in Japanese and sometimes as qun (群, or group) in Chinese, means a group of people.” It further explained, “The term ‘society’ will undeniably become popular in China sooner or later.”21 The New Erya published soon after that even listed “an explanation of group” as a section and gave an even more clear interpretation, “More than two people living in coordination form a group, or society, for that matter.”22 Mentioning “group” and “society” in the same breath showed that the desire for “group affiliation” was going hand in hand with the growth of “society.”

Schools, Societies, and Periodicals: Hosts of Group Affiliation Despite the ancient teaching that “men of integrity are not supposed to get affiliated with a faction” and a superficial understanding of the significance of a group

 Guo Ting, “Notes of Visiting Students in Tokyo Welcoming Mr. Sun Yat-sen,” People’s Journal, Vol. 1, November 26, 1905, p. 70.  Sun Wen, “Foreword,” People’s Journal, Vol. 1, November 26, 1905, p. 1.  Zhang Taiyan, “Compilation of Speeches,” People’s Journal, Vol. 6, July 25, 1906, p. 1.  “Questions and Answers,” New Citizen, Vol. 11, April 22, 1902, p. 88.  Wang Rongbao and Ye Lan, New Erya, Mingquan Press, 1903, p. 63.

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affiliation, intellectuals were still propelled by their desire for “group affiliation” to make an essential step forward: thinking about how to affiliate to groups. The late-Qing intellectuals often discussed this issue by referring to schools, societies, and newspaper publishers. They usually considered more than one of these in combination. In other words, societies, schools, associations, magazines, and newspapers became the main vehicles for intellectuals to seek group affiliation during this period. In practice, intellectuals planned their careers in line with their pursuit of group affiliation, although their emphasis might not be the same. Before establishing Current Affairs, Wang Kangnian talked about setting up the Society of China and even planned to establish magazines, newspapers, and schools. He said, “Once there are a bit more members in the society, we will set up a newsletter of the society immediately, and we may append it after the translated newsletter.” Besides, “we’ll set up schools where we can raise the most funds.”23 This is how societies, schools, and periodicals were planned as a whole. After Current Affairs was published, Wang Kangnian planned to join efforts to achieve the abovementioned goals to lay the foundation for the reform.24 However, because intellectuals had different understandings of group affiliation, the carriers they tried to rely on varied. Tan Sitong, who focused his attention on reform in Hunan at the time, emphasized “learning” more when approaching the same issue. He maintained that some people “try to reform others by taking advantage of their rights to improve themselves. They then advocate three essential prerequisites: schools, societies, and newspapers.”25 In the article written for Learning New Knowledge, Xu Qin, a student of Kang Youwei’s, deliberated on “the significance of group affiliation” in the perspectives of “politics,” “learning,” and “commerce.” The carriers he considered were legislative assembly, academic societies, and business corporations.26 Through what the Chinese intellectuals said and did after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, we can see that the activities of establishing schools, societies, and periodicals were all based on the central concept of group affiliation. In his summary of the significance of those efforts, Chen Xulu stated that newspaper offices were creating the necessary “communication media,” “schools were the

 Wang Yinian, ed., Biography of Mr. Wang Rangqing, in Shen Yunlong, ed., Collectanea of Materials on Modern Chinese History, Vol. 1, Wen Hai Press Company, 1966, pp. 58–64.  Wang Kangnian, “Feasible Paths on China’s Search for Wealth and Power,” Current Affairs, Vol. 13, December 5, 1896, p. 1.  Tan Sitong, “Postscript to Hunan Gazette (2),” Hunan Gazette, Vol. 11, March 18, 1898, p. 42.  Xu Qin, “A Draft of Suitable Things to Do by the Yuedong Company,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 24, July 10, 1897, p. 1.

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cornerstones of enlightenment,” and “societies” were “information hubs.”27 It is worth analyzing how these three factors constituted the focus of the discourses then. As far as the self-reform policy established in the late Qing Dynasty was concerned, schools could be described as the intellectuals’ most basic pursuit because they emphasized getting more “talents.” At first, they did not necessarily fully understand group affiliation, and they still thought in terms of promoting schools and reforming the imperial examination system. Therefore, it is understandable that they saw schools, societies, and periodicals as the hosts of group affiliation and their efforts were tinged with “learning.” The only reason for the phenomenon was that intellectuals were the pillars of society in imperial China. It was only too natural for them to promote reforms based on their reflections on the imperial examination system. Of course, intellectuals attached importance to schools, societies, and mass media because they were associated with the West, particularly its embodied wealth and power. Therefore, all these were measures they took to learn from the West and their underlying cognition was correspondingly worthy of examination. Positioning the mass media like newspapers and magazines as the representative of qingyi (political criticism by intellectuals) or positioning the school as the foundation of political discussions can be regarded as modern manifestations of ancient traditions. Since the late Qing Dynasty, it has long been a topic of widespread concern in academic circles to rediscover and reinterpret traditional Chinese resources. According to Yu Ying-shih, that was because the Chinese intellectuals had not been in contact with Western thinking for too long.28 Lacking an understanding of Western thinking, they had to draw a forced analogy from traditional Chinese resources to make their interpretation meaningful.

II Newspapers and Magazines as an Element in Group Affiliation More voices for establishing newspaper publishers gradually became louder after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. Talk of setting up societies was somewhat “tabooed,” and not everyone lauded the move to start a newspaper at first. Song  Chen Xulu, “The Hundred Days’ Reform and Enlightenment,” originally in Academic Monthly, Vol. 10, 1988. Here, it’s based on the Existent Academic Papers of Chen Xulu, Shanghai People’s Press, 1990, pp. 398–411.  Yu Ying-shih, Modern Interpretation of China’s Ideological Traditions, Jiangsu People’s Publishing House, 1995, pp. 340–350.

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Shu was one of those who were against it. In 1895, Wang Kangnian, Xia Zengyou, and some others tried to invite Song Shu to “discuss the establishment of a society and opening a newspaper office to rally talents countrywide and elaborate on the country’s age-old malpractices.” However, Song told them, “since opinions widely differ, I can’t make up my mind yet.”29 Regardless of the concerns of intellectuals at the time, newspapers were irreplaceable by societies, so opening newspaper publishers was the preferred choice. While Kang Youwei was rallying people in the capital city by way of establishing his society, Chen Jiong, who was involved in his effort, stressed, “We must prioritize what we do. So, we should first publish newspapers to inform and enlighten people before we can take other actions.”30 But prioritizing newspapers and societies wasn’t that important. In fact, opening newspaper publishers could have promoted the development of schools and societies. Together, they constituted the hosts of group association.

“A Newspaper Office is a Prerequisite for Organizing a Society” An article published in Hunan Learning News roughly explained why intellectuals actively established societies and newspaper publishers after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: after experiencing the trauma of the war, “many schools and book publishers emerged” in the capital city while societies and newspaper publishers also “mushroomed” in various other provinces.31 The publishing of Current Affairs can help us understand what challenges the late-Qing intellectuals encountered in their initial effort to establish newspapers and magazines. Concerning the founding of Current Affairs, most of Wang Kangnian’s friends emphasized that newspaper publishers should be the first choice and Liang Qichao in particular believed that newspapers could help form a “center of gravity.” In a letter he wrote to Xia Zengyou, he mentioned that opening newspaper publishers “is vital to forming a center of gravity.”32 In a letter to Wang Kangnian, Liang Qichao also explained, “Newspaper offices are prerequisite for organizing

 Song Shu, “A Letter to Wang Huansheng,” June 30, 1895, in Hu Zhusheng, ed., Collected Works of Song Shu (1), Zhonghua Book Company, 1993, p. 531.  “Kang Nanhai’s Self-edited Chronology,” in Chinese Historical Society, ed., Collection of Materials on Modern Chinese History, Vol. 4, p. 133.  Yi Nai, “On the Assumption of the Rise and Fall of Western Politics and Learning Having Nothing to do with Western Religions,” Hunan Learning News, Vol. 28, February 21, 1898, pp. 7–9.  Liang Qichao, “A Letter to Suiqing,” May 29, Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1983, p. 40.

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societies. The opinions from the offices will subtly influence people’s minds and create public opinions soon.”33 After publishing Current Affairs, Luo Zhenyu also referred to Wang Kangnian’s effort to establish Current Affairs as “holding the key to pioneering a new trend” and that he “felt a thrill of excitement.”34 Besides Current Affairs, the newspapers and magazines emerging at the time shared more or less a common philosophy. Yan Fu once outlined how newspapers and magazines of this type came to be and pointed out that these periodicals “aren’t good enough to inform people, are they?”35 We will later analyze Yan Fu’s conclusion that newspapers and magazines were not good enough to inform people. The many periodicals that Yan Fu mentioned, especially the background of their growth, are crucial, indicating that after many twists and turns, opening newspaper publishers finally received more support.

“Of the Many Ways to Get People Informed, Newspaper Publishers Play a Leading Role” Many intellectuals joined the efforts to open newspaper publishers because they realized that “a newspaper office is a prerequisite for establishing a society” and took their role of “informing people” seriously. It also shows how intellectuals of that time understood newspapers and magazines: they still considered them supplements to court bulletins instead of treating them as “socially” significant. People attached great importance to Current Affairs because it “can offset court bulletins’ weaknesses and draw on Western newspapers’ strong points.”36 In his “On the Benefits of Newspapers for State Affairs,” published in the inaugural issue of Current Affairs, Liang Qichao pointed out, “Of the many ways to get people informed, newspaper publishers play a leading role.” He hoped that newspapers and magazines would become the source of “translated news of current events of all continents” and “records of new deals of various provinces in detail” to start a new trend.37

 Liang Qichao, “To Wang Kangnian” (7), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1833.  Luo Zhenyu, “To Wang Kangnian” (1), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 3152.  Yan Fu, “Origin of Guowen Bao,” Guowen Bao, No. 1, October 26, 1897, p. 2.  “The Shanxi Qingyuan Bureau’s General Order to All the Circuits, Fu, Prefectures, and Counties to Read Current Affairs,” Current Affairs, Vol. 32, July 10, 1897, p. 10.  Liang Qichao, “On the Benefit of Newspapers for State Affairs,” Current Affairs, Vol. 1, August 9, 1896, pp. 1–2.

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Besides Current Affairs, many other newspapers also positioned themselves as means to facilitate “the flow of information between the ruler and the ruled and between China and the world.” Learning New Knowledge was first established in 1897; “Its original name, Guang Shiwu Bao (Promoting Current Affairs), meant what it intended to do.”38 Guowen Bao, published in Tianjin on October 26, 1897, also held a similar view. To answer the question of “why Guowen Bao was established,” Yan Fu explicitly pointed out that it would “strive to inform people,” and he also affirmed its function as “to help form groups.”39 They all regarded newspaper publishers as necessary media for mobilizing the people and went a step further to consider “establishing a newspaper guild to connect all newspaper publishers.”40

Newspapers’ Promotion of School and Society Affairs The function of newspapers and magazines to promote “people affiliation” is reflected in its advancing the development of schools and societies. Wu Qiao made such suggestions on how to run a newspaper office successfully: 1) “set up various societies and associations and use the newspaper to help them raise capital and hire staff members”; 2) “better to set limits to topics of current affairs to observe taboos”; and 3) “build libraries, which is easier to do and should be done once funds are available.”41 It shows that the role newspapers and magazines played was by no means unitary. The intellectuals of the time already regarded them as the vital driving force behind the growth of societies and schools. The demonstrative role of Current Affairs was primarily embodied in its serving to promote the growth of societies and schools. Here, it also shows that the texts published in newspapers and magazines were but the tip of the iceberg. There were many other issues behind them. The news and charters of various societies published in Current Affairs showed that the newspaper was active in promoting related work and that the societies set up in different places nationwide also needed newspapers to do this for them. The first issue of Current Affairs published the “Cartography Guild’s Rules and Regulations Concerning the Translating and Printing of Western Maps,” showing that the

 “Public Notice from This Agency,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 1, February 22, 1897, p. 15.  Yan Fu, “Origin of Guowen Bao,” Guowen Bao, No. 1, October 26, 1897, pp. 1–2.  Lu Jing, “To Wang Kangnian” (2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), pp. 2985–2986.  Wu Qiao, “To Wang Kangnian” (25), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), pp. 509–511.

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newspaper office was one of the agencies of the guild. In addition, Current Affairs also published the No Feet Binding Society’s and Agricultural Association’s news, meaning that newspapers played the role of liaison centers for the various organizations. Besides the information mentioned above, Current Affairs also dedicated a column to “societies’ newsletters.” In his “Descriptor of Societies’ Newsletters,” Liang Qichao sincerely hailed, “Societies are indispensable to the cause of saving today’s China.” He also introduced the various societies emerging in Guilin, Changsha, Wuchang, Suzhou, and Shanghai.42 The large amount of information those organizations published in Current Affairs demonstrated that newspapers had a remarkable effect on promoting the work of “forming groups.” What we have discussed was obviously in line with the work of the late-Qing intellectuals to “form groups.” Moreover, societies and newspapers also functioned as a driving force behind the formation of significant “group power.” Take Learning New Knowledge as an example. Clearly political, it somewhat served as the “official newspaper” of Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and their followers (we will elaborate on this later). Current Affairs worked proactively to expand circulation and attract more readers. This was also a vital part of the effort to “form groups.” Current Affairs had a total of more than 200 distribution centers in 18 provinces and even overseas and the circulation increased from about 4,000 at its initial stage to more than 10,000 a few months later.43 Expanding reader and contributor groups contributed to “forming groups.” Current Affairs first opened a dedicated column to publish contributions from the readers. Later, it also had a column to publish various translated texts. The newspaper hoped its readers would mail in texts primarily about “innovations, politics, laws, and current events.” It promised to pay for their writings, thus receiving vigorous responses. For this reason, some researchers pointed out that studies of Current Affairs’ interactions with its readers may better reveal how mass media constituted “public space” in the late Qing Dynasty. This space allowed readers and newspaper staff to communicate without seeing each other.44 “Discussions among intellectuals went through ups and downs mostly in imperial courts for the past 2,000 years. With this as the norm, the emergence of Current Affairs is something out of the norm.” Intellectuals’ discussions, “once turned into texts in newspapers, can be disseminated everywhere, leading to communication, convergence, resonance,

 Liang Qichao, “Descriptor of Society Reports,” Current Affairs, Vol. 38, September 7, 1897, p. 27.  Liao Mei, Wang Kangnian: From Civil Rights Theory to Cultural Conservatism, Shanghai Classical Literature Publishing House, 2001, pp. 66–78.  Pan Guangzhe, “Current Affairs and Its Readers,” Historical Research, 2005, Vol. 5, pp. 61–83.

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and echoes.”45 “The transition from inside the imperial court to outside it” was only one side of the coin. A more significant transition would come later if we consider the political stands of those involved in the discussions (the next chapter has more details on this). It needs to be added here that a close relationship was also formed between newspapers. The “representative distribution” mechanism calls for special attention.

III Representative Distribution: Establishment of Newspaper Sales Network Intellectuals vied with one another in establishing newspapers and magazines after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. Liang Qichao summarized the situation in an article, “After the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, Current Affairs rose and became a hit nationwide. Its circulation rose to over 10,000 in just a few months, a phenomenon never seen in Chinese newspaper history.” Afterward, “More newspapers followed in a number of coastal metropolises delivering about a dozen newspapers soon.”46 The appearance of these newspapers was not accidental. It was an actual sign of a transition. In his memoirs, Richard Timothy pointed out that Current Affairs, “as an official newspaper of reformists . . . achieved tremendous success soon after its inauguration, kicking up a ripple of reformist thinking across the entire empire.”47 While the number of newspapers increased, more importantly, an interdependent relationship was formed between them. The relationship allowed them to represent each other and distribute their publications. It became an influential force of “forming groups” and showed that newspapers played an increasingly significant role in promoting the birth of the intelligentsia.

Publishing Notices and Distributing for Other Newspapers as Their Representatives: The Multi Roles of Newspapers After Current Affairs, scholars who planned to found a newspaper would publish a notice in Current Affairs. After publishing their newspapers, the intellectuals

 Yang Guoqiang, “Aloof and Famous Intellectuals of the Late Qing Dynasty,” in Late-Qing Intellectuals and the Ways of the World, p. 197.  Liang Qichao, “Felicitations on the 100th Issue and Comments on a Newspaper’s Responsibility and the Newspaper’s Experience,” The China Discussion, Vol. 100, December 21, 1901, p. 4.  Timothy Richard, 45–Year Personal experience in late Qing Dynasty—Richard Timothy’s Memoirs on China (Chinese Edition), pp. 242–43.

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would depend on Current Affairs’ distribution centers for circulation. As mentioned earlier, Learning New Knowledge, a newspaper first established in Macao, publicized its appearance with the “Public Notice of Promoting Current Affairs” in the fifteenth issue of Current Affairs. After the official publication of Learning New Knowledge, Current Affairs also carried a public notice saying that it would “distribute the former as its representative” along with itself.48 Learning New Knowledge was not the only newspaper that Current Affairs distributed as a representative. Guowen Bao and Current Affairs also distributed each other’s publications, which played an equally significant role in forming the distribution network. Current Affairs extensively issued its public notice during its planning phase and Wang Xiuzhi in Tianjin was one of the first to receive a dedicated notice. Later, when Wang initiated Guowen Bao with Xia Zengyou and Yan Fu in 1897, he also expected Current Affairs would help them distribute their newspaper. Therefore, they wrote to Current Affairs’ editorial staff, asking them to publish their notice and if they could help “distribute the newspaper on their behalf” at Current Affairs’ distribution centers.49 Wang Kangnian also helped Xiang Bao (Hunan Gazette) a lot with its purchase of necessary machinery and other newspapers. Xiong Xiling wrote in a letter, “The news of Hunan Gazette’s establishment spread throughout the province and people are waiting eagerly for our newspaper to come out soon. Please help us complete the purchase of related machinery. We’d be obliged if you could have it delivered to us in Hunan as soon as possible.”50 He wrote in another letter, “We’ve checked all the newspapers Hunan Gazette Office has purchased and mailed to us. Thank you so very much!”51 More newspaper publishers expected Current Affairs to distribute their newspapers for them. Chen Qiu, the founder of Lijixuetang Bao (Report of the Academy of Beneficial Aid), citing Hunan Gazette’s example, asked Current Affairs if it could help.52 Such a demand from various other newspapers was so high that Current Affairs found it impossible to meet. It had to publish a public notice, saying “whoever wanted to purchase Learning

 “Public Notice from This Agency,” Current Affairs, Vol. 20, March 13, 1897, p. 1.  Xia Zengyou, Yan Fu, and Wang Xiuzhi, “To Rubo, Zhuoru, and Rangqing,” September 21, 1897, in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 3, p. 506.  Xiong Xiling, “To Wang Kangnian” (5), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2841.  Xiong Xiling, “To Wang Kangnian” (9), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2843.  Chen Qiu, “To Wang Kangnian” (1), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1999.

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New Knowledge, Nongxue Bao (Journal of Agricultural Science), and other newspapers could write to their offices instead of us to avoid any delay.”53 Whether one newspaper would publish public notices and/or help distribute other newspapers depended mainly on personal ties. Current Affairs did the above out of the rift between Liang Qichao and Wang Kangnian. Newspapers related closely to Liang. It also showed that some newspapers were gradually becoming media representing specific political forces. Learning New Knowledge, for example, gathered mainly contributors who were Kang Youwei’s followers. Therefore, it somewhat became an “official newspaper” of the reformists. The news of various societies and the charters of different schools embodied Kang Youwei’s and Liang Qichao’s political aspirations. Apparently, they used Learning New Knowledge to gather more followers. As a result, Learning New Knowledge gradually overshadowed Current Affairs in terms of its viewpoints. After reading a few issues of Learning New Knowledge, Pi Xirui commented, “The arguments of Liu Zhenqing and others are far more intelligent than those published in Current Affairs.”54

A Network Formed by All Newspapers Together Current Affairs’ modeling significance presented itself in many aspects. Xu Weize once lavishly praised Current Affairs. He acclaimed, “All scholar-officials nationwide are aware that newspaper publishers are effective enough to lead a new trend and begin a new era . . . How could their significance be so far-reaching without great talents who initiated them?”55 Besides, the stylistic rules and layout of Current Affairs were emulated by emerging counterparts. In his letter to Wang Kangnian, Zhu Binggang from Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province, mentioned that all local newspapers were prepared according to Current Affairs’ stylistic rules and layout.56 It is fair to say that Current Affairs was more significant because it shaped the “character” of the newspapers of that period. It also contributed to the formation of a network of newspapers where they relied on and borrowed from one another. Current Affairs became a platform widely used by other newspapers, and other newspapers also benefited Current

 “Public Notice from This Agency,” Current Affairs, Vol. 38, September 7, 1897, “Public Notice,” p. 1.  Pi Xirui, Shifutang Diary, Vol. 3, March 13, 1898, National Library Press 2009, p. 148.  Xu Weize, “To Wang Kangnian” (1), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), pp. 1518–1519.  Zhu Binggang, “To Wang Kangnian” (21), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1549.

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Affairs. For example, Bowen Bao which came out earlier than Current Affairs published Current Affairs’ public notice before the latter’s official publication.57 The establishment of a new newspaper also meant that Current Affairs gained a new representative office, as was the case with many of the newspapers mentioned above that benefited from Current Affairs. When Chen Qiu wrote to Wang Kangnian, saying, “We’d received 26 copies, and now we’ve received altogether 70 of your newspaper,” he must have meant the share of Current Affairs that the Report of the Academy of Beneficial Aid newspaper office sold on its behalf.58 Yu Bao (Chongqing Journal) set up multiple representative distribution centers for Current Affairs and Learning New Knowledge in Sichuan and other provinces. Wuxi Baihua Bao (Wuxi Vernacular Newspaper), established in 1898, also had distribution centers in the out-of-province offices of such newspapers as Current Affairs, Journal of Agricultural Science, Mengxue Bao (The Children’s Educator), Suzhou Telegraph Bureau, and the Longcheng Academy of Changzhou.59 Thus, newspapers formed sales networks through which they interacted with and counted on each other for help.

IV Self-Reform: Interactions with the Government It is prone to controversies to evaluate late-Qing intellectuals’ initial activities of starting newspapers. A public notice published in the sixteenth issue of The China Discussion read, “After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, Current Affairs and Learning New Knowledge led in exercising the power of newspapers, advocating reforms, arousing the people, and leading the trend of reform by themselves.”60 The key here lies in how to evaluate the statement “exercising the power of newspapers . . . by themselves.” Without analyzing it, we may find it hard to highlight the significance of forming the intelligentsia. We cannot ignore the fact that early newspapers positioned themselves as a facilitator of “the flow of information between the ruler and the ruled,” meaning that their viewpoints must be in line with the official position. Therefore, the views of the newspapers are worthy of our attention. It is necessary to examine the start of Zhongwai Jiwen (Sino Foreign

 Liang Qichao, “To Wang Kangnian” (1), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), pp. 1835.  Chen Qiu, “To Wang Kangnian” (1), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), pp. 1999–2000.  “Charter of This Newspaper,” Wuxi Vernacular News, vol. 1, May 11, 1898, p. “Public Notice.”  “Public Notice of Being Commissioned to Sell Macao’s Learning New Knowledge, Tianjin’s Guowen Bao, and Singapore’s Thien Nam Shin Pao,” The China Discussion, Vol. 16, May 30, 1899.

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News) and Current Affairs in light of the Self-Reform movement in the late Qing Dynasty, which will be done in the next section. We find the trend of the newspapers in this period worth paying attention to because of the apparent differences between their initial and later stages.

Officials and Newspapers When first exposed to newspapers, the late-Qing intellectuals had great hope in them. They praised them as great as “the caifeng (collecting folk songs) mechanism” of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties and acclaimed that they would help with “the flow of information between the ruler and the ruled and between China and the world.” But things might not be so simple. Wang Tao, who had been aware of Western newspapers earlier, observed that the key to the prosperity of Western dailies lay in their publication of “state affairs and military situation” and their reaching readers in the “remote parts of their countries.”61 He stressed, “Western newspapers play a tremendous role because editors can discuss politics freely and participate in the management of state affairs in a small way.”62 But the role stemmed from the attribute of “news papers” and was also the source of conflicts. Perhaps, conscious of the graveness of the matter, Wang Tao played his remarks down by adding the definitive “in a small way.” When “newsprint” intervened in politics in this way, it inevitably led to various controversies. The “news paper” showed its dual nature from the beginning: some officials started newspapers while others became their enemies. Xinbao (New Daily) appeared in the name of the “public opinions of secret societies from the various piers” in Shanghai on November 23, 1876. The actual founder was Feng Junguang, Circuit Intendant of Shanghai, and the funds were also from the circuit’s coffer.63 Published in Chinese and English, it intended to influence foreigners in Shanghai, too. Therefore, it was dubbed “the Circuit Intendant’s Organ.”64

 Wang Tao, “On the Gradual Popularity of Daily News in China,” Complementary Compilation of Works of Taoyuan, p. 206.  Wang Tao, “The Prosperity of Newspapers in the West,” Universal Circulating Herald, February 12, 1874, p. 3, quoted from Zhuo Nansheng, History of the Development of Modern Chinese Newspapers (1815–1874) (revised and enlarged edition), China Social Sciences Press, 2002, p. 187.  Hu Daojing, “Shanghai’s Daily Newspapers”, Journal of Shanghai Center of Local History, Vol. 1 No. 2, June 1934, p. 215.  “Shanghai Circuit Where Three Newspapers Are Established,” Office of Shanghai Annals, ed., Sequel to Shanghai Research Materials, Shannghai Bookstore Publishing House, 2002, p. 322.

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There were also many cases of officials enjoying a lousy relationship with newspapers. Initially, problems arose when political information was disclosed in newspapers, making it difficult for the officials involved to accept. After it debuted, Shen Bao published “some political events taking place in Zhejiang Province” and invited wrath from some officials. The newspaper especially noted that “state affairs were not family matters for that particular incident. A country’s state affairs must be known to the entire country. So, why should we keep them a secret?”65 There was a worry that the inability to differentiate “state affairs” from “family matters” might cause “newspaper publishers to be better known in the West than in China.”66 But that was not the officials’ concern. As soon as Liu Kunyi, Governor-in-chief of the Jiangnan (including present-day Jiangsu and Anhui provinces and Shanghai) and Jiangxi, came into office in 1875, Shen Bao accused him of accepting bribes. When Shen Bao attacked him the following year, Liu expressed his anger in a letter, “I make no account of Shen Bao’s groundless rumors. If I argued with them about the trivial, they would go nonstop. So, I may as well leave them alone.”67 Ta Kung Pao, which started in 1902, hoped to uphold the principle of “not hiding anything from the public.” Eventually, it offended a millionaire, who nicknamed it “Ta Si Pao” whenever he mentioned it. Incidentally, “ta kung” means “for the great public interest” while “ta si” means “for the great private gains” in Chinese.68 The question was that officials at all levels might not be adaptive to newspapers’ publishing news and comments of government affairs and personal matters. Weng Tonghe’s reaction was quite telling. He left his office for his hometown on June 15, 1898, and was removed from office the following year, never to be rehired. He read many comments on his dismissal in The News and wrote angrily in his journal, “The News has made improper comments about me in the past few days and is now raising a riotous clamor. It’s none of your business, but why don’t you let off?”69 The complaint “none of your business” hammered on the

 “On Daily Newspapers,” Shen Bao, November 7, 1874, p. 1.  “On the Affairs of News Daily Offices,” Shen Bao, March 12, 1874, p. 1.  Liu Kunyi, “Reply to Revered Zou Shaomu,” May 3, 1896, The Remaining Collection of Liu Kunyi, Vol. 5, Zhonghua Book Company, 1959, p. 2176. Guo Songtao was also involved in a dispute with Shen Bao. See Rudolf G. Wagner, “The Shen Bao in Crisis: The International Environment and the Conflict between Guo Songtao and the Shenbao,” Late Imperial China, Vol. 20, No. 1, June 1999, pp. 107–138.  “About Ta Si Pao,” Ta Kung Pao, August 27, 1902, “Current Events at Home and Abroad,” Vol. 4.  Chen Yijie, ed., Weng Tonghe’s Diaries, Vol. 6, December 16, 1898, Zhonghua Book Company, 2006, p. 3179.

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nail. But, powerless, Weng Tonghe had to bury his anger in his diary entries without having any ability to stir up any dispute. He Qi and Hu Lihuan talked about this in “Discussion of China’s Reform towards New Policies” published in 1895. They pointed out that the reason why it was difficult for China to get the benefit of running newspapers was that “writers can’t speak out.”70 It is unfortunate that this was prevalent. According to Ge Gongzhen, “High-ranking conservative officials of the time often forbade reading newspapers. They persecuted almost all the people who spoke up. The implementation of newspaper laws gave officials the reason to put them in jail.”71 Bao Tianxiao also recalled that the owners of newspapers, after getting involved in several troubles, often became “cautious and self-protective, daring not to make trouble.”72

The Symbolic Significance of “Respectfully Recording Imperial Decrees” The conflict between newspapers and court officials resulted from the new mass media’s challenge against past political governance. Newspaper offices tried their best to avoid such conflicts at the time. According to Ge Gongzhen, “Before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, newspapers rarely discussed political matters and dared not say a word about officials . . . After the Hundred Days’ Reform, newspapers in Shanghai began publishing some complaints about the conservatives.”73 Yao Gonghe explained how newspapers in Shanghai found ways to protect themselves from political repercussions. They mostly “published information acquired from foreign newspapers available in Shanghai . . . In this way, it is easy to get and disseminate information and there is no need to legal responsibilities. This is of great help to Chinese newspapers.”74 It was partly because newspapers initially founded by intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty sought “reform” within the framework of the monarchy. For example, Current Affairs had these columns early after its establishment: “Respectfully Documented Royal Decrees,” “Records of Major Memorials to the Throne,” “Current Events Outside the Capital,” “Translated Contents from Foreign Newspapers,” and “Translations of Foreign Telegrams as They Are.” Apparently, they tried to facilitate the flow of

 He Qi and Hu Lihuan, Discussion on China’s Chance to Implement New Policies, Vol. 2, Wenyu House, 1895, pp. 25–26.  Ge Gongzhen, The History of Chinese Newspapers, pp. 171–72.  Bao Tianxiao, Sequel of Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, Dahua Publishing House, 1973, pp. 78–79.  Ge Gongzhen, The History of Chinese Newspapers, pp. 107–108.  Yao Gonghe, Shanghai Gossips, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1989, p. 130.

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information between the ruler and the ruled and between China and the world, which was the basic pattern for newspapers of the time. Roughly speaking, many newspapers founded in the late nineteenth century often contained “Respectfully Documented Royal Decrees” and “Records of Memorials to the Throne.” Since they were “respectfully recorded,” contents of that nature often took the front page. Moreover, newspapers cooperated with the government in many other ways. After starting Hunan Gazette, Xiong Xiling and others asked government bulletins and official documents to be transferred to the newspaper office for publication as they came out and Chen Baozhen, Governor of Hunan Province, approved, saying that “newspaper publishers print and publish memorials to the emperor and other official documents so that they can inform the public of current events and learn about the situation of the common people.”75 Learning New Knowledge followed suit. Except for something like texts similar to what later was published in the column “Discussions,” it shared similar contents like “Respectfully Documented Royal Decrees” (with “Telegrams from the Emperor” added later) and “Current Events Outside the Capital.” Interestingly, contents like “Respectfully Documented Royal Decrees” and “Current Events Outside the Capital” disappeared from the Learning New Knowledge entirely on October 25, 1898, which resulted naturally from the Hundred Days’ Reform. Not until the one hundred and twelfth issue published on February 14, 1900, did the newspaper debut the Capital News column. The Respectfully Documented Royal Decrees column was changed to Royal Decrees Documented as They Are (later renamed Selected Documentation of Royal Decrees). A comparison of the original and the revised versions reveals the political significance of the change. What has been discussed hints at another noteworthy trait of late-Qing newspapers during their development: they still adhered to their previous understanding of political affairs. We can safely claim that the initial newspapers were started from the consensus and interaction between the intellectuals and the government, primarily hoping to make up for the previous court bulletins’ lack of information. In this regard, no more roles were given to the newspapers.76 Yang Gonghe affirmed this by saying, “If only royal decrees are published on the front page, then the newspapers still followed the pattern of court bulletins.”77 His remarks might be an overstatement. We can even claim that the newspapers might not have catered to the emperor’s intent. On the contrary, they tried to meet their readers’ needs. It was the exact reason why newspapers such as Shen Bao and  “Provincial Governor’s Directives,” Hunan Gazette, No. 16, March 24, 1898, p. 64.  “China Should Pay Attention to the Inferior Stratum of Society,” The Universal Gazette, October 19–20, 1902, issue 1.  Yao Gonghe, Shanghai Gossips, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1989, p. 126.

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Wan Guo Gong Bao also considered having the columns: “Respectfully Documented Royal Decrees” or “Complete Documentation of Jingbao.” However, it also shows that understanding newspapers in terms of “facilitating the flow of information between the ruler and the ruled and between China and the world” somewhat signified that they were still stuck in the so-called convention that common people did not discuss state affairs. Respectfully Documenting Royal Decrees was only one side of the coin. The frequent publication of memoranda to superior officials, memorials to the emperors, and written statements to higher authorities were related to the issue. Kang Youwei’s submission of his statements was a noteworthy incident in the Hundred Days’ Reform. The twists and turns he had gone through during the submission showed that it was not easy for ordinary intellectuals to submit political statements to the higher authorities. Intellectuals devoted to serving the country found a new channel to express their political views in newspapers after their appearance, which became a unique feature of the times. Shen Bao published quite a few statements to higher authorities submitted by intellectuals who expressed their opinions in their particular way.78 Wang Tao’s texts published in Universal Circulating Herald also had such attributes.79 This was only natural, for texts like his could never “reach the throne.” Yan Fu’s A Statement to the Emperor did it only by chance.80 So many contents of this nature appearing in newspapers also invited various criticism, branding the practice as “the bad habit of famous intellectuals of the Southeast.” The popularity of the practice was due to intellectuals’ demand and willingness of the newspapers to publish them. While running Current Affairs, Wang Kangnian had many requests for publishing such statements. An elderly scholar (about 75 years old), who claimed to be “nonconforming to the prevalent custom,”81 said that he had the “aspiration to be loyal to the emperor” and that “he still had the aspiration to serve the country.” He said he had experienced “harassment from the invading Japanese pirates” and submitted his statement to the

 “Memorandum on Inter-Provincial Imperial Examinations in Southeast China,” Shen Bao, May 6, 1876, p. 3, “Debates on Xiangchang Memorial to the Throne”, Shen Bao, May 24, 1876, p. 3.  Wang Tao, “To His Highness Pan Weiru, Palace Aid to the Counselor-in-chief,” Correspondences from the Tao Garden, Zhonghua Book Company, 1959, p. 206.  Yan Fu, “A Statement to the Emperor,” Guowen Bao, January 27–February 4, 1898. Only when it was submitted by the Foreign Office on his behalf later did Emperor Guangxu learn about it. See Mao Haijian, Study of the History of the Hundred Days’ Reform, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2005, p. 406.  Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu (1), March 16, 1902, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1983, p. 506.

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officials four times.82 It is thus clear that early newspapers appeared quite in line with the political environment of imperial China. The widespread publication of “respectfully documented royal decrees” represented the adoption of the “topdown” management method. For that matter, the frequent publication of various statements and memoranda in newspapers followed the tradition of intellectuals “discussing politics.” However, the “flow of information between the ruler and the ruled” realized through new mass media was still one-way traffic. Publishing “respectfully documented royal decrees” might help disseminate official information widely, but submission of statements to higher authorities by intellectuals proved to be practically unfruitful. No change happened to the political management at all. Their submission of the so-called statements was nothing but self-entertaining.

Government Funding The existence of “respectfully documented royal decrees” in late-Qing newspapers was no accident. We need to examine how newspapers like Current Affairs positioned themselves. Both the form and the “modern” standpoints of the newspapers are worthy of some discussion. Take Current Affairs as an example. It was a mere book-like periodical of about 30 pages per issue, though called a newspaper. Besides, it asked the superior authorities to persuade high-ranking local officials to purchase the newspaper and issue an official order to read it. Simultaneously, it also talked local authorities into subscribing to the newspaper and setting up distribution centers far and wide. In the two years of its publication, there were 17 cases where “it was arranged for official purchase.”83 That being the case, It is necessary to make a slight distinction between newspapers like Current Affairs and those published later. A public notice published in Current Affairs showed that it had received government funds: “In the past half a year since our newspaper office was set up, we have continually received financial aids from prefectural governments in and outside the city, amounting to a total of over 13,000 taels of gold. They also helped us distribute more than 7,000 copies of the newspaper.”84 Apart from that, some

 Xu Enpu, “To the Current Affairs Agency,” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (4), p. 3612.  Liao Mei, Wang Kangnian: From Civil Rights Theory to Cultural Conservatism, Shanghai Classical Literature Publishing House, 2001, pp. 66–78, 70–73.  “Note of Thanks from This Newspaper Office,” Current Affairs, Vol. 17, January 13, 1897, “Public Notice,” p. 1.

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governors also ordered that official agencies sell copies of Current Affairs. Zhang Zhidong acclaimed that the newspaper “was the first useful periodical in China” and demanded: “All offices, high- or low-leveled, civil or military, must send a copy to each county, prefecture, academy, and every officer down to the level of vice brigade commander. According to their numbers, a copy must be distributed to each bureau, academy, and school, totaling 288 copies.”85 Liao Shoufeng, Governor of Zhejiang Province, also sent letters to various counties and prefectures, ordering them to subscribe to Current Affairs with government funds and distribute copies to multiple academies. “This way,” he wrote in the letter, “all the students in schools can study the newspaper and have discussions to enhance their intellectual ability.”86 Hunan Governor Chen Baozhen also wrote to every county and prefecture to praise Current Affairs. He said that arguments made in Current Affairs “are pretty sensible, and the translations of Western newspapers are most influential.” He decided to purchase some copies of the newspaper with Ministry and Censorate funds and distribute them to the academies in the province to circulate among the students so that they could study it carefully.87 Learning New Knowledge also received government funds after its publication, and the funds were given concurrently to Current Affairs. Provincial Education Commissioner of Guizhou Province said, “The newspaper now benefits the government and education in the provinces of Zhili, Anhui, Lianghu, Jiangzhe, Shanxi, and Guangxi. As the government agencies ordered their subordinates or academy presidents persuaded their students, from officials to intellectuals to common people all knew to purchase and read newspapers.” He meant that even Guizhou, a remote border region, had a better reason to buy newspapers.88 Although only Current Affairs and Learning New Knowledge are examined here, there is evidence that what happened to them was universal for newspapers and magazines. An article published in Hunan Gazette explained, “New trends develop much faster in Hunan Province than other places.” The primary reason was

 Zhang Zhidong, “Zhabei Aftermaths Handling Bureau Plans to Issue the Pricing of Current Affairs (With a List Appended),” in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 5, pp. 3317–3318.  “Letters to Distribute Current Affairs to All the Counties and Prefectures by the Zhejiang Provincial Governor Liao,” Current Affairs, Vol. 18, February 22, 1897, p. 11.  Chen Baozhen, “Hunan Governor Statement on Purchasing Current Affairs and Distribute it to Academies in the Province”, Current Affairs, Vol. 25, May 2, 1897, pp. 7–8.  “General Order of Guizhou Provincial Educational Commissioner Yan to All Education Officials and Gentry to Purchase Current Affairs and Learning New Knowledge,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 42, January 3, 1898, p. 6.

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that “officials lead the way.”89 The situation in Hunan was unique indeed. Provincial Education Commissioner Jiang Biao wrote to Chen Baozhen that it was costly to finance the publication of Xiangxue Xinbao (Hunan New Learning News): “The journal cost over 1,000 taels of silver. The funds raised from the province can only cover the cost of carving the printing blocks . . . Paper, printing, and binding cost another hundred taels of gold each month. Jiang Biao made up for the deficit. Probably, this could in the future be covered by subscription fees collected outside the province.”90 Hunan Gazette’s publication was due to “His Excellency’s financial support for years running.”91 Therefore, it is necessary to understand the emergence of newspapers in conjunction with the Self-Reform movement in the late Qing Dynasty. People’s understanding of newspapers at that time was still constrained by the framework of the imperial system. They hoped that newspapers would supplement court bulletins, making up for the deficiency of information. Publishing contents like “respectfully documented royal decrees” and relying on the government for funds indicate that these newspapers were still in their transitional stage.

“Be Neither Arrogant Nor Outspoken”: Newspapers’ Way of Expression The most telling thing was that the publishers tried to find a way to protect themselves, and for this purpose they posed restrictions on how opinions were expressed. There were many factors involved in the founding of Current Affairs. It had a broad political background, and its distribution relied primarily on people of influence in various places. Therefore, it was only too natural for its way of expression to be limited. In fact, the newspaper clearly targeted people in power. Despite the newspaper publishers’ heightened vigilance, they still incurred various kinds of pressure. In a letter to Wang Kangnian and Liang Qichao, while Current Affairs was still in the planning stage, Huang Zunxian expressed this idea, “For the sake of conservatives and officials in charge of supervision, we must stick to this principle: be

 “The Zhijiang Current Event Bureau’s Open Letter Persuading Its Subordinate Agencies to Purchase Current Affairs, Learning New Knowledge, Journal of Agricultural Science, and Hunan Learning News,” Hunan Gazette, Vol. 105, July 7, 1898, p. 419.  Jiang Biao, “To Respected Chen Baozhen,” (2nd of five letters), in Wang Shuzi, Zhang Qiuhui, eds., Collected Works of Chen Baozhen (1), Zhonghua Book Company, 2005, p. 602.  “Charter of Hunan Gazette,” Hunan Gazette, Vol. 27, April 6, 1898, pp. 106–107.

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neither arrogant nor outspoken.”92 When writing to Wang Kangnian, Zou Daijun also said sincerely, “I hope you will do it diligently but not provocatively.” The reason was that being provocative would incur hindrance and even personal endangerment: “How can we lead the trend if we’re in danger physically?”93 Wang Daxie also repeatedly mentioned this concern in his correspondence with Wang Kangnian. He said, “We have to hire foreigners to translate books and take care of business. We must still use American and British trademarks, which is crucial. We’re not afraid of danger, but we fear that we can’t continue our newspaper if something adverse should happen.”94 He even felt naming this newspaper Current Affairs inappropriate, saying, “Why did we change it to such a grand but unworthy name in the first place?”95 After its publication, Current Affairs’ influence increased day by day. Therefore, it made a greater effort to avoid troubles. Huang Zunxian wrote to Wang Kangnian, “People in the capital mostly still commented that the articles published by the newspaper office are slanderous.” Therefore, he warned, “We’d better restrain from using abusive words as much as possible.”96 While publishers were worried, readers often reminded them simultaneously. Qu Hongji, for example, pointed out that the newspaper Current Affairs he had just received was “overpublicized,” and its criticism “exceeded the limit.”97 All its concerned friends loved and wanted to protect Current Affairs, and their suggestions were specific. Regarding two articles published in Current Affairs, Gao Fengqian commented that the article “Civil Rights” might sound profound, but “we can put off its propositions for the time being. Or we can put it forward gradually so as not to startle the world.”98 Yan Fu’s article “Bi Han (Rebutting Han Yu)” “was worse” because “not only did it harm the newspaper office, but it also stifled all the chances of the Self-Reform

 Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian and Liang Qichao,” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), pp. 2334–2336.  Zou Daijun, “To Wang Kangnian” (19), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), pp. 2648–2649.  Wang Daxie, “To Wang Kangnian” (70), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 737.  Wang Daxie, “To Wang Kangnian” (70), in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), pp. 742–743.  Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian (27),” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2351.  Qu Hongji, “To Wang Kangnian (1),” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 3100.  Gao Fengqian, “Gentlemen at Current Affairs (2),” “To Wang Kangnian (2),” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), pp. 1610–1611.

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movement.”99 However, readers’ comments also invited unnecessary troubles to the newspaper. Yan Han revealed Zhang Zhidong’s dissatisfaction in his letter to Wang Kangnian and added, “The article ‘Bi Han’ is against the grains. So, the newspaper must declare that it mistakenly published the piece to appease the public opinion.”100 Liang Dingfen also wrote to Wang Kangnian to express his anger over Current Affairs’ vilification of Zhang Zhidong. He said, “Xu’s article is too recklessly frank. How can I bear seeing Zhang Zhidong defamed like this? Brother, you must also take the blame.”101 Besides Current Affairs, other newspapers like Learning New Knowledge had the same experience. After reading the latter, Tan Sitong commented, “It makes excellent sense with simple words and argument and is good at being seemingly disorganized but actually evasive, achieving the effect that careless readers can’t perceive its undertones.”102 However, the reality was not so simple. Many people in the newspaper circles were worried about its bluntness. In a letter to Wang Kangnian, Zhang Yuanji pointed out that his newspaper was “too explicit” and “its discussion of current politics are offensive enough to violate the politicalcorrectness taboos. Therefore, the newspaper doesn’t help with the current situation.” Zhang also warned, “It seems that you’d better not sell your newspaper in the capital to keep from harm’s way.”103 The government eventually owned and ran Current Affairs. It showed that government support was limited. It is undeniable that a series of happenings contributed to the transition, such as Zhang Zhidong and Kang Youwei falling out of each other and Wang Kangnian and Liang Qichao being divided over many issues. But no matter what happened, one thing was definite: the government was only too glad to take Current Affairs into effective control. On the same day, it was decreed

 Gao Fengqian, “To Wang Kangnian (9),” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1621. The article “Civil Rights” refers to “On the Benefit of Borrowing and Using Civil Rights” in Current Affairs Vol. 9. Pi Han, carried in Current Affairs, Vol. 23, was the text Yan Fu published in Tianjin’s Zhili Daily in 1895.  Ye Han, “To Wang Kangnian (48),” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2596.  Liang Dingfen, “To Wang Kangnian (42),” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1901. “Xu’s text” refers to Xu Qin’s “On China’s Elimination of Harms” published in installment in Current Affairs. For the concepts of repercusion and response discussed in Current Affairs, see Liao Mei, Wang Kangnian: From Civil Rights Theory to Cultural Conservatism, pp. 121–136.  Tan Sitong, “To Wang Kangnian (7),” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (4), p. 3243.  Zhang Yuanji, “To Wang Kangnian and Liang Qichao (10),” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), pp. 1688–1689.

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that the Minister of the Imperial University of Peking (present-day Peking University) Sun Jianai was “to plan accordingly and submit his report to the throne.”104 He then submitted the “Memorial to Suggest that Shanghai’s Current Affairs Be Upgraded to Official Newspaper” to explain his measures of making Current Affairs an official newspaper.105 The series of actions showed that the government tried to keep newspapers under its firm control, which was hard to swallow by newspaper publishers who saw it as “regression.” Wang Kangnian proclaimed that Current Affairs “was advocated by Zhang Zhidong first, followed by high-ranking officials inside and outside the capital and echoed by colleagues in various provinces.” He was opposed to the newspaper being run by the government.106 It also showed that the government’s acceptance of newspapers had its considerations. Once limits were broken out of, the government would exert all kinds of pressures. Chu Chengbo submitted a memorial, saying, “What Learning New Knowledge has published from Macao is extremely erroneous and absurd.” The imperial edict asked the newspaper office to be warned that “thorough investigation must be made before publishing anything to avoid spreading erroneous information.”107 The imperial edict issued to Guowen Bao also warned that “if the Chinese run the newspaper office, they cannot use foreigners as a shield for protection. If the Japanese manage it, no students from the navy should be used for translation.”108 Zhang Zhidong, who had strongly supported newspapers such as Current Affairs and Hunan Learning News, now found himself in a dilemma. He stressed “strategies” where running a newspaper was concerned. He had written to Chen Baozhen and Huang Zunxian after reading Liang Qichao’s “Zhichi Xuehui Xu (Preface to the Mission Statement of the Sense-of-Shame Study Association)” published in Current Affairs. He told them that “everyone who has read it was scared, fearing that it forebodes disaster,” and “its future will be in question if the censor criticizes it, and that would be the end of Current Affairs.”109 When pressures came one after another,

 Xu Zhixiang et al., Records of the Daily Life of the Qing Emperors (The Guangxu Era), Vol. 61, United Daily News Foundation Library of Chinese Literature, 1987, p. 30904.  Sun Jianai, “A Memorial to Suggest that Shanghai’s Current Affairs Be Upgraded to Official Newspaper,” July 26, 1898, Chinese Historical Society, ed., Collection of Materials on Modern Chinese History, Vol. 2, p. 432.  Wang Kangnian “Postscript,” Changyan Bao (Advocating Free Speech), Vol. 1, August 17, 1898, p. 1.  Veritable Records of Emperor Dezong of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 417, leap March 1898, in Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 57, pp. 290–291.  Veritable Records of Emperor Dezong of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 417, leap March 1898, in Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 57, p. 464.  Zhang Zhidong, “To Governor Chen and Surveillance Commissioner of Huang of Changsha,” 1897 (The September 16 month of the 23rd year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign), in Yuan Shuyi et al. eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 9, pp. 7403–7404.

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Zhang Zhidong had to take subsequent actions, hoping to draw a line for newspapers. Zhang Zhidong issued his “About Zhabei Aftermaths Handling Bureau’s Advance Funds for Purchasing Hunan Learning News” on May 6, 1898, demanding that the bureau settle the funding for the newspaper and stop selling it in the future.110 Afew days later, he telegraphed Hunan Provincial Educational Commissioner Xu Renzhu, saying he would no longer subscribe to Hunan Learning News.111 He also telegraphed Hunan Province Governor Chen Baozhen and Judicial Commissioner Huang Zunxian on the same day to express his dissatisfaction with Hunan Gazzette.112 In the final analysis, Zhang Zhidong was afraid of taking responsibility. After the failure of the Hundred Days’ Reform, newspaper publishers were brought to book. The imperial edict of September 26, 1898, announced, “The official newspaper Current Affairs is detrimental to the state and has done nothing but misleading [sic] people. Therefore, it is ordered to be terminated immediately.”113 A few days later, another imperial edict was issued, saying, “It is heard that newspapers are still everywhere in Tianjin, Shanghai, Hankou, and other places, making nonsense, telling lies, misleading and slandering people without considering known taboos. Therefore, they must be banned immediately.”114 The empress’ order then banned societies: “Forming societies is against the imperial order in the first place. It has become a trend lately that individuals set up private organizations while officials and gentries collaborate with them willingly regardless of their reputation and moral principles. In fact, they are forming factions for personal gains and, therefore, extremely harmful to the manners and morals of the time.”115 The turn of events came as a heavy blow to newspaper publishers and intellectuals. In his diary, Sun Baoxuan wrote, “From the newspaper, I’ve learned about the empress’s order that sishuwen (essays on the Four Books) is restored

 Zhang Zhidong, “About Zhabei Aftermaths Handling Bureau’s Advance Funds for Purchasing Hunan Learning News,” March 16, 1898, in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 5, p. 3607.  Zhang Zhidong, “To the Provincial Education Commissioner of Changsha,” March 21, 1898, in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 9, p. 7582.  Zhang Zhidong, “To Governor Chen and Surveillance Commissioner Huang of Changsha,” March 21, 1898, in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 9, p. 7581.  Xu Zhixiang et al., eds., Records of the Daily Life of the Qing Emperors (The Guangxu Era), Vol. 61, pp. 31253, 31255–31256.  Veritable Records of Emperor Dezong of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 428, late August 1898, in Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 57, p. 620.  Veritable Records of Emperor Dezong of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 428, late August 1898, in Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 57, p. 622.

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for the imperial examination, newspaper publishers are banned, and editors are being hunted down. It’s truly deplorable!”116 When he learned that Wang Kangnian hoped to keep the newspaper on track by “using a foreign name,” Zou Daijun immediately wrote to him, saying, “The imperial edict bans newspapers and seeks to arrest publishers. The empress’s temper is almost unpredictable. Please be cautious about getting a foreign name for your newspaper.” In the letter, Zou also said that regarding “the ban by the imperial edict,” they should change the Map Translation Association’s name to “Map Translation Commune” or “Land Society.”117 All we have covered above are only the measures taken after the Hundred Days’ Reform. When Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, who exiled themselves abroad, continued publishing newspapers, Chinese students who studied in Japan published the largest number of newspapers with more caustic language. The Qing government came harder on mass media accordingly.

The Start of “Official Newspapers”: “Old Wine in a New Bottle” It is undeniable that the Qing court also wanted “information to flow between the ruler and the ruled and between China and the world” and attempted to establish corresponding channels. It issued an imperial edict in 1896, demanding that “official book stores be carefully discussed and planned” and that “the foreign books purchased by the Foreign Office be selectively translated to broaden people’s mind.” This was because the court realized the West had three things on which they based to train talents and make their countries wealthy and powerful: “schools, newspaper publishers, and libraries.”118 This demand also became the rationale behind turning Current Affairs into an official newspaper high-soundingly. In 1901, Education Minister Zhang Baixi put forward the idea of “founding official newspaper publishers.” He explained that “the reason why information doesn’t flow smoothly between the ruler and the ruled and between China and the world is that newspapers cannot be properly circulated.” Therefore, he suggested that “a newspaper office be set up” in each province and trade port.119 However, official newspapers were first established locally

 Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, August 27, 1898, p. 264.  Zou Daijun, “To Wang Kangnian and Liang Qichao (72),” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), pp. 2765–2766.  “The Reason for Establishing an Official Book Company in the Capital,” Current Affairs, August 9, 1896, pp. 7–8.  Zhang Baixi, “Respectfully Submit the Memorial for a Big Plan,” in Wang Yanxi and Wang Shumin, eds., Memorials of the Qing Emperors Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi, and Guangxu, Vol. 6

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before the government started, as is shown in a historical record, “Official newspapers in the late Qing Dynasty started locally and were followed by the government.”120 In his “A Letter to Assign Wang Renjun to the Job of Handling the Affairs of an Official Newspaper Office in Hubei” on November 9, 1901, Zhang Zhidong stated that “it is urgent to open an official newspaper office in the provincial capital to publish three issues a month.”121 Yuan Shikai also took some action at this time. While still the governor of Shandong Province, he proposed, “We’d better order all the provinces to open official newspaper publishers to publish respectfully imperial edicts on the first page. Important news of all the provincial governments outside the capital will follow. Simultaneously, reports of foreign state affairs and various academic information concerning agriculture, industry, commerce, and mines can be appended at the bottom.”122 Subsequently, Yuan Shikai stepped up the action in this regard and had the Beiyang Guanbao (Beiyang Gazette), also known as Zhili Guanbao (Zhili Gazette), officially issued on December 25, 1902. Its success caused the Qing government to decide that the model be emulated throughout the country. In response to Lv Haihuan and Wu Tingfang’s suggestion for establishing Nanyang Guanbao (Nanyang Gazette) in their memorial to the throne, the Foreign Office stated, “Promoting official newspapers are essential to implementing the transformation,” and “Nanyang, where official newspapers were nonexistent, should follow previous examples and establish one,”123 which the various local governments did one after another. Dongfang Zazhi (The Eastern Miscellany) published much information in this regard in its “Reports of Provincial Newspapers” column.124 It is thus clear that unimpeded information channels were also what the government needed, only that the top-down model was against the nature of new mass media like newspapers. In other words, limiting newspapers to conveying official news was tantamount to “putting old wine in a new bottle.” Education

(2), in Shen Yunlong, ed., Collectanea of Materials on Modern Chinese History, Vol. 34, Wen Hai Press Company, 1969, p. 373.  Lai Guanglin, History of Chinese Journalism and Communication, San Min Book Co., Ltd., 1999, p. 18.  Zhang Zhidong, “Letter Entrusting Wang Renjun to Handle Affairs of Hubei Official Newspaper Office,” 1901 (9th day of the 11th month of the 21rd year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign), in Yuan Shuyi et al. eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 6, pp. 4163–4164.  Zhang Zhidong, “Letter Entrusting Wang Renjun to Handle Affairs of Hubei Official Newspaper Office,” 1901 (9th day of the 11th month of the 21rd year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign), in Yuan Shuyi et al. eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 6, pp. 4163–4164.  Sheng Tongsheng, ed., Administrative Compendium of the Guangxu Period, Vol. 29, Chongyitang Press, 1909, pp. 19–20.  “Compendium of News Circles in All the Provinces,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 1(6), August 6, 1904, pp. 146–147.

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Commissioner of Sichuan Wu Yusheng submitted a memorial to request the printing of court bulletins extensively. The Home Affairs Department expressed its support per the imperial edict.125 Censor Huang Changnian submitted his memorial in 1904 to request “publishing all government agencies’ memorials, approved or rejected.” The Home Affairs Department replied officially, “In the future, do not copy and publicize the memorials with confidential contents and contents that need reviewing. But do send all the revised regulations and agreed-upon decisions to the Home Affairs Department with requested decrees. Then publish them successively to make them known far and wide.”126 In 1906, Censor Zhao Binglin also submitted a memorial to request the establishment of an agency to print official newspapers. He pointed out that “with carefully reviewed official newspapers, the state can make itself well informed, which is of great importance.”127 The Commission for Political Censorship responded, “Official newspapers are necessary for enlightening the people and set their minds right . . . We urgently need to synthesize, systemize, and gather the entire country’s information about government affairs.” The commission also drafted the “charter” for Zhengzhi Guanbao (Political Gazette).128 It debuted on November 5, 1907, under this background. It was to publish “state government documents only . . . excluding all private comments and hearsays.”129 Political Gazette published 1,370 issues in total. When the Qing court installed an imperial cabinet system in May 1911, Yikuang, Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet, and others requested changing the newspaper’s name to Neige Guanbao (Imperial Cabinet Gazette) in their memorial. It was officially published on August 24, 1911, which shows old-fashioned mass media were also seeking more effective dissemination methods. The intent to “rectify newspaper publishers” by establishing official newspapers was apparent. Li Yi, Circuit Governor on Probation of Hunan Province, said

 Veritable Records of Emperor Dezong of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 504, August 1902, in Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 58, p. 653.  Veritable Records of Emperor Dezong of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 543, 1905 March 1905, in Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 59, p. 219.  “Censor Zhao Binglin’s Proposal on Commissioning the Conference and Administration Division to Start an Official Newspaper Bureau,” 1906 (30th day of the 10th month), in Ming and Qing Archive Department of the Palace Museum ed., Historic Materials of the Provisional Constitution Making Period of the Late Qing Dynasty, Vol. 2, Zhonghua Book Company, 1979, pp. 1050–1060.  “Memorial of Minister of Constitutional Editor’s Office and Others for Drafting a Charter of a Political Newspaper,” March 5, 1907, Ming-Qing Archive Department of the Imperial Palace, ed., Historical Archives of Documents Concerning the Preparation for a Constitutional Government, (2), pp. 1060–1062.  “Political Censor Office’s Memorial for Establishing an Official Newspaper,” Bulletin of Politics and the Arts, No. 9, June 25, 1907, pp. 8–9.

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that except for official newspapers, all other newspapers in China were keen on criticisms and attacks for personal gains. Therefore, “newspaper publishers must be rectified if we want to appease the people at home and resist foreign aggression. With official newspaper publishers opened in the provinces, we can not only enlighten the people but also check on them at our will to avoid cases of violations.”130 Establishing local newspapers also met the following demand. Xi Liang, Governor-in-chief of Sichuan Province, started Sichuan Guanbao (Sichuan Gazette) by reason of the locality’s remoteness. He claimed, “It’s difficult to purchase and mail books and newspapers across provinces,” and “we can’t let the public know the facts and silence rumors without urgently establishing official newspapers.”131 It is thus clear that the establishment of official newspapers was a measure taken by the Qing court to tighten the control of public opinion. After official newspapers prevailed, Yu Youren published three articles in succession to express his anger. They were titled “A Letter of Begging for Official Newspapers’ Mercy,” “Another Letter of Begging for Official Newspapers’ Mercy,” and “Yet Another Letter of Begging for Official Newspapers’ Mercy.” He wrote: “When you provoke me, I never have the guts to retort. That’s because you have more capital and power. As I’m alone and helpless, I’ve got to give in. While I show you a smiling face, I’m crying to society!”132 That is also an aspect that we cannot ignore when examining the development of newspapers in the late Qing Dynasty. There were multiple channels for information dissemination. New media could not wholly replace old models, and old channels were also developing. However, the Qing court’s attempt to restrict the development of other newspapers by establishing official newspapers failed to achieve its expected result. On the contrary, it drew attacks from other newspapers. In his letter to Miao Quansun, Fan Zengxiang said, “Though costing a thousand taels of gold a month, the official newspapers aren’t worth reading. It’s shameful to spend money forcing people to read what they loathe to read . . . Of all the newspapers in the country, only New Citizen sells well. Texts without

 “Governor on Probation of Hunan Circuit Li Yi’s Argument that Newspaper Agencies Must Be Reorganized Before Pacifying the People and Resisting Foreign Aggression,” July 28, 1908, Ming-Qing Archive Department of the Imperial Palace, ed., Historical Archives of Documents Concerning the Preparation for a Constitutional Government, (2), pp. 1062–1063.  “Memorial of Xi Liang, Governor-general Transferred from Fujian-Zhejiang to Sichuan,” October 8, 1904, in China First Historical Archives, ed., Memorials with the Emperor’s Comments in Red Ink of Emperor Guangxu’s Period, Vol. 104, Zhonghua Book Company, pp. 608–609.  Yu Youren, “A Letter of Begging for Official Newspapers’ Mercy,” Minyu Ribao (People’s Plight), May 23, 1909, p. 4.

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meaning can’t reach far. So, who says pen and ink are useless?”133 The sluggish sale of Nanyang Gazette was a typical example. An article published in Shen Bao revealed that “very few people purchased Nanyang Gazette. Recently, people everywhere would rather not receive the newspaper while continuing to pay for the subscription.”134 How the government impacted the newspapers clearly showed the vicissitudes of the newspapers of the late Qing Dynasty. It is fair to say that it portrayed the complete failure of the self-reform movement in the late Qing Dynasty. By ending this chapter with the government’s position on newspapers, this author illustrates that the formation of the intelligentsia had a far-reaching influence. It means that the media emerging in modern times affected the historical process in all aspects and that intellectuals were involved in social changes in an unprecedented way. In this sense, we can be more appreciative of Zhang Taiyan’s wisdom when he expressed the view in Current Affairs, “Our urgent task today is to save revolution with the change of the dynasty.”135 The formation of the intelligentsia became a symbol of transformation, which I will focus on in the following chapters.

 Fan Zengxiang, “To Miao Quansun,” Gu Tinglong, ed., Letters from the Yifeng House (1), Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1980, p. 111.  “Official Newspapers Have Changed Their Charters,” Shen Bao, March 6, 1905, No. 9.  Zhang Binglin, “On the Benefit of Societies on the Yellow Race and Appeal for Their Protection,” Current Affairs, Vol. 19, March 3, 1897, p. 6.

Chapter Two The Emergence of the Intelligentsia: The Subcultural World amid Social Restructuring Today, the “intelligentsia” (思想界, literally the intellectual circle or world) is a common term. For ancient China, there was no shortage of references to the “intelligentsia of a certain dynasty.” Such summaries from later generations often create an “illusion”: as if the “intelligentsia” already existed long ago. The concept of the “intelligentsia” of the late Qing and the Republic of China eras is not the same. We must clarify that the late Qing Dynasty had its own theory regarding the “intelligentsia.” Here, the suffix “界,” literally “circles” or “world,” must not be ignored. As new Chinese lexemes, “intellectual circle,” or other “circles,” emerged only in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was closely related to the social transition of China and constituted the symbol of forming the subcultural world. The newspapers, which had gradually changed their positioning, were also a tangible manifestation of the formation of the “intelligentsia” as the primary host of “group affiliation.” Only with awareness of this can one better understand the forming of the “intelligentsia.” In other words, this “intelligentsia” had two folds: “factual” and “fictitious.” The aforementioned “intelligentsia of a certain dynasty” was “fictitious.” The intelligentsia formed in the late Qing Dynasty gradually became “factual.” On a stage primarily created by printing books and periodicals, all kinds of people tried to present themselves one after another. The “public” also joined the “show” with a frequent reshuffle of “performers.” Such a trait was absent in the imperial era. This chapter focuses on how the concept of “intelligentsia” emerged and what symbolic meaning it had. Since this is a historical analysis of the concept of the “intelligentsia,” it is necessary to explain it from a linguistic perspective. That is, relevant words must be placed in the context of the long-term evolution of modern Chinese thought and people’s interpretation of the idea needs to be examined in a specific time and space. It is somewhat similar to the task established by sociology of knowledge in the study of certain ideological orientations: focusing on social processes’ penetration of the ideological “vision” and demonstrating the processes’ dissemination and sphere of influence throughout the spiritual life through reconstructing historical and social foundations. Quentin Skinner “demonstrated” how to treat historical texts. In dealing with some terms that appeared in early modern Europe, he pointed out that their usage should be “restricted as much as possible to its original Renaissance meaning” in a “more ancient and

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-003

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limited sense.”1 The “saddle period” theory expounded by Reinhart Koselleck also tries to reveal the birth of the modern world from a conceptual perspective. It especially attempts to clarify that the conceptual transformation displayed by language is not superficial but it constitutes an important factor in promoting historical development.2 In analyzing the formation of the term “intelligentsia” in the late Qing Dynasty, it is necessary to pay attention to its appearance as a new Chinese lexeme. Perhaps, this will lead to better explanation of the symbolic meaning of the emergence of the “intelligentsia”: the reorganization of Chinese society and the formation of a “subcultural world.”

I Interpretation of the Intelligentsia in the Late Qing Dynasty When the Chinese speak of “界,” literally, “circle” or “world,” they naturally think of the word “shijie” (世界) in the sense of the planet we live on. Chinese linguists pointed out that the term “shijie” first came from Buddhist scriptures, originally referring to both time and space as “shijie,” and is a compound word made up of two characters: shi, which is about time, and jie, which is about space. There is a clear distinction between the two in Buddhist terms. Sanshi, “three worlds” or trailokya, refers to the past, present, and future, whereas sanjie, “three spheres,” indicates the worlds of desire, form, and formlessness. Later, the meaning of shijie changed in popular colloquialism, with the meaning of shi disappearing and jie annexing it. Eventually, shijie roughly retains the Buddhist concept of shifang (“ten positions,” including the cardinal directions of north, south, east, and west; the four ordinal directions, and the zenith and nadir).3 Federico Masini pointed out that the term shijie (“world”) was widely used only after it returned to the Chinese language as a Japanese loanword at the end of the nineteenth century to express the modern sense of the word “world.”4 Although there had been many

 Quentin Skinner, The Foundations of Modern Political Thought: Vol. I, Xi Ruisen and Ya Fang, trans., The Commercial Press, 2002, p. 3.  Fang Weigui, “‘The Saddle Period’ and Conceptual History and the Study on the Concept of Transitional Period in East Asia,” Anthology of the East Asian Conceptual History, Vol. 1, December 2011, pp. 85–116. In recent years, there have been many attempts in Chinese academic circles to analyze the “historical semantics” (“conceptual history”) of Chinese neologisms. See Fang Weigui, “Essentials of Concept History Research Methods: On the Problems Existing in China’s Related Research,” New Historiography: Vol. 3, Zhonghua Book Company, 2009, pp. 3–20.  Wang Li, An Outline of the History of Chinese, Zhonghua Book Company, 2004, p. 593.  Federico Masini, The Formation of Modern Chinese Lexicon and Its Evolution Toward a National Language: The Period from 1840 to 1898, Huang Heqing, trans., Hanyu Da Cidian Publishing House, 1997, p. 117. Appendix 2: “List of New Words in 19th Century Documents.” p. 240.

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cases of using 界 (jie) to mean “circles,” including in “思想界” or “the intellectual circle” by the end of the nineteenth century, it did not become popular until the early twentieth century. That is why Masini did not discuss this jie in the sense of circles and the new terms associated with it.

“˜˜界 (circles)”: A Modern Chinese Term Borrowed from Japanese According to some scholars, in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China period, many new suffixes of nouns appeared in Chinese under the influence of Japanese and other foreign languages and jie (“circles” or “world”) was one of them (there were, for example, the literary, ideological, artistic, financial, legal, journalist, educational, and publishing circles).5 Liu He categorized such words as “suffix compound words” in modern Chinese. Under the jie (“circles” or “world”) entry, he placed the following as examples: the artistic circles, the educational circles, the financial circles, the intellectual circles, the journalist circles, the legal circles, the literary circles, and the publishing circles.6 Chinese linguists’ research confirms that jie as a suffix in modern Chinese came from Japanese. The original meaning of jie is “border area” or “frontier.” In ancient Chinese, it roughly means boundary and demarcation. The jie with the meaning “circles” can be traced back to the widely popular notion of the “three worlds” and “ten positions” as mentioned earlier in Chinese Buddhist classics. These usages also affected Japan, and a survey of related books published in the Meiji period revealed that these usages were common. Changes also occurred during this period. On the one hand, the term “世界”(sekai) in the sense of the “world” or “all under heaven” was already popularly used in the early Meiji period, and many books with it in the title were published. On the other hand, the word “界限,” meaning “boundary,” which was often used to refer to geographical division, was also employed in books discussing political issues. Driven by the freedom and civil rights movement, it became common to use 界限 to refer to the boundary of government power and the division between government power and civil rights. It is worth noting that jie as a suffix has gradually been used in taxonomy in natural and social sciences. For example, in natural sciences, there are the terms

 See Wang Lida, “Words Borrowed from Japan in Modern Chinese,” Chinese Language, Vol. 68, February 1958, pp. 90–94. Keishū Sanetō also took jie (“circles”) as “a modern Chinese word that the Chinese admitted to be a loan word from Japan.” See Keishū Sanetō, History of the Chinese Studying in Japan, Tan Ruqian and Lin Qiyan, trans., SDX Joint Publishing House, 1983, p. 331.  Liu He, Interlingual Practice: Literature, National Culture, and Modernity of Medio-Translatology (China, 1900–1937), Song Weijie, trans., SDX Joint Publishing, 2002, p. 439.

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“natural world,” “biological world,” and “animal world” (scientifically “animal kingdom” or “animalia”). In astronomy, there is also the term “太陽界” (taiyoukai), meaning the solar system. The use of jie as “circles” to distinguish social structures and sectors was also widespread. The book Japanese Society in the Future, published in 1888, showed the sign of a transition because it divided society into different fields and classes. But it was not popular yet to apply jie (circles or world) to divide society. Therefore, “society” was used to mark the differences.7 In his New Dawn of Social Awareness, Nakae Chōmin not only dedicated a chapter to discussing the “industrial world” but also employed the terms “political world” and “political circles.”8 Even if no consideration is given to the religion and natural sciences, focusing only on the social sphere, it is still clear that the notion of “circles” has become an important term to describe “society.” It is especially significant because the so-called “society” is becoming the key to understanding the essence of the new modern Chinese lexeme jie. It is worth noticing that “界” (kai) as a suffix had been used widely by the twentieth year of the Meiji period. It became the “context” for the growth of modern Chinese neologisms. It indicated that Chinese students who flooded into Japan after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 could easily access language information in this area. Linguists had revealed a lot about when the new terms appeared and what twists and turns they experienced. For example, they roughly explained when the Japanese neologism “kai” as a suffix emerged using various dictionaries and books.9 Of course, as a suffix in compound words, jie can be used to form many compounds, which means that some new words that appeared in the Chinese lexicon may not necessarily find their corresponding words in Japanese or may be ephemeral. This book is not intended as a linguistic monograph, so the discussions above are aimed to further the special significance of the words ending with jie in the late Qing Dynasty.

 In addition to the introduction, the other chapters examine the “political society”, “religious society”, “economic society”, “legal society”, “literary society”, “business society”, “industrial society” and “agricultural society,” “official society,” “scholars society,” “women’s society,” “doctors’ society,” and “educational society.” Seiji Nakayama, The Popular Future of the Japanese Society, Shunyodou Bookstore, 1888.  Nakae Chōmin, New Dawn of Social Awareness, Hakubundo Bookstore, 1892, pp. 88–89.  Besides the various works mentioned above, for research in this area, readers may refer to Shen Guowei, Modern History of Linguistic Exchanges between Japan and China: Generation and Acceptance of New Chinese Words, Kasama Shoin, 1994 (new edition revised in 2008); Arakawa Kiyohide, Formation and Propagation of Modern Japanese-Chinese Academic Terms, Hakuteisha, 1997; Chen Liwei, Formation and Development of Japanese-made Chinese Language, Kyuko Shoin, 2001.

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Around the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, jie as a suffix was frequently used in the Chinese-speaking world. The clues can be found in The China Discussion and New Citizen, newspapers founded in Japan. However, since the communication channels between China and Japan had been established before this, sporadic examples can also be found through the investigation of newspapers and periodicals established in Shanghai, Beijing, Hunan, and other places. Current Affairs, which debuted in 1896, is worth some attention. In the terms zujie (concession, or literally “leased territory”), jiangjie (border or boundary of a territory), guojie (the border of a country), and zhongjie (boundary of races) that appeared in the newspaper, jie was still used in the sense of the ancient Chinese jiexian (boundary). However, the newspaper’s “Newspaper’s Translation of Japanese Texts” column included texts that contained the earliest use of jie in the sense of circles in China. An article “On the Decline of British Business” published in the fifth issue of Current Affairs used the term shangjie (“business circles”): “Most British businessmen have no academic background because few were college graduates. They reject the innovations of other countries and adamantly stick to their old conventions. It is all because the British business circles haven’t encountered indomitable rivals and they do not know that today is not merely an inheritance of the past.”10 Other newspapers than Current Affairs that published translations of Japanese newspapers are equally worthy of attention. Importantly, the emerging use of jie to indicate segments of society clearly is of great significance because it portrayed China’s social transformation. One of the most notable of the so-called “great changes unseen in three thousand years” is that the special status of “gentries” as traditional social elites began to decline, and new forms of expressing social identity appeared. Scholars noticed that Chinese neologisms such as “political circles,” “business circles,” and “academic circles,” usually translated into “groups,” appeared continuously in the newspapers of the late Qing and the early Republic of China periods. It indicated the formation of a polycentric subcultural world, which was easily identifiable

 Kozyo Satakichi, trans., On the Decline of British Business (trans. from Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun, August 18), Current Affairs, Vol. 5, September 17, 1896, p. 23. For systematic research on this aspect, please refer to Pan Guangzhe, “Creating a Public Space for World Knowledge: A Study of Current Affairs’ Translations,” Historical Review, No. 5, 2006, pp. 1–18; Shen Guowei, “Kozyo Satakichi and Current Affairs’ Newspaper’s Translation of Japanese Texts,” in A Study of Modern Sino-Japanese Vocabulary Exchange: The Creation, Acceptance and Sharing of New Chinese Characters, Zhonghua Book Company, 2010, pp. 363–402.

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but appeared loosely organized. It also meant that the so-called “circles” were closely connected to forming a particular social class.11

Liang Qichao and Other Scholars’ Interpretation of Jie The above is the indispensable background of the word 思想界, with “intelligentsia” coming to be accepted as a Chinese neologism, and there are also other similar neologisms worth paying attention to. Therefore, while being aware that the issues revolved around the expression of “intelligentsia,” it must be kept in mind that there are other similar expressions that came about roughly at the same time. Here, Liang Qichao’s related discussions may as well be examined. A number of articles Liang Qichao published in the early twentieth century showed how jie expressions evolved in the late Qing Dynasty. In his article “On the Source of China’s Poverty and Weakness,” published in The China Discussion in 1901, Liang Qichao stated, “I have learned the essentials in the intricacies of China’s politics after reading the political history of all twenty-four dynasties throughout the Chinese history and seeing everything in today’s political circles.”12 In his “My Interpretation of the Revolution,” published in New Citizen the next year, Liang Qichao expounded his view. He wrote, “In today’s common sayings among followers of new teachings, there are various terms like revolution in the study of Confucian classics, revolution in history, revolution in the literary circles, revolution in the poetic circles, revolution in the opera circles, revolution in the novelist circles, revolution in the music circles, and revolution in the writing system.”13 It is fair to say that neologisms borrowed from Japanese words such as “political circles,” “academic circles,” “literary circles,” “historian circles,” and “poetic circles” frequently appeared in Liang Qichao’s writings in the early twentieth century. However, Liang used the neologisms pretty casually, especially failing to distinguish between history and the various contemporary linguistic “contexts.” Take the concept of “intelligentsia” as an example. Liang Qichao claimed, “Qu Yuan’s disgust for existence and nationalism was also characteristic of the pre-Qin intelligentsia.”14 He praised Huang Zongxi as “the leading figure of China’s intelligentsia.”15 He used the

 Robert Keith Schoppa. The Blood Road: The Mystery of Shen Dingyi in Revolutionary China. Zhou Wubiao trans. Jiangsu People’s Publishing House, 1999, p. 14.  Liang Qichao, “On China’s Poverty and Weakness,” The China Discussion, Vol. 81, 1901, p. 11.  Liang Qichao, “My Interpretation of Revolution,” New Citizen, Vol. 22, 1902, p. 4.  Liang Qichao “Opinions on The Continuous Discussion During the Weekend,” New Citizen, Vol. 6, 1902, p. 8.  Liang Qichao, “New Historiography,” New Citizen, Vol. 1, 1902, p. 9.

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term merely to describe history, but in doing so, he made it appear as if the intelligentsia already existed in China a long time previously. Besides Liang Qichao, we have other scholars as examples of interpreting the concept of jie. In 1902, Yang Du used the term “intelligentsia” in his “Sequence of Youxue Yibian (Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad)” to describe his contemporary situation. He referred to the changes caused by the French Revolution and compared them with China’s academic, military, political, and literary “circles.”16 Du Yaquan wrote in the Introduction to General Botany Textbook he had translated and edited: “Political, economic, and industrial circles are too extensive to discuss. So, I’ll talk about the academic circles for the time being. However, there are too many disciplines in the academic circles. So, I’ll tentatively dwell upon botany in natural history.”17 In his “The Japanese Scholar Kato’s New Theory of Religion,” published in the same year, Ma Xulun frequently used the term “intelligentsia.” He discussed “our country’s intelligentsia” and described the situation of the “European intelligentsia.”18 The word jie also entered poetry. For example, in a poem published in Jiangsu magazine in 1904, Liu Yazi wrote, “A revolution has recently started in the political circles / Revolutionaries want to spread the movement with their texts.”19 Wang Guowei’s article published in 1905 is more noteworthy as it apparently reviewed late-Qing thinkers in the framework of the intelligentsia. He pointed out, “The publication of Yan Fu’s translation of Thomas Henry Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics was refreshing to the Chinese.” But “What Yan Fu venerates is a theory that advocates the English theory of utility and evolution . . . That’s why his translation cannot affect China’s intelligentsia.” Wang Guowei further explained that the introduction of French naturalism in the eighteenth century from Japan to China greatly impacted Chinese academia. “By borrowing from Western theories and reforming ancient Chinese theories, some scholars have put forward theories that proved significant for a time in China’s intelligentsia.” They included Kang Youwei’s “A Treatise on Confucius as a Reformer” and “Dong Zhongshu’s Studies on the Spring and Autumn Annals.” They also contained Tan

 Yang Du, “Introduction to Translations by Overseas Students,” Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, Vol. 1, 1902, p. 13.  Yaquan Academy, trans. and ed., General Botany Textbook, General Studies Bookstore, 1903, pp. 1–4.  Ma Xulun, “The Japanese Scholar Kato’s New Theory of Religion,” Journal of the New World, Vol. 11(2), 1903, pp. 81–94.  Liu Yazi (aka Yalu), “Expressing My Feelings at an Old Age,” Jiangsu, Vol. 8, 1904, p. 3.

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Sitong’s “Theory of Benevolence.”20 It is fair to say that the expression of “circles” or “world” had become common and been used in multiple “contexts by the onset of the twentieth century. Judging from Liang Qichao and his contemporaries’ use of the word “intelligentsia,” we can conclude that the word came into being in the late Qing Dynasty but its connotation was unclear at the time. We are pretty clear about the “circles” defined based on social activities or occupations, such as the “political circles” and “business circles,” and we can also understand what is meant by the “historian circles” and “literary circles,” based on the field of research or genre of works. However, the connotations of the terms like “intelligentsia” and “academia” are not as straightforward because they fit in with neither occupation nor research field. For example, the notion of “intelligentsia” is indistinguishable from the that of the “public opinion world,” “academia,” or the educational, newspaper, and publishing “circles.” We cannot define the “intelligentsia” as an arena for the activities of “political figures” because people of other trades would also have their voices heard in this arena. This ambiguity prevented the term from being included in dictionaries until rather late. It first appeared in the entry “gedankenwelt, world of ideas” in the GermanEnglish-Chinese Dictionary of Science that Richard Wilhelm compiled in 1911.21 We may add here why we emphasize the inappropriateness of discussing “history” with some of the Chinese neologisms. Previously, efforts to describe and discuss “intelligentsia” in imperial China had all been made by later generations. The first use of the word to describe contemporary world appeared in the late Qing Dynasty and in a totally different sense. The key to such a difference lies in the mode of expression and means of communication, which were fundamentally different in ancient and modern times. Although the expression of “intelligentsia” in the late Qing Dynasty was unclear, with no specific connotation given, its appearance at the time was associated with the scholars’ roles and closely related to the hosts of expression. The “host” here is highly inclusive, but most importantly, it undoubtedly referred to the new publications like newspapers and magazines. Only these mass media could turn the so-called “intelligentsia” from a “fable” to a fact. In other words, scholars could present themselves precisely because of the factual nature of newspapers, magazines, higher education institutions, the publishing industry, and the arena they formed. At the same time, the “public” could also join them through the information provided by the mass media.

 Wang Guowei, “On the Academic Circles of Recent Years,” Educational World, Vol. 93, 1905, pp. 1–6.  Richard Wilhelm, Deutsch-Englisch-Chinesisches Fachwörterbuch, Tsingtau: Deutsch-Chinesischen Hochschule, 1911, p. 175.

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Therefore, the expression of “intelligentsia” in the late Qing Dynasty also corresponded to the transition of “scholar-officials” to “intellectuals,” which embodied the pursuit of new roles and identities. The abolition of the imperial civil examination in 1905 ended an era, ruining the class of scholar-officials, i.e. officials recruited through the exam. However, scholars still existed, and it was a central concern how they could establish their new roles and identities in modern society. After the state and society formed a new relationship, the role of scholars also involved many links, and “public opinion,” with its emergence, became the most outstanding link in expressing their identity. Now, we can deduce that the appearance of the neologism “intelligentsia” and the formation of an intelligentsia for real were the result of scholars’ search for new roles and identities. This means that when we try to understand the intelligentsia, we cannot avoid discussing the growth of the “academia,” newspapers, and magazines in the late Qing Dynasty because the appearance of these elements reflected the specific connotations of the “intelligentsia.” The reorganization of the Chinese society and the emergence of the “intelligentsia” revealed how newspapers and magazines became the primary media for social mobilization and how the “intellectual map” formed by the newspapers and magazines manifested the new organizational and mobilization methods in the Chinese society in the early twentieth century. The jie as a suffix actually expresses the meaning of “society.” As discussed above, “society” grew out of the appeal for group affiliation. The emergence of the various jie, or society, thus became a portrayal of the continuous growth of different “societies.”

II From Grouping by Province to Grouping by Trade: The Formation of the Subcultural World The transition of the intelligentsia from fable to fact in the late Qing Dynasty was symbolic and the product of the reorganization of Chinese society. It heralded the emergence of the concept of the state in the modern sense and involved the change of the “organizational method.” The aforementioned concept of group affiliation was subsequently materialized into concrete actions to promote the formation of “group power.” The apparent transition from grouping by province to grouping by trade is a significant sign of the formation of the subcultural world, and a manifestation of the growth of various social forces. Describing the significance of such a transition helps with the understanding of the significance of “intelligentsia” formation, especially the role of newspapers as a host.

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“Grouping by Province” as the Harbinger of “Group Affiliation” Sun Yat-sen pointed out on many occasions that the Chinese had a stronger sense of village community than the state. Undeniably, whether he could succeed in leading the 1911 Revolution without the sense of “village community” is in doubt. Sun Yat-sen indeed saw the possibility of forming group power. He stated, “The relationship between Chinese nationals and the state structure is as such: The family comes first, then the clan, and then the nation. Such a structure is expanded progressively and orderly, and the relationship between small and large systems is solid.”22 This proved true. The sense of village community, or rather the affinity between fellow provincials, became a strong incentive for forming group power in modern China. Initially, the group power relied on the guildhalls distributed in various cities and it found new support after newspapers emerged. Guildhalls were set up to accommodate fellow townspeople living away from their native land. Statistics show that in the Late Qing and early Republic of China periods, there were over 1,800 guildhalls in the 300 towns outside Beijing and Beijing alone had more than 400 of them during their heyday, the most across the country. The guildhalls were places for fellow provincials to gather, network, express their political opinions, and share information,23 enabling the first scholar gatherings. The Hundred Days’ Reform was launched in Xuannan, an area in Beijing where guildhalls concentrated. It was an example of “associating by way of guildhalls and assembling a large crowd based on the associations.” The guildhalls provided temporary accommodations for the people of high ideals who participated in the Hundred Days’ Reform and encouraged scholars to assemble, give speeches, and gather strength.24 During that period, connections among fellow provincials were also a factor behind the scholars’ activities to open schools, organize societies, and publish newspapers. According to a statement published in the first issue of Jingshi Bao (Statecraft Journal), “Here in our city, the Revitalizing Zhejiang Association has just been inaugurated. The charter will be published in the second issue of this newspaper. Those who share the same ideals and want to join the association, please write to us so

 Sun Yat-sen, “Three Principles of the People,” Complete Collection of Sun Yat-sen’s Works, Vol. 9, Zhonghua Book Company, 1986, p. 238.  Bai Siqi, “Beijing Guildhall and the Hundred Days’ Reform,” in Wang Xiaoqiu, ed., The Hundred Days’ Reform and Modern China’s Reforms, Social Sciences Academic Press, 2000, pp. 341–347.  Liu Guisheng and Qiu Shengyang, “The Formation of the Scholar Culture in Xuannan, Beijing and the Hundred Days’ Reform,” in Wang Xiaoqiu, ed., The Hundred Days’ Reform and Modern China’s Reforms, Social Sciences Academic Press, 2000, pp. 328–339.

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that we can make your announcement.”25 From the “Charter of the Revitalizing Zhejiang Association” published in the second issue of the newspaper, it can be seen that the connection between fellow provincials played a very important role. It was pointed out in the Charter, “Zhejiang is part of China, which is part of Asia, which is part of the globe . . . Born in Zhejiang, we must be concerned with issues around us. That’s why we established this Revitalizing Zhejiang Association.”26 The Nanxue Society discussed earlier also represented a pursuit of group affiliation based on geopolitical connections: “uniting the entire province to unite everyone into one.”27 This point was verified in Japan too, where there were many Chinese scholars and many associations of them. The dispatch of students to Japan with government funds was originally carried out on a province-by-province basis. The “Draft Charter of the Hunan Kinship Association,” published in the second issue of the Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, emphasized, “This association is a public organization for students from Hunan who live in Japan and visiting gentry from the same province.” Its purpose was to “strengthen the friendship of fellow provincials, share information with compatriots, and conduct research on the global platform.”28 The same was true for other provinces. Keishū Sanetō noticed that the life of students studying in Japan mirrored their life in China. They were dispatched to Japan on a provincial basis (and each province set up its agency to supervise its students). Fellow provincials’ organizations were almost always the first public place the students would visit once they arrived in Japan.29 Their province of origin became the basis for scholars to find group affiliation. Zhang Taiyan’s disciples from Zhejiang Province illustrated the point well. Around 1908, Chen Duxiu visited Zhang Taiyan and met Qian Xuantong and Huang Kan in his residence. They talked about the prosperity of the Han school of classical philosophy during the Qing Dynasty and used Dai Zhen, Duan Yucai, and Wang Niansun as examples. They happened to find that the people they listed were mostly from Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. Then, Chen Duxiu commented that no major scholars came from Hubei Province. His comment provoked Huang Kan, who retorted in a raised voice, “Hubei may not have produced many scholars, but I’m one. Anhui may have produced a lot, but you may not be one of them.”30 This encounter somewhat proved

 “This Newspaper Office’s Public Notice,” Statecraft Journal, Vol. 1, 1897, pp. 31–32.  “Introduction to the Revitalizing Zhejiang Association,” Statecraft Journal, Vol. 2, 1897, p. 5.  Pi Xirui et al., “A Reply to South Liuyang Chapter from the Nanxue Association,” Hunan Gazette, No. 71, 1898, p. 281.  “Charter of Hunan Kinship Association,” Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, Vol. 2, 1902, “Appendix,” pp. 1–6.  Keishū Sanetō, History of the Chinese Studying in Japan, pp. 52, 423.  Zhou Zuoren, The Memoir of Zhitang, Sanyu Book Company, 1980, p. 482.

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that people of the time usually judged their academic attainments based on the factor of the region, and they cared about it very much. Students who studied in Japan during this period also recorded in their diaries their participation in hometown association activities when they first entered Japan. Song Jiaoren arrived in Japan in 1904 and as soon as he reached Tokyo, “Receptionists from the Hunan Xilu Hometown Association came to welcome newcomers from Xilu (altogether two, me included).”31 Shortly afterwards when Song worked to found the journal Twentieth-Century China, he worked mainly from the Yuezhou Guildhouse. When overseas students had political disputes, they also usually went to the hometown association for discussion and resolution.32 The hometown associations in Japan were also concerned about the situation in their corresponding provinces in China. Song Jiaoren left such an entry in his diary: “I’ve been to the Xilu Association . . . I suggested writing an appeal to the provincial authorities in collaboration with the Nanlu Association, demanding that students be dispatched abroad to study based on counties and that they must be fair with each county and prefecture.”33 This is not an isolated case. Huang Zunsan went to Japan in April 1905 as a government-funded student from Hunan and enrolled in Kōbun Academy. School started on May 27 and on Sunday, May 30, there was a welcome meeting for Xilu fellows. On June 7, the next Sunday, “the Hunan fellow provincials’ meeting was held with over 300 attendees. Chairman Yang Du gave a touching speech on morality. The meeting adjourned at one o’clock.”34 Students studying in Japan not only entered the hometown circle soon after they arrived, but also abode by the decision of the hometown associations when they were involved in major events. On November 2 that year, the Japanese Ministry of Education issued “Regulations Concerning Public and Private Schools for Admission of the Qing People,” which provoked outrage among Chinese students studying in Japan. Huang Zunsan recorded the response of the Hunan Association in his diary entry dated November 14 detailed, “It is decided that all students from the province who are studying in Japan will quit and return to China. The associations of other provinces have held similar meetings in the past few days, and most of them have made the same decision as the Hunan Association.” The next day, “I went to Xilu Hometown Association’s meeting, which discussed the issue of returning to China. The meeting unanimously agreed to the decision that all students return to their homeland. While self-funded students

   

Song Jiaoren’s Diary, Vol. 1, December 13, 1904, Hunan People’s Press, 1980, p. 19. Song Jiaoren’s Diary, Vol. 2, January 29, 30, 1905, p. 32. Song Jiaoren’s Diary, Vol. 2, June 4, 1905, p. 71. Huang Zunsan, Three Decade’s Diaries, Vol. 2, Hunan Press, 1933, pp. 11–13.

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couldn’t afford it, the government-funded students are free to help them out with donations.”35 Zhu Xizu, who had passed the examination for government-funded overseas studies and studied in the teachers’ department of Waseda University, documented his attendance at Zhejiang Hometown Association’s meetings. One entry goes, “I arrived at Seifutei (Gentle Breeze Pavilion) around eight to attend Jiaxing Prefecture Hometown Association’s meeting, where a resolution on a new charter was adopted. The 32 attendees also took a group photo to commemorate the occasion.”36 That showed that he always had Zhejiang on his mind. Therefore, after listening to a speech commending Zhejiang as “a gathering place for men of letters,” Zhu stated: “A hundred teachers’ school graduates from Zhejiang worked in various county or prefecture governments in Zhejiang. If they were united and set their minds on vitalizing various undertakings, the hundred people would mobilize the entire Zhejiang Province. Then, the province would set the whole country going, thus offering a far-reaching and valuable prospect.”37

The overseas students’ actions triggered interactions between them and Chinese officials. When provincial authorities sent officials to Japan to inspect overseas students’ academic and political affairs, the students from the respective provinces took it on themselves to receive the officials and arranged for them to interact with students from their provinces. In 1904, Yan Xiu, a newly appointed supervisor from Zhili Province’s Education Department (later Student Affairs Section), visited Japan for the second time on an education-inspecting tour. “So many old acquaintances came to welcome him that he couldn’t remember everyone or have the chance to talk to them.” As a former provincial education commissioner of Guizhou Province, Yan Xiu also attended the “welcome meeting held by people from Guizhou.”38 In 1905, Chen Rongchang, who served as the inspector of academic affairs at Yunnan Higher School, was invited by his fellow Yunnan students to inspect student affairs in Japan. After Chen arrived in Tokyo, “Over a dozen fellow Yunnan people received him in Shimbashi.” At the welcome meeting arranged by his fellow provincials, he conveyed “messages from high-ranking officials of the province to the students.” The message went, “We hope that every student will be aware of the difficult situation the province is facing now and that they will study hard and become useful talents in the future.”39

 Huang Zunsan, Three Decade’s Diaries, pp. 38–39. Complete Works of Sanetou Keishuu collected by the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library include 227 “diaries of traveling around Japan.” The diaries show that similar situation was common among the students studying in Japan.  Zhu Xizu’s Diaries, Vol. 1, April 22, 1906, Zhonghua Book Company, 2012, p. 27.  Zhu Xizu’s Diaries, Vol. 1, March 11, 1906, Zhonghua Book Company, 2012, p. 20.  Yan Xiu, Diaries of the Journey to the East, June 2 and July 10, 12, Tianjin People’s Press, 1955, pp. 152, 202, 203.  Chen Rongchang, 1905 Diaries of the Journey to the East, annotated by Zhou Liying, Yunnan Art Publishing House, 2007, pp. 7–9.

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Provincial associations symbolized the formation of scholars’ group power, represented primarily by the newspapers and journals founded during the period. As Zou Lu put it, “At that time, students from various provinces all had student organizations, each of which had an official newspaper or magazine.”40 Bao Tianxiao also mentioned that it was easy to publish in Japan due to its well-developed printing industry. Therefore, the Chinese students studying in the country started magazines one after another.41 Zhejiang Chao (Tide of Zhejiang) was founded based on the Zhejiang Hometown Association, with all editing and distribution work done in its name. Similarly, the journal Jiangsu did all the editing and distribution work under the name “Staff of Jiangsu Hometown Association.” In the Foreword, it said “We Jiangsu people are great!”42 There were many reasons for provincial associations becoming the harbinger of group affiliation. A notice from the Jiangsu Hometown Association acknowledged that its establishment “aims to investigate the province’s situation so that it can study it to help with the province’s self-governance in the future.”43 In his “New Guangdong,” Ou Jujia wrote about his worries that provinces of China “weren’t friendly” to one another and suggested that “Each province had better attempt self-reliance. If one province advocates it, others would better follow and try their best to be self-supporting.”44 “A Letter to Encourage Our Fellow Countrymen to Send Their Children to Study Overseas,” published in Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad in 1903, advocated that “studying abroad was the only policy to save our country today,” but its focus was still on Hunan. It stated, “Only by having an independent spirit can a province help its own people, which is the only truth.” It also specified why it was necessary to start from one province.45 The overemphasis of people’s province of origin did receive a backlash: the rise of the voice to break such division. A reader from the hinterland of China wrote to Zhejiang Hometown Association, saying that he was “worried about the daily overgrowth of the awareness of provincial boundaries.” An article in the newspaper Tide of Zhejiang also proposed the idea of “non-provincial grouping.” It read that the rise of grouping based on people’s province of origin had many

 Zou Lu, “Chinese Tongmenghui,” in Association of Chinese Historians, ed., Series of Materials on Modern Chinese History: Revolution of 1911: Vol. 2, Shanghai People’s Press, 1957, p. 7.  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, Dahua Publishing House, 1971, p. 161.  “Foreword,” Jiangsu, No. 1, April 27, 1903, p. 1.  “Short Notice of the Investigation,” Jiangsu, No. 1, April 27, 1903, front matter p. 2.  Ou Jujia (aka Pacific Guest), “New Guangdong (A Person from Guangdong)”, New Citizen, 1902, p. 3.  “A Letter to Encourage Our Fellow Countrymen to Send Their Children to Study Overseas,” Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, Issue 6, April 12, 1903, p. 9.

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negative impacts. The “national identity” and “racial affiliation” should have been the top concern. But the inflation of the provincial awareness had pushed the national and racial consciousness back, making it faintly discernible or even barely existent.46 It was intriguing for Tide of Zhejiang to propose breaking away from advocating provincial identities. Zhejiang Hometown Association might not have been the originator of the “increasingly overwhelming sense of provincial belonging,” but it added fuel to the flames. Some other mass media echoed the article. Dongfang Zazhi (The Eastern Miscellany) transcribed an article in 1905 discussing why Chinese people did not form strong groups. It pointed out that one of the reasons was that “the sense of provincial boundary separates people emotionally.”47 Minbao (People’s Journal), the official newspaper of Tongmenghui, also published an article, “How Can Today Be the Date to Divide Between Provinces,” to express its worries that if everything was done based on provinces, “people would be no longer satisfied and think of dividing themselves based on prefectures and even counties.” Inevitably, “the 400 million Chinese would divide into states in the same number.”48 The call for breaking the division between people of different provinces of origin kicked up such an uproar that it showed how serious the problem was. However, what happened after that indicated what a challenge it was to do away with such a division. People’s province of origin continued to play a role in the organization of scholars in the period of the May Fourth Movement. It even left its traces in political organizations (more on this issue later).

Trade Became a New Grouping Basis The proposal of getting rid of the provincial division was a direct response to the rampancy of such a division. It also bore witness to the rising awareness of “trade.” Trade-based associations were an organizational form that transcended connections based on location and were closely related to social differentiation. However, the increasing awareness of the division of trade did not ensure the elimination of division between people with different provinces of origin. The article “The Idea of Provincial Division Is Detrimental Enough to Cause the Country to Perish,” published in Shen Bao in 1906, pointed out that it was not a big deal for the Chinese

 Wen Gui, “Non-Provincial Boundaries,” Tide of Zhejiang, Issue 3, March 20, 1903, pp. 1–20.  On the Reasons Why China Cannot Fit in Groups, (Excerpt from Yangcheng Daily News, October 15, 1904), The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 2(1), February 28, 1905, pp. 21–22.  Si Huang: “How Can Today Be the Date to Divide Between Provinces,” People’s Journal, No. 1, November 26, 1905, pp. 119–122.

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students studying in Japan to form provincial associations. But it was a severe enough problem for the newly established parties within China to do the same. Moreover, people in the military and industrial circles were also divided by provinces besides the academia.49 However, though the provincial division was hard to break, it did not necessarily prevent the awareness of “trade” from becoming the basis of identification. It also showed another noteworthy trend in forming group power in modern China. Scholars first gathered based on their places of origin, and subsequently their occupations also became the basis of their gathering. Liang Qichao’s “On Young China” and “On a Transitional Era” published on The China Discussion represented the call for a new era, revealing how Chinese society began to reorganize itself. Liang Qichao, while on exile in Japan, wrote “On Young China” in 1900. In response to the appellation “An Old Great Empire” given to China by Europe and Japan, Liang Qichao made it clear, “I have a young China in mind.” He tried to draw a clear line between past and future China.50 Apparently modeled after “La Giovine Italia (Young Italy),” the idea of a “young China” revealed a clear desire for the new. In his thesis “On a Transitional Era,” Liang expressed his hope for “heroes of a transitional era rising between the new and the old.” He especially “wished for a desired new world instead of merely leaving the old one.”51 By putting forward the ideas of a “new” and an “old” world, Liang was keenly aware of the advent of the “transitional era” and the reorganization of social forces. But he was not yet clear about what exactly this meant and thus used the vague terms “new” and “old” to distinguish them. Liang Qichao’s personal experience also indicated that the leading factor in the birth of grouping by trade was the recognition of the special status of a profession in people’s self-awareness. In 1902, Liang Qichao pointed out in his “A Notice to My Colleagues,” “the newspaper publishers aren’t subjects of the government but its equals.” It was natural for Liang, a vanguard of Chinese public opinion in the early twentieth century, to stress the role of newspapers. The key was that occupation, or “trade,” was clearly a factor in his identity and that he represented the effort to seek a position for “colleagues” in the new political landscape.52 Liang Qichao’s case wasn’t unique. Zhou Zuoren also recalled how he and Lu Xun (born with the name Zhou Shuren), his brother, transcended the confinement of fellow provincials

 Han, “The Idea of Provincial Division Is Detrimental Enough to Cause the Country to Perish,” Shen Bao, December 8, 1906, p. 2.  Liang Qichao, “On Young China,” The China Discussion, Issue 35, February 10, 1900, pp. 1–4.  Liang Qichao, “On a Transitional Era,” The China Discussion, Issue 83, June 26, 1901, pp. 1–4.  Liang Qichao, “A Notice to My Colleagues,” New Citizen, No. 17, October 2, 1902, pp. 1–7.

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and identified with people in the same trade. The Zhou brothers, natives of Zhejiang, initially wrote essays for Tide of Zhejiang but, gradually realizing the importance of literature, “understanding that art and literature can change feelings and reform society,” decided to found the magazine Xinsheng (New Life). Though the attempt proved futile, they obtained the opportunity to publish their works in Henan in the following few years. Zhou Zuoren referred to Henan as New Life Vol. 1 and Stories from Abroad New Life Vol. 2.53 The title of the magazine Hubei Xuesheng Jie (Students Community of Hubei) itself indicated the transition from grouping by province to grouping by trade. Undoubtedly, the articles published in the first issue still showed awareness of provincial origin, but the trade awareness also gradually rose. They believed that writing from Hubei’s point of view “doesn’t necessarily mean bias toward Hubei.” They only meant to “temporarily use Hubei as a starting point to cover the entire country.”54 The journal also tried to find a position for students. In an article published in the first issue, Zhang Jixi wrote, “While running academic journals, my colleagues only published content about war and business instead of focusing on scholarship . . . We’re students and have a responsibility to introduce civilization.”55 In his “The Students’ Competition,” published in the second issue, Li Shucheng further pointed out, “Between the upper and lower strata of society, students are the most indispensable people in the transitional era . . . Twentieth-century China is students’ China.”56 The shift from “provinces” to students as China’s hope can be seen as a sign of the transition from grouping by province to grouping by trade. It also marked the formation of a “subcultural world” that represented a particular social force. Scholars in the transitional era had to choose between the “old” and the “new.” An article discussing the “student unrest” published in the Journal of the New World emphasized, “Today’s world is where young people compete. A country with well-educated youths as the majority will be strong and invincible. A country with foolish and mean youths in the majority will most probably perish overnight.”57 For students, the generation gap was also a factor in their identity. Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad published articles pointing out,

 Zhou Zuoren, The Memoir of Zhitang, pp. 195–196, 217–219.  “Foreword to Hubei Investigation Department’s Records,” Students Community of Hubei, Issue 1, January 29, 1903, pp. 131–132.  Zhang Jixi, “Preface to Students Community of Hubei Foreword,” Students Community of Hubei, Issue 1, January 29, 1903, p. 5.  Li Shucheng, “Students’ Competition,” Students Community of Hubei, Issue 2, February 27, 1903, pp. 1–12.  Du Shizhen, “Student Unrest,” Journal of the New World, No. 12(3), March 13, 1903, pp. 61, 66.

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“studying abroad was the only policy to save our country today.” It differentiated these students from scholars educated in old fashions.58 In addition to the “academia,” other trades also received attention at about the same time. Theorists clarified that the “power shift” in modern China was mainly manifested in “the decline of orthodoxy and the rise of the peripheral.” The status of merchants was also significantly improved.59 In 1902, Du Shizhen published his “Chinese Business Circles” in the ninth issue of the Journal of the New World. It stated that the setup of the world had changed from “physiocratic” to “mercantilist.” Therefore, attention must be given to “whether China can join the commercial war and talk about business.”60 It was a clear expression of the desire to join the “business world.” Discussions of the “business world” could also be seen in other newspapers and magazines. The Commercial Press issued Xiuxiang Xiaoshuo (Fiction Illustrated) in 1903 and began to carry Anecdotes of the Greatest Businessman Cobden in installments from the sixth issue.61 The “Business Essentials” published in Zhongguo Baihua Bao (Chinese Vernacular News) also pointed out, “No other trade than business has the value of being able to develop and becoming the leading mechanism of humanity.”62 Although it is impossible to give an exact point when grouping by trade first started, there was evidence when trade gradually became a sign of social mobilization. After taking office as the editor-in-chief of Su Bao (Su News), Zhang Shizhao decided to reform the journal by dividing it into ten “circles,” on which articles were organized: exposition, government agencies, education, political affairs, news, communication, essays, chronicles, and miscellaneous news.63 The Eastern Times, founded on June 12, 1904, initially reported news based on regions but soon changed to categorize articles by trade into news of “political circles,” “negotiation circles,” “academic circles,” and “peasant-merchant circles.”64 Nanfang Bao (South China Daily), which debuted on August 23, 1905, showed the same

 “A Letter to Encourage Our Fellow Countrymen to Send Their Children to Study Overseas,” Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, Issue 6, April 12, 1903, “Communication,” pp. 2, 11.  Luo Zhitian, “The Transfer of Social Power in Modern China: The Marginalization of Intellectuals and the Rise of Marginal Intellectuals” in Power Shifts: Thought, Society, and Academia in Modern China, pp. 191–241.  Du Shizhen, “Chinese Business Circles,” Journal of the New World, No. 9 (9), December 30, 1902, pp. 91–105.  Youhuan Yusheng, “Anecdotes of the Greatest Businessman Cobden,” Fiction Illustrated, No. 6, August 7, 1903, pp. 1–2. Continued in Fiction Illustrated, Nos. 7, 8, 11, 14.  “Business Essentials” (A Speech from a Member of the South Shanghai Business Society), Chinese Vernacular News, No. 6, March 1, 1904, pp. 57–61.  “This Newspaper Agency Emphasizes Amelioration,” Su News, June 25, 1903, p. 1.  “This Newspaper Agency’s Special Advertisement,” The Eastern Times, August 11, 1904, p. 2.

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sign. It initially organized news per region, but shifted to trade-based categorization starting from the third issue, including “political circles,” “academic circles,” “negotiation circles,” “business circles,” “military circles,” and “railways and mines circles.”65 That year, Wan Guo Gong Bao also repositioned itself: “This journal is no longer a religious one. It is for the political and academic circles along with agriculture, industry, and business.”66 Some newspapers that were clearly branded by province also experienced a transition. An article published in Dongting Bo (Waves from Lake Dongting) mentioned “political circles,” “military circles,” and “academic circles.”67 The Journal of Sichuan, founded in 1908, also stated that “the journal was dedicated to disclosing everything about compatriots’ hardships in the political, academic, military, and business circles.”68 In 1910, the Journal of Yunnan published “A Warning Message to All Yunnan People about the Completion of the Kunming-Haiphong Railway.” The newspaper hoped to solve the problems arising from this event by “uniting into one the ten million Yunnan people in the congress, the academic circles, the gentry circles, the business circles, the military circles, and the industrial circles.”69 It showed that various newspapers and magazines began to mobilize people by trade as they had become the basic constitutes of society. Let’s come back to linguistics itself. It was noticeable that various dictionaries began to include entries with the suffix jie. In 1908, the English-Chinese Dictionary edited by Yan Huiqing included under the English part the following: business circles, clerk circles, periodical literature circles, the male portion of the human race (man world in Chinese), and “working classes,” which reflected occupations and social strata.70 The New Terminology of China published in 1913 listed the “Circle or World” section, including the following: “police,” “limited power or right,” “military class,” “the personnel of the judiciary,” “student class,” “officialdom,” “workmen,” “space, the sphere of empyrean aviators realm, national distinctions apathies,” “musicians, actors,” “men’s world,” “women’s world,” “the press,” “the dissolute, profligate,” “merchants,” “gentlemen,” “the literati,” “the  “Important News of Various Provinces,” South China Daily, No. 3, August 25, 1905, p. 6.  Fan Yi, “Congratulatory Speech to Celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Wan Guo Gong Bao,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, No. 200, September 1905, pp. 45–46.  Tie Lang, “Twentieth-Century Hunan,” Waves from Lake Dongting, No. 1, October 18, 1906, p. 2.  “Important Advertisement from This Newspaper,” Journal of Sichuan, No. 1, January 5, 1908, “Public Notice.”  Yixia, “A Warning Message to All Yunnan People about the Completion of the KunmingHaiphong Railway,” Journal of Yunnan, No. 19, May 3, 1910, “Editorial.”  Yan Huiqing, ed., English-Chinese Dictionary, The Commercial Press, 1908, pp. 274, 388, 773, 1303–1394, 2678.

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difference of customs, or speech between one province and another.”71 It proved that China gradually became a society where people were rallied per their trade.

III The “Middle Society” and the Germination of its Class Consciousness Whether grouping was based on province or trade, it formed only quite limited social forces, so class-based mobilization also developed. When analyzing the development of China’s politics, Zou Dang pointed out that the comprehensive crisis faced by China in the early twentieth century was the common origin of its social revolution and totalitarian politics. It meant that “only by establishing a strong political institution or party and then using its political power and organizational methods to penetrate and control every stratum and field can the social state and the organizations and systems of all the fields be transformed or rebuilt.”72 The growth of the two major power groups in modern China, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, also showed that extensive social mobilization based on classes was very effective. John King Fairbank fully affirmed the significance of the creative transformation of the proletarian into the “propertyless class” for the Chinese revolution.73 Therefore, we must also give importance to how attention was drawn to the social stratification involved in the “middle society.”

“Middle Society”: “There Must be Backbone Elements in the Rise of the Revolutionary Cause” As mentioned earlier, in a speech at the welcome meeting for Chinese students studying in Tokyo in 1905, Sun Yat-sen stated, “When I advocated nationalism before, only guilds and factions responded. As for the midstream or upper part of society, very few people did so.” Besides “midstream society,” the term “middle society” also appeared frequently in the early twentieth century. Those terms indicated that people paid attention to social forces and their influences, which,

 Evan Morgan, Chinese New Terms and Expressions with English Translations: Introduction and Notes, C. L. S. Book Depot, Kelly & Walsh, Limited Shanghai, 1913, pp. 193–194.  Zou Dang, “Chinese Twentieth Century Politics and Western Politics,” Chinese Politics in the Twentieth Century: From the Perspectives of Macro History and Micro Action, Oxford University Press, 1994, p. 3–4.  John King Fairbank, Cambridge History of China Vol. 1, Yang Pinquan et al., trans., China Social Science Publishing House, 1993, p. 6.

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along with work targeting various strata of society, had become the focus of discussion. In his “On Aristotle’s Political Theory” published in 1902, Liang Qichao accepted Aristotle’s stratification of upper, middle, and lower society. He pointed out that the countries in Europe and North America established constitutions, destroyed totalitarianism, and established a system of freedom “all because they relied on the middle society at the beginning . . . To seek happiness for the majority of the people is indeed the golden principle in politics.”74 The article mentioned above, “The Students’ Competition,” regarded students as the representatives of the “middle society.” It emphasized, “Between the upper and lower strata of society, students are the most indispensable people in the transitional era.” They shouldered “heavy responsibility” toward the upper and lower classes.75 In the article “New Hunan” that he penned in 1903, Yang Dusheng stated that it was meant to “tell all those of the middle society in Hunan” that “they are in a position of being entrusted by the lower class and doing things in place of the upper society.”76 The idea of the “middle society” attracted attention in 1903 when the talk of “revolution” was popular, making its political significance more apparent.77 An essay published in Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad proposed, “There must be backbone elements in the rise of the revolutionary cause.” Just as the French Revolution and the British Revolution had the “populists” and the “Roundheads” as their “backbones,” Chinese revolutionaries “must use the lower society as their base and the middle society as their playground.”78 It showed that the boundaries between the “middle” and “lower” social strata were becoming increasingly blurred, and the “lower society” attracted even more attention. The article “The People’s New Soul,” published in the Journal of Jiangsu, stated, “I wanted to advocate revolution to people who called themselves the upper society” and “failed eventually . . . I had but to turn my eyes toward the common people.”79 The “Chinese Workers’ Circles,” published in the Journal of the New World,

 Liang Qichao, “Aristotle’s Political Theory,” New Citizen, No. 21, November 30, 1902, p. 11.  Li Shucheng, “Students’ Competition,” Students Community of Hubei, No. 2, February 27, 1903, p. 3.  Hunan People’s Hunan (Yang Dusheng), “New Hunan,” in Zhang Nan and Wang Renzhi, eds., Anthology of Essays on Current Events Before the Revolution of 1911, Vol. 1(2), SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1960, p. 615.  Chen Jianhua, The Modernity of “Revolution”: A Research on Chinese Revolutionary Discourse, Shanghai Classical Literature Publishing House, 2000.  “Education of Nationalism,” Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, No. 10, September 6, 1903, pp. 7–8.  Zhuang You, “The People’s New Soul,” Jiangsu, No. 5, August 23, 1903, pp. 7, 9.

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treated laborers as the representatives of the “lower society . . . who are the poorest of the poor people.”80 Founded on December 15, 1903, Eshi Jingwen (The Alarming News from Russia) was especially noteworthy in this respect. “This Newspaper’s Call for Articles” in its first issue pointed out, “This agency intends to perform the duty of various social groups and publish their theories for their use.” The topics of the essays that it called for targeted all social strata apart from “messages to all nationals.”81 Analysis showed that the 73 articles with “a message to . . . ” in the title covered a wide range of social strata, which roughly fell into the following four categories: the new intellectual class, the peasant-worker-merchant class, the lumpen proletarian class, and the official class. They were essentially an evolution of the social trichotomy: the first of the four categories was the “middle society,” the second and third categories, the “lower society,” and the fourth category, the “upper society.”82 The notices that The Alarming News from Russia issued to such a wide range of social strata entertained its views on different social classes. Taking the new intellectual class as the representative of the “middle society” was still the keynote at that time. The article “A Message to Students Studying Abroad” pointed out, “We believe that none is better reputed enough to save the nation than students studying abroad.”83 However, as a letter read, “Your warning messages” “mostly benefit the lower society.”84 The Alarming News from Russia paid more attention to the “lower society” indeed and regarded it as the key to forming group power. “A Message to You Peasants” stated, “I do blame you farmers: Why are you looking down on yourselves so much?”85 The article “A Message to Workmen” read, “Apart from the peasants, you work the hardest in our country.” “Who would be more qualified to manage state affairs than you?”86 The statements featuring both “peasants” and “workmen” had their massive number in mind believing that promoting all kinds of undertakings depended on them. Views like this were inherited by the mass movements later. When the boycott of  Ma Xulun, “Chinese Workers’ Circles,” Journal of the New World, No. 11, February 27, 1903, pp. 101–102.  “This Newspaper’s Call for Articles,” The Alarming News from Russia, No. 1, December 15, 1903, in Luo Jialun ed., Collection of Historical Records of the Republic of China, p. 2.  Wang Xuezhuang, The Alarming News from Russia, in Ding Shouhe ed., Introduction to Periodicals During the Revolution of 1911, Vol. 3, People’s Press, 1983, pp. 162–164.  “A Message to Students Overseas,” The Alarming News from Russia, January 14, 1904, p. 245.  Zhujing Qiyouzi, “A Letter to the Newspaper,” The Alarming News from Russia, January 2, 1904, pp. 152–153.  “A Message to the Peasants,” The Alarming News from Russia, December 22, 1903, pp. 62–64.  “A Message to the Workmen,” The Alarming News from Russia, December 27, 1903, pp. 102–105.

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American goods was launched in 1905, there was no lack of such voices: in a semi-civilized country, “society falls into three classes. Those in the upper and middle societies are in the minority and easier to be enlightened. On the other hand, those in the lower society are in the majority and easier to be deceived.”87 Discussions of the “middle society” and “lower society” kept coming up, indicating that the class consciousness closely related to social stratification also presented itself basically together with the concept of grouping by trade. In 1904, when discussing the issue of group affiliation, Lin Xie said that all sensible people talk about group affiliation, but theirs are but empty talks. After talking for a long time, they still failed to leverage group power and form any organization. What was the reason? It was because “the upper and lower classes were disconnected.”88 In 1906, Zhang Taiyan also carried out social stratification work by linking occupation to morality. He claimed, “Today’s moral issues are primarily based on occupations, which total sixteen, resulting in sixteen grades of morality accordingly.”89 He further explained, “If a monarch gives importance to the higher class, society would be in peace. If not, class struggle would rise.”90

Class Mobilization: The “Higher and Lower Classes” vs. the “Poor and Wealthy Classes” The class system also received attention in this context. Jingzhong Ribao (The Alarming Bell Daily, formerly The Alarming News from Russia) published an article in 1904, pointing out, “In ancient China, the noble had constant respect, the lowly had equal prestige, and the class system was also different from those in Western countries.” Therefore, it also expounded that we must strive to enable “people originally of the lowest social status to enjoy equal rights with the common people and eliminate the rank system.”91 The related issue of “higher and lower classes” and the “poor and wealthy classes” was also put forward. The article “Revolution between the Poor and the Rich” stated, “The revolution between the poor and the rich was conceived as soon as the revolution between the higher

 “The Comrades of the Academic Circles in Beijing Notify the Students Countrywide,” Ta Kung Pao, July 11, 1905, pp. 1–2.  Baihua Daoren (Lin Xie), “Nationals’ Opinions: On Group Affiliation,” Chinese Vernacular News, No. 16, July 22, 1904, pp. 1–2.  Zhang Taiyan, “Revolutionary Morality,” People’s Journal, No. 8, October 8, 1906, pp. 13–31.  Zhang Jiang, “Records of the Administration of the Qin Dynasty,” Study Abodes, No. 2, 1910, “Story Section,” p. 41.  Shen, “On China’s Class System,” The Alarming Bell Daily, No. 2, May 11–12, 1904.

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and the lower classes came to a close.”92 It all showed that the lower class received sympathy at the time, and their revolutionary enthusiasm was noticed and became the precursor of the “class mobilization.” In his “Sympathy with the Tenant-Peasants,” published in 1907 in People’s Journal, Liu Shipei wrote, “Land granting methods have been unfair since ancient times.” Therefore, “We must eliminate the division between the higher and lower classes, confiscate land from the rich and powerful, and share it with all the nationals. That is best in line with the public interest.” “Requisition of wealthy people’s land must start with a peasant revolution.”93 Immediately afterward, Huang Kan published his “Pitying the Impoverished” in People’s Journal to express his sincere sympathy for the necessitous people. He said, “No people are poorer than the Chinese today,” and “we must commit ourselves to the cause of killing the wealthy and avenge the poor people.”94 Not only did the publications with a revolutionary ring pay attention to the necessitous people. An article published in The Eastern Miscellany in 1910 also pointed out, “Not external aggression but internal strife will plague China in the future,” and “the internal strife arose not from bandits or factions but from impoverished people . . . To maintain the long-term stability of our country, we must promote and develop agriculture and industry to improve the livelihood of the lower class.”95 Another article that appeared in The Eastern Miscellany the next year looked into the frequent civil revolts of the time and pointed out that the key to social instability lay in “the negligence of peasants in today’s China.”96 Further “revolutionary” discourses were also fully anchored in this class theory. As mentioned earlier, The Alarming News from Russia published messages separately to various social strata and the comments on government officials were mostly pejorative. For example, its “Message to the Government” stated, “A government is nothing but the people’s servant.” But the officials “are indifferent” to the life and death of the nation.97 The Alarming Bell Daily even issued a public notice, saying that “it takes as its own responsibility to monitor the government and help

 Gu Lingshi (aka Monk Shutie), “Revolution between the Poor and the Rich,” Fu Bao, No. 4, September 3, 1906, p. 52.  Liu Shipei (aka Weiyi), “Sympathy with the Tenant-Peasants,” People’s Journal, No. 15, July 5, 1907, p. 34.  Huang Kan (aka Yunpi), “Pitying the Impoverished,” People’s Journal, No. 17, October 25, 1907, p. 32.  Zhang Zhaoxiong, “Factories Must Be Set Up Immediately in Various Places to Lift the People from Poverty,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 7, No. 10, November 26, 1910, p. 257.  Cailan, “Stop the Prevention of Disaster Areas from Buying Grains to Solve Peasants’ Poverty Problem,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 8, No. 4, June 21, 1911, pp. 1–12.  “A Message to the Government,” The Alarming News from Russia, December 16, 1903, pp. 10–11.

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and guide the people and various parties.”98 It began to view “gentries and merchants” in a different light. It used to have high hope in them, saying that “we have to first put our hope on the gentries and merchants in various provinces to save our country” because they were the ballasts of society.99 However, the views on the gentries and merchants changed with the rise of class consciousness. The comment that “gentries are common people’s public enemies” appeared in Henan magazine in 1908. It stated that the gentries considered themselves representatives of the nationals but colluded with the government: “They use each other and help each other do evils.” The article also exclaimed, “Alas, do my compatriots know that the gentries are the public enemies of the common people? . . . There’s no hope of improving society if they are still allowed to remain entrenched.”100 In striking contrast, the political enthusiasm of the “common people” and those in the lower strata in society received increasing attention day by day. An article published in Xin Shiji (New Century) pointed out bluntly that, in retrospect, secret societies proved how powerful they were in “expelling the non-Han Yuan Dynasty” and “struggling against the Manchu Qing Dynasty”: “They’re still powerful enough to affect Chinese society” even today. When discussing today’s Chinese revolution, be it a political reform or a social renewal, we must understand that “what the past teaches us is that China’s way out depends solely on the common people’s rebellion.”101 Wang Jingwei also clarified, “Revolutionary doctrines cannot be created by people affiliated with political organizations because they would result in miseries for the common people.”102 An article published in Guofeng Bao (The National News) in 1911 issued a direct call, “To build our national polity, we need politicians from the common people, which is a prerequisite for gathering able and active talents from the grassroots.”103 As a result, revolution’s “legitimacy” also had its basis. The affirmation of the lower-class people spawned by “class consciousness” was a change that had a huge impact. If the formation of grouping by trade reflected the concept of elites, the basis for constituting group power also changed accordingly with the vision of class. It meant that the splitting up of Chinese society made it possible for mobilizing the Chinese based on “classes.” Taking newspapers as an example,

 “Tie Liang and The Alarming Bell Daily,” The Alarming Bell Daily, No. 2, November 24, 1904.  “On the Gradual Richness of the Gentry Merchants of Various Provinces in Recent Days,” The Alarming Bell Daily, No. 1, October 23, 1904.  Demon Buster, “Gentries Are Common People’s Public Enemies,” Henan, No. 4, May 5, 1908, pp. 88–93.  Rebel, “Go Join the Party!”, New Century, No. 42, April 11, 1908, pp. 1–2.  Wang Jingwei, “On the Revolutionary Trend,” People’s Journal, No. 25, January 1, 1910, pp. 1, 3–5.  Liu Yu, “Aristocratic Politicians and Common People Politicians,” The National News, 2nd Year, No. 5, March 21, 1911, p. 7.

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they began to frequently target specific social classes in the early twentieth century. As discussed previously, the discussions around “students” indicated an emphasis on this social status. The following chapters will touch upon many publications with women as their target readers besides “students.” It is fair to say that there was no shortage of newspapers and magazines that conveyed the demands of different groups of the Chinese people grouped by gender, occupation, and age.

IV The Intelligentsia and the Reorganization of Chinese Society There is also a need to look at how the intelligentsia emerged in late-Qing China and how Chinese society, which they represented in microcosm, was reorganized. The issue can be addressed from the linguistic perspective as well. During the years when a large number of new Chinese words were being created, the huge differences in social formation between China and Japan had their influence on whether socially relevant coinages could be accepted. For example, “财界” (ざい かい), a Meiji-era neologism which means business community, was seldom used in China where a similar word, “商界,” was used instead.104 The frequent, albeit somewhat liberal use of “界(jie)” indicated that Chinese society was undergoing reorganization. In fact, insofar as the set of phrases that end with jie refer to the make-up of society, without a new understanding of society, little sense can be made of the new words contained therein. When we look closely at how phrases with the suffix jie are used inside China, we may as well discover something about them besides their etymological roots. The emergence of this group of phrases is by no means purely an issue of language but also symptomatic of the formation of a new kind of relationship between the state and society. Noticeably, the issue was widely covered in newspapers published.

The Intelligentsia as Dependent on Society According to Mencius, “Three things are most precious to any prince: the territory, the people, and matters of governance.”105 It did not matter whether it was called “the world” or “the state” at the time, it is undeniable that, as such phrases  Massaki Sogo & Yoshifumi Tobita, eds., Meiji Period Word Dictionary, Tokyodo Shuppan, 1986, p. 167.  “Jin Xin II” (Exhausting All His Heart), Mencius. One comment on this is: “This is very close, in the form at least, to the way of defining ‘state’ with territory, people and sovereignty in

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as “all the areas reachable through politics and religion” illustrate, configurations of political order can be found in traditional Chinese thinking. The difference with other traditions in the world lies in that the ancient Chinese “thought of China as an entity held together by culture rather than in territorial and political terms.”106 It was not until the introduction of Western learning to China did it become clear how the basic order of a state should be arranged. Correspondingly, group affiliation built group power and such power played a crucial role in China’s social transformation. As society grew, the intelligentsia became possible for late-Qing China and obtained its special feature. Eric Hobsbawn described the significance of the dual revolution, that is, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, to the world. The revolutions should be considered not just historical events of the two countries but “the twin vents of a volcano that covers wider areas.”107 He also noted that the global political expansion of Western countries and the economic reforms enacted in response to the development of capitalism that originated in Europe were the greatest driving force behind world development in the past two centuries. The history of Europe would be unthinkable without reference to the establishment of nation states and the development of capitalism. Moreover, the formation of nation states in Europe defined the future of modern nation states worldwide.108 Into the twentieth century, Chinese intellectuals were apparently influenced by the Western theory of the nation state and began to ponder over the complicated issues relating to the individual, society, and the state. As was clearly stated in the article entitled “Reforming China” published in the magazine Da Lu in 1903, “A state is a collective of individuals; so is society . . . Any group of people who are functional, mentally sound and share the same interests can form a political group and many such groups can make up a state.” The article also said, “According to the theory of state, a state has territory and residents; the residents form groups so the state needs sovereignty to protect the freedom of such groups and maintain order. In other words, the three essential elements of a state are territory, residents and sovereignty.”109 This definition of state is not clear enough but Western politics.” Yu Ying-shih, “Awareness of the State and Nationalism”, Cultural Critique, Yunchen Culture Company, 1990, p. 18.  Xing Yitian, “The World as One Community: Chinese People’s View of the World”, in Liu Dai ed., New Theory of Chinese Culture: Roots, Linking Publishing, 1981, p. 452.  Eric Hobsbawn, The Age of Revolution: 1789–1848, Wang Zhanghui et al., trans., Jiangsu People’s Publishing, 1999, “Introduction”, pp. 1–4.  R. Bin Wong, China Transformed: Historical Change and the Limits of European Experience, Li Bochong & Lian Lingling, trans., Jiangsu People’s Publishing, 1998, pp. 1, 84.  “Transformation of China”, Da Lu, No. 3, February 7, 1903, “Editorial”, p. 10; Da Lu, No. 4, March 8, 1903, “Editorial”, p. 1.

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it suggested that intellectuals at the time were keenly interested in seeking new kinds of relationships between the state and individuals and between the state and society. To understand the key idea here, close attention should be paid to the implications of universal kingdom.110 Chinese intellectuals in the early twentieth century were widely preoccupied with the question of how those elements that are closely related to the state should be configured. There were, however, differences in perspective. In the preface to the inaugural issue of Zhongguo Xinbao (New Journal of China) published in 1907, Yang Du noted that the government at the time was, for all intents and purposes, one that shirked it responsibilities. More regrettably still, whenever people did talk about politics, the presumption was, more often than not, that the people were dependent on the government for various things. The focus was overwhelmingly on how people were subjected to the rule of the government, and seldom on how the citizens should and could rule themselves. In his view, this went against the cardinal principles of governance and undermined citizens’ sense of responsibility, which obstructed the progress of the state: “[The people] were unaware that the government had shirked its responsibilities because the same is true of the people themselves; the more indifferent the people were, the stronger the government’s tendency toward laissez-faire. In such a case, the government would not become better as expected.” Apparently, the core of the state was placed on responsible citizens. As Yang put it, “those who plan for the state should focus on citizens’ responsibility.”111 The final issue of The Alarming News from Russia ran an editorial underlining expectation for the citizens: “If one person considers himself a citizen, everyone can be a citizen. The groups of citizens are thus the groups of the state. Then foreigners cannot insult them and strong enemies cannot bully them.”112 By contrast, quite a few articles addressed the issue from the perspective of decentralization. The view can be seen in the article entitled “To My Fellow Countrymen” published in the magazine Tide of Zhejiang in 1903. As the author put it, governing bodies in modern states are divided into two types, i.e. government agencies and autonomous bodies. The former, the state’s direct governing bodies, safeguard national sovereignty and take charge of diplomatic, military, financial and other affairs; the latter, indirect governing bodies of the state, are used by

 Benjamin I. Schwartz, “The Chinese Perception of World Order, Past and Present,” in John K. Fairbank, ed., The Chinese Order, Harvard University Press, 1968, pp. 276–288.  Yang Du, “Preface to New Journal of China”, New Journal of China, No. 1, January 2, 1907, pp. 1–2.  “Finale of The Alarming News from Russia”, The Alarming News from Russia, February 25, 1904, p. 1.

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local people to run local affairs, such as education, public security, and other affairs that concern the well-being of local residents. The author clearly stressed the importance of local autonomy. As explained in the article, “Autonomy is all about mobilizing local resources to serve the purpose of the state.” The article also pointed out in particular that most local education, charity, and other public programs had long been run by the gentry. Examples in this regard were countless but the competent authorities were absent: “The absence of autonomous bodies to the local residents is no different from the absence of government to a state. How can it be possible!”113 While some of the views might have been one-sided, the focus on “citizens” and “autonomous bodies” is particularly noteworthy. It suggests that as there was growing awareness of the state, the lettered class in China were beginning to think not only about the division of state power but also the new role and status of the individual under the system of state power, i.e., the extent to which new social forces should be involved in the effort to build a regime. The intelligentsia’s emergence against such a backdrop indicates that intellectuals took on a new role in social engagement through new media such as newspapers and magazines.

Understanding the Discussions of “Public” and “Common” It is true, among other things, that as the focus of discussion shifted from “the world” to “the state” there was also an increase in discussions of “public” and “common,” which were quite different from previous ones. The emergence of the intelligentsia was indeed of special significance in the context of such debate. In some sense, it is also within this context that the “public” nature of the intelligentsia most clearly manifested itself, as something distinct. For example, an article titled “On the Urgency of Developing Local Autonomous Rule” published in The Eastern Miscellany in 1908 offered an interesting analysis of the need to promote self-rule by capitalizing on traditional resources. The author asserted that the gongju (public affairs bureau) of a county was functionally akin to a city council; gongsuo (public welfare office) and other traditional public facilities114 are indicative of a heightened awareness about what is public and common; and yet that people were not yet good at running such facilities.

 Gong Fazi, “To My Fellow Countrymen,” Tide of Zhejiang, Vol. 2, March 18, 1903, pp. 1–12.  Haxiao, “On the Urgency of Local Autonomy,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 5 No. 3, April 25, 1908, p. 36.

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At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the expression of “public” became the focused topics of the press. There must have been many factors, but the increase of national consciousness was especially significant. Yan Fu, in the article of “A Refutation of Han Yu,” quoting Western scholars’ insights, argued that a state is the public property of the people, and the princes are the servants of the state. Moreover, in the West, the people’s participation in the decision of making seven out of ten of a country’s major public affairs, the imperial court only handled about three out of ten, of which the most important two were the enforcement of law and the governance of military affairs.115 Liang Qichao’s several articles published in The China Discussion also frequently involved in the discussion of “axioms” and “general rules,” such as the “world axiom,” the “axiom of natural selection,” the “general rules of freedom,” and so on.116 For example, he emphasized that the world had complete countries since the beginning of the modern times in the article “On the Differences and Similarities in National Thoughts in Transition.” In the traditional Chinese thoughts, “the state and the people are completely detached; thus, the state was dead and was a private thing.” The new ideas in Europe embodied “the oneness of the state with the people; therefore, the state is a living creature (because the people is [sic] not dead) and a public property (because the people is [sic] not private).”117 Liang Qichao’s “theory of state” can be clearly regarded as a modern expression of “the whole world as one community,” emphasizing that a state is the public property of all people, and that a nation consists of many families; therefore, it belongs to the people. Therefore, everyone has the responsibility to guard the public property and the right to keep the public property. If anyone ruined public property, coveted public property, or took public property by force, the public should unite and plan to resist, to rectify, and to consider how to expand the property.118 Such a position becomes more obvious when viewing it from the perspective of his book On New People. In On New People, Liang, in the chapter “On Social Morality,” pointed out

 Yan Fu, “A Refutation of Han Yu,” Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 1, pp. 32–36.  Liang Qichao, “On Transitional Times,” The China Discussion, Vol. 83, 26 June, 1901, pp. 1–4. Liang Qichao, “Ten Kinds of Virtue That Are Both Opposite and Complementary to Each Other,” The China Discussion, Vol. 82, 16 June, 1901, pp. 1–4; Vol. 84, 6 July, 1901, pp. 1–4.  Liang Qichao, “On the Differences and Similarities in National Thoughts in Transition,” The China Discussion, Vol. 94, October 12, 1901, pp. 1–4.  Liang Qichao, “About the Russian Minister’s Comments on the Easiness of Carving up China,” The China Discussion, Vol. 27, September 15, 1899, p. 12.

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that “One of our people’s problems is the lack of social morality.”119 As Hao Chang revealed, in Liang Qichao’s mind, the core of “social morality” was clearly the concept of “group,” and clearly pointed to the ideology of nation-state.120 Like Liang Qichao, Lin Xie also argued why it was hard for China to find group affiliation and his conclusion was also that the Chinese lacked social morality. As for the lack of social morality, he revealed two reasons: first, under an authoritarian system, people did not have the concept of public spirit. When taking about public interests, they considered them the emperor’s business. Second, with regard to family-oriented thoughts, national love of a civilized nation was limited to a group of people. To a Chinese person, his or her love was limited to the family.121 In New Guangdong, Ou Jujia wrote that most of the peoples of all countries participated in a private association or public union, and both of them have a great relationship with their countries. The unions of a Western country were countless, and among them, the largest and notable unions included a congress, a parliament, churches, academic societies, chambers of commerce, trade unions, and other disciplines and industries. There was no one country that was not stronger, because it had many unions. This was the current status of a constitutional state. As for China, there was no one union, but private associations all over the country.122 Tan Sitong expressed his deafening voice in “On Benevolence,” asserting that “All under heaven becoming a sovereign’s private property does not start today. It has been in existence for thousands of years.”123 An article of 1901, carried in The Nation, even maintained that the public opinions, even the 2,000-year-old academics, politics, and laws of China, were all results of the nurturing of one person’s private teaching.124 These kind of views that make distinctions between the Western countries and China according to public and personal nature, it can be said, constituted the typical form of contemporary discourse. This was a noteworthy change highly conducive to the formation of the public opinion or public forum.

 Liang Qichao, “On New People (3): On Social Morality,” New Citizen, No. 3, March 10, 1902, pp. 1–7.  Hao Chang, Liang Ch’i-ch’ao and Intellectual Transition in China, 1890–1907, pp. 100–111.  Vernacular Taoist (Lin Xie), “National Submission: On Group affiliation,” Vernacular Chinese News, No. 16, July 22, 1904, pp. 1–2.  Ou Jujia (aka Pacific Guest), “New Guangdong (A Person from Guangdong)”, pp. 49–52.  Tan Sitong, “On Benevolence,” in Cai Shangsi and Fang Xing, eds., Complete Works of Tan Sitong, Vol. 2, p. 341.  “China in the Twentieth Century,” The Nation, Vol. 1, No. 1, 10 May, 1901, pp. 4–5.

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The Birth of “Public Opinion” In terms of time, the emergence of the news media in China was not too late, but the significance of this vehicle has been gradually highlighted. Newspapers run by both Westerners in China and Chinese scholar in the late Qing dynasty functioned as a means to disseminate information. Since newspapers could not simply be deemed as equal to the public opinion, it is necessary to ask how “public opinion” was brought out. The reason why the author stressed that the popularity of newspapers and magazines in the late-Qing Dynasty was not in sync with the formation of the intelligentsia is exactly that more work needs to be done to determine if the new media gave birth to the public opinion. The intelligentsia, highly public in nature, corresponded to the public opinion. It required newspapers to help with communication, enlighten the people, and play the role of a supervisor of the government, ultimately representing some kind of power. Whether newspapers could form the public opinion is rather important. Current Affairs showed signs of a transition, indicating a gradual change in the perception of news media. When the Current Affairs was trapped in business management disputes, Zhang Jian in a letter to Wang Kangnian expressed his opinions, “A newspaper, with one or two journalists’ writing, reports open opinions of tens of thousands of people.”125 Huang Zunxian in a letter to Wang Kangnian also repeatedly stated that a newspaper is “founded by public funds, and is a public institution.”126 Wang Xiuzhi wrote to Wang Kangnian, commenting also on Current Affairs’ divergence in internal affairs, “when we initiate a project or make one point clear, it should be about right or wrong, not winning or losing.”127 Tan Sitong had the same perception, as he wrote the “Postscript” of Hunan Gazette published in 1898, “These newspapers offer a way of debating right or wrong and common interests.”128 Of course, the existence of public opinion was also subject to the political environment. After the failure of the 1898 reforms, there was no lack of doubt about public opinion. Xia Zengyou had sent a letter of such a feeling, “After reading the August imperial edict, the public opinion felt that Kang should be executed. But after reading Japanese newspapers, the public opinion turned to believe that Kang

 Zhang Jian, “To Wang Kangnian” (4), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), pp. 1803–1804.  Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian” (25), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2348.  Wang Xiuzhi, “To Wang Kangnian” (3), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 78.  Tan Sitong, “Postscript of Hunan Gazette,” Hunan Gazette, No. 11, March 18, 1898, p. 41.

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is innocent. Public opinion cannot be relied on to such an extent.”129 Whether the public opinion could be relied on depended heavily on the overall atmosphere. After the failure of the Hundred Days’ Reform, Liang Qichao, who was in exile in Japan, set up The China Discussion, and emphasized that the newspaper’s purpose was “serving as the nation’s eyes and ears and the mouthpiece of the reform.”130 This indicates that the positioning of the newspaper had gradually been focused more on the elaboration of the public aspect. Such positioning was also important in the formation of the intelligentsia. The reason why Huang Zunxian stressed that “Current Affairs is hardly comparable with The China Discussion” indirectly confirmed that The China Discussion’s position had indeed shifted. When publishing the hundredth issue of The China Discussion, Liang Qichao tried to find a new position for newspaper publishers: “A newspaper is a state’s eyes and ears, as well as mouthpiece . . . If a newspaper takes seeking the welfare of the majority as its cause, one may well say, it is truly kindhearted purpose.”131 Liang was more explicit in the article “To My Fellow Colleagues”: “A newspaper is not a government’s subject, and can take part on equal footing to the government. Furthermore, a government is commissioned by the nation and is the people’s employee. And a newspaper, on behalf of the public, expresses public will, i.e., public opinion.”132 This is obviously the national concept in the modern sense, and based on such, the concepts of “public will” and “public opinion” have been gradually forced out; therefore, the function of a newspaper as an institution to express the concerns of “public affairs” is also on the verge of coming out. Liang Qichao later in a speech had clearly described that the publication of a newspaper was the beginning of his relationship with “the country . . . My relationship with the state started off since the beginning of publishing newspaper.” Moreover, “As for other businesses, some have been disengaged, or interrupted, but for the press, the engagement has not been interrupted. In the future, I’ll all the more do my best.”133 Although Liang Qichao commented on the function of a newspaper, Ou Jujia explicitly distinguished the right of making statements and political rights, pointing

 Xia Zengyou, “To Wang Kangnian” (29), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1339.  Liang Qichao, “Introduction to Yokohama The China Discussion,” The China Discussion, Vol. 1, December 23, 1898, p. 1.  Liang Qichao, “Felicitations on the 100th Issue and Comments on a Newspaper’s Responsibility and the Newspaper’s Experience,” The China Discussion, Vol. 100, December 21, 1901, p. 8.  Liang Qichao, “To My Fellow Colleagues” New Citizen, No. 17, October 2, 1902, p. 3.  “Liang Rengong’s Speech to the Press,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 14, No. 3, March 15, 1917, p. 183.

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out that scholar-officials of the past had only the right to making statements, not any political right. Although monarchs were respected on the surface, they really were scrupulous.134 This is key to promoting the establishment of the right to making statements. The founding of The Nation in Tokyo, Japan, on May 10, 1901, by Qin Lishan and others, manifested a clear political stance, “To establish a new nation, one should start from destroying the old institutions.”135 In addition, the newspaper also made it clear that writings must “deal with the expected urgent needs for China’s overall situation. Do not be hollow and trifling, and do not practice favoritism.”136 In the article, “On the Demise of China,” the author also specifically mentioned, “In a civilized state of the world, the people have been able to abolish the dictatorship of autocracy for no other reason than having a hero, who guide the public opinion in the state in order to advance civilization gradually and form a public party that serves as a formidable opponent of the barbarous government.”137 Here he referred to “public opinion” and “political party,” which is worth noting. Because they were in response to a barbarous government, these can be regarded as the author’s attaching importance to the social links. In this regard, Su News is also worthy of attention. Su News was founded in 1896 in Shanghai. At that time, it was a newspaper with a Japanese background, and after Chen Fan took over the newspaper in 1900, the character of the newspaper changed. After Zhang Shizhao (C. Chang) took it over in 1903, the newspaper’s political overtones tend to be more revolutionary. The “great reform” of Su News is mainly seen in its repositioning: “This newspaper would follow its vocation for publishing the public opinion and respectfully, enjoy a long discussion with the gentlemen”;138 “The existence of a newspaper, from the perspective of civilization, should be deemed to be part of the parliament, or the congress.”139 Comparing a newspaper to a parliament or congress is misleading. However, it is very clear that a newspaper represents a certain kind of power. Later, Su News issued an article, “Comments on ‘Self-Admonish’ in The News,” which showed significant differences from other newspapers in Shanghai, such as Shen Bao, The News, and The Universal Gazette. This article was published in the day when the Su News Incident had occurred and the reason for criticizing The News was that “it is in

     

Ou Jujia (aka Pacific Guest), “New Guangdong (A Person from Guangdong)”, p. 52. “National Submission,” The Nation, Vol. 1, No. 4, May 10, 1901, pp. 4–5. “Brief Charter of The Nation,” The Nation, Vol. 1, No. 1, May 10, 1901, p. 1. “On the Demise of China,” The Nation, Vol. 1, No. 3, July 10, 1901, “Editorial,” p. 5. “Pay Attention to This Newspaper,” Su News, June 2, 1903, p. 1. “On the Press,” Su News, June 4, 1903, p. 1.

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favor of regulating the press, restricting people’s right to freedom of expression.”140 It can be seen that, with the rise of the popularity of newspapers and magazines, news media’s function of public expression had been approaching public opinion, and together with public opinion, their roles as voices of social interests had also been revealed. When the “Su News Incident” occurred, public opinion was quite concerned about the symbolic significance of this phenomenon, and did not merely ask about, “in [a] civilized country, what kind of crime that Zhang Binglin and Zou Rong have committed?” Instead, public opinion was connected with people’s future: “More restriction means that less public expression is allowed for newspapers, which in turn [means] the future of the nation will be hindered. How could we gauge, by argument, the resultant future of the nation after this incident?”141 Because the Su News Incident happened in the Concession, its representativeness was less than one would wish. What is important is that the formation of new correspondence between the state and society left room for the community to expand, and public opinion hereby was able to be introduced. The Eastern Times, a new newspaper published on June 12, 1904, not only advertised the fact that it was for the “public,” but also stated that based on this, the newspaper excluded any “political party’s view” in order to “be respected by society.” In Article 1 of its Publication Style, the newspaper expressly stated, “The newspaper’s exposition and argumentation are mainly for the public and would not presume upon a political party’s view.”142 An article in South China Daily published in 1906 stated in the beginning, “What the legislative body and administration relied on to transfer the country is first to win the trust of society, then both institutions become active and effective.”143 It further pointed out public opinion was an indispensable link to make the public feel confident about the government.144 Since when could modern Chinese newspapers and magazines be called public opinion? This is still an issue that merits further consideration. In the process of forming public opinion, the reading public was also indispensable, and newspapers and magazines, in particular, faced issues about how to win the public’s

 “Comments on ‘Self-Admonish’ in The News,” Su News, June 30, 1903, pp. 1–2.  “Su News Incident,” Spirit of the Yellow Emperor, Facsim, ed., Commission for the Compilation of the History of the Kuomintang, 1968, pp. 249–258.  “Opening Remarks of The Eastern Times” attached with Publication Style, The Eastern Times inaugural issue, June 12, 1904, p. 2.  Ling, “On Government Credit,” South China Daily, No. 403, October 12, 1906, p. 1.  Ling, “On Government Credit (Continued),” South China Daily, No. 404, October 13, 1906, p. 1.

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attention.145 Examining the self-expressions of newspapers and magazines may give a hint at how things evolved. In this regard, the newspaper Ta Kung Pao founded in Tianjin on June 17, 1902, can be rated as one of the representatives. The newspaper was named to hint at selflessness, i.e. its public nature, and there was the French counterpart of its name, L’Impartial (i.e., impartial), above the header. The positioning of the newspaper was clear from the very beginning: newspapers were indispensable for enlightenment of the people, as well as the strength of a country. It advocated the ideas of Times from the UK, “According to observation, every single article published by the newspaper has to be well prepared to strive for perfection. For example, upon finishing recording the speeches at the Parliament, the records of national accounting, and the like, their telegraphs have been rushed out to reach 300,000 readers each day.”146 By emphasizing the 300,000 readers of the Times, Ta Kung Pao made it clear that it was aware of the need to cultivate a reading public from its early days. The paper called on people, such as farmers, workers, merchants, women, and youths, to read newspapers.147 Thus, it can be seen that with years of development, some newspapers in modern China had indeed expressed public opinions. And it was not a bragging or pose, but a stance. It can be said that it was thanks to the generation of “public opinions” that the intelligentsia took shape in the late Qing period. But it may be hard to find a criterion under which newspapers and periodicals could be seen as public forums. What does “public” mean? Whose interests does this “public” represent? It requires a second thought. In fact, when concepts of “public domain” and “civil state” were introduced to modern China, ambiguities were generated, as there was something different between the Western concept of “public” and the Confucian idea of “gong” or “collectivity.” Thus, the idea of public domain seemed to be something of anachronism in late imperial China.148 There have been various interpretations in China to “gong” and “public.” The key point is that only when state and society are interrelated and when state is seen as the

 See Walter Lippman, Public Opinion, Yan Kewen, Jiang Hong, trans., Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 2002.  “On Following the Example of Times of the UK to Open Government Newspapers Bureaus in All Provinces to Enlighten the People,” Ta Kung Pao, December 22, 1902, p. 2.  “On the Benefits of Reading Newspaper,” Ta Kung Pao, July 7, 1902, pp. 1–2.  Benjamin A. Elman, “A New Direction of the History of Chinese Culture: Some Opinions to be Discussed (Preface to the Chinese Edition),” Classicism, Politics,and Kinship: The Chang-Zhou School of New Text Confucianism in Late Imperial China, Zhao Gang trans., Jiangsu People’s Publishing House, 1998, pp. 1–20.

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public life can “gong” and “public” be spared from a pose and public opinions find somewhere to set their feet. From another point of view, as a broad consensus had been achieved on the right to voice opinions, people needed to rethink how the right should be exercised. A 1903 issue of Tung Wen Hu Pao published an article on the prudence of writing. It pointed out that “the press needs to uphold justice. The considerations of justice and righteousness should decide the stance it takes. No personal bias is allowed to creep in.”149 A 1905 issue of The Eastern Times had an article entitled “Advice to Critics and Commentators,” saying, “If personal gains play a part in what one writes” then the consequence would be especially damaging.150 All these show that the press had come to understand the importance of “opinions.” The government also came to understand the public expectation about “opinions.” In 1906, the Qing government, who nominally accepted constitutional monarchy, explained, “constitutional monarchy should be adopted. The power of administration rests with the imperial court while government affairs are discussed in public. That would ensure the permanence of the rule.”151 An article entitled “Constitutional Monarchy and Opinions” was published in The National News in 1910, saying that “autocracy that has been in existence in China for thousands of years would be replaced by ‘opinion politics’”. It also pointed out that “despite the influence of public opinions today, people should be cautioned that the opinions might be expressed in an unjust way.”152 These suggest how “opinion” was perceived at that time. Certainly, the shift in the attitude of the Qing government was the result of a long and painful process. Under no circumstances would the government readily accept “public opinions.”

V The Undercurrent in the Intelligentsia: Government’s Response “Respectfully Recording Royal Decrees” is a column unique to the early late-Qing newspapers. It makes people wonder whether they can be regarded as newspapers in the modern sense. In contrast, the newspapers that appeared after the Hundred

 “On the Prudence of Writing”, Tung Wen Hu Pao, February 14, 1903, p. 1.  Leng, “Advice to Critics and Commentators” (I, II), The Eastern Times, October 6 and 11, 1905, p. 2.  “Telexed Imperial Edicts” (Transcribed by the Cabinet, July 13), Shen Bao, September 3, 1906, p. 2.  Changyu, “Constitutional Monarchy and Opinions,” The National News, Vol. 1, No. 13, June 17, 1910, pp. 1, 4.

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Days’ Reform, particularly those established in Japan, presented a totally different “color.” It showed that the appearance of the concept of state in the modern sense made it possible for scholars to discuss the relationships between state and society and between state and individuals, which weakened the past cognition. Either “revolution” or “constitutionalization” conveyed new ideas about China’s political order and demonstrated the power of “society.” But the Qing government could not accept such a change and took many measures to crack it down. It also showed the growth of social forces, particularly the government-frightening power gradually mastered by the scholars who ran or read the newspapers.

Changes in Newspapers’ “Color” After the failure of the Hundred Days’ Reform, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, who exiled themselves overseas, could still exert their influence on some newspapers, including Learning New Knowledge, which had moved back to Macao, and Thien Nam Shin Pao, which Qiu Shuyuan founded in Singapore in May 1898. They became the main channel for disseminating news about Kang’s and Liang’s activities. Then, Liang Qichao launched The China Discussion in Japan, which had a more extensive influence. While defending the legitimacy of the Hundred Day’s Reform, it also committed itself to seeking a new position for newspaper publishers. When The Complete Collection of The China Discussion was republished, New Citizen published a public notice to proclaim that The China Discussion “is crucial to the life and death of China” after going through a series of significant events, such as the Coup D’état of 1898, the designation of a crown prince in 1899, and the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. Moreover, “it became the only voice when all the other newspapers fell silent.”153 When talking about The China Discussion in the first year of the Republic of China, Liang Qichao even used the rhetoric of “blatantly attacking the government.”154 The color change of Learning New Knowledge was also remarkable. The article “There’s Nothing Radical about China’s Political Upheaval,” published in its seventyfourth issue, pointed out that the Hundred Day’s Reform “had to be a little radical, and the reason was apparent.”155 Immediately after that, the newspaper published

 “All Advertisements of The China Discussion Reprinted,” New Citizen, Combined issue of Nos. 46, 47, and 48, February 14, 1904, the Public Notice page.  Liang Qichao, “My Opinion on the Past and Future of the Speech Circles,” Natural Justice, Vol. 1, No. 1, December 1, 1912, p. 3.  “There’s Nothing Radical about China’s Political Upheaval,” Learning New Knowledge, No. 74, December 13, 1898, pp. 1–5.

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“There’s Nothing Radical about China’s Political Upheaval, Continued” in two installments to explain that the new policies implemented by Emperor Guangxu “must all be beneficial to the people.” Therefore, “Putting our emperor on house arrest and throwing our new policies into confusion did great harm to China, and those who did that were the Chinese people’s greatest enemies.”156 In addition, although the newspaper still “documents royal decrees as they are,” it usually added editor’s refuting notes. For example, when it published the decree to arrest Liang Qichao, it also attached an editor’s satirical note that even had this wording: “If you can offer a reward for capturing Liang, then Liang can also do the same to you!”157 From the information provided by the newspapers mentioned above, we can learn that despite the Qing government’s measures to ban them, the network created by the newspapers continued to function. The China Discussion initially established 32 offices in 23 places, and the sales agencies in the mainland were primarily located in the concessions.158 Its thirty-ninth issue published a special public notice in large characters, stating that its Shanghai general sales agency was set up in Tung Wen Hu Pao’s office. It read, “Anyone who wants to read our newspaper can go to the office to purchase it.”159 Lin Yutang noticed, “Newspapers published in Japan have grown in influence, and despite China’s official ban, these publications can still reach the Chinese student class in a unique way.”160 Some sporadic records can help us understand the situation. Chen Qingnian wrote in his diary in April 1899, “Teacher Nanpi (Zhang Zhidong) has instructed the Han newspaper office not to help distribute the newspaper.”161 This means that the Han newspaper office had once helped distribute The China Discussion. Song Shu made a similar observation: he said that despite the governor of Guangdong’s ban, Liang Qichao’s The 1898 Coup Détat, Records of the Emperor Guangxu’s Benevolent Rule, and The China Discussion were not banned by other provincial governors, with strong

 “There’s Nothing Radical about China’s Political Upheaval, Continued,” Learning New Knowledge, No. 75, December 23, 1898, p. 1–4; Learning New Knowledge, No. 76, January 2, 1899, p. 1–4.  “Documenting Royal Decrees as They Are,” Learning New Knowledge, No. 113, March 1, 1900, p. 2.  “This Newspaper’s Distribution Centers in Various Places,” The China Discussion, No. 2, January 2, 1899, the Public Notice page.  “This Newspaper’s Public Notice,” The China Discussion, No. 39, March 21, 1900, the Public Notice page.  Lin Yutang, History of Chinese Press and Public Opinion, Wang Hai and He Hongliang, trans., China Renmin University Press, 2008, p. 90.  Chen Qingnian, “Reminiscences of the Years between 1898 and 1899,” Materials of Modern History, No. 81, China Social Science Press, 1992, p. 126.

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sales in Tianjin and Shanghai.162 Records show that Zhang Gang read The 1898 Coup Détat, and he commented, “Like The China Discussion, the book was published in Japan. Despite the ban, it is still in circulation because China has had no authority for a long time.”163 According to He Qingyi, who had a close relationship with Liang Qichao at that time, “After the publication of The China Discussion, the Qing officials repeatedly banned it. It was he, He Qingyi, who was stationed in Shanghai at the time, that had it shipped to the mainland . . . Bookstores dared not sell Liang Qichao’s The 1898 Coup Détat. Therefore, He Qingyi also smuggled it to the mainland, where 2,000 copies were sold soon.”164 Wang Kangnian and The Universal Gazette also became essential sales channels for newspapers such as The China Discussion. Xia Zengyou, who was in Qimen, Anhui, then, obtained the newspaper mainly through Wang Kangnian. At that time, Xia Zengyou, who was in Qimen, Anhui Province, also got newspapers through Wang Kangnian. Besides Wang Kangnian, there were other channels. Cai Yuanpei had his newspaper, The China Discussion, mailed through the Journal of Agricultural Science office.165 A diary entry he wrote in 1899 read, “The Journal of Agricultural Science’s office mails its newspaper and The China Discussion to me.” People could subscribe to some less sensitive newspapers through other channels. Cai Yuanpei wrote in his diary in 1901, “I’ve got a year’s subscription of Yishu Huibian (Compiled Translations) through Yangzheng Academy. I’ve paid a silver coin already.”166 Cai Yuanpei also used New Citizen as one of the topics for his monthly curriculum at Nanyang Mission School the following year,167 which also indicated that it was not challenging to acquire New Citizen, which scholars widely read. It is fair to say that despite the Qing government’s strict bans, The China Discussion could still be distributed to important cities such as Hankou, Anqing, Shanghai, Fuzhou, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Suzhou, and Beijing under the cover of foreign firms or various business names. Later, New Citizen was so widely sold that it was difficult to count its sold copies. Wang Xiyan, who was studying at Jiangnan Army Academy at that time, wrote to her younger brother Wang Mengzou,

 Song Shu, “To Sun Zhongkai,” December 30, 1899, in Hu Zhusheng, ed., Collected Works of Song Shu, Vol. 2, p. 694.  Yu Xiong ed., Zhang Gang’s Diaries, August 26,1900, Shanghai Social Sciences Academy Press, 2003, p. 58.  Ding Wejiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, pp. 171–172.  Whang Shiru, ed., Cai Yuanpei’s Diaries, Vol. 1, February, 17, 1899, Peking University Press, 2010, p. 105.  Whang Shiru, ed., Cai Yuanpei’s Diaries, Vol. 1, February 16, 1901, p. 164.  Whang Shiru, ed., Cai Yuanpei’s Diaries, Vol. 1, March 30, 1902, p. 199.

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“I bought several kinds of new books and periodicals in Shanghai and have been reading them day and night. They cheered me up a lot . . . The favorite was New Citizen, newly published in Japan.”168 Cao Juren also mentioned in his recollection that New Citizen “was distributed so widely that it even reached remote rural areas.”169 Zhu Zhisan, in remote Echeng, Hubei Province, detailed how he obtained the newspapers in his diaries. An entry he wrote in 1902 read, “In the afternoon, Yuan Xiasheng borrowed new books on current affairs purchased by Zheng Chifan, such as Zhongguo Hun (Soul of China) and New Citizen.”170 In 1903, he wrote in another diary entry, “Zheng Chifan mailed back many revolutionary books and newspapers from Japan. Besides, An Alarm to Awaken the Age, The Revolutionary Army, and A Sudden Look Back are for townspeople to read.”171 A few days later, he said, “This afternoon, I borrowed Jiangsu, New Guangdong, and Tide of Zhejiang, two copies each, from Zheng. I also borrowed a copy of An Account of Ten Days in Yangzhou and a copy of The Massacre in Jiading.”172 Due to the large number of Chinese students studying in Japan, a market for books and periodicals was formed between China and Japan. Chinese students studying in Japan needed to read Chinese newspapers, and Chinese newspapers founded in Japan hoped to be distributed in China. When Song Jiaoren established Twentieth-Century China, he first thought of marketing. He wrote to the offices of The Alarming Bell Daily, The Universal Gazette, Current Affairs, and Zhongguo Ribao (China Daily), “I’m writing to you about the newspaper only. I’d like you to publish our charter.”173 Even newspapers with a radical political stance strove to establish domestic distribution channels. In its “Public Notice,” People’s Journal stated, “Since our debut, we have published four issues. Well received in all the cities on the mainland, about 10,000 copies have been sold, and we are deeply grateful.”174

 Wang Yuanfang, Yadong Library and Chen Duxiu, Xuelin Publishing House, 2006, p. 2.  Cao Juren, Fifty Years of Literature, Oriental Publishing Center, 2006, p. 31.  Yan Changhong, ed., Diaries of Zhu Zhisan (1893–1919), Central China Normal University Press, 2011, April 18, 1902, p. 102.  Yan Changhong, ed., Diaries of Zhu Zhisan (1893–1919), September 20, 1903, p. 126.  Yan Changhong, ed., Diaries of Zhu Zhisan (1893–1919), November 3, 1903, p. 129.  Song Jiaoren’s Diary, Vol. 2, January 24, 1905, p. 29.  People’s Journal Office, “Public Notice,” People’s Journal, No. 4, May 1, 1906, back cover.

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Pursuit and Elimination of the Kang Clique It was impossible for the Qing government to ignore the dangerous tendencies shown by the newspapers mentioned above in their political stance. But they all had their shields, which made it difficult for the Qing government to deal with them. They were either founded in Japan or in foreign concessions within China, or under the cover of foreign names. Nonetheless, the Qing government could still do a lot in the name of pursuing and wiping out the Kang Clique, i.e. the Hundred Days’ Reformists. They paid particular attention to The China Discussion. We can see how things developed step by step in Zhang Zhidong’s telegrams and letters. Pressure from the Qing government must have played a significant role in turning Zhang Zhidong from an ardent advocate of newspapers into a “leading” suppressor. As soon as the Hundred Days’ Reform ended, Zhang Zhidong received a telegraphed royal decree, “The Nanxue Society and the Guards Bureau newly founded in the capital of Hunan Province are tantamount to forming cliques and must be disbanded.”175 To this end, Zhang hurriedly telegraphed local officials, “You must stop and dissolve the Nanxue Society immediately.”176 As The China Discussion grew more politically radical, Zhang Zhidong tried all he could, even relying on his networks. In March 1899, he sent a telegram to Odagiri, Consul General of Japan in Shanghai, pointing out, “The China Discussion is founded by Liang Qichao and his followers, who set their minds on defaming China and vilifying Her Majesty Cixi.” He requested that “he asked his government to come up with a sound strategy to prevent them from discussing China’s state affairs wantonly.”177 In the following February, Zhang Zhidong telegraphed Qian Xun in Japan, pointing out Tianjin’s Guowen Bao, Shanghai’s The Universal Gazette, Su News, Hubao (Shanghai Times), and Hankou’s Han Bao (Hankou Daily) “are all under Japan’s protection.” He hoped that Qian would visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and make an earnest request that “it telegraph the Japanese ministers and consuls in China to tell the various Japanese newspapers’ offices that they must base everything they published on facts and neither trust the

 Veritable Records of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 428, the latter half of August 1898, in Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 57, p. 616.  Zhang Zhidong, “To Governor Chen, Administration Commissioner Yu, and Surveillance Commissioner Li of Changsha,” August 22, 1898, in Yuan Shuyi, et al. eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 9, pp. 7661–7662.  Zhang Zhidong, “To Odagiri, Consul General of Japan in Shanghai,” February 8, 1899, in Yuan Shuyi, et al. eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 9, pp. 7740–7741.

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rebel clique’s publications nor hire members of the Kang Clique as editors-inchief.”178 Zhang Zhidong also wrote to Lu Chuanlin, the then Grand Minister of State, pointing out that newspapers like The China Discussion, Learning New Knowledge, and Thien Nam Shin Pao “run rampant, bent on defaming Her Majesty Cixi and me. Those in court may not be aware of this.”179 He meant to take advantage of Lu Chuanlin’s power and influence by doing so. But, in fact, the Qing court had been active in this regard. On February 14, 1900, a royal decree clarified, “Anyone who can catch Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao and hand them to the authorities will immediately be awarded 100,000 taels of silver if the captives’ identity can be verified.” It also warned that those who purchased and read newspapers like The China Discussion in China would be “severely punished.”180 Following the decree, Zhang Zhidong, familiar with the story behind it, also made related arrangements, requiring the Jiangnan Customs to demand the taxation department to “strictly check on the imports” and “resolutely forbid the import and domestic sales of the newspapers.” He also asked for his order to be passed to the Xiakou Office of Hanyang Prefecture, “Anyone who purchases, reads, or delivers rebel newspapers shall be investigated and severely punished, and no . . . newspaper office shall be allowed to open or renew its permit.”181 Admittedly, Zhang Zhidong was thorough in everything regarding the newspaper ban. It is hard to say whether the various measures taken by the Qing court against the newspapers achieved the expected goals. Student Community of Hubei, first published in 1903, caught Zhang Zhidong’s attention with “Hubei” in its name. Zhang telegraphed Cai Jun, minister of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, demanding that he strictly discipline the students and “cut off the tuition of” or

 Zhang Zhidong, “To Qian Nianqu in Tokyo,” January 11, 1900, in Yuan Shuyi, et al. eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 10, pp. 7900–7901. Regarding this matter, Qian replied, “The Foreign Office immediately telegraphed back to their ambassador that it would warn Guowen Bao, Shanghai Times, and Hankou Daily against speaking recklessly, but I have no right to do so.” See “Telegram from Qian Shou,” January 16, 1900, in Yuan Shuyi, et al. eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 9, p. 7901.  Zhang Zhidong, “To Lu Zixuan,” Yuan Shuyi, et al. eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 12, p. 10235.  Veritable Records of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 458, January 1900, in Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 58, pp. 9–10.  Zhang Zhidong, “Zhajiang Customs Circuit Acts in Conformity with the Royal Decree to Ban the Purchasing and Reading Defiant Newspapers and Forbid Mailing Newspapers on Behalf of Others Or Opening New Newspaper Agencies,” February 7, 1900, in Yuan Shuyi et al. eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 5, pp. 3972–3973.

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even “send back” those who would not behave themselves.182 His move did an excellent job of promoting the newspaper instead of making a dent in it. Someone wrote, “Zhang Zhidong suddenly telegraphed the general student supervisor to demand a ban on the newspaper. Everyone was appalled after hearing it, so they wrote immediately to subscribe to the paper one after another, making a total of scores.”183 An article published in Thien Nan Shin Pao read, “Zhang Zhidong is an intelligent person who has seen the world. How can he not know how much our nationals enjoy the newspaper? For that matter, he must know how much our compatriots appreciate New Citizen. By nature and good conscience, he must love newspapers. But the more he loves them, the more he fears them, and the more he wants to ban them.”184 The journal Yangtze River published in Shanghai also carried an article, which read, “After the governor issued the ban, book publishers in various towns and cities saw their business boom, so much so that their warehouses were emptied, and books were being purchased and shipped. Since they qualified for a ban, their value was self-evident.”185 It was undeniable that scholars were bound to be impacted under such a situation. According to Zhu Zhisan, he first heard that “the education popularization services in the provincial capital, which sell revolutionary books was [sic] banned.” A month later, he read the news in a newspaper: “It’s reported that the education popularization services in Wuchang, the provincial capital, which sell revolutionary books, has [sic] been banned because there were An Alarm to Awaken the Age, The Revolutionary Army and similar books.”186 Song Shu even mentioned the bloody incident of the “Emperor’s Party Case” in a letter of April 1900: “All newspapers have been banned in both Hunan and Hubei since late autumn, and it is quite stringent.” He felt lucky because “I quit the job of lecturing on current affairs after August 1898. Last year, a newspaper office would pay me 30 taels of gold per month for writing articles, but I declined, knowing that I would have been jailed if I had written it.”187 In 1903, Zhao Erxun, governor of Hunan, hired Pi Xirui to work in the editorial section of the Academic Affairs Office so he had access to various newspapers and magazines, but had to be very cautious about whether they were  Zhang Zhidong, “To Imperial Envoy Cai, General Supervisor Wang Jingtang, and Hubei Supervisor Bianshou Fuchang,” December 1, 1902, in Yuan Shuyi, et al. eds., Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 11. pp. 8970–8971.  “The Handling of Students Community of Hubei,” Su News, February 28, 1903, p. 4.  Huang Shizhong, “Zhidong’s Ban of New Citizen,” Thien Nam Shin Pao, March 5, 1903, No. 2.  Po Yuan, “The Effect of Banning Books and Periodicals,” Yangtze River, No. 2, July 13, 1904, p. 40.  Yan Changhong, ed., Diaries of Zhu Zhisan (1893–1919), January 16, 1905, pp. 161–162.  Song Shu, “To Sun Zhongkai,” April 1900, in Hu Zhusheng, ed., Collected Works of Song Shu, Vol. 2, pp. 699–703.

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suitable for students to read. In a diary entry, he wrote, “I looked through Hansheng (Voice of Hankou) and Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad and found them in violation of the ban. Therefore, I refrained from showing them to the students.”188 Gu Xieguang explained, “Since 1898, there has been the ban on newspaper publishers and newspaper circulation in various places plummeted. Those circulating abroad were fool [sic] of errors and lies, not worthy of disseminating among scholars.”189 This indicated that even if some newspapers like The China Discussion had not been banned, scholars would not have accepted their caustic language and opinions. Xu Zhaowei wrote in his diary, “I carefully read The China Discussion and Learning New Knowledge and found them castigating state affairs without qualms. I had but stopped reading them and sighed.”190 Yan Fu was also dissatisfied with the position held by The China Discussion, “I’m disgusted whenever I see it.”191 Later, when he heard that The China Discussion had even published Xia Zengyou’s “Poems in Memory of the Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Years’ Reform” and the note that they were reprinted from Tianjin’s Guowen Bao, Yan Fu commented that it was absurd for “Xia, a county magistrate, to get his name in a banned publication.”192 In reality, Xia Zengyou did not approve of people scolding Zhang Zhidong in the newspapers at the time. He maintained, “Ministers of today’s China are far more detectable than Nanpi (Zhang Zhidong).” He even worried that if they enraged him too much, “he would undoubtedly be desperate and go all out to do evil and become a real dirty dog.”193 Because of these factors, the growth of the “intelligentsia” in the late Qing Dynasty and its far-reaching influence deserve great attention. The term jie, in particular, must not be ignored. The intelligentsia and other jies appeared in the late nineteeth and early twentieth centuries and were closely related to the

 Pi Xirui, Shifutang Diaries, Vol. 5, September 28, October 9, 1901, pp. 368, 377.  Gu Xieguang, “Introduction,” in Xu Weize and Gu Xieguang, eds., A Catalogue of Eastern and Western Books, printed in the 12th lunar month of the 28th year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign, p. 4.  Xu Zhaowei, “Diary of 1899,” March 22, 1899, Xu Zhaowei’s Diaries, Vol. 1, Huangshan Publishing House, 2013, p. 57.  Yan Fu, “Letters to Zhang Yuanji (5),” in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 3, p. 533.  Yan Fu, “Letters to Zhang Yuanji (8),” in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 3, p. 538. The China Discussion published “Mourning the Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days’ Reform” by anonymous author with the note: “transcribed from Tianjin’s Guowen Bao.” See The China Discussion, Vol. 30, October 15, 1899, p. 21.  Xia Zengyou, “To Wang Kangnian (66),” in Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), pp. 1377–1378.

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transformation of Chinese society. They also constituted a significant symbol of the gradual formation of the subcultural world. During the process, the newspaper, as a new type of communication media, gradually changed its positioning and became the primary host of group affiliation, playing a crucial role in promoting the formation of the intelligentsia. Scholars who bid farewell to the era of the imperial civil examination also acquired a new role different from that of the shi (scholars involved in the imperial civil examination system) by joining the intelligentsia. What is important is that the intelligentsia formed in the late Qing Dynasty gradually took on its “public” nature, representing “society.” It was a characteristic non-existent in the imperial era and had a profound impact on the evolution of Chinese society. However, the influence of the intelligentsia during this period should not be overestimated. It is because there was substantial control over the voices of society under the framework of the royal power. Simultaneously, the “intellectual map” created by newspapers and journals in the late Qing Dynasty was limited. There was ample room for it to act on society and individuals. Next, as we examine the intelligentsia of the Republic of China period, we will find signs of its further development from background to the foreground.

Chapter Three The Intelligentsia from Background to Foreground: Expansion of the Ideological Map Intelligentsia was a murky concept in the late Qing Dynasty, having no specific connotation. It is thus necessary to continue exploring its evolution from two aspects. The first is to trace it to the period of the Republican era and examine how the subsequent expressions related to the intelligentsia are different from those of the late Qing Dynasty. The second is to reorient the discourse and, instead, focus on elements closely related to the intelligentsia. One thing is unequivocal: the concept of the intelligentsia is associated with scholars’ roles and inseparable from the media of expression. The most noteworthy m in modern China is the printed book as a new means of communication, especially newspapers and magazines. The so-called “intelligentsia” would be unfathomable without publications. When discussing the publishing industry in an article, Gao Changhong made an intriguing comment, “The literary circles, or intelligentsia we usually hear or talk about are nothing but nonsense.” According to him, the so-called “literary circles” were “but a reference to a collection of poetry, a novel, or an essay.” For that matter, the so-called “intelligentsia” was, “in fact, nothing but an indication of a few books or periodicals.”1 His argument is a reminder worthy of attention. If we further explore it, we may examine how the intelligentsia has evolved from a different angle. This chapter will further show how the intelligentsia moved from the background to the foreground, with particular attention paid to the “ideological map” in the Republican era. The concept of the intelligentsia emerged in the late Qing Dynasty and the “ideological map” it created was unclear. Entering the Republican era, the situation changed significantly. The way the intelligentsia acted on society and individuals also took on a new look.

I The Ideological Map Epitomized by Periodicals of the Republican Era After their development in the late Qing Dynasty, newspapers had an entirely different positioning in the republican era. In a speech that Liang Qichao gave after his return to China in 1912, he recollected his involvement in the newspaper

 Gao Changhong, “A Clear Map of the Situation of the Publishing World in Beijing,” Entering the Publishing World, Taidong book company, 1929, p. 84. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-004

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business 12 years before and acclaimed, “The Chinese newspapers today are developing at an amazing pace. The capital, for example, is home to over a hundred newspapers.”2 The magazine Yongyan (Natural Justice) that he established in December that year achieved pretty good results. In a family letter, Liang Qichao wrote, “We initially printed 10,000 copies of the first issue and they were sold out in no time. We still have a few thousand renewal subscribers. We expect to issue 20,000 copies around February and March of the following year. If so, our family will be selfsufficient.”3 It shows that the publishing market in the republican era had indeed changed a lot. Simultaneously, the press was more clearly linked with the intelligentsia in the discourse of the time. While examining the Chinese publishing industry’s achievements in 1919, Zheng Zhenduo said, “Not much progress has been made in China’s intelligentsia.”4 In this regard, it is also necessary to outline the “ideological map” created by newspapers between the late Qing Dynasty and the republican era. At the same time, it is necessary to evaluate how newspapers affected society and individuals. Here, newspaper publishing is examined in the context of modern China with the idea of an “ideological map” proposed. The ideological map is worth exploring because space and time are some of the factors in a newspaper’s influence. Of course, the difficulties involved can also be imagined. While examining the “era of transition,” Hao Chang also tried to describe the emergence and growth of China’s “institutional media,” but the data on which it was based was hardly complete.5 However, to discuss the issue further, it is still necessary to briefly explain the development of the newspapers during the republican era through some quantitative data.

The “Eventful and Magnificent” Newspaper Industry in the Republican Era For the early republican era, the research here is based on the catalog of Chinese periodicals published by the Russian writer Boris Polevoy in Dongfang Xueyuan Congkan (Oriental Institute Collection) in Vladivostok in 1913. The catalog covers 1911–1912 and records 487 periodicals published in major cities in China and

 Liang Qichao, “My Opinions on the Past and Future of the Speech Circles,” Natural Justice, Vol. 1, No. 1, December 1, 1912.  Liang Qichao, “To Xian’er,” December 18, 1911, in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 661.  Zheng Zhenduo, “China’s Publishing Circles in 1919,” New Society, No. 71, January 1, 1920, p. 9.  Hao Chang, “Transition Period in Modern Chinese Intellectual History,” Twenty-First Century, No. 52, April, 1999, pp. 29–39.

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abroad. Among them, less than 200 were published in the late Qing Dynasty, and about 300 were established in the early years of the republican era. This catalog is conducive to a better grasp of the development of the periodicals in the early years of the Republic of China period. Previously, data came from Ge Gongzhen’s The History of Chinese Newspapers and Lai Guanglin’s Seventy Years of the Chinese Press, but these two sources are much less complete than Polevoy’s.6 Ge Gongzhen’s The History of Chinese Newspapers, first published in 1927, can be regarded as a pioneering work in studying Chinese periodicals, and it preserves many original materials of the time. The book presents a picture of the publishing industry in the early republican era from the perspectives of installments and the nature of the publications, especially showing the “prosperous and magnificent situation of the newspaper industry in the early republican era.” However, he believed, “Since the founding of the Republic of China, newspapers have been far inferior in spirit to those in the late Qing Dynasty, with the exception of some magazines. Promising reporters even became officials or businessmen.”7 The book describes the “status quo of the newspaper industry” by citing two sources of the time.8 In addition, we can also learn about newspapers in the early republican years from some Western and Japanese publications. Zhonghua Nianjian (China Yearbook) published in English in 1923 had such statistics (numbers of English journals are shown in parentheses). There were altogether 1,008 kinds (55 also had concurrent English versions) of periodicals published in various parts of China: 18 in Anhui, 78 (1) in Zhejiang, 41 (2) in Zhili, 164 (2) in Beijing, 47 (1) in Fujian, 14 in Henan, 37 in Hunan, 40 (1) in Hubei, 3 in Gansu, 21 in Jiangxi, 116 in Jiangsu, 80 (41) in Shanghai, 23 in Guangxi, 115 in Guangdong, 6 in Guizhou, 32 in Shanxi, 42 (1) in Shandong, 8 in Shaanxi, 27 in Yunnan, 41 (1) in Sichuan, 15 in Southern Manchuria, and 40 (5) in Northern Manchuria. The China Yearbook’s statement that its data came from the General Post Office as of December 31, 1921, is of research value.9 Of the Japanese resources, those worthy of the most attention include the survey conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on periodicals published in various parts of China. Beginning in 1908, the Ministry of

 Zhou Zhenhe, “The Russian Boris Polevoy’s Chinese Newspaper and Magazine Directory in 1913,” Chuban Shiliao (Publication Archives), Vol. 2, 1993, pp. 101–111.  Ge Gongzhen, The History of Chinese Newspapers, pp. 178–181, 196.  One source is Chronicle of the Second World Journalism Conference, and the other is from the investigations done by the Agency to Compile Foreign and Domestic Periodicals by Category. See Ge Gongzhen, The History of Chinese Newspapers, pp. 358–359.  H. G. W. Woodhead ed., The China Year Book, 1923, The Tientsin Press, Ltd., 1923, Chap. IX, pp. 152–199.

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Foreign Affairs requested the embassies and consulates in China to carry out such surveys, which lasted 30 years. The results of the surveys can be seen as “the most extensive and comprehensive data” about Chinese newspapers.10 Other Japanese agencies conducted similar surveys. For example, Zhina Xinwen Yilanbiao (List of Shina Newspapers) published by the South Manchuria Railway Co. in 1926 described that year’s Chinese newspaper industry: 69 cities and counties had founded press businesses, including newspaper publishers, news agencies, or positions of reporters. There were 296 newspapers in Chinese, 36 in Japanese, 27 in English, 11 in Russian, 3 in French, and 3 in other languages. There were also 376 magazines and 111 news agencies.11 As for foreign periodicals, there were Baoxue Jikan (Journalism Quarterly) first published in 1934, which listed the 1933 “Questionnaire on Foreigners’ Journalism in China.”12 Hu Daojing also authored Waiguo Zaihua Baozhi (Foreign Newspapers in China), in which he sorted out in detail “English newspapers in the Pearl River Basin,” “English newspapers in the Yellow River Basin,” “French newspapers in China,” and “Japanese newspapers in China.”13 Zhao Minheng’s Wairen Zaihua Xinwen Shiye (Foreigners’ Journalism in China) outlines the newspaper officers and news agencies set up by foreign countries in their languages, including Japan, Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Russia. Rudolf Löwenthal’s Zhongguo Zongjiao Qikan (The Religious Periodicals Press in China) focused on various religious periodicals in China.14 Later, researchers sorted out relevant data more systematically. They based their research of periodicals in English and other European languages today on Wan Qing Xiwen Baozhi Daoyao (A Research Guide to China-coast Newspapers).15 There are also many studies on the newspapers and magazines published in Japanese. From 1882 to

 Zhou Zhenhe, “The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Investigation of Chinese Modern Newspapers and Periodicals,” Journal of Fudan University, 1994 (6), pp. 69–77.  The book A List of Shina’s Journalism—Appended with News Agencies in Beijing and Shanghai was published by the Research Office of the Beijing Branch of the South Manchuria Railway Company in 1926. The source is Journalism and its Modernization in the Period of the Beiyang Government (1916–1928), China Renmin University Press, 2010, pp. 30–33.  “Questionnaire on Foreigners’ Journalism in China (1933),” Journalism Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1, October 10, 1934, pp. 125–127.  Hu Daojing, A New Era in Journalism, World Journal Book Company, 1946, pp. 24–33.  Chao Thomas Ming-heng, The Foreign Press in China, China Institute of Pacific Relations, included in Recent Pacific Issues: Report of the Fourth Congress of the International Society of the Pacific, China Institute of Pacific Relations, 1932, pp. 405–483; Rudolf Löwenthal, The Religious Periodical Press in China, The Synodal Commission in China, 1940.  Frank H. H. King & Prescott Clarke, A Research Guide to China-coast Newspapers,1822–1911, Harvard University Press, 1965.

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1939, it is estimated that of the 141 kinds of newspapers founded by Japanese in China, 106 were in Japanese.16 Yearbooks published in Chinese can also be illustrative. Edited by Ruan Xiang et al., Diyihui Zhongguo Nianjian (The First China Yearbook) had a “newspaper” category in the “Education and Religion” column. The kinds of publications and their places of publication are as follows: 13 in Beijing, 5 in Tianjin, 2 in Fengtian, 3 in Jilin, 2 in Heilongjiang, 11 in Jinan, 6 in Taiyuan, 3 in Kaifeng, 4 in Xi’an, 11 in Shanghai, 10 in Nanjing, 7 in Hangzhou, 1 in Lanxi, 10 in Anqing, 3 in Wuhu, 13 in Hankou, 5 in Changsha, 4 in Changde, 3 in Nanchang, 4 in Chengdu, 5 in Chongqing, 2 in Luxian, 1 in Kunming, 9 in Fuzhou, 30 in Guangzhou, 5 in Chaozhou, 2 in Wuzhou, and 5 in Hong Kong.17 The data is far from being complete. The coverage was limited. A clear flaw is that some figures were for provinces, while others were for cities.

The Figures Provided by Resources like the Shen Bao Nianjian (Shen Bao Yearbook) There must be many reasons for the difficulty in getting to know about the newspapers of the early republican era. For example, political chaos rendered state governance impotent. After its establishment, the Nanjing Nationalist Government reinforced the administration of periodicals, requesting that all be registered and put on file before publication. Based on these data, the Shen Bao Yearbook roughly reflects the newspapers published since the 1920s. The article “The Last 50 Years” by the yearbook’s editor published in Shen Bao to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary was quite a hit. It explained that the reason for compiling the Shen Bao Yearbook was that “producing full statistics is more important than recording text.”18 The Shen Bao Yearbook, first published in 1933, contained a “Publication” section. It listed the “National Magazine Classification Statistical Table,” “Survey of Major Daily Newspapers across the Country” (According to registration with the Central Publicity Department of the Kuomintang in August 1931), and “Statistical Table of Newspapers and News Agencies by Province across the Country” (compiled per the

 Huang Fuqing, A Study of Modern Japanese Culture and Social Undertakings in China, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, 1997, p. 274. See also Zhou Jiarong, ed. The Activities of Japanese in China’s Newspaper Industry in Modern Times, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2007.  Ruan Xiang et al, The First China Yearbook, Commercial Press, 1924, pp. 1966–1970.  Shi Liangcai, “Shen Bao’s Purpose of Issuing Its Yearbook for Sixty Years,” Shen Bao Yearbook, Shen Bao Yearbook Publishing House, 1933, pp. 1–3.

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“Daily Newspapers and News Agencies Register” kept by the Central Publicity Department of the Kuomintang in August 1931). According to the statistics of seven cities and 17 provinces, there were 261 kinds of major newspapers. Among them, 32 were published every three days, four were published every five days, and 14 were weekly. In addition, there were 32 kinds of minor newspapers and 163 news agencies. The Table 3.1: Statistical table of newsprint magazines registered by the provinces and cities that have been transferred to the ministry. City/Province Zhejiang Jiangsu Hubei Jiangxi Fujian Shanxi Anhui Henan Suiyuan Shandong Hebei Guizhou Jilin Hunan Guangdong Qinghai Yunnan Sichuan Shaanxi Gansu Chaha’er Rehe Ningxia Xinjiang Liaoning Xikang Guangxi Nanjing Shanghai Beiping (Beijing) Qingdao Weihaiwei Total

Newspaper

Magazine

Total

         

  



            





  

     

 

    

      

 

Source: Shen Bao Yearbook, Shen Bao Publishing Company, 1933, p. R3.

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“Statistical Table of Newsprint Magazines Registered by the Provinces and Cities that have been transferred to the Ministry” (produced by the Third Section of the National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of China, in May 1932) provides information on the registered newspapers in various parts of China, seen in Table 3.1. Those figures are far from adequate. The Shen Bao Yearbook knew it and explained, “The numbers of the newspapers and magazines listed in the table are filled in after verifying by law those who have registered their publications.” Therefore, the statistics cover only 11 newspapers and 45 magazines, totaling 56. However, the article “Shanghai Publishing Industry in the Past Year” appended to the yearbook provides far more extensive statistics. It pointed out, “After the wars, magazines mushroomed in Shanghai. In the summer and autumn of 1932, there were over 100 magazines seen in newspaper advertisements. About half of them were new publications.”19 The second issue of the Shen Bao Yearbook published in 1934 continued the work in this area. It gave a unique explanation that it faced the problem that “very few newspapers applied for registration according to law . . . the Ministry of the Interior required that the provincial and municipal governments tell the various unregistered newspapers and magazines to register within a week by law.” It also ordered the Ministry of Communications to tell the General Post Office, “Postal delivery service will be denied to those without registration.” With such harsh measures, “there are several newspapers and magazines registered with the Ministry of the Interior every day.” The data obtained drastically improved: “As of November 1933, as many as 2,994 newspapers and magazines had registered themselves and obtained their certificates in various municipalities and provinces. Among them, quite a few newspapers were published by foreigners.”20 The move yielded the number of newspapers and magazines registered and approved between November 1932 and October 1933, details of which can be seen in Table 3.2. In comparison, the second issue of the Shen Bao Yearbook provides more reliable data than the first. However, it is still unsatisfactory despite the considerable increase in the numbers: “In the yearbook 2–3 inches thick, only eight pages is devoted to ‘publication.’” This drawback only indicates the lack of “employees” in the editorial board of Shen Bao and the “valuelessness” of its yearbook.21 The third issue of Shen Bao Yearbook was published in 1935, with similar categories listed. Its publication continued every year, but later issues will not be

 “Shanghai Publishing Industry in the Past Year,” Shen Bao Yearbook (1933), pp. R4, R8.  Shen Bao Yearbook (Second Issue), Shen Bao Yearbook Publishing House, 1934, pp. 1150–1151.  Wang Dao, “A Few Words about the Terms ‘Publishing’ and ‘Academics’ in Shen Bao Yearbook,” in Tan Tian, ed. A Collection of Writings to Criticize Modern Newspapers, Vol. 1, Book and Newspaper Cooperative, 1933, pp. 143–144.

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Table 3.2: Statistical table of registered newspapers and magazines. Province/City Jiangsu Zhejiang Anhui Jiangxi Fujian Hubei Hunan Henan Shandong Shanxi Shaanxi Hebei Suiyuan Gansu Ningxia Guangdong Guangxi Yunnan Guizhou Sichuan Jilin Chaha’er Weihaiwei Qinghai Shanghai Qingdao Nanjing Beiping (Beijing) Total

Newspaper

Magazine

Total

                            

         

                            

              

Source: Shen Bao Yearbook (Second Issue), pp.1150–1151.

cited here. It is necessary to add that the flourishing of Chinese periodicals since the late Qing Dynasty gave rise to journalism. Books of this discipline often present the ideological map created by newspapers and magazines using statistics. Zhao Junhao’s Newspaper Industry in Modern China provides statistics developed by the Ministry of the Interior. He pointed out that only 628 domestic journals were registered in 1927 and the number had risen to 1,031 by 1938, an increase of about 70%.22

 Zhao Junhao, Newspaper Industry in Modern China, The Commercial Press, 1940, pp. 98–100.

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It is obviously not enough to simply draw the ideological map created by the newspapers and magazines of the republican era with numbers. Much more is behind the numbers. Basically, the cognition of newspapers changed a lot. In his Basic Knowledge of Newspapers, He Shenchi pointed out, “Newspapers are not only mirrors and reflections of current events in society, but also accumulators of facts that are changing in social life.” The author also looked at modern newspapers from a global perspective, emphasizing that “modern newspapers” are “products of capitalism.” Looking at Chinese newspapers from this perspective, the author explained, “Among the newspapers across the country, only three can sell about 100,000 copies each, namely, Shen Bao, The News, and Ta Kung Pao (totaled from the agencies in Shanghai and Tianjin) . . . But none sell over 200,000 copies. It is a far cry from the Japanese newspapers The Asahi Shimbun and the Mainichi Shimbun, each selling more than two million copies. It means that Chinese newspapers were yet to be on track towards big modern big capitalist enterprises.”23 Due to the difference in the selection of surveying periods and subjects, the above-mentioned “ideological map” statistically presented has only reference value. This book has no intention to comprehensively examine the development of newspapers and magazines in the republican era in terms of quantity. Even if the numbers were reliable, there would be differences in when and where each newspaper was published and how many copies were in circulation. For example, periodicals such as Shen Bao and The Eastern Miscellany performed much better in all aspects than those with limited numbers of copies printed or only a couple of issues published. Such differences are hard to see in statistics. It is fair to say that it is almost impossible to draw the ideological map of periodicals during the republican era based on quantitative data. The information the data provides is also minimal. Therefore, it is necessary to reveal further the spatial distribution of newspapers and magazines, that is, where they were published and distributed and how practitioners fared in different places. Emphasis must be put on the categories of the newspapers, their pursuits, and intended readership. Presenting these factors may give some meaning to the ideological map.

II The Structure and Rhythm of the “Ideological Map” It is obviously unsatisfactory to only present the ideological map created by newspapers and magazines with numbers. Therefore, it is necessary to examine further the spatial pattern to reveal the structure of the ideological map and the

 Hu Shenchi, Basic Knowledge of Newspapers, Life Bookstore, 1937, pp. 11, 41, 119.

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rhythm of its formation. Paul A. Cohen’s China-centered view divides China into smaller research units for easy comprehension.24 Such a research approach helped to promote the effort to examine the complex picture of modern China by starting from the “periphery” and then moving to the “center.” At the same time, it also shows how difficult it is to establish a theory based on the “periphery,” particularly from the perspective of “localism.” Of course, it is not only the newspapers that exhibit characteristics that stemmed from their place and time of origin, but other elements such as health, education, and justice that promoted the growth of modernity in modern China do so as well. In analyzing higher education in the republican era, scholars distinguish the different types of the spatial distribution25 and the same must be done when examining the intelligentsia of late-Qing China and early republican China.

“Center” and “Periphery”: The Growth of Local Newspapers and Magazines It is easy to understand that there is a difference between the center and the periphery of the ideological map created by newspapers and magazines which intrinsically expanded from the center to the periphery. As far as the recipients are concerned, newspapers and magazines penetrate the “center” from the “periphery” so that the readers at the peripheral areas may have a chance to access the periodicals published in the central metropolises (see Chapter 7 for details). Here, we emphasize the “center” and the “periphery” connected by newspapers and magazines. It involves two essential links: first, influential newspapers reported news from various places by establishing a correspondent system; second, relevant people promoted the opening of newspaper publishers in various places. After the inaugural issue was published, Shen Bao not only actively promoted the establishment of distribution channels in various places but also attached great importance to setting up a correspondent system with a wide coverage. In September 1882, the newspaper published “Job Advertisement” to hire one person in each of the following places: Jiangning, Zhenjiang, Wuhu, Jiujiang, Changsha, Shashi, Yichang, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Guiyang, to “gather local news and for publishing . . . so that the newspaper can cover folk customs, anecdotes, and

 Paul A. Kohen, Discover History in China—the Rise of the China-Centered Approach in America, Lin Tongqi, trans., Zhonghua Book Company, 1989, p. 165.  Wen-Hsin Yeh, The Alienated Academy: Culture and Politics in Republican China (1919–1937), Feng Xiagen et al., trans., China Renmin University Press, 2012, “Introduction,” pp. 2–5.

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interesting essays from 18 provinces.”26 Meanwhile, Shen Bao also promised to open more offices in various places, hoping to have “outlets in all provinces and cities.”27 In “On Opening Newspaper Publishers in All the Provinces in China” published on May 5, 1893, Zilin Hanbao (North-China Daily News & Herald) also advocated opening newspaper outlets in various areas.28 “Localism” is an indispensable part of information dissemination. A summary of the development of periodicals also found at the beginning, “that Chinese newspapers roughly fall into two categories: local ones, such as Hangzhou Ribao (Hangzhou Daily) and Hankou Ribo (Hankou Daily); and national ones, such as the major newspapers in Shanghai.”29 Taking the Shanghai newspapers as a representative of the second category shows the city’s central position. Lei Tieya commented, “Shanghai is the most open port in China. It transfers its practice and inculcates its ideology nationwide, and opinions popular in Shanghai will soon become a national consensus. That means Shanghai always leads in the nation’s common practice.” The reason lay in its “having command of the organ of speech, i.e., newspapers “so that it can create public opinion.” Therefore, Shanghai is the tutor of the entire country, and its newspapers are the teacher of the whole city.”30 Shanghai’s placement as the center of the newspaper industry also meant that various forces that wanted to rely on newspapers to boost their strength tended to choose Shanghai to do so. We can even claim that the over-concentration of newspapers in Shanghai may have led to the decline of “localism.” Vernon Nash and Rudolf Loewenthal, who taught at the Department of Journalism of Yenching University, revealed in their article the “resistance” in the development of China’s newspaper industry from four aspects: inconvenient transportation, too many illiterates in the country, a non-unified censor system, and people too impoverished to purchase newspapers. In particular, they expounded their view that, under the influence of those factors, Chinese newspapers were sold primarily in coastal cities: “The sales volume of newspapers in Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Beijing, and  Shen Bao Editorial, “Job Advertisement for Investigators,” Shen Bao, September 6, 1882, p. 1.  “Zhaowen Xinbao (Daily News Review) Office Has Been Established in Hankou,” Shen Bao, August 13, 1873, p. 2.  “On Opening Newspaper Publishers in All the Provinces in China,” North-China Daily News & Herald (Hankou), May 5, 1893, based on Compilation of Hubei News and Historical Materials, No. 3, 1985, p. 20.  Fan Zhongyun, “Criticism of Chinese Newspapers”, In Huang Tianpeng ed., Collection of Journalism Lectures, Modern Book Store, 1931, p. 55.  Lei Tieya, “On Shanghai Newspapers’ View of the Mistakes Made by the Guangdong Righteous Army,” originally published in Kwong Wah Yit Pot (George Town), May 22, 1911, based on Tang Wenquan’s Collected Works of Lei Tieya, Huazhong Normal University Press, 2011, p. 238.

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Tianjin accounts for almost two-thirds of the national total. The population of these five places is about eight to nine million, accounting for 2% of the country’s total population. The remaining one-third of the newspapers was distributed among 98% of the national population.”31 The figures may not be accurate. Newspaper publishing and sales are different stories, after all. However, such a situation did exist, and Hu Daojing accepted the analysis and explained the importance of promoting newspaper circulation locally.32 The issue is that although local newspapers were gradually established, in terms of distribution, the ones with more sales were often in central cities. Newspaper sales were far from ideal in other places. Jiangxi Yearbook, published in 1936, discussed the development of the newspapers in Jiangxi. It mainly used Nanchang as an example to make its point: poor economy affected the newspaper business in Jiangxi so much that it was still in its infancy: As the political center of Jiangxi, Nanchang naturally saw its press more prosperous than in the various counties. According to a recent survey, it boasts over 20 news agencies and two dozen different magazines. The agency of Minguo Ribao (The Republican Daily News) boasts more funds, whereas that of Gongshang Ribao (Industrial & Commercial Daily News) enjoys the most extended history. However, the newspaper with the highest sales volume only sells about 5,000 copies daily. Some only sell a few hundred. Their sales, put together, do not exceed 10,000 copies. The small number of newspapers sold reveals the province’s embarrassingly low level of social culture and depressed economy.33

The so-called “center” and “periphery” refer to the difference between central cities and local ones and counties and between the north and south and west and east of the country. Reviews of the growth of local newspapers often revolved around those differences. In his “A Brief History of the Newspapers in North China over the Past Fifty Years,” Xiong Shaohao noted, “While Shen Bao and Universal Circulating Herald prospered, the north saw no newspaper for a long time until the late Qing Dynasty. Then only a few emerged there . . . There are no more than 30–40 pioneering newspapers in Beijing and not too many in Tianjin. Unfortunately, they

 Nie Shifen and Rudolf Löwenthal, “Obstacles to the Advancement of China’s Newspaper Industry,” Baoren Shijie (Journalist World), No. 6, December 1936, pp. 1–3. The original text was in English, translated from The Chinese Social and Political Science Review, Vol. 20, No. 3, October 1936, pp. 420–423.  Hu Daojing, “Another Call for Establishing Local Newspapers Everywhere,” Wartime Journalists, Vol. 1, No. 8, April 1, 1939, p. 6.  Statistics Office of the Government of Jiangxi Province, Jiangxi Yearbook (1), Statistics Office of the Government of Jiangxi Province, 1936, p. 1238.

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belong either to political parties or government agencies.”34 In his “A Brief History of Beijing’s Newspapers,” Guan Yixian explained, “Not until 1900 did newspaper agencies appear in Beijing, and all are of a small scale. And there had been a few newspaper agencies in the city by the end of 1908. Compared with Shanghai and other cities, Beijing saw magazines appear later due to political factors.” Regarding this, Guan Yixian also commented, “Whether the news industry is good or bad, advanced or backward is entirely dependent on the political quality.”35 Political factors affected northern cities such as Beijing and Tianjin and directly impacted the local areas more. In reviewing the development of newspapers and magazines in various places during the late Qing Dynasty and the republican era, some scattered materials can be used to give a brief explanation besides what has been mentioned above. Below is a brief on the situation in Hubei, Hunan, Fujian, Shanxi, and Suiyuan to showcase the growth of local newspapers and magazines. Newspapers and magazines developed pretty early in Hubei and Hunan. The article “A Brief History of the Newspapers in Changsha” pointed out, “Hunan Xinbao (Journal of Hunan Learning) and Hunan Gazette were pioneers in 1897–1898.” It also depicted the subsequent development of the newspapers in Hunan. The “List of the Newspapers in Changsha over the Past Years Since the Beginning of the Republic” cited in A Brief History of the Newspapers in Changsha introduced the newspapers and magazines published between 1912 and 1931.36 Cai Ji’ou, a scholar who came to Wuhan to take the imperial examinations, had this impression: “The news industry in Wuhan at this time can be described as in the dinosaur age: the equipment is shabby, and the newspapers were pitifully naïve.” Specifically, “Only essays, poems, and simple news are published in the newspapers while advertisements are scanty, except for market conditions and opera programs. Occasionally, there are ads from a few Western medicine pharmacies.” Not only were the conditions for producing “news” limited, but the “news” itself was mere “reproduction” from Shen Bao and Hubei Guanbao (Hubei Gazette).37

 Xiong Shaohao, “A Brief History of the Newspapers in North China over the Past Fifty Years,” in Shen Bao Office, ed., The Last Fifty Years – Shen Bao’s Commemorative Publication of the 50th Anniversary (3), p. 24.  Guan Yixian, “A Brief History of Beijing’s Newspapers,” Collected Works on Journalism, Vol. 6, Zhonghua Journalism College, 1943, pp. 279, 282.  Li Baoyi, “A Brief History of the Newspapers in Changsha,” Federation of Changsha Journalists Annually, Vols. 1–2 in bound volume, February 1933, pp. 1–25.  Qiuchong (aka Cai Ji’ou), History of Journalism in Wuhan. China-Japan Cultural Association, 1943, pp. 13–15.

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According to “The Development of the Newspaper Industry in Fujian” published in a 1904 issue of The Alarming Bell Daily, a newspaper founded in Fujian, In Fujian, “a vital territory in the south of the Qing China,” “morale was still low, and people are yet to be enlightened.” Therefore, its newspaper industry was still underdeveloped. Twenty years before, a British missionary with the Sinicized last name Fu founded the bi-daily Xiamen Bao (Xiamen News), but “it soon stopped publishing due to very little readership.” During the following years, although “newspapers have mushroomed . . . their future is uncertain as they come and go frequently.” The author also explained the reason for founding Fujian Riri Xinwen (Fujian Daily News) and wished it would be long-lasting: “Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian with government offices and educational institutions everywhere and gentries and business people in great numbers. How strange it would be if there were not a single newspaper to facilitate the communication among them!”38 After a short introduction to Fujian comes a brief look at Shanxi in North China. Zhang Xieyou summed it up like this: “Shanxi’s journalism started at the end of the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty (1871–1908) when local people witnessed the government’s corruption and harbored revolutionary ideas. Eventually, they founded Jin Xuebao (Journal of Shanxi Learning) in 1906, the 32nd year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign of the Qing Dynasty, with raised funds to advocate revolution. It was the beginning of journalism in Shanxi . . . . Then, the Republic of China was founded with the rise of civil rights consciousness. Journalism flourished with periodicals established one after another . . . Among them, newspapers alone amounted to over 30. Unfortunately, they came fast and went fast with only three or four being relatively long-lasting.” The uniqueness of Zhang Xieyou’s description lies in his outlining the establishment of the “local news” mechanism, which mere numbers cannot explain.39 Finally, it is time to take a look at the situation in Suiyuan, which is less visible in various statistics. Journalism Quarterly carried an article that explained that “as a remote frontier area that is culturally backward,” Suiyuan’s newspaper industry lagged far behind that of other parts of the country: “There were no periodicals here before the republican era,” and “the first newspaper did not appear until the year after the founding of the Republic.” Guisui Ribao (Guisui Daily), the

 “The Development of the Newspaper Industry in Fujian,” The Alarming Bell Daily, December 30, 1904, No. 4. The investigation materials were mostly from the various newspapers and magazines published in the history of Fujian, totaling 14 kinds, most of which do not exist anymore.  Zhang Xieyou, “Journalism in Shanxi,” Decade, Shen Bao News Agency’s 10th Anniversary Special Issue, July 1934. It is based on Yang Guanghui’s Overview of the Development of Modern Chinese Newspapers and Periodicals, Xinhua Press, 1986, pp. 441–444.

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first periodical in Suiyuan, was introduced by someone outside the territory, “Zhou Songyao by name.” He founded the litho-printed newspaper in the second year of the Republic. “Later, Wang Dingqi, a Suiyuan local and congressman of the Republic, joined Tongmenghui of China (Chinese United League) and bought a typographic printer with the league’s funds, but each issue of the newspaper was only a single page. Still, it was the first typographic printer introduced into Suiyuan.”40 In this sense, journalism came to Suiyuan pretty late, and it was much less developed than in the big coastal cities. There is a severe imbalance in the ideological map of newspapers, and it is fair to say that there existed “multiple worlds of journalism.” Journalism Quarterly, founded in 1934, was dedicated to revealing the general development of journalism in various places. It also drew many ideological maps, including the “Percentage of Periodical Publishing Locations across the Country,” the “Statistical Table of Periodicals Nationwide,” the “Statistical Chart of the Periodicals Nationwide by Category,”41 and later the “Statistical Table of the Number of News Agencies in Various Provinces of the Country” and the “Statistical Table of the Number of Newspaper Publishers in Various Provinces of the Country.”42 Those “statistical tables” can be visual illustrations of the ideological maps created by the newspapers and magazines in modern China. Journalism Quarterly also put forward quite a few ideas about promoting local newspapers. Ma Yuanfang proposed in his “My Suggestion on the Improvement of Local Newspapers” that the development of newspapers depended on the following conditions: 1) the government must be honest and enlightened enough to allow freedom of speech; 2) education must be widespread enough so that everyone needs to read newspapers; 3) business must be prosperous enough to increase advertisement income; and 4) transportation must be convenient enough to facilitate the transmission of news. Judging by these conditions, we can see that “it is already difficult to keep a newspaper going, and it is even more challenging for a local newspaper to survive.”43 Subsequently, the journal published an article explaining the importance of developing frontier journalism, proposing that journalists, in  Yang Lingde, “The Evolution and Current Situation of Journalism in Various Regions of Suiyuan,” Journalism Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 2, January 1, 1935, p. 95.  “Percentage of Periodical Publishing Locations across the Country,” “Statistical Table of Periodicals Nationwide,” and “Statistical Chart of the Periodicals Nationwide by Category,” Journalism Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 2, January 1, 1935, p. 1.  “Statistical Table of the Number of News Agencies in Various Provinces of the Country” and “Statistical Table of the Number of Newspaper Publishers in Various Provinces of the Country,” Journalism Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 4, August 15, 1935, p. 1.  Ma Yuanfang, “Suggestions for Improving Local Newspapers,” Journalism Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1, October 10, 1934, pp. 37–39.

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particular, should “have a fearless spirit and ‘go to the frontier’ and be a pioneer in the country’s development.”44 Under the circumstances of a national crisis, such a proposition had attracted nationwide attention. Someone suggested, “Today, when the national crisis is deepening, we must work for the national liberation, and for that purpose, it is necessary to integrate the news industry in all parts of our country . . . Only if all the news agencies form a systematic reform process can journalism be effective.”45 The above-mentioned descriptions of local journalism have a “tone of complaint.” Since the standpoints and perspectives of those who recalled the past are drastically different, the continuing historical memory may not be an appropriate resource for constructing an ideological map. This author certainly has no intention to ignore the differences between the publishing and circulation of periodicals. Because newspapers could not be published in a specific place, it does not mean that the people therein could not access them. After all, major newspapers were keen to expand distribution channels everywhere. The so-called “ideological map” is also jointly created by publishing and distributing periodicals. In any case, local journalism was an indispensable part of presenting the ideological map of modern China with newspapers and magazines. Its growth also corresponded to the two essential poles. At one end was the embodiment of the effectiveness of “national power building,” i.e., the penetration of the “center” from the “periphery,” and simultaneously. At the other end was its function as a mirror reflecting the special features of various local areas. Therefore, it is imperative to view “localism” appropriately and place it in the position it deserves.46 By revealing the transformation of the modern newspaper industry in the decade since 1928, Zhao Junhao also pointed out, “The development of local newspapers is inseparable from the National Government’s implementation of its initiative to ‘build national power.’”47 One point is worth pondering: while newspapers and magazines’ ability to cover the “center” and the “periphery” of the Chinese society is an indicator of  Qi Yun, “Opinions on the Development of Frontier Journalism,” Journalism Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 2, January 1, 1935, p. 91. Jun Liang’s “Development of Frontier and Inland Journalism Education,” pp. 92–93.  Chen Qiancun, “Cooperation in Journalism between the Frontiers and Cities,” Journalism Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1, October 10, 1934, pp. 79–80.  Clifford Geertz stressed that the so-called “localization” “refers not only to various issues related to places, time, and classes but also to sentiments—things happening through their own local characteristics and are linked to the local people’s ability to imagine things.” See Clifford Geertz, Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretive Anthropology, Wang Hailong and Zhang Jiayi, trans., Central Compilation & Translation Press, 2004, p. 273.  Zhao Junhao, Newspaper Industry in Modern China, pp. 93–94, 98.

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the level of social development, whether the relevant data can be presented comprehensively is also a manifestation of the government’s social control. After its establishment, the Nanjing Nationalist Government undoubtedly strengthened its control over society, and its administration of newspapers was significantly more effective than in the past. However, Shen Bao Yearbook and other materials show that the effectiveness was far from satisfactory. Moreover, while the ideological map created by periodicals, newspapers and magazines published in various places is an essential topic to explore, equally important is distribution. Whether the newspapers and magazines published in the central cities could be accessible in the frontier areas also deserves attention. The data is inadequately documented in government statistics. It is necessary to restore it with the information obtained from various book publishers and newspaper agencies (see later description for details).

“National Power Building” and “Social Mobilization” Although it is difficult to quantify the specific development of newspapers and magazines during the republican era, it is still possible to delineate its rhythm and structural change according to the history of modern China. Ge Gongzhen roughly outlined the development of China’s publishing industry in the early republican era with a timeline and a depiction of the purposes. He said, “In terms of the former, it can be divided into the pre- and post-European war periods. In terms of the latter, it can be divided into three primary categories: academic and political debates, reforming literary thought, and social criticism.”48 The “period” and “nature” mentioned here precisely manifest the rhythm and structure of the ideological map. A brief explanation may help make sense of how the ideological map evolved The only reason is that, apart from time and space, “national power building” and “social mobilization” also affect the ideological map, which was also a concrete manifestation of Chinese society’s reorganization. The truth is that journalism that developed in the late Qing Dynasty was motivated by political enthusiasm. The motivation behind the late-Qing scholars’ enthusiasm for journalism lay in their desire for group affiliation. It was true with the birth of the new publications during the early republican era. In other words, the rhythm of newspaper publishing was often associated with political changes. During major political upheavals, journalism would reach its climax, and scholars would be apt to cherish the consciousness:

 Ge Gongzhen, The History of Chinese Newspapers, p. 185.

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“If I did not take the lead, what would my fellow countrymen do?” Periodicals founded under this circumstance fall into the following categories. One category includes the various periodicals established in conjunction with “national power building.” Newspapers and magazines of this category roughly fall into the following subcategories. The first one consists of the widely published official newspapers of all levels of the new regime to replace the Qing court’s official newspapers. Their names usually were changed from something “official” to something “public.” The most representative is Zhengfu Gongbao (Official Bulletin), initiated by the Beiyang Government on December 26, 1911. Originally called Provisional Bulletin, it used this name instead till its suspension in June 1928. Other government departments and agencies published many bulletins as well: “Ministries have ministerial bulletins, provinces have provincial bulletins, and every government institution in each province has its bulletin, such as the two houses of the congress.”49 According to a survey, 113 kinds of bulletins were published between 1899 and 1919, of which 49 were published before the 1911 Revolution, and 64 after it.50 The second subcategory was composed of the many educational periodicals published for the student movements since the late Qing Dynasty. They numbered 118 before 1911 and 97 between 1912 and 1919.51 The third subcategory comprised the many periodicals affiliated with political parties. According to Zhang Yufa’s survey, there were 312 political parties and societies in the early republican era, and publishing newspapers and magazines was a common means of publicity.52 The above-mentioned periodicals all emerged in correspondence to the political situation in the early republican era. They are all essential references for understanding the ideological map created by newspapers and magazines in that period. This author will dwell upon the specific circumstances in the next chapter of this book, discussing political forces’ use of the press. It is not difficult to see the

 Ge Gongzhen, The History of Chinese Newspapers, p. 59.  Chen Xinduan and Shi Fuyang, “Introduction to Modern Bulletin Periodicals,” in Ding Shouhe ed., Introduction to the Periodicals during the 1911 Revolution, Vol. 5, People’s Press, pp. 579–602. It should be noted we can distinguish the number of the periodicals published in the late Qing Dynasty or the early Republic of China by reading the time of their founding. But since periodicals published in the Qing Dynasty could continue into the Republic era, the above figures do not refer to the number of the periodicals published in the early Republic era. See Qingmo Guanbao Huibian (Reprint Collection of Late Qing Government Gazettes) (80 Volumes), China National Microfilming Center for Library Resources, 2006.  Zhang Xiaoping, Chen Xinduan, and Shi Fuyang, “Brief Introduction to the Educational Periodicals During the 1911 Revolution,” in Ding Shouhe, ed., Introduction to the Periodicals during the 1911 Revolution, Vol. 5, pp. 547–578.  Zhang Yufa, Political Parts in the Early Republic of China, Yuelu Publishing House, 2004, pp. 35, 178, 203.

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influence stemming from the above factors when examining local journalism’s development trajectory. Different provinces, though starting in different periods, generally followed similar courses. There were so many “public” and “official” bulletins: periodicals that carried the news from the government agencies were published first. When summing up the growth of newspapers in Shaanxi, Song Qiyun explained, “The progress of journalism has been particularly slow in Shaanxi though it started no later than in any other province. The backwardness of the province’s transportation, politics, and economy is to blame. We had Qinzhong Guanbao (Official Bulletin of Central Shaanxi) to disseminate official news as early as the mid-Guangxu years. Though circulating among officials only, it was the start of Shaanxi’s journalism anyway.”53 Wu Jingxian’s summary of journalism in Anhui was also revealing, “Anhui Xuewu Zazhi (Journal of Anhui Education) printed by the Anhui Education Office in 1908 should be the first publication to have the term zazhi (magazine or journal) in its name.”54 The second category of periodicals were those published for the various jie for the purpose of social mobilization. It is also an indispensable link in presenting the ideological map of the early republican era of China. The various jie in the periodicals published in the early twentieth century indicated Chinese society’s reorganization and symbolized social mobilization. In the real world, many periodicals addressed a certain jie in their titles directly. The behavior was an attempt to convey the demands of a particular social stratum and cater to a specific group of readers. If this phenomenon was first seen in the late Qing Dynasty, it became more prominent in the Republic era, when the various periodicals reflected the importance attached to each jie. Since its establishment in 1897, the Commercial Press had published some periodicals, targeting audiences of diverse social strata, genders, age groups, and occupations, obviously aiming to win the readership associated with various jie.55 Zhonghua Book Company, founded on January 1, 1912, published eight significant magazines, namely, Da Zhonghua (The Great Chung Hwa Magazine), Zhonghua Jiaoyu Jie (Chinese Educational World), Zhonghua Shiye Jie (Chung Hua Industrial Magazine), Zhonghua Xuesheng Jie (The Chinese Students), Zhonghua Funü Jie (Chung Hua Women’s Magazine), Zhonghua Tongzi Jie (Chung Hua Children’s Magazine), Zhonghua Xiaoshuo Jie (World of Chinese Fiction), and Zhonghua Ertong Huabao (New China Pictorial). The lineup obviously

 Song Qiyun, “Review of the Newspapers in Shaanxi,” Decade, Shen Bao Wire Service’s 10th Anniversary Special Issue, July, 1934. It is based on Yang Guanghui’s Overview of the Development of Modern Chinese Newspapers and Periodicals, pp. 562–563.  Wu Jingxian, “Newspapers and Magazines in Anhui,” Xuefeng (Scholarly Style), Vol. 5, No. 2, March 1, 1935, pp. 1–7.  Brief History of Commercial Press, The Commercial Press, 1929, p. 32.

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highlighted the emphasis on the jie. It not only took into account the different “circles” or “worlds” but also based itself on social stratification based on gender and age. Periodicals for women and students are particularly noteworthy. Nü Xuebao (Women’s Journal), founded on July 24, 1898, was a pioneer of women’s journals. In “The Origin of Women’s Journal in Shanghai,” Pan Xuan explained that the journal “killed three birds with one stone: a women’s school, a women’s society, and a women’s journal . . . They are akin to a fruit tree, where the women’s society is the root, the women’s school the fruit, and the Women’s Journal the leaves and flowers.”56 The statement was highly consistent with the hypothesis of group affiliation discussed earlier, only that it was more explicitly targeted at women, planning to rally them. Women’s Journal lifted the curtain on women’s periodicals in the late Qing Dynasty. However, it is a moot point to distinguish women’s periodicals. Distinguishing them by editors, authors, content, or demands would be problematic.57 Quantitative estimates are apt to give rise to ambiguity. Roughly speaking, nearly 30 women’s periodicals were published in the late Qing Dynasty. The Republic era saw the publication of about 150. Initially, they were mainly concentrated in big cities. According to available statistics, between 1898 and 1918, there were as many as 26 kinds of women’s periodicals published in Shanghai. Over half were published in the early years of the Republic period.58 Mobilization of women accounted for this trend. In her “Introduction” to the first issue of Women’s Journal, Qiu Jin pointed out, “Founding women’s newspapers is the only stratagem to unite the 200 million Chinese in one and have the voice of women of all time across the country heard.”59 Interestingly, just as the voice of breaking the provincial division had invited dissents in the Republic era, the call to mobilize women in the same period also became controversial, proving that such newspapers were popular. Kang Baiqing suggested “breaking down barriers against women,” pointing out

 Pan Xuan, “The Origin of Women’s Journal in Shanghai,” Women’s Journal, No. 1, July 24, 1898.  For information about the emergence of women’s issues in the late Qing Dynasty and the founding of women’s periodicals, see Joan Judge, The Precious Raft of History: The Past, the West, and the Woman Question in China, Stanford University Press, 2008.  Shi He, Yao Fushen, et al, ed., Zhongguo Jindai Baokan Minglu (A Catalog of Modern China’s Periodicals), 1991; Shanghai Women’s Chronicle, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press, 2000, p. 491. There are also collections of periodicals on this subject, for which, see A Compilation of Chinese Modern Women’s Periodicals (1, 2, 3), published successively by Thread Binding Book Company, 2006, totaling 305 volumes that include 110 kinds of women’s periodicals.  Qiu Jin, “Forward,” Women’s Journal, No. 1, January 14, 1907, p. 3.

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that breaking through the social barrier must start from breaking through the “barrier against women.”60 Next came the periodicals geared toward students. There were quite a few in the late Qing Dynasty. The power of mobilization displayed by the students in the Republic era was so impressive that some researchers even summed it up as “from student movements to movement students.”61 The Commercial Press and Zhonghua Book Company founded magazines with “student” or “students” in their titles to cater to the trend. Xuesheng Zazhi (Student Magazine) that the Commercial Press inaugurated on July 20, 1914, claimed, “We believe that the students in the future will definitely shape the cultural relationship of society.” Therefore, they “sincerely wish the student society could progress without boundary to carry forward the glory of the country.”62 The suggestion of a “student society” reflected the stratification of society and the pioneering revolutionaries’ high expectations for the students: “The students today are products of the times, and they will, in turn, create the trend of the times.”63 They emphasized, “At a time of turbulence,” “as we feel our responsibilities weighing more on our shoulders, we have more ardent expectations for the students.”64 The Chinese Students founded by Zhonghua Book Company in 1915 also emphasized the unique responsibilities that the country and society placed on the students: “If everyone refuses to suppress their instinct but exerts themselves each in their own way, then a weak country will grow stronger, and the flawed society will become better. This responsibility rests only on the educated students today.”65 The third category of periodicals was religious, which also took on a new look and became one of the indispensable links in presenting the Republic era’s ideological map. Protestantism’s role in giving rise to Chinese periodicals is selfexplanatory, and the church itself also regarded the task as the focus of its efforts. The China Mission Yearbook stated in an article it published in 1918, “In the past few years, book and periodical publishers in the churches in China have gradually

 Kang Baiqing, “Breaking the Barriers against Women”, The Journal of Young China Association, Vol. 1 No. 4, October 15, 1919, p. 47.  Lü Fangshang, From Student Movements to Movement Students: From the 8th to the 18th Year of the Republic of China, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, 1994.  Wo Yi, “Students Monthly,” Students Magazine, Vol. 1, July 20, 1914, pp. 1–3.  Li Sheng, “Students’ Out-spoken Friends,” Student Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, July 20, 1914, pp. 3–6.  Jun Yan, “Students’ Responsibilities,” Student Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, August 20, 1914, pp. 17–20.  Shen Enfu, “Cultivating Students,” The Chinese Students, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 25, 1915, p. 1.

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established themselves in various places, especially in Shanghai, which performed far better than the provinces.”66 According to its survey, 40 out of the 76 Chinese periodicals publicly issued before 1890 were religious. By the Republic era, “the growth rate of non-church book company publications was much faster than that of church book publishers,” but by 1921, there were still 107 kinds of Christian periodicals.67 The Religious Periodicals Press in China prepared statistics on Catholic and Protestant newspapers and magazines separately: there were 22 Catholic periodicals by 1918 and 152 by 1939, while there had been 15 Protestant newspapers by 1890, 13 by 1907, 57 by 1921, 211 by 1933, and 258 by 1938.68 Other religious groups also published newspapers and magazines. Buddhism is particularly worth mentioning.69 Foxue Congkan (Buddhist View of the Republic of China) lifted the curtain on Buddhist periodicals. Among them, Haichaoyin (The Voice of Sea Waves), a monthly founded by Taixu, a Buddhist modernist and activist, lasted the longest. It was a novelty for Buddhist institutions, which were supposed to transcend the mundane world, to publish periodicals. The earliest Buddhist publication, Buddhist View of the Republic of China, illustrated the impact of new media. Buddhist periodicals were characterized by “simple but meaningful and well-organized” texts. Secondly, they used articles written by “people at home and abroad with a common goal, whom we humbly invite and welcome to submit their manuscripts.” Thirdly, they paid attention to readers’ feedback, stating, “Our agency will try its best to respond to all readers modest enough to ask us questions about Buddhism.”70 The Voice of Sea Waves, established in Hangzhou in 1920, explained frankly the critical points of the publication based on the mundane world and society. It also used the  David Willard Lyon, “Chinese Christian Educational Association,” in China Continuation Committee, ed., The China Mission Yearbook, No. 5, SDCK Book Company, 1918, p. 162.  China Continuation Committee, The Christian Occupation of China (1901–1920), Institute of Research on World Religions at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 1985, p. 98.  Rudolf Löwenthal, The Religious Periodical Press in China, pp. 6–8, 79–82.  The number of Buddhist periodicals was already considerable in the whole period of the Republic of China. The Minguo Faojiao Qikan Wenxian Jicheng (Catalog Database of Republican Era Buddhist Journals, CDREBJ for short) has collected 148 kinds of periodicals and compiled them into 209 volumes including 5 volumes of indexes. Its aggregate amount is equivalent to the total collection of Tibetan scriptures in all dynasties. Among the 148 kinds of periodicals, 17 have anonymous authors or compilers and 29 are the only copies existent. See Huang Xianian ed. CDREBJ, China National Microfilming Center for Library Resources, 2006. After that, 83 kinds of previously undiscovered periodicals have been added to CDREBJ and 20 kinds already included in it but incomplete have been completed. They are compiled into 86 volumes (including the index volume). See Supplement to CDREBJ, China Bookstore Press, 2008. The two catalogs have a total collection of 233 Buddhist periodicals in the Republic era. Of them, 154 kinds are complete.  “Introduction,” Buddhism Miscellany, No. 1, September 1, 1912, pp. 3–5.

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key points as its mission: “To carry forward the true meaning of Mahayana Buddhism and guide people to think righteously in modern times.”71 Even national Buddhist institutions paid attention to the role of periodicals in their formation. After its founding, the Republic of China actively planned to set up a national Buddhist organization to revive Buddhism. Setting up a newspaper office and publishing a newspaper were listed as a primary part of formulating the charter of the Buddhist organization. The Buddhist Association of the Republic of China, established in the first year of the Republic, was China’s first unified Buddhist institution, whose constitution declared its proposition of “setting up a newspaper agency.”72 The Draft Constitution of the Buddhist Association of China published in 1936 also showed that the organization attached great importance to publishing a periodical and was committed to “producing and publishing various periodicals and visual and audio materials related to Buddhism.”73 Modern Chinese Buddhism came to be associated with publishing during its growth and dedicated itself to the publishing and circulation of books and periodicals. Jiang Qiaowei noticed that Buddhist organizations in various provinces published dozens of periodicals, including yearly, quarterly, and monthly.74 Shanghai Buddhist Book Company was set up in 1929. It became a national supply center of Buddhist books and periodicals, roughly achieving the goal of “trying our best to collect and display all the Buddhist scriptures, books, and periodicals nationwide so that those who are interested in Buddhism don’t have to take the trouble of traveling far to purchase them.”75 Foxue Banyue Kan (Buddhism Semi-Monthly), founded by Shanghai Buddhist Book Company in October 1930, also consciously promoted itself, as is evident in a promotion plan: Two years have passed since its publishing. The number of gift copies and subscriptions has reached nearly 10,000. Therefore, it has become the most widely circulated Buddhist publication in China. However, in our agency, we realize that China is so large with so many people that such a small number is not enough to meet the entire country’s needs. We now

 “The Announcement of the Voice of Sea Waves Monthly Appearing in the World,” Voice of Sea Waves Monthly, No. 1, March 10, 1920, pp. 1–2.  “Constitution of Buddhist Association of Republic of China,” Buddhism Miscellany, No. 1, September 1, 1912, p. 2.  “Constitution of Buddhist Association of Republic of China (Draft),” Buddhism Semimonthly, No. 132, August 1, 1936, pp. 13–15.  Jiang Weiqiao, “Ten Years of Chinese Buddhism,” Kwang Hua University Semimonthly, Vol. 3, joint issue of 9–10, June 3, 1935, p. 142.  “Overview of Shanghai Buddhist Book Company,” Buddhism Semimonthly, No. 40, October 1932, pp. 214–215.

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make another wish to promote our plan further so that most of the young compatriots will have the opportunity to read this publication.76

The above is the structural features of the ideological map created by newspapers and magazines in modern China. They not only constitute a significant sign of modern China’s reorganization, but also demonstrate a specific way in which newspapers and magazines impacted society. Of course, the structure displayed by the ideological map is by no means fixed. Instead, it corresponded to social changes. The ideological map changes that happened under the influence of wars deserve an additional explanation. The characteristics of the ideological map may be better understood based on this cognition.

The Ideological Map against the Background of a National Crisis The impact of politics on periodicals has been discussed previously, without which it may be challenging to make sense of the map. The founding of the Republic of China happened at a unique juncture. The national crisis caused by the September 18 Incident gave rise to many political periodicals. An article summarizing the “periodical circles” at the time stated, “Weekly magazines Such as Shidai Gonglun (Public Opinion of the Times), Duli Pinglun (Independent Review), Biance (Spur), Zaisheng (Born Again), and many others all castigated the government vehemently and tried to boost Chinese people’s morale. It has a period of heated words on the media since the Kuomintang took power.”77 Scholars’ participation in and talking about politics reached a climax after the War of Resistance against Japanese aggression, which resulted in the founding of many more periodicals. As politics acted on journalism, publishing developed rhythmically, leading to the change in the structure of the ideological map. That means that the national crisis transformed the fundamental pattern of periodical publishing. The war shocked the nation and destroyed the cultural and education undertakings that China had worked on so hard for over many years. China’s education developed unevenly after the founding of the Republic, with major higher education institutions concentrated in such major cities as Beijing and Shanghai. Some provinces had no college or university at all. Periodicals were also concentrated in the big coastal cities. Unfortunately, these cities, home to many schools and cultural facilities, bore the brunt of the war that the

 The Publishing Department of the Shanghai Buddhist Book Company, “Promotional Plan for Buddhism Semimonthly,” Buddhism Semimonthly, No. 41, November 1932, p. 219.  Bi Shutang, “China’s Magazine Circles,” Independent Review, No. 64, August 20, 1933, pp. 9–14.

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Japanese aggressors brought on and suffered the most.78 The situation unfolded an incredibly tragic scene, i.e. the great migration of educational and cultural institutions: “This kind of academic and cultural catastrophe has been unprecedented in China and the world.”79 Someone observed at the time, “Over ninetenths of high-level intellectuals, more than five-tenths of middle-level ones, and some three-tenths of lower-level ones moved westward.” The reason was that “except for a small number of colleges and universities that were merged or closed or stayed put, almost all of them moved westward. So did all academic and cultural research institutes.”80 What about newspaper distribution? Wang Xinchang’s “War of Resistance and Journalism,” published in 1937, raised the following question: “How will journalism during the full-scale war against Japanese aggression accomplish its mission in the war?” The author clearly stated, “To create public opinions in which the War of Resistance is above everything else, journalists representing the interests of various factions must first put their faction interests aside and support the war unconditionally.” Simultaneously, he made it clear that when “striving to popularize newspapers,” “it is alright for them to represent one specific party by fractionalizing and detach themselves from the public. But during the war against Japanese aggression, they must go among the different strata of society.”81 In his Domestic Cultural Circles in the Past Two Years, Wang Yun illustrated the changes in the distribution of newspapers and periodicals after the war broke out. He pointed out, “Modern cultural undertakings were concentrated in the economically developed trading ports and politically centered big cities. The undertakings took the forms of daily newspapers, magazines, and research institutes.” But as the war progressed, cultural centers moved from central cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing to inland cities, first Wuhan and then further westward as Wuhan faced an imminent crisis.82

 Lü Fangshang, “The Migration Movement during the Anti-Japanese War—A discussion on population, cultural and educational undertakings and the migration of factories to the inland,” in Hu Chunhui ed., Proceedings of the Symposium Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Institute of Asian Studies at Chu Hai College of Higher Education, 1996, p. 26.  “Summary of Resolutions of the Third National Education Conference” (3), Educational Newsletter, Vol. 2 (37), September 23, 1939, p. 12.  Sun Benwen, Social Problems in Modern China, Book II, The Commercial Press, 1946, p. 261.  Wang Xinchang, War of Resistance and Journalism (War of Resistance small series), The Commercial Press, 1937, pp. 1–2.  Wang Yun, The Domestic Cultural Circles in the Past Two Years, Three People’s Weekly Publishing House, no publishing date, pp. 1, 6–8.

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China’s Newspaper Industry during the War also reveals part of the industry’s development during the War of Resistance against Japanese aggression. The book lists the “Newspaper Publishers and News Agencies in All Provinces and Cities Nationwide,” indicating that “the figures in the table are limited to those who support the War of Resistance and country building,” details of which are shown in Table 3.3. Table 3.3: Newspaper publishers and news agencies in all provinces and cities nationwide. Province/City Chongqing City Jiangsu Province Zhejiang Province Anhui Province Jiangxi Province Hubei Province Hunan Province Sichuan Province Yunnan Province Guizhou Province Guangdong Province Guangxi Province Fujian Province Hebei Province Shandong Province Henan Province Shanxi Province Shaanxi Province Gansu Province Ningxia Province Qinghai Province Suiyuan Province Xikang Province Xinjiang Province Total

Newspaper Office

News Agency

                        

                 

 

Source: Cheng Qiheng and Ma Xingye ed., China’s Newspaper Industry during the War, Guilin: Mingzhen Publishing House, 1944, pp. 171–172. The original total was incorrect. The current figures have resulted from the author’s calculation.

Shen Bao Yearbook published in 1944 provides more data. Of course, published in this special period of time, its stance can well be imagined, and terms like “Greater East Asia War” and “zone of peace” bore the brands of the time. According to the yearbook, by 1940, the newspapers in the “zones of peace” amounted to 102 in total,

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including 27 in North China, 68 in Central China, and seven in South China. By 1943, “although there had been increase and decrease, the total number had still been more than a hundred.” The “Overview of the Magazine Business in Recent Years” that appeared in the yearbook also pointed out, “When the September 18 Incident broke out, the prosperous magazine business in our country ground to stagnation.”83 Magazines discontinued as a result of the war, details of which are shown in Table 3.4. Table 3.4: Discontinued magazines. Country China US UK Soviet Union Germany International Total

Discontinued by Order

Discontinued of Own Accord

      

     

Source: Shen Bao Yearbook, Shen Bao Yearbook Press, 1944, pp.1006–1007.

It is not surprising that the national calamity changed the ideological map created by periodicals. Jiang Menglin said in his memories that after the September 18 Incident, with the Kuomintang authority’s southward migration, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai University were the major competitive cultural powers in the Beijing-Tianjin area. The three universities finally moved south to Kunming, further showing that Chinese scholars knew that there was no hope of spiritual freedom under the bayonet of the invaders. They overcame the hardships of migration and went to the rear, continuing to plan for the future.84 The change in the ideological map resulted from the scholars’ efforts. It also illustrates that periodicals have been an essential part of China’s political life from the moment of their birth. It was proved by the fact that the publishing of periodicals reached another climax when the war ended. Take Shanghai for example. The Shanghai Yearbook (1947), based on a survey conducted by the Social Bureau, revealed, “With the start of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the major newspapers suspended themselves of their own accord and relocated to the inland. After the victory, they returned to Shanghai and resumed publishing.” It emphasized that the total number of periodicals

 Shen Bao Yearbook, Shen Bao Yearbook Press, 1944, pp. 995, 1006–1009.  Jiang Menglin, Xichao (Tides from the West), Yeqiang Publishing House, 1991, p. 222.

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published in Shanghai in 1946 was about 420, “more than in any previous year.” The yearbook also described the book industry, which “also progressed with each passing day.” The number of publishers soon increased to 70: “After the victory, dozens of publishing houses moved back to Shanghai from the inland. Working hard along with the original publishers in Shanghai, they published several thousand monographs with a sales volume of 500,000 copies.”85 The situation in other cities was similar, which was again a testimony to the effect of the war. Since newspapers and magazines differed greatly in their initial year of publishing, range of distribution, and number of copies circulated, it was challenging to establish a balance of information between different newspapers and it is undoubtedly difficult to present the entire picture in one way or another. However, the above analysis still provides a basic understanding of the ideological map created by newspapers and magazines during the Republic era. This ideological map may not have reflected the geographical distribution of the periodicals, but it was by no means limited to a few metropolises or coastal cities after all. Nor was it refined to a few social strata. Correspondingly, examining the ideological map created by newspapers and magazines during the Republic era provides a rough understanding of what factors dominated the rise of newspapers and magazines and what trend in the intelligentsia their development presented. Such an ideological map is meaningful in its right and shows that publications in the Republic era were different from those in the late Qing Dynasty. The fundamental difference was that, compared with that of the late Qing Dynasty, the ideological map of the Republic era had something to do with this, and publications impacted society and individuals in changed ways.

III The Hidden Intelligentsia As a neologism in the Chinese language, “intelligentsia” appeared in the academic discourse in the early twentieth century. However, it was not clearly defined and there was no distinction between what it referred to in the past and what it meant now, giving the impression that the “intelligentsia” had long existed in China. This indicates that there was no clear understanding of the term. About a decade later, however, the intelligentsia seemed to have become common sense and needed not to be discussed. Such a change was revealing. Quite a few scholars tend to believe that the intellectual change that came to pass in the mid-1890s to the 1900s should be regarded as a more significant watershed than the May

 Zhou Yuhong, Shanghai Yearbook (1947), East China News Agency, 1947, pp. 17–22.

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Fourth Movement.86 Linking the late Qing Dynasty with the May Fourth Movement means more than a claim that “there would have been no May Fourth Movement without the late Qing Dynasty.”87 Linking the two periods enables understanding of the problems of modern China in an extended time frame (though it cannot be regarded as “long-term” yet). The “intelligentsia” is a topic for prolonged discussion. In particular, scholars were evaluated in the context of an “intelligentsia,” for example, with Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Zhang Taiyan, and those of the May Fourth period. It also means that the “intelligentsia” as a “field” or “stage” has reinforced its position and significance.

The Intelligentsia as a Realm to Evaluate People People always pay more attention to those events in history that can name an era, such as the May Fourth Movement. As a significant juncture in the history of Chinese culture, it has had lasting influence far and wide. However, the academia of the May Fourth period, known for a pursuit of the new, had not only “new people.” As Yu Ying-shih revealed, people like Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Zhang Taiyan, and Yan Fu were still alive and active. Traditional Confucianism was still the mainstream of the academia. The Old Text Confucianism school headed by Zhang Taiyan and Liu Shipei and the New Text Confucianism led by Kang Youwei and Liao Ping “stood as two opposing peaks, and their thoughts flew like two great rivers.” In addition, Wang Guowei, who opened up new academic frontiers with sophisticated thinking methods and novel academic viewpoints, had also become an outstanding expert of his own right.88 Significantly, the intelligentsia had become a realm where people were judged in intellectual sense by the Republic era, and it occurred between two generations of scholars. Liang Qichao, a major representative of the intelligentsia in the late Qing Dynasty, was commended. While examining his growth, Hu Shih commented, “I have benefited from Mr. Liang infinitely.”89 After 14 years of exile in Japan, Liang Qichao returned to China in 1912. As soon as he learned about Liang’s return in a newspaper,

 Hao Chang, Liang Ch’i-ch’ao and Intellectual Transition in China, 1890–1907, p. 218.  Wang Dewei, “Introduction,” Repressed Modernity: A New Theory of Novels in the Late Qing Dynasty, Song Weijie trans., Peking University Press, 2005, pp. 1–19.  Yu Ying-shih, “Hu Shih in the History of Modern Chinese Thought—Introduction to Preliminary Chronological Biography of Mr. Liang Qichao,” Rediscovering Hu Shih’s History—Reunderstanding of Hu Shih’s Life and Thought, Guangxi Normal University Press, 2004, pp. 157–220.  Hu Shih, “Autobiography at Forty,” Collected Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 1, Yuan-Liou Publishing Company, 1986, p. 55.

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Hu Shih commended him for “his achievements of reforming our country’s intelligentsia.” Hu even pointed out, “Without Liang’s writings, we would not have achieved success so soon even with the efforts made by a hundred great men like Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing. A line of a poem written by someone of our time reads, ‘The time words began to succeed/ Is when the revolution will worldwide breed.’ It best illustrates the deserved Mr. Liang.”90 Liang Qichao also accepted the term “intelligentsia” and wished he could be part of it. Before Liang Qichao and his friends left for Europe at the end of 1918, they talked all night and agreed to give up the “political activities” they had yearned for day and night. They decided “to do what little they can in the ‘intelligentsia.’”91 Later, Hu Shih said to Liang Qichao, “The ‘Present Literature Movement’ of the late Qing Dynasty greatly influenced the intelligentsia. We all submitted ourselves to it, and someone should record it.” It became one of Liang Qichao’s motivations for writing his Intellectual Trends in the Qing Period. This work, completed in 1920, also rated thinkers’ historical significance in the context of the intelligentsia. The book defined Kang Youwei as the central figure in the Present Literature Movement, and the views he expressed in his Xinxue Weijing Kao (A Study of the Forged Classics of the Xin Period) “have kicked up one of the great hurricanes in the intelligentsia.” Liang also pointed out, “There is a great star in the late-Qing intelligentsia. He was none other than Tan Sitong,” who broke off the constraints of old ideology and therefore “was unmatched by anyone in the Qing Dynasty.” Commenting on himself, Liang Qichao said, “his destructiveness in the intelligentsia has been great indeed, and he has never been heard to be constructive.” Therefore, “he can be called the Chen She of the intelligentsia.”92 In his article “Outline of 50 Years of Chinese Evolution,” Liang Qichao divided the evolution of Chinese thought in modern times into three phases. He especially commended Kang Youwei, Zhang Binglin, and Yan Fu, who were placed in the second phase, saying that “they are all warriors of the new intelligentsia, standing in the forefront.”93 It showed that whether a thinker held a dignified position depended on having a place in the intelligentsia. Not only were the figures of the late Qing Dynasty commended in the context of the intelligentsia, but the influential thinkers of the May Fourth period were

 Hu Shih, Hu Shih’s Diaries Kept While a Student Abroad (1) in Collected Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 34, p. 111.  Liang Qichao, “Condensed Records of Travel Impressions While in Europe,” Collected Writings from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio, Vol. 7, Collection No. 23, p. 39.  Liang Qichao, “Intellectual Trends in the Qing Period,” Liang Qichao on Two Kinds of Qing’s Intellectual Histories, pp. 1, 64, 73, 74–75.  Liang Qichao, “Outline of 50 Years of Chinese Evolution,” Collected Writings from the IceDrinker’s Studio, Vol. 5, No. 39, pp. 43–45.

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also lauded over in the same way then. In Xiangjiang Pinglun (The Shian Kian Weekly Review), Mao Zedong published his article “Chen Duxiu’s Arrest and Rescue,” in which he wrote, “We regard Mr. Chen as a star in the intelligentsia.”94 Hu Shih also wrote an article to introduce Wu Yu, calling him “a veteran hero from Sichuan Province who attacks Confucianism single-handedly,” with mention of how he served as “a cleaner in the Chinese intelligentsia.”95 People also had high hopes for Hu Shih. Qian Xuantong once said to Hu encouragingly, “You may not be as vehement as the venerated Mr. Wu,” but “we all hoped that you’d become a ‘doctor of the intelligentsia’ and give some protecting or combating shots in the intelligentsia, concerning Huaguo (China) and Xueheng (The Critical Review).”96 Lu Xun was no exception because he was recognized as the “leader of the Chinese intelligentsia.”97 In contrast, sometimes, the concept of the intelligentsia could also be used to denounce opponents. Especially in the post-May Fourth Movement period, the thinkers active in the era were also inevitably criticized in the context of the intelligentsia. In the advertisement to market its first issue, People’s Journal published in Beijing stated, “We’d like to invite the authority of the Chinese intelligentsia, Lu Xun” and other scholars “to contribute to our supplement at any time.” Later, some people used this to ridicule Lu Xun. To defend himself, he then published his “Revelation of Lu Xun, the So-called ‘Pioneer of the Intelligentsia’” in several newspapers and magazines.98 Obviously directing at what Hu Shih said in Independent Review, Zou Taofen also pointed out scathingly that the recent “high-sounding empty talk” of Hu Shih “makes us but feel that the thought of this eminent authority of the ‘intelligentsia’ is bizarre beyond comprehension!”99 The examples show that the intelligentsia had become part of the discourse by the Republic period.

 Mao Zedong, “Chen Duxiu’s Arrest and Rescue,” The Shian Kian Weekly Review, No. 1, July 14, 1919, p. 6.  Hu Shih, “Introduction to Wu Yu’s Collected Essays,” The Republican Daily News, the “Consciousness” Supplement, June 24, 1921, pp. 2–3.  Qian Xuantong, “To Hu Shih,” May 10, 1925, in Geng Zhiyun ed., Hu Shih’s Posthumous Manuscripts and Secret Collection of Letters, Vol. 40, Huangshan Book Company, 1994, pp. 351–356.  R. M. Bartlett, Lu Xun, New China’s Ideological Leader, Shi Fu, trans., originally published in Current History, October, 1927. Translation published in Dangdai Bimonthly, Vol. 1, No. 1. See Li Helin, ed. On Lu Xun, John Day Book Company, 1930, pp. 145–148.  “Revelation of Lu Xun, the So-called ‘Pioneer of the Intelligentsia’”, Yusi (Thread of Words), No. 108, February 4, 1926, p. 24. Also in Mangyuan (Wilderness), No. 23, December 10, 1926, pp. 963–964.  Taofen, “I’ve Heard Dr. Hu’s Harangue,” Life Magazine, Vol. 8, No. 25, June 24, 1933, p. 1.

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The Intelligentsia Expounded by Xin Qingnian (La Jeunesse, or New Youth) Did the general perception of the intelligentsia change from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period? It is a question that can only be answered through text analysis. To understand the so-called “intelligentsia” at that time, New Youth is a good starting point. It may be challenging to cover all the explanations of the idea given during the May Fourth period, but such efforts can still shed light on some issues. In his article published in the first issue of New Youth, known then as Youth Magazine, Peng Dezun praised Andrew Carnegie, “He is not only a business hero, but also a benefactor of the academia. He is a great man of the intelligentsia.”100 Hu Shih once said, “There is a benefit in learning the history of Western philosophy: it can save us from the ‘slavish logic’ of today’s Chinese intelligentsia speech circles.”101 Li Dazhao recognized the value of historical materialism and affirmed its “considerable influence on the academia and intelligentsia.”102 New Youth’s exposition of the concept of the intelligentsia epitomized its understanding during the New Culture Movement. This understanding could be traced back to the late Qing Dynasty: there is no distinction between ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, in their expressed concept. The same was true for other publications. In his article published in Xinchao (The Renaissance), Luo Jialun also expounded the “intelligentsia” in the context of history and the present, maintaining that “there are only two periods of great changes in the Chinese intelligentsia: the ‘Warring States’ and the ‘present.’”103 In addition, the “intelligentsia” were often mentioned side by side with the “circles” of academia, speech, intellectuals, and education. It showed that the connotation of “intelligentsia” became gradually clear. Especially at a juncture when the academia, intellectuals, and education “circles” emerged, with the establishment of the higher education system, scholars from universities became the pillars of the “intelligentsia” by and by. Besides, the popularity of the term “youth circles” also meant that the struggle between the old and young generations was getting intense. As mentioned earlier, Liang Qichao’s elaboration on the “young China” in the early twentieth century

 Peng Dezun, “A Successful Hard Worker: Andrew Carnegie’s Biography,” Youth Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, September 15, 1915, p. 9.  Hu Shih, “Miscellaneous Notes of My Trip to the Capital,” New Youth, Vol. 4, No. 3, March 15, 1918, p. 252.  Li Dazhao, “My Marxist Viewpoint” (1), New Youth, Vol. 6, No. 5, May 1919, p. 534.  Luo Jialun, “The Changes of Modern Chinese Literary Thought,” Renaissance, Vol. 2, No. 5, June 1, 1920, p. 874.

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expressed his expectations for a “transitional era.” Students were also given special attention at a time when social mobilization was widespread. A change worthy of attention during this period was the frequent appearance of the term “youth circles,” indicating a new division of society and highlighting the difference between generations. Youth, a separate part of society, contained additional information, which was reasonably available in the “Communication” column of New Youth. A letter consented to the publication as “a good friend of us young people.”104 Additionally, Luo Jialun pointed out in his “Young Students” published in the “Readers Forum” column, “Now that we’re in this youth circle, we feel as if we were ‘basking in the spring sun’ that ‘brings all lives back again.”105 All the above discussions mean that the concept of the intelligentsia also constituted a “discourse” worthy of attention in the Republic of China period. As far as the influence went, all kinds of opinions and views indicated the latent existence of the intelligentsia. It also proved that there were quite a few reviews of the concept.

Expectations for the Intelligentsia During the May Fourth period, the intelligentsia gradually moved from the background to the foreground, still mainly hosted by newspapers. The emergence of various publications also constituted a unique landscape during the New Culture Movement. Yang Duanliu expressed his hope for China’s “speech circles” based on examples from the United Kingdom and the United States, affirming that newspapers “can be regarded as a guideline for the intelligentsia,” becoming a “power to influence the intelligentsia.”106 In fact, scholars in the Republic era had often benefited from the newspapers they read at the time when their mindsets were in the making and therefore had a deeper understanding of the pros and cons of newspapers. For that reason, attention must hereby be paid to how the gradual growing up new generation treated newspapers and their influence. Closely related to the historical stage that society was in during the early Republic era, the “republican illusion” was the incentive for scholars to start newspapers, and it also became the background for shaping the “intelligentsia” during this period. Lu Xun commented emotionally, “I’ve witnessed the 1911 Revolution, the Second Revolution, Yuan Shikai’s attempt to reinstate the monarchy, and the Zhang  Huaishan Yimin, “Correspondence,” New Youth, Vol. 3, No. 1, March 1, 1917, p. 16.  Luo Jialun, “Young Students,” New Youth, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 15, 1918, p. 70.  Duan Liu, “Hope for the Speech Circles,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 18, No. 2, January 25, 1921, p. 4.

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Xun Restoration; the more I reviewed them, the more skeptical I became. And now I’m completely disappointed and dejected.”107 His remarks show that what happened after the founding of the Republic of China was far beneath the Chinese people’s expectations. It was no wonder that with the collapse of the monarchy, the effective way of governing an ancient empire in the past proved ineffective, and it was neither possible nor realistic to rebuild social order in a relatively short period. The extreme political disappointment drove scholars to establish magazines, which, in turn, contributed to the New Culture Movement. While trying to increase distribution, they also contemplated creating ideal magazines. When commending Xingqi Pinglun (Weekly Critic), Hu Shih was concerned about the “organizational issue,” which involved how the intelligentsia was constituted and how it exerted its influence. The article specifically mentioned that American politicians and thinkers wanted to use an “ideological organization” to transform public opinion. They thus founded New Republic, which sold only 835 copies at first. But the sales volume soon increased to a few hundred thousand copies and became one of the most influential magazines worldwide. Hu Shih tried to explain that this weekly’s success lay in that these scholars and political commentators had consciously carried out “organized propaganda” from the very beginning. Because Weekly Critic published an organizational reform policy in the name of “this agency’s colleagues,” he also regarded the move as “an unprecedented initiative in the Chinese public opinion circles.” Hu Shih also commented on the shortcomings of the public opinion circles, “In the Western public opinion circles, which newspaper publishers do not have several floors of books and newspapers?” In China, however, the most popular editors in Shanghai had to write editorials and news commentaries for several newspapers simultaneously every day: “They never do academic research or social investigation.” So, “How valuable is the opinion of these ‘commentators’?”108 Hu Shih did not only target Weekly Critic when he commented. He found it critical for the intelligentsia at large to do research. In his more influential article “More Study of Problems, Less Talk of ‘Isms,’” Hu Shih put forward a straightforward theory for the intelligentsia. He believed that not studying problems “was the conclusive evidence of the bankruptcy of the Chinese intelligentsia.”109 Later,

 Lu Xun, “Self-Introduction,” Collection of Mixed Accents (Collection of Self-Selected Works), in Lu Xun Memorial Committee, ed., Complete Works of Lu Xun, Vol. 5, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1973, p. 49.  Hu Shih, “Welcome Weekly Critic, Our Brother,” Weekly Review, No. 28, June 29, 1919, p. 1.  Hu Shih, “More Study of Problems, Less Talk of ‘Isms’,” Weekly Critic, Vol. 31, July 20, 1919, p. 1.

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he said in private that establishing a publication like the New Republic had been his dream “for the past decade.”110 The above proves that the understanding of the intelligentsia during the Republic era focused on founding newspapers and publishing articles in them. Simultaneously, there was no shortage of critical voices. While introducing New Youth in its “Introduction to Books and Newspapers” column, Renaissance emphasized, “There are three things that young people need the most: the first is ‘ism,’ the second is knowledge, and the third is the lifestyle acquired using this knowledge based on the ‘ism.’” For this reason, the author also reflected on China’s “publishing industry,” pointing out that “the scariest situation in China is the industry’s depression.”111 In examining the “magazine industry,” Luo Jialun commented that “China recently has had too many magazines for people to read.” He added that “some magazines have appeared and disappeared so soon that it is hard to predict if one published in the first half of the year will continue in the second half.”112 Too many magazines were only one aspect of the problem. The key was whether the content was desirable. The ideological map in the New Culture Movement period showed a clear chronological divide. In summarizing the intelligentsia, an article in Chenbao Fukan (Supplement of Morning News) divided it into the pre-1918 and post-1918 phases. The former mainly focused on current affairs, while the latter primarily discussed academic theories: “It is New Youth that started this trend.”113 Apart from New Youth, magazines like The Renaissance and Shaonian Zhongguo (The Journal of the Young China Association) were all in the same spirit. In his article “From Remolding Ideology to Reforming Society” published in Renaissance, Wu Kang stated, “It is hard to explain in a few words when it comes to China’s intelligentsia today! A new idol has come before the old one is gone. We may not start social remolding yet, but we must first clear up the obscure atmosphere in the intelligentsia once we do.”114 Fu Sinian also reviewed Chinese ideology and pointed out that it was dominated by formalism, pre-determinism, and determinism: “The three ‘isms’ are what makes the Chinese intelligentsia so Chinese and the Chinese people’s lives

 Hu Shih, “To Gao Yihan,” September 8, 1924, in Complete Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 23, p. 437.  Reporter, “The New Youth Magazine,” The Renaissance, Vol. 1, No. 2, February 1, 1919, p. 355.  Luo Jialun, “Magazines in China Today,” The Renaissance, Vol. 1, No. 4, April 1, 1919, p. 623.  Gan Zhexian, “Trends of Chinese Intelligentsia in the Past Four Years and Opportunities for Future Innovation.” The article was published in installments, and this was a sequel published in Supplement of Morning News, December 3, 1922, Vol. 2.  Wu Kang, “From Remolding Ideology to Reforming Society,” The Renaissance, Vol. 3, No. 1, October 1, 1921, pp. 27, 50–51.

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so Chinese.”115 The correspondence among Renaissance Society members published in the “Correspondence” column of The Renaissance also expressed the shared concern about the intelligentsia. He Siyuan pointed out that American magazines related to ideology and science usually had a “Chronicles of Thought” column. In contrast, Chinese magazines were composed of fragmented papers without systematic records. So, Renaissance “should add a ‘Chronicles of Intelligentsia’ column” to record “the ideological history of the magazine.” Luo Jialun agreed, “Changes in the Chinese intelligentsia are accelerated. If we do not record them systematically, people today will be unaware of the current trend. For that matter, those coming after us will be oblivious to what is going on in our time.”116 It is fair to say that the Renaissance Society became a host of the attention paid to the intelligentsia. Reflections on the concept often involved the educational, academic, and publishing circles. The Journal of the Young China Association also deserves some analysis. Wang Guangqi, one of the founders of the Young China Association, emphasized that the organization was to pursue two causes: to remold ideology and transform life. To accomplish the former, he conceived initiatives starting with education, publishing, and news as the links. Talking about the publishing business, Wang pointed out, “China’s publishing industry is underdeveloped.” To this end, he emphasized that the Young China Association “has made a big promise to engage in the publishing business.” He continued, “apart from editing and compiling our own experiences of learning as they are available, the association will also translate new foreign books and introduce them to the public in our country.”117 Chen Qitian also emphasized the power of ideology in his article “What Is the True Spirit of New Culture.” He said, “Only when there are several new thinking methods can new education, scholarship, literature, and art, and new systems are [sic] born.” He stressed that efforts should be made in two aspects of transformation: “from monopolized to liberated thinking and from superstitious to scientific thinking.”118 As far as the discussions on the intelligentsia are concerned and compared with the late Qing Dynasty, one thing was more than apparent in the Republic

 Fu Sinian, “Postscript.” See Gu Chengwu, “My Thought of Old Families,” The Renaissance, Vol. 1, No. 2, February 1, 1919, p. 170.  He Siyuan’s letter replied by Luo Jialun, The Renaissance, Vol. 2, No. 4, May 1, 1920, pp. 839–840.  Wang Guangqi, “The Creation of ‘Young China’,” The Journal of Young China Association, Vol. 1, No. 2, August 15, 1919, p. 5.  Chen Qitian, “What Is the True Spirit of New Culture,” The Journal of Young China Association, Vol. 2, No. 2, August 15, 1920, p. 5.

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era: the intelligentsia came out of the background and into the foreground. When the late-Qing scholars like Liang Qichao talked about the intelligentsia, they did not have a definite talking point. In the Republic era, scholars who described the intelligentsia seemed to know their existence and specifically pointed to the various newspapers and magazines and the scholars contributing to them. At the same time, the concepts of the intelligentsia, academia, publishing industry, journalist circles, and educational circles were still tangled up with undefined boundaries. But it is not difficult to understand what they specifically meant. It can even be said that the difficulty to distinguish other circles shows that the intelligentsia was closely related to this challenge. The continuous emergence of various critical voices against the intelligentsia is proof that the intelligentsia moved to the foreground.

Chapter Four The Multiple Colors of the Intelligentsia: Newspapers and Academics Since the intelligentsia is regarded as a “field,” attention must be paid to the vital elements that constitute this “field.” In particular, it is necessary to analyze the political and academic elements contained therein. Those elements represent the multiple “colors” of the intelligentsia. Most fundamentally, modern newspapers and magazines were introduced to China as hosts of Western learning, so they were clearly academic in nature and served as the main media for promoting the growth of modern knowledge. Meanwhile, the intelligentsia bears a political color. In particular, the political wrestling behind the public opinions is something that cannot be ignored when examining the intelligentsia. An article titled “After Contributing to Current Affairs” published in the newspaper Hunan Gazette read, “Newspapers fall into three categories: those about politics, those about learning, and those about discussions.”1 It would be fair to say that the two pairs – thoughts and academics and politics and thoughts – are the essential elements constituting the multiple colors of the intelligentsia. This chapter elaborates on this point starting from “newspapers and academics.” As was discussed in previous chapters, the intelligentsia did not have a clear definition when it first took shape in the late Qing Dynasty, particularly entangled with the academia. The attention paid to “academia and intelligentsia” in the Republic era further emphasized the increase of the weight of academics. The phenomenon is not hard to comprehend because it was a product of the development of newspapers. It also had to do with the fact that scholars had a penchant for establishing newspapers. Therefore, it is necessary to examine how newspapers became the hosts of new learning and their role in modern knowledge growth. Cao Juren once analyzed the “literary circles” based on the phenomenon. He pointed out, “In a sense, Chinese literature in the late Qing Dynasty is a manifestation of journalism development,” and “China’s literary and newspaper circles are cousins enjoying a consanguineous relationship.”2 The issue may not be so simple. But by pointing out the close relationship between the literary circles and the newspaper circles, such arguments helped the Chinese recognize the dependence of the growth of modern academics on new media. This chapter explains that late-Qing newspapers found connections with academics to be a good business strategy. The shift of

 Wang Enzhi, “After Contributing to Current Affairs,” Hunan Gazette, June 30, 1898, p. 393.  Cao Juren, Fifty Years of the Literary Circle, Oriental Publishing Center, 1997, pp. 8, 83. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-005

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the academics to universities in the Republic era had a more significant impact on this business strategy as magazines focused on academics emerged and disseminating subject-specific knowledge became a major part of newspaper columns. Therefore, it is a must to cover this phenomenon when analyzing the intelligentsia of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic era.

I Understanding Newspapers in Light of the “War of the Academics” As theorists revealed, gradually realizing that the contest between China and the West was ultimately a “war of the academics” was a manifestation of China’s return to the cultural competition in the late Qing Dynasty.3 Obviously, the “war of the academics” that evolved from the “commercial war” conveyed an emphasis on the academics behind various techniques. Simultaneously, the hosts of the academics, while certainly including publications by various translation agencies, had to include newspapers. The newspapers established and run by Westerners in China as outlined above constituted the main means for spreading Western learning: “There are numerous newspaper publishers in European countries and people there know clearly the pros and cons of every country. Therefore, in new learning, newspaper publishers are one venue for the education of talents.”4 Further, it is necessary to know whether newspapers established by the Chinese in the late Qing Dynasty had the same pursuits. The answer is that they did. The newspaper was new to late-Qing Chinese scholars and understanding of it was restricted by the old imperial tradition of dibao (government gazette). Therefore, newspaper publishers first pursued communication between upper and lower levels and between China and foreign countries. Nevertheless, they attached equal importance to the academics.

 Wang Ermin, The Concept of Commercial War and Mercantilism and On the History of Modern Chinese Thought, Social Sciences Academic Press, 2003, pp. 198–322; Luo Zhitian, Worship of the New: The Shift of Modern Chinese Thought Power under the Impact of the Western Tide and Power Transfer: Modern Chinese Thought, Society and Academics, pp. 18–81.  Timothy Richard, “Preface to Shishi Xinlun,” Shishi Xinlun (New Views on Current Affairs), Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese (SDCK), 1894, p. 1.

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“Each Academic Field has a Newspaper” Looking back at the newspapers established by Chinese scholars in the early days, it would be unfair to deny that their central theme was still communication between the people and the government and between China and foreign countries. The aforementioned Universal Circulating Herald founded by Wang Tao in Hong Kong in 1874 is a typical example. However, quite a lot of academic discussions were also published in newspapers. Shubao was a litho-printed newspaper founded in Guangzhou on April 18, 1884. It specifically stated that newspapers were better media for understanding Western learning than “books about it.” It is evident that the newspaper owner was already aware that newspapers were different from ordinary books. It was also committed to exploring new ways to introduce Western learning. The most prominent one was the use of illustrations to help with comprehension. It was made possible by the technology of litho-printing. The editors were pretty confident, “As you readers graciously read the newspaper, you can see that it is different from other papers. Ours is unique among all the daily papers.”5 The initial issue looked spectacular with a painting of “academies of Western learning”, which should have left a deep impression on readers. After the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, the enthusiasm of Chinese scholars to start newspapers gradually increased. Before this, Protestant missionaries had promoted Western learning for quite a few years. Translation agencies like Tongwenguan (School of Combined Learning) and the Translation Department of Jiangnan Arsenal had also been in operation for a long time. Therefore, although they still understood newspapers as a means of communication between the people and the government and between China and foreign countries, lateQing scholars still paid as much attention to newspapers as to translation works in terms of disseminating Western learning. In 1895, He Qi and Hu Lihuan published “A Discussion on China’s Appropriate Reform of the New Deal,” which stated, “There is a newspaper for each discipline, such as medicine, chemistry, electricity, and military equipment and warships. Not only do they explain each subject in detail, but they also have meticulous illustrations. By doing so, the newspapers are beneficial to both the country and the people, with a view to making progress together.”6 Feng Ziyou also noticed that the newspapers published in Guangzhou and Hong Kong initially recorded trivial news only, “never knowing what new learning is.” Current Affairs and Learning New Knowledge

 “The Origin of Shubao,” Shubao, April 18, 1884. It is based on Wu Xiangxiang, ed., Chinese History Series, Taiwan Student Bookstore, 1965, pp. 1–3.  He Qi and Hu Lihuan, Truth on New Politics, Vol. 1, pp. 40–41.

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vied with each other in discussing new learning, thus changing the nature of the various newspapers published in Guangzhou and Hong Kong.7 Those observations may not be conclusive, but newspapers like Current Affairs indicated that the improved understanding of Western learning had influenced newspapers and the generic concept of Western learning gradually shifted to a series of separate disciplines of studies. Scholars started advocating “one newspaper for each academic field.” The article “On the Benefits of Newspapers for State Affairs” that Liang Qichao wrote for the inaugural issue of Current Affairs dwelt upon this point by citing major Western newspapers as examples. He noted that newspapers were allencompassing. Thus, they fell into different categories, with each newspaper dedicated to an academic discipline. When something new was discovered in a discipline, the newspaper then had a piece of news to report. By saying that each newspaper was dedicated to an academic discipline, Liang meant that people from all walks of life would have their specific newspapers to read. That was the ideal that Liang Qichao pursued. The connection between the academics and newspapers was thus clear. On this premise, Liang also recognized the benefit of newspaper agencies: they could “get people to work hard to study new learning and think about avenging the insults that China had suffered before.” According to him, newspapers could also “widely publish important books on politics and knowledge of skills. Readers will be aware of all the sources of practical learning and progress with the changing world with each passing day. Then, they will not swell with vain conceit while spending all their time and energy on such stifling conventional national learning as stereotyped writing, eight rhymes, textual research, and rhetoric and skill of writing.”8 Many newspapers published subsequently also emphasized the academics. The newspaper Learning New Knowledge originated from “Western newspapers translated by Current Affairs. It is detailed in politics but sparing in skills.” It hoped that “it could somewhat use Ge Zhi Hui Bian (Shanghai Polytechnic) as an example . . . to translate Western periodicals on agriculture, metallogeny, technology, and gezhi (study of the phenomena of nature to acquire knowledge), with political news being supplementary (roughly 60% of the content is dedicated to science and technology, while the remaining 40% is committed to political news).”9 In his “Preface

 Feng Ziyou, Newspapers in Guangdong and the Revolutionary Movements in Revolutionary Historical Records beyond the History, Vol. 1, Zhonghua Book Company, 1981, p. 113.  Liang Qichao, “On the Benefits of Newspapers for State Affairs,” Current Affairs, Vol. 1, August 9, 1896, pp. 1–2.  “A Public Letter to Promote Current Affairs,” Current Affairs, No. 15, December 25, 1896, “Public Notice,” p. 2.

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to Learning New Knowledge,” Liang Qichao stated that Current Affairs may have received one positive feedback after another, but “the articles it carries were too short. There are omissions and oversights, more Western than Eastern contents, and more detailed political than technical reports. We have had plans for expansion for a long time but never implemented them.”10 Hunan New Learning News, established in 1897 (a newspaper publishing three issues per month), which changed its name to Hunan Learning News from the twenty-first issue, also pointed out that after China opened its ports to foreign trade, social control gradually relaxed. As a result, newspapers mushroomed, but “they mostly discussed politics instead of academics and dwelt more upon political reform instead of spreading knowledge.” The newspaper explained that it was founded to “emphasize the learning of practical knowledge from the East and the West so that everyone can make progress by self-cultivation.” Deliberately distinguishing itself from Current Affairs and A Review of the Times, the newspaper divided itself into columns dedicated respectively to history, anecdotes, geography, mathematics, business, and communication: “It would first introduce the gist of each selected translation of practical Chinese and Western learning so that readers would have a rough idea before more in-depth works are selected for translation.”11 Hunan Daily was founded in Hunan the following year. In his “Preface to Hunan Daily,” Tang Caichang affirmed the role of newspapers in promoting the academics: “The newspaper publishes various kinds of content including politics and science. I think it will certainly help China become stronger, more knowledgeable, and more civilized.”12 In his “Epilogue to Hunan Daily,” Tan Sitong commented that the influence of newspapers was more significant than that of schools, academies, and societies.13 A newspaper addressing “new learning” directly appeared in July 1897. According to the “Public Letter” of Learning New Knowledge, it stemmed from a new society established previously. It stated, “We will all the scholars under heaven learn from one another to make progress every day.” Its self-introduction divided its contents into four categories, i.e., mathematics, politics, medicine, and natural sciences.14 In addition, the newspaper Chongqing Journal founded in August 1897

 Liang Qichao, “Preface to Learning New Knowledge,” Learning New Knowledge, No. 1, February 22, 1897, pp. 3–4.  “General Remarks on Points of Detail of Hunan New Learning News,” Hunan New Learning News, No. 1, April 22, 1897, pp. 1–4.  Tang Caichang, “Preface to Hunan Daily,” Hunan Daily, No. 1, March 7, 1898, p. 1.  Tan Sitong, “Part II of Epilogue to Hunan Daily,” Hunan Daily, No. 11, March 18, 1898, p. 41.  “A Public Letter of Learning New Knowledge,” Learning New Knowledge, No. 1, August 1897, pp. 1–2.

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also positioned itself as “prioritizing education,” emphasizing “education, politics, academics, and business . . . Moreover, Chinese or Western, only practical subjects are covered, such as astronomy, geography, military science, medicine, mathematics, metallogeny, physics, chemistry, optics, mechanics, dynamics, and electricity.”15 The newspapers founded by late-Qing scholars gradually incorporated academic elements. It was not only a direct response to the trend of widespread education but also the result of scholars’ extensive involvement in the academics. Moreover, people began to accept the rationality of “each newspaper being dedicated to an academic discipline.” Meanwhile, the growing “specialized studies” were also introduced in newspapers and thus became boosters of the growth of disciplinary knowledge.

Newspapers and “Specialized Studies” When Guowen Bao was inaugurated in 1897, Yan Fu, who was one of the founders, roughly summarized the development of newspapers after the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. After Current Affairs, other newspapers mushroomed: “The newspapers carrying on the predecessors’ tasks included Learning New Knowledge, Jicheng Bao, Seeking Truth, Statecraft Journal, Cuibao, Suzhou Studies, and Hunan Studies; and the newspapers dedicated to specialized studies included Agriculture and Mathematics. Though they differed in their layouts and purposes, they all shared the same aspiration.”16 The so-called “specialized studies” revealed that the newspapers of the late Qing Dynasty had become portrayals of the growth of disciplinary knowledge. Typical of it was the emergence of the Nongxue Bao (Journal of Agricultural Science) and Suanxue Bao (Journal of Mathematical Sciences). The Report of the Academy of Beneficial Aid that Yan Fu failed to mention also belonged to this category. Its first issue officially appeared on January 20, 1897. Most of its pages “were exclusively devoted to medicine.”17 Journal of Agricultural Science, its original Chinese title being Nongxue instead of Nongxuebao, was founded by the Agricultural Society in May 1897. Its name changed from the fifteenth issue on. Starting from the eighteenth issue, the previously biannual journal came out every ten days. Luo Zhenyu and other founders intended to put the aspiration of “developing the people’s intelligence  Song Yuren, “Preface to Academic Journal,” Chongqing Journal, Vol. 1, October 1897, pp. 1–2.  Yan Fu, “Origin of Guowen Bao,” Guowen Bao, No. 1, October 26, 1897, p. 2.  “Example of Report of the Academy of Beneficial Aid,” Report of the Academy of Beneficial Aid, Vol. 1, January 20, 1897, p. 1.

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into practice.” They advocated that “agriculture is crucial to make the country prosper” and irrevocably stipulated that “the newspaper office is an essential part of the Agricultural Society, and everything concerning the society must be initiated from this office.” Simultaneously, the newspaper focused on agriculture. First, “it gives priority to promoting farming, with silkworm breeding and husbandry as the sidelines.” Second, “it will exclusively translate various agricultural newspapers and books.”18 Zhang Zhidong once commented, “Agricultural Journal of Shanghai selects mostly Western books with new theories and techniques, suitable for readers with interest in agriculture.”19 Huang Qingcheng founded and contributed to Journal of Mathematical Sciences. He set up the office first in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, and then placed a branch in Shanghai. He used the litho-printing technology first and changed to woodblock printing from the third issue, publishing 12 issues in total. Huang had studied under the famous scholar Sun Yirang. His friends included fellow townsmen Chen Qiu, Chen Fuchen, and Song Shu, as well as scholars he knew in Shanghai such as Zhang Huanlun, who hired him to teach in Meixi Academy. With help from Shen Bingcheng, provincial governor of Anhui, Huang was sent to Japan for a two-month study tour in 1893. After returning, he compiled his diaries during the trip into Dongyou Riji (Notes on Travels in Japan). Yu Yue spoke of Huang Qingcheng highly, “He is well-versed in mathematics and knows both Chinese and Western methodologies.”20 When establishing the Journal of Mathematical Sciences, Huang had his own agenda, namely, “to select the most important of the latest mathematical theories and methods and interpret them with illustrations, so that learners can proceed from the easy to the difficult and make steady progress in their studies.”21 Besides the journals of agriculture and mathematics, the magazine founded by Du Yaquan also deserves attention. After China lost the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, the agonized Du “suddenly changed his mind: he bought and read translated books.” He acquired several kinds of chemistry books from the Translation Department of Jiangnan Arsenal and acclaimed, “All the laws of the universe are in the books.” Then, he “devoted all his time and energy to studying

 “General Comments on the Newspaper Office of the Agricultural Society,” Current Affairs, No. 22, April 2, 1897, “Public Notice,” p. 1.  Zhang Zhidong, “The 9th Part of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce” in the “Outer Chapters” of Exhortation to Learning, in Yuan Shuyi, ed., the 12th Book of the Complete Collection of Zhang Zhidong, pp. 9754.  Yu Yue, “Preface,” Journal of Mathematical Sciences, No. 1, July 1897, p. 1.  Huang Qingcheng, “Public Letter,” Journal of Mathematical Sciences, No. 1, July 1897, p. “Public Note.”

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them.”22 He went to Shanghai in 1900, set up Yaquan Academy there, and established Yaquan Zazhi (Yaquan Journal) printed by The Commercial Press. Though named after himself, neither the academy nor the magazine were under his sole control, and they were neither exclusively dedicated to mathematics. Their basic subjects were Western technology and general studies. His advocacy of Western technology was a point-blank response to Zhang Zhidong’s claim that Western politics was foremost. In contrast, Western technology was seen as secondary, a point of view that Zhang had expressed in his Exhortation to Learning. In his preface to the magazine, Du Yaquan stressed, “The advancement of politics is based on the success of the technology.”23 By technology, he meant “all the scientific and technological subjects.” In his “A Note of This Agency,” he wrote, “This book contains knowledge of natural phenomena, mathematics, chemistry, agriculture, business, and technologies.”24 Only ten issues of Yaquan Journal were published but Du was not discouraged. In 1902, with his father’s support, he set up a literary club for general learning. He also founded Putong Xuebao (Journal of General Learning) and Zhongwai Xuebao (Journal of Chinese and Foreign Mathematics). He was later hired as director of the Department of Physics and Chemistry at the Institute of Editing and Translation of The Commercial Press. A few examples of the magazines devoted to specialized studies can be used to shed light on the background of the publishing of such magazines. Scholars in the late Qing Dynasty pursued academics by establishing newspapers, which can also be seen as an ultimate expression of the ideal of “making the country wealthy and its armed forces strong” in that era. However, newspapers that overemphasized the academics also encountered many difficulties. Journal of Mathematical Sciences and Yaquan Journal had to quit publishing due to financial difficulties. Their failure showed that they were “too highbrow to be understood by ordinary readers.” Thus, Gu Xieguang commented, “The scientific and technological knowledge published in Yaquan Journal boasts lots of new theories. But beginners cannot benefit from them. It seems that Hui Bao’s Western-learning Q&As are easier to comprehend.”25 Periodicals founded later would have better luck. In particular, the enforcement of  This is a text in the appendix of No. 10 of the Yaquan Journal, with the signature “Yaquan Youzhi” at the end. See No. 10 of Yaquan Journal, the 23rd day of the 4th lunar month of the 27th year of the Guangxu reign, p. 8.  Du Yaquan, “Introduction to Yaquan Journal,” Yaquan Journal, Vol. 1, the 23rd day of the 10th month of the 26th year of the Guangxu reign, title page 2.  “A Note of This Agency,” Yaquan Journal, Vol 1, the 23rd day of the 10th month of the 26th year of the Guangxu reign, the “Table of Contents” page. It was carried in all the subsequent issues.  Gu Xieguang, “General Remarks on Points of Details,” in Bibliography of Books on Eastern and Western Learnings compiled by Xu Weize and mended by Gu Xieguang, p. 3.

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the reformed civil examination system offered them a god-sent opportunity (see Chapter Eight for details). It is fair to say that it would take a long time for the professional or specialized periodicals that sprouted in the late Qing Dynasty to develop into academic journals. The above-mentioned newspapers and magazines may have had explicit professional attributes, but their contents were far from perfect. For example, the Journal of Agricultural Sciences was far more than just agronomy. For that matter, the Journal of Mathematical Sciences also bore the imprint of that era, that is, examining mathematics from the angle of enlightenment. Academic journals did not truly emerge until the 1920s and 1930s with institutional construction of disciplines, which will be detailed later.

II Periodicals Influenced by the Concept of Disciplinary Studies The so-called “specialized studies” are just another expression of “disciplinary studies.” In tracking the development of periodicals in the late Qing Dynasty, particular attention must be paid to the emergence of another trend: grouping fields of studies into disciplines. As was already mentioned earlier, the term “jie” first appeared in the late Qing Dynasty. Naming a jie involved two aspects. The first was social development, as a jie could be named based on social activities or occupations, such as the “political circles” and the “business circles.” This marked the reorganization of the Chinese society. The second aspect was learning, or more specifically the field or form of academic research, such as the “circle of history,” “circle of literature,” and “circle of poetry.” This signified the growth of various academic disciplines. It also reveals that newspapers of the late Qing Dynasty corresponded to the evolution of modern knowledge. As the hosts of “learning,” periodicals of the time attached great importance to disciplinary knowledge. Scholars had different cognition on this and even had fierce debates.

Liang Qichao’s View on the Re-orientation of Learning Douglas R. Reynolds, an American scholar, commented, “During the 12 years from 1898 to 1910, China made remarkable achievements in the transformation of its thoughts and systems. But these would not have been achieved without Japan

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being the example and an active participant at every step along the way.”26 Japan’s influence on the late-Qing ideological reform is worthy of recognition, just like the influence of the Japanese language on the Chinese language, which was discussed earlier in this book. Apart from that, a key point is that Liang Qichao and many other thinkers had all studied in Japan.27 Notably, as luck would have it, the periodicals published in Japan also became part of the driving force behind the growth of disciplinary knowledge. Liang Qichao’s understanding of disciplinary knowledge reached a new level in Japan. His following statement is of particular interest: Japan has been seeking wise knowledge from around the world in the past three decades since the Meiji Restoration. It has translated no less than a few thousand books, particularly those on political science, economics, philosophy, and sociology. They are all critical to developing the Japanese people’s intelligence and strengthening the country.

In contrast, the books that China translated were mostly “about military science and art while almost none on political science and economics had been translated.”28 This statement may not be in line with the actual situation of introducing Western learning into China, but Liang’s hypothesis shows that he found new alternatives. Based on the general subjects taught in Japanese secondary schools, he pointed out that grouping knowledge into branches “is the only path that all scholars must follow and a cause that everyone must undertake.” Moreover, “those who want to study economics and law must give priority to history and geography, whereas those who want to study technology and medicine must prioritize natural sciences, physics, and chemistry.”29 It shows that Liang Qichao made a breakthrough in his cognition of modern knowledge. He particularly understood the grouping of knowledge into different branches and concerned himself with choosing the subjects. It also prompted the newspaper founded by Liang Qichao to make more efforts to interpret branches of learning. The original columns of The China Discussion, such as “Recent Events of the World,” “Records of Sudden Awakening,” and

 Douglas Robertson Reynolds, The New System Reform Revolution and Japan, Li Zhongxian, trans., Jiansu People’s Publishing House, 1998, p. 7.  See Hazama Naoki, Joint Research on Liang Qichao: The Reception of Modern Western Thought and Meiji Japan, Misuzu Shobo, Ltd., 1999; the Chinese version of Liang Qichao, Meiji Japan·West: Joint Research Report of the Institute of Humanities, Kyoto University, Japan, Social Sciences Literature Press, 2001; and Joshua A. Fogel, The Role of Japan in Liang Qichao’s Introduction of Modern Western Civilization to China, University of California, Berkeley, 2004.  Liang Qichao, “On the Benefits of Japanese Literature,” The China Discussion, Vol. 10, April 1, 1899, p. 3.  Liang Qichao, “Notes on Japanese Books,” New Citizen, No. 9, June 6, 1902, pp. 111–113.

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“Records of Listening to Admonishment,” were not quite discipline-oriented. However, the “Announcement on Revised Regulations of Our Newspaper” published in Volume 11 clearly emphasized politics and financial management.30 The China Discussion did not publish too many academic articles. But New Citizen had improved a lot. It aimed to “follow the example of large-scale periodicals of foreign countries and publish various categories of articles so that readers can obtain all kinds of knowledge from the world.” The categories initially planned for the newspaper were based on academic disciplines, thus testifying the heightened awareness of them.31 Later, Liang Qichao founded New Fiction and even categorized it with academic subjects.32 Further on, Liang spared no effort to promote this idea. He proactively introduced in New Citizen He Tianzhu’s Xuebao (Journal of Scholarship) before its debut. He praised the magazine, saying, “It is fair to say that it has started the history of having academic subjects on newspapers and magazines.”33 Journal of Scholarship epitomized the basic characteristics of the periodicals of the time. In Hubei, a forerunner of “promoting education,” Hubei Xuebao (Hubei Studies) emerged in February 1903. While focusing on pedagogy, history, geography, and diplomacy, it explained that “there are many disciplines at home and abroad, and four of them are selected and compiled into books for the time being to broaden people’s knowledge and help solidify the country’s power.”34 An article in the twenty-sixth issue of New Citizen further pointed out that “one of the barely satisfactory phenomena occurring in the past few months is that periodicals are well developed.” It also stressed that “the vitality of the academia is a sign of such development.”35 It was an apparent attempt to use periodicals as the primary vehicle for academic activities. Soliciting articles from the academia proved the most prominent trend. The columns more involved included the “academic,” “political,” “commercial,” “military,” “civilian,” “medical,” “publishing,”

 “A Public Announcement on the Changes to the Charter of This Newspaper,” The China Discussion, No. 11, April 10, 1899, p. 1: “Public Notice.”  “Public Notice of This Newspaper,” New Citizen, No. 1, February 8, 1902, p. “Public Notice.”  The first issue’s columns include “Historical Novels”, “Political Novels”, “Science Novels”, “Philosophical Novels”, “Adventure Novels” and “Detective Novels,” New Novel, No. 1, November 14, 1902, p. “Table of Contents.”  Liang Qichao, “Two Emergent Periodicals,” New Citizen, No. 88, October 2, 1906, p. 17. The first issue of Journal of Scholarship was published on February 23, 1907, and the other periodical New Paper of China was founded by Yang Du on January 20, 1907.  “Preface to Hubei Studies,” Hubei Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, February 12, 1903, pp. 1–2. Hunan Studies, first published in the same year, also carried the contents of classic studies, ethics, physics, chemistry, mathematics, education, geography, and Japanese literature.  “The Progress Made by New Citizen,” New Citizen, No. 26, February 26, 1903, pp. 81–82.

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“educational,” “studying overseas,” and “industrial” circles. Xinyijie (New Translation World) established by Chinese students studying in Japan in 1906 even arranged columns by circles, indicating the convergence of learning and circles. The latter included the “zhengfa (politics, economics, and law) circles,” the “wenxue (philosophy, religion, history, and geography) circles,” the “lixue (astronomy, geology, race, natural science, physics, chemistry, and mathematics) circles,” the “shiye (domestic science, industry, and business) circles,” the “jiaoyu (education administration, pedagogy, education history, and women’s studies) circles,” the “military (army and navy) circles,” the “diplomatic (negotiation and treaties) circles,” and the “current affairs (domestic and foreign affairs) circles.”36 Apart from the above-mentioned Hubei Xueshengjie (Student Community of Hubei) and The New Translation World, there were also the Dongjing Liuxuejie Jishi (Documenting the Circle of Overseas Students in Tokyo) launched in 1905, Shiyejie (The Industry World) in 1905, Zhongguo Xin Nüjie Zazhi (The Journal of New Women’s World of China) in 1907, and Tielujie (The Railway Circle) in 1910. This tendency would be more pronounced if we added the periodicals mentioned above published by The Commercial Press and Zhonghua Book Company. In such a context, the sayings that “everyone is engaged in learning” and “learning goes beyond circles” also showed how people emphasized learning. The article “On the Chinese People’s Scholarship” carried in The News in 1907 stressed, “In an era of a war of the academics, peasants, workers, merchants, politicians, educators, army men, and even the disabled and handicapped all engage themselves in learning. Frankly speaking, none is not into learning, knowing that they cannot serve the country without doing it.”37 The Southern News published “The Theory of Academic Circles Beyond Circles” in the same year, stating that ancient China divided people into four clear-cut categories: warriors (including scholarofficials), peasants, artisans, and merchants: “It was a cramping and obstructing tradition of ancient China.” In the author’s opinion, “The academia does go beyond circles. The inclusion of all the Chinese in specific circles is worthy of being described as creating a world of new learning in China.”38 However, the “learning beyond circles” theory also reveals the challenge facing the Chinese in modern times when they expanded their knowledge. While learning was undeniably divided into different disciplines, how to divide them became a big problem.

 Fan Xiren, “Foreword to New Translation World,” New Translation World, No. 1, November 16, 1906, pp. 22–25.  “On the Chinese People’s Scholarship,” The News, January 9, 1907, “Exposition,” p. 1.  Shi Shi, “On the Boundarylessness of the Educational Circles,” The Southern News, No. 682, July 25, 1907, p. 1.

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Relying on Periodicals’ Emphasis on Eastern Learning and National Learning Periodicals founded in Japan became the primary means of introducing disciplinary knowledge to China, indicating that modern knowledge in the late-Qing China had shifted from Western learning to Eastern learning. Though the change involving Western learning, Eastern learning, and the later frequently used phrase new learning seemed a mere change of wording, it surely involved more than just wording. In fact, it embodied a directional shift in translating and introducing knowledge to China. The newspapers founded in Japan in the early twentieth century played an essential role in translating and introducing Eastern learning to China. Besides, the discussion of national learning increasingly became a trend. The expectation of revitalizing national learning by virtue of new media was accordingly on the rise. Here are some explanations about the attention-worthy tendency by examining some of the periodicals focusing on learning. That means the academia had some reliance on newspapers and magazines. Yishu Huibian (Journal of Translated Works), founded on December 6, 1900, occupied a unique position in the publications created by Chinese students studying in Japan; “People at the time recommended it as the forefather of magazines in the community of overseas students.”39 The main content listed on the title page was all marked by “learning,” which included books on political science, administration, law, political history, and political affairs. Its “Brief Charter” published simultaneously also stated, “Various political books are the source of becoming the Western and Eastern powers. Therefore, we will prioritize their publishing in this journal. As for the books specialized in military, agriculture, artisanship, and commerce, we also have translations and will publish selected ones successively in the future.”40 Interestingly, in the “Brief Charter” of the second issue, the mention of various disciplines was adjusted: “economics” was replaced by “financial management,” and “political affairs” was changed to “philosophy.” The adjustment demonstrates that the process of dividing knowledge into disciplinary branches was a dynamic one, and even columns on well-established disciplines still needed revision. Founded in Tokyo in November 1902, Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad “focused on the introduction of civilization to improve the people’s intelligence.” In his “Introduction to Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad,” Yang Du made clear his position: “We live in a world where there was a war of

 Feng Ziyou, “Determination Society and Compiled Translations,” Revolutionary Historical Records beyond the History, Vol. 1, pp. 98–99.  “Brief Charter,” Journal of Translated Works, No. 1, December 6, 1900, p. 1.

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the academics and a war of industry and commerce. Therefore, strategists were all in defense of the introduction of knowledge.” He also said in clarification, “Masterpieces of Western countries on physics, philosophy, politics, law, and economics all have derived from the theories developed by generations of great talents.”41 This issue “carries translations primarily.” It put “academic books” first and then “education,” “military science,” “business,” “financial management,” “internal affairs,” “diplomacy,” “history,” and “geography.” The practice showed the influence of disciplinary knowledge. To this end, the publication stressed that to consider the current situation, “everyone, whether studying at home or abroad, must take the responsibility of learning academic knowledge . . . so that they can serve the country together.”42 Some publications that might not explicitly promote learning also highlighted it. Take Zhejiangchao (Tide of Zhejiang) as an example. The article “On the Power and Organization of European and American Newspapers,” published in its fourth issue, regarded educating the Chinese people as “an essential responsibility of newspapers and magazines.” In that regard, “Politics, economics, sociology, and ethics each stand as an academic discipline. Anyone concerned with raising the Chinese people’s cultural level will work hard to write or translate books on those subjects to infuse the knowledge in the heads of the Chinese people.”43 TwentiethCentury China, launched in June 1905, explicitly promoted learning. It emphasized that “the civilization of a country depends on its educational level, which in turn is measured by the number of academic books produced in the country.”44 The times dictated what the students studying in Japan did. They founded newspapers and magazines to introduce Eastern learning and master modern knowledge according to disciplinary divisions. The advancement and prosperity of other academic fields was also helped by newspapers and magazines which altered the way academic discussions were carried out. The popularity of Buddhist journals mentioned above indicates that Buddhist studies also reached out from temples and monasteries to the mundane world, gradually merging with the academics of the real world. Newspapers and magazines also changed their previous sermonizing

 Yang Du, “Introduction to Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad,” Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, No. 1, November 16, 1902, pp. 3–4, 7.  “Brief Charter of Introductions to Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad,” Introductions to Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, No. 2, December 14, 1902, Flyleaf 2.  Zhu Sui, “On the Power and Organization of European and American Newspapers,” Tide of Zhejiang, No. 4, May 16, 1903, pp. 16–17.  Wei Zhong, “Introduction to Twentieth-Century China,” Twentieth-Century China, No. 1, June 24, 1905, pp. 2–4.

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stance in dealing with traditional Chinese knowledge. Revitalizing national learning was an essential part of the late-Qing efforts to promote academic development. The Society for Preserving National Learning was dedicated to fostering national learning via newspapers and magazines. By founding Zhengyi Tongbao (Politics and Arts Magazine) in February 1902, Deng Shi and Huang Jie tried their best to “make all the Chinese people know that we learn out of our love for our country and learning can keep it from perishing.”45 As its title indicated, the publication was roughly divided into two parts, one for politics and the other for arts. For some time, it put another part in between these two, publishing “collected articles on history,” which later changed to “collected articles on political history.” Deng Shi explained the purpose of newspapers and magazines: “How to foster the Chinese people’s political consciousness? The answer lies in newspapers and magazines . . . Western thinkers consider them to be the leaders of new citizens and, in fact, help them foresee history ahead of them.”46 The article “The Relationship between Newspapers and Magazines” displayed that people had high hopes for periodicals. It emphasized that “the progress of news periodicals and that of humanity’s level of culture are correlated.” The people’s cultural level in Europe and North America was so high that even ordinary people had a penchant for reading newspapers and magazines. On the contrary, the Chinese were still “at a naïve level . . . They cannot compare at all with them where the real situation of industry and commerce and the improvement of academic skills are concerned.”47 On this basis, Deng Shi and others actively promoted organizing societies and set up the Society for Preserving National Learning in Shanghai in January 1905. It consisted of a national learning academy and used Guocui Xuebao (Journal of National Essence) as “the agency of the society,” demonstrating his interest in promoting national learning via the new media.48 Huang Jie explained their focus on national learning by relating the nation with learning. He said, “A country that loses its borders will not have its learning. Without learning, there will be no country at all.” And “our colleagues and we are saddened by the weakening of

 Deng Shi, “Notes Preceding the Text of Politics and Arts Magazine into Its Seventh Year,” Politics and Arts Magazine, No. 1 of the Wushen Year, February 16, 1908, pp. 1–3.  Deng Shi, “On Political Ideology (A Suggestion from the Issuer of Politics and Arts Magazine),” Politics and Arts Magazine, No. 1 of the Guimao Year, February 12, 1903, pp. 1–2.  “The Relationship between Newspapers and Magazines,” Politics and Arts Magazine, No. 12 of the Guimao Year, July 24, 1903, pp. 1–2.  “Brief Charter of the Society for Preserving National Learning.” See Deng Shi, “Preface to the Minor Collection of the Society for Preserving National Learning,” Journal of National Essence, No. 1, February 23, 1905, p. 1.

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our country and the vanishing of our learning. Therefore, we seek common ground and leave aside differences; we also seek differences from common ground. To this end, we have established this Journal of National Essence.”49 It would become a gathering place for people of the same aspirations, it said, and it emphasized that it would not hold factional views or work for partisan interest. It continued, “It wants to learn practical knowledge with the Chinese so to benefit from exchanges.”50 Politics and Arts Magazine and Journal of National Essence attached particular importance to developing academic learning. They were clearly different from the Southern Society founded in 1909 by Liu Yazi, Gao Xu, and Chen Qubing. They rallied people of the same aspirations to promote national learning. In his “A Note from Southern Society,” Gao Xu expressed their aspirations as such, “We want to get rid of the age-old malpractice in previous attempts to form societies and become our compatriots’ tutor in literature.”51 However, although many of the core organizers of Southern Society had participated in establishing other newspapers and magazines, they did not set up an institutional publication for the society. They merely published society members’ works in Collected Printings of the Southern Society. A thread-bound, irregular publication, it published only 22 issues from January 1910 to December 1923. Judging from this practice, it was ostensibly not a magazine in its true sense.52 Though having so many prominent figures behind it, Southern Society failed to shine, which set an example of failing to deal properly with the relationship between magazines and the academics.

The Debate between New Citizen and Journal of the New World The newspapers founded in the early twentieth century had a robust academic flavor, which is impressive. However, they could not have a clear view of the disciplinary branches of knowledge from the beginning. Inevitably, differences occurred regarding how to establish the boundaries of disciplines. New Citizen and Journal of the New World magazines, both founded in 1902, got into fierce disputes because

 Huang Jie, “Preface to Journal of National Essence,” Journal of National Essence, No. 1, February 23, 1905, p. 1.  “General Comments on Journal of National Essence.” See “Foreword to Journal of National Essence,” Journal of National Essence, No. 1, February 23, 1905, p. 1.  Gao Xu (aka Yunjian Gaodunjian), “A Letter from Southern Society,” People’s Plight, October 17, 1909, p. 5.  Zheng Yimei, ed., Essays on Southern Society, Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1981, pp. 75–88.

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they differed in their understanding of disciplines. Their arguments showed the ups and downs of the time as people tried to accept disciplinary knowledge. Journal of the New World was launched in Shanghai in 1920 and “aimed at mastering domestic and foreign academic knowledge of the past and the present” and “making the selection of academic circles’ new theories as its mission.” It particularly emphasized that “by naming the publication Journal of the New World, it means to say it is a new journal.”53 The journal also consciously disseminated academic knowledge and committed itself to elaborating the principle of grouping knowledge into various disciplines, which was extensive. All its columns had names suffixed with something like “-logy” or “-ics,” such as economics, history, psychology, ethics, politics, law, geography, physics, financial management, agronomics, artisanship, business, military science, medicine, mathematics, rhetoric, education, and religion—altogether 18 branches. Journal of the New World caught Liang Qichao’s attention after its debut. He referred to it as “publishing new hypotheses and famous theories constantly.” However, he brushed aside the “journal’s division of disciplines” as “quite inappropriate.” He “particularly disagrees” with the categorization of xinlixue (now translated as psychology) because “all psychological discussions belong to the sphere of zhexue (now translated as philosophy).” Besides, “the disciplinary groupings of the columns is unsatisfactory either.” He cited the following as an example: “I don’t think it reasonable for the third issue of the publication to categorize the article “A Note to Dissuade Women from Binding Their Feet” into the section of political science. Then, to group the article “On the Protection of China and South Korea by the Anglo-Japanese Alliance” into the law section makes things extremely confusing.”54 Journal of the New World responded to New Citizen’s challenge. An article of the journal argued, “We Chinese have always interpreted zhexue in a pretty narrow sense. The English term ‘philosophy’ was translated into zhexue by the Japanese. We Chinese should have rendered it into lixue (literally “study of reasoning”).” The article then argued on about the English term “psychology.” It reasoned, “To translate it into xinlixue (literally “study of mental activities”) seems to be enigmatic to us well-versed in Chinese classics. According to our classics, the term appears to be too generic.” Additionally, Journal of the New World also explained its arrangement

 “Preface to Journal of the New World,” Journal of the New World, No. 1 (No. 1 of the Renyin Year), September 2, 1902, pp. 1–5.  Liang Qichao, “Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of Journal of the New World,” New Citizen, No. 18, October 16, 1902, pp. 99–101.

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of the disciplines, proclaiming that sometimes they had no choice but to group the subjects the way they did because it was challenging.55 The intention here is not to make a judgment on this. From the confrontation between the two publications, it is clear that the main reason was that there was ambiguity in the cognition of the various disciplines. It must be added here that the subsequent war of words between People’s News and New Citizen also had to do with the comprehension of disciplinary division. Attacking opponents in the name of knowledge was a prominent phenomenon in that period. In particular, the debate involved issues such as understanding historical resources and treating Eastern translation (translation of Japanese books). It added color to the controversy with a far-reaching impact, detailed later in the book. As Liang Qichao said in an article published in 1911, “Almost all careers today have prospered because of advanced disciplines. As things are getting increasingly complicated, each scope of phenomena has become so rich that it requires deeper exploration. Nothing can be done without specialized study. It is true of newspapers and magazines, isn’t it?”56 His remarks exposed the close relationship between the growth of late-Qing periodicals and the academics. Not only did newspapers and magazines become the hosts of new learning, but they also reflected the progress in promoting knowledge. Certainly, the exposition of learning in the late Qing Dynasty was unique to the particular historical period. It is necessary to understand why the newspaper played an unexpected role based on the specific social background. It stemmed from Westerners bringing Western newspapers into China and the consequence of the late-Qing scholars trying to understand Western learning.

III Newspapers and Magazines in Compilations of Western Learning The introduction of the so-called Western learning was by no means reliant on periodicals only. The role played by publishers in disseminating Western learning must not be ignored. They included not only the School of Combined Learning and the Translation Department of Jiangnan Arsenal, but even also the Christian Literature Society for China, General Knowledge Among the Chinese (SDCK), and the School and Text-books Series Committee. The impact of periodicals is highlighted  “An Answer to Members of New Citizen,” Journal of the New World, No. 8 (No. 8 of the Shenyin Year), December 14, 1902, pp. 115–117.  Cang Jiang, “Introduction to the Magazine of Law and Political Science,” Magazine of Law and Political Science, No. 1 of the 1st year, March 1911, “Introduction,” pp. 1–3.

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because they have become important media for disseminating Western learning and an essential way for scholars to understand it. Newspapers or magazines often appeared in compilations of Western learning during the late Qing Dynasty. Naturally, many of the compilations were derived from articles published in newspapers and magazines. It also shows how important a carrier the newspaper was for disseminating Western learning.

The Way to Use Western Learning Using Western learning selectively was an issue that scholars continued to care about after introducing Western learning into China. As the issuers of newspapers and magazines themselves had different views on disciplinary branches, their readers had more difficulties understanding them. Therefore, heavily discipline-oriented periodicals often had a “Questions and Answers” column to answer readers’ questions. Shanghai Polytechnic was a typical case. Many questions were raised by the readers, such as “I’d like to learn about the gist of the many translations from the various academies such as those on gezhi (study of the phenomena of nature to acquire knowledge), mathematics, and optics. So, what books should I buy as a beginner?”57 The previously discussed Yaquan Journal also had such a column to answer readers’ questions about chemistry and mathematics. Besides, late-Qing scholars had their way of using Western learning, derived from Chinese traditions. Liang Qichao compiled Xixue Shumu Biao (Bibliography of Western Books) in 1896 to answer the questions raised by his followers: “What Western books should we read, and what is the order of reading them?” He hoped that by analyzing the pros and cons of various books and which books should be read first or later, he could help beginners “roughly gasp the method.”58 The article “How to Read Western Books” at the beginning of the book made it clear, “There are hundreds of translated Western books, all containing extremely new ideas. But without a good reading method and a proper selection of books, beginners would find it difficult to start.”59 It shows that late-Qing scholars, under the influence of grouping books

 Shanghai Polytechnic, Vol. 10 of the 2nd Year, November 1877, 186th item of the “Q&A,” p. 13. Hui Bao established by the Shanghai Tushanwan Press on February 16, 1898, did not have a Q&A column, either.  Liang Qichao, “Preface to Bibliography of Western Learning,” Collected Works from the IceDrinker’s Studio, Vol. 1, “One of the Collections,” pp. 122, 126.  Liang Qichao, “How to Read Western Books,” Xia Xiaohong, ed., Essays Not Included in the Collected Works from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio, Vol. 2, p. 1159.

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into various disciplinary branches, paid a lot of attention to the means and applications of Western learning and contributed to the publishing of various compiled materials relating to Western learning. China is not unique in this regard. In his investigation into “libraries without walls,” Roger Chartier reveals that compilation of materials is conducive to the publishing and understanding of books. He commented, “The huge collection of anthologies, the ‘library,’ together with publications and dictionaries in the form of encyclopedias, constituted the main body of the large-scale publishing business in the 18th century.”60 Why was such great attention given to the means and applications of Western learning? It was actually the result of imaging Western learning based on Chinese learning. Zhang Zhidong’s book Shumu Dawen (Questions and Answers on Bibliography) was pretty influential. He made it clear why he wrote the book at its beginning, “My students who love to read came to ask me what books they should read and what kinds of books were good for reading. Considering that a short list may miss a lot of good books, and besides, readers may be interested in different kinds of books, I have compiled this bibliography for beginners.”61 His statement helps understand the scholarship established in the late Qing Dynasty. Zhu Weizhi pointed out that since the eighteenth century, it had become a common practice for scholars to start scholarship by compiling bibliographies and reading selected books. Bibliography, textual criticism, the study of forged classics, and the study of collecting and compiling lost texts had long been well-known academic endeavors.62 This was to find the “means and applications” of reading. Zhang Zhidong illustrated his point with an example, “We will know how to read after reading Siku Quanshu Zongmu Tiyao (Annotated Catalog of the Complete Imperial Library) only once. That is to say, Annotated Catalog of the Complete Imperial Library contains the method of reading.”63 After introducing Western learning into China, how to get started with Western learning also became a matter of concern for scholars. Because of this, when Western learning was first introduced into China, Chinese scholars compiled Western books in the same way as they traditionally did with Chinese books using materials taken from various sources and arranged by

 Roger Chartier, The Order of Books: Readers, Authors, and Libraries in Europe between the Fourteenth and Eighteen Centuries, Xie Baihui, trans., Linking Publishing, 2012, pp. 76–79.  Zhang Zhidong, “Introduction to Questions and Answers on Bibliography,” in Chen Juyuan, ed., Two Kinds of Questions and Answers on Bibliography, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1998, p. 5.  Zhu Weizheng, “Introduction to Two Kinds of Questions and Answers on Bibliography” in Chen Juyuan, ed., Two Kinds of Questions and Answers on Bibliography, p. 12.  Zhang Zhidong, “The Commissioner’s Words,” in Chen Juyuan, ed., Two Kinds of Questions and Answers on Bibliography pp. 290, 303–304.

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subjects. Li Zhizao’s Tianxue Chuhan (First Collection of Writings of Heavenly Learning) is the most noteworthy. This collection of books comprises two parts: one is the compilation of the li books, such as those introducing the Catholic doctrines and geography, and the other is the qi compilation of translated Western books about mathematics, astrology, and water conservancy. With each compilation having ten categories of books, the woodblock of this collection of books was cut (went to press) in 1628.64 The classification of the book collection into the li and qi compilations pretty much conforms to the traditional Chinese philosophical concepts of dao and qi, the former being abstract while the latter concrete. Such classification embodies the overall cognition of Western learning at the time. It also demonstrates that compilation was significant because it expressed “jianzhi” (knowledge and experience). In the late Qing Dynasty, the compilation of Western learning was more purposeful. Xixue Dacheng (Great Collection of Western Learning), published in 1888, was an early attempt. It was the product of scholars who stated that they “have the aspirations to administer the country to benefit its people” while “having difficulty finding the correct means and applications.” It expected those who had the aspirations to study a subject listed in the collection of books if they could get their hands on them and become experts.65 At the beginning of 1896, Wen Tingshi submitted a memorial to the emperor to “request a decree on compiling books according to subjects.” He explained that the compilation would “center on Western books of vital importance,” and the collection and translation of the books should be extensive so that the Chinese would better grasp Western learning.66 Zhang Zhidong had always advocated that “scholars find compilations of books the easiest to read for their studies . . . If one wants to read more classics, one must buy compilations of books.”67 He introduced this experience of reading Chinese classics into the mastery of Western learning. In 1889, and hired Wang Tao to “collect foreign books, select them in detail, and compile them by categories.” He also hired John Fryer and Charles Budd, who were proficient in both Chinese and Western languages, to “purchase foreign books from various booksellers and  Li Zhizao, “Dedication for the Woodblock Edition of First Collection of Writings on Learning from Heaven,” First Collection of Writings on Learning from Heaven (1), Student Book Co. Ltd., 1965, p. 1.  “Introduction,” in Wang Xiqing and Lu Tiqing, eds., Great Collection of Western Learning, Zuiliutang Shufang, 1895, p. 1. The book was first published by Datong Book Company in 1888.  Wen Tingshi, “Memorial to the Throne on Requesting the Compilation of Western Books to Assist Learning as the Country Is Increasingly Involved in Foreign Affairs,” in Wang Shuzi, ed., Collection of Wen Tingshi (Vol. 1), Zhonghua Book Company, 1993, p. 81.  Zhang Zhidong, “Questions and Answers on Bibliography,” in Yuan Shuyi, ed., Complete Collection of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 12, p. 9965.

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select the best for translation.”68 What Zhang Zhidong did show was that he attached great importance to printing compiled Western books. The frequent efforts to compile Western books in the late Qing Dynasty was a response to the demand for selectively use Western learning. Gu Xieguang described the changes made in his Yishu Jingyan Lu (Bibliography of Translated Books Passing Before My Eyes). Only the most influential compilations were mentioned in it, which shows the overall grasp of Western learning at the time and its position on compiling “books of Western learning” according to appropriate subjects.69 Since periodicals became essential hosts of knowledge, they also became separate categories in various compilations of Western learning. It was a necessary manifestation of newspapers and magazines becoming part of Western learning, which deserves a little analysis.

Periodicals in Bibliographies and Synopses Western-learning compilations emerged with the progress of Sino-Western exchanges to a certain degree. Compiled materials like Great Collection of Western Learning and Yangwu Congchao (Collection of Excerpts on Foreign Affairs) might not have involved newspapers or magazines, but many compilations in the name of “bibliography” or “synopsis” contained the category of newspapers and magazines. Typical of them was Liang Qichao’s Bibliography of Western Books. In his “Preface” to Bibliography of Western Learning, Liang Qichao clearly stated, “All the translated books fall into three categories: learning, politics, and education.” He excluded the books of the education category and listed the other types of books in three volumes. The first volume comprised various Westernlearning books covering the disciplines of mathematics, gravitology, electricity, chemistry, acoustics, optics, aerodynamics, astronomy, geoscience, physiology, zoology and botany, medicine, and graphics. The second volume contained Western political and administrative books covering the subjects of history and annals, official

 Zhang Zhidong, “Raise Funds from Zhabeiyan Dao to Translate Foreign Books.” On the 17th day of the 5th lunar month of the 19th year of the Guangxu era, Yuan Shuyi et al., compiled, Complete Collection of Zhang Zhidong’s Works, Vol. 4, pp. 3133–3134. The book is generically called Core Elements of Western Affairs. The compilation was completed in 1897 but never woodblockprinted. The manuscript amounted to 107 volumes, now in the collection of Shanghai Library. Zhou Zhenhe, He Who Knows Doesn’t Speak About It, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2008, pp. 24–29.  Gu Xieguang, “Self-Introduction,” Bibliography of Translated Books Passing Before My Eyes, Jinjiashihaolou, 1935, p. 1.

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system, educational system, law, agricultural administration, mining administration, industrial administration, commercial administration, military administration, and shipbuilding administration. The third volume consisted of books on miscellaneous subjects, such as travels, periodicals, and gezhi.70 By naming the third volume “Miscellaneous Books,” and dedicating a section to periodicals, Liang seemed a bit confusing, which is true of the sections of “Travels” and “Gezhi.” Brandishing the books as “Westerners’ Views” or simply “Unclassified Books” showed that he had not found a proper solution yet. However, his intention is easy to understand from his inclusion of periodicals such as Peking Magazine, Shanghai Polytechnic, A Review of the Times, and Zhongxi Jiaohui Bao (Missionary Review). In short, it may not be applicable to list periodicals in the bibliography of Western Learning or Western Administration. But it is pretty appropriate from the perspective of using Western learning. Following Bibliography of Western Books, Xu Weize compiled Dongxixue Shulu (Bibliography of Books on Eastern and Western Learnings) in 1899. Like the former, it also had the category of periodicals. He explained, “If you want to know about the recent political affairs of various countries, you must buy and read foreign newspapers. We can access the gist of almost all the essential world political affairs from The Times from Great Britain, the voice from the Reuter’s Telegram Company Limited, and Taiyō (The Sun) and Keizai Zasshi (Economist Magazine) from Japan.” In addition to saying that periodicals helped with the understanding of the political situation of various countries, he also pointed out that they occupied a unique position in disseminating Western learning and provided the latest knowledge.71 Gu Xieguang amended the book and changed its name to Mended Edition of Bibliography of Books on Eastern and Western Learnings. When the book was published in 1902, Gu also described the contributions made by various newspapers from the perspective of disciplines: “Western books on the art of war were translated by Nan Yang Public School, books on business by commercial newspapers Jiangnan and Hubei, physics by Hui Bao and Yaquan Journal, agronomy by Journal of Agricultural Science, technology by Gongyi Bao (Technologies), and elementary education by The Children’s Educator.”72 Later, Gu Xieguang compiled Bibliography of Translated Books Passing Before My Eyes, “collecting books published between the 28th and 30th years of Emperor

 Liang Qichao, “Introduction to Bibliography of Western Books,” Essays Not Included in the Collected Works from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio, Vol. 1, “One of the Collected Works,” pp. 122–126.  Xu Weize, “Examples,” in Bibliography of Books on Eastern and Western Learnings, Xu Weize, ed., the Government Printing Bureau, the 3rd month of the 25th year of the Guangxu reign, p. 1.  Gu Xieguang, “Introduction,” Mended Edition of Bibliography of Eastern and Western Learning Books, p. 3.

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Guangxu’s reign of the former Qing Dynasty.” Periodicals formed one of the 25 categories. The compilation was completed in 1904 and officially published in 1927. It generally reflected the level of understanding in the 1920s. In the “Selfintroduction” to the book, Gu Xieguang also recognized the role played by periodicals in introducing Eastern learning. It read, “The students studying in Japan translated many books. But their translations are mostly appended to such magazines as Journal of Translated Works, Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, Tide of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Student Community of Hubei. The other books listed are mostly classified according to the translations’ features, which is of unique significance.”73 Where the form is concerned, shumu (bibliography) and shulu (book catalog) had emerged in China long before. The appearance of various bibliographies of Western learning was to show the path and application of Western learning. The Bibliography of Western Books can be rated as a representative. It comprises book titles, time of translation, translator(s), place of publishing (woodblock cutting and printing), volume number, and price. It also provides the reader with the option of circling their ratings of the books or sharing their reading methods. Other books also show their understanding of Western learning through bibliographies. Zhang Zhidong’s Questions and Answers on Bibliography can be used as a comparison reference. Before, Zhao Weixi had compiled Xixue Shumu Dawen (Answers on the Bibliography of Western Books). The titles alone demonstrate their connection.74 Books of this nature were many, and they also used newspapers and magazines as the media for disseminating Western learning. Bibliography of Translated Modern Books by the Christian Literature Society for China listed Datong Bao (Great Unity Herald), Jiaohui Gongbao (Missionary Bulletin), and Nüduobao (Women’s Messenger) for the first time.75 Huang Qingcheng’s Zhongxi Putong Shumubiao (Bibliography of Ordinary Books from the East and the West) emphasized that Shanghai Polytechnic is the “gathering place” of Western learning. He also pointed out, “Newspapers, magazines, and travel diaries, be they of good or

 Gu Xieguang, “Self-Introduction,” Bibliography of Translated Books Passing Before My Eyes, p. 1.  Zhao Weixi, “Introduction to Questions and Answers on the Bibliography of Western Books,” Questions and Answers on the Bibliography of Western Books, Education Department of Guiyang, 1901, p. 1.  The Christian Literature Society for China, ed., Bibliography of Ordinary Books from the East and the West, No. 1, in Bibliography of Translated Modern Books, Beijing Library (now National Library of China) Press, 2003.

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poor quality, all help broaden people’s minds. So, it is better [to] get as many as we can.”76 Compiled Texts from Newspapers and Magazines While the bibliographies and catalogs of Western learning attached great importance to newspapers and magazines, other compiled materials of Western learning in the late Qing Dynasty also paid attention to periodicals. In response to the reform of the imperial examination system, the compilations were often closely linked to the theme of Western learning and the pursuit of prosperity. Therefore, many of the publications had the names of jingji (administering the country to benefit its people), shiwu (current affairs), and fuqiang (prosperity and power). They were characteristic of reorganization: extracting Western-learning books or collecting the texts published in newspapers or magazines. The compilations were conducive to understanding the views of new media like newspapers and magazines of the time. Fenlei Geguo Yixue Ce (Classified Examination Questions on Arts and Sciences of the Countries in the World), published by Shanghai Translation Society of Chinese and Western Books, extensively collected examination questions on arts and sciences from various academies and famed scholars to “help students study for their examinations.” “Daily Newspapers” was among the 29 categories.77 Zhongwai Jingshi Celun Hezhuan (Combined Compendium of Chinese and Foreign Statecraft and Policy Discourse), published by Hongxue Studio, also recorded “Newspapers and Magazines” in the section of “Foreign Affairs.”78 Even though it did not make “Periodicals” one of the categories, its compilations took much from newspapers and magazines after all. Shanghai Hongwen Book Company published the 180-volume Wanguo Zengzhiyixue Quanshu (A Compendium of the Governance and Technical Learning of All Nations) (Political Investigation) in 1902. It clearly stated, “We also translate current newspapers at home and abroad in addition to purchasing books . . . We’ve got too

 Huang Qingcheng, Zhongxi Putong Shumubiao (Bibliography of Ordinary Books from the East and the West), woodblock-printed by the Mathematics Newspaper Agency in July 1898, p. 12.  Chen Wenzhu, “Introduction,” Classified Examination Questions on the Arts and Sciences of the Countries in the World, Translation Society of Chinese and Western Books, Mid-winter of 1901, p. 1–2.  Tingqiu Jiulu Zhuren, Combined Compendium of Chinese and Foreign Statecraft and Policy Discourse, Hongxue Studio, litho-printed in 1902, p. 1–2.

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many contents translated from foreign newspapers to mention.”79 Xinxue Beizhuan (Complete Collection of New Knowledge), launched in the same year, specified sources of its compiled materials, revealing that it included many of Shanghai Polytechnic articles.80 The Xinxue Dacongshu (Comprehensive Collection of Books on New Learning) of 1903 primarily “collects masterpieces from China and Japan and compiles books by selecting from them those relating to the current state of affairs.”81 Its move to list “Politics and Law” as the first category made it clear that the first few articles were apparently taken from New Citizen and Hunan Learning News. Various “compilations of materials related to the administration of state affairs” widely accepted texts from newspapers and magazines. Over 20 kinds of such compilations emerged and spanned the late Qing and early Republic periods. This phenomenon indicated that the concept of jingshi zhiyong (applying knowledge to practical use) had been deeply rooted in people’s minds. It also revealed the generation gap in understanding the concept. Therefore, the jingshi zhiyong thinking was just a bridge linking Chinese thought to Western thought. Compilations thus became a major dimension in examining how Western knowledge was introduced to and accepted in China. In 1898, Chen Zhongyi included a few newspaper articles in the fifty-fifth volume of his Huangchao Jingshiwen Sanbian (The Third Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing). Since it provided the authors of the articles, we can tell that the views on the issue it brought together were from pioneering scholars of the time.82 In the same year, Mai Zhonghua also included text from Liang Qichao’s newspaper article “On the Benefits of Newspapers for State Affairs” and Tan Sitong’s “On Newspapers’ Style of Writing” in the “Miscellaneous Records” part of his Huangchao Jingshiwen Xinbian (Supplement Edition to the Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing).83 Shao Zhitang’s Huangchao Jingshiwen Tongbian (Complete Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing) was published by Shanghai Baoshan Studio in litho-print in 1901. It had the most collections of the most extensive contents classified under the most carefully subdivided categories  Main Points of Investigation into International Politics and A Compendium of the Governance and Technical Learning of All Nations (Political Investigation), Hongwen Shuju, litho-printed in 1902, p. 3.  Jianzhai Zhuren, Complete Collection of New Knowledge, Kaiwen Shuju, litho-printed in 1902, “Introduction,” p. 1.  “Introduction,” Comprehensive Collection of Books on New Learning, Jishan Qiaoji Shuju, litho-printed in 1903, p. 1.  Chen Zhongyi, “Postal Service,” The Third Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing, Vol. 55, Baowen Shuju, Litho-printed in 1898.  Mai Zhonghua, “Miscellaneous Records,” Supplement Edition to the Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing, Vol. 21, Datong Translation Bureau, 1898.

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among the various compilations related to jingshi (statecraft). In Volume 15, “Culture and Education,” there was the category “Newspaper Agencies.” The headlines of the collected text indicated the understanding of periodicals of the time. The volume made the authors and newspaper sources easy to find.84 Besides, Huangchao Jingshiwen Sibian (The Fourth Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing) compiled by He Liangdong, Huangchao Jingshiwen Wubian (The Fifth Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing) proofread and compiled by the Truth-seeking Studio, and Huangchao Jingshiwen Xinbian Xuji (Continuation of the Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing) compiled by Gan Han all included text discussing newspapers and magazines.85 A brief review of the late-Qing compilations of materials relating to Western learning reveals that the Western books translated into Chinese were categorized according to disciplines of knowledge. However, things were not so simple. Both the arrangement of categories and the method of collecting Western books had to do with late-Qing China’s essential pursuit of using Western learning. It was even more relevant to reforming the examination questions for the imperial examination system. Keeping with the general trend of the time is the key to understanding why these materials appeared in large numbers in the late Qing Dynasty and why they were arranged in this way. The fact that both the discussion and text of newspapers and magazines were included in the aforementioned compilations indicates that newspapers and magazines were an essential part of the late-Qing effort to “use Western learning.” Perhaps we may need to look at the significance of periodicals in promoting academic activities differently.

IV School-Journal-Society: Another “Business” of Periodicals The late Qing Dynasty saw periodicals becoming the main hosts of Western learning. Besides, the integration of newspapers and magazines with universities was equally noteworthy. As mentioned, the discussions on educational institutions, societies, and periodicals among the scholars of the late Qing Dynasty also promoted the development of the three elements. Establishing new schools became

 Shao Zhitang, “Culture and Education Volume,” Complete Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing, Baoshan Studio, 1901.  He Liangdong, “Ritual Administration,” The Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing (Part 5), Vol. 32, Hongbao Shuju, 1902; “Official Publishing Houses and Newspapers Agencies,” Truth-Seeking Studio, ed., The Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing (Part 5), Vol. Yijinshi, 1902; Gan Han, “Miscellaneous,” Continuation of the Collection of Articles on Statecraft of the Qing, Vol. 21, Shangjiang Xuecan Shuju, 1902.

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popular in the early twentieth century and provided a unique opportunity for newspapers and magazines. At the time, Wang Kangnian wished to “revitalize the newspaper business.” Wu Shijian, however, suggested focusing on the “rejuvenation of academic activities” because “as schools have been set up in all the provinces, it would be easy to sell periodicals.”86 The connection between periodicals and schools had become closer by the Republic era, thereby making periodicals another “business.” It was a brand-new situation as compared with the late Qing period. As a result, some periodicals became more academic.

New Youth’s Other “Business” The integration of periodicals with universities opened a new ideological world in the early Republic era different from what existed in the late Qing Dynasty. The growth of New Youth embodied this transition. As a business, its initial operation was bleak. According to Wang Yuanfang, Chen Duxiu went into exile in Shanghai in 1913. He found his uncle Wang Mengzou and told him about founding a magazine. He promised that it would “exert a great impact after about a decade’s hard work.” However, Oriental Book Company was in the middle of publishing Jiayin (The Tiger) and lacked the funds to support another magazine. Therefore, it introduced Chen Duxiu to Chun Yui Book Company, which printed 1,000 copies of Chen’s publication initially and stopped publishing it after only half a year or the sixth issue. It was even tough to find another printer.87 It got a turn for the better after Chen Duxiu became dean of liberal arts at Peking University. Cai Yuanpei’s decision to appoint Chen Duxiu to the dean’s position had to do with New Youth. Cai had invited Chen Duxiu to assume the post multiple times before the latter finally accepted it. In the winter of 1916, Cai Yuanpei, still in France, received a telegram from the Ministry of Education urging him to return to China and preside over Peking University. After arriving in Beijing, he first visited Tang Erhe, dean of the Medical College. Tang told him, “If you have not decided on a dean of the liberal arts, you can invite Mr. Chen Zhongfu, who is now renamed Chen Duxiu. As the editor-in-chief of the New Youth magazine, he is up to the task of guiding young people.” Sharing the same opinion, Cai Yuanpei said, “I’ve had an indelible impression of Mr. Chen . . . Now that you recommended  Wu Shijian, “To Wang Kangnian,” (11), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), pp. 288–289.  Wang Yuanfang, The Oriental Book Company and Chen Duxiu, pp. 33, 37; Wang Mengzou, “To Hu Shih,” October 5, 1918; Geng Yunzhi, ed., Hu Shih’s Posthumous Manuscript and Secret Collection of Letters, Vol. 27, pp. 278–279.

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him and I view his New Youth positively after browsing it, I’ve made up my mind to hire him as the dean.” Chen Duxiu flatly rejected Cai’s invitation, saying that he “was busy publishing a journal.” Cai Yuanpei responded, “That is not a problem. You can bring your journal to the university.”88 Upon hearing about the appointment, Wang Yuanfang and his colleagues commented, “It is much better for Mr. Chen Zhongfu to be a dean of liberal arts at Peking University. It is way better than running a big book company.”89 They were commenting on the pros and cons of universities and book agencies in comparison without expecting them to have a connection. A close relationship presented itself when Chen Duxiu published the third issue of New Youth after assuming the post of a dean: Peking University faculty and students became its main contributors. Soon, the journal began to feature renowned scholars working at Peking University. They included Hu Shih, Qian Xuantong, Gao Yihan, Li Dazhao, Liu Bannong, Shen Yinmo, Tao Menghe, and the Zhou brothers.90 After joining Peking University, New Youth took on a different form: a journal combined with academic works and hosted by a university. When founding the magazine, Chen Duxiu had meant to increase young people’s interest in the “principles of things and laws of scientific phenomena.” The column “Communication” was initially designed to gather readers’ “questions about how to learn.”91 But that was not enough to attract academia’s attention. Zhang Guotao revealed that although New Youth was launched as early as 1915, only a small number of Peking University students knew its existence. They could not buy it at bookstalls on campus until the spring of 1917 when Chen became the dean of liberal arts at the university.92 Zhou Zuoren also believed that New Youth was just an ordinary magazine “without special features.” However, things changed in 1917, and the key to such a transformation lay in Chen’s appointment to the deanship.93 It is fair to say that Peking University, a heavyweight institution of higher education, transformed New Youth and spread its influence to other magazines and journals. In a letter to Hu Shih, Wang Mengzou wrote, “Recently, The Renaissance,  Cai Yuanpei, “My Experience in Peking University,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 31 (1), January 1, 1934, p. 99; Tang Baolin and Lin Maosheng, eds., Chronological Life of Chen Duxiu, Shanghai People’s Press, 1988, p. 75.  Wang Yuanfang, The Oriental Book Company, p. 37.  Chen Duxiu no longer controlled the publication himself. Therefore, it was changed to his colleagues’ publication from Vol. 4(1); Vol. 6(1) announced that it would be edited by turns. “Notice of This Magazine’s Office,” New Youth, Vol. 4(30, March 15, 1918, title page; “List of Rotating Editors of Volume 6 of This Magazine,” New Youth, Vol. 6(1), January 15, 1919, title page.  “Communication,” Youth Magazine, Vol. 1(2), October 15, 1915, pp. 1–2.  Zhang Guotao, My Recollection, Vol. 1, The Eastern Publishing Co., Ltd., 2004, p. 37.  Zhou Zuoren, Memoirs of Zhitang, pp. 333–355.

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New Youth, Xin Jiaoyu (New Education), and Meizhou Pinglun (Weekly Review) have been selling better gradually. It shows that society is mentally and intellectually aspiring higher, which is also something to feel happy about.” Upon hearing about Hu Shih and some others’ plan to publish Xin Zhongguo (New China), Wang Mengzou also requested, “If you don’t mind, we humble book company would like to oversee the publishing and sales of the magazine in Shanghai. Please let us know as soon as possible.”94 Precisely because the sales of New Youth were guaranteed, its editorial department renegotiated the conditions with Chun Yui Book Company and drafted the “Revised Conditions Agreed upon by the New Youth’s Editorial Department and the Shanghai Publishing Department.”95 From what happened, it follows that the editorial department had the full initiative and could protect their editors’ various interests. Unfortunately, the editors and the publisher broke up before they could do anything to prevent it. The printed words “Shanghai Chun Yui Book Company” that had always been on the cover page of New Youth disappeared, starting from the seventh issue. Accordingly, the company’s advertisements that had taken much space in the magazine also vanished. There must have been many reasons for the breakup, but the main reason was, undoubtedly, that the editors of New Youth were no longer dependent on the publisher.96

University Faculty and Students Widely Engaged in Publishing Periodicals Compared with the late Qing Dynasty, the most noticeable change in the early Republic era was the widespread involvement of university faculty and students in creating periodicals. Take Peking University as an example. According to Peking University Daily, by the end of 1920, the university had boasted such regular periodicals as Beijing Daxue Yuekan (Peking University Monthly), Beijing Daxue Xuesheng Zhoukan (Peking University Student Weekly), The Renaissance, Shuli Zazhi (Mathematics  Wang Mengzou, “To Hu Shih,” April 23, 1919, in Geng Yunzhi, ed., Hu Shih’s Posthumous Manuscripts and Secret Collection of Letters, Vol. 27, pp. 289–290.  This text was not carried by New Youth. The original handwriting is published in the National Museum of China, ed., A Collection of Reference Maps of Modern Chinese History, Vol. 2, Shanghai Education Press, 1958, p. 161. About the controversy around this issue, see Ye Shuhui’s “I Call A Newly Discovered Manuscript by Lu Xun in Question,” Lu Xun Studies Monthly, No. 4, 2012, pp. 29034.  We can reenact the disputes surrounding this issue from the “newly discovered set of letters.” See Ouyang Zhesheng, “A Historical Study of the Evolution of Editing the New Youth: A Discussion Centered on the Colleagues’ Letters from 1920–1921,” A Study of History, No. 3, 2009, pp. 82–104.

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and Science Journal), Yinyue Zazhi (Music Magazine), Huixue Zazhi (Painting Scholarship Magazine), Piping Banyuekan (Criticism Semi-Monthly), and Pinglun Zhi Pinglun (Review of Reviews). Additionally, Peking University faculty and students also established over a dozen periodicals off campus.97 Seeing university faculty and students of that era involved in publishing periodicals, Zhang Guotao even concluded that their action was comparable to the “first step.” He said, “The initial step to salvage the country is forming an organization and founding a publication.”98 Here is a brief introduction to the New Renaissance Society and the Young China Association. Both were pretty influential at that time, as were their publications New Renaissance and The Journal of the Young China Association. Peking University students Fu Sinian, Luo Jialun, and Gu Jiegang founded New Renaissance Society at the end of 1918. Initially, it was a magazine agency that embodied the symbiotic relationship between “societies” and “periodicals.”99 Fu Sinian put it this way: “Peking University has existed for 21 years, but unfortunately, not until now have the students started issuing their own publications.”100 He pointed out the views shared by his colleagues, “Students should create a few kinds of magazines.”101 As for “the foremost responsibility of this magazine,” Fu Sinian interpreted, “The job of today’s publishers must, first of all, be to arouse the Chinese people’s awareness of their country’s scholarship.”102 New Renaissance spared no effort in promoting academic research. Despite this, after the magazine’s inauguration, there were still constant voices of selfcriticism among the editors, who said, “We feel very dissatisfied with the previously published issues.” The goal was “to prepare for expanding the agency into a society, making the former part of the latter.” They planned “to issue a series and name it the New Renaissance Series.”103 Fu Sinian’s self-criticism was the most pungent. He frankly admitted that New Renaissance had its shortcomings. Therefore,

 “Publications,” Peking University Daily, December 17, 1920, p. 7.  Zhang Guotao, My Recollections, Vol. 1, p. 43.  “Notice of The Renaissance Magazine Agency,” Peking University Daily, December 13, 1918, p. 2.  Fu Sinian, “A Note on the Purport of The Renaissance,” The Renaissance, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1, 1919, p. 1.  Fu Sinian, “The Review and Prospect of The Renaissance,” The Renaissance, Vol. 2, No. 1, October 30, 1919, p. 199.  Fu Sinian, “Note of the Purport of The Renaissance,” The Renaissance, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1, 1919, pp. 1–2.  “Chronicle of The Renaissance,” The Renaissance, Vol. 2, No. 2, December 1, 1919, p. 401.

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he continued, “whatever criticism we heap on other magazines can apply to our own.”104 The Young China Association was officially founded on July 1, 1919. Initially, it made The Journal of the Young China Association the society’s official publication. It condensed its mission into “Carry out a cultural movement based on the scientific spirit to create a Young China.”105 Wang Guangqi, a key member of the society, played an essential role in formulating the editorship’s philosophy. He clearly explained, “We advocate two things: firstly, where political reform is concerned, it must be for society’s sake. We are against political reform for politics’ sake. Secondly, as far as social reform is concerned, it must be for society’s sake and we are opposed to social reform for politics’ sake.”106 Similar to the New Renaissance Society, the Young China Association also had academic requirements for its members: they had to choose one of the disciplines offered by the university at the time, such as liberal arts, sciences, and engineering. It even stipulated, “Any member who alters his or her discipline halfway shall submit a written report to the association to provide explanations.”107 Needless to say, the opinions on this issue differed among association members. Li Dazhao, for instance, wanted something else, “I hope that the ‘youth movement’ of the Young China Association must be a movement of dual renovation of objective and subjective reality.”108 The action-advocate Yun Daiying also stated, “If we study for an action, then we must ask what the relationship between the study and the action is.”109 Initially, the association’s work was more biased toward the academics. Its editors’ opinions differed later. Even in 1923, speaking of the disputes relating to The Journal of the Young China Association, Liu Renjing still insisted that “the association should be more biased toward teaching and learning.”110

 Fu Sinian, “The Review and Prospect of The Renaissance,” The Renaissance, Vol. 2(1), October 30, 1919, pp. 203–204.  “Proclamation of the Journal of the Young China Association,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 1, No. 3, September 15, 1919, title page.  Wang Guangqi, “‘Society’s Political Reform’ and ‘Society’s Social Reform’,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 3, No. 8, March 1, 1922, p. 53.  “Amendment to the Rules and Regulations of the Young China Association,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 3, No. 2, September 1, 1921, pp. 61–62.  Li Dazhao, “‘The Youth Movement’ of the Young China Association,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 1, No. 3, September 15, 1919, p. 3.  Yun Daiying, “How to Create the Young China?” Vol. 2, The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 15, 1920, pp. 3–4.  Liu Renjing, “A Suggestion to the Association,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 4, No. 7, September 1923, p. 5.

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It was only natural for publications by faculty and students to feature academics. But the various newspapers and magazines failed to achieve satisfactory successes, and they were also a far cry from what Cai Yuanpei had expected. In his inaugural address as president of Peking University, Cai said, “A university is a place where advanced learning is promoted.” He repeatedly told the students that a university was different from a vocational school. College students must come with an aspiration to pursue an academic career. If they wanted to become officials or businessmen, they could have gone to vocational schools instead of universities.111 It is hard to say that Cai was fully aware of the mission of university education from the beginning. Still, his attempt to transform the university into an institution of higher learning showed that scholars had taken an essential step in seeking new roles and identities. Making the university an institution of advanced academic research also became the goal of scholars of their generation. Cai Yuanpei positioned the university as an “institution of education encompassing many great classics and scholars of various schools.” Accordingly, he adopted the policy of “freedom of thought” and “inclusiveness.” As a result, he recruited many dedicated and talented people for Peking University, quickly turning it into a crucial hub of academia in China. However, the faculty of Peking University was unsatisfied with its academic progress. At Peking University’s school-opening convocation in 1920, Hu Shih said sadly that the university might have branded itself as “a pioneer of new thoughts” or “a center of a new culture,” but it should be ashamed of the academic bankruptcy and the impoverishment of learning it was facing. The academic level of Peking University could not be embodied by publishing only five monthly magazines, five books, and on translation in two years.112 Li Dazhao also believed that Peking University’s academic contributions were “too few” and that “only academic development is worthy of the university’s commemoration.”113 Commenting on the achievements of Peking University, Lu Xun also pointed out that firstly, “Peking University often leads in new and improved movements,” and secondly, “Peking University often fights against the dark forces, even if it does it alone.”114 His comment also affirmed that Peking University played a more significant role in the ideological revolution than in academia.

 “Inaugural Address of Cai Jiemin, President of Peking University,” Global, Vol. 2, No. 1, March 20, 1917, pp. 45–47.  Chen Zhengji, “Speech by Mr. Hu Shih,” Peking University Daily, September 18, 1920, p. 3.  Li Dazhao, “Reflections on the 25th Anniversary of the Founding of This University,” Peking University Daily, December 17, 1922, p. 3.  Lu Xun, “Under the Flowered Canopy: My View of Peking University,” Complete Collection of Lu Xun, Vol. 3, p. 155.

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At any rate, the widespread involvement of university scholars in creating periodicals gave their publications an academic flavor and simultaneously affected the flavor of other publications. Jiang Menglin’s description of Cai Yuanpei’s presidency at Peking University as “a stone of the knowledge revolution in a body of still water” was the most appropriate.115 Publications founded by university scholars could naturally better arouse readers’ interest. Feng Zhi, studying at the German Department of Peking University at that time, mentioned in his memoirs that Yusi (Thread of Words) and Xiandai Pinglun (Contemporary Review) became all the rage for a time because of their Peking University background.116 The success of university-based journals impacted commercial magazines, prompting many newspaper agencies and book publishers to involve university scholars in their publishing operation and thereby building a bridge between universities and society. The Commercial Press also made adjustments in this context, attracting many university faculty members to help with business (to be detailed later). Ta Kung Pao was next to none in this endeavor: it launched over ten academic weekly journals. When he joined the newspaper, Xiao Qian noticed that this agency knew “that the readers want more than just news. It must enrich the pages to satisfy the intelligentsia.” So, he launched a variety of weekly magazines.117 Affected by this move, the magazines published by other agencies also paid attention to the academics. Arranging magazine articles according to academic disciplines became a popular component of the New Culture Movement. The magazine Jiefang Yu Gaizao (Liberation and Transformation) told its editors that all works on philosophy, psychology, sociology, ethics, politics, economics, education, law, biology, and literature “are welcome.”118 The Eastern Miscellany set up a “Readers’ Forum” in 1920–1921. Readers also expected the magazines to “introduce the latest Western theories,” believing that magazines with clearly defined categories might seem “heterogeneous and unfocused.” But if “everyone has a copy, the readers will benefit more than reading specialized works.”119 In other words, the entire New Culture Movement was based on publishing. In the “Introduction” to his book Thoughts and Education in the Transitional Age, Jiang Menglin pointed out the close  Jiang Menglin, Tides from the West, pp. 120–121.  Feng Zhi, “Starting a New Style without Being a Teacher: Remembrance of the Education I Received at Peking University,” Enchantments of the Spirit, Peking University Press, 1998, p. 16.  Xiao Qian, “I’ve Been a Cultural Nanny: The Joys and Sorrows of Being an Editor of a Newspaper’s Art and Literature Supplement,” Historical Materials of New Literature, Vol. 3, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1991, pp. 24–47.  “Note No. 1 of This Publication,” Liberation and Transformation, Vol. 1, No. 3, October 1, 1919, title page.  Bi Li, “The Opinion I Asked the Publication to Give,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 17, No. 11, June 10, 1920, pp. 95–96.

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relationship between periodicals and the ideological changes: “Looking back to the period between the 7th and the 11th years of the Republic era, we can see New Youth had changed the intelligentsia in the country. It has had the most significant impact on the youth in terms of literary and ideological revolutions. Later, the Beijing’s Weekly Review, Shanghai’s Weekly Critic, and other publications were also influential.”120 The analysis made at the time showed, “The flourishing of China’s New Culture Movement can be based on publishing.” “Newspapers, magazines, and books are the only tools” of these activities: the advocacy of revolutionary ideas, the introduction of world trends, the promotion of modern literature, the introduction of new art, the development of the scientific spirit, and the discussion of philosophical theories. According to the analysis, it was true not only of China but also of other countries: “The developed printing technology became a dominant tool of cultural transmission. Therefore, the publishing industry became the main driving force for promoting culture.”121 Shen Bao Yearbook published in 1933 listed “A Classified Catalog of the Periodicals Nationwide,” as detailed in Table 4.1: Table 4.1: A classified catalog of the periodicals nationwide. Type Librarianship Publication Report Book Review and Reading Method Philosophy Christianity Buddhism Daoism Education Physical Education Children’s Books Intermediate Reading

Number           

Source: Shen Bao Yearbook, 1933, pp. R1–R2.

Shanghai Yearbook published in 1935 also summed up “the trend of the Shanghai publishing industry” in this way: “1) continuous editing and printing of a series of  Jiang Menglin, Thoughts and Education in the Transitional Age, The Commercial Press, 1932, “Introduction,” p. 3.  Yang Taoqing, A Brief History of China’s Publishing Circle, Yongxiang Press, 1946, Appendix: “Criticism and Hope for the Chinese Publishing Industry,” p. 75.

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books systematically, 2) popularity of magazines; and 3) reprinting ancient classics becoming a trend.” It emphasized, “The publishing of magazines is extremely flourishing. The well-known magazines like The Eastern Miscellany, New China, Shen Bao Yuekan (Shanghai News Monthly), Renwen (Humanities), Xiandai (The Contemporaries), and Wenxue (Literature) had all improved in terms of editing and printing. Besides, periodicals published by other academic institution, as well as general literature and art publications, have been issued in a large number.”122 It proved that specialized magazines developed rapidly in the 1930s. In comparison with the late Qing period, changes in the early Republic era were apparent: with the increase of disciplinary knowledge and, in particular, the establishment of systematic institutions, scholars had places to settle themselves. Simultaneously, periodicals also changed their flavor. It shows that the scholars’ quest for new roles and identities in the early twentieth century was primarily embodied by their pursuit of the “academic society.” The so-called “academic society” was but a name with which scholars of that time bragged about themselves. It was also an effort to rebuild the dignity of knowledge in a transitional society, shift the focus of society in the future to academia, and simultaneously reestablish the scholars’ position.123 Correspondingly, there was no shortage of specialized magazines aside from ideological ones. The distinction can be seen from the concepts of “intelligentsia” and “academia.” Some scholars devoted themselves to scholarship “in seclusion.” However, problems arose at the same time. The commitment to building an academic society would inevitably affect the construction of the “intelligentsia.” It could even cause the scholars to vacillate between academia and politics.

V Academia over Politics: Popularity of the Ideological Revolution The intelligentsia of the Republic era exhibited some aspects of the scholars’ lifestyle, which need to be analyzed from multiple perspectives. Besides, there was another crux: the popularity of newspapers and magazines deeply impacted the scholars’ discourse. As mentioned above, periodicals underwent structural changes in the Republic era. The rise of political party activities expedited the emergence of political newspapers and magazines. The intellectual and academic magazines

 Shanghai Yearbook Editorial Committee, Shanghai Yearbook (1935), Shanghai Tongzhiguan, 1935, pp. T12–17.  For discussion of this issue, see Zhang Qing’s “The Construction of an ‘Academic Society’ and the ‘Power Network’ of Intellectuals: (independent review) Groups and Their Roles and Identities,” A Study of History, Vol. 4, pp. 33–54.

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founded by scholars mostly became popular after 1918. Obviously, disappointment at the political reality prompted scholars to create newspapers and magazines. Such a situation constituted the potential background for forming the intelligentsia in the early Republic era. Therefore, it is necessary to further our discussion of how newspapers and magazines, as specialized media, affected how scholars thought about problems and even reoriented their thinking. The popularity of the idea of an “ideological revolution” is worthy of analysis. It means that the scholars’ widespread involvement in periodicals and, in particular, the close interaction between universities and publications, led scholars to view newspapers and magazines from the perspective of the “ideological revolution.”

The Choice of “Shunning Politics” The New Culture Movement happened partly due to the extreme scholars’ disappointment at the political reality. Many societies established at that time often vied for branding themselves as “non-partisan” or uninvolved in the “political circles.” Obviously, the moves did not help improve political order. However, such a political trend greatly impacted newspapers and magazines. Initially, political enthusiasm caused the ups and downs of publications. Ideological and cultural factors dominated the newspapers and magazines that emerged later. If the intelligentsia of the late Qing Dynasty was credited with the establishment of the Republic, then it was the “Republican illusion” that promoted the reorganization of the intelligentsia, with more attention paid to academics and therefore helping with the development of the New Culture Movement. Such a situation was closely related to the decline of politics in China. After the founding of the Republic of China, political chaos led to political disappointment. Yang Yinhang observed, “Since the establishment of the Republic, politicians’ reputation has suffered, whereas merchants’ have grown.” The reason was that “political failures are not entirely due to politicians, but the corruption of politicians is the main cause.”124 Yang Shuda illustrated with personal experience that scholars often fear being involved in politics. “After seeing how scholars of integrity degenerated irreparably soon after becoming officials, they are scared of politics as if it were vermin.”125

 Lao Pu (Yang Yinhang), “Politicians and Merchants,” Shen Bao, September 27, 1921, p. 20.  The 17th Volume of Collected Works by Yang Shuda: Jiwei Weng’s Memoirs, Classical Literature Publishing House, 1986, p. 1.

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Liang Qichao’s behavior after the founding of the Republic also revealed how politics affected scholars’ choices. After returning to China in 1912, he still chose to run a newspaper as his career, but he devoted his main energy to political activities. After repeated frustrations, he tried to find things to do beyond politics. Zhonghua Book Company launched The Great Chung Hwa Magazine in 1915 and hired Liang Qichao as the chief contributor. In the “Foreword” to The Great Chung Hwa Magazine, he lamented, “All the dreams cherished by the Chinese have crumbled to nothing today.” Meanwhile, however, Liang tried his best to explain that politics was not the entirety of the cause. For this reason, he positioned the magazine as “helping our compatriots a little bit with their personal or social careers.”126 In his “The Reason Why I’ll Serve the Country in the Future,” carried in the same issue of the magazine, Liang even stated, “Mine in the past 20 years has been a political career.” But “from now on, I’ll sever all relations with political groups except that I’ll gather with two or three academic peers.”127 Liang Qichao, as a leader in the intelligentsia of the late Qing Dynasty, contributed a lot to the creation of the Republic of China. Liang’s self-examination at that time showed how frustrated he was with the political development in the early Republic era. Liang had been engaged in serving the country with his pen. His reflection on his past revealed a bit of his helplessness and indicated that he was rethinking the previous way of serving his country. He was representative of many other scholars. Wu Yu’s diary was to the point. As if examining himself every day like one of Confucius’s disciples, he declared more than once that he aimed at “academic research while shunning politics.” As early as 1917, Wu wrote in a diary entry, “I declared last year that I would neither join any party nor work as a chief editor for any political publication. This year, I’ll add one more thing: I’ll disengage from politics.” In 1920, he encouraged himself by saying, “I’ve already made my life purpose clear, that is, neither joining any party nor being a chief contributor to any political publication, nor writing about law or politics. It has been my priority not to get involved in any political affair in recent years.”128 The New Culture Movement also started in this background. When he founded Qingnian Zazhi (Youth Magazine) in 1915, Chen Duxiu declared, “Castigation of current affairs is not the magazine’s purpose.” In an article that he wrote in 1916, Chen

 Liang Qichao, “Foreword to The Great Chung Hwa Magazine,” The Great Chung Hwa Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 20, 1915, pp. 16–18.  Liang Qichao, “The Reason Why I’ll Serve the Country in the Future,” The Great Chung Hwa Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 20, 1915, pp. 29–32.  Museum of the Chinese Revolution (now National Museum of China), Wu Yu’s Diary, Vol. 1, March 2 and June 11, 1917, September 25, 1920, Sichuan People’s Publishing House, 1986, pp. 288, 315, 557.

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also divided history since the mid-Ming Dynasty into seven periods. The seventh period was “the era when the Republic of China has a constitutional government, and its realization depends on the Chinese people’s final awakening in this seventh period.” The reason was that “ethical thinking affects politics, which is true in all countries, especially in China . . . I dare assert that ethical awareness is the last awakening of our people.”129 After his return to China, Hu Shih also made a choice representative of what happened to scholars of the time. His thoughts and aspirations got firmed up in the seven years of studying in the United States. He proclaimed that he had chosen philosophy as his career and literature as entertainment. Politics was nothing but his “disinterested interest.”130 It can be understood that Hu Shih found a balance between his political concerns and his academic aspirations. That was, he found a temporary niche where the two could communicate with each other. In “Thoughts Against Studying Abroad,” perhaps the most significant article he wrote while studying abroad, he chastised China’s studying-abroad policy for focusing too much on industry and commerce while ignoring liberal arts, underrating it as “putting the cart before the horse.” He asked a series of rhetorical questions with sarcasm, “Isn’t the influence of the thinkers like Liang Qichao and Yan Fu great enough over us Chinese? Isn’t the impact of the engineers like Zhan Tianyou and Theodone C. How (Hu Dongchao) on us Chinese significant enough? Has the success of the recent revolution been made by orators or idealists? Or has it been achieved by engineers or machinists?”131 Hu Shih also planned his role accordingly. He wrote a letter to a university professor, “There is no shortcut to political decency and efficiency . . . Let us educate our people, and let us lay a foundation for our future generations on which they can rely.”132 Thus Hu Shih’s choice after his return to China made sense: On my way back to China by ship in 1917, I heard about Zhang Xun’s restoration in Yokohama. When I arrived in Shanghai, I saw the medieval condition of the publishing industry and the silent education world. Only then did I realize that Zhang Xun’s restoration was only too natural. I’ve just made up my mind not to talk about politics for the next 20 years. Instead, I want to build an innovative foundation for Chinese politics in thought, cultural and arts.133

By claiming that he “would not talk about politics for the next 20 years,” Hu Shih meant to highlight the importance of “thought and culture.” It represented the  Chen Duxiu, “Our Last Awakening,” New Youth, Vol. 1, No. 6, February 15, 1916, pp. 2, 4.  Jiang Zhenyong, If I Can’t Do It, Who Can? (Vol. 1), New Star Press, 2011, p. 351.  Hu Shih, “Thoughts Against Studying Abroad (2),” Overseas in America Yearly, No. 3, January 1914, pp. 12–13.  Hu Shih, “Hu Shih’s Diaries while a Student Abroad (3),” Collected Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 36, p. 250.  Hu Shih, “My Cross-Roads,” Collected Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 9, p. 65.

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opinions of all the scholars in the early Republic era. In 1913, Wu Zhihui, Cai Yuanpei, Li Shizeng, and Wang Jingwei shared this feeling when they met for a talk. They agreed, “The only way to save the country is to talk the aspiring young people into getting engaged in the most profound learning and immersing themselves in one academic discipline for 20 or 30 years.” They also came to the consensus that “Once they become renowned scholars of a specialized field, their words and actions would gain the trust of society and then lead to drastic changes in the academic atmosphere.”134 However, it does not mean that scholars were indifferent to politics. It meant, instead, that they had a new understanding of the relationship between politics and thought. In fact, showing concerns for the political reality was an important reason why New Youth could gather a group of scholars and have its impact on public opinion. It is just that this concern was initially expressed through a breakthrough in “ethical thinking,” which was a precursor to a political reform. Chen Duxiu believed that the problem of China boiled down to one point: “Enlightenment in terms of ethics represents the ultimate enlightenment.” In contrast, Hu Shih “wanted to build for China a foundation for a political reform in the realm of culture.” However, it was hard to tell whether it was political or cultural. By dedicating themselves to thinking over ideology and culture, they just tried to dispel the dense political fog instead of “shunning politics,” as they claimed. According to Hu Shih, New Youth basically “shunned politics while focusing on reforming culture and thoughts before 1919.” This is why there was the deliberate avoidance of politics.135 A few complaints from Chen Duxiu also illustrated this point, “The colleagues and readers usually don’t like it when I talk about politics.” But “political issues are always critical to the survival of a country and a nation. How can they pretend to be deaf and mute?”136 Those differences led to the split of New Youth’s editorial staff at large. Its No. 1 Vol. 7 of the magazine published in December 1919 contained a declaration which was said to represent “the shared opinion of all staff members.” It brought its internal rift to light. It is surprising for a magazine that had lasted seven volumes to state that “the specific guideline of this publication has not been fully expressed.” It is even more revealing that it admitted there were disputes among staff members on the one hand and “clearly announced the shared opinion of all

 Wu Zhihui, “Selected Entries of My Diary Written at the Age of Forty-Nine,” Selected Works of Wu Jingheng: Preface, Postscript, Travels, and Essays, Wen Xing Bookstore, 1967, p. 221.  Hu Shih, “In Memory of the ‘May Fourth Movement’,” Independent Review, Vol. 149, May 4, 1935, p. 5.  Chen Duxiu, “China’s Political Issues Today,” New Youth, Vol. 5, No. 1, July 15, 1918, p. 1.

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members” on the other hand. The reasonable inference is that dissonances had arisen among the staff of New Youth and it aroused suspicions in society. Otherwise, there would have been no need to make any announcement of “shared opinions” at this particular time. The declaration revealed that a considerable rift had occurred within New Youth. Disagreement arose over some fundamental issues, including the relationship with political reality and the future of the magazine.137 The editorial staff of New Youth, gradually parting company, tried to find a way to bridge the gap by issuing such a declaration. Consequently, they picked up the banners of “popular movement” and “social transformation” and expressed the need to “absolutely sever relations” with various factions of political parties. But this had little effect. Nor could the rift among the magazine’s editorial staff be easily bridged.138 Therefore, the question was far from just whether to talk about politics. For the New Culture generation, to create publications didn’t mean to stay away from politics. Instead, it indicated giving priority to ideology over politics, and to this end, the publications raised the banner of an “ideological revolution.”

From the “War of the Academics” to the “War of Ideas” “Today’s era is an era of ideological warfare” was the clear message Du Yaquan sent in an article that he wrote in 1915. He pointed out that the spread of civil rights of the eighteenth century and nationalism of the nineteenth century to China led to the 1911 Revolution, which made “the war of ideas in China all the more prominent.”139 As mentioned earlier, the Chinese had gradually realized that the contest between China and the West would eventually be a “war of the academics.” It was a significant breakthrough in scholars’ understanding of Chinese and Western culture in the late Qing Dynasty. The context of Du Yaquan’s “war of ideas” cannot be mentioned in the same breath as the “war of the academics” prevalent in the late Qing Dynasty. The “war of the academics,” which had evidently evolved from the “war of commerce,” conveyed the emphasis on

 “Proclamation of This Magazine,” New Youth, Vol. 7, No. 1, December 1, 1919, pp. 1, 3.  It is impossible to detail the breakup of the New Youth magazine and the post-May 4th Movement situation. See Zhang Qing, “The 1920s: The Split of the Intelligentsia and the Reorganization of Chinese Society: Tracking the Ideological Differentiation of Our New Youth Colleagues in the Post-May 4th Period,” Modern Chinese History Studies, No. 6, 2004, pp. 122–160.  Cang Fu (Du Yaquan), “On Ideological War,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 12, No. 3, March 1, 1915, p. 4.

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the theories behind technologies. The concept of the “war of ideas” focused on social changes and highlighted the significance of “ideas” or “thought.” In a series of writings, Huang Yuansheng diverted the focus of the discussions to the intelligentsia. As early as the beginning of 1916, Huang clearly stated in his article “The Common Bane of the Chinese People” published in The Eastern Miscellany that the so-called “public bane” was that “the intelligentsia are, in a word, way too broad and vague in its definition.” It was because “all the systems and academic knowledge introduced into China are generalized with generalization,” thus resulting in the following: “China’s politics is still China’s politics, and no political reform has occurred. China’s academic articles are still China’s academic articles, and no new learning has come into being. If there is any change, it is in our country’s intelligentsia, which is ready for tremendous changes and will not end up so decayed.”140 Wang Jingxi gave a summary later, saying that since the publishing of “The Common Bane of the Chinese People . . . Many people have said in unison that the intelligentsia is at the root of all the bad things that have happened in China. They also say that if we wanted to reform China, the first step we must take is to reform the thought.”141 Regardless of the other publications, many articles published in New Renaissance conveyed the same idea. Gu Jiegang expressed “great disappointment” with New Renaissance for the inclination toward literature instead of ideology in its first few issues. He emphasized that “we aim to reform the minds and publish more articles on ideological issues.”142 Gu’s disappointment was probably unnecessary because New Renaissance actually published quite a lot on ideological issues. Luo Jialun explained that political and ideological movements should be mutually promoting. He went on to say, “There is no such a thing that action can change without a change of the thought. Therefore, the purpose of our cultural movement is to make the ideological revolution the foundation of all reforms.” The practical approach that Luo approved also focused on ideology and culture: 1) the current periodicals must put their emphasis on reform to improve their quality instead of quantity; 2) the printed matter for publicity must increase; 3) major systematically written books from the West must be

 Yuansheng, “The Common Bane of the Chinese People,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 13, No. 1, January 10, 1916, pp. 1–12.  Wang Jingxi, “What’s Ideology?” The Renaissance, Vol. 1, No. 4, April 1, 1919, p. 557.  Gu Jiegang, “To Fu Sinian,” February 21, 1919, The Renaissance, Vol. 1, No. 4, April 1, 1919, p. 710.

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translated and introduced to the Chinese as soon as possible; and 4) the training of experts is so urgently needed that it must not be delayed anymore.143 Many periodicals published then also advertised themselves as caring for ideological issues. When first launched in 1919, New China pointed out in its “Foreword,” “New thought is the premise of creating new politics, ethics, and academics.”144 The Minxing (Fujian Star) magazine, founded in the same year, raised the issue of “reconstruction of the intelligentsia . . . because the evolution of the world is closely related to human thinking. The phenomenon naturally portrayed the degree of the ideological change, showing which stage it has reached.”145 Some magazines even fell into the stereotype of ideological determinism, making it clear that “all social progress originates from progress of the thinking.”146 Articles in Shishi Xinwen (The China Times) that discussed the two trends in the intelligentsia even made giving priority to the thought a premise, pointing out, “Everyone probably knows that to reform society, the thought must be transformed, and academics, society, and politics change with the thought.”147 The emphasis on the priority of the thought can be seen as the influence of the traditional thinking model that emphasized “learning above politics.” When elaborating on the May Fourth generation’s thinking model of “using ideology and culture to solve fundamental social problems,” Lin Yusheng attributed it to the influence of traditional Chinese thinking.148 However, the interaction between periodicals and scholars reveals the other side of the issue: the role of newspapers and magazines. People from all walks of life felt drawn to newspapers and magazines and dedicated themselves to the trade because they realized the importance of these publications as media. It was only natural for them to popularize the concept of an ideological revolution. It is fair to say that to interpret the prevalence of the discourse in the New Culture Movement period, it must be remembered that newspapers and magazines had exerted a major impact on the basic lifestyle of scholars. However, it is still necessary to consider that the intelligentsia created by newspapers and magazines not only contributed to the change in the direction of scholars’ discussions but also raised questions worthy of  Luo Jialun, “The Success and Failure of Our Student Movement in the Past Year and the Policy We Should Take in the Future,” The Renaissance, Vol. 2, No. 4, May 1, 1920, pp. 858–861.  Li Ran, “Introduction to the New Magazine,” New China, Vol. 1, No. 1, May 15, 1919, p. 3.  Chen Jiongming, “Introduction to the Magazine,” Fujian Star, Vol. 1, No. 1, December 1, 1919, p. 1.  “Proclamation of This Magazine,” Review of Reviews, Vol. 1, No. 1, December 15, 1920, p. 4.  Chen Wentao, “Two Major Trends in China’s Intelligentsia Recently,” The China Times, “Light of Learning” supplement, Vol. 5(4), No. 29, April 29, 1923, p. 1.  Lin Yusheng, The Crisis of Chinese Consciousness (revised and enlarged edition), Guizhou People’s Press, 1988, pp. 45–51.

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examination. The crux is that the concept of an ideological revolution was popular during the May Forth period, and the line of thinking continued into the postMay Fourth era. Theorists’ expositions of the legacy of the May Fourth Movement take note of the continuation of the ideological revolution.149 This topic requires further discussion.

 Vera Schwarcz, “The May Fourth Movement: Lessons of National Memory,” The May Fourth Movement and the Construction of Chinese Culture—Selected Papers from the Academic Symposium on the 70th Anniversary of the May Fourth Movement, Vol. 1, China Social Sciences Press, 1989, p. 151.

Chapter Five The Multiple “Colors” of the Intelligentsia: Newspapers and Politics The intelligentsia first appeared in the late Qing Dynasty. It was closely related to newspapers and magazines, and its public aspect was apparent from the beginning. The intelligentsia, as a stage, invited public participation. As a public space or a place for public opinion, it responded to the new relationship between society and state that was being hashed over by the international community. If there is no need to over emphasize or analyze the political aspect, it is because public opinion has always had a fraught relationship with politics in modern China. In reality, newspapers and magazines of the late Qing period, as the hosts of the intelligentsia, had much to do with politics and pursued the goal of facilitating communication between the upper and lower levels and between China and the West. As the concept of state acquired its modern meaning, it was discussed as an arena of public life, and public opinion was considered the voice of society. But newspapers and magazines had an ambiguous relationship with politics, they shied away from talking about politics and tried to remain apolitical. As a result, a study of the intelligentsia should not look solely into newspapers and magazines but should consider the social environment in which the intelligentsia developed. An analysis of the ways public opinion and politics influenced each other affords a better understanding of the development of the intelligentsia and the turbulent history of public opinion. Simply put, the multiple facets of the intelligentsia show that it is inseparable from politics. Public opinion, a product of the new state-society relationship, shook the old political order and impacted the state’s political life by making the intelligentsia more accessible. These complicated developments created the multiple facets. Scholars, consisting mainly of students and teachers and therefore a natural ally to academia, often refrained from discussing politics, but this did not shield them from intellectual conflict. Moreover, the intelligentsia was ideological and tried to influence national politics while political elites often aligned themselves with opinions in the intelligentsia. All of this shows the political nature of the intelligentsia.

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I Organization of Scholars and the Intensified Intellectual Conflict In order to study the connection between the intelligentsia and politics, efforts must be made to explore the political views of the scholars and the resulted intellectual conflict. The intelligentsia was formed and sustained by politically motivated groups in both late Qing and the Republic era. What is different in these two periods is that scholars had a new place to gather in the Republican era—the universities. Common academic and political ideals were often what united scholars, who went to the gatherings and saw more conflicts taking shape there. There had also been conflicts at gatherings in the late Qing Dynasty, such as those at New Citizen and People’s Journal, but at that time the intelligentsia was more limited in scope and influence. In the Republican era, conflicts grew out of a multitude of political views at the gatherings; they were the sole constant in the intelligentsia.

Grouping by Country of Study, Political Party, and Province of Origin The correspondence between Ding Wenjiang and Hu Shih in April 1922 informs us about Republican era gatherings. The letters mentioned the Cultural Institute to be established jointly by Peking University, Beijing Normal University, the Geological Society, and the Astronomical Society. Ding was very clear on this, “Staff should be hired without considering what countries they studied in, what political parties they belong to, or what provinces they come from.”1 Of course, the three things Ding wanted to avoid considering were exactly the things that were predominantly considered at the time; they were also the three factors that mobilized scholars to attend the gatherings. While it is true that the growth of universities solidified the distinction between the old school and the new school and obfuscated that regarding an educated person’s native province, academic history of that era indicates that provincial considerations were alive and well and exerted an important influence on student organizations of the time. Educated people in rural areas moved to the cities to seek better prospects, symbolizing modern China’s mobile society. The tongxiang relationships, or assistance from people of the same place of origin, facilitated this movement enormously. This is true in both the late Qing period and the Republican era. Upon

 Ding Wenjiang, “Correspondence with Hu Shih, April 8, 1922,” Hu Shih Letters, Vol. 1, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Zhonghua Book Company, 1979, p. 195.

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their arrival in Beijing, the Zhou brothers went straight to and lived for a long time in the Shaoxing Association, where tongxiang Cai Yuanpei helped them establish careers in the capital. The dozen or so founding members of the Xinmin Guild lived in their respective associations from the various counties of Hunan province.2 Hu Shih relied on fellow townsmen friendships all his life. He became board chairman of the Jixi Association soon after he arrived in Beijing in 1918 and participated in the Anhui Reform Association in 1920.3 In his later years Hu often talked about the friendships he formed in these associations and always wanted people to know that he was from Huizhou, Anhui.4 A cursory review of the classified ads in the Peking University Daily reveals the role of the tongxiang relationships at the university. Student organizations such as the Mathematics Society or the Calligraphy Study Group advertised for new membership in the school newspaper but there were other ads concerning tongxiang associations. There was one ad for Jiangsu staff members which announced the “First PTA Meeting for Prep Course Students” in order to “foster tongxiang links.”5 This shows that tongxiang connections constituted a cultural and emotional link between the students and the folks back home. Kang Baiqing wrote about Peking University’s tongxiang associations which numbered over a hundred: “These associations are proactive and persistent; the bigger associations are from Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Hunan and the smaller from Jiangsu, Shandong, Yunnan, and Sichuan.”6 When The Renaissance was first published, Fu Sinian was editor, Yang Zhensheng secretary, and Xu Yan director; all of them were from Shandong and constituted half of the staff.7 If the tongxiang relationships were strong with the students, they were equally strong with the teachers. Cai Yuanpei’s tongxiang connections got him admitted to the university whereas the large Zhejiang contingent soured social relationships on campus: “If Peking University is to be a top-rate school, we must get rid of the Zhejiangers.”8 That a person’s native province was a substantial determining factor in organizations of scholars was heatedly debated in the newspapers and magazines. “About Nationalism,” published as an addendum to The Journal of the Young

 Luo Zhanglong, Chunyuan Diaries, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1984, p. 8.  Gen Yunzhi, Hu Shih Chronicles, Zhonghua Book Company, 1986, pp. 63–64.  Hu Shih also told the story of Chen Duxiu being arrested in 1919 and his Anhui tongxiangs put up bail to get him out of prison. See “Hu Shih’s Oral Autobiography,” The Complete Collection of Hu Shih, Vol. 18, pp. 148, 350.  “To Peking University’s Jiangsu Staff,” Peking University Daily, December 1, 1917, p. 4.  Kang Baiqing, “Peking University Students,” Youth World, Vol. 1, No. 1, June 1919, p. 52.  “The Renaissance’s Announcement,” Peking University Daily, December 13, 1918, p. 2.  Yang Shuda, Jiwei’s Memoirs: Yang Shuda’s Collection, Vol. 17, pp. 70, 72.

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China Association Vol. 4 Issue 10, called for the cessation of differentiation based on one’s county, province, and race and for integration into a single Chinese culture. The article pointed out that localism was present not only at the provincial and county levels but was also prevalent in commerce and industry; even scholars were not immune.9 It was ironic that criticism of the province-centric mindset appeared in the rhetoric against nationalism and cosmopolitanism, but it must be emphasized that the idea of “community” was taking shape and becoming the basis of intellectual sectarianism. Ding Wenjiang wrote about the question of overseas studies. He believed that the growth of universities and the popularity of New Youth and The Renaissance magazines caused the change from narrow geocentrism to holistic community in public gatherings of scholars. The expanded variety of writers at New Youth was symbolic; practically all the writers of the first volume had been from Anhui or intimately connected to Anhui’s political and cultural circles, but editors and writers from The Tiger and Zhonghua Xinbao were the mainstay of the second volume. This fact speaks volumes about the common history of The Tiger and New Youth. The third volume was published after Chen Duxiu became the dean of the liberal arts school. The writers were mostly teachers and students at Peking University, signaling that the magazine was fast becoming the bastion of reform at the university.10 The Renaissance had a similar history. Tongxiang relationships were gradually replaced by friendships struck up in the classroom or dormitory. Kang Baiqing, Yu Pingbo, and Fu Sinian were classmates in the Chinese Language Department in 1916. Gu Jiegang went to work for The Renaissance as Fu’s roommate and brought along high school buddies Sheng Tao, Wang Boxiang, and Guo Shaoyu.11 A sense of mission gradually formed in the public gatherings. Fu Sinian described The Renaissance as a forum of like-minded people and the byproduct of the thirst for knowledge.12 Under such conditions, the intelligentsia gradually separated into the old and new schools. The new school associated closely with Western culture, and the country of overseas study became a code name for a certain political view. Hu

 Dao Zhi, “Does China Need to Teach Cosmopolitanism?,” originally in “World Education” in The Eastern Times. The quote here is based on The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 4 No. 10, February 1924, addendum “About Nationalism,” p. 4.  Chen Wanxiong, May Fourth Movement Explained, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1997, pp. 1–23.  Gu Jiegang, “The Renaissance Retrospective,” in Zhang Yunhou et al. eds., Social Groups During the May Fourth Movement, Vol. 2, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1979, pp. 124–126.  Fu Sinian, “The Renaissance’s Purpose,” The Renaissance Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1, 1919, p. 1; “The Renaissance’s Past and Future,” The Renaissance, Vol. 2 No. 1, October 30, 1919, p. 202.

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Shih said of the staff at New Youth, “Meng and I were the only two who went to study in the UK and the US, so we shared similar views on many issues.”13 Zhou Zuoren intimated that graduates of US-UK schools looked down on scholastically unaccredited Liu Bannong; Liu, incensed, went abroad to study and came back with a doctoral degree to even the score.14 It was clear that those who had studied overseas became the elite of the society. In a letter dated May 1912, Ding Wenjiang wrote that during the revolution of 1911, he was asked by the important personages of his home town to create a security force, since when someone had studied abroad as he had, “he could do anything.”15 In academia, a person’s “foreign connections” could do wonders for their career. Hu Shih became the darling of academia mainly because he had studied in the US, and then there was the “foreign factor” of John Dewey, whose visit to China was a huge event in the intelligentsia. Hu made some wry remarks about the Beijing intelligentsia’s servility to the West when many in Columbia University’s alumni club vied for the chance to host John Dewey’s farewell dinner.16 But Hu was not above the fray himself. When his book A Short History of Chinese Philosophy was published, his name was “Hu Shih, PhD” on the cover. There was no question that Dewey’s visit to China elevated Hu’s academic standing considerably.17 The active Western alumni clubs foreshadowed academia’s cultural alignments with the host countries, and their influence wasn’t limited to academia. Gu Weijun merged the alumni of American, French, Belgian, German, and English universities into the Western Returned Scholars Association, an organization which was purportedly “completely apolitical” and whose aim was to “benefit the society by holding speaking and other charitable events.”18 Yet it was precisely because they had studied abroad that association members were able to find careers outside academia. In 1917, The Eastern Miscellany published an article calling the returned scholars “our nation’s leaders and saviors” because “now that the civil examination system has been abolished, the political, military, and academic sectors can find talents only in the pool of returned scholars.” The article provided data to back up its claim: of the 1,655 returned scholars in Beijing, 1,024

 Hu Shih, “A Biography of Ding Wenjiang,” Collected Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 23, p. 52.  Zhou Zuoren, Memoir of Zhitang, pp. 358, 502.  “Letters of Ding Wenjiang,” Political Intrigue of Late Qing-Republican Transition, Vol. 1, Luo Huimin, ed., Liu Guiliang, trans.,World Knowledge Publications, 1986, p. 539.  Hu Shih’s Diaries Vol. 1, (manuscript), July 1, 1921, Yuan-liou Publishing Comapny, 1990. Photocopy edition with no page numbers, as below.  Luo Zhitian, Recreating Culture: Hu Shih’s Biography (1891–1929), Zhonghua Book Company, 2006, pp. 177–178.  Gu Weijun, Memoirs, Vol. 1, Zhonghua Book Company, 1983, pp. 135–138.

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went into politics, 132 into academia, 16 into media, 56 into the military, and 23 into medicine.19 We can see from these numbers that politics was more appealing to the returned scholars than academia. Politics and academia generally have their own separate fields of activities, but due to the prestigious status of the returned scholars and their active association, politics and academia in this period found ties that bound them together. It is not surprising that these ties had political ramifications. Moreover, as China was besieged by a wave of political storms during this period, it was only natural that academia came out of its insulated habitat and inserted itself into political struggles.

Social Forces in the Universities In the Republican era, college students and professors alike founded clubs, newspapers, and magazines to voice their opinions. They wanted to avoid political discussions but social issues invariably found their way into the universities. The social forces that were the subjects of their writings pressed upon them and their places of work—the campuses—raising a number of issues: what were the teachers’ social responsibilities and what role did the universities play? Magazines created by Peking University teachers and students such as New Youth, Weekly Review, and The Renaissance were mired in these muddy issues. There was an announcement in New Youth, Vol. 6, Issue 2 in February 1919: Many people from the outside make no distinction between New Youth and Peking University and this has created some unnecessary rumors. We want to stress that even though some of our editors and writers work for the university, we are an entirely private magazine. We are responsible for our opinions and discussions and Peking University is not.20

We see the academic circle’s anxiety over rumors about its political involvement, but such announcements could not help matters. How could New Youth’s detractors or people in this line of work not blur the lines between the magazine and the university? Chen Duxiu believed that some people had read articles written by the professors and began to spread rumors about the university. “They could not engage in public debate, so they relied on the two secret weapons they had:

 “Youth Federation and the Returned Scholars,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 15, 1917, pp. 196–197.  “From the Editorial Department,” New Youth, Vol. 6, No. 2, February 15, 1919, flyleaf.

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rumormongering and the powerful forces backing them.”21 In his subsequent letters to Hu Shih, Chen commented on the punishment meted out to the students who had been arrested, “That was self-protection by the school . . . It may be necessary to restructure the university and punish the two dailies and the weekly.”22 These magazines found a new way to express differing views. From a social perspective, the magazines created by students and professors served as their signatures, and what was going on in the universities could spread quickly to the society through newspapers and magazines. In February 1919, the Shenzhou Daily disclosed in an article that the ultra-progressive views of Chen Duxiu, Hu Shih, Tao Menghe, and Liu Bannong had attracted government intervention, that Chen had relocated to Tianjin in distress, and that the university president had fought to keep the other three in their positions. On March 4, it reported that “seniorlevel scholar Chen Duxiu was rumored to have resigned and President Cai did nothing to dispel the rumors.”23 On March 18 Gongyanbao published an ironyfilled introduction to the various magazines at Peking University, saying that the new-school professors whose political rants had filled the pages of New Youth were now creating a new magazine called The Renaissance and yet another publication named Weekly Review with the help of the students. It also pointed out that the old-school adherents created Core China magazine to counter the outrageous opinions of their opponents.24 President Cai Yuanpei did not sit idly as the Shenzhou Daily spread rumors about the university. He wrote to the newspaper to declare that Chen Duxiu had not resigned.25 He clarified to Gongyanbao by asking them to publish his unedited answers to the questions posed by reporter Lin Shu. His answers basically explained Peking University’s stance on the New Culture movement: first, that the university welcomed all points of view, and second, that the professors’ aim was

 Two Eyes (aka Chen Duxiu), “Regarding the Peking University Rumors,” Weekly Review, Vol. 13, March 16, 1919, 3rd edition.  Chen Duxiu, “To Hu Shih,” May 7, 1919, Hu Shih Correspondence, Vol. 1, Zhonghua Book Company, 1979, p. 42.  Cai Yuanpei, “President Cai’s Letter to Shenzhou Daily’s Reporter,” Peking University Daily, March 19, 1919, 4th edition.  “Intellectual Movements in Beijing’s Academia,” Gongyanbao, March 18, 1918. Similar contents were first published in Shen Bao. See Jing Guan’s “Peking University’s The Renaissance v. Old Wave,” Shen Bao, March 6, 1919, p. 6.  Cai Yuanpei, “President Cai’s Letter to Shenzhou Daily’s Reporter,” Peking University Daily, March 19, 1919, p. 4. Weekly Review culled reactions to the article and published “Public Opinion on The Renaissance v. Old Wave” as an addendum.

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to advance scholarship and that the school would not inquire into, nor was it responsible for, what its professors did outside the classroom.26 Both teachers and students felt the stress of social pressure. According to Fu Sinian, eight months into its existence, The Renaissance had already encountered three problems: financial difficulties, hostile reactions, and a catastrophic motion to censure Cai Yuanpei and impeach Fu Zengxiang, the minister of education.27 Correspondence between Fu Zengxiang and Cai Yuanpei recounted what went on behind the scenes during this period. Fu wrote, “The elite of our city are not very happy about what is going on at Peking University,” and “There ought to be rules for expressing one’s opinion.” Cai pointed out that “outsiders often misunderstood our campus,” but agreed with Fu on how opinions ought to be aired, emphasizing that “One should not worry about criticism, but it becomes a problem if it is expressed out of place or emotionally.”28 To know what was meant by “out of place” we must understand the two aspects that defined the relationship between academia and newspapers and magazines; one concerns roles and the other concerns the expression of views. One characteristic of the intelligentsia in early Republican era is that academia and newspapers and magazines were indistinguishable. Yang Yinhang observed: “If one hangs out the academic shingle but does one’s own thing or dispenses one’s own brand of politics, scholarship will go to seed; or if one becomes a tool for politicians, setting up a bureau here and an office there, gesticulating one’s views all day long but never devoting a moment to study, one disgraces the scholarly dignity.”29 Yang never mentioned specifically to whom his statements were directed, but they targeted at least certain people in the academic circle who had founded magazines. The key point is not that some teachers or students wrote for magazines but that some areas of their reflections were “out of place” and got them into political trouble, the aftermath of which was lines drawn in the intelligentsia, dividing it into the “us” and “them” camps.

 Cai Yuanpei, “President Cai’s Response to Gongyanbao’s Reporter Lin Qinnan’s Questions,” Gongyanbao, March 18 and April 1, 1919, and Peking University Daily, March 21, 1919, pp. 1–4.  Fu Sinian, “The Renaissance’s Past and Future,” The Renaissance, Vol. 2, No. 1, October 30, 1919, p. 201.  “Fu Zengxiang-Cai Yuanpei Correspondence,” Peking University Files Vol. 7, Table of Contents 1, File 117, based on Historical Records of Peking University, Vol. 2 (1912–1937) Book 2, Peking University Press, 2000, pp. 2744–2745.  Lao Pu (Yang Yinhang), “Politicians and Scholars,” Shen Bao, September 29, 1921, p. 18.

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Materialization of the Intelligentsia: “Us” and “Them” The polarization of the intelligentsia began in the late Qing Dynasty. Different sects coalesced in the academic circle out of a general zeal for revolution, but the intelligentsia was small at the time, so the conflicts were mostly internecine and did not affect the society as a whole. However, the polarization could not be ignored in the Republican era. Some sects used newspapers and magazines to attack one another and some magazines had polarized staff, which was a unique feature of the intelligentsia. The more heated the intellectual conflicts, the clearer the distinction between the “us” and “them” camps. The conflict between Xinmin Ribao and People’s Journal manifested as a constant war of words between the two magazines. Feng Ziyou once listed the membership roster of overseas branches of the revolutionary and monarchist parties and described how the conflict between them became more virulent, “Partisan media could start a war of words anywhere and anytime.”30 Tao Juyin said of the two parties, “They would use any means to humiliate one another; coexistence was too intolerable to contemplate.”31 Liang Qichao canceled his European trip in 1906 because of the conflict. In his letter to Xu Fosu, Liang wrote, “I have to give up the idea of taking a sabbatical from New Citizen to travel because the magazine is struggling to win over public opinion.”32 Liang wanted to win the struggle but was open to a ceasefire. In another letter to Xu, he wrote, “I think it is a great idea to publish a letter calling for a truce.”33 Xu held some secret communications with People’s Journal and published “Friendly Advice to Stop the Squabble” on New Citizen, but his efforts proved futile.34 It was an admission of weakness when his magazine on the losing side printed such a letter, but People’s Journal, the winning side, wanted nothing less than complete victory. When Liang’s book Chinese Textual Explanations was published in 1907, he wrote a letter to Jiang Guanyun in which he expressed

 Feng Ziyou, Revolutionary History of the Republic of China, Vol. 1, Chinese Cultural Service Publications, 1946, p. 51–53.  Tao Juyin, “An Old Saying,” Political Anecdotes, Huabao Press, 1934, p. 6.  Liang Qichao, “Letter to Fosu,” spring of 1906, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, pp. 362–363.  Liang Qichao, “To Xu Fosu,” spring of 1906, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 363.  Song Jiaoren recorded his communications with Xu in his diary, and the efforts he put in. See Song Jiaoren’s Diary, Vol. 6, January 10–11, 1907, pp. 322–323.

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admiration for Zhang Taiyan’s scholarship and told of his desire to separate academia from politics,35 but Zhang basically ignored him.36 The bitter dispute between New Citizen and People’s Journal is common in modern China’s intellectual evolution. Every era has had something similar; the only difference is in the motive and the decibels, which reached a crescendo in the Republican era, that was all. Gao Changhong wrote that “China’s discernible intellectual movements started with New Youth.” He also explained the differences in new-school publications: “We see on the surface that publications such as Sliced Language, Modern Criticism, The Guide Weekly, Awakened Lion, and Creation were all independent from and incompatible with one another; but when we view them through the ideological lens, we see that they were almost cut from the same cloth.”37 Internal polarization and external wars of words waged by these publications attracted much public attention. In 1920 Qu Qiubai pointed out, without much explanation, that the new school’s hidden contradictions were rising up to the surface.38 But in reality, it was clear early on that there were sects within the new school. In Peking University, Tang Erhe and Jiang Menglin, from the administrative department, were part of the Zhejiang sect, who staffed posts with their allies.39 Countering them were Shen Yinmo, Li Shizeng, and Gu Mengyu in the French cultural sect.40 Hu Shih went to Peking University with the help of Chen Duxiu. When Chen left, Hu began to cultivate his own connections and before long sects named after specific persons began to appear. When Lu Xun went on a southern lecture tour in late 1926, he was heckled by Gu Jiegang in Xiamen and Guangzhou; after their dispute became acrimonious, the two men refused to be seen together. The newspapers all knew that “the Hu and Lu sects can’t stand each other.”41 Moreover, college students were said to gravitate toward two distinct

 Liang Qichao, “Letter to Jiang Guanyun,” February 1907, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 378.  Jiang Yihua, Essential Zhang Taiyan, Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1985, p. 225.  Gao Changhong, “New Youth’s Aspirations,” A Walk in the Print Industry, November 14, 1926, pp. 141–152.  Qu Qiubai, New Russian Travel Log, Commercial Press, 1922, p. 32.  Wu Yu noticed and commented on this phenomenon, “The unsuccessful reinstatement of Tang Erhe, an advocate of the movement spearheaded by Jiang Menglin, was surprising but it showed the power of the Zhejiang sect nonetheless.” See Wu Yu Diary, Vol. 2, Chinese Revolution Museum, ed., January 24, 1924, p. 154.  Sang Bing, “Sects in Chinese Academia,” Historical Study, Vol. 3, 1999, pp. 24–41.  Gu Jiegang, “Letter to Hu Shih,” February 2 and April 28, 1927, Selected Correspondence with Hu Shih, Vol. 1, p. 422, 430. Gu offered some explanations in his diary. See Gu Jiegang’s Diary, Vol. 2, March 1, 1927, Lianjing Publishing House, 2007, p. 22.

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ideological camps represented by two magazines: The Renaissance headed by Hu Shih, whose aim was to reassess Chinese cultural legacies, and Nationals, which was ostensibly socialist and enamored of the Bolsheviks.42 Ju Qiubai pointed out that in the intelligentsia the old and the new were fighting; that was already generally known, and Wei Shizhen of Academic Youth described the situation in the same terms.43 In a Korea Daily article, Hu Shih wrote that Liang Shuming’s Culture and Philosophy of the East and the West and the subsequent debate on Science and Life were manifestations of the intellectual conflict.44 Differences in philosophy grew in the intelligentsia and exacerbated the conflict between the old camp and the new camp. Moreover, newspapers and magazines played an increasingly important role in the conflict and became a force in their own right, but the forces that drove the two camps were more concerning: the new camp wanted to empower the newspapers and magazines whereas the old camp was empowered by its political connections. Guomin Gongbao allowed that “stubborn traditional thinking is still rampant in the society, it is as corrupt as the empire.”45 Chengdu Chuanbao approved of the new school, which it felt was drawing new boundaries for the intelligentsia, “You may disagree or argue with New Youth, but it’s wrong to treat it like a natural disaster to be quelled.”46 There are other instances which indicate that the intelligentsia not only existed in the Republican era but its internal sectarian conflicts reached the boiling point during that period.

The United Front of the Intelligentsia In 1922 Zhou Zuoren expressed his views on the intelligentsia in Morning Post, “I worry about the future of the intelligentsia. I see the rise of a cultural nativism

 Huang Rikui, “Peking University’s Role in China’s Intellectual History,” Peking University’s 25th Anniversary Booklet, December 17, 1927, pp. 48–49.  Wei Shizhen, “My German Sojourn,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 3, No. 4, November 1, 1921, p. 40.  Hu Shih, “Modern China’s Intelligentsia,” translated into Korean and published in Korea Daily, January 1, 1925; also see The Complete Hu Shih, Vol. 20, pp. 546–555.  Wu Wang, “My Thoughts on the Intellectual Conflict,” originally published in Guomin Gongbao; also see Weekly Review No. 17, April 13, 1919, Special Supplement, 1st edition.  Yin Ming, “Calling Out Peking University,” originally published in Chengdu Chuanbao; also see Weekly Review No. 19, April 27, 1919, Special Supplement, p. 4.

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which has two necessary tendencies: retrogression and xenophobia.”47 Hu Shih disagreed with this assessment, however: “This pessimistic view seems wrong, because it confuses the intellectual with the non-intellectual.”48 To distinguish between the intellectual and the non-intellectual is to define the boundaries of rational thinking. Hu Shih later wrote, “The basic problem with the intelligentsia today lies in the ways of thinking. From the extreme left to the extreme right, no one distinguishes between ‘thoughts’ and ‘thoughts based on actual facts.’”49 The intelligentsia was defined by how one thought; Hu showed how he differed from other sects without emphasizing the fact. In the same vein, we note that the intelligentsia was reactionary during this period. Yang Xianjiang wrote in an article, “There is a phenomenon which paralyzes the minds of our youth and makes them oblivious to the calamity facing our country. It is the intelligentsia’s reaction, which I call third-stage cultural retrogression.”50 Zhang Wentian wrote something similar: “The cultural retrogression of recent years is a reactionary movement which grows by leaps and bounds and poisons the social atmosphere, rendering the development of rational thought impossible.”51 There was much that was remarkable in the intellectual market, and people could not decide what place traditions should occupy. The result was that one’s cultural stance determined one’s intellectual camp, and this fragmented the intelligentsia. But the intelligentsia was both fragmenting and regrouping. That there were the “us” and the “them” camps indicated that a united front was forming. As the poster child of the new school, Hu thought of reorganizing the intelligentsia into the “older generation” and “my generation” even while he was a student abroad. Just before his return to China, he read the Iliad and was struck by the line, “You shall see how different things are now that we are back again.” He wrote in his diary, “I could be the standard bearer of the scholars of my generation who have returned.”52 Back in China in March 1919, he again recited the line of Homer in a speech given to the Chinese Youth Society, in which he gently criticized Zhang Taiyan’s previous speech about the pitfalls of youth. He said that  Zhou Zuoren (Zhong Mi), “Tendencies of the Intelligentsia,” Morning Post Supplement, April 23, 1922, pp. 3–4.  Hu Shih (Q.V.), “Reading Zhong Mi’s ‘Tendencies of the intelligentsia’,” Morning Post Supplement, April 27 1922, p. 1.  Hu Shih, “China’s Thinking Problem,” The Complete Hu Shih, Vol. 21, p. 408–422.  Yang Xianjiang, “May Fourth and Third-Stage Cultural Retrogression,” The Republican Daily News, “Consciousness Raised” Supplement, May 5, 1924, p. 2.  Zhang Wentian, “Showers and Storms,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 4, No. 12, May 1924, p. 8.  Hu Shih, “Diary from Abroad,” Hu Shih Collection, Vol. 37, p. 194–195.

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Zhang’s advice was negative and he wanted to propose positive viewpoints. He then read some more lines from the Iliad.53 He made frequent allusions to “we” and “you” before the youthful audience, but the intended audience was no doubt the older generation of scholars led by Zhang Taiyan. The generational struggle in academia was already intense, especially regarding the stance on traditional culture. This is how the “us” and “them” camps became a salient feature of the New Culture movement. When New Youth was in danger of being discontinued in early 1921, Hu wrote Chen Duxiu a harsh letter in which he listed the things Liang Qichao’s camp had done that cemented the differences between the “us” and “them” camps.54 He blamed Chen for not seeing the differences, and expressed disappointment in the war of words between Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, and Chen Yuan: “Why do we cast doubt and aspersions on ourselves? Why do we dim our own light? We take sticks and stones from the other camp but cannot tolerate a little misunderstanding among ourselves.”55 We need to ask what kind of picture of the intelligentsia the “us” and “them” camps painted. Yu Ying-shih felt that in order to discuss the conservative and progressive forces through the lens of modern Chinese intellectual history, one first had to look at their cultural content. Intellectual conflict was often expressed in the ways in which traditional culture was viewed. “The two major forces of modern Chinese intellectual history—liberalism and socialism—look askance at traditions. Conservatives basically have no influence.”56 It is hard to say which of the two forces had more influence, but after a quick study of their political and cultural views, it is clear that the new school enjoyed a greater consensus among its sects. The most obvious reason is that there was still a united front even after New Youth and The Journal of the Young China Association became polarized, and they had a common foe in the Eastern cultural sect. There was much academic discussion about the reaction of the New Culture movement to conservatism. Guy Salvatore Alitto said that books such as Liang Qichao’s Trip to Europe, Liang Shuming’s Culture and Philosophy of the East and the West, and Zhang Junmai’s My Philosophy of Life had garnered wide academic

 See Zhang Taiyan’s speech and Wang Guangqi’s notes in “Weakness of Today’s Youth,” Chinese Youth Society Report, Vol. 1, March 1, 1919; Hu Shih, “Spirit of The Journal of the Young China Association,” The Complete Hu Shih, Vo. 21, p. 165–169.  Hu Shih, “Letters to Chen Duxiu,” circa 1921, Selected Correspondence, Vol. 1, p. 119–120.  Hu Shih, “Letters to Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, and Chen Yuan,” May 24, 1926, Selected Correspondence with Hu Shih, Vol. 1, pp. 377–380.  Yu Ying-shih, “Progressive and Conservative Forces in Modern Chinese Intellectual History,” Qian Mu and Chinese Culture, Shanghai Far East Publishing House, 1994, pp. 188–222.

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attention; they shared a common admiration for the traditional Chinese culture and an antipathy toward the industrialized West.57 But was there ever an Eastern cultural sect? This question needs further analysis, but we can find indications in certain publications. After his return from Europe, to restart his academic career, Liang Qichao began working for the magazine Liberation and Transformation, whose subsequent name change was meaningful and noteworthy. Jiang Baili indicated in his letter to Liang that the first issue after the name change would focus on the New Culture movement, and he emphasized: “Our generation can criticize the movement; it is an act of self-reflection and a clarification of our aim, which is to plumb its depths (and a persuasive tone would not invite criticism).”58 The phrase “clarification of our aim” is important. When Reform (the new name of the magazine) published its first issue in September 1920, it proclaimed that it wanted to “push the cultural movement in a more practical direction,” that the “wholesale import of foreign culture is a hindrance to social development,” and that “Chinese culture is a precious legacy of the entire world.”59 Later Liang Qichao wrote dryly that when he examined the content of the new-thinking movement or the new cultural movement, he found many political and economic “isms” followed by slightly fewer philosophical and literary “isms,” all of which claimed either to ennoble the society or rid it of its ills like a magic bullet.60 As a result, even though “Eastern cultural sect” was a wry epithet coined by its detractors, the group also had well known admirers, one of whom was Liang Shuming, who thought that the New Youth philosophy as evinced in Chen Duxiu’s Life’s Real Meaning, Li Dazhao’s Today, and Hu Shih’s Forever was unsatisfying, “because they are all after external things.”61 When Culture and Philosophy of the East and the West was published, Jiang Baili wrote in a letter to Liang Qichao, “Did you read Shuming’s book? He has the same ideas as what we had in our free speech conferences.” As a result, Jiang asked Liang Qichao to invite Liang Shuming to cohost the conferences.62 After a bitter debate on Science and Life, Zhang

 Alitto, Guy Salvatore, The Last Confucian: Liang Shuming and the Dilemma of Chinese Modernity, Wang Zhongyu and Ji Jianzhong, trans., Jiangsu People’s Publishing, 1993, p. 76.  Jiang Fangzhen, “Letter to Renshi,” July 2, 1920, Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, pp. 911–912.  “Inaugural Introduction,” Reform, Vol. 3, Vol. 1, September 15, 1920, p. 5.  Liang Qichao, “Science and Culture,” Morning Post Supplement, August 24, 1922, p. 1.  Liang Shuming, “A Reasonable Personal Philosophy,” Shuming’s Early Writings, The Commercial Press, 1926, p. 193–199.  Jiang Fangzhen, “Correspondence with Renshi,” November 26, 1921, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 941.

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Junmai then refuted the ideas of Hu Shih and Chen Duxiu, and explained his own views on current issues.63 Under whatever name the sect was known by, the idea of a united front was quickly proposed in the intelligentsia. It was first proposed by Young China Association, which also wanted the united front to be inclusive. Liu Renjing talked about a united intelligentsia in “A Suggestion for The Journal of the Young China Association,” and pointed out that the society ought to “move from a union of emotions to a union of ideas, and should plan for a united front—the Enlightened Movement Alliance.”64 It was about seeking consensus in the intelligentsia, just as New Youth declared that it desired better communications when it was suffering from internal turmoil; solidarity was needed to mend internal fissures and confront external foes. New Youth also had to see its own script of fragmentation and union play out. In a letter to Hu Shih in April 1919, Li Dazhao talked about the need for solidarity and suggested that New Youth, The Renaissance, and Weekly Review be united to fight for literary reform. “There will be different views in this union, but we must all agree to move in the direction of brighter prospects.” In short, “there must be solidarity within New Youth.”65 Of course, as was mentioned before, none of this was enough to prevent New Youth from splitting. Chen Duxiu left Beijing in January 1920 for Shanghai, where he asked Chen Wangdao, Li Da, and Li Hanjun to be the new editors for New Youth. The magazine became an apologist for the Russian Revolution and Marxism, and the authorities shut it down. When it relocated to Guangzhou, the staff had already gone their separate ways and the magazine was only a shell of its former self. Hu Shih thought of creating another literary and philosophical magazine after New Youth moved south, but it never saw the light of day. However, he did create the weekly The Endeavor with many former staff members of New Youth. The truth is that after its intellectual splintering, New Youth advocated for a united front, albeit a more exclusive one with a specific cultural stance. In 1923 Chen Duxiu proposed that materialism and experimentalism be merged as the foundation of the “intellectual revolution’s united front” to defeat feudalism.66 According to him, Wu Zhihui’s notions of spiritual life and Eastern culture would

 Zhang Junmai, “Introduction to the Debate about Life,” in Guo Mengliang, ed., Debate about Life, Taidong Publishing House, 1923, pp. 1–17.  Liu Renjing, “A Suggestion for The Journal of the Young China Association,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 4, No. 7, September 1923, pp. 3–4.  Li Dazhao, “To Hu Shih,” c. April 1919, Li Dazhao Collection, Vol. 2, People’s Publishing House, 1984, p. 936.  Chen Duxiu, “Intellectual Revolution’s United Front,” Vanguard, No. 1, July 1, 1923, p. 67.

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lead to China’s destruction. He also said of his four opponents, “Zhang Junmai is a fine scholar even though I don’t know him; Liang Qichao is a prophet of the new knowledge; Zhang Xingyan has been a friend for twenty years, and I admire Liang Shuming’s integrity. But what they advocate will destroy our country and enslave the Chinese people. We have no choice but to shout out our objection. They are worse than Cao Kun and Wu Peifu because the harm they cause is greater.”67 The debate over a united front shows that even the Communist party was divided into the “us” and “them” camps; it also shows that the fragmentation of the intelligentsia was based more on cultural rather than political considerations. Chen Duxiu was not the only one who held this view. When in 1923 Deng Zhongxia attempted to classify the sects in the intelligentsia, he was certain that there was a “new reactionary camp” (i.e., the Eastern cultural sect) and thus he divided the New Culture movement into the scientific method camp and the historical materialist camp; he felt that these two camps should form a united front in order to “fight the bitter fight and defeat” the new reactionary camp.68 Deng took Chen Duxiu’s idea a step further and said, “The united front is not only necessary but obligatory.” He called proponents of Hu Shih’s ideas the revolutionary camp and pointed out that “we should form a united front to beat reactionary forces together.”69 Even though the united front did not materialize, it did not mean that the two parties that proposed it did not have something in common. They paid close attention to talk about Eastern culture and spiritual life. Thus they were able to unite on cultural considerations despite their political differences and fight the common enemy. This shows that the cultural stance was an important factor in the intelligentsia of this period, and it is essential to separate politics from culture in studying the polarization of the intelligentsia. There certainly were fragmented groups in the New Youth camp, but each had its own soap box, and even though political differences pushed them to go in separate directions, it did not prevent them from reaching a culture-based common ground.

“We’ll Kick them Out!” But we have seen only the surface of the story; soon the “us” and “them” differentiation took on a different flavor, as evidenced by the appearance of Creation.  Chen Duxiu, “Spiritual Life, Traditional Culture,” Vanguard, No. 3, February 1, 1924, p. 79.  Deng Zhongxia, “Today’s Intelligentsia,” China Youth, No. 6, November 24, 1923, pp. 2–6.  Deng Zhongxia, “Regarding the intelligentsia’s United Front,” China Youth, No. 15, January 26, 1924, pp. 9–10.

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Readers of The China Times caught a hint of this new literary magazine in an announcement: “Since the beginning of the New Culture movement, the new literature has been monopolized—and asphyxiated—by a couple of iconic writers. Creation wants to break conventionality and support the independence of art. We call on the like-minded writers among us to join in creating a people’s literature.”70 A new generation of writers were banding together, their arrow aimed squarely at the New Culture Movement. Later on, Creation and Sun (established in 1927) joined forces to call for a “revolutionary literature” and to fight against writers of the May Fourth Movement. Cheng Fangwu commented on this point in his article “From Literature in Revolt to Revolutionary Literature”: “The first task of the New Culture movement is to disavow old thinking and the second is to introduce new thinking; both turned out feckless. People of Hu Shih’s ilk shouted slogans and returned home, not to be heard from after three to five years.”71 Feng Naichao also questioned the effectiveness of the cultural movement: “After two years we have endless research on ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ and annotations on The Scholars, but what does is all mean? . . . All this grave-digging only illustrates doubts about the past. This is the drumbeat of an army in retreat, an army of PhDs.” As for Lu Xun, “This old man is an outcast of the new society; he’s the kind who sits in a dark corner of a bar, looks wistfully out the window while dreaming of the life he couldn’t have.”72 It is clear that the ascendant Creation wanted to kick the May Fourth generation off the academic stage. The “us” mentality continued strong. Guo Moruo’s article “Our Culture” contained a number of slogans proclaiming that “the world belongs to us and the culture of the future belongs to us.”73 What had happened between Hu Shih and Liang Qichao a few years before was repeated between Hu Shih and Guo Moruo. In his 1929 Study of China’s Ancient Society, a book that launched his academic career, Guo wanted to make clear his differences with Hu. He paid homage to scholars of the previous generation, such as Luo Zhenyu and Wang Guowei, who had exited the academic stage and were no longer in the competition. Toward Hu, who was an active player, he was not so kind: Hu Shih’s A Short History of Chinese Philosophy has been a popular book in the new academia for a number of years. But how many driblets of water did he manage to wet his hands

 “Announcement for Creation,” The China Times, September 29, 1921, p. 1.  Cheng Fangwu, “From Literature in Revolt to Revolutionary Literature,” Creation Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 9, February 1, 1928, p. 3.  Feng Naichao, “Art and Social Life,” Cultural Criticism No. 1, January 15, 1928, pp. 4–5.  Guo Moruo, “Our Culture,” Pioneer, Vol. 1, No. 2, February 10, 1930, p. 707.

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with in the sea of Chinese ancient history? This is why a critique of his rearrangement of history is necessary.74

After the publication of Guo’s book, Hu Shih became a constant target. In the epilogue to his Ten Critiques, Guo admitted that his critique of Confucius and Mozi might have left readers “confused,” but he remained unfazed because “this isn’t the Song-Ming period, nor is it the era of Liang Qichao and Hu Shih.”75 Guo’s issue with Hu was limited to the Hu’s qualifications. “There is no such thing as materialism,” he said of Hu, “He should not be allowed to paint even the broadest strokes on the canvas of Chinese ancient history.”76 Cheng Fangwu’s disdain for Hu, however, was much deeper: “We have to fish out all the feudal and bourgeois thinkers and their supporters, read them the final verdict, pack their bags and kick them out!”77 Conflicts were not limited to the academic arena but rose to the political level. In 1928 Peng Kang wanted to clear out the intelligentsia. “Let’s not mince words. We need to settle some accounts and get them off the books.”78 When Hu Shih created New Moon magazine with his friends and started the human rights movement, Peng made clear the difference between him and Hu: “Hu Shih is a loser in the intelligentsia and a reactionary.”79 The inter-generational struggle in the intelligentsia was the most direct manifestation of the intellectual conflict. Whether it is the distinction between “us” and “them” or slogans such as “we’ll kick them out,” the conflicts mostly concerned generational differences. If we compare the us-and-them mentality during the May Fourth Movement and in the post-May Fourth era, it can be seen that the intelligentsia was a stage that many people fought to get on. Moreover, one’s political stance surpassed one’s cultural stance to become the key determining factor in the intellectual sect one was assigned. As such, the intelligentsia did not merely exert influence on politics, it did so conspicuously.

 Guo Moruo, Foreword to Study of China’s Ancient Society, Shanghai New Bookstore, 1930, p. 1–4.  Guo Moruo, Epilog to Ten Critiques, Qunyi Publishing House, 1947, p. 420.  Guo Moruo, Foreword to Study of China’s Ancient Society, p. 6.  Cheng Fangwu, “We’ll Kick Them Out!” Cultural Criticism, No. 2, February 15, 1928, p. 1–2.  Peng Kang, “Science and Life: A Reckoning in the Intelligentsia,” Cultural Criticism, No. 2, February 15, 1928, pp. 22, 47.  Peng Kang, “New Culture Movement and Human Rights Movement,” The New Intellect, No. 4, February 28, 1931, p. 3.

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II The “Isms” of the Intelligentsia The intelligentsia was a stage for intellectual debates, but a question that must be answered is why the debates arose in the first place. To find the answer, a more extreme phenomenon closely related to the debates needs to be examined: the “isms.” A debate connotes an academic or social stance, but an ideology or “-ism” bears a political stamp. Scholars presented “-isms” as important codes of modern Chinese thought; they branded the 1920s as the decade of “-isms,” which “attempted to guide and regulate political, intellectual, cultural, and educational activities . . . They marked the beginning of the ideologization of intellectual and academic thought and the end of modern China’s era of transformation.”80 Even critiques of the intelligentsia could not escape the “-isms.” The newspapers and magazines prided themselves on publishing public debates, but not only were the debates full of “-isms,” newspapers and magazines themselves were often ideological mouthpieces, tightening the link between the intelligentsia and politics.

Emergence of the “-Isms” in the Late Qing Dynasty The first thing that needs to be clarified before discussing the “-isms” is that “ism” (zhuyi) is also a suffix in linguistics, just like jie, so it is necessary to put the two together for better understanding. The jie reflects the reorganization of the late-Qing society, while the “-isms” manifest the choices of the intelligentsia. Like some theorists said, “Nothing is more representative of the building of modern knowledge than the appearance of the ‘-isms.’”81 The word “-ism” is linguistically noteworthy. Nishi Amane used the term first in Japanese in 1872: “It was already a commonplace practice to use it as a noun suffix to represent a theory or idea.”82 It became popular in the late Qing Dynasty, toward the end of the nineteenth century, and its main purpose was to be a succinct appeal. In its first issue of August 1897, Shixuebao (Journal for Practical Learning) declared, “Our “-ism” is to seek knowledge and truth in all discussions

 Wang Fansen, “‘Isms’ and Knowledge: The Intelligentsia’s Fragmentation of 1920,” In Xu Jilin, ed., The Enlightenment’s Legacies and Reflections, (Intellectual Collection, Vol. 9), Jiangsu People’s Publishing, 2010, pp. 221–255.  Chen Liwei, “Zhuyi’s Popularity in China,” Academic Monthly, No. 9, 2012, pp. 144–154.  Yu Yousun, “Evolution of Japanese Academic Terminology,” Cultural Education, No. 69, October 20, 1935, pp. 13–19; No. 70, October 30, 1935, p. 14–20. See also Shen Guowei’s comparison of dictionary entries of “zhuyi”: “Sino-Japanese Exchange in Terminology,” pp. 195–200.

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and in all newspapers and magazines.”83 The China Discussion also noted in its first issue, “Our “-ism” is to present new ideas clearly and transmit pertinent information to the public.”84 Kaizhilu (Journal of New Learning), founded in 1900, stated, “Our primary “-ism” is to fight for freedom of speech, introduce new ideas, and foster an independent spirit.”85 As in the intelligentsia, there was context to “-isms”. The wide use of “-isms” was the result of a changing Chinese society, and the growing intelligentsia discovered its interest in “-isms” as a result of the demands of social movements. Datong Daily, founded in 1903, stated, “Those who want to rebuild the country must organize parties and societies and rely on them. There is no group without societies, and no parties without ‘-ism.’”86 New Citizen published an article on three major European doctrines and stated, “Every society in transformation has an ‘-ism’ as the major driving force.”87 All of this reveals that the popularity of “-isms” in the early twentieth century was closely related to the natural inclination of the Chinese people toward group affiliation, and the aim was to generate group power on the basis of “-isms.” In this deluge of “-isms,” the aforementioned Journal of New Learning and Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad became arbiters of the term. In the first issue of Journal of New Learning, an article on Oi Kentaro’s On Freedom stated: “We should study the new ‘-isms’ of freedom and equality so as to change mindset of the world” and “new ‘-isms’ must be studied.”88 Yang Du pointed out that the European academia has been “dominated by cosmopolitanism, individualism, pragmatism, and phenomenalism since the 18th century.”89 Liang Qichao can be thought of as an advocate of “-isms” due to his frequent use of words such as “nationalism” and “cosmopolitanism” in his writings.90 It is

 Wang Renjun, “Announcement,” Journal for Practical Learning, No. 1, August 28, 1897, p. 1.  “Changes in Our Rules and Regulations,” The China Discussion, No. 11, April 10, 1899, “Clarifications,” p. 1.  “Kaizhi Huilu’s Story,” Journal of New Learning, Improved No. 1, December 21, 1900, p. 3.  “Origins of Datong Daily,” in Zhang Nan and Wang Renzhi, eds., A Decade of Social Issues Before the 1911 Revolution, Vol. 1, Book 1, p. 361.  Yu Chenzi, “Modern Europe’s Three Major Doctrines,” New Citizen, No. 28, March 27, 1903, p. 21.  Oi Kentaro, On Freedom, trans. Feng Ziyou, Journal of New Learning, Improved No. 1, December 21, 1900, p. 3.  Yang Du, “Introduction to Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad,” Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, No. 1, November 16, 1902, pp. 1–2.  Liang Qichao, “Freedom of Expression in the Ice Drink Room: Iconoclasm,” The China Discussion, No. 30, October 15, 1899, p. 6; “Freedom of Expression in the Ice Drink Room: A Response Is Difficult,” The China Discussion, No. 33, December 23, 1899, p. 3.

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noteworthy that some of the terms were used loosely whereas others were accompanied by meticulous explanations. Liang thought that “there are two ‘-isms’ regarding the governance of China: interventionism and laissez-faire.” This is what he said about the “-ism” that China needed to adopt: “Where China has gone wrong is that it adopted laissez-faire when it should have intervened, and intervened when it should have adopted laissez-faire. I think China should adopt 70% interventionism and 30% laissez-faire; the details are too complicated to discuss here.”91 As can be seen, the “-isms” that were popular in the late Qing period involved understanding their significance in world history and exploring their potential applications in China. Liang was enamored of the idea of nationalism. In his article “Changes in Nationalism,” Liang wrote, “Nationalism is the most brilliant and fairest ideology in the world . . . A country without nationalism is not a country.”92 He was clearer in another article, “The strength of a people makes fair competition possible, and what makes a people strong is nationalism . . . There is no other way to save China but to build a nationalist state.”93 To some extent, this means that the appearance of the “-isms” in late-Qing China represented the choices that the intelligentsia had made, that is, liberalism and socialism fell under the sway of nationalism, a magnet of scholars’ passions.94 Moreover, in the early twentieth century, the elaboration “-ism” was a code of political mobilization before people knew what it meant. People’s Journal, published in 1905, tried to be the leading agitator for nationalism, democracy, and livelihood of the people: “If our society is to be successful, we must know how to contract and expand as the situation requires.”95 It is clear that “-isms” implied political mobilization.

 Liang Qichao, “Freedom of Expression in the Ice Drink Room: Intervention and Laissez-Faire,” New Citizen, No. 17, October 2, 1902, pp. 63–65.  Liang Qichao, “Changes in Nationalism,” The China Discussion, No. 94, October 12, 1901, pp. 1–4; No. 95, October 22, 1901, pp. 1–4.  Liang Qichao, “On National Competition,” New Citizen, No. 5, April 8, 1902, pp. 35–36.  Socialism and liberalism were contemporaneous with nationalism though they received far less attention and were not considered a priority. See discussion in Zhang Qing, “Between Individual and State: Freedom in the Late Qing Period,” Forest of History, No. 3, 2007, pp. 9–29.  Sun Yat-sen, “Foreword to the First Issue,” People’s Journal, No. 1, November 26, 1005, pp. 1–3.

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May Fourth Movement’s Obsession with “Isms” The May Fourth Movement was a grand stage for new ideas. New “-isms” sprang up constantly and often came bundled with certain political views. Shi Cuntong wrote in a short essay in 1920, “Let’s not have the idiotic notion that one “-ism” can rule the world.”96 Shi’s point was that many people did have that notion at the time. Ma Junwu excoriated scholars for their obsession with “-isms”: “No matter how crazy an idea is, put an ‘-ism’ at the end and they can start a movement with it. It’s laughable.”97 Shen Dingyi said that some people lived off spreading “-isms.”98 While it is clear that the popularity of “-isms” during the May Fourth Movement created the problems mentioned above, it is also true that the “-isms” represented political choices. Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu argued that the “-isms” were popularized to become tools for instigating social movements. Li wrote, “Social problems are solved by people participating in social movements.” But in order for social problems to be felt by the majority of people, there has to be “a common ideal, an “-ism”, to serve as a yardstick for their dissatisfaction with life.”99 Chen Duxiu was more succinct, “Two things are needed to pilot a boat: direction and effort. Some people have misunderstood me and felt I should be more pragmatic and stop talking about “-isms” and systems. But I dare say that social reform is exactly like piloting a boat. We need direction and effort and it wouldn’t succeed without both.”100 From what Chen and Li had said, it is clear how the Communists strove to fine-tune their “-isms” and how they valued the “-isms” as an effective tool for social mobilization.101 Hu Shih had also expressed his opinion on “-isms”: “I see the danger of incessant ideological discussions and want to advise my friends in the intelligentsia to have more discussions on social issues and theorize less on “-isms”, whose novelty

 Shi Cuntong, “Who Is Our Enemy No. 1?,” The Republican Daily News, Enlightenment Supplement, November 7, 1920, p. 2.  Ma Junwu, “Reading and Saving the Country – Speech at The Great China University’s PTA Meeting,” Morning Post Supplement, November 20, 1926, p. 45.  Shen Dingyi, “To Youth,” Labor and Women, No. 3, February 27, 1921, p. 3.  Li Dazhao, “Another Look at Issues v. ‘Isms’,” Weekly Review, No. 35, August 17, 1919, p. 1.  Chen Duxiu, “‘Isms’ and Effort,” New Youth, Vol. 8, No. 4, December 1, 1920, pp. 2–3.  The speakers emphasized Li Dazhao’s explanation of ‘-isms’ and predicted the ideological direction of the progressive CPC movement. Lin Yusheng, “Issue v. Zhuyi: Historical Significance,” Hu Shih and China’s Modern Cultural Transformation, Liu Qingfeng ed., Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 1994, pp. 3–10.

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can wear off quickly.”102 Hu was not the only one to cast doubt on “-isms”; certain proponents of these ideas also sounded the alarm. Chen Duxiu was frustrated that young people misunderstood the subject, “They think “-isms” are a cure-all and have blind faith in them.”103 Li Dazhao wondered whether people had the same understanding of a given “-ism,” because “there are many copycats for every popular idea, personage, or commercial product.”104 As a result, behind every popular “-ism” lies a political posture. Politics was a major factor behind Hu Shih and Li Dazhao’s debate on “Issues vs. ‘-isms’” and the polarization of New Youth; it was the political choices made in the intelligentsia that drove the debate and the polarization. The polarization of New Youth was caused by the editors’ attempt to seek political consensus after a series of political storms. The issue was not whether to discuss politics or not, since Chen Duxiu’s strong political views had made the avoidance of politics impossible. In “Political Debate” he wrote, “If you think a successful reform requires a disavowal of politics, or that liberalism is the panacea for all our problems, you are taking the wrong path with wide open eyes.”105 Chen wanted political discussions because he had a clear political stance already. Hu Shih did not eschew political discussions, but he had no clear ideology and felt that political discussions should be based on “research findings.”106 So the question was not whether, but how, to discuss politics. New Youth was polarized because its political stance was all too apparent. It is clear that in the post-May Fourth era, the debates on “issues v. “-isms”” and “liberalism v. socialism” did not slow down the progress of history. There was no discernible conflict in people’s views on socialism.107 The key point is that the New Youth camp did not have a unified set of values. Dissent was already present but hidden behind the appeal to enlightenment; it was exposed when political views bubbled up to the surface. The polarization of New Youth was limited to Chen Duxiu’s leave-taking, but it was the polarization of the intelligentsia that led to the dissolution of New Youth, and it did not immediately unleash a plethora of intellectual sects either. We need to follow the intellectual development of the magazine staff in the post-May Fourth era to know how the future unfolded.

 Hu Shih, “More Research into Problems, Less Talk of ‘Isms’,” Weekly Review, No. 31, July 20, 1919, p. 1.  Chen Duxiu, “Youthful Misunderstanding,” New Youth, Vol. 9, No. 2, June 1, 1921, p. 2.  Chang (Li Dazhao), “Copycats,” Weekly Review, No. 16, April 6, 1919, p. 4.  Chen Duxiu, “Political Discussion,” New Youth, Vol. 8, No. 1, September 1, 1920, p. 5.  Hu Shih, “Welcome Weekly Critic, Our Brother,” Weekly Review, No. 28, June 29, 1919, p. 1.  Luo Zhitian, “Hu Shih and Socialism,” Scholar, Vol. 4, Jiangsu Literature Publishing House, 1993, pp. 7–49.

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Young China Association’s Choice New Youth was polarized because of the “-isms,” and the Young China Association was in the same bind. The Young China Association tried to evade polarization by shunning “-isms” and maintaining a collective stance, but it became polarized nonetheless. This shows that “-isms” had a negative impact on the intelligentsia. Scholars had to make difficult choices because they could not keep politics at bay. Wang Guangqi could not avoid using “-isms” to describe the vision of the Young China Association. He defined “youth-China-ism” as “living creatively, socially, and scientifically,” but there was more alarm about “-isms” than affirmation in his explication. He felt that China had to do some prep work because the necessary conditions of promoting “-isms” had not been met. In other words, China was not ready for the “-isms.”108 Some other members of the Young China Association thought the same way. A “Beijing Members Motion” stated that “We won’t talk about any “-isms” but will study China’s current problems and see whether political or social movements are needed.”109 The Young China Association wanted to avoid the “-isms” because there was no consensus in the first place and then it wanted to be practical and proactive. There were also geographical differences in opinion: “Northern members advocated for the specification of an “-ism” whereas southern members eschewed taking any stance due to the lack of fact-based information.”110 The absence of an “-ism” also presented some problems, such as the inability to create social impact. Some members spoke frankly about the lack of style and special spirit of The Journal of the Young China Association.111 The major reason for the anti-ism stance was political. The Young China Association wanted to avoid both “-isms” and politics. The “Amendment to Young China Association Bylaws” specifically forbade members to “have close contact with a political party” or “join a political party after becoming a member.” Wang Guangqi declared that “our association is for social activities and against political ones.”112 But there was ambiguity in what constituted political activities, causing dissension in the association. Zeng Qi, a senior member, remarked, “Social activity is our  Wang Guangqi, “The Birth of The Journal of the Young China Association,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 1, No. 2, August 15, 1919, pp. 1–2.  “Beijing Members Motion,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 3, No. 11, June 1, 1922, pp. 76, 79.  Yun Zhen, “First Love in Northern Travel,” 6th installment, The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 3, No. 9, April 1, 1922, p. 69.  Su Jiarong, “Editor Yu Tan,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 2, No. 7, January 15, 1921, p. 68.  “Amendment to Young China Association Bylaws,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 3, No. 2, September 1, 1921, pp. 62–63.

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purpose and political activity is forbidden. I smell a whiff of “-ism” in here.”113 Wang Chongzhi thought differently about the constraint against political activity: “I feel strongly that some part of the society should engage in political activities, especially when the government doesn’t explicitly ban it.”114 It is difficult to agree with the assertion that political activities should be rejected because the political situation is not healthy. It can be seen here that the Young China Association eschewed “-isms” not because the members disapproved of them but because they held fast to their own views and thereby rendered consensus impossible. It also shows that politics and “-isms” were two topics that were difficult to avoid in the gatherings of scholars during the May Fourth period. The Young China Association’s original purpose was irrelevant in the end, as many members later became communists and nationalists. There were others who left the association to declare their adherence to a different ideology. In his exit letter to the Young China Association published in New Youth, Zhang Shenfu wrote, “I can no longer hide my hatred for the evil consequences of capitalism. We need to have faith in socialism, and since communism is the essence of socialism, we need to place even more faith in communism.”115 An “-ism” represents an intellectual stance and a political choice. In modern China, it also symbolized a political force. In his article “On Rooting Out the Bandits,” Ding Wenjiang questioned the nationalist government’s use of the phrase and requested that the government “formally recognize that the communists are not bandits but political opponents who possess organization, ideology, and guns.”116 The intelligentsia was in effect a microcosm of the political arena. A political force in the political arena was often associated with an ideology, and so was a publication in the intelligentsia, especially a political publication. Some publications touted ideologies while others that emphasized a neutral stance often had an ideological label forced upon them. This means that newspapers and magazines had a political facet; they expressed their views but the political forces needed them to express theirs. By the same token, the intelligentsia was the mouthpiece for different “-isms” but the political forces helped it become the mouthpiece for their own “-isms.”

 Zeng Qi, “Absolutism and Compromise,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 3, No. 8, March 1, 1922, p. 47.  “Member Correspondence,” The Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 3, No. 12, July 1, 1922, pp. 59–60.  “Editor’s Diary,” New Youth, Vol. 9, No. 6, July 1, 1922, p. 115.  Ding Wenjiang, “On Rooting Out the Bandits,” Independent Commentary, No. 6, June 26, 1932, pp. 1–4.

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III How Political Forces Found Support in the Intelligentsia As Chinese society reorganized, the founding of newspapers and magazines was a sign of the mobilization and assembly of like-minded people. To reach out to a certain class of people, it was popular to have announcements which started with “To . . .” followed by a description of the target group. Similarly, political forces were also looking to connect with newspapers and magazines for two main reasons: first, they needed to have their own newspapers and magazines to voice their own political views. Second, they needed to connect with other newspapers and magazines to act as a group for the purpose of mobilization. As the new state-society relationship took shape, the newspapers and magazines became an important link between the state and society. When political forces ingratiated themselves with the newspapers and magazines, it showed that they wanted to be active players in society. When describing social mobilization in the early stages of modernization, S. N. Eisenstadt wrote that “the rise of large-scaled, multi-purposed, and specialized groups unrelated by blood or ecology” was one of the basic features.117 Samuel P. Huntington also emphasized that as a society modernized, nation-building required the creation of not only an efficient bureaucracy but, more importantly, an effective political party system.118 Newspapers and magazines, especially of a political nature, had been widely used for social mobilization since the late Qing period, and they were efficient as well as indispensable for political mobilization.

Political Parties: Perpetual Opponents of the Government There are different views on when modern political parties first appeared in China, but it is certain that political parties were incessantly discussed in the early twentieth century and thought to be a cure-all for China’s problems. “On Political Parties,” published in The China Discussion in 1901, stated that “Politics in West Europe plays out in political parties” and “Those who do not want to see our country perish must come out and form a big community.” This big community was meant to be “the biggest party in the three thousand years of Chinese history.”119 In the same year, the article “The Destruction of China,” published in The Nation, opined that all the civilized countries of the world had “a party to  S. D. Eisenstadt, Modernity: Resistance and Transformation, Zhang Luping, trans., China Renmin University Press, 1988, p. 61.  Samuel P. Huntington, Political Order in Changing Societies, p. 433.  “On Political Parties,” The China Discussion, No. 78, May 9, 1901, p. 1.

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oppose the barbarous government,” and that China had no other problem than the lack of political parties. The article looked back on the political forces of the past and claimed that they all shared a common desire to gather people to steal and rob: “This could not have happened if parties were allowed to form, especially political parties.”120 This high regard for political parties was due to the quest for group power. Many newspapers and magazines at the turn of the twentieth century were created for that purpose. Datong Ribao (Datong Daily) was created because “for a few thousand years China never had an anti-government group of any kind, let alone a political party.”121 The purpose of People’s Journal, established in 1905, was to be an advocate for its “-ism” in order to gain group power. Hu Hanmin studied the decline of China’s politics and wrote, “To understand the stuff a country is made of, we have to examine the health of its government opposition. China’s politics are in the doldrums because this is its weakest point.”122 Revolutionary-minded newspapers and magazines were not alone in hungering for group power; as the call for a constitution rose to a fever pitch, many political forces explored the possibility of forming political groups. A 1907 article in New Citizen stated that “China’s survival depends on whether political parties are allowed to form. It is the most pressing problem right now.”123 It can be seen that the predominant views on political parties were sympathetic to the Western experience but drew the line at traditional factionalism. The history of the old political factions shows that the development of modern political parties was stunted because old habits die hard, and chaos in the Republican era did not help matters. Many debates revolved around the definition and activity of a political party. Lucian Pye used the term “phantom republic” to describe the decline of the revolutionary spirit, but he also acknowledged the difficulty of creating a political party system.124

 “The Destruction of China,” Citizens’ Gazette, Vol. 1, No. 2, June 10, 1901, pp. 1–8; “Destruction of China Continued,” Citizens’ Gazette, Vol. 1, No. 3, July 10, 1901, pp. 1–6.  “Origins of Datong Daily,” in Zhang Nan and Wang Renzhi, eds., A Decade of Social Issues before the 1911 Revolution, Vol. 1, Book 1, pp. 359–369.  Hu Hanmin, “Yan Fu’s Recent Political Views,” People’s Journal, No. 2, August 2, 1906, p. 11.  Yu Zhi, “China’s Current Political Factions and Future Political Parties,” New Citizen, No. 92, November 30, 1906, pp. 38–39.  Lucian W. Pye, The Spirit of Chinese Politics: A Psychocultural Study of the Authority Crisis in Political Development, New Edition, Harvard University Press, 1992, p. 3.

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Newspapers and Magazines’ Political Bent Attempts to use the newspapers and magazines to gain group power started after the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. Political forces grew, organized, and founded their own newspapers and magazines. Roswell Sessions Britton wrote that “All the newspapers that appeared between 1900 and 1911 belonged to groups in political movements.”125 The Alarming Bell Daily used the term “newspaper war” in 1904 to describe the war of words in the press.126 A 1907 article in Fu Bao divided the newspapers and magazines into two camps according to their political leanings: the first camp wanted to destroy the government; it included People’s Journal, Fu Bao, Waves from Lake Dongting, and Hanzhi (Han Flag). The second camp was not averse to calling the Machu government the Chinese government, wanted a constitution, and thought that enlightened despotism was not a bad thing; New Citizen was in this camp.127 Wang Kangnian also noted that “the newspapers and magazines have a choke hold on the political sphere, which has been immersed in a sea of neologisms. Those who talk about party organs are borrowing from Western ideas.” He worried that people had misunderstood what party organs were because China had no political parties and therefore no party organs.128 All this paints a picture of the growth of political forces, which was in lockstep with the growth of the newspapers and magazines, whose political bent became that much more pronounced. The Political News Society, established by Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and their followers, was clearly a group. In October 1907, as the call for a constitution grew stronger, Liang Qichao announced the establishment of the Political News Society at an inaugural meeting in Tokyo, with Ma Xiangbo as general manager and Xu Fosu and Mai Menghua as executive managers. He then moved the headquarters to Shanghai in February 1908. Another magazine, Zhenglun (Political Commentary), was founded at about the same time to prepare for a political part. Okuma Shigenobu wrote in the preface to the first issue, “There is a strong will

 Roswell Sessions Britton, The Chinese Periodical Press, Su Shijun, trans., Central Compilation & Translation Press, 2013, pp. 145, 147.  “About the Newspaper War,” The Alarming Bell Daily, March 16, 1904, p. 1.  Qi Lingren, “China’s New Periodical,” Fu Bao, No. 10, June 15, 1907.  Wang Kangnian, “Regarding Organizational Media,” Peking News, February 17, 1908, based on Wang Linmao, ed., The Wang Kangnian Collection, Vol. 1, Zhejiang Ancient Books Publishing House, 2011, pp. 88–89.

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for reform in the Qing government, which bodes well for political parties. This magazine wants to prepare for their arrival.”129 The bylaws of Political Commentary emphasized its mission of “creating the right public opinion and improving China’s political environment.”130 This was the proper function of newspapers and magazines, and the first issue published in October 1907 contained the Political News Society’s manifesto, vision, and bylaws, garnering much public attention. The manifesto stated that “there have to be political groups in order to reform politics and they will have ideologies that they believe in.”131 The growth of the Political News Society reveals how political groups were related to newspapers and magazines in the early twentieth century; political and economic considerations were especially noteworthy. The Political News Society had plans to establish Jianghan Daily and Jianghan Public School in the winter of 1907 to bolster its political strength in Wuhan, but it ran into economic difficulties from the beginning, like what had happened before. Hou Xuefang who was in charge of financial affairs did the calculation: “We need at least 15,000 yuan, or preferably 20,000 yuan to start it.”132 Economic issues were important to a manager but not necessarily so to the founder of the organization. Ma Xiangbo said, “Economics is important to any magazine, including ours, but we must also think about our vision.”133 More intransigent voices came from members in Tokyo: “Our duty is to create Jianghan Daily, no matter what.”134 The founding of the Political News Society by Liang Qichao shows how highly political forces regarded newspapers and magazines. Liang had a double role to play: as the representative of a political force and an arbiter of public opinion. He raised the profile of the political force backing him by publishing a magazine and aided other political forces by being an instrumental agent in the realm of public opinion. His interactions with Yuan Shikai demonstrated this point clearly. Liang wrote to Yuan, “A statesman always has the support of public opinion. A smart statesman wants to be seen as a servant to public opinion but in reality is its master.”135 This was Liang’s experience as a political actor and he wanted  Okuma Shigenobu, “Foreword,” Political Commentary, No. 1, October 7, 1907, p. 1.  “Bylaws,” Political Commentary, No. 1, October 7, 1907, p. 124.  “Manifesto of Political News Society,” Political Commentary, No. 1, October 7, 1907, pp. 7, 9.  Hou Yanshuang, “Letter to Fosu,” February 13, 1908, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 455.  Ma Xiangbo, “Letter to Mr. Liang,” spring of 1908, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 457.  Political News Society staff, “Letter to Mr. Liang,” spring of 1908, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, pp. 466–467.  Liang Qichao, “Letter to Yuan Xiangcheng,” February 23, 1911, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 617.

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Yuan to focus on public opinion. Yuan prized Liang for his role in public opinion and invited him to run a major newspaper in Shanghai.136 But Liang’s followers did not want to be used as pawns and wished to stay true to their mission as media workers. In a letter to Liang, Mai Menghua exhorted him to maintain political independence and voiced three objections: he did not think Liang should go to Tianjin to manage Guofeng or head a new powerful newspaper with distribution to Northern and Southern China: “With your stature, how could you be the spokesman for someone else?” And finally, he did not think Liang should take Dongfang Ribao (Eastern Daily News) as “the organ of our party.” “It’s like taking a bandit as your son. It will only be worse if you spread the news overseas.”137 It was clear that Mai wanted to maintain his own independence by making these three objections. His dual role in the domains of politics and public opinion had made life difficult for Liang Qichao. It was to become worse when he entered the government. After his return to China in 1912, Liang was twice a cabinet minister, first in the judiciary and then in the finance department. After many setbacks, he rued the complexity of politics, “My policies were on paper only . . . I pushed my pen and twisted my tongue for ten years to no avail.”138 After the Empire of China failed, many called for him to come back. In his article “The Opposition Politician” Liang talked about his role in the intelligentsia: “In a constitutional state, politics is not confined to the government. Indispensable are opposition parties who offer necessary assistance and critical supervision to government policies. This is also the responsibility of an opposition politician.”139 Liang Qichao’s career was not unique. Many people in the newspaper and magazine business went on to become politicians. Sun Yusheng thought that “many in the newspaper and magazine business have political talents.”140 The growth of newspapers and magazines transformed governance and political participation, and because the arbiters of public opinion were frequently well known, their entrance into politics was not surprising.

 Liang Shiyi, “Telegraph to Mr. Liang,” March 15, 1911, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 619.  Mai Rubo, “Letter to Mr. Liang,” May 29, 1911, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 621.  Liang Qichao, “My Currency and Financial Policies,” Ice Drink Room Collection, Vol. 4, “Collection 32,” p. 38.  Liang Qichao, “A Talk with a Reporter,” Ice Drink Room Collection, Vol. 4, “Collection 33,” pp. 132–133.  Sun Yusheng, Karmic Journalism, p. 49.

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Subsidies for Newspaper Publishers from the Political Circles As a corollary to the above, in the late-Qing and Republican politicians routinely gave money to newspaper publishers. It was first noticed after the Hundred Days’ Reform. “Self-Inflicted Wounds,” published in June 1899 in Learning New Knowledge, stated that “a frontier official offered bribes to a newspaper editor. Every article about the ills of the reformists was worth 500 silver ingots.”141 Articles written during the tumultuous Hundred Days’ Reform may not be trustworthy, but bribery to newspapers and magazines was often reported at other times in that era. There were many instances of money given to newspaper publishers. “Stories of Shanghai Journalism” was published in The Eastern Miscellany in 1910 and reported on investigation findings: “Shanghai periodicals such as The Universal Gazette, Yulun Shishi Bao, and Shen Bao received money from government or semigovernment sources in varying monthly amounts.”142 It got worse in the Republican era. In 1913, Shen Bao published “The Abuse of Public Funds in Hunan” and reported on public funds received by the newspapers and magazines: “Minquan Bao (People’s Rights), Shijie Xinwen (World News), and Zhonghua Minbao (Chinese People’s Newspaper) each received 2,000 yuan.”143 The next day it published “A Table of Subsidies Paid to Newspapers and Magazines,” listing money received by 33 newspapers and magazines in Changsha, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hankou.144 Moreover, the government sought newspaper and magazine’s help for political reasons. Yuan Shikai’s dealings with Yaxiya Ribao (Asiatic Daily News) was a typical case. Asiatic Daily News was the first magazine to use hongxian, Yuan’s reign title. It called Yuan “His Majesty” and the reporters “his subjects.” “Leisurely Comments,” an article published in Ta Kung Pao, stated, “Even though there were not as many publications in the imperial era, we have counted Gongmenchao, Yuzhe Huicun, Huazhi Cunkao, and Zhengzhi Guanbao as the only four that were controlled by the imperial court. The situation is much worse in the Republican era. The number of government-related publications is extremely high.”145 After the Empire of China ended, public opinion focused on the enormous sums of money wasted during that period, especially “moneys given to the newspapers and magazines as bribes for favorable reviews or payments for social activities.”146

 “Self-Inflicted Wounds,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 90, June 18, 1899, p. 3.  “Stories of Shanghai Journalism,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 6, No. 12, January 6, 1910, pp. 108–110.  “Abuse of Public Funds in Hunan Part 2,” Shen Bao, July 9, 1913, 6th edition.  “Abuse of Public Funds in Hunan Part 3,” Shen Bao, July 10, 1913, 6th edition.  Wu Wang, “Leisurely Comments Part 1,” Ta Kung Pao, June 3, 1913, 3rd edition.  “The Cabinet Denies Monarchy-Abolishing Plan,” Shen Bao, May 14, 1916, p. 2.

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The same factors were at play in the growth of local newspapers and magazines. In March 1919, a news story from Yangzhou published in Shen Bao explained, “Since the police departments are short of funds and many newspapers and magazines have cropped up, subsidies for the media are no longer possible . . . We will continue to pay fees for subscriptions but subsidies will be discontinued.” It was abundantly clear that Yangzhou’s “public opinion organizations” had been receiving government funds for a long time.147 Another article about newspapers and magazines in Fuzhou stated, “There are more than ten newspapers and magazines today and their only function is to sing praises for Li Houqi and other officials. In short, they are nothing but voice recorders and writing paper for Fujian officials.”148 Zhang Pingzi, one of the founders of Ta Kung Pao, said that Zhao Hengti spent exorbitant sums of money on the newspapers and magazines when he was in charge of the Hunan military. “2,000 to 3,000 yuan for the big newspapers, 1,000 to 1,500 yuan for the small newspapers, and 200 to 500 yuan for the magazines and news organizations.” Zhang’s Ta Kung Pao was very special in that it got 8,000 yuan from Zhao, who must have felt that Ta Kung Pao’s prestige was worth that much money.149 Not all subsidies were distributed to the newspapers and magazines for the same purpose. Certainly, many went to pro-government publishers, but some were distributed as incentives to read and create newspapers and magazines. People in the newspaper business sometimes turned to the government for help. When The China Times went on an anti-Yuan Shikai campaign, Liang Qichao’s friend helped him contact Yunnan’s military government for financial help.150 Since few newspapers and magazines were financially independent, many desired a government subsidy. “The Press Is Grateful for Government Subsidy,” a 1922 Shen Bao article, stated, “The government is vital for the health of newspapers and magazines, which is why many governments subsidize their newspapers and magazines.”151 We may say that this is a lesson in the newspaper business’s political economy and its intimate relationship with the government. Due to these complicated reasons, it was difficult to root out subsidies even though people considered them an abuse of government funds. Hu Shih expressed his views in a 1922 article published in Nuli (The Endeavor): “The government

 “Stop Media Subsidies,” Shen Bao, March 27, 1919, p. 2.  Ying Wu, “Fuzhou Media Investigation,” Guomin Ribao (Citizen’s Daily), June 3, 1919, p. 2.  Zhang Pingzi, “What I Know of the Hunan Ta Kung Pao,” Hunan Historical Files, Vol. 23, Hunan People’s Publishing House, 1986, pp. 174, 193.  Liang Qichao, “Letter to Liangchai,” January 29, 1916, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, pp. 753–754.  “Beijing Media Remembers Government Subsidies,” Shen Bao, July 23, 1922, p. 7.

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subsidy has been a big stain on the newspapers and magazines in the past decade. It is many times worse than the law that destroys the freedom of speech.”152 How bad were the newspaper and magazine subsidies? Morning Post disclosed in an article in November 1925 that a united bureau was established jointly by the State Council, Constitution Drafting Committee, Military Rehabilitation committee, Financial Rehabilitation Committee, National Assembly Preparatory Committee, and Political Consultation Committee. The bureau received a sum of 20,000 yuan from the Ministry of Finance for advertising, to be distributed to the newspapers, magazines, and news organizations. Of the latter, six super-sized organizations got 300 yuan or more, including Shuntian Shibao (Shuntian Times), Yishibao (Social Welfare), and Jingbao (Peking News) supported by the State Council, Dongfang Shibao (Eastern Times) supported by the Ministry of Finance, Huangbao supported by the Political Consultation Committee, and Shehui Ribao (The Social Daily News) supported by the Constitution Drafting Committee. There were 125 newspapers, magazines, and news organizations, of which 47 were morning newspapers, 17 were evening newspapers, and 61 were news organizations. The total expenditure was 14,500 yuan.153 The media did not shy away from reporting or receiving subsidies. Shao Piaoping wrote in 1923, “There are many newspapers in Beijing but only a minority are truly independent and based on a solid foundation and good journalism. As a result, whenever the government makes a mistake, there is always talk of buying off the press.”154 Zhang Jiluan also said, “Among the newspapers in the north, only the small ones may have some form of economic independence. The rest are living off the subsidies.”155 This was the ecology of the newspapers and magazines.

Telegram to the Press The above shows that the formation of social-political groups in China was the result of social mobilization efforts by the business circles, prompting various professions to establish newspapers and magazines to voice their own political views. The development of the newspapers and magazines prompted the formation of the

 Q (Hu Shih), “This Week,” The Endeavor, Vol. 8, June 25, 1922, p. 1.  “Advertisement from Six Organizations,” Morning Post, November 19, 1925, p. 6.  Shao Piaoping, “Beijing Press’ Self-Serving Warning,” Peking News, December 7, 1923, “Commentary,” based on Fang Hanqi, ed., Shao Piaoping Collection, Vol. 2, China Renmin University Press, 1988, pp. 476–477.  Zhang Jiluan (aka Zhang Yiwei), “Northern China Press,” Baoxui Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 2, April 1929, p. 73.

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press which became one of the social domains. The Pan-China Press Union was established in Shanghai in 1919 and its membership included all the important newspapers and magazines.156 The Yenching University School of Journalism published a directory of newspapers and magazines in 1932 for the purpose of growing the profession.157 The Shanghai Press, a book published by the workers’ union of Shanghai Gongbao, indicated that “publications are cultural instruments, but the function of the press is much more than printing publications.”158 It is not the purpose of this book to study how the press was organized, but it is important to note that the political forces could not overlook the power of the press. Politicians relied on the press in the late Qing and Republican eras. It is now clear exactly when “telegram to the press” became a norm for political groups to promulgate their views. As was said earlier, the telegram was an important tool for transmitting information in the late Qing Dynasty. It was used by the press to transmit news and by the government to announce imperial decrees, yet it had other political significance in that it could be used as a public appeal when a political decision was at stake. This was because the governance framework was not firmly established and political authority was not uniformly accepted. As a result, public speeches and telegrams became the modus operandi for expressing political views.159 During the 1905 boycott of American goods, Shen Bao published many telegrams such as “Beijing Academia’s Public Telegram” and “Telegram of Rejection of the US Treaty by Shanxi Commerce and Academia.”160 In December 1906, Zhang Jian, Tang Shouqian, and Zheng Xiaoxu invited over 200 notable people from commerce and academia of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian to form the Constitution Preparation Society. They used a public telegram to inform the newspapers and magazines of their appeal and garnered much public attention. Telegram senders not only relied on the newspapers and magazines to publish their telegrams, they addressed their appeal to the newspapers and magazines as well. For instance, Li Yuanhong’s telegram of April 7, 1912, was sent to

 “Regarding Pan-China Press Union,” June 3, 1920, in Second Historical Archives of China, ed., the third series of The Collection of Archives of the Republic of China, “Culture,” Jiangsu Ancient Books Press, 1991, pp. 632–637.  China Press Directory, Yenching University Press, 1932, p. 1.  The Shanghai Press, Workers’ Union of Shanghai Daily, 1929, pp. 1–2.  Xiong Yuezhi, “Zhang Yuan: Study of a Public Space in Late Qing Shanghai,” in Zhang Zhongli, ed., Municipal Enterprise and Social Space, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press, 1998, p. 352.  “Beijing Academia’s Public Telegram,” Shen Bao, September 9, 1905, p. 3; “Telegram of Rejection of the US Treaty by Shanxi Commerce and Academia,” Shen Bao, November 4, 1905, p. 3. Apart from this, “Telegrams to Zeng Shaoqing of Shanghai Chamber of Commerce” contains telegrams from other chambers of commerce; see Shen Bao, July 29, 1905, p. 3.

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the intended group of people including Yuan Shikai and Sun Yat-sun, but also to “provincial and municipal leaders as well as the press.”161 We can see that instead of “to the press,” telegrams might as well have targeted “the public.” “To the Press: The Revolutionary League’s Rebuttal to the Republican Party Telegram,” published in July 1912, showed the tactic often used in that era. The Revolutionary Party wanted to accuse the Republican Party of arguing that the United Republican Party and the Revolutionary Party advocated anarchy.162 Politicians often relied on newspapers and magazines to elaborate on their views. In 1912, the Minister of Finance Xiong Xiling published “Discussing Loan Terms with the Beijing Press” and wrote, “The loan is not a matter of good or bad but a matter of life and death for our country.” He got into some trouble for saying this and later explained, “Some media have recently put the blame on Prime Minister Tang and Foreign Minister Hu. This is a misunderstanding.”163 Moreover, the “telegram war” exposed the political strife which was the result of using telegrams to influence public opinion. Wu Peifu was adept at using telegrams for political purposes, and when he brought Bai Jianwu into the Government Affairs Office to be a military adviser in 1922, Bai often drafted Wu’s telegrams.164 In his book The Secret History of the Zhili-Anhui War, Zhang Yilin wrote about the telegrams published during the conflict: “Telegrams were sent left and right, for no other purpose than to expose others’ shortcomings while bragging about one’s own strengths. Personal secrets, some of which were decidedly bizarre, were revealed and interpreted ad infinitum. They made quite a page turner.”165 Another article also noted the curious relationship between civil bureaucrats and the warlords. The former in effect constituted the latter’s cabinet members and drafted telegrams in classical Chinese, bringing a whiff of scholarship into the world of the warlords.166

 “Li Yuanhong’s Telegrams to Yuan Shikai and Sun Yat-sun,” April 7, 1912, Selected Files of Sun Yat-sen, (c. 1911), Zhonghua Book Company, 1986, p. 584.  “To the Press: The Revolutionary League’s Rebuttal to the Republican Party Telegram,” People’s Rights, July 25, 1912, based on Mo Shixiang’s Political Strife in Early Republican Era and the Second Revolution, Vol. 2, Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1983, pp. 68–69.  Xiong Xiling, “Discussing Loan Terms with Beijing Press,” Shenzhou Ribao, May 26, 1912, based on Zhou Qiuguang, ed., Xiong Xiling Collection, Vol. 2, Hunan People’s Publishing House, 2008, p. 543.  Bai Jianwu’s Diary, Du Chunhe and Geng Jinlai eds., Jiangsu Ancient Books Publishing House, 1992, pp. 363–364.  Zhang Yilin, Secret History of the Zhili-Anhui War, in Rong Mengyuan and Zhang Bofeng, eds., Modern Anecdotes, Vol. 4, Sichuan People’s Publishing House, 1985, pp. 65–66.  Diana Lary, “Warlord Studies”, Modern China, Vol. 6, No. 4, October 1980, pp. 157–179.

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Scholars also made their political appeals through telegrams. In the early Republican era, after being hired by Yuan Shikai as a political consultant, Zhang Taiyan published a number of telegrams every year, such as those published in The Republican Daily News in June 1917.167 Zhu Weizheng wrote, “From January 1932 to the summer of 1933, Ma Xiangbo, along with political heavyweights Zhang Taiyan, Xiong Xiling, and Shen Enfu, published, jointly or separately, disapproving telegrams about the Kuomintang’s corrupt one-party rule.”168 Journalists were no exception. Bao Tianxiao thought that Shao Piaoping was better at writing telegrams than Huang Yuanyong: “Yuanyong was a better writer, but Piaoping was unsurpassed in the art of telegram writing.”169 Yang Yinhang believed that telegram writing was a natural talent strictly reserved to the Chinese: “Texts in telegrams emanating from all parts of China are the voices of a mighty nation.”170 He also proposed the proper way to study telegrams: “Since we live in the era of a telegram war, we need to study telegrams. Just as the lawyers who tell us, ‘without lies there would be no lawsuits’, we may say, ‘without lies there would be no telegrams.’”171 The telegram was a new act in the political theater. This new mechanism prompted government officials to address the press on many occasions in the early Republican era. The purpose was to recognize the power of the press and to express the government’s political vision through the press. In a speech to the Beijing press on September 14, 1912, Huang Xing indicated that “Even though our political reform is backed by the five races, what made it happen was the strong voice of the press.”172 At the welcome reception held for him by the Shanghai Press Club, Sun Yat-sen spoke of the power of the press: “The success of the revolution was mainly the result of media advocacy. In the Republican era, we need the press to show us how to build our nation.”173 Sun had received help from the

 “Zhang Taiyan’s Telegram Calls Out Feng,” Citizen’s Daily, June 6, 1917; “Zhang Taiyan Gives Warning to the World,” Citizen’s Daily, June 7, 1917, based on“Various Views on Constitution Protection,” Files of Constitution Protection Movement, Vol. 3, Tang Ruixiang ed., Flower City Publishing House, 2003, pp. 7–8.  Zhu Weizheng, “Witness to Modern Chinese History: Ma Xiangbo’s Centennial Celebration,” Ma Xiangbo Collection, Zhu Weizheng ed., Fudan University Press, 1996, p. 1218.  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, Vol. 2, p. 67.  Lao Bu (Yang Yinhang), “Genius,” Shen Bao, November 23, 1920, p. 16.  Lao Bu (Yang Yinhang), “Telegram Study,” Shen Bao, April 26, 1922, p. 18.  Huang Xing, “Speech at Beijing Press Club’s Welcome Reception,” Chinese People’s Newspaper, September 20, 1912, based on Hunan Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Huang Xing Collection, Zhonghua Book Company, 1981, pp. 259–260.  Xueer Bishu, “Mr. Sun’s Political Views,” Minlibao, October 13–20, 1912; also “National Reconstruction: Speech at Shanghai Press Club’s Welcome Reception,” The Complete Sun Yat-sen Collection, Vol. 2, Zhonghua Book Company, 1982, p. 495.

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press on many occasions in his revolutionary career. After he was kidnapped and then released in London in 1896, Sun wrote a letter to the British press: “I was kidnapped in the Chinese consulate. My release would not have been possible without the efforts by the British government. I am grateful for the British press for its timely assistance.”174 Politicians wanted to control public opinion through the media. During the New Culture Movement, Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary hero, attempted to change the core of the debate. He wrote in the first issue of the Construction magazine that the chaos in society was caused by the inability to construct after the destruction of the revolution, The magazine was therefore created to “advocate for a rethinking of reconstruction, an explication of the principles, and the creation of an “-ism” so that it may become common knowledge for the masses.”175 Sun discovered from the May Fourth Movement that revolutionary thinking was connected to revolutionary action. He noted the massive social impact generated by student publications and pointed out the Kuomintang’s failure in this area: “The most pressing thing the government can do now is to organize a print shop.”176 Sun was aware of the importance political forces attached to the intelligentsia. As an activist, he also knew the importance of public opinion. The intelligentsia was where scholars exerted the primacy of thinking and the activists trumpeted their solidarity. Liao Zhongkai wrote to Hu Shih to express his admiration, “Your advocacy of vernacular literature caused a revolution in the press. New thoughts can now be transmitted to the masses to better their lives. You have done ten times more than Confucius and Mencius.”177 Zhu Zhixin was very clear about the necessity of provocation in public opinion: “Is there any place in the world where public opinion does not need provocation?”178 The importance of the nationalists and communists in the evolution of political parties needs no emphasis, and this topic will not be detailed here. Simply put, political parties with a Leninist ideology tend to be class-conscious in mobilization and place more value on the newspapers and magazines. Once established in Nanjing, the nationalist government wanted more ideological control and strove to guide the press. Building a party organ was high on

 Sun Yat-sen, “Kidnapped in London,” The Complete Sun Yat-sen Collection, Vol. 1, Zhonghua Book Company, 1981, p. 85.  Sun Yat-sen, “Foreword to the First Issue,” Construction, Vol. 1, No. 1, August 1919, p. 1.  Sun Yat-sen, “Letter to Kuomintang’s Overseas Members,” January 29, 1920, The Complete Sun Yat-sen Collection, Vol. 5, Zhonghua Book Company, 1985, pp. 207–212.  Liao Zhongkai, “Letter to Hu Shih,” July 19, 1919, Selected Correspondence with Hu Shih, Vol. 1, p. 64.  Zhu Zhixin, “Public Opinion and Provocation,” Construction, Vol. 1, No. 1, August 1919, p. 73.

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its priority list from the beginning. The government took over Shangbao, which had ceased operation in Shanghai, and created Zhongyang Ribao (Central Daily News) in February 1928, with Sun Ke as board chairman and Ding Weifen (the Minister of Information) as director. He Yingqin wrote in “Our Responsibility,” “This newspaper is the mouthpiece of our party and the opinions are based on our ideology and policies.”179 Later on, “Party Organ Bylaws” specified that “Information departments at all levels shall establish newspapers or magazines or subsidize some created by party members.”180 As far as subsidy is concerned, a report published in Central Daily News on October 31, 1928, stated that the newspaper’s budget came mostly from the government.181 Central Daily News was the most typical of party organs and an epitome of public opinion management. It moved to Nanjing in the following year and published the first local issue on February 1, 1929, supervised by the Information Department’s Party Organ Committee chaired by Ye Chulun, who was also the newspaper’s director. Asked about the editorial policy, Ye said, “As a party organ, we need to have sophisticated organization and a clear vision.”182 The director was not the only one who had unassailable credentials. It was by Chiang Kai-shek’s direct order, transmitted by speech writer and confidant Chen Bulei, that Tao Xisheng, one of the line unit leaders, was named editor-in-chief in 1943. Tao wrote in his memoirs that “Chiang Kai-shek often gave instructions to the newspaper and believed that the newspaper should participate in confidential discussions without breaking any confidentiality and grasp the political situation without getting ahead of other newspapers and magazines.”183 Apart from the Kuomintang, one must know the connection between the newspapers and magazines and the new ideas of the May Fourth period in order to understand the history of the CPC. “To understand how a foreign ideology such as Marxism could spread and find acceptance in China, one must explore the cultural environment which made it possible, and in particular, the situation of the newspapers and magazines which were the major mode of information dissemination.”184 In reality, how to manage public opinion was one of the first considerations of the  He Yingqin, “Our Responsibility,” Central Daily News, February 10, 1928, p. 4.  “Party Organ Bylaws,” Executive Yuan Ministry of Interior Communiques, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1929. p. 10.  “Cumulative Economic Reports,” Central Daily News, October 31, 1928, p. 2.  Tao Baichuan was named director in 1942 and asked Ye for advice. Ye made the above comment. See Tao Baichuan, Eighty Years of Grace under Pressure, The Grand East Book Co., Ltd., 1984, p. 172.  Tao Xisheng, “Bulei: A Newspaperman,” Historical Literature, Vol. 28, No. 4, April 1976, pp. 5–9.  Yoshihiro Ishikawa, History of the Communist Party of China, Yuan Guangquan, trans., Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Press, 2006, p. 3.

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CPC. When Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa paid a visit to Li Hanjun in Shanghai, Li told him, “The only thing we are striving for is social revolution, but there can be no social revolution without propaganda.” “Besides propaganda, is there any other tactic you need to be good at?” Akutagawa asked. “None that I can think of,” Li responded.185 This was not one man’s opinion; the CPC had focused on public opinion since its founding. In 1921, the CPC’s First National Congress adopted the Party’s first resolution, declaring that “the publication of all books, newspapers, posters, and flyers shall be supervised by the Central Executive Committee or the interim body thereof.”186 Subsequent publications all had the style of a party organ. Labor Weekly, published in August 1921, stated, “Our weekly is not produced for commercial purposes. Its aim is to be the voice of labor as proposed by the Labor Union Secretariat Department, and its goal is the union of all workers.”187 The Guide Weekly, which came out in September of the following year, also had a party organ feel to it. Zheng Chaolin, a contributing writer, wrote, “The Guide Weekly is a weekly magazine published by the CPC for the purpose of the nationalist revolution. The CPC has adopted an international policy and all our work is geared toward the world. The Guide Weekly is in effect a party magazine.”188 New Youth became a CPC magazine in June 1923 and made a “New Proclamation” to the entire society: “New Youth was once a pioneer in true revolutionary ideology. It is now the compass for the Chinese proletarian revolution.”189 Whether a political party could successfully mobilize a society depended on how well it controlled public opinion. This is why researchers of Chinese political parties need to analyze public opinion management. In his book Awakening China: Politics, Culture, and Class in the Nationalist Revolution, John Fitzgerald used two chapters to explain how a political party was able to coalesce a multitude of voices into one and why an “awakening organization” had to be created for this purpose.190 Wang Qisheng studied the revolutionary and reactionary forces of the 1920s

 Ryunosuke Akutagawa, A Report on the Journey of Shanghai, Chen Shengbao, trans., in Gao Huiqin and Wei Dahai eds., The Complete Akutagawa Collection, Vol. 3, Shangdong Shandong Publishing House of Literature and Art, 2005, p. 655.  “The First Resolution of the Communist Party of China,”in Central Archives, ed., Precious Files of 80 Years of the Communist Party of China, Vol. 1, China Archives Press, 2001, p. 39.  “Foreword to the First Issue,” based on “Shanghai Labor Union’s Labor Weekly,” Gongchandang, No. 6, July 7, 1921, p. 62.  Zheng Chaolin, Zheng Chaolin Memoirs, Vol. 1, Dongfang Publishing House, 2004, p. 211.  “New Youth’s New Proclamation,” New Youth Quarterly, No. 1, June 16, 1923, p. 6.  John Fitzgerald, Awakening China: Politics, Culture, and Class in the Nationalist Revolution, Li Gongzhong and Li Lifeng, trans., SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2004, p. 502.

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and said that at the time of the Northern Expedition, Awakened Lion served as the Youth Party’s newspaper whereas China Youth and The Guide Weekly were organs of the CPC. The nationalists were not good at propaganda; they published The Republican Daily News in Guangzhou and Shanghai, but the newspaper only reported news whereas the other parties published more ideological grist.191 A newspaper or magazine’s publicity capability is key in any political competition. It is widely believed that the nationalists did not have a good grasp of the function of newspapers and magazines. In a letter to Luo Jialun, a nationalist official, Gu Jiegang suggested the creation of a magazine in Nanjing to publicize the Three People’s Principles and to instill new ideas. The reason Gu gave was: In recent years, the communists were best at publicity, and that is why many politicallyminded young people became communists. Folks at Awakened Tiger did not have much to do but they also knew how to publicize, so they had their followers as well. If the nationalist revolution is successful, the Kuomintang has to be able to inculcate new ideas or it will not be able to attract new blood.192

Bai Jianwu, a perennial figure in warlord politics, did not think the nationalists knew the art of propaganda either, “After they came to power, the nationalists were slightly better than the warlords in propaganda, but there was no universal article of faith in the country.”193 At the time of the Luoyang National Calamity Conference, Bai had some angry words for the nationalists, “They will ruin their party as they have ruined the publicity of the conference. They will destroy the republic if they stay in power for long.”194 Scholars was wary of the multitude of problems that resulted from the universally cozy relationship between political forces and newspapers and magazines. In his “Response to the Letter of the Yangzhou Press,” Zhang Jian expressed a similar sentiment: “The newspapers and magazines have given voice to public opinion and their original intention was good. But because politicians take advantage of them, the voice has become cranked-up noise.”195 People began to doubt the effectiveness of public opinion. In “Politics Is Not About Words” Pan Guangdan asked, “Is there such a thing as public opinion, or is propaganda all we have?

 Wang Qisheng, “Revolution and Reaction: Three Major Parties’ Interactions in the 1920s,” Historical Study, No. 5, 2004, pp. 84–105.  Gu Jiegang, “To Luo Jialun,” June 9, 1927, Gu Jiegang Correspondence, Vol. 1, Zhonghua Book Company, 2011, p. 251.  Bai Jianwu Diary, Du Chunhe and Geng Jinlai, eds., September 8, 1928, p. 583.  Bai Jianwu Diary, Du Chunhe and Geng Jinlai, eds., January 24, 1932, p. 957.  Zhang Jian, “Response to the Letter of the Yangzhou Press,” September 20, 1923, in Zhang Jian Institute, Nantong Library, and Jiangsu Ancient Books Publishing House, eds., The Complete Zhang Jian Collection, Vol. 1, “Politics,” Jiangsu Ancient Books Publishing House, 1994, p. 555.

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The ubiquitous slogans have caused great harm: Thoughts and speech have become stereotypical, and talk has replaced action.”196 In his article “Mingjiao,” Hu Shih expressed his disappointment that China under the nationalists had become a world of slogans: “A country is not ruled by slogans but by deeds.”197 Xu Baohuang considered the Kuomintang’s news policy an egregious attempt to control public opinion. He pointed out that the policy had created a rumor mill: “The party organs often lie about opposition leaders for political purposes, causing chaos and confusion. The news policy may be a useful tool for the nationalist party but it is a scourge to the press. It has to be destroyed.”198 My Press Experience, published in 1940, reminded readers that “Politics is behind every Chinese newspaper. The press should be a place for public opinion, but it is not.”199 The intelligentsia was where politics, academia, and ideas met. As such, it deserved careful considerations. Zhang Zhidong wrote in the foreword to his An Appeal to Study, “The ebb and flow of state power is determined not by politics but by studious minds.”200 China was in a long process of modernization, and so was its intelligentsia. It was natural to think out of place, as the newspapers and magazines offered both sustenance and discordance to scholars. The newspapers and magazines had transformed governance, and politicians had to find new ways to interact with them. That political forces took advantage of the press was one facet of the problem; that scholars could not keep politics at bay was another. The real problem was that the “-isms” eroded people’s minds and the survival-of-the-fittest mentality corrupted politicians. Scholars were not creative enough in their thinking, and their attempts to safeguard public opinion were unsatisfactory. It must be admitted that the multiple facets of the intelligentsia reflected the changing politics, academia, and ideas of the late Qing and Republican eras. Correspondingly, inquiries into the intelligentsia of that era have to give due consideration to all these complicated factors.

 Pan Guangdan, “Politics Is Not About Words,” Path to Freedom, The Commercial Press, 1946, pp. 373–374.  Hu Shih, “Mingjiao,” Crescent Moon, Vol. 1, No. 5, July 10, 1928, pp. 1–12.  Xu Baohuang, “Introduction to Journalism,” in Xu Baohuang and Hu Yuzhi, Career in Journalism, The Commercial Press, 1923, p. 32.  Hong Feng, My Press Experience, Bowen Book Company, 1940, p. 68.  Zhang Zhidong, “An Appeal to Study,” in Yuan Shuyi, ed., The Complete Zhang Zhidong Collection, Vol. 12, p. 9705.

Chapter Six Book Publishers, Newspaper Publishers, and Scholars: Shared Commercial Interest As a field, the intelligentsia is composed of multiple networks. Chapter Four reviews the newspaper as the medium of new learning. What cannot be ignored is that the newspapers themselves have their own network, representing the situation of the entire publishing industry. The interactive network formed by newspapers and book publishers constitutes an interdependent business: on the one hand, books published by book publishers often required advertisements in newspapers; while on the other hand, the publishing and distribution of newspapers depended on the support of book publishers, including printing and distribution network. Clearly, major publishers like The Commercial Press and Zhonghua Book Company published many magazines; yet in addition to them, magazines such as New Citizen and New Youth also formed mutually reliant relationships with the book publishers. This is also an important part of examining the intelligentsia of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period. In fact, in addition to newspapers, books can also be regarded as an important host of the intelligentsia, and together they influence the basic lifestyle of scholars. How was this relationship formed, and what was its significance? The business aspect alone is also worth considering. The so-called “business,” especially the publishing industry, believed to be knowledge-based, is naturally not simply a matter of buying and selling. The Encyclopedia has been mentioned before as the “business of the Enlightenment.” As mentioned earlier in this book, printers, workshop owners, publishers, readers, and many more groups of participants in this business are all worthy of discussion in a careful examination of publications. Researchers also proposed, when reviewing the books and scholarly culture of the late Chinese Empire, “The historians of ideology tend to pay attention to the content of books and are eager to explain how and why a thinker’s opinion has formed on a set of events.” In fact, books themselves can convey much more information, and should not be “just regarded as a commodity or an information carrier.”1 Therefore, the “business” formed in the publishing industry since the late Qing Dynasty also constitutes an important part of the intelligentsia in cognitive terms.

 Joseph P. McDermott, A Social History of the Chinese Book: Books and Literati Culture in Late Imperial China, He Zhaohui, trans., Peking University Press, 2009, “Preface to the Chinese Edition,” pp. II–III. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-007

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I Newspaper Publishing as a Business Newspapers have their own modus operandi. No matter how they were positioned, they had to face the problem of sales. Successful sales depend on whether a newspaper can maintain a basic readership and can even determine the newspaper’s survival. The newspapers such as Chinese Serial discussed earlier were unviable because Chinese people were indifferent to them. Shen Bao and Wan Guo Gong Bao can be regarded as successful examples in terms of sales, and they have cultivated the first group of readers who read the newspaper (more on this topic later). They were also good examples when more Chinese scholars created more newspapers and magazines. According to the situation of Current Affairs, newspaper sales were by no means purely a matter of business.

The Operation of Current Affairs In the early days when scholars in the late Qing Dynasty started to establish newspapers, they encountered a brand new problem of how to sell. Sino Foreign News and Current Affairs were typical examples. Their reliance on the government was quite obvious, and help was also required from various networks of relationships. The significance of Shen Bao and Wan Guo Gong Bao run by foreigners was that these newspapers not only cultivated scholars’ habit of reading newspapers, but also established distribution channels that could provide assistance for new newspapers. Current Affairs announced its inauguration by publishing an advertisement in Shen Bao. From June 22 to 24, 1896, the advertisement was published in Shen Bao for three consecutive days, informing readers, “This newspaper intends to devote itself to the invention of political principles and the translation of newspapers from various countries, with a new book attached to each volume. The newspaper office, located at Nanhuairen Neighborhood, Shilu Road, Shanghai, will open soon.”2 From August 5, another advertisement was published in Shen Bao for four consecutive days, introducing the printing and distribution of Current Affairs.3 The sales of Current Affairs also relied on the distribution channels established by Shen Bao and Wan Guo Gong Bao. In his letter to Wang Kangnian and Liang Qichao, Huang Zunxian stated, “You can entrust distributors of Wan Guo Gong Bao as well as the Christian College to sell on your behalf, and you can also

 “New Newspaper Current Affairs,” Shen Bao, June 22, 1896, p. 4.  “Current Affairs Newspaper,” Shen Bao, August 5, 1896, p. 4.

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think about contacting other newspapers. This newspaper is unique and other newspapers offices are not likely to fear competition.” However, Huang also advised that Current Affairs is “collecting donations for public use . . . No commercial statements can be published.”4 This also showed that Current Affairs, which was relied mainly on donations, had its own characteristics and was different from commercial newspapers. Wang Xiuzhi, who later founded Guowen Bao with Yan Fu and others, was one of those Wang Kangnian contacted. He stated in a letter to Wang Kangnian that he could rely on the existing distribution channels for promotion, “It is best for your promotion if those who deliver Shen Bao and Peking News could help deliver your newspaper.”5 Wu Desu also suggested that Current Affairs should be “printed at the printing house of Shen Bao and Wan Guo Gong Bao and deliver the newspaper through their channels.”6 The key reason why they all considered using Shen Bao and Wan Guo Gong Bao was that these two are the first newspapers that the scholars in the late Qing Dynasty reached, and these newspapers had been in circulation in local areas. Liu Shanhan, who was in charge of preparing the Hunan Gazette mentioned: In our province, the atmosphere of reading newspapers has not yet been formed. Those who have read them before, they only read the two newspapers of Shen Bao and Han News, and the number of newspaper readers was very small, say a few in one hundred. Shouye once bought 1,200 copies of Gong Bao at Meihua Book Company, 100 copies a month, and sold it at Taiping Street Renhe Douchi Store in our province. The brand was listed at the head of Gong Bao, and the sales improved much. Scholars rush to read it as fast as possible.

For this reason, Liu also made suggestion to Wang Kangnian, “If there is a fixed value, please sell and deliver the newspaper through Wan Guo Gong Bao. Please send 100 copies per month for now and the number of copies in the future will depend on whether the sales are satisfactory or not.”7 In addition to that, inspired by the creation of newspapers by outsiders as well, many people also suggested that Current Affairs should consider the needs of businessmen in order to facilitate its sales. Zou Daijun said, “Putting a goods value list at the end of each volume does not affect the book, while in the meantime the wealthy businessmen

 Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian and Liang Qichao” (10), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), pp. 2334–2335.  Wang Xiuzhi, “To Wang Kangnian” (2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 77.  Wu Deyun, “To Wang Kangnian” (5), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 383.  Liu Shanhan, “To Wang Kangnian” (2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2881.

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will be satisfied, in this sense it might be one good way to sell the newspaper.”8 Chen Sanli also had the same suggestion: “I would like to think it is a good idea to add a few pages of price list, so that merchants can also buy and browse it, and the newspaper will harvest better sales.”9 When the newspapers were founded by scholars in the late Qing Dynasty, their content and distribution imitated newspapers created by outsiders such as Shen Bao and Wan Guo Gong Bao. Thus, it was not difficult to understand that Guowen Bao, which was founded after Current Affairs and Learning New Knowledge, etc., also needed to rely on earlier newspapers to publish their advertisements or help with the distribution. But this was by no means the whole picture of newspapers as a business. The distribution channels established by outsiders could not meet the needs of a large number of newspapers, and a special modus operandi was developed in the process. After all, the appearance of newspapers such as Current Affairs had completely different meanings. The existing power network or personal ties of scholars had played an important role. The correspondence between Wang Kangnian and his friends revealed that before the official publishing of Current Affairs, he had already thought about how to sell the newspaper and undertake the sales of other books and periodicals. Regardless of whether it was Wang Kangnian or other staff members, they originally had multiple identities and a very extensive social network. Because of this, newspapers such as Current Affairs were published and soon became platforms for publishing various types of information. The few advertisements published in the first issues of Current Affairs show roughly the many links that a newspaper relies on. The advertisements are “Staff of This Newspaper Office,” “Addresses of People Collecting Donations in Various Places,” and “Distribution of This Newspaper in Various Places.” It can be seen that the funding for Current Affairs was mainly donations. A steady stream of donations constituted the main source of funding. It also published advertisements, but did not specify the price. Advertisements and advertisements were not purely “business,” but involved personal ties in one way or another. It could also be seen from the “Distribution of This Newspaper in Various Places” that its initial sales did not have a clear pattern, relying on traditional book publishers as well as new sales networks.10 An “advertisement of the Newspaper Office” in volume 22 of Current Affairs indicates distribution of the newspaper by the post

 Zou Daijun, “To Wang Kangnian” (23), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2659.  Chen Sanli, “To Wang Kangnian” (13), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1983.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Current Affairs, Vol. 3, August 29, 1896, p. 1.

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office.11 This means that the growing post service system in the late Qing Dynasty was also a channel worthy of attention for newspaper distribution, but it might not be mature enough. From a purely business perspective, it was necessary to consider whether the newspapers sales and other revenues of the newspaper could make the ends meet for the newspaper office. Current Affairs was undoubtedly special. It received extensive donations from the very beginning, which happened to basically no other newspaper. Because of the donations it received, the newspaper needed to publish its balance sheet from time to time, which revealed the financial status of the newspaper at that time. Printing was the major part of the cost, followed by salaries, remuneration for contributors and translators, and more. Then there was the cost of purchasing Western and Chinese newspapers, books, and periodicals. Income mainly came from donations, direct sales, distributor sales, and bookselling income. Analysis revealed that “after the publishing of Current Affairs, the sales volume has been rising and sales revenue has replaced donations as the main source of income for the newspaper, pushing operation gradually on track. Financial difficulties mainly resulted from failure to recover due payment for the newspaper.”12 This was indeed the truth. It was not difficult to see, through the advertisements published in the newspaper, that this was the most worrisome matter for the newspaper, yet the frequent appearance of this kind of advertisements also proved them to be not very effective. Judging from the newspaper’s income and expenditure, the most surprising point is that there is no income from advertising but a 30-yuan expenditure for advertising. It cannot be inferred from this that Current Affairs gained no benefit from advertising. For example, it published advertisements for Hunan Mining Sub-Bureau, which was something like “business,” but the payment came as donation. Zhang Tongdian, who was in charge of the bureau, said in a letter to Wang Kangnian: “Our bureau would like to donate 400 yuan, so that the mining industry will be prosperous, and then we will do everything we can (when your newspaper comes out, we will sell 100 copies).”13 In addition, the advertisement of antimony in the early days of the newspaper was profitable. It was arranged by Zou Daijun, who entrusted the newspaper to sell the product, stating that “sales of the product can be counted as newspaper sales,” and there was also a personal

 “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Current Affairs, Vol. 22, April 2, 1897, “Advertisements,” p. 1.  Liao Mei, Wang Kangnian: From Civil Rights Theory to Cultural Conservatism, pp. 62–65.  Zhang Tongdian, “To Wang Kangnian” (6), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1771.

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reward to Wang Kangnian.14 Clearly, advertising in Current Affairs involved many more factors than pure commerce. Newspaper founders did not seem to think much about advertising from the business perspective. Huang Zunxian pointed out, “Advertisements are so numerous that it is very inconvenient.” His opinion was, “It has to be shortened to one page” and “the most appropriate advertisement is to be concise, rather than rhetorical so as not to confuse the audience.”15 People who were outside the publishing industry advised more advertising. Lu Jing, who once served as dean of the Mathematics Department of Tianjin Military Academy, suggested, “The advertisement is a source of profit for newspapers. If your newspaper refuses advertising, you are keeping profit out of your reach,” but to “Make sure not to follow the way of the newspapers in Shanghai, who advertises [sic] without any distinction . . . It is appropriate to publish content that is helpful to scholars, which is profitable, and advertisement may also help important undertakings like translating books and establishing schools.”16 The newspaper had made efforts in this regard, but the results were not so satisfactory.17 In terms of sales, there is more to discuss. According to the information provided by Current Affairs, Zhang Pengyuan believed that the newspaper sold about 8,000 copies in 1896, which rose to 11,000 copies in 1897. If some unreported sales were added, the total number should be about 12,000 copies, about three times more than the influential Wan Guo Gong Bao.18 In addition to official channels, Current Affairs mainly relied on local sales offices to promote sales. People who subscribed on behalf of others played a very important role. For example, Zhu Zurong, who had many strong personal times, brought more than a dozen subscribers to Current Affairs and other newspapers.19 Personal ties were a special characteristic of newspaper sales in the late Qing Dynasty.

 Zou Daijun, “To Wang Kangnian” (21), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2653.  Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian” (15), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2338.  Lu Jing, “To Wang Kangnian, Jiang Fu, Luo Zhenyu” (2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2986.  The newspaper published an “Advertisement Pricing”: an advertisement should be at least two lines, five yuan for one, 13.5 yuan for three, 35 yuan for nine, 63 yuan for 18, 140 yuan for 36. Current Affairs, Vol. 57, April 11, 1898. “advertisements” p. 1.  Zhang Pengyuan, Liang Qichao and the Revolution of Qing Dynasty, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, 1999, pp. 194–195.  Zhu Zurong, “To Wang Kangnian” (1, 2, 3), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), pp. 221–224.

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In addition, some people recommended Current Affairs at their own initiative. For example, Liu Guangdi, an official in Beijing, praised Current Affairs in a letter to old acquaintances in his hometown in 1896, for its usefulness in “helping Wuchuan scholars and merchants to know domestic and foreign current affairs,” making it thus worthy of “wide circulation to enlighten those who remain to be enlightened.”20 In later communication, Liu continued to pay attention to this issue: “Current Affairs has arrived in Chongqing earlier. I wonder if you have been reading it. Now Chongqing Journal is in publication and I have read it. It is not as detailed as Current Affairs. Reading the newspaper is a good way to learn, and stop[ping] reading to save money is the last thing to do.”21 Wu Baochu, one of the Four Lords of the Late Qing Dynasty, also bought 30 copies at his own expense, “passing them round.”22 Current Affairs had its own unique modus operandi, and other newspapers are also believed to gained profits in many other ways. After the founding of Hunan Gazette, it published not only many advertisements of book publishers and book sales, but also other commercial advertisements, such as those in its twentieth volume for Yuhe Silk and Cloth Shop, Guangfengsen Silk and Imported Cloth Shop, and the newly opened Jiuhe Silk Shop. This showed that newspapers helped with commodity sales.23 Learning New Knowledge also tried to make profits through advertising. For example, the forty-seventh and forty-eighth volumes published “Advertisement of Yongan Insurance Company” (United States).24 “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office” in the one hundred and twelfth volume stated, “Any Chinese and foreign businessmen who want to publish an advertisement, please come to us or write to discuss it.”25 Even a local newspaper such as the Wuxi Vernacular News, founded in 1898, published an advertisement early after its inauguration: “All antique toys can be advertised in this newspaper.” The newspaper did publish a lot of advertisements, indicating that the newspaper was involved in a wide range of businesses.

 Liu Guangdi, “Correspondence from Beijing with Liuanhuaitang in Ziliujing” (49), September 26, 1896, Liu Guangdi Collection, Zhonghua Book Company, 1986, p. 267.  Liu Guangdi, “Correspondence from Beijing with Liuanhuaitang in Ziliujing” (54), February 25, 1897, Liu Guangdi Collection, p. 281–282.  Wu Baochu, “Call for Qitong People to Read Current Affairs,” see The Collection of Beishan Tower, Huangshan Publishing House, 1990, p. 85.  See “Articles of Association of Hunan Gazette,” Hunan Gazette No. 27; see also “Regulations of Hunan Gazette,” Hunan Gazette, No. 27, April 6, 1898, p. 107.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 47, March 22, 1898, p. 25.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 112, February 14, 1900, p. 37.

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Gains and Losses of Relying on Personal Ties for Sales It was certain that Current Affairs relied on personal ties for its sales, as was the case for other newspapers as Cai Yuanpei affirmed in his diary. Inspired by Current Affairs, late-Qing scholars were enthusiastic for starting newspapers. At this time, Cai was appointed as editor of the Hanlin Academy and had a wide network of personal ties. He helped with the distribution of many a newspaper. His diary entry, dated May 21, 1897, contains something like this: “The Society of Agriculture sent 20 volumes of its journal (the second issue).”26 Soon after that, he wrote: “I got a letter from Jiang Bofu, and 80 copies of the Journal of Agricultural Science, making a total of 140 copies.”27 Obviously, these volumes were not for his own needs. They were for promotion or further distribution. In addition, Statecraft Journal also commissioned Cai Yuanpei to “help distribute.” The following message is from his diary entry of July 29, 1897: “I got a letter from Zhongsheng, plus a hundred volumes of Statecraft Journal.”28 Cai Yuanpei also explained how to send out these newspapers in his diary.29 In May and June of 1898, Cai Yuanpei distributed several newspapers such as Hunan Gazette, Elementary Studies, and Cuibao.30 This reveals the personal channels for newspaper distribution at that time. Cai did not mention any fees in his diary, and such a way of delivering newspapers would certainly directly lead to the difficulty of collecting payments. Expansion of sales through friends was not a formal practice. The promotion of Current Affairs depended on this, which showed that the newspaper had encountered a lot of difficulties regarding circulation at its initial stage. In fact, not everyone was willing to help, and things could be especially difficult when trying to collect payments. Tan Sitong, who was in Jinling at the time, said frankly that it was difficult to find a sales office for Current Affairs there, and he also worried that the distributors may put the money in their own pockets.31 Jiang Biao wrote to Wang Kangnian, saying, “The sales of various newspapers is fine only at your place, followed by Hankou and Jiangnan. Things are rather slack in all other

 Wang Shiru, ed., Cai Yuanpei’s Diary, Vol. 1, May 21, 1897, p 69.  Wang Shiru, ed., Cai Yuanpei’s Diary, Vol. 1, June 2, 1897, p 69.  Wang Shiru, ed., Cai Yuanpei’s Diary, Vol. 1, July 29, 1897, p 71.  Wang Shiru, ed., Cai Yuanpei’s Diary, Vol. 1, March 19, 1898, p. 89.  Later, Cai Yuanpei returned to Shaoxing to run a school, and stopped mentioning newspaper sales in his diary. But relevant records continued in 1900 when he helped distribute Yaquan Journal. Wang Shiru, ed., Cai Yuanpei’s Diary, Vol. 1, November 3 and 6, 1900, p. 139.  Tan Sitong, “To Wang Kangnian” (8), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (4), p. 3244.

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places. Although the coverage of the sales network is wide, the losses that I have to bear is huge. I’m afraid I would not be able to keep it up any more, sigh!”32 Other newspapers had also encountered the same problem. Sun Yirang stated that Huang Qingcheng, who ran Journal of Mathematical Sciences, “has a huge burden, which shows that it is not easy to do things.”33 In his letter to Wang Kangnian, Chen Qiu talked about the status of Report of the Academy of Beneficial Aid: “Our newspaper has a distribution volume of more than 2,000 copies, but only half of that are actually sold, with less 40% paid for, including the various newspapers that we sell as a distributor. The profit is slim, and the losses are heavy. Our academy suffered a great loss of several thousand last year, and I think that is the case for almost all newspapers except for Current Affairs.”34 This may depict the general business situation of newspapers founded by scholars in the late Qing Dynasty. After some attempts, Liang Qichao had a good understanding of the many links involved in running a newspaper and the various inevitable difficulties. After Kang Youwei arrived in Guilin in 1897, he prepared for Shengxuehui (Society of the Learning of the Sage) with Tang Jingsong and Cen Chunxuan. For this reason, he wrote to Liang Qichao to discuss running a school, translating books, starting a newspaper, and building roads in Guangxi. Liang said, “As for the four things in Guangxi, I personally think establishing a school is the most important one.” For all the other three things “I have disagreements,” especially for running a newspaper: “As for setting up newspapers, I used to run Current Affairs, Learning New Knowledge and Gong Lun (more on this newspaper later), and I knew the difficulties and problems in the process very much, that is why I said setting up a newspaper in Guangxi is surely not feasible.” Liang knew very well that setting up a newspaper required a lot of funding; in order to “close the gap,” advertisements were the only way. However, in Guilin, the atmosphere was still undeveloped and business was not booming. It was really difficult to solve these problems. Liang also pointed out that even Current Affairs and Learning New Knowledge had difficulty in sales, as roads and postal services were not very convenient.35

 Jiang Biao, “To Wang Kangnian” (14), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), pp. 254–255.  Sun Yirang, “To Wang Kangnian” (2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1473.  Chen Qiu, “To Wang Kangnian” (3), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 2001.  Liang Qichao, “Letter to Kang Youwei,” March 3, 1897, in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds. Unabridged Chronicle of Liang Qichao, p. 79.

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From this point of view, some newspapers originally founded by scholars in the late Qing Dynasty were quite bleak in terms of business operation. The poor distribution channels were an important reason, and what made it worse was that it was difficult to get the due payment. However, the operation of newspapers covered a wide range of elements worth attention, not simply sales, and it cannot be judged from the financial perspective alone. Newspapers contributed significantly to book sales, which were also part of the whole picture of the “business.”

II The Connection between Books and Newspapers The combination of books and newspapers was not too late. It has been explained before that the newspapers that appeared in China had become means of the dissemination of Western learning from the very beginning, and their association with books was also easy to understand. Elijah C. Bridgman’s monthly in English, The Chinese Repository, founded in May 1832 in Guangzhou, may be the first newspaper to publish information related to books. At the beginning of the journal, there was a “Book Review” column. Vol. 1, No. 1 introduced the book Mohammedans in China.36 In addition, the English magazine The China Review published in 1872 also introduced many books and magazines in the column called “Academic News.”37 At home, the Chinese newspapers founded by Westerners also consciously did this kind of work. A lot of books were published in installment in Chinese Serial, and the “New Books” column of Shanghai Serial was especially designed for introducing new books. This was also a form that had long existed in the Western world. Joseph’s A Brief Introduction to Western Studies stated: “In the West, when book publishers receive new books that are entrusted to them for printing and sales, they would often take several copies and send them to newspapers, monthly or quarterly journals.”38 Ernst Faber’s From the West to the East also revealed: “Any new book, regardless of whether it belongs to a certain book company, should also be sent to newspaper publishers for reading and advertising.” In this way, “buying, writing, and selling books will be convenient, and books are easy to sell

 “Mohammedans in China,” The Chinese Repository, Vol. 1, No. 1, May 1832, pp. 6–15.  The China Review: Or Notes & Queries on the Far East, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1872, p. 134. See Wang Guoqiang, “China Review” (1872–1901) and Western Sinology, Shanghai Bookstore Press, 2010, pp. 507–585.  Eyose, “A Brief Introduction to Western Learning,” General Taxation Department, 1886, pp. 42–43.

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and spread, which is very helpful to scholars.”39 Books and newspapers were closely related to scholars. To explain this a little bit, it was helpful to grasp the new “world of knowledge” faced by scholars in the late Qing Dynasty.

The Exemplary Significance of Shen Bao As a special kind of publication, newspapers were responsible for the dissemination of information, and the advertisements in them had become a platform for the display of various products. Shen Bao was not the first to publish advertisements. The survival of newspapers originally was very much dependent on advertisements. The difficulty of the first newspapers was that apart from their limited sales share, it was not easy to include advertisements. Sun Yusheng pointed out, “The expense of newspapers is huge, and it is very difficult to make profits. Those who can maintain a solid foundation and secure funds for survival and development actually use mainly the income from advertising in the newspaper.” However, at that time, business people in general did not know the benefits of advertising in newspapers, especially those old shops with a history of more than one hundred years. They would even think that “there is no need to advertise in newspapers for publicity.” Through long-term efforts, this situation had gradually changed: “All pharmacies know the benefits of newspaper advertising and are the first to do it, followed by all book publishers. The results are very impressive. All trade had joined this, knowing that it is necessary to advertise in newspapers.”40 The role of Shen Bao in this process was commendable. Xue Yusun said in Relationship between Newsprint and Advertising, “The people in my country don’t know what advertising is.” When Shen Bao became popular, the situation encountered by newspapers was changed: “Wherever there is a newspaper, there is advertising. Newspapers are what people talks [sic] about when they chat in taverns and tea houses, disseminating information to almost everyone. So the more developed the newspapers, the greater the role of advertising.”41 Shen Bao continuously improved its advertising in order to achieve better effectiveness. As a special product, books take a rather big share of advertisements in newspapers, and the content of such advertisements were often part of the newspaper content. Newspapers played an important role in the spreading of books. About one week after its inauguration, Shen Bao published “Advertising Announcement,”  Ernst Faber: From the West to the East, Vol. 4, The Collection of Wisdom, p. 274.  Sun Yusheng, Reporting to the Sea before the Dust Record, p. 11.  Xue Yusun, “Relationship between Newsprint and Advertisement,” in Baoshou newspaper office, ed., Recent Fifty Years-50th Anniversary Commemorative Journal, Part 3, p. 45.

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which emphasized that “Advertising is common, and there are always many related parties.” It also mentioned the connection with scholars’ writings and pointed out that the advertising was quite helpful for the spread of books.42 Advertisements of book publishers in Shen Bao soon became the norm. For example, Vol. 4 of Shen Bao had an advertisement for Shangyitang book company.43 An advertisement published in Shen Bao in 1875 said “Zhejiang Ruguzhai’s new lead plate printed books are available for purchase at Meihua book company.” This indicated that book sales had long begun and traditional books also relied on new book publishers for sales.44 As mentioned before, Shen Bao published a lot of information related to the imperial examination to cater to the needs of participants, and it was not uncommon for books related to the imperial examinations to publish advertisements in the newspapers. An advertisement of “Guangce Study Compilation Essentials” showed that the book was distributed by Liulichang book company in Beijing and Saoye book company in Suzhou and Shanghai.45 In addition to publishing advertisements, Shen Bao also promoted books in many other ways: “Thirteen General Prefaces of Newly Engraved Western Learning Books by the Planning Bureau” published on the front page of No. 80 of the newspaper introduced that Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau have “printed 13 books, nice and complete, covering all essentials of Western learning.”46 After the publishing of Peking Magazine, Shen Bao also published “Writing after Peking Magazine” to introduce it.47 These were not exactly methods of advertising, but the benefits they exerted even surpassed that of advertisements. Moreover, Shen Bao, as a newspaper, had been engaged in book publishing from the very beginning. The first contributions it collected from Shanghai scholars were compiled and published as Ying Huan Suo Ji (Around the World).48 Furthermore, it was also committed to buying books from all parties. “Solicitation of Books,” published on November 13, 1874, stated that “the newspaper office now wants to purchase several kinds of books for block printing. It would be appreciated if anyone who has these books can come to the office and show us. We may

 “Publishing an advertisement Quote,” Shen Bao, May 7, 1872, p. 1.  “Shangyitang Bookstore Advertisement,” Shen Bao, May 6, 1872, p. 7.  “Book Sale,” Shen Bao, June 26, 1875, p. 6.  Gufengliuzhai Zhuren, “Guangce Study Compilation Essentials,” Shen Bao, March 13, 1874, p. 4.  “Thirteen General Prefaces to the Newly Engraved Western Learning Books by the Planning Bureau,” Shen Bao, August 1, 1872, p. 1.  “Writing after Peking Magazine,” Shen Bao, September 26, 1872, p. 1.  “Introduction for Publishing Around the World,” Shen Bao, October 11, 1872, p. 1.

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pay a good price for, [sic] or offer new books of your choice in exchange. It is up to you.”49 On October 18, 1875, Shen Bao published another “Solicitation of Books,” expressing the desire to “buy manuscripts.”50 Related to this, Shen Bao also engraved books for scholars and assumed the responsibility of a book company.51 From the above examples, it is not difficult to see that a newspaper was often closely related to books in many aspects. From 1872 to 1877, Shen Bao office printed more than 50 kinds of books.52 In the growth of new book publishers, newspapers played an important role. In the first few years of the twentieth century, Shen Bao introduced many book publishers and their publications. New Book Introduction published in March 1901 introduced books offered by The Commercial Press.53 Later, it did similar things under the titles of “Acknowledgement for Book Offerings,” “Acknowledgement for New Books,” and “A Quick Look at New Books.” Later, the column “Acknowledgement for Gift Books” was started. The first issue covered two volumes of Algebra offered by The Commercial Press, volumes 25 to 29 of “Embroidery Novels” published by The Commercial Press, and the first issue of Journal of National Essence.54 This practice had continued, and the previously discussed Science, The Tiger, Youth Magazine, and other magazines were also introduced in Shen Bao in this way.55 The above-mentioned practice of Shen Bao was a common measure adopted by various newspapers in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican era. For example, the first volume of Wan Guo Gong Bao published in 1889 contained a “Price List of Books by London Missionary Society Press” which promoted the books in the form of advertisements.56 Wan Guo Gong Bao had established a close relationship with the Christian Literature Society for China. In addition to bringing new authors to the society, the newspaper office also had an important influence on the publishing business of the society. Books such as From the West to the East, The End of the War in the Middle East, Prosper the Country Through Literature, General Research about Women’s Customs in Five Continents, New History of the West, and other books were all published in installments in Wan Guo Gong  “Solicitation of Books,” Shen Bao, November 13, 1874, p. 1.  Shen Bao Office, “Solicitation of Books,” Shen Bao, October 18, 1875, p. 1.  “Valet Printing,” Shen Bao, February 4, 1873, p. 5.  Cai Erkang. “Preface to Bibliography of the Shen Bao Office,” Bibliography of Shen Bao Office, Shanghai the newspaper office, 1877, p. 1.  “Xinshu Yabian,” Shen Bao March 13, 1901, p. 3.  “Acknowledgements for Gift Books,” Shen Bao, March 11, 1905, p. 5.  “Introduction of New Works,” Shen Bao, May 27, 1915, p. 12; “Book Donation,” Shen Bao, October 1, 1915, p. 11.  “Price List of Books of London Missionary Society Press,” Volume 1, Wan Guo Gong Bao, February 1889, cover page.

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Bao before the society offered standalone copies, and Wan Guo Gong Bao would publish advertisements when these books came out. The newspaper and the society were actually integrated.

Current Affairs as a Book Trading Platform After late-Qing scholars founded newspapers, the relationship between newspapers and books became closer. With newspapers, the purchase and sales of books had a new platform and a new mechanism. One point was worth emphasizing. Today, newspapers and books separate types of publications. However, in the late Qing Dynasty, the boundary between them was not so clear. When a newspaper had been around for some time, the newspaper office would often bind past issues of the newspaper into books. Current Affairs, for example, was in the format of thread-bound book. In addition, some newspaper publishers would also compile published texts into compilations, which was also a way to convert newspapers into books. Guowen Bao, Hunan Gazette, The China Discussion, New Citizen, and many more newspapers all had such compilations. It can be said that the relationship between newspapers and books was reflected at many levels. The most important was that a newspaper was actually a sales platform. On the one hand, the newspapers and books issued by a newspaper office needed promotion through other newspapers or book publishers, and this newspaper would also serve as an important channel for the sales of other newspapers and books. The mechanism formed by Current Affairs was worthy of further analysis. Wu Qiao expressed opinions on how to run Current Affairs well. In a letter to Wang Kangnian, he suggested, “For recent books on current affairs and new translations, it will be the best to reveal their major ideas and general value, as well as where they can be purchased in the newspaper.”57 In the advertisement published in Shen Bao before the inauguration of Current Affairs, in addition to introducing the printing and distribution of the newspaper, there was also the following announcement: “The newspaper has new translations and books attached to it and is of great help to research and learning.” Based on this, it could be seen that the newspaper had planned to translate Western books during the preparation process. After it came out, it had also been shown everywhere that it played an important role in the translation and sales of Western learning books, and it was not the only one to do that. In a letter to

 Wu Qiao, “To Wang Kangnian” (28), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 521.

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Wang Kangnian, Huang Zunxian stated that he should attach importance to the translation of books: “The first question is what kind of books should be translated, and the second question is which edition should be used for each book.” He warned, “Scholars like John Fryer and Timothy Richard should be consulted first before translation work can be arranged.”58 This is easy to understand. In addition to promoting the opening of schools, newspapers, and societies, translating books was a constructive undertaking valued by scholars in the late Qing Dynasty. “Newspapers Are Better Than Translated Books” published in Statecraft Journal stated that “If there is a gentleman who uses the power of translating newspapers to translate books, one person will suffer from the calamity, and the thousands will be delighted.”59 An advertisement published in Shanghai’s Tung Wen Hu Pao in March 1901 also pointed out that “running schools, establishing newspapers and translating books and expanding these endeavors” was the key to “forming large groups.”60 With the help of newspapers, the translation and sales of books took on a new look. In the case of Current Affairs, the sales of newspapers and books were integrated. The “Prospectus for Translating and Printing Maps in Western Languages” published by the Map Association early after the inauguration of the newspaper revealed the connection between newspaper and book: “This association is now run by Current Affairs of Shanghai. Anyone who wants to buy stocks should register with Current Affairs.”61 There were quite a few responses to this, and the Map Association could therefore obtain the large amount of funds required for printing maps. In addition to assisting partners to complete printing tasks, Current Affairs also extensively carried out activities to translate and print books. “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office” published in Volume 7 of the newspaper stated, “As soon as fund [sic] is ample, we will translate and print Western books and promote the translation of newspapers.”62 The books written by the organizer of Current Affairs were the first to be published and offered for sale. The eighth volume of the newspaper carried an advertisement of Liang Qichao’s “Western Learning Bibliography

 Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian” (27), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), pp. 2352–2353.  Ma Yongxi, “Newspapers Are Better than Translated Books,” Statecraft Journal, Vol. 6, August 1897, p. 16.  “East Asia Yizhi Translation House,” Tung Wen Hu Pao, No. 304, March 10, 1901, p. 1.  The Map Association, “Translated and Printed Western Map Prospectus,” Current Affairs, Vol. 1, August 9, 1896, “Advertisements,” p. 3.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,”Current Affairs Vol. 7, October 1896 7, “Advertisements,” p 2.

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and How to Read Western Books.”63 Huang Zunxian’s History of Japan also relied on Current Affairs for sales. In a letter to Wang Kangnian, Huang discussed how to print and distribute the book. He also mentioned that Japanese Miscellaneous Poems was also under revision: “It will also be sent to the newspaper office in the future.”64 Huang believed that History of Japan had been in circulation for ten years: “Attaching it to Current Affairs would spread it wide and many people have now heard about it and [are] anticipating it.”65 The number of books that were sold and printed on behalf of others was a whole lot more. The “Books for Sale by the Newspaper Office” published in Volume 15 of Current Affairs showed that a platform for selling books had been established. Books sold in this way included Astronomy and Geography, Examination of the Origins of Manchuria, Pictures of the Imperial Palace and Western Regions, Transferring Fast Characters, and On China’s Urgent Reform of Politics and Law.66 Subsequently, books such as Exploration to Mozi, Overview of Anhui Province, Maps of Anhui Province, and other books were added.67 Regarding book printing on behalf of the book, the fortieth volume of “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office” stated, “If you have a new book or a newly translated book that is useful, and if you don’t have a printed copy yet and wish to send it to our newspaper office for printing, we can help you handle it.”68 This had received positive responses, and many scholars had sent manuscripts to Current Affairs for printing. Yao Xiguang, an official with Hubei Military Academy and Ziqiang Academy, entrusted Current Affairs to sell his book Oriental Military Affairs Chronicle.69 Yang Zhipei also wrote to Wang Kangnian, stating that he had written several mathematical books: “Now I send the four volumes of Liu Shu Xin Shu for printing first.”70

 “Western Learning Bibliography and How to Read Western Books,” Vol. 8, Current Affairs, October 17, 1896, “Advertisements,” p. 1.  Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian” (28), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2355.  Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian” (31), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2358.  “Book List for Sale by the Newspaper Office,” Current Affairs, Vol. 15, December 25, 1896, “Advertisements,” p. 2.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Current Affairs, Vol. 18, February 22, 1897, “Advertisements,” p. 1.  “Advertisement,” Current Affairs, Vol. 40, September 26, 1897, “Advertisements,” p. 1.  Yao Xiguang, “To Wang Kangnian” (2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1263.  Yang Zhipei, “To Wang Kangnian” (1), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), pp. 2361–2362.

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Because of the extensive book printing, Current Affairs tried to prevent the published books from being “resold” by other booksellers. Booksellers reprinted books without permission for profit. It was a common phenomenon in the late Qing Dynasty. The new books published by the Christian Literature Society for China “in Hunan, Sichuan, Guangdong, and other places were often reprinted without permission for selling.” But the society did not mind that much.71 After Current Affairs translated and printed some Western books, it stated in “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” “The newspapers and books published by this office are not allowed to be reprinted or renamed and engraved by others. If there is an imprint, it shall be reported to the authorities immediately.”72 The reason why “Current Affairs requested the government to issue an order to prohibit reprinting” was that the Lithograph Publishing House had already “privately reprinted and sold Western Learning Bibliography.”73 It can be seen that at the time of opening the newspaper, the office did not only purchase basic printing equipment, but also established sales channels. Correspondingly, its involvement in publishing was not limited to newspapers, but covered a wide range of the publishing industry. The examples provided by Mao Ciwang fully illustrated how enthusiastic readers of Current Affairs could use this platform to purchase and read newspapers.74 From this alone, it is not difficult to see that Current Affairs had played a role far beyond the newspaper itself, and had actually become a medium for the distribution of many books and periodicals.

Book Sales: A Common Choice for Late-Qing Newspapers Current Affairs established a platform for book sales, and it was by no means the only one. The previously discussed newspapers such as Learning New Knowledge, Hunan New Learning News, Statecraft Journal, and Journal of the New World, in addition to selling other newspapers, also sold books. The “Special Advertisement” published in Ta Kung Bao at the founding of the newspaper explained more of the comprehensive considerations in this regard, and also proposed to colleagues, “If

 “Summary of the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Shanghai Christian Literature Society for China,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 108, January 1898, p. 16.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Current Affairs, Vol. 7, October 7, 1896, “Advertisements,” p. 2.  “Advertisements of the Newspaper Office,” Current Affairs, Vol. 19, March 3, 1897, “Advertisements,” p. 1.  “Biography of Wang Kangnian’s Teachers and Friends,” Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (4), Appendix, p. 4014.

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you have a new book or a translation, or if you want to write or translate a book, you can also inform us, so that we can introduce the book in our newspaper to let scholars know.”75 Regarding running a newspaper, Learning New Knowledge, which was more inclined to “learning,” stated in an advertisement published in Vol. 9, “The literature and art newspapers from various countries that this newspaper office have ordered have become available one after another. We will strive to translate them and publish the translations; we will also translate important books and print several pages at the end of the newspaper in order to broaden the knowledge of our readers.”76 In fact, from the beginning, Learning New Knowledge organized its content into the columns of “agriculture,” “technology,” “commerce,” “mining,” and “research,” and much of its content was serialized. The nineteenth volume’s “Advertisements of the Newspaper Office” also specifically stated the new measures taken: “Writings sent to us will be carefully evaluated to select what to print, and various important books will be translated. Several pages will be attached to each issue of the newspaper.”77 The next issue started to push Abstract of Oriental Commercial Ports in installments.78 Learning New Knowledge serialized various Western learning books, but this was only part of the connection between the newspaper and books. The newspaper office also sold books and periodicals as an agency. Liang Qichao, who went into exile in Japan after the failure of the reform of 1898, used Learning New Knowledge to introduce his publishing efforts. “New Books for Sale by Our Newspaper Office” published in Vol. 112 explained, “Good Neighbor Translation House of Japan translates various books to clarify the new governance, and several of the translations are available at the newspaper office.”79 Books like History of Japan’s Restoration, National Studies, Science of Warfare, and New Laws of the Japanese Police were recommended by Liang Qichao and others for translation and publishing. Subsequently, the cover of the one hundred and thirteenth volume published an advertisement that Liang Qichao’s The 1898 Coup D’état was released.80 In addition, Learning New Knowledge also published some book donation information, which is similar to what

 “Special Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Ta Kung Pao, June 17, 1902, p. 1.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 9, April 2, 1897, p 15.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Learning New Knowledge Vol. 19, May 22, 1897, p. 15.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 20, May 31, 1897, “Advertisements,” p. 1.  “New Books for Sale by Our Newspaper Office,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 112, February 14, 1900, p. 37.  “The 1898 Coup D’état for Sale,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 113, March 1, 1900, cover.

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Shen Bao did as discussed earlier in this book. The fifty-fifth volume introduced The Foundation of the New Deal by He Qi and Hu Liyuan, and the fifty-seventh volume introduced Qiu Shuyuan’s Three Books by Shuyuan.81 Hunan New Learning News and Hunan Gazette were also engaged in book sales. Hunan New Learning News stated, “Our newspaper has been performing well in its initial development, and will now select useful Chinese and Western books, especially those that have been translated to publish summaries. When we are more familiar with this business, we will select books to translate so as to spread learning in greater details.” For the introduction of disciplines, it is important to facilitate readers to purchase relevant books. “For each discipline, one or two reference books will be provided, with abstract, price, edition, and places to purchase, so that scholars can go and purchase them more conveniently.”82 Hunan Gazette also published a lot of book-related advertisements. For example, there was an advertisement for Xinxue book company in Vol. 3 of the newspaper: “The book company is located at Xingwenli, Nanyang Street, Changsha, and offers various books on mathematics and current affairs.”83 Vol. 8 of the newspaper published an advertisement for the Economic Publishing House: “The publishing house publishes a variety of books on classics and history, current affairs, and mathematics, and [the] reader could get the stamps of book authors.”84 All of these indicated the close relationship between newspapers and books, and this also promoted the integration of newspaper publishers and book publishers. In 1897, Liang Qichao and his followers founded Datong Translation book company in Shanghai. In the eyes of people of that time, it was regarded as being run by Current Affairs. This somewhat showed people’s expectations for Current Affairs to include the business of translation.85 Although the book company was not run by Current Affairs, the newspaper office still played a significant role. “Introduction to Datong Translation book company” was published in the fortysecond volume of Current Affairs, which was regarded as an advertisement for

 “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 55, June 9, 1898, p. 26; “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 57, June 29, 1898, p. 29.  “Preface to Hunan New Learning News,” Hunan New Learning News, Vol. 1, April 22, 1897, pp. 3–4. In the form of book summaries, the volume introduced the World History, New History of the West, Xiaoweilu Protest, Administrative Maps of the Qianlong Era, Notes on Mathematical Studies, Strategy to Enrich the Country, and Commercial Charter Compilation.  “Xinxue Book Company,” Hunan Gazette, No. 3, March 8, 1898, p. 8.  “Economic Publishing House,” Hunan Gazette, No. 8, March 15, 1898, p. 32.  Ouyang Xuan, “To Wang Kangnian” (2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2891.

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the book company.86 After the book company was opened, Liang Qichao wrote to Wang Kangnian, “The book company will publish books, and it intends to publish an advertisement at the end of your newspaper.”87 When the fifty-first volume of Current Affairs was published, a line on the cover read, “Attached is a list of books that Datong Translation book company has printed or translated,” and the list took two pages.88 The cooperation between Current Affairs and the book company may be preliminary. The China Discussion and New Citizen had closer cooperation with book publishers, indicating that scholars had regarded the promotion of newspapers and book publishers as a common cause. The book publishers were also widely involved in newspaper publishing, and many magazines had been published by The Commercial Press, Zhonghua Book Company, and Yadong Library.

The China Discussion, New Citizen, and Guangzhi Book Company Founded by Liang Qichao in Japan, The China Discussion could be considered as a new starting point for the development of newspapers in the late Qing Dynasty. Current Affairs could also be seen as a newspaper seeking self-reform and it relied heavily on official channels for sales. The establishment of The China Discussion had changed this pattern. Since it was founded in Japan, there were naturally less prohibitions in the political field, and new sales channels needed to be established. The publishing and printing information showed in the newspaper was special: the publisher and editor, Feng Jingru, was specifically branded as of British nationality, and the printer was indicated as Japanese Suzuki Tsurataro. In addition to explaining the purpose of the newspaper, the “Regulations of Yokohama The China Discussion” published at the time of inauguration also listed rules involving issues such as authors and distribution. For contributions, it was made clear at the beginning that the newspaper would accept foreign manuscripts, except for “discourses” written by in-house chief writers, and “Japanese and Western writings shall be published or translated.”89 In the first issue,

 Liang Qichao, “Advertisement of Datong Translation House,” Current Affairs, Vol. 42, October 16, 1897, pp. 3–4.  Liang Qichao, “To Wang Kangnian” (25), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), P. 1850.  “Datong Translation House Lists the Prices of Engraved and Translated Books,” Current Affairs, Vol. 51, February 11, 1898, “Advertisements,” pp. 1–2.  “Introduction to Yokohama’s The China Discussion,” The China Discussion, Vol. 1, December 23, 1898, p. 2.

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“Advertisement of the Newspaper Office” announced extensive recruitment of distributors: “If you would like to be a distributor of the newspaper, please write to us, and we will handle your request very soon.” At the same time, advertising was also discussed, specifying the prices.90 The price of the advertisement was published as soon as The China Discussion was inaugurated, showing that the newspaper attached great importance to advertising. However, it was surely not likely to attract advertisements at the beginning. The first advertisements published were mostly the results of personal ties and were difficult to evaluate in terms of financial benefit. For example, regarding advertisements in the ninth issue, one was “Consulate Li’s Virtuous Governance” (Society of Chinese merchants in Cuba), and the other was “Advertisement of the Honolulu Quit Opium Branch” (director of the branch). These could be regarded as results of overseas reformists’ activities.91 Because the newspaper was issued in Japan, it also attracted some advertisements from Japanese sponsors. Mostly, the advertisements in The China Discussion were about the writings of staff members and their other activities. Regarding two advertisements published in Volume 8, one was an announcement that the book Emperor Guangxu’s Virtue was released, and the other was “Advertisement of Datong School.”92 The tenth volume published the advertisement “Chinese-English Dictionary for Sale,” stating that the dictionary was updated by Feng Jingru, and “those who want to purchase it, please contact us or go directly to our sales offices.”93 In addition, The 1898 Coup D’état and Benevolence were also introduced in The China Discussion in various ways.94 In addition to selling books printed and distributed by the newspaper office, The China Discussion also sold books and periodicals as an agency. The “Price List of Books on Sold at the Newspaper Office,” published in Volume 51, included quotation for The 1898 Coup D’état, The Newly Compiled Topography of the Three Kingdoms of East Asia, The New Compilation of Prescriptions, Chinese-English Dictionary, Learning Knew Knowledge, Tung Wen Hu Pao, Thien Nam Shin Pao, Su News, Guowen Bao, The Universal Gazette, and other books and newspapers.95

 “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” The China Discussion, Vol 1, December 23, 1898, advertisement page.  “Advertisement,” The China Discussion, Vol. 9, March 22, 1899, advertisement page.  “Advertisement,” The China Discussion, Vol. 8, March 12, 1899, advertisement page.  “Advertisement,” The China Discussion, Vol. 10, April 1, 1899, “Advertisements,” p. 2.  “Advertisement of The 1898 Coup D’état,” The China Discussion, Vol. 11, April 10, 1899, “Advertisement,” p. 1. “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” The China Discussion, Vol. 44, May 9, 1900, advertisement page.  “List of Quotations for Books on Consignment in the Newspaper Office,” The China Discussion, Vol. 51, July 17, 1900, advertisement page.

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This showed that the newspapers published in Japan had also formed a mechanism of mutual assistance, especially through advertising. It was particularly noteworthy that The China Discussion had established close ties with Guangzhi Book Company by the time it had 100 volumes. It published “Guangzhi Book Company’s Translated Books to Be Printed,” which took four pages, stating that “for the above-mentioned books, more than half of the translation work has been done, and they will all be printed out in two or three months. Others please be aware and refrain from translating them.” In addition, there was also an advertisement of other books available at the book company, which occupied two pages, informing readers that “the above books will be published on December 1 this year. Those who wish to purchase them please write to the book company located in Dama Road, Shanghai.”96 In addition, the volume also carried “Wan Guo Tong Zhi compiled by Shanghai Guangzhi Book Company,” “Catalogue of Maps Printed by and Available at Shanghai Guangzhi book company,” and “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office’s New Book Offerings.” It was quite unusual to publish so many advertisements of Guangzhi’s books. Actually, the book company was established by Liang Qichao to promote book publishing. However, because The China Discussion had only 100 volumes, it seemed more or less weird for it to carry so may advertisements of one single book company. Guangzhi Book Company’s interaction with newspaper publishers is better manifested through its interaction with New Citizen. New Citizen, which was founded in 1902, published its “Advertising Price List” from the very beginning, and told scholars, “One copy of each book it printed will be given to the authory [sic] or translator, and an abstract is required for wide dissemination.”97 In addition, No. 1 of New Citizen had a column “New Books,” which introduced three books, The Wealth of Nations, Benevolence, and Li Hongzhang.98 It could also be seen that from the inauguration of New Citizen, the office began to sell books, and its sales offices were located mostly in book publishers and newspaper publishers.99 What was particularly prominent was its close connection with Guangzhi book company, which was founded in Shanghai in 1901. Guangzhi Book Company was actually the Shanghai General Publishing House of New Citizen, and the two had formed an interdependent relationship since the very beginning. Books published by Guangzhi could be promoted in New Citizen, and New Citizen could rely on the sales channels established by the book company.

 “Guangzhi Book Company’s Translated Books to Be Printed,” The China Discussion, Vol 100, December 21, 1901, pp. 1–4, advertisement page.  “Advertisement,” New Citizen, No. 1, February 8, 1902, “Advertisements,” p. 118.  “New Books,” New Citizen, No. 1, February 8, 1902, pp. 113–117.  “Sales Offices of the Newspaper,” New Citizen, No. 1, February 8, 1902, inside front cover.

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In other words, Guangzhi Book Company actually played the role of a newspaper sales office for New Citizen, and its interests were reflected in the advertisements published in New Citizen. Starting from No. 7, the number of book advertisements in New Citizen increased significantly and the price of the advertisements was also adjusted.100 “Advertisement of Shanghai Guangzhi Book Company Publications” occupied two pages. There was another page, which was divided into two columns. The upper column was the advertisement for the book Li Hongzhang written by Liang Qichao, and the lower column was the advertisement for Reprinted New Reader for Elementary School and Reprinted New Reader for Children. The inside back cover carried the advertisement of Modern History of the World (which was to be published in the near future).101 In addition to that, New Citizen and Guangzhi Book Company were integrated in the organization of contributions. After travelling to Japan, Zhang Taiyan wrote for both.102 The tie between the two was too close for them to have any disputes. Liang Qichao’s books were published by Guangzhi Book Company, and the books published by the book company were also advertised in Liang’s newspapers. Such a relationship is hard to represent in terms of money. In a letter written by Liang Qichao in April 1902, he said that the book company and the newspaper bothered him a lot. There were financial entanglements between the two: “The newspaper office owed me some money, and I owe it to the book company, hence the book company owes it to the newspaper office.”103 This was also a clear proof of the integration of the book publishers and the newspaper. The close cooperation with book publishers established by The China Discussion and New Citizen was a common situation, revealing a topic worthy of attention in the intelligentsia of the late Qing Dynasty. For example, People’s Journal also published advertisements for many book publishers. An advertisement published in No. 9 of the journal stated, “Our book company is based in Tokyo, Japan, and will redistribute books published by Shanghai book publishers among overseas Chinese students in Tokyo, as well as books in Eastern and Western languages.”104 Due to their specific political tendencies, these newspapers were inadequate to fully  “Corrected Advertising Price List” (twice the previous price), “One page costs 10 yuan, half a page costs six yuan, one line (at least seventeen size-4 characters) costs 2.8 cents.” See New Citizen No. 7, May 8, 1902, “Table of Contents,” p. 2.  “Advertisement,” New Citizen, No. 7, May 8, 1902, advertisement page.  Zhang Taiyan, “To Wu Junsui and Other Books,” March 18, 1902, in Ma Yong, ed., Zhang Taiyan’s Letters, Hebei People’s Publishing House, 2003, p. 61.  Liang Qichao, “Letter to Brother Mian,” April 1, 1903, in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 314.  Dahua Book Company, “Advertisement,” People’s Journal, No. 9, December 1, 1906, back cover advertisement page.

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reflect the general conditions of the book market in the late Qing Dynasty, but from these examples, more could be learned about the relationship of newspapers, as a business, with book publishers and booksellers. Bao Tianxiao worked in many book publishers, and in his memoir, he introduced the basic situation of the book publishers and newspapers in the late Qing Dynasty. When he worked at Jinsuzhai, the book company established a relationship with The Universal Gazette: “Books published by Jinsuzhai are always advertised in The Universal Gazette; later, because Jinsuzhai did not have a distribution office, books published by the book company were offered for sale at The Universal Gazette’s offices.”105 He also mentioned that the reason why Jinsuzhai Translation Office was difficult to survive was that “its economic foundation has not been well laid.”106 From 1906 to 1919, Bao Tianxiao worked at The Eastern Times for 14 years. From his point of view, because of its good cooperation with book publishers, The Eastern Times, founded by Di Chuqing, secured a foothold in the fiercely competitive press in Shanghai. In the first few months after its inauguration, the cover advertisements were all devoted to the publications of various book publishers. The Commercial Press was publishing textbooks and quite some magazines at the time, but it still signed a contract with The Eastern Times, stipulating that the books published by The Commercial Press must be advertised beside the head of The Eastern Times and in no other newspaper.107 Bao Tianxiao advocated ties between book publishers and newspapers, saying that Di Chuqing “did everything possible” to run Youzheng book company, and spent more time and energy there than on The Eastern Times: “When The Eastern Times was poor and could not make ends meet, the book company had profits every year, so he used the book company’s profits to cover the newspapers losses. The Eastern Times was thus able to survive for a few more years.”108 Because of this, Di Chuqing later founded Xiaoshuo Shibao (Fiction World) with very good conditions: “There is a publishing house, a book company, and a very well-equipped printing house, thus it is more convenient to run a magazine. The Eastern Times can advertise for it at no cost.”109 These sporadic information revealed the new atmosphere in the late-Qing publishing industry. The mutual assistance mechanism formed between books

 Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, p. 229.  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, pp. 237–238.  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, pp. 424–425. What is stated here about The Commercial Press is doubted. There were more advertising in text books published by The Commercial Press than just that for The Eastern Times (More details later).  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, pp. 414–415.  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, p. 358.

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and newspapers was reflected in the use of newspapers by book publishers to publish book advertisements to facilitate distribution. With the wide distribution of newspapers, it not only affected the book market, but also spawned new ways of selling books. Wang Weitai’s Selling Books in Bianliang revealed the thoughts of booksellers: “Recently, new books have been mixed. Many booksellers compiled book series simply for profits and what they offer can be bizarre. This is not a good example to follow. I would like to briefly describe useful books with concise language, as a guide for those who want to choose new books.” This won praise from book buyers, hoping that booksellers “can produce one list per week, containing main texts, appendix, and books in stock, and publish it in newspapers, so that people who are interested can know what to choose.”110 This also showed that the sales of books relied on publishing relevant information in newspapers. Among people of the time, there were voices of doubt. Yan Fu also said, “The newly translated books from Eastern countries for sale in Shanghai are as filthy as dung, but simply a few lines of advertisements in newspapers, barely understandable, would triple the profits. This is the current situation of China’s academic circles.”111 The unavoidable problem of the publishing market in Shanghai, however, also showed that the publishing industry was closely related to printing, sales, and other links.

Business Philosophy of the New Culture Movement In the Republican era, the cultural market changed. The extensive development of new-style education cultivated more authors and readers for new-style books and periodicals. At the same time, many editors and authors of books and periodicals worked in universities and secondary schools, which had also improved the standard of new-style books and periodicals. This also contributed to the publishing of new books and periodicals and helped form a unique landscape in the publishing industry. A text published in Shen Bao in 1919 introduced in detail the editing and publishing information of 13 publications, including New Youth, Daxue Yuebao (University Monthly), The Renaissance, and Guomin (Citizens), and regarded these publications as channels of “communicating new ideas.”112

 Wang Weitai, “On Socialization,” Selling Books in Bianliang, Kaiming Bookstore, 1903, p. 43.  Yan Fu, “Letter to Xiong Jilian” (8), in Sun Yingxiang and Pi Houfeng, eds., Supplement to Collected Works of Yan Fu, Fujian People’s Publishing House, 2004, p. 237.  Jing Guan, “Recent Venues for Disseminating New Ideas,” Shen Bao, September 28, 1919, “Beijing Communications,” p. 6.

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As a result, new-style book publishers that solely sold newspapers also grew. Yadong Library was a typical example. The first newspapers it sold were The Tiger, New Youth, Weekly Review, and The Renaissance: “After the May Fourth Movement, things were very different, and new newspapers and magazines were springing up . . . Not only do they sell on behalf of others, and they also serve as the general distributor of several journals.”113 From the advertisements published in Shen Bao, it could be seen that the newspaper office distributed many other journals as an agent, such as Zijue Yuekan (Self-awakening Monthly) of Tongji Medical and Engineering School and Tongde Medicine of Tongde Medical School.114 In addition, thanks to Chen Duxiu, the book company had also obtained the opportunity to distribute books published by the publishing department of Peking University, which provided new support for the growth of the book company.115 As a result, newspapers and book publishers had also shown a variety of cooperation methods, some of which were based on the division of labor, some on integration. Zhang Shizhao founded The Tiger in Tokyo, Japan, in May 1914. After the fourth issue, he chose to cooperate with Yadong Library. Zhang’s announcement for The Tiger was quite straightforward, “We apologize for the delay of the newspaper, resulted from endless daily trivials and my prolonged disease. Based on division of labor, we hereby authorize Shanghai Yadong Library to print and publish on behalf of us.” The fifth issue of The Tiger was therefore published by Yadong Library, and Yadong also made an advertisement: “The issue will be published soon. From now on, whoever have [sic] interest in reading the newspaper, please contact us directly. We are fully responsible for receiving payments and delivering the newspaper.”116 Youth Magazine, founded by Chen Duxiu in 1915, had another story, which was the result of book company selection. The New Culture Movement generally started with Youth Magazine, so it is quite easy to understand the publications of that period. Compared with the late Qing Dynasty, there was some different modus operandi in this period. As mentioned above, the initial operation of the magazine was rather bleak, but this was only part of the situation. Newspapers and  Wang Yuanfang, Yadong Library and Chen Duxiu, p. 40.  Advertisement of these two monthlies in Shen Bao explains, “These two monthlies are distributed by Yadong Library. Please contact them for subscription to or distribution of newspapers.” See Shen Bao, May 14, 1920, p. 2.  Wang Yuanfang, Yadong Library and Chen Duxiu, p. 40. Yadong Library’s advertisement published in Shen Bao read, “The library distributes books from the Publishing Department of Peking University; catalogues are printed and can be mailed upon request.” See Shen Bao, April 11, 1919, p. 7.  Wang Yuanfang, Yadong Library and Chen Duxiu, pp. 29–30. “To Readers of The Tiger,” Shen Bao, April 25, 1915.

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magazines, as a business, were not limited to the “sales” of the publications. It needed to be considered in conjunction with the book publishers that published the magazines. The relationship formed between book publishers and newspapers involved two aspects: advertising and sales channels. For a business, the costs are not solely about how many copies are printed. Qunyi book company was willing to publish Youth Magazine partly because it was an opportunity to promote the books it published. Information of books published by Qunyi book company advertised in the first issue of the magazine was about 15 pages long. After that, many book advertisements were published in each issue, most of which were about Qunyi publications, while the rest were advertisements for other journals and the books of Yadong Library. To elaborate on this point more, the “Announcement of Book Purchase Regulations” published in the inaugural issue of Youth Magazine informed, “anyone who purchases books on this page will enjoy a 30% discount.”117 Qunyi book company had benefited from this, and it should not be ignored. The distribution channels established by the book company were also crucial to the distribution of the magazine. There were 76 book publishers in 49 provinces and cities listed in “Offices at Various Ports” in Youth Magazine.118 This should be the distribution channel established by Qunyi book company. Based on this, it could be roughly inferred where the Youth Magazine might be distributed through such channels. This was also a business that should not be ignored. In contrast, The Renaissance had a different experience. The journal’s funding came from the university: “A certain amount of money is required for printing and a certain amount of money is obtained from sales.” Staff members responsible for editing and publishing the journal basically “had nothing to do with these figures.”119 The Publishing Department of Peking University was in charge of the distribution work: “The circulation is very limited.” Sales offices were also limited to Peking University, and some other colleges and universities, as well as newsstands in Beijing. Since there were no advertisement in other cities, “the distribution of the journal relied heavily on the recommendation of a few peers, and the journal was not widely known.”120 This shows that the operation of a publication

 “Announcement of Book Purchase Regulations,” Youth Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, September 15, 1915, back cover.  “ Offices at Various Ports,” Youth Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, October 15, 1915, back cover.  “The Recent Situation of The Renaissance,” Peking University Journal, December 27, 1922, p. 3.  Li Shaofeng, “The Beginning and End of The Renaissance Society,” in Institute of Modern History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Memoirs of the May Fourth Movement (continued), China Social Sciences Press, 1979, p. 209.

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involves many links, which often had a knock-on effect. Gu Jiegang stated that the distribution of The Renaissance was hampered due to the inability to rely on book publishers at the beginning, and the communication between staff members mainly focused on how to get along with book publishers.121 Gu’s diary entry on January 25, 1919, read, “Go to Guomin Library and ask for the sale of ten copies of The Renaissance, payment on annual basis . . . In Wenjin Book Company, I met with Zhou Songyun and asked about the sales of The Renaissance.”122 For this reason, seeking cooperation with book publishers was also the choice of The Renaissance. Chen Duxiu, Hu Shih, and others persuaded Yadong Library to take over the newspaper because of their concern for The Renaissance. However, soon after Yadong took it over, The Renaissance had come to an end, and it was difficult to make a difference. The result was no surprise. According to Lu Xun, when The Renaissance ceased its activities, many publications that it advertised before were not yet published, including “10,000 copies of Mr. Jiemin’s Words and Deeds and 7,000 copies of Bit.”123 This also showed that the business of a newspaper or magazine could not be limited to the magazine itself. Instead, it was quite necessary to consider it in conjunction with the book company that published the magazine. The Eastern Miscellany, which was founded in 1904, had a good distribution channel from the beginning because of The Commercial Press. For this reason, the book advertisements published in The Eastern Miscellany occupied as many as 20 pages in the first issue, focusing on history textbooks, geography textbooks, and Chinese language textbooks. There were also two pages of “Advertisements of Books from Kinkodo Books Japan.” At the same time, the journal also had a column for “New Books.” The books introduced in the first issue included A Short History of Politics, On Liberty, Essentials of Teaching and Management, and The Textbook of Chinese History for Higher Primary Schools. Among these, the third one was published by Shanghai Huiwentang Book Company, while all the other three books were published by The Commercial Press.124 Clearly, modus operandi had been accumulated in the publishing of books and newspapers. The success of The Eastern Miscellany had some unique factors, and the sales of books published by The Commercial Press relied on many of the magazines it published. This is one of the reasons why The Commercial Press considered strengthening the distribution of magazines during the New Culture Movement. What it had done

 Gu Jiegang, Diary of Gu Jiegang, Vol. 1, January 14, 1919, p. 67.  Gu Jiegang, Diary of Gu Jiegang, Vol. 1, January 25, 1919, p. 80.  Lu Xun, “Preface to the Second Collection of Novels of the Series of Chinese New Literature,” The Complete Works of Lu Xun, Vol. 6, p. 245.  “New Book Introduction,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 1, No. 1, March 11, 1904, pp. 255–256.

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could be regarded as the most prominent and most successful example of integrating books and periodicals to expand the publishing business. Zhang Yuanji, who was in charge of business operation during this period, revealed in his diary the book company’s considerations for publishing magazines. Chuanshan Xuebao (The Chuanshan Journal), founded by Hunan scholars in 1915, hoped The Commercial Press could help distribute the journal, and Zhang Yuanji stated in his diary, “If you don’t publish and advertisement [sic] in the newspaper, it won’t sell it; to publish an advertisement, you need to pay for the newspaper.”125 In fact, The Commercial Press also relied on advertisements in newspapers. In addition to the press’s own journals, advertisements were also published in other journals, especially daily newspapers. Bao Tianxiao’s words that the advertisements were in The Eastern Times alone was definitely not true. In December 1916, Zhang Yuanji stated in his diary, “English Weekly will publish advertisements for Shen Bao and The Eastern Times, two days each, for one month to see if there is any success. Flyers will also be printed.”126 The advertisement of The New Chinese Elementary School Textbook published in the first issue of The Eastern Miscellany also contained such a reminder: “For more details of this book, please refer to The Universal Gazette of February 13, 14 and 15.”127 It could be said that the books of The Commercial Press would be advertised in daily newspapers such as Shen Bao, The Eastern Times, and The Eastern Times during the New Culture Movement. For example, when the new textbooks was published, it published advertisements in Shen Bao covering large space, introducing the textbooks of various subjects and levels.128 Its magazines were also advertised in a similar way. The Eastern Miscellany, for example, was introduced in Shen Bao in the form of an acknowledgement.129 This brought unexpected results. When The Commercial Press wanted to list all books it published in the first eight years after its establishment, it had to rely on the advertisements it published in The Eastern Miscellany, on whose basis it could then “collect and classify information to form a complete catalog.”130

 Zhang Renfeng ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 1, June 7, 1916, Hebei Education Press, 2001, p. 94.  Zhang Renfeng ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 1, December 4, 1916, p. 190.  “Newest Elementary School Chinese Textbook Publication,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 1, No. 1, March 11, 1904, cover.  “Shanghai Commercial Press’s Latest Textbooks Published,” Shen Bao, April 25, 1905, p. 6; “Shanghai Commercial Press’s Advertisement of Various Textbooks,” Shen Bao, March 16, 1906, p. 8.  “Acknowledgement of The Eastern Miscellany,” Shen Bao, April 8, 1905, p. 5.  Wang Yunwu, The Commercial Press and New Education Chronicle, Taipei: The Commercial Press Ltd., 1973, p. 37.

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Magazines founded during the New Culture Movement hoped to rely on The Commercial Press, and Zhang Yuanji left many records in his diary. His diary entry of May 11, 1917, read, Nongxue Zazhi (Journal of Agronomy) was introduced by Wu Zhihui, Wang Jingwei, and Cai Yuanpei, “for publishing with our press.” After some financial evaluation, The Commercial Press concluded that there were two ways to do this: one was to pay for contributions, and the other was to share the profits. The latter was accepted: “If two thousand copies could be sold, there may be a small profit.”131 Another diary entry dated October 30, 1917, read, “Zhang Shizhao plans to hand over Pacific to The Commercial Press for printing and distribution, or the press could recruit its editors as to work for its own magazines.” After discussing it with Gao Mengdan, Zhang Yuanji “planned to follow the latter.”132 The diary entry of November 7, 1917, stated that Cai Yuanpei also wrote to explain that “the university has established a research society and would like to launch a magazine jointly with the press.” Zhang Yuanji agreed on a one-year contract, and, after calculating the cost, proposed that “You will get 60% of the profit and I will get 40%.”133 The Commercial Press would also reject some business opportunities. Zhang Yuanji’s diary entry of February 23, 1918, wrote: “Kang Changsu’s request for us to help sell Buren and his other books has been rejected politely.”134 The rejection naturally had political considerations, but the magazine undoubtedly hoped to cooperate with The Commercial Press. Another diary entry dated February 28, 1920, wrote, “Zheng Youbo introduced Guomin and would like it to be printed at our press. I told Mengweng (Gao Fengqian) about this and said this magazine and The Renaissance belonged to different factions, and there would probably be disputes. Moreover, I do not think Mengyi a good writer and suggested politely rejecting the request.”135 Soon, this matter was mentioned in his diary again: “Mengweng wrote that Guomin was difficult to refuse. I said that if this was the case, it would be up to him to decide.” But Zhang also stated that the press should be very careful in printing and publishing magazines for outsiders, and “the author’s qualifications, the magazine’s content, and sales as well as credit” must be carefully evaluated.136 Many magazines hoped to cooperate with The Commercial Press for distribution mainly because its distribution channels were far better that those of many

     

Zhang Renfeng, ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 1, May 11, 1917, p. 292. Zhang Renfeng, ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 1, October 30, 1917, p. 396. Zhang Renfeng, ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 1, November 7, 1917, p. 400. Zhang Renfeng, ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 1, February 23, 1918, p. 487. Zhang Renfeng, ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 2, February 28, 1920, p. 954. Zhang Renfeng, ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 2, March 3, 1920, p. 956.

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other book publishers. It had branches in various places at home and abroad, plus special distribution offices, serving as “a major agency for the distribution of books and other publications.” Of course, it also attached great importance to advertising, and had set up an advertising company for advertising in magazines the various books published by Chinese and foreign book publishers, and handling publicity affairs for its customers.137 In fact, The Commercial Press was not the only one to publish magazines, with many other book publishers doing the same. According to Zuo Shunsheng’s recollection, when he entered Zhonghua Book Company as an editor in the winter of 1920, it was at the height of the New Culture Movement and the publishing industry entered a period of prosperity. To meet their needs, Zhonghua Book Company set up a new book department to collect contributions from academia for publishing. Not only did the number of publications gradually increase, but in addition to the Education Circle, six or seven magazines were published by the book company based on commission, including Gaizao (Reconstruction), Jiaoyu Congkan (Education Series), Xinli (Psychology), The Critical Review, and so on.138 Zhu Lianbao summarized this in “On the Book Publishing Industry in Old Shanghai”: “The number of periodical publishers is very large, but many publications would die soon after inauguration . . . Those published by large and medium-sized book publishers have their strengths and can last long.”139 The books and journals published by the church were also keen to expand sales links, and the methods were similar.140 Correspondingly, the reputation of a magazine also brought many benefits to the publisher. According to Wang Yuanfang, since it was not famous, Yadong Library was in a very poor financial condition, but publishing Zhang Shizhao’s The Tiger in 1915 gradually made it known. Around the May Fourth Movement, “publishing books of the Peking University Publishing Department, magazines such as Construction, The Journal of the Young China Association and The Renaissance as well as books such as Experiments and A Collection of Three Leaves pushed the publishing business back on the track.”141 Because of this, publishers would

 The Commercial Press ed., Short Chronicle of The Commercial Press, 1929, pp. 16–18.  Zuo Shunsheng, “Notes of the Past Thirty Years,” in Shen Yunlong, ed., Collectanea of Materials on Modern Chinese History, Vol. 5, Wen Hai Press Company, 1967, pp. 471, 474.  Zhu Lianbao, “On the Book Publishing Industry in Old Shanghai,” Selected Literature and History Materials 23rd Series, “Culture,” China Literature and History Publishing House, 2002, p. 382.  W. Hopkyn Rees, “Summary of Christain Books,” in China Continuation Committee, ed., Yearbook of the Church of Christ in China, 1916, p. 99.  Wang Yuanfang, Yadong Library and Chen Duxiu, pp. 29, 39.

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compete for some magazines. The Endeavor, founded in 1922 by Hu Shih and others, received a lot of financial support. According to Hu, this “was not seeking ‘profit’, but just that several friends of us at The Commercial Press, positive towards our struggle and sacrifice, offered some kind help”. In the meantime, Hu Shih and other academic “hardcore figures” were just those that the press wanted to have close ties with. After the newspaper ceased publishing, Hu Shih and others made many efforts to revive it. They planned to change it to The Endeavor, which attracted competition from other publishers. Yadong Library even expressed “the willingness to take loans to undertake this newspaper.”142 It was impossible to elaborate on the operation of the various newspapers and periodicals. Some problems were common and were reviewed by people of the time. As the combination of newspapers and advertisements became a norm, voices of questioning arose. A short essay “Advertising and Morality” published in The Eastern Miscellany put forward, “The newspaper aims to improve society, not to seek petty gains while bringing grievances to the whole country.” The article also selected the “prohibitions” formulated by two American magazines, explaining that they could also apply to Chinese newspapers: “I fear that most of the existing advertisements will be banned.”143 Regarding this, Zhang Jinglu also made a summary as a publisher, insisting that he was a publisher rather than a bookseller: “Money is the goal of all commercial activities. However, there is more important things than money for publishers.” What troubled him a lot was that the difference between the two “not only cannot be understood by ordinary people in society, but even the local authorities and the higher-level authorities in charge have not clearly distinguished between the two.”144 This indicates that the newspaper and publishing industry as a business sector is not simple. It has some special features. Zhang Jinglu’s comment is what a veteran publisher had to say about this industry. It reminds us that to examine the intelligentsia during the late Qing and Republican period, attention must be paid to people engaged in the industry in addition to the various newspapers and magazines that acted as its hosts. Regardless of other things, new-style book publishers and scholars constituted another business worth examining.

 Hu Shih, “To Gao Yihan,” September 8, 1924, The Complete Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 23, p. 437.  Ren,“Advertising and Morality,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 16, No. 2, February 15, 1919, pp. 217–218.  Zhang Jinglu, Twenty Years in the Publishing Industry: Zhang Jinglu’s Autobiography, Appendix: Postscript, pp. 4–5.

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III Another Business: New-style Book Publishers and Scholars This new business was formed as scholars were connected with newspapers and new-style book publishers, which can also be regarded as a combination of new media and the academics. As mentioned earlier, scholars had been involved extensively in the establishment of newspapers since the late Qing Dynasty and constituted a “business” worthy of attention. What needed to be further reviewed was the connections between scholars and new-style book publishers, and how the basic lifestyle of scholars had been changed as a result. Based on this, it could be seen that the growing new book publishers also became a place where scholars could settle down after the late Qing Dynasty, forming another type of business. As far as book publishers were concerned, it was necessary to add that the introduction of new printing technologies, such as lithography, lead printing, and steam engine printing, which constituted the three major elements of the modern Western printing industry, which changed the basic form of operation for book publishers. An article on lithographic book printing in Shanghai published in The North-China Herald specifically stated that lithographic book printing in Shanghai “is rapidly developing into an important industry” and investment in this industry was “profitable.”145 The article “On Litho-printed Books” published in Yi Wen Lu in 1890 stated, “The lithographic method is most suitable for ancient writings by famous figures as well as high-quality imperial printing blocks, and it is cheaper but better than lead printing.”146 The key lies in being cheaper. The reform of the imperial examination system contributed to the great development of the printing industry. In 1901, an article in Jicheng Bao described how popular litho-printed books were: “There are only three lithography book publishers in the city. After the abolishing of the eight-legged essay, everyone has been buying new books on current affairs. As the examination is drawing near, more people were buying such books, and the price of litho-printed books skyrocketed. The three book publishers earned ten times their ordinary profits.”147 “Publishing and Printing Industry in China in the Past 60 Years” written by Lu Feikui depicted the scene, that “the lithographic printing industry has produced a lot of books and is prosperous.” The reason was that the lithography book publishers had greatly

 “Lithographic Printing in Shanghai,” The North-China Herald, Vol. XLII, No. 1138; “Miscellaneous Articles,” May 25, 1889. An excerpt from this article, titled “The Development of Shanghai Lithographic Printing Industry”, See Zhang Jinglu, ed., Supplement Materials of Chinese Publishing, Zhonghua Book Company, 1957, pp. 88–89.  “On Lithographic Books,” Yi Wen Lu No. 1007, October 15, 1890, p. 476.  “Stone Printing Bestseller,” Integrated News No. 18, October 1901, p. 27.

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improved the efficiency of publishing, and scholars had also found a new means to make a living.148 How printing technology promoted the publishing industry is beyond what this book can cover, but it was clearly an important part in turning publishing into a viable business.149 The next topic is how Dianshizhai Pictorial became the first periodical to give remuneration to contributors. One of the reasons that it chose to pay is that Dianshizhai took the lead in litho-printing popular books like imperial examination books and Kangxi Dictionary, which was very profitable. As mentioned earlier, many compilations of Western books were published in conjunction with the reform of the imperial examination system, and most of these books also used the lithographic method. In short, technological change had brought about a new form of knowledge production very different from the past, and it brought business to scholars.

Increasing Demand for Books on New Learning In response to the need for Western books, various new publications since the late Qing Dynasty had gradually become popular, which was undoubtedly a phenomenon worthy of attention. The so-called new-style publications, besides newspapers, were all kinds of new-learning books. After the establishment of official book publishers in various regions, there was a great demand for this, and the publications of the Christian Literature Society for China gained unprecedented opportunities. At the ninth annual meeting of the Christian Literature Society for China in 1897, it was stated that the payments were “unprecedented.” The reason was that “Beijing has set up an official book store, and most of what it publishes are useful books from the West; thus provincial authorities, upon hearing about this trend, all came to buy relevant books from us.” In particular, It is heard that Jiangsu and Hunan authorities posed mathematical questions in the official examination, which is an important part of Western learning. Therefore, examinees have recently been coming to us to buy the book Education in Japan translated by Mr. Young John Allen of our society.150

 Lu Feikui, “China’s Publishing and Printing Industry in the Past Sixty Years,” in Zhang Jinglu, ed., Supplement to Chinese Publishing History, p. 275.  See Su Jing, Morrison and Chinese Printing and Publishing, Taiwan Student Bookstore, 2000; Molding for Generations: Missionaries and Chinese Printing Changes, Taiwan University Publishing Center, 2014.  “Summary of the Ninth Annual Meeting of the Shanghai Christian Literature Society for China,” World Bulletin, Vol. 98, March 1897, pp. 26–27.

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This also contributed to the potential significance of Current Affairs, which was originally just a newspaper, and then became an intermediary for the purchase of books. Due to the strong demand for Western books, Shanghai, as the most influential book market in the country, had naturally become the first choice for the purchase of books. Through Current Affairs and Wang Kangnian, many people and organizations bought a lot of books. In a letter, Zou Daijun stated that he had received seven large boxes of books purchased through Wang Kangnian. Since the money sent earlier was “still abundant,” in addition to the 400 yuan funding for Current Affairs, “the remaining money will be used for the purchase of books as well.”151 Huang Shaoji, an official in Hanlin Academy, also revealed in his letter to Wang Kangnian, “Examinations in Hunan and Hubei now also cover current affairs, but there are too few books here. I asked Master Nanpi to buy more, and he agreed.” For this reason, Huang also asked Wang Kangnian and Liang Qichao to buy various new books for him.152 Wang Xiuzhi, who was responsible for buying books for Tianjin Official book company of Western Learning, hoped that Wang Kangnian would vouch for him, because Gezhi book company, which he relied on for book purchase, “only agree to send books to Tianjin [when] the payment is made to them in cash, which is quite inconvenient for us.”153 Wang Kangnian’s teacher Shi Defen also wrote many letters to Wang, asking him to help Shi’s acquaintances buy books in Shanghai.154 Newspapers and new-style schools were frequently established in various places, and there was also a great demand for new books and printing equipment. They all asked Current Affairs for help. Reading the correspondence between Jiang Han of Chongqing and Wang Kangnian, it is clear that Jiang entrusted Wang to handle many affairs on his behalf. In the first letter, Jiang said, “There is a new translation of a Western book that I hope you could send to me. Money will be given to Zhao as required.”155 In another letter, Jiang emphasized, “It is my sincere hope that the typefaces can be purchased [and] sent to me soon. Please purchase new translations of Western books and books related to current affairs,

 Zou Daijun, “To Wang Kangnian” (22), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), pp. 2654–2655.  Huang Shaoji, “To Wang Kangnian” (7), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 2304.  Wang Xiuzhi, “To Wang Kangnian” (3), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 78.  Shi Defen, “To Wang Kangnian” (7, 9), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), pages 209, 211.  Jiang Han, “To Wang Kangnian” (1), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 259.

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and you can decide which books to purchase for me.”156 In the third letter, Jiang Han said that 600 yuan would be attached, in addition to the previously mentioned purchase of typefaces, and there were many other issues that Jiang hoped Wang Kangnian could help solve.157 Sun Shiyi, who opened a book company in Guangdong to sell current affairs books, was also discussing the purchase of books in his letter to Wang Kangnian. In addition to subscribing to Current Affairs and the books printed by the newspaper office, Wang was also asked to help purchase books from various publishers in Shanghai.158 The demand for translated books in various places reflected the change of the academic atmosphere, which also contributed to the transformation of the book market. It was unavoidable that despite the great demand for new books, the book industry as a whole was far from fully developed. Xia Songlai, owner of Kaiming book company, sold books in Nanjing in 1902. He stated, “the most popular books are on history for two reasons. First, history is all about facts, so the translation is explicit and easy to read. Second, the examination covers the political affairs of various countries, so people need clues.”159 The examination was quite important for the sales of books. Without the reform of the imperial examination system, the book market would not have undergone major changes. In 1905, The Eastern Miscellany published the article “Reasons Why the Chinese Book Market Cannot Develop,” which pointed out that there were various problems in the production of new-style books and periodicals: “Today’s journalists in our country usually copies [sic] content from other media for reports on our own country’s government decrees and internal affairs of the court. It seemed outsiders know what happens in our country before our own people do. Is this reasonable?”160 Although book translation offices had been established in various places to change the situation of knowledge production and the business that resulted from this, the development of book translation was not easy. The initial correspondence between Zhang Yuanji and Yan Fu was full of discussions in this regard. Before Zhang entered the publishing business, he was commissioned by  Jiang Han, “To Wang Kangnian” (2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 260.  Jiang Han, “To Wang Kangnian” (3), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), pp. 261–262.  Sun Shiyi, “To Wang Kangnian” (2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), pp. 1409–1412.  Gong Nu, “Selling Books in Jinling,” Chinese Modern Publishing Historical Materials (first edition, Zhang Jinglu annotated), Zhonghua Book Company, 1954, pp. 384–385.  He Gu, “On the Reasons Why the Chinese Book Industry Cannot Develop,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 2, No. 1, February 28, 1905, p. 10.

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Sheng Xuanhuai to organize a translation house in Nanyang Public School.161 When Zhang wrote to Yan Fu on March 27, 1899, about this, Yan replied, “If you can pay me 400 gold a month, I will do nothing else and focus on translation.”162 Soon, Yan Fu wrote to Zhang Yuanji again regarding the translation house, “Good translators are hard to find, and you surely know it well; If Nanyang Public School has the intention to do this you will have to hire me to translate books.”163 The growth of the new book business did encounter many difficulties, and it continued into the period of the New Culture Movement. “To New Bookmakers,” published in China New Book Monthly Bulletin, explained: “According to the current situation, China’s publishing industry seems to be very well developed! In Shanghai alone, there are so many new book publishers. There are several kinds of books published almost every day.” However, the crisis was lurking in the industry: “Many book publishers with small capital, if they are not willing to lose money and close their doors, have to think of many despicable ways to make money; it makes readers’ credit gains and losses. The sales of new books are sluggish!” Therefore, the author also pointed out that the only way to save the crisis of the new book industry was to “take the cultural undertaking as the prerequisite.”164 This may not be regarded as a special opinion. What was important was that in the development of cultural undertakings, book publishers and publishers as the publishing link were also playing their parts. Such a publishing structure actually gave birth to a wide range of ties between the book company and academia, and constituted another kind of “business.” The Commercial Press was an example worthy of emphasis.

The Commercial Press and Scholars The Commercial Press was founded in Shanghai in 1897 by Xia Ruifang, Bao Xian’en, Bao Xianchang, Gao Fengchi, and others. It developed in the background of a reconstruction and at a time when “compiling books and newspapers was an

 Zhang Renfeng and Liu Hecheng, eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 1, p. 83.  Yan Fu, “Letter to Zhang Yuanji” (1), c. March and April 1899, in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 3, pp. 525–526.  Yan Fu, “Letter to Zhang Yuanji” (2), April 5, 1899, in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 3, pp 526–530.  Ling Lang, “To New Bookmakers,” China New Book Monthly Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 3, February 1931, pp. 1–4.

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urgent task for the development of China.”165 Zhang Yuanji joined in 1902, which contributed to the successful transformation of the press. Of course, there were many twists and turns. When he first joined, Zhang had such an impression: “The Commercial Press is a strange thing. On the one hand, it seems to gather talents and produce useful books; on the other hand, it is an officialdom in disguise, qualifications and personal ties are everywhere, with clear dividing lines between different groups of people.”166 His statement reflected the truth. Without these, the press may not have survived that special era. It also showed that people with special talents were required to manage this huge “empire.” After Zhang joined the press, the press soon took on a new look. Although “old people” may not change, academic resources came in and well-learned scholars were engaged in specific affairs at the press, which had promoted interaction between the publishing industry and the academia. During the New Culture Movement, this was particularly prominent. Since Zhang Yuanji took charge, The Commercial Press strived to recruit staff members with academic qualifications. For this reason, Zhang had disagreements with Gao Fengchi and others. Gao advocated that “it is appropriate to use old people and make less change,” while Zhang insisted that “for the survival of the press, people with better academic qualifications must be employed to enhance interaction with the academia and the political circles.”167 The reason why Zhang Yuanji attached great importance to cooperation with academia was the trend of the time. As the New Culture Movement boomed, the original pattern of magazines changed, and The Commercial Press’s magazines were severely criticized. For example, Chen Duxiu wrote two articles to criticize The Eastern Miscellany, while Luo Jialun’s criticism targeted, in addition to The Eastern Miscellany, Education Magazine and Women’s Magazine. The impact was reflected in the reduction in magazine sales from 146,000 yuan in 1917 to 111,000 yuan in 1918.168 In 1919, the backlog of magazines totaled more than 110,000 volumes.169 In this case, the press had to do something. The Eastern Miscellany suffered the most. Du Yaquan, the editor-in-chief who “can only maintain the status quo,” gave way to Tao Baolin

 Du Yaquan, “A Brief History of Mr. Bao Xianchang,” in Mr. Bao Xianchang’s Elegy Records, retitled “Mr. Bao Xianchang,” The 90th Anniversary of The Commercial Press: Me and The Commercial Press, The Commercial Press, 1987, pp. 9–10.  Mao Dun, “The Compilation and Translation Office of The Commercial Press and the Reform of Fiction Monthly,” The 90th Anniversary of The Commercial Press: Me and The Commercial Press, p. 154.  Zhang Renfeng eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 1, September 6, 1916, p. 157.  Zhang Renfeng eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 1, December 26, 1918, p. 671.  Zhang Renfeng eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 2, March 14, 1919, p. 732.

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(Qian Zhixiu took over after Tao’s death).170 The editors of other magazines also changed: Education Magazine was led by Li Shicen (later by Zhou Yutong), Fiction Monthly had Shen Yanbing and Zheng Zhenduo at its wheel, and Students’ Magazine and Women’s Magazine were put in the charge of Yang Xianjiang and Zhang Xichen.171 Such adjustments soon produced results, and the press regained its competitiveness in the periodical market.172 In this process, Zhang Yuanji interacted with figures in academia quite diligently, and his friendship with Hu Shih was a prominent example. On October 29, 1917, Zhang wrote in his diary, “Jiang Menglin came to talk about the need for higher-level books in the academic world. He said that while trying to improve business operation, he also developed ties with the academic community. What he said was quite reasonable. I asked him to give me a list, so that I can meet some people when appropriate. Hu Shih, or Shizhi, is an acquaintance of Menglin’s.”173 The information disclosed here could not be more clear. Zhang always valued contacting academic figures. Jiang suggested and Zhang asked him to recommend people to meet. Perhaps Zhang was not familiar with Hu Shih, whom Jiang recommended, so he left such a note in his diary. The diary entry of February 2, 1918, also contained such a record: “Hu Shih sent an article to The Eastern Mischellany, which was less than ten thousand characters . . . I discussed it with Mengweng and decided to gave [sic] him 50 yuan for it.”174 This piece was “The Philosophy of Hui Shi and Gongsun Long,” published in The Eastern Miscellany, Volume 15, Nos. 5 and 6. Zhang’s response was satisfactory to Hu Shih, and he soon sent another article, “A Brief Comment on Zhuangzi’s Philosophy.”175 Later, in a letter to his mother, Hu Shih was very pleased with the reward: “Yesterday, The Commercial Press sent a second remuneration of 45 yuan, which is quite appropriate. At this time, 45 yuan feels like 85 yuan.”176

 Zhang Renfeng eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 2, pp. 828, 889, 891.  See also Mao Dun, “The Compilation and Translation Office of The Commercial Press and the Reform of Fiction Monthly”, The 90th Anniversary of The Commercial Press: Me and The Commercial Press, pp. 189–190; Zhang Renfeng and Liu Hecheng, eds. Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 1, pp. 573, 607–608.  Zhou Wu, “On the Interaction between the Cultural Market and Shanghai Publishing Industry in the Early Years of the Republic of China,” Shilin, No. 6, 2004, pp. 1–14.  Zhang Renfeng eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 1, October 29, 1917, pp. 395–396.  Zhang Renfeng eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 1, February 2, 1918, pp. 460–470. This refers to “The Philosophy of Hui Shi and Gongsun Long,” by Hu Shih, in The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 15, Nos. 5 and 6.  Zhang Renfeng eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 1, March 1, 1918, p. 493; “A Brief Comment on Zhuangzi’s Philosophy,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 15, Nos. 11 and 12.  Hu Shih, “To Mother,” March 8, 1918, The Complete Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 23, p. 180.

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The communication between The Commercial Press and scholars quickly advanced to cooperation with universities, and there was no shortage of communication in this area during Zhang Yuanji’s stay in Beijing in July 1918. On July 8, Cai Yuanpei came to talk with him, explaining that the university faculty intended to improve the existing textbooks, and asked whether The Commercial Press could do it. Zhang immediately said, “I am very pleased to work on this and remuneration will be provided, perhaps not much, but I will do what I can.”177 The next day, Zhang Yuanji went to Peking University to meet with Cai Yuanpei, Chen Duxiu, Ma Youyu, Hu Shih, and others. They talked about three things: world library, compiling educational books, and the revision of textbooks. Later, Zhang participated in the tea party for Peking University Series compilation. Zhang Yuanji answered all the questions about the writing style, word count, and publishing cycle. Cai also proposed that the university will run a monthly magazine and wanted The Commercial Press to print and publish it in the future. Zhang agreed.178 During this process, Zhang Yuanji’s connection with leading figures in academia was quite worthwhile. He visited Beijing many times, hoping to have more communication with people in the academics. Zhang also delivered the opinions of the academic figures to his colleagues at the press, so that more colleagues could learn from them. At the press’s meeting on November 18, 1919, Zhang detailed every point that “the academia in Beijing wanted the press to improve on in terms of editing, business operation, printing, and organization.”179 Hu Shih’s involvement in The Commercial Press’s efforts would reflect this even more. On March 8, 1920, Zhang wrote in his diary, “It is planned to set up a second translation office to do new things. Hu Shih has been hired with a high salary to host it in Beijing. The annual remuneration is about 30,000 yuan, and the probation period is one year.”180 In April 1921, Gao Mengdan was entrusted by Zhang to go to Beijing to urge Hu Shih to resign from the teaching position at Peking University and come to Shanghai to serve as director of The Commercial Press’s Translation House. Hu Shih “tactfully rejected” the invitation, but promised to visit Shanghai for three months in the summer.181 On July 16, Hu Shih arrived in Shanghai as promised. When The Commercial Press knew that Hu would not stay, they turned

 Zhang Renfeng ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 1, July 8, 1918, p. 556.  Zhang Renfeng ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 1, July 9, 1918, pp. 556–558. The manuscript in question was the “Peking University Series” published by The Commercial Press, and the monthly magazine was Peking University Journal.  Zhang Renfeng ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 2, November 18, 1919, p. 899.  Zhang Renfeng ed., Zhang Yuanji’s Diary, Vol. 2, March 8, 1920, p. 958.  Hu Shih’s Diary (manuscript), Vol. 1, April 27, 1921.

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to hope that he would “make a better plan for them.”182 In the following days, Hu Shih proposed a lot of plans for the work of the translation house, and recommended Wang Yunwu to work for it. On September 30, Hu Shih completed a proposal for the reform of the press, more than 10,000 words, covering the following four aspects, namely equipment, remuneration, policy, and organization.183 The courtesy to Hu Shih from The Commercial Press was just one example of Zhang Yuanji’s emphasis on gathering academic figures. It was worth mentioning that Zhang had a clear grasp of the “power network” in the academic world. Therefore, Zhang stuck to his own position in terms of judgement and criticism and did not choose to stand on any side for the benefit of the book company. The cooperation with Liang Qichao illustrated this point. After a short political career, Liang Qichao returned to academia in 1918 and wrote to Chen Shutong, expressing his intention to cooperate with The Commercial Press, “I want to publish a magazine soon, an academic one having nothing to do with political theory and the general history will be published in it in installments.” At the same time, Zhang Junmai, Jiang Baili, Xu Zhenfei, and others were “also profuse writers,” so they wanted to discuss printing and distribution with The Commercial Press.184 This could be seen as a communication between the scholars and the press for their own benefit. Later, Liang put forward many publishing plans. On April 10, 1920, Zhang Yuanji wrote to Liang Qichao, “Our press plans to allocate 20,000 yuan for one year, to try running a magazine first, and hope you could accept it. Mengdan then told me that he met with you in Tianjin and respected your plan for a longer period of time. He told to appropriate additional 20,000 yuan to make a two-year arrangement, and I feel it feasible.”185 On May 3, he wrote to Liang to discuss the cost of hiring Henri Bergson to give a lecture in China, stating that “the method for covering the cost of Gongxueshe (Collective Learning Society) translation work has been sent out by Mengdan. Reply is also given for the matters of publishing travel notes and creating a magazine.”186 The magazine mentioned was Liberation and Transformation, and the travel notes referred to The Records of Travels in Europe written by Liang. After receiving support from The Commercial Press, Liang Qichao, who had returned from Europe, was also more confident in advancing the work of the Collective Learning Society. He said in a letter to his colleagues: “The main business of the society is

 Hu Shih’s Diary (manuscript), Vol. 1, July 18, 1921.  Hu Shih’s Diary (manuscript), Vol. 2, September 30, 1921.  Liang Qichao, “A Letter to Chen Shutong,” in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., Unabridged Chronicle of Liang Qichao, p. 863.  Zhang Renfeng and Liu Hecheng, eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 1, p. 589.  Zhang Renfeng and Liu Hecheng, eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. p. 592.

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to compile and translate various books. A contract has been signed with The Commercial Press, and the funds can sustain for a while.”187 It should be noted that Zhang Yuanji was not only in contact with popular figures in the academic circles such as Liang Qichao and Hu Shih; he also had close contact with other intellectual groups and supported their publishing work. In April 1920, with the financial support from The Commercial Press, the Chinese Academy of Arts resumed Arts Study. The academy did not ask for remuneration and did not pay for printing. The press was to bear the profit and loss. Since then, the press had also published the Study and Art Essays, Study and Art Series, Study and Art Journal, and Literary and Art Series, all of which were handled in the same way. This played a significant role in the discovery of useful talents in The Commercial Press and the extension of business: “The core members of the Xueyi Society are Zhou Changshou, Yang Duanliu, He Gonggan, Jiang Tie, Lin Zhifu (formerly Lin Xiang) and others. They were successively hired to work in the translation house, giving considerable trust to fully tap their abilities.”188 The close relationship between The Commercial Press and the academia constituted an important part of the business. Researchers noticed that starting from the New Culture Movement, “journals mushroomed, and the relationship between publishers and university faculty tended to be closer.” The Commercial Press had did this to expand its business scope: “From 1919 to 1931, 26 journals were inaugurated.”189 As a “cultural empire,” The Commercial Press published a large number of books and newspapers which constituted an interdependent business network. An article, “On the Benefits of Publishing Books and Advertisements,” published in the journal Tushu Huibao of The Commercial Press, revealed, “Advertisements with the longest effect are those for books and magazines.” The press’s experience showed, “Some 20 books and magazines were the most popular, serving as the most powerful vehicle for advertising and the best option for business expansion.”190 On the one hand, magazines relied on the distribution channels established by the press to ensure sales. On the other hand, the widely distributed newspapers had become the best medium for book advertisements, which could also save some advertising costs. Hu Yuzhi explained that The Commercial Press

 Liang Qichao, “A Letter to Boqiang, Liangchai and Others,” May 12, 1920, in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 909.  Zheng Zhenwen, “The Compilation and Translation Office of The Commercial Press as I Know,” The 90th Anniversary of The Commercial Press: Me and The Commercial Press, p. 209.  Dai Ren, The Commercial Press: 1897–1949, Li Tongshi, trans., The Commercial Press, 2000, pp. 109–110, 112.  Mei, “On the Benefits of Publishing Book and Magazine Advertisements,” Tushu Huibian, No. 101, The Commercial Press, 1920, p. 67.

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was willing to publish these newspapers because it wanted “to make books, especially textbook advertisements.”191 Zhang Xichen pointed out in conjunction with Education Magazine that the magazine “takes the name of discussing education and scholarship, and the actual purpose is to use it as a tool to promote textbooks and get in touch with schools.”192 Journals gather readers with distinct identities, and books can then be sold to them. This is a special modus operandi. At the same time, the cooperation between scholars and book publishers was also worthy of attention. Whether it was publishing books for scholars or inviting scholars to be editors-in-chief of magazines, the book company had strengthened the relationship with scholars. Sometimes, the support of scholars could even save a book company or bring great benefits to it. Zhang Jingru, who later worked at Guanghua book company, said, “We would like to thank Mr. Guo Moruo for the establishment of Guanghua book company. We have had a friendship with Taidong Compilation Office for more than half a year and are willing to offer our new book[s] Three Rebellious Women and Collections of Literary and Art which gathers [sic] what we have published in various journals, to Guanghua for printing. At the same time, with the lowest remuneration standard, 50 yuan for the compilation of each issue, we will issue a semi-political and semi-literary magazine Hongshui (Flood) as a semi-monthly.”193 This added a new perspective to understand book publishers and scholars. The cooperation between scholars and book publishers was the “business” of the book publishers, but it may not have been the business of scholars.

IV The Modus Operandi of Scholars The so-called “changes unseen in three thousand years” had great impacts on scholars, the most far-reaching one among these being the abolition of the imperial examination. The impact of putting an end to this period of history was not uncommon for scholars. However, new opportunities were also emerging. The rise of newspapers and new-style book publishers provided a new channel for scholars to connect with society. In this way, the identity of scholars could be reestablished, and a new ladder of moving up the hierarchy was ready. At the same

 Hu Yuzhi, My Memories, Jiangsu People’s Publishing House, 1990, pp. 279–280.  Zhang Xichen, “On The Commercial Press,” The 90th Anniversary of The Commercial Press: Me and The Commercial Press, p. 114. Zhuang Yu also said frankly, “To promote textbooks, we have considerable liaison with the education sector.” Zhuang Yu, “On Changes in our Press’s Textbook Compilation,” ibid., p. 67.  Zhang Jinglu, Twenty Years in the Publishing Industry: Zhang Jinglu’s Autobiography, p. 113.

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time, “making a living by writing” also became a choice for scholars. A text published in Supplement of Morning News in 1923 talked about the difference between ancient and modern scholars’ writings in a meaningful way: “Ancient people write books to earn their fame and reputation, but today people write books for . . . money.”194 This showed from one aspect of the impact on the life of scholars after the rise of new media, and “making a living with words” had become a possible choice. A brief analysis of this would help to better understand how the new media affected individuals and review the twentieth century scholars from a new perspective.

The Origin of “Making a Living with Words” There was also a long tradition of writing for rewards in China. Hong Mai of the Song Dynasty wrote in Essays From Rongzhai, “Since the Jin and Song dynasties, there has been the tradition of writing for rewards, and it became prosperous in the Tang Dynasty.”195 Many people were still trying to trace the origin to an earlier time; it is just that writing for reward covered only some specific types of writings, like epitaphs. When printed books were profitable, rewards would be offered. The imperial examination allowed for such opportunities.196 Here is a story from the book Scholars: Mr. Ma Er, who failed the imperial examination, became a person to select eight-legged essays and made a living on the remuneration from booksellers. In addition to imperial examination books, novels about talented scholars and beautiful ladies were popular in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. There must be profits for the booksellers and it was thus reasonable to give remuneration.197 However, this was not comparable to the mechanism of publishing that had been formed in modern China. What was worth reviewing is how the rise of modern newspapers made it possible to make a living by writing. Providing remuneration to writers did not happen together with the rise of modern newspapers. It took quite a while. Of course, with  Zang Qifang, “Publishing and Culture,” Supplement of Morning News, August 9, 1923, p. 1.  Hong Mai, Essays from Rongzhai, Vol. 1, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1978, p. 285.  K.W. Chow analyzed how literati, especially scholars who took the imperial examination, participated extensively in commercial publishing activities. K.W. Chow, “Writing for Success: Printing, Examinations, and Intellectual Change in Late Ming China,” Late Imperial China, Vol. 17, No. 1, June 1996, pp. 120–157.  Robert Hegel studied illustrated novels in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and also expounds the influence of commercial publishing activities on novel reading. See Robert Hegel, Reading Illustrated Fiction in Late Imperial China, Stanford University Press, 1997.

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the advent of newspapers, people who worked in newspaper publishers, or served as editors and translators, appeared, and these groups of people were usually known as professional journalists. To make a living by writing meant that scholars obtained benefits by publishing their writings. It started with the “Regulations of the Newspaper Office” published in the inaugural issue of Shen Bao. The regulations involved not only how to distribute the newspaper and the cost of publishing an advertisement, but also two items related to publishing of articles in the newspaper. It was very clear that there was no remuneration for publishing in the newspapers, and it was actually generosity.198 Many scholars contributed, but they were not accustomed to this and Shen Bao had to make a declaration that contributions cannot be “only marked with a nickname” and contributors should “be sure to put names and addresses on a separate line.”199 Of course, scholars did not just write poems and essays for Shen Bao. The existence of such a medium would also attract scholars to publish their own thoughts and attitudes. Because opium spread widely in Suzhou, causing growing harm, a scholar sent a piece “to offer some materials for your staff.”200 The scholars who lived in the late Qing Dynasty began to associate with newspapers in this way, and obviously they had no economic considerations. This was not only the case for Shen Bao, but also other newspapers published before and after. For example, Wan Guo Gong Bao also published an announcement, informing readers that “If you have a great essay and want to publish on this newspaper, please send it to Mr. Lin of the Chinese and Western Academy. Once chosen, we will send you our sincere gratitude. No payment is required except for advertisements.”201 This had almost become a “general rule” for a certain period of time, and many newspapers would accept “submissions,” while “no payment” had been regarded as an encouragement to contributors. As competition in the newspaper industry intensified, writing was rewarded and gradually became a trend. Dianshizhai Pictorial published by Shen Bao became a pioneer among them. The newspaper was originally driven by commercial factors, because of the outbreak of the Sino-French War in 1884: “Some people would make predictions and drawings about the war and this has attracted a lot of attention and involvement.” Shen Bao found great opportunities from these predictions and discussions.202 The Dianshizhai Pictorial had attracted attention since its publication: “people could not wait to read it once published in     

“Regulations of the Newspaper Office,” Shen Bao, April 30, 1872, p. 1. “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Shen Bao, August 3, 1872, p. 5. “On Suzhou’s Opium Ban” (attached letter), Shen Bao, September 14, 1872, p. 1. “Announcement of Wan Guo Gong Bao,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, No. 12, January 1890, p. 24. Master of Zunwen Pavilion, “Preface,” Dianshizhai Pictorial, No. 1, May 8, 1884, pp. 1–2.

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a great number.”203 Extensive solicitation of drawings had also become an issue that newspapers needed to consider, so the “Invitation to Famous Artists around the World to Draw Pictures” was published for several consecutive days.204 Wang Tao’s “Song Yin Man Lu” was serialized in Dianshizhai Pictorial No. 6, and it was paid for the work.205 Dianshizhai Pictorial published an advertisement soliciting drawings and publicly stated that the payment would be awarded. It was difficult to say whether this was the earliest example of paying for writing. Moreover, “paintings” had their particularities, and were slightly different from “making a living with words.” What was important was that the various competitions faced by newspapers in business had contributed to the benefit of newspaper writers. Moreover, once a newspaper was the first to try it out, it would soon be rolled out and became a common practice. In addition to commercial newspapers, what was worth paying attention to was how the newspapers founded by scholars took this step. Here was a brief introduction to the attempts made by Current Affairs. As mentioned earlier, scholars in the late Qing Dynasty usually needed to order dozens of foreign-language newspapers to start a newspaper, and hired those who spoke Spanish and Japanese to do translation, as was the case with Current Affairs. This had also promoted the formation of another kind of “rewarding for writing.” In his spare time, Chen Yifan worked as a translator in the “Nei Si Translation Service” of Current Affairs, and received a monthly salary of 30 yuan.206 Ke Hongnian accepted the translation work commissioned by Current Affairs, and for the translation fee, he even proposed that “a monthly fee of 50 yuan is necessary.”207 Zhang Zhidong once asked Wang Kangnian to help find someone to proofread the translation of a book. Wang asked Chen Shoupeng for help, and Chen also required rewards.208

 Master of Dianshizhai, “Announcement on Advertising for Pictorials,” Dianshizhai Pictorial, No. 4, June 7, 1884.  Master of Dianshizhai, “Announcement for Painters in Various Places to Draw for News Reports,” Shen Bao, June 4, 1884, p. 1.  Wang Tao, “To Sheng Xuanhuai” (13), in Wang Ermin and Chen Shanwei, eds., Manuscripts of Modern Celebrities: First Sheng Xuanhuai Collection, Vol. 8, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 1987, p. 3382.  Chen Yifan, “To Wang Kangnian” (1), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), pp. 2014–2015.  Ke Hongnian, “To Yiqin,” Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1275. “Yiqin” refers to Li Weige.  Chen Shoupeng, “To Wang Kangnian” (1, 19, 21), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), pp. 2021–2022, 2039–2040, 2040–2041.

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Not only was there a reward for “translation,” but there was also, gradually, payment for writing for newspapers. Current Affairs took the lead in this regard. First, it published an advertisement stating that it could accept foreign manuscripts; then it released a call for papers, soliciting “class art,” and promising to make money. Perhaps it was unimaginable for the scholars in the late Qing Dynasty to make money for writing through publication. Therefore, many contributors did not express such demands. It would be enough to have their works published, although there had always been writers asking for payment for their writing. Among the letters kept by Wang Kangnian, dozens of them involved submissions or participation in current affairs classes, which contained “business.” Of course, it was equally difficult to judge whether the Current Affairs promoted the formation of the manuscript fee system in the late Qing Dynasty, but such an attempt had obviously achieved positive results. Newspapers allowed authors to be rewarded, which was of great benefit to both parties, and it was natural that the author’s remuneration system had gradually formed. In fact, many newspapers at the time had a similar situation. No. 22 of Hunan Gazette published “Names of Staff and Faculty of Hunan Gazette,” including directors, writers, translators, and other staff members. It also stated: “Except for articles written by the our own staff, those that have been sent to us will be selected by the standard of faithfulness and gracefulness, all that have been chosen will be published in the newspaper.”209 Not only did the newspaper accept submission, it was also concerned with the interests of the contributors. It was a new form of payment: it was planned to use “20% of the remaining profit of this newspaper as the reward for those whose submission have been published.”210 In addition to the professional writers hired by the newspaper, Hunan Gazette also published a lot of posted manuscripts.211 As payment-for-authors had become a “general rule,” authors’ reward had also become the main cost of running a newspaper. The expenditure list of Current Affairs did not include the author’s payment, and even if there was, it should not have been a big burden. In addition to the staff’s salary, translation fees accounted for a big part. Huang Zunxian also stated that the newspaper “has always hired a translator with a hundred dollars after the expansion in one or two years.”212 However, the situation in later days was quite different. In July 1907, Liang Qichao

 “Staff of Hunan Gazette,” Hunan Gazette, No. 22, March 31, 1898, p. 87.  “Hunan Gazette Regulations,” Hunan Gazette, No. 27, April 6, 1898, p. 107.  “Acknowledgement and List of Received Manuscripts from Friends,” Hunan Gazette, No. 30, April 9, 1898, p. 120.  Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian” (27), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2352.

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stated in a letter to Xu Fusu that New Citizen paid a lot for submissions: “There are about 50,000 words per volume in New Citizen, for every thousand words the payment should be no less than three yuan, then the total cost for each volume is about 150 yuan. If three thousand copies could be sold and the reimbursement can be collected, then the payment for writers could be covered. If another thousand copies could be sold, the newspaper can have a surplus of 50 yuan as profit.” No wonder Liang wanted to emphasize that the “Newspaper is undoubtedly opened for the sake of development of the society, in the meantime it is necessary to ensure its economic independence.”213 In addition to newspapers, book publishers used payment-for-writers to absorb manuscripts. The revelation of “Seeking for Books” published in Shen Bao may be regarded as a disguised payment of manuscript fees. Book publishers used this as a measure to obtain manuscripts in competition, and it quickly emerged. In March 1901, Tung Wen Hu Pao published an article introducing the East Asia Yizhi Translation Book Office, committed to “selecting and translating useful and practical books, and enlightening people’s wisdom as an urgent task,” and stated that the “translated books” were willing to be published by this office: “When you decide to give the money for the pen or raise the price of each unit, you will get 20% of the price.”214 The opening announcement of the “Shanghai Taidong Shiwu Compilation and Printing Bureau” published in New Citizen No. 10 also indicated that the bureau “only accepts translations of famous artists, and the works of the reformers were not published, and the rewards are exceptionally generous.”215 These advertisements for the solicitation of manuscripts issued by scholars meant that a market for books was formed during that period, and scholars could make a living by selling manuscripts. Yan Fu’s consideration in this regard could be regarded as a sort of foresight. Around 1900, when Yan Fu and Zhang Yuanji, who worked at the Translation House of Nanyang Public School, discussed the translation of The Wealth of Nations and other books, issues such as the payment for authors were involved. Zhang proposed to buy the translated version with 2,000 yuan, but Yan mentioned the issue of royalties other than “reward for writers” and asked if this manuscript “would be sold in the future, whether . . . a small portion of the sales could be used as reward for the writer.”216 From Yan’s letter to Zhang, it could be

 Liang Qichao, “A Letter to Mr. Su,” July 1907, in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, pp. 384–386.  “East Asia Yizhi Translation House,” Tung Wen Hu Pao, No. 304, March 10, 1901, p. 1.  “Advertisements,” New Citizen No. 10, June 20, 1902, “Advertisements”.  Yan Fu, “Letter to Zhang Yuanji” (6), c. November 11, 1899, Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 3, p. 534; Yan Fu, “Letter to Zhang Yuanji” (8), March 2, 1900, ibid., p. 538.

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seen that Zhang agreed to offer “20% of the book sales,” and Yan asked for a written agreement “so as not to have any more words when personnel changes in the future.”217 In 1902, Yan Fu wrote to Xia Zengyouxin that The Study of Sociology also considered sharing profits, saying “how to distribute profits and how to protect copyright must be clearly shown to me.”218 In 1903, Yan Fu’s translation of A History of Politics was published by The Commercial Press, and the two parties also signed a publishing contract, which clearly stipulated the respective rights and responsibilities of the “manuscript owner” and the “printer.”219 Yan Fu not only was concerned with writers’ remuneration, but also regarded this as an urgent problem in China. In 1903, the Ministry of Education ordered the provincial bureaus to print textbooks on their own, leading to some misunderstandings, which were used as “a basis for the removal of copyright protection.” Yan Fu felt the seriousness of the problem and wrote to the Minister of Education Zhang Baixi, “The royalties is what should be paid to authors for their contribution. If there is no such a law in this country, books would be rare, and gradually disappear.”220 The Ministry of Commerce established by the Qing government that year also tried to resolve the frequent copyright disputes between China and foreign countries. Upon knowing this, Zhang Yuanji organized translators to write and publish the relevant content in Encyclopedia Britannica (Tenth Edition) “for reference as a way to try my best to fulfill my obligations.”221 Such efforts may not have had any effect. Yan Fu once considered doing nothing but translation if the job could support him, but was not able to because of piracy.222 In particular, new fictions that emerged during this period had further promoted the spread of authors’ remuneration. According to Bao Tianxiao, “At that time, newspapers had no remuneration for contributions except for novels. The writers write out of interest rather than for remuneration.”223 This judgment was not accurate, but the reason Bao had this view was that the novel played a large

 Yan Fu, “Letter to Zhang Yuanji” (11), September 18, 1901, in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 3, pp. 543–544.  Yan Fu, “Letter to Xia Zengyou” (1), December 27, 1902, in Sun Yingxiang and Pi Houfeng, eds., Supplement to Collected Works of Yan Fu, pp. 262–263.  Zhang Renfeng and Liu Hecheng, eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 129, p. 1.  Yan Fu, “Letter to Zhang Baixi” (2), in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 3, pp. 577–578.  Owner of The Commercial Press, “Preface,” Study on Copyright, The Commercial Press, 1903, p. 1.  Yan Fu, “Letter to Xiong Jilian” (25), April 23, 1904, in Sun Yingxiang and Pi Houfeng, eds., Supplement to Collected Works of Yan Fu, p. 251.  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, p. 349.

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role in promoting remuneration. In 1902, Liang Qichao founded New Fiction, and released a “Solicitation of Contributions” which stated In addition to translations by members of the newspaper office, we would also like to solicit masterpieces from celebrities from all over the world, and the remuneration was set as follows: The remuneration for the first grade writings is four yuan per thousand characters; that for the second grade writings is three yuan per thousand characters; that for third grade writings is two yuan per thousand characters; that for fourth grade writings is 1.5 yuan per thousand characters. It is 2.5 yuan per thousand characters for first grade translation; 1.6 yuan per thousand characters for second grade translation, and 1.2 yuan per thousand characters for third grade translation.224

This method was also inherited by later fiction journals. Fiction Monthly, which was founded by The Commercial Press in 1910, also stated that solicited writings would be paid for in four grades once published, five yuan per thousand characters for first grade writings, four yuan per thousand characters for second grade ones, three yuan per thousand characters for third grade ones, and two yuan per thousand characters for fourth grade ones.225 It could be said that a market for paying remuneration had gradually formed around novels, which was quite attractive to scholars, and “selling articles for a living” had also become possible. As observed by people of the time, around a decade previous, it was a world of eight-legged essays, “yet it has suddenly become a world of novels recently.” Due to the formation of a market, many people regarded novels to be a source of quick earnings.226 Wu Jianren’s 1905 novel Sea of Woe was all very popular, but “it was completed in only ten days and was not reviewed even once by the author before it was sent to Guangzhi Book Company for printing.”227 Lu Xun also mentioned a very interesting story: Grave contained several novels and “it was originally intended for Henan, whose editor weirdly favored long articles, so pieces like The Power of Mara Poetry was [sic] only for length sake.”228 Zhou Zuoren mentioned that the translation of novels was also quite profitable in the market. Between 1906 and 1908, he translated three novels from English, two of which

 “The Newspaper Office Calls for Contributions,” New Fiction, No. 1, November 14, 1902, Advertisements.  “Call for Essays” and “Reward for Essays,” Fiction Monthly, No. 1, October 27, 1910, pp. 2, back cover.  Yin Bansheng, “A Comment on Fiction,” Game World, No. 1, April 1906, p. 1.  Jian (Wu Jianren), “Miscellaneous,” Fiction Monthly, No. 8, Year 1, May 26, 1907, p. 209.  Lu Xun, “Grave·Inscription,” Complete Works of Lu Xun, Vol. 1, p. 9.

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were published by The Commercial Press, and received 200 and 120 yuan of remuneration respectively.229 As Lu Feikui summarized, from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period, the Shanghai book market gradually formed a universally standard for remuneration, ranging from two yuan to four yuan per thousand characters. The price of five or six yuan was very rare. Smaller book publishers would even take in writings for one yuan or 50 cents.230 There were also many ways to pay the remuneration, and The Commercial Press was good at this. The “Rules for Contributions” published in 1910 stated, “This magazine welcomes contributions for the two columns of ‘discussion’ and ‘research’.” But it also pointed out, “published contributions should be rewarded with book coupons of the press,” specifically, “first grade writings receive five yuan in coupons per thousand characters, second grade ones, four yuan, third-grade ones, three yuan, fourth grade ones, two yuan. Special cases can be negotiated separately. Those who do not give a name would not receive this.”231 The “Rules for Reward to Solicitated Contributions of Our Press” published in 1913 also stated, “the remuneration for published contributions is listed below: (A) 15–50 yuan of book coupons, (B) 5–15 yuan of book coupon.”232 Subsequently, the “Guidelines for Contributions to the Press” read: “After the contributions are published, the press shall give book coupons as reward. About five yuan to two yuan per thousand characters; shorter articles would be rewarded with this magazine itself.”233 Mao Dun’s review of his modus operandi also showed that such a system had been established. In 1917, Mao Dun was arranged to help edit Students’ Magazine, mainly reviewing contributions from middle school students and junior normal students from all over the country. He was not satisfied with the submissions, especially the students’ contributions, “suspecting that they had been revised and polished by teachers.” However, the editor-in-chief Zhu Yuanshan linked this with business management. Once a contribution was published, the school authorities, teachers, and students would all feel glorious and became the volunteer salesmen of the magazine. Contributions from students required no cash rewards,

 Zhou Zuoren, Recollections of Zhitang, pp. 207–212.  Lu Feikui, “China’s Publishing and Printing Industry in Sixty Years,” in Zhang Jinglu, ed., Supplement to Chinese Publishing History, p. 281.  “Contribution Rules,” The Eastern Miscellany, Volume 7, No. 1, March 6, 1910, advertisement page.  “Summary of Rewards to Solicited Contributions,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 10, No. 1, July 1, 1913, title page.  “Guidelines for Contributions to the Press,” Vol. 10, No. 6, The Eastern Miscellany, December 1, 1913, table of contents page.

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only book coupons which could be used to buy books published by press: “This promotes the sales of our books.”234 This was also the method generally adopted by various magazines at that time. It was considered a mechanism for cultivating readership, and an impressive modus operandi.

Stories of Bao Tianxiao, Zhang Jinglu, and Others With the intensified competition in the newspaper industry, articles could be sold for money. As this became a trend, many people treated writing as a profession and a means of earning a living. Scholars in the Qing Dynasty and the Republican era were all good examples. People like Bao Tianxiao, Zhang Jinglu, and others discussed this in their memories, which provide a glimpse of how the scholars at the time “made a living with writings.” Bao Tianxiao originally founded the magazine Lixue Yibian (Journal of Translations to Encourage Learning). Most of the articles were translated from Japanese by the staff members, and he also turned to friends Yang Tingdong and Yang Yinhang who were studying in Japan at that time for help.235 They did not talk about remuneration and all was volunteer work. His personal career began with selling two novels he translated to Wenming book company: “The copyright price is one hundred yuan.” Because of this, he began to take more interest in translating novels. This was a “free and unfettered job,” and the remuneration was not cheap. According to him, this sum from Wenming book company, according to his living standards at the time, in addition to covering the travel expenses to Shanghai, “can still cover several months of daily expenses at home,” so “Why not?”236 When Bao Tianxiao became famous, other newspapers asked him to join them, and talked with him about issue of salary. The conditions given by The Eastern Times was: write six essays a month, and some novels for a monthly salary of 80 yuan, which was pretty good: “essays accounted for 30 yuan, and novels accounted for 50 yuan.” A friend of him had a monthly salary of only 28 yuan when joining Shen Bao.237 What is more, after the job at The Eastern Times was nailed, Bao accepted the another job at Novel Forest, earning another 40 yuan a month. In this way, there was a fixed income of 120 yuan a month. “Family

 Mao Dun, “The Compilation and Translation Office of The Commercial Press and the Reform of Fiction Monthly”, The 90th Anniversary of The Commercial Press: Me and The Commercial Press, p. 162.  Bao Tianxiao. Memoirs of Kushiro Studio, p. 166.  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, pp. 173–174.  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, p. 317.

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expenses and personal petty expenses total only 50 or 60 yuan at most. Isn’t there a lot of money?”238 Besides serving as a journalist, Bao Tianxiao also taught in several girls’ schools in Shanghai, and his life was quite good. Besides Bao Tianxiao, another publisher, Zhang Jinglu, also had his stories. Zhang’s autobiography described his experience from being a bar tender to an editor. His brother and friends opened a tavern, and Zhang was called in to serve as an “outside accountant” with a monthly salary of four yuan. When he was about 16 years old, he started to read newspapers and periodicals. In the following three years (1914–1916), he tried to write by himself, composing mainly novels and essays. The more he wrote, the more got published, especially in Supplement of The Universal Gazette. An interesting episode occurred during this period; one day, he suddenly received a letter from a friend in Tianjin, and attached was a copy of Citizen Daily published in Tianjin, which contained his novel. Zhang Jinglu, surprised, wrote an inquiry about this, but unexpectedly received a reply from the newspaper, expressing the intention to hire him as a supplement editor, “Because of our limited budget, please half-fulfill your obligations and we will pay 40 yuan per month.” Zhang described his state of mind at the time like this: “Oh my God! Is this a dream? Forty yuan, which I never dreamed of.”239 Such stories had actually become the norm among scholars during the Republican period. Mao Dun also talked about his income. Starting from the end of 1918, the supplements of the newspaper, Xuedeng and Liberation and Transformation, had contracted for him to write articles, and his income had naturally increased a lot. The monthly salary at The Commercial Press had increased to 50 yuan, while the contributions to Students’ Magazine was not counted: “The income from contributions to various places bring about 40 yuan per month.”240 However, some were satisfied, and some were lost. Chen Yuan said, “I always believe that I should receive a remuneration for writing articles. It is a pity that things are counterproductive . . . After I returned to China, the total amount I got from writing was 67 yuan, all from Morning News.”241 There are also higher remuneration rates: “The two great writers in China today, Liang Qichao and Hu Shih, have a maximum price of 20 yuan per thousand characters.”242

 Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, pp. 324–325.  Zhang Jinglu, Twenty Years in the Publishing Industry: Zhang Jinglu’s Autobiography, No. 49–50, pp. 54–55.  Mao Dun, “The Compilation and Translation Office of The Commercial Press and the Reform of Fiction Monthly,” The 90th Anniversary of The Commercial Press: Me and The Commercial Press, p. 177.  Xiying, “Gossip,” Contemporary Review, Vol. 3 No. 65, March 6, 1926, p. 12.  Luo Hansu, “Author’s Remuneration,” Art World Weekly, No. 15, April 30, 1927, pp. 8–10.

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The economic benefits generated by newspapers were much more than that. It was also possible to obtain good benefits by holding shares in a newspaper. Diplomatic News edited by Zhang Yuanji was “founded with funding” with “a total of 5,000 yuan . . . collected”. It stated, “If there is a surplus, it will be allocated like this: 50% will go to shareholders, 20% for operation, and 30% to a public fund.”243 Cai Yuanpei invested 300 yuan and became the “capitalist” of the newspaper. In his diary of 1906, Cai wrote, “Diplomatic News brought a profit of 126 yuan.”244 In addition, the income of editing the magazine is also worth mentioning. The initial operation of Youth Magazine was rather bleak. However, Qunyi book company provided editing fees and remunerations of 200 yuan a month, which was also a good income for the editor-in-chief Chen Duxiu.245

Liang Qichao and The Commercial Press When it came to the business of scholars, the most reliable was large book publishers and newspaper publishers, when one sought to make a living. Among the late-Qing scholars, Liang Qichao could be regarded as a representative who relied on newspapers and book publishers to make a living. No one had more cooperation with newspaper publishers and book publishers than him. Correspondingly, newspapers and book publishers also constituted the main source of his income. It may be hard to imagine that a scholar like Liang Qichao were often in an embarrassed state in life. Several letters of 1909 showed that he had to sell papers to make a living. A letter to Liang Qixun read, “In the past few months, I have been working on writing to solve the problem of hunger.”246 By 1910, in a letter to Xu Fosu, Liang Qichao also pointed out that he had “debts up to several thousand” in Yokohama and Kobe over the past three or four years.247 At this time, Liang served as the chief writer of The National News. Although “more than half of the text of each issue was written,” the income provided could not cover his huge expenses. In 1911, Liang Qichao had a cooperation plan with The Commercial Press. This had helped a lot with his livelihood. Liang promised to transfer the copyright

 Zhang Renfeng and Liu Hecheng, eds., Zhang Yuanji Chronicles, Vol. 1, pp. 108–109.  Wang Shiru, ed., Cai Yuanpei’s Diary, Vol. 1, February 25, 1906, p. 202.  Wang Yuanfang, Yadong Library and Chen Duxiu, p. 33.  Liang Qichao, “Letter to Zhongdi,” May 25, 1909, in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 490.  Liang Qichao, “A Letter to Mr. Su,” February 26, 1910, in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 508.

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of the two books Travelling in Taiwan and The Fundamentals of Finance to The Commercial Press. For this reason, Zhang Yuanji said, “It is best to loan the copyright . . . if the press asks me to write, I will try my best to fulfill the task.” At the same time, Liang agreed to write an article for the press’ magazines every month, and Zhang promised a remuneration of seven yuan per thousand characters: “select the topic and make an argument as you please.”248 After Liang Qichao returned to academia in 1918, he had extensive cooperation with The Commercial Press. In October 1922, Zhang Yuanji wrote to Liang, “The agreement to write takes effect from this month. Please do not let anyone know about your remuneration of 20 yuan per thousand characters. If everyone wants the same, it would be difficult.”249 In another letter of Zhang’s, it could be roughly calculated that the monthly remuneration paid to Liang by the press was about 300 yuan.250 Liang also provided many writings to The Commercial Press, which were published in The Eastern Miscellany. Among late-Qing scholars, Liang Qichao ranked top in terms of remuneration (excluding novelists). However, compared with the scholars in the Republican era, his special feature was that he did not hold a university position and his income was inevitably unstable. Of course, the cost was too large to be covered by the income of a teacher. Liang Qichao served as a tutor at Tsinghua Institute of Chinese Studies in 1925, only having a short career as a university professor. In August that year, Liang wrote to his children, mentioning the income of the year: “The family budget is finally very ample this year. Except for Zhongyuan Company, all kinds of share interest still come as usual. The 800 yuan per month given by the government for transportation has lasted half a year, and is still coming. The Commercial Press gave nearly 5,000 yuan for book sales. Tsinghua will have 400 yuan a month for me from this month on.”251 Clearly, a monthly income of 400 yuan for Tsinghua was only a very limited proportion of Liang’s total income, much less than the income from book sales at The Commercial Press, which was quite unstable though.  Zhang Yuanji, “A Letter to Mr. Liang,” April 14, 1911, in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., Unabridged Chronicle of Liang Qichao, p. 546.  Zhang Yuanji, “To Liang Qichao,” October 22, 1922, in Zhang Shunian and Zhang Renfeng, eds., Letters of Zhang Yuanji (revised edition), Vol. 2, p. 1030.  The letter stated, “It should be three hundred yuan per month, and it is still sent to the Supreme Mansion by the Tianjin branch on a monthly basis, and I want to be investigated.” This paragraph must be the business payment of Liang’s remuneration. See Zhang Yuanji, “To Liang Qichao,” December 17, 1923, Zhang Shunian and Zhang Renfeng, eds., Zhang Yuanji Letters (revised edition), Vol. 2, p. 1030.  Liang Qichao. “Letter to My Children,” in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., Unabridged Chronicle of Liang Qichao, August 3, 1925, pp. 1049–1050.

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There seemed to be too much business around book publishers, newspapers, and scholars. There was no need to shy away, as this was exactly the embodiment of the commercialization of the publishing industry. In a review of the Chinese publishing industry during the Republic of China period, it was noted that the publishing industry, “due to the development of modern printing technology, has almost overwhelmed all other ways of cultural dissemination.” Moreover, “because today is the era of capitalism, the publishing industry is a business.”252 On the subject of this book, how newspapers affected the basic lifestyle of scholars should also constitute one of the directions of thinking. The reason is that newspapers, as a public realm connecting individuals and society, not only changed the way scholars communicated with society, but also provided a new ladder of upward social mobility for scholars. In other words, the new-style newspaper has not only started the relationship between scholars and the country and society, but also changed the basic lifestyle of scholars. Making a living by writing became a legitimate choice. Comparing with the situation of scholars when the imperial examination system was still in place, the impact of such a huge change is also “unprecedented in three thousand years.” It can be said that the new media not only promoted the growth of the intelligentsia, but also enabled scholars who bid farewell to the era of the imperial examination and played new roles and had new identities.

 Yang Taoqing, A Brief History of China’s Publishing Industry, Appendix “Criticism and Hope for China’s Publishing Industry,” pp. 75–81.

Chapter Seven The Other Side of the Intelligentsia: The Change in the Way of Expression of Scholars The formation of the intelligentsia has many implications, of which the most noteworthy is the change in the way of expression and writing of scholars. Scholars had their presumptions: should they comment on current affairs, or avoid reality? Should they use classical or vernacular language? All of these are issues that writers could not ignore. With the popularity of newspapers, the writing style of scholars since the late Qing Dynasty has undergone major changes. The new way of writing has something to do with the popularity of newspapers and magazines, which also constituted the key to the public nature of the intelligentsia. It can even be said that without a change in the way of writing, there would have been no intelligentsia at all. This is a topic that cannot be avoided when analyzing knowledge dissemination. The practice of comparing Chinese ideological movements to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, though disputable, can reveal some common problem faced by ideological movements.1 Peter Burke’s research on the Italian Renaissance pointed out that there were several barriers that excluded ordinary people from the literary and artistic world of this period, including language barriers, literacy barriers, and economic barriers which prevented ordinary people from buying books and paintings, and that the Renaissance embodied “the spread of expressions and ideas from the elites to the common people, both socially and geographically.”2 The same is true for the intelligentsia of the late Qing and Republican eras of China. Similarly, the acceptance of newspapers in the late Qing Dynasty was quite tortuous. Scholars writing articles for newspapers led to many disputes, and there were even discussions on the “newspaper style.” There must be many reasons why newspapers spread to ordinary people, and the key is that the style of writing had a special meaning for Chinese scholars. Therefore, it is necessary to explain this a little bit before the problem is unfolded, so as to ensure a better understanding of why the issue of writing style caused a great uproar in the late Qing Dynasty. In fact, scholars writing articles for newspapers involved major

 Yu Ying-shih, “Renaissance? Enlightenment?—A Historian’s Reflection on the May Fourth Movement,” in Yu Ying-shih et al., Neither Renaissance nor Enlightenment: A Historian’s Reflection on the May Fourth Movement, Lianjing Publishing House, 1999, pp. 1–31.  Peter Burke, Varieties of Cultural History, Feng Huaqin and Liu Yan, trans., Peking University Press, 2013, pp. 141–142. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-008

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changes in the basic lifestyle. The emergence of the newspaper style along with this shook the way of written expression which had always been the cornerstone of the Chinese cultural traditions. Examining the “newspaper style” helps grasp the far-reaching significance of the change in the way of expression of scholars.

I Writing as One of the “Three Deeds to Immortality” The “three deeds to immortality” has long existed in China: “To a Paragon of Virtue, Achievement or Words” (Commentary of Zuo on the Spring and Autumn Annals, twenty-fourth Year of Lord Xiang). For thousands of years, this has also become a basic criterion for regulating scholars, not only clearly dividing the progressive realm, but also taking the three as the perfect and beautiful realm of life. However, the difficulty of achieving the three is becoming more and more perceived by people. Zeng Guofan said, “how many people have been able to achieve that throughout history? . . . I can only do my best, not expect to achieve soon what ancient sages had achieved.”3 In the period of the New Culture Movement, Hu Shih followed this view when expounding his outlook on life, only proposing the “social immortality theory” to make up for the shortcomings of the “three deeds to immortality” of three levels.4 As far as “a paragon of words” was concerned, since this was regarded as one of the “three deeds to immortality,” it could be imagined that writing for the ancients was indeed a very serious matter, and it was by no means that there was no respect for words like today. The saying that “writing is a very important thing and the loss and gains can only be perceived with heart” conveyed the cautious attitude of past figures on this; and reading was often combined with this. Lu Xun’s remarks about reading less Chinese books expressed this meaning: “Reading less Chinese books could merely lead to the inability to write articles.” Although the words were radical, they combined reading with writing.5 Examples set by late-Qing scholars can demonstrate the important influence of writing, which constitutes the basis for setting a paragon of virtue and achievement.

 Zeng Guofan, “To Brother Yuan,” August 5, 1911, Family Letters, Vol. 10, in Li Hanzhang, ed., The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong,Part 8, Jilin People’s Publishing House, 1995, pp. 5457–5458.  Hu Shih, “Immortality, My Religion,” New Youth Vol. 6, No. 2, February 15, 1919, p. 98.  Lu Xun, “The Huagai Collection,·A Must-read for Youth,” The Complete Works of Lu Xun,Vol. 3, p. 18.

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Zeng Guofan: “Writings Change with the World” Zeng Guofan, a famous minister in modern times, can be roughly regarded as a model of achieving the “three deeds to immortality.” His virtue and achievement are not to be discussed here, while from the aspect of “paragon of words,” he clearly pursued it diligently: “I set my mind on writing at an early age, and after joining the army I gave up that idea. But after so many years, I still keep reading and writing as always.”6 During the succumbing years in the army, he was often depressed for not being able to read and study.7 In Zeng Guofan’s book, there were examples of how to train scholars. As the eldest son of the family, he was responsible for guiding the younger brothers’ academic progress. In the letter he wrote to his parents, he would report his brother’s academic progress any time. In the letters to his brothers, he often instructed them on how to read books and how to write essays, and they often gave guidance based on the different situations of each person, admonishing from time to time that “you must always strive to devote more to your areas of study.”8 According to his understanding, virtue and learning are the most reliable things, the forming referring to filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, the latter meaning writing article and poems.9 It was precisely because of this that Zeng Guofan had some reservations about writing. The imperial examination, as a ladder for scholars’ promotion, regulated scholars’ way of writing. In the letter to his brothers, Zeng also talked a lot about this, often admonishing “don’t indulge in current writings” and reminding his younger brothers not to ignore reading. He also used his own example to illustrate his insistence on this, “Since this year, I have been reading books all day long. Though I am very busy, I will not give up my righteous career.”10 In addition to the younger brothers, Zeng Guofan also cared about his children and nephews, especially for Zeng Jize’s growth. Knowing that Jize “reads The Book of Han recently,” he once said, “I have always loved to read the four books of Records of Historian, Book of Han, Zhuangzi, and Writings of Han. I am very pleased to know  Zeng Guofan, “To Li Zhuhu,” December 8, 1858, Family Letters, Vol. 7, The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong Part 4, p. 2031.  Zeng Guofan, “To Ninth Brother Yuanpu,” May 30, 1858, Family Letters, Vol. 6, The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong, Part 8, p. 5248.  Zeng Guofan, “To Brothers,” September 18, 1842, Family Letters, Vol. 1, The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong Part 8, p. 5021.  Zeng Guofan, “To Brothers,” August 29, 1844, Family Letters, Vol. 2, The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong Part 8, p. 5062.  Zeng Guofan, “To Parents,” September 19, 1844, Family Letters, Vol. 2, The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong Part 8, p. 5063.

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that you can read The Book of Han.”11 Regarding the method of reading, he once again pointed out, “Reading and writing both are indispensable every day.”12 When considering “Writing changes together with the world,” Zeng Guofan’s remarks were not without insight.13 It could be said that Zeng not only noticed the development trajectory of writing, but also practiced it accordingly and exerted influence on his brothers and children.

Zhang Zhidong: Reading for Success Zeng Guofan mainly conveyed his understanding of essays to his younger brothers and children in his family letters, and Zhang Zhidong, another official of the late Qing Dynasty, expressed his views on more scholars in the post of admiral in Sichuan. In “Preface to Youxuanyu (Words of an Imperial Envoy),” he pointed out that the book was written specifically for scholars. “It can be divided into three parts: the first part is about doing, the middle part about studying, and the third part about writing.”14 Zhang Zhidong’s book not only covered generally his views on moral articles in the past, but was also dedicated to regulating the way scholars read books. Among them, it was mentioned that the aim of reading was to be successful in one’s career, and people should “give up the idea of beginning to write as early as possible” and “give up the plan to take the imperial examination as early as possible.” As for the reason, he said, “Without enough reading as the solid foundation, how can one write essays, or do the reasoning?”15 In the part about writing in the book, Zhang Zhidong commented on various styles of writings, including current essays, examination-oriented poems, prose, interpretation of classics, quotes of classics, policy essays, ancient and modern poems, ancient proses, and even calligraphy.16

 Zeng Guofan, “To Jize,” November 5, 1856, Family Letters, Vol. 5, The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong, Part 8, p. 5216.  Zeng Guofan, “To Jize,” July 21, 1858, Family Letters, The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong, Part 8, p. 5513.  Zeng Guofan, “Preface to The Collected Works of Ouyang Sheng,” The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong, Part 3, p. 1591.  Zhang Zhidong, Words of an Imperial Envoy, in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., The Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 12, p. 9771.  Zhang Zhidong, Words of an Imperial Envoy, in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., The Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 12, pp. 9775–9776.  Zhang Zhidong, Words of an Imperial Envoy, in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., The Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 12, p. 9779.

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Zhang Zhidong founded the Zunjing Academy in Chengdu in 1874 and insisted that current essays should not be taught in the academy.17 Zhang instructed the students of the academy on how to read and what were good books. In Questions and Answers on the Bibliography, he clearly explained the academic path. Books were categorized into classics, history, writings of various academic schools, and collections, and in the miscellaneous section, there was a list of “group reading books” which were “concise and enlightening, good for beginners to develop their minds through reading and helpful to those who learn to write.” It was made clear here that these books were useful for “learning to write” and most of them were popular books for “putting learning into use.”18

Judging People Based on Articles In addition to Zeng Guofan and Zhang Zhidong, many other examples can be cited. It is not difficult to see that for scholars in the past, the “paragon of words” had actually become the most important thing, and judging people based on their articles had was actually the norm. In the officialdom of the late Qing Dynasty, Wen Tingshi was known for “daring to speak,” and he often evaluated scholars based on their “articles” in his diary. When he read Wang Tao’s Report on the Franco-Prussian War he commented, “‘chengyu’ [ride a chariot] and some other words are used in it, which is rather unconventional; and the articles are too complicated and there is nothing to be praised.”19 After reading Wang Meicun Poetry Collection, he said that the book recorded “what he had heard and known between Xianfeng and Tongzhi eras,” and that the book was criticized for a “very rough writing style.”20 From this alone, it was not difficult to see Wen Tingshi’s insistence on keeping the style of writing. As for how to write an essay, Wen also expounded his thoughts in his diary, “The study of classics and history is based on textual research; while the talent for writing poetry and prose has nothing to do with textual research, but is based on the cultivation of temperament, which requires reading many famous

 Zhang Zhidong, “Creating Zunjing Academy,” November, 1876, in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds. The Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 12, pp. 10080–10081.  Zhang Zhidong, “Questions and Answers on Bibliography,” in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., The Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 12, pp. 9971–9972.  Wen Tingshi, “Bingzi Diary” (1), February 6, 1876, in Wang Shuzi, ed., Wen Tingshi Collection, Vol. 2 Zhonghua Book Company, 1993, pp. 1055–1056.  Wen Tingshi, “Diary of Tour in Hunan,” April 3, 1888, in Wang Shuzi, ed., Wen Tingshi Collection, Vol. 2, p. 1122.

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works of ancient prose.”21 A paragraph in his diary could be regarded speaking the author’s mind: “Reading is never considered a preparation for writing.”22 Let’s take a look at how a growing scholar would interpret this. As an outstanding student of Wang Kaiyun, Yang Du often spoke his mind in his diary, and there was no lack of comments on other people’s writings. The diary entry of October 15, 1897, wrote, “I read articles of various schools, it is really a child’s play, and I was quite able to do this when I was young.”23 This could be regarded as a young and frivolous vent. Another note went, “There is no good article so far in Hunan participants’ writings for this year’s imperial examination.”24 Yang Du’s experience also showed that scholars’ composition was often restricted by the imperial examination, and Yang’s failure in the examination of 1898 was also a result of this. It is good that Yang Du had high expectations for himself. A diary entry of 1899 wrote, “Browsing my old writings, I find only some one hundred poems and less than twenty essays that can be published in a collection.”25 It could be seen that it was not uncommon for scholars at the time to “destroy works written at a young age.” “The beginning of writing articles” (kaibi) was considered an extremely serious thing. Xu Yishi mentioned how important it was to write an article in his childhood. One day, Xu’s “childish heart suddenly thought about writing,” so he cut the paper into several pamphlets, and tried it out with trepidation. This “daring and reckless” move caused others to look at him differently.26 In his “Autobiography at Forty,” Hu Shih mentioned that when he arrived in Shanghai in early 1904, he was placed in the lowest class because he “had never written an article.”27 From the perspective of the compilation of collections of scholars, whether it was the compiler’s own or other people’s collection, it was often a serious matter. Wang Kaiyun’s words on the publishing of his work is a typical case: “My book The Selected Poems of the Eight Dynasties was printed and published long ago, and the writing is far from satisfactory, so it is inadequate as a gift. It needs to be

 Wen Tingshi, “Diary of a Southern Tour,” August 26, 1893, in Wang Shuzi, ed., Wen Tingshi Collection, Vol. 2, p. 1142.  Wen Tingshi, “Diary of a Southern Tour,” September 6, 1893, in Wang Shuzi,ed., Wen Tingshi Collection, Vol. 2, p. 1147.  Beijing Archives, The Diary of Yang Du, October 15, 1897, Xinhua Publishing House, 2001, p. 63.  Beijing Archives, The Diary of Yang Du, October 17, 1897, p. 64.  Beijing Archives, The Diary of Yang Du, April 22, 1899, p. 133.  Xu Yishi, “Yishi Manuscripts,” based on Shen Yunlong, ed., Collectanea of Materials on Modern Chinese History Vol. 1, Wen Hai Press Company, 1966, “Preface,” p. 23.  Hu Shih, “Autobiography at Forty,” Collected Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 18, pp. 52–53.

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revised.”28 There was also such a “choice” in the compilation of Zou Boqi’s old manuscripts. The preface written by his younger brother Zou Zhongyong, in a few words, specified a lot of things that scholars in the past valued. Affected by the belief of “elaborating on existing theories instead of establishing one’s own,” there were not many writings in the first place, and publishing his works required funding. Therefore, the selection of what to publish was especially cautious. The famous scholar Chen Li selected some of his posthumous manuscripts and published them under the title of Zou Zhengjun’s Remaining Drafts.29 In fact, in the past, scholars engaged in writing mainly just to meet their own needs. Liu Dapeng wrote in a diary entry of 1919, “I have been editing books for decades, but the books I compiled are only for my own good, inadequate for other people to read.” There were nearly 20 works that he published.30 Except for some of the local literature that was published and engraved, it was part of personal works, which were only circulated among friends.31

The Influence of Eight-legged Essays To review the opinions of scholars in the late Qing Dynasty on the way of writing, the influence of the imperial examination could not be ignored. In the previous discussion of Zeng Guofan and Zhang Zhidong, both emphasized how “not to be misled by current writings,” which showed that such misleading was the most difficult to avoid. In fact, that scholars’ writings followed “the way of late kings” was a concrete manifestation of the influence of the imperial examination system on the writing style. The review of the shortcomings of the eight-legged essays also triggered thinking about how to write an essay. It could be said that the imperial examinations had a decisive influence on the standard of scholars’ writing. Hu Shih once said, “If the imperial examination is not abandoned . . . the dignity of ancient writing style will not fall.”32 The strict requirements on style in imperial examinations were also well known. In his analysis of the historical role of the eight-legged essays, Deng Yunxiang detailed

 Wang Kaiyun, “To Governor Liu” Letters, Vol. 4, Ma Jigao, ed., Xiangqilou Poems and Prose, Yuelu Publishing House, 1996, p. 950.  Zou Zhongyong, “Preface to Zou Zhengjun’s Remaining Drafts,” December, 1973, Zou Zhengjun’s Remaining Drafts (1872 edition), p. 1.  Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, January 20, 1919, Shanxi People’s Publishing House, 1990, p. 269.  Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, March 12, 1930, p. 406.  Hu Shih, “Chinese Literature in Fifty Years,” The Complete Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 2, p. 328.

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how taking only the “Four Books” as the scope of the imperial examination “is practical and convenient, and naturally can make Confucianism deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.” If the “Five Classics” were the scope of the imperial examination, not only would it be difficult for candidates to deal with it, but the examiners would also have difficulty grasping the scope of the questions.33 However, this form of examination, convenient for scholars and examiners, also derived the drawbacks of imprisoning knowledge. The criticisms of eight-legged essays in the past mostly pointed to this. The key point was that “speaking on behalf of the sages” led to “emulating the words of the sages thousands of years ago, even though thousands of year had passed” and keeping the language strictly “right and elegant.”34 As Yu Yue mentioned, “If one wants to leave some words to later generations, he would not need to write eight-legged essays; if one writes eight-legged essays, he . . . can only get a stepping stone for the imperial examination.”35 The result of keeping the imperial examinations linked to the classics was that candidates only read books useful for the examinations, nothing else. This also became the main reason for the abolition of stereotypes and the reform of policy theory in the late Qing Dynasty. Kang Youwei’s “Proposal to Abolish the Eight-legged Essays and Test People with Policy Essays Instead” pointed out the drawbacks of the old-style examination system, which were mainly reflected in the fact that there was no way to absorb new knowledge.36 In fact, a reform of the imperial examination system was imperative, mainly due to the impact of Western learning. The discussions on Chinese education among Westerners who came to China often focused on this. Judging from the text published in Wan Guo Gong Bao, revitalizing schools and adding knowledge of various subjects was the direction of reform of the imperial examination system. In 1881, Calvin W. Mateer suggested in “The Revitalization of Schools” the “important subjects of academics,” such as gezhi, chemistry, astronomy, and mathematics, “should be listed as subjects in school curricula, and tested together with other subjects.”37 Young John Allen’s “Theory of Professional Careers in China” written in the following year also stated  Deng Yunxiang, The Eight-legged Essays of the Qing Dynasty, Hebei Education Press, 2004, p. 195.  Shang Yanliu, A Review of the Imperial Examinations in the Qing Dynasty, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1958, p. 227.  Yu Yue, “To Son-in-law of Wang Kanghou,” Complete Works of Chunzai Hall (1883 edition), “Chunzai Hall Letters” Vol. III, pp. 5–6.  Kang Youwei, “Proposal to Abolish the Eight-legged Essays and Test People with Policy Essays Instead,” June 17, 1898, in Jiang Yihua and Zhang Ronghua eds., The Complete Works of Kang Youwei, Vol. 4, pp. 78–79.  Calvin W. Mateer, “On the Revitalization of Schools,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 653, Year 14, August 27, 1881, p. 23; Vol. 655, September 10, 1881, p. 38.

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that the crisis of today’s China was reflected in that “intellectuals and talents are constrained in their careers, righteousness, and tests.” The examination should cover “multiple subjects,” more like how it was done in Western countries, including astronomy, geography, gezhi, agriculture, shipping, science, law, chemistry, martial arts, and medicine.38 The plan formed by reforming the imperial examination was to solve this problem. The rise of newspapers had raised the question of how to spread knowledge and ideas, and forced thinking on words. The major shift that had taken place for scholars was to adjust their writing styles in response to new media. Writing is so important that such a change was also worthy of analysis.

II New Media and Changes in Expressions Knowledge dissemination promoted the emergence of new types of media and affected the transformation of expression methods, which was fully reflected in the communication between the two civilizations. Whether it was to promote doctrines or spread knowledge, those who came to China to assist the west and enter China were faced with how to fit the local reality, especially the target audience. The introduction of new media such as newspapers was partly in response to this demand. For scholars of the past, even if such a problem existed, it was not serious. Their writings aimed for the imperial examination had a specific target audience; other texts were meant to be valuable, and it is enough to have three or five confidants. However, after the emergence of newspaper media, it was necessary to consider the readers first, which also forced the problem of writing and gave birth to a major change in the way scholars wrote.

Spreading New Knowledge Revealed the Text Problem When Westerners came to China and brought with them Western learning, they encountered problems caused by writing. In a report submitted to the London Missionary Society in 1819, Robert Morrison introduced his translation work and mentioned the difficulties he encountered: “Chinese literati despised books written in colloquialism, or vernacular language. Books must be written in esoteric,

 Young John Allen, “The Theory of Professional Careers in China,” Vol. 704, Year 15, Wan Guo Gong Bao, September 2, 1882, pp. 28–29.

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noble and elegant ancient prose to be favored by intellectuals. Therefore, only a very small number of Chinese people can read such books.”39 The perplexity that Western people who came to China felt for the first time in getting to know China and conveying the problem of “words” was the biggest challenge facing missionary work in the country, and it was also the most basic problem facing the transmission of new knowledge and new ideas. James Legge’s translation of Graduated Reading: Comprising a Circle of Knowledge in 200 Lessons was published in Hong Kong in 1856 and used as a textbook for Yinghwa College, which reflected the efforts in this regard.40 This was roughly similar to the problems faced when starting a newspaper, and both needed to be addressed to a wide range of audiences; focusing on “writing” had also become an adjustment that had to be made. When scholars in the late Qing Dynasty tried to write newspaper articles, they would even think about this. Those who first published texts in newspapers should be regarded as a prioritized group such as Wang Tao and Zheng Guanying, but the difference between the texts published in the newspapers and usual compositions had not been given much consideration. With the emergence of a series of newspapers such as Current Affairs, this problem had become more and more prominent. Liang Qichao’s “On the Benefits of Newspapers for State Affairs” published in Current Affairs Vol. 1 specially commended Western newspapers, “I am afraid that the meaning of the text is too complicated and cannot be understood by everyone, so there are women’s newspapers and children’s newspapers.”41 This also revealed that the problems caused by newspapers were related to the positioning of the newspapers themselves. Regardless of the dispute, if a newspaper organizer established a public-oriented concept, he could not fail to consider how the ideas should be expressed. In fact, after newspapers appeared, they would quite often encounter the accusations that they were too difficult to read. Huang Qingcheng came across the Elementary Studies at Wang Kangnian’s home, and said it was “very good” and that “this newspaper will be no less popular [than] Current Affairs in the future.” For this

 Elizabeth A. Morrison, Memoirs of Morrison, p. 154.  For the publication and influence of Graduated Reading: Comprising a Circle of Knowledge in 200 Lessons, please refer to “The Footprints of Modern Enlightenment: East-West Cultural Exchanges and Language Contact, Study on Graduated Reading: Comprising a Circle of Knowledge in 200 Lessons”, in Shen Guowei and Keiichi Uchida, eds., Kansai University Publishing Department, 2002.  Liang Qichao, “On the Benefits of Newspapers for State Affairs,” Current Affairs, Vol. 1, August 9, 1896, p. 1.

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reason, he was also willing to take on the work of a sales agency for it.42 Unexpectedly, all parties still believed that the message was “too abstruse,” resulting in “sluggish sales.”43 Wang Xiuzhi said that Guowen Ribao and Guowen Compendium that he participated in were completely different due to textual issues, the former “sells 1,500 copies per day,” while the latter “is believed by most readers as too difficult to read. Each issue is only sold for five or six hundred copies, which is really a loss, so it has stopped printing and only Guowen Ribao would continue to be printed.”44 It was not difficult to see from this that when scholars intervened in the creation of newspapers, they also encountered the problem of how to choose the way of expression. News reporters often pursued the “understanding and understanding” of words. After Current Affairs was changed to “officially run” in 1898, Wang Kangnian also launched Chang Yan Bao. Wang Youling also suggested that “the theory published should be clear and easy to read.”45 Journal of the New World, which was founded in 1902, also stated that “the newspaper’s discussion should go only as far as its basic message is conveyed, and not [be] difficult and obscure.”46 Despite this, the problem had not really been resolved. Gao Fengqian pointed out the crux of the matter: “The prosperity of the European newspapers came gradually, not overnight. In China, about one out of ten people are literate, one out of a hundred people read books, and one out of a thousand read newspapers. A few years is thus far from enough to start the trend of reading newspapers. It is difficult to make choices for newspaper runners.”47 There were still many controversies about the literacy rate in the late Qing Dynasty.48 What Gao Fengqian referred to was what the scholars in the late Qing  Huang Qingcheng, “To Wang Kangnian” (2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2316.  Huang Qingcheng, “To Wang Yinian” (3), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2317.  Wang Xiuzhi, “To Wang Kangnian” (7), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 81.  Wang Youling, “To Wang Kangnian” (21), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 1090.  “Preface to Journal of the New World,” Journal of the New World No. 1 (Renyin No. 1), September 2, 1902, p. 4.  Gao Fengqian, “To Wang Kangnian” (9), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1623.  According to Luo Youzhi’s estimates, in China in the 18th and 19th centuries, about 30% to 45% of men had functional literacy (basic literacy), while only 2% to 10% women had the same. Evelyn Sakakida Rawski, Educational and Popular Literacy in Ch’ing China, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1979, p. 140. As for how to evaluate “literacy” and obtain quantitative information based on it, there is still some ambiguity. For criticism of this, please refer to Zhang

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dynasty really felt. It was against this background that the growth of vernacular newspapers had been promoted.

Development of Vernacular Newspapers The popularity of newspapers not only gave birth to style reforms, but also directly contributed to the development of vernacular newspapers. Analyzing the newspapers and magazines founded in that period, we can indeed notice that the practitioners’ considerations for this were often based on the function of opening up the people’s wisdom to think about newspapers. In terms of time, it was not too late to advocate the vernacular. According to Sun Yusheng, “the first vernacular newspaper was People’s Journal, which was published by Shen Bao Office.”49 People’s Journal mentioned here was a supplement inaugurated by Shen Bao on April 5, 1876, which was positioned as a newspaper for those “slightly literate.”50 The advertisement that “called on people to read People’s Journal” published in Shen Bao clearly stated that the newspaper was intended “originally not for the literati and elites, but for women and children and others who are only slightly literate.”51 It gradually became popular for scholars in the late Qing Dynasty to found vernacular newspapers after 1897. According to statistics, from 1897 to 1918, more than 170 kinds of newspapers and periodicals were published in the vernacular language, not including those using the vernacular language only partially; the figure was 111 in 1897–1911, and 59 in 1912–1918. In Beijing alone, 27 were published from 1912 to 1918.52 This statistical data is not complete. In some newspaper records and advertisements, the researcher compiled another 20 vernacular newspapers and periodicals published from 1900 to 1911, and stated that one could “continue to comb through newspapers in various places. You can definitely find

Pengyuan “Qing Dynasty Education and Mass Literacy,” Journal of the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, No. 9, July 1980, pp. 455–462.  Sun Yusheng, Old Stories in the Newspaper World, p. 12. This time has yet to be determined. According to Roswell Sessoms Britton, the newspapers founded by missionaries were the first to emphasize the use of vernacular language. See Roswell Sessoms Britton, The Chinese Periodical Press, p. 75.  Shen Bao Office, “New Newspaper for Recruitment and Sales,” Shen Bao, March 28, 1876, p. 1.  Shen Bao Office, “Advise to See People’s Journal,” Shen Bao, May 19, 1876, p. 2.  Cai Lesu, “One Hundred and Seventy Kinds of Vernacular Newspapers and Periodicals in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Early Republic of China Period,” Introduction to Periodicals During the Revolution of 1911, Vol. 5, pp. 493–538.

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more vernacular newspapers started before the May Fourth Movement.”53 Importantly, this had also triggered a lot of thinking about newspapers. In 1898, Qiu Tingliang published an article “On Vernacular Language as the Foundation of the Reform” which put forward the proposition that “writings in classical Chinese should be replaced by the vernacular language,” and pointed out that the reason why China “has her own language but is still so backward, Chinese people know how to read and write but still are treated as being unenlightened . . . that is exactly the harm of Chinese classical writings.” The article also displayed the manifestation of “the benefits of vernacular language” with eight proofs.54 In 1900, Chen Ronggun’s article “On the Shift of Newspapers to Simple Language” published in Learning New Knowledge also emphasized that “Chinese newspapers use classical Chinese more, and that is the reason why this newspaper is not widespread.” Furthermore, he pointed out that those who were stubborn and unwilling to adapt to classical Chinese want to always put “agriculture, industry, business, princes, women, and children” who did not understand classical Chinese into a position of being “ignorant” and “abandon their citizens.”55 This also revealed that the rise of vernacular newspapers was closely linked to the social transformation of the late Qing Dynasty. It was the need for social mobilization that led to the creation of newspapers for a wider audience, which should also be understood in the aforementioned appeal of “community.” In 1903, when Shanghai Wenming Book Company published “The World of Children,” it pointed out that the newspapers it founded before were not satisfactory: “The writing is expected to be short and easy, so that those with naive minds can reach the extremity of enlightenment; everyone has the right to think and has the qualifications of an ordinary citizen.”56 Therefore, the prevalence of vernacular newspapers was similar to that of newspapers aimed at children and women. Yanyi Baiha Bao (Popular Rendition Vernacular News), which was launched in Shanghai on November 7, 1897, wrote, “If the Chinese want to be angry and determined, and not suffer losses, they must pay attention to the overseas situation and the general trend of the world, and they must read the newspaper; To

 Li Hsiao-ti, “A Re-evaluation of Hu Shih and the Vernacular Movement, From the Vernacular in the Late Qing Dynasty,” The Enlightenment Movement of the Lower Class in the Late Qing Dynasty, 1901–1911, Appendix 1, pp. 254–255.  Qiu Tingliang, “On the Vernacular as the Foundation of the Reform,” Nos. 19 and 20 of Chinese Vernacular News, August 27, 1898, pp. 1–4.  Chen Ronggun, “On the Use of the Newspaper,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 111, January 11, 1900, p. 1.  “Advertisement,” World of Children No. 1, April 6, 1903, advertisement page.

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read the newspaper, you must start with the vernacular language.”57 Wuxi Vernacular News founded by Qiu Tingliang on May 11, 1898, even pointed out: “To enlighten the people, we must start from running more schools, or, as a last resort, start from reading the newspaper. For everyone to read the newspaper, it must be written in vernacular language.”58 Wuxi Vernacular News was also very careful in content arrangement. Qiu Yufang’s “Call to Read Vernacular Newspapers” provided an explanation: “This newspaper is dedicated to picking out all kinds of useful books, and all kinds of novel and beneficial things in the newspapers, together into the vernacular.”59 The vernacular interpretations were made for Record of China and West, The Law of All Nations, The New Law of Agronomy, Chemical Enlightenment, The Policy of Enriching the Country, The New Law of Raising People, The New History of the West, and other books. Public Law of All Nations was chosen because “foreign countries often talk about public law when negotiating with China, so Chinese people must know some public law.” This was how the book was introduced: “There is a book in the West called The Law of the Nations. The monarchs of all countries, regardless of wars, peacemaking, and fellowship with other countries, must act in accordance with the words of Law of the Nations in all matters.”60 There were many other newspapers that were involved in “deducting” knowledge. Hangzhou Vernacular News, which was launched in January 1901, produced “five kinds of self-made books” “four renditions from various newspapers,” and “five from various books” in one year.61 Suzhou Vernacular News launched in October 1901 also imitated Hangzhou Vernacular News and opened the column “Presentation,” which presented speeches in vernacular language.62 For example, “The Origin of Prosperity” and “Response to the Qing Policy” serialized in the newspaper were respectively interpreted from the translations of “Humble World in Aid of Governance” by John Fryer and Ying Zuxi and “Towards the Policy of the Qing Government” by Soada Shouichi.

 “Introduction to Vernacular News,” Vernacular News, No. 1, November 7, 1897, p. 1.  Qiu Tingliang, “Preface to Wuxi Vernacular News,” No. 1, Wuxi Vernacular News, May 11, 1898, p. 1. After four issues of the newspaper were published, it was changed to Chinese Vernacular News, and the fifth and sixth issues were published on June 19, 1898.  Qiu Yufang, “Call for Reading Vernacular Newspapers,” Wuxi Vernacular News, No. 1, May 11, 1898, p. 4.  Jinkui Baoshi Yongxiao Xiangfu rendered “The Law of the World,” Wuxi Vernacular News, No. 3, May 20, 1898, p. 1.  Jiangdong Xiongcilang, “General Discussion on the One Year of Our Newspaper,” Hangzhou Vernacular News, No. 33, Year 1, June 1902, pp. 1–4.  “Concise Regulations,” Suzhou Vernacular News, Vol. 1, October 21, 1901, “advertisement”.

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It can be said that discussions about the style of newspapers actually involved the considerations of the “reading public.” As far as the impact was reached, the vernacular newspapers that had emerged gradually had a clear audience. Qimeng Baihua Bao (Enlightenment Popular News), which was founded in 1902, stated that “this newspaper is a middle-aged person, with simple meaning and vernacular.”63 Even more extreme views were sometimes revealed. Lin Xie founded Chinese Vernacular News and stated, “Nowadays, this kind of monthly and daily newspapers are all for reading by scholars. Playing the piano for cattle is of no benefit.” Therefore, “the scholars in China now have nothing to hope. The hope is for our farmers, craftsmen, tradesmen, soldiers, and the teenagers. Children, elder brothers, girls.” Of course, the article should also have been written to them.64 The vernacular newspapers were welcomed in the Beijing-Tianjin area. Ta Kung Pao, which was first published in Tianjin on June 17, 1902, had such considerations from the beginning. In terms of positioning, it highlighted the inseparable relationship between how many newspapers there were, the wisdom and stupidity of the people, and the strength of the country.65 This pursuit was best reflected in the newspaper’s “Annex” version starting from No. 1, which “makes people with less art and science watch it” and used “speech style” more often. Beginning in 1904, Ta Kung Pao had also included a vernacular edition of What I Cherished Most every day with the newspaper to match the reading habits of the lower class.66 It is worth adding that while the vernacular newspapers were on the rise, the idea of “speech” had also become popular. Although the two had different forms, they had the same intention. The aforementioned article “On Newspapers Using Simple Language” had clarified that using simple talks as newspapers cannot solve the problem. It was necessary to cooperate with opening more primary schools and more speaking clubs.67 In 1904, The Vernacular News was edited and published by the Oratory Practice Meeting. The first issue of the “Speech Practice Meeting Guidelines” was published.68 In the same period, Qiu Jin’s “Benefits of Speeches” was also published, stating that “the knowledge of civilized people is  “Improved ‘Enlightenment Popular News’ Second Year New Advertisement,” Enlightenment Popular News, No. 19, Year 1, December 1902, “advertisement”.  Baihua Daoren (Lin Xie), “Opening Remarks of Chinese Vernacular News,” Chinese Vernacular News, No. 1, December 19, 1903, pp. 1–5.  “Imitating Times of the UK’s Regulations to Establish Official Newspapers in Various Provinces in order to Open the Way,” Ta Kung Pao, December 22, 1902, p. 2.  Ying Lianzhi, “Preface to Cherishing Things of Little Value,” Ta Kung Pao, April 16, 1904, p. 1.  Chen Ronggun, “On the Use of a the Newspaper,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 111, January 11, 1900, p. 3.  “Speech Practice Meeting Brief,” Vernacular News, No. 1, September 24, 1904, pp. 1–2.

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not necessary for speeches.”69 The articles published in this publication were not only in the vernacular, but also every sentence was separated by a space. The reason why speeches were worthy of being supplemented was that speeches had also played an important role in the dissemination of knowledge. In other words, although reading newspapers gradually constituted an important part of the growth of scholars, the impact of listening to speeches cannot be ignored. Sidney David Gamble’s “Social Survey in Beijing,” which he completed during his stay in China, noted, “Not long after the educational revolution began in 1902, Beijing opened many private lecture halls to spread some new thinking of educated people. The newspaper reading room attached to the lecture is also often open.”70 The 1918 survey on the public reading rooms in Beijing also stated that “most public reading rooms in Beijing were in culture centers, and there were nine set up by the Beijing Academic Affairs Bureau.”71 Such information was also worthy of attention. The influence mechanism formed by the New Culture Movement also included the link of speeches (to be detailed later). As Huang Yuanyong explained, the inner motivation of the vernacular movement in the late Qing Dynasty was to communicate between the upper and lower levels, and therefore advocated the use of “simple literature and art” as a tool for spreading “modern thoughts.”72 This also produced practical results. An article published in Ta Kung Pao stated that it received positive responses after adding a section of Mandarin, “Because its rationale is simple and easy to open up the knowledge of lower-class people, there are more and more people who report it accordingly.”73 An article in The Alarming Bell Daily in April 1904 combined the growth of the vernacular newspaper as “a testament to the development of the vernacular power and Chinese culture.”74 In fact, the requirements for the text of newspapers were not limited to this period. By the May Fourth period, a letter from the “Reader Forum” of The Eastern Miscellany still mentioned the language problem of the magazine, “Talking by

 Qiu Jin, “The Benefits of Speech,” The Vernacular News, No. 1, September 24, 1904, pp. 2–4.  Sidney David Gamble, Social Survey in Beijing, Chen Yubing and others, trans., Zhonghua Book Company, 2010, pp. 146–148.  “Archives of the State Council of the Beiyang Government,” Jingshi Public Reading Room, in Second Historical Archives of China, ed., Republic of China Archives Collection, Series 3, “Culture,” pp. 129–130.  Huang Yuanyong, “Communication·Interpretation·(Part One),” The Tiger, Vol. 1, No. 10, October 10, 1915, p. 2.  Ying Lianzhi, “Special Advertisement of Newspaper Office,” Ta Kung Pao, August 20, 1905, p. 1.  “On the Relationship between the Vernacular Newspaper and the Future of China,” The Alarming Bell Daily, April 25, 26, 1904, p. 1.

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yourself, writing by yourself, it’s not easy to express feelings. Magazines are for everyone to read, not just for the higher class, it should be popular but not partial. From this point of view, the articles in the magazine should strive to be simple and not esoteric.”75 This also showed that the newspaper as a carrier, from the day it appeared, had given readers a basic perception that it must be accepted by more people.

III Disputes over Newspaper Texts In the imperial era of China, writing was a symbol of status. After newspapers appeared, the writing style of scholars changed and promoted the change of writing. It was only one side of the problem. Accepting it or not was inevitable with many twists and turns, especially when working in newspapers. There were also all kinds of pressure from the outside world. When Bao Tianxiao first entered the newspaper industry, his father-in-law strongly opposed it, on the grounds that “being the chief writer of the newspaper (not known as a reporter before) is the one who secretly manipulates the right to life and death, and it hurts the most.”76 When Tao Juyin decided to work as a journalist, his father and uncle also tried their best to dissuade him, saying that “newspapers are investigating non-proprietary careers” and “it is appropriate to study.”77 Bao and Tao’s confusion in choosing a career was not an overwhelming concern. This profession was really not optimistic at that time, and there were even extreme opinions. Gu Hongming was very angry with the newspaper, and even linked to Emperor Qinshihuang’s “burning books and burying Confucian scholars alive”: “I thought that the books burned by Qinshihuang were the rotten newspapers today; the scholars that he pitted were the chief writer of today’s rotten newspapers. They had to be burned and pitted.”78 Even if he had committed himself to a newspaper office, it did not seem to be an ideal choice at the time. When Liang Qichao had the opportunity to work at the Hunan Current Affairs School, Huang Zunxian wrote to Wang Kangnian, hoping Wang would accept him. He believed that “working in a newspaper office

 Bi Li, “The Opinions I Asked for in this Record,” The Eastern Miscellany Vol. 17, No. 11, June 10, 1920, pp. 95–96.  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, p. 83.  Tao Juyin, “Thirty Years as a Journalist,” Zhonghua Book Company, 2005, p. 4.  Gu Hongming, “Rotten Newspaper,” Zhang Wenxiang’s Cabinet, Part II, 1910, p. 7.

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seems to be against his talents. The teachers of the school are role models in the world, and the relationship is particularly important.”79 From another perspective, even if scholars started and distributed vernacular newspapers, it did not mean that they had broken the barrier between the scholar-official class and the lower classes. Hu Shih later summarized the two unrelated scenes that took place, “One scene is the literati class trying to use ancient Chinese to meet the needs of a new era; the other is the sensible person among the literati wanting to create a kind of pinyin writing to educate those ‘hundreds of millions of ordinary people’.” Therefore, society was divided into two parts, one the “they” who should be written in vernacular, and the other the “us” who should be used in ancient prose and poems.80 Qian Jibo also analyzed the “style” that once dominated in this process, pointing out that Liang Qichao and Zhang Shizhao still “follow the style of classical Chinese,” and inevitably “The style may not really fit at some points.”81 Especially in Zhang’s logical literature, “a simple understanding is particularly difficult to understand.”82 In fact, scholars had had trouble accepting newspaper texts. The stories that happened to several scholars are quite to the point.

Strife between Yan Fu and Liang Qichao The argument between Yan Fu and Liang Qichao about this was worthy of analysis as a typical case. The twists and turns of the scholars in the late Qing dynasty when accepting newspaper writing were presented here. Researchers once compared Yan Fu and Liang Qichao to Darwin and Huxley, and believed that Liang was the one who promoted Enlightenment more vigorously.83 To a large extent this was caused by the difference between the two writing styles. The reason why Liang had a greater influence in a country that emphasized “the way of writing” was partly due to the strength of the article. Pi Xirui commented in his diary, “Liang’s writing is very smooth. If I was to write, I could never be so thorough.

 Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian” (34), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2360.  Hu Shih, “Chinese Literature in Fifty Years,” The Complete Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 2, p. 329.  Qian Jibo, History of Modern Chinese Literature, Yuelu Publishing House, 1986 photocopy, p. 482.  Ibid.  Xiumei Onogawa, A Study of Political Thought in the Late Qing Dynasty, Lin Mingde and Huang Fuqing, trans., Times Culture Publishing Company, 1982, p. 295.

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That is the difference in talent.”84 Li Xiaodan also said about Liang Qichao’s “General Discussion on Reforms” serialized in Current Affairs, “Master is a Confucian scholar, and the new student is a student.” Even the head of the Yuelu Academy, Wang Xianqian, “makes all the students buy and read this newspaper, saying that the gentleman of the time of worry is angry and writes it.”85 These all showed that “words” were the main support of Liang Cheng’s fame. After the inauguration of Current Affairs, Yan Fu wrote to Wang Kangnian and Liang Qichao, praising Current Affairs for “making the deaf hear and refreshing the mind.”86 However, Yan Fu insisted on the consideration of words, severely criticizing Liang Qichao’s words published in Current Affairs. In addition, the article “On Difficulty” published by Yan in Guowen Bao on August 5, 1898, also pointed out that “the articles in the newspaper are extremely difficult. Based on what I heard, I would like to tell the world to be calm and treat it with integrity.”87 In contrast, Liang Qichao had insight into the problems that must be faced after writing for the newspaper. After being criticized by Yan Fu, Liang also made an explanation. What this meant was that Liang Qichao, who had just embarked on the road of reporting, had no regrets about the words published in the newspapers. However, considering that “the newspapers are only talking about words, not writing, although there are mistakes, it is a waste of the original.” Liang also insisted on this view, that newspaper articles were nothing more than “speaking for the middle-class.”88 After the publication of New Citizen, by introducing Yan Fu’s translation of The Wealth of Nations, Liang Qichao criticized that Yan’s translation “puts too much emphasis on the words’ delicacy” because he deliberately imitated the style of the pre-Qin period, and except for those who read abundant ancient books, the others would find it “impossible to understand.” This would inevitably affect the spread of ideas.89 In this regard, Yan Fu also defended that

 Pi Xirui, Shifutang Diary, Vol. 2, November 29, 1897, pp. 484–485.  Li Xiaodan, Xinglu Notes, Yuelu Publishing House, 1983, p. 5.  Yan Fu, “Letter to Wang Kangnian and Liang Qichao,” September 24, 1896, Wang Shi ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu Vol. 3, p. 505.  Yan Fu, “On Difficulty,” Guowen Bao, August 6, 1898, pp. 1–2.  Liang Qichao, “Letter to Mr. Yan Youling,” Collected Writings from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio, Vol. 1, pp. 107–108. Interestingly, when Pi Xirui responded to Ye Dehui’s question in 1898, he also distinguished that the words published in newspapers were not “written” and “not enough to speak.” See Pi Xirui, “To Ye Dehui,” in An Answer to Pi Xiaolian from the Department of Ye Officials, “Attached Letters,” Su Yu’s Collection of Yijiao, Vol. 6, Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House, 2002, p. 172.  Liang Qichao, “Introduction of New Works: The Wealth of Nations,” New Citizen, No. 1, February 8, 1902, pp. 113–115.

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what he translated was “a book with profound academic principles” and “awaiting those who read more ancient Chinese books.”90 The influence of Liang Qichao’s speech during New Citizen period had reached its peak. Even so, Liang still had no confidence in his writing. In 1902, He Qing compiled a series of essays written by Liang Shunian as “Collected Writings from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio.” Liang Qichao wrote the preface to the book, and he sincerely said, “My generation is an essay, but it should be in accordance with the current situation, and what I say in my heart” is also “Only by the newspaper.”91 In his correspondence with Xu Fosu in 1906, Liang Qichao also distinguished between “the style of writing” and “newspaper writing,” and still regarded “newspaper writing” as a piece of writing that was difficult to preserve.92 This was not Liang’s personal view. In 1907, Ying Lianzhi compiled his own words into a book called Collection of Ye Shi. Ma Xiangbo wrote the preface to this book in order to distinguish it from “the article of the newspaper office,” and also pointed out the many drawbacks of “the article of the newspaper office,” affirming that “the Collection of Ye Shi was absolutely wrong.”93 It could be seen from this that in such a transitional period, the scholars still adhered to the dual standards for writing and still adhered to the dignity of the writings. In a sense, this was also the norm that was generally recognized at that time.

Newspaper Articles are the Best The debate between Yan Fu and Liang Qichao highlighted the choices faced by the scholars in the writing style of the late Qing Dynasty. The opportunity for the change was the popularity of newspapers and magazines. Tan Sitong was more positive in this regard. In his letter to Wang Kangnian, he stated, “In this world, the best thing we can do is to write articles and publish them on newspapers.”94 This also was the main idea of an article later published in Current Affairs. The article sparsely distinguished the style of the article, and also excluded those  Yan Fu, “Letter to Liang Qichao” (2), c. April and May 1902, in Wang Shi, ed., Collected Works of Yan Fu, Vol. 3, pp. 516–517.  Liang Qichao, “Preface to Collected Writings from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio,” in Ding Wenjiang, Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, pp. 293–294.  Liang Qichao, “Letter to Fosu My Brother,” March,1906, in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., A Long Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, p. 358.  Ma Xiangbo, “Preface to the Collection,” in Zhu Weizheng, ed., Collected Works of Ma Xiangbo, p. 69.  Tan Sitong, “To Wang Kangnian” (4), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (4), p. 3238.

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words that were “unsuitable for civilian[s],” and used the newspaper article as the “general cosmic article,” praising the world article as “newspaper articles are the best.”95 However, not all the newspaper articles received positive reactions. Yao Xiguang read Young John Allen’s translation and Cai Erkang’s “The End of the War in the Middle East” and pointed out “each piece is densely circled as a period essay usually does, it reads like a critique of a novel. The writing of it is typically the cliche of newspapers, and there is little to be worthy of.”96 Song Shu hesitated after being hired by the newspaper, which showed the entanglement of the scholars. As a result of the scholars’ previous views on “expounding one’s ideas in writing,” Song also had serious concerns about writing articles in newspapers when he was appointed as the chief writer of Zi Qiang Bao, and for this reason he also listed 24 “treaties.”97 At the same time, Song Shu could not but consider political factors. After Zi Qiang Bao changed its name to Statecraft Journal, Song Shu was hired by Statecraft Journal as the “author,” revealing all kinds of worries about this: “It has been long time for people in the Qing Dynasty not to have the right to express their ideas!” The key is, “ Are you still going to speak for Qing Dynasty? If so, your newspaper will be no luck [sic].”98 Yang Du’s acceptance of newspaper writing was also quite tortuous, and his diary during the Hundred Days’ Reform period reflected that he valued “Chinese characters” quite seriously. Since it was said that “people who can make foreign implements and write more than 200,000 words will be granted with official position,” he said in his diary, “Is there anything about westernization that can be talked about with as much as 200,000 words? . . . No need to repeat its uselessness.”99 After starting a publication in Japan, Yang Du couldn’t help thinking about writing. In Study Tour Compilation it was stated, “The translation of the same person is a compilation, and it will be used to support the elder and cultivate the children.” It was also emphasized that, “The language barrier is also a major reason for our country’s lack of evolution. The reason why the text of the

 Tan Sitong, “Newspaper Style Theory,” Current Affairs, Vols. 29 and 30, June 10 and 21, 1897; see also Cai Shangsi and Fang Xing, eds. The Complete Works of Tan Sitong, Vol. 2, retitled “Baozheng Zong Yuzhou Zhi Wenshuo,” pp. 375–377.  Yao Xiguang, Yao Xiguang’s Diary in Jiangsu and Hubei, May 22, 1896, Zhonghua Book Company, 2010, pp. 106–107.  Song Shu, “To Hu and Tong,” March 29, 1897, in Hu Zhusheng, ed., Collected Works of Song Shu Vol. 1, pp. 570–572.  Song Shu, “Account of the Beginning of Engagement in Statecraft Journal,” July 19, 1897, in Hu Zhusheng, ed., Collected Works of Song Shu, Vol. 1, p. 272.  Beijing Archives, ed., Diary of Yang Du, August 19, 1898, p. 104.

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novel is excellent is that it is close to the language and can arouse the spirit of the people.”100 The debates between Liang Qichao and Yan Fu surrounding newspaper writing, as well as the twists and turns experienced by Song Shu and Yang Du in accepting newspaper writing, constituted a very important resource for analyzing the acceptance of newspaper writing in the late Qing Dynasty. In contrast, the founders of the newspapers were more active in advancing at the text level. Learning New Knowledge published an advertisement in 1900, “The new style of the library this year, the text of the discussion should be simple and clear, and everyone can know it, so everyone can buy it.”101 Hubei Student Circle emphasized that “people who write characters are spreading my thoughts to people’s minds,” and scholars must do “what they learn today, tomorrow will pay for the people of all nations.”102 This also reminded us that the pursuit of vernacular newspapers was not an isolated act. The reason why the problem focused on words was the key to this composition affecting the dissemination of knowledge and opening up the wisdom of the people. Gao Fengqian’s article in 1908 specifically pointed out that the “emphasis is placed on the harm of words,” meaning “the one who regards words as important is not as good as our country; and those who know less about words are not as good as our country.”103 After entering the Republic of China, Liang Qichao, who had experienced hardships, became more confident about his role in the “speaking world,” confidently expressing the purpose of his propositions, and “draining the wisdom of the people, cultivating the people’s morals, promoting the people’s strength, and serving to cultivate the qualifications of citizens of a republic ruled by law,” which was “the first aspiration in the past eighteen years, and will be used for lifelong time.”104

 Yang Du, “Introduction to Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad,” Vol. 1, Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, Vol. 1, November 14, 1902, pp. 2, 18–19.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 112, February 14, 1900, p. 37.  Zhang Jixi, “Introduction,” Student Community of Hubei No. 1, January 29, 1903, pp. 7–8.  Gao Fengqian, “On the Harm of Emphasis on Text,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 5, No. 7, August 21, 1908, pp. 29–33.  Liang Qichao, “My Opinions on the Past and Future of the Speech Circles,” Natural Justice Vol. 1, No. 1, December 1, 1912, pp. 1–7.

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“There Can Be Good Works in Magazines” Writing for newspapers was only acceptable to some scholars at the beginning, and there was a lot of resistance. Zhang Ertian, who was well-known in the Qing dynasty, wrote angrily, “The servant has persistent words, true learning must not be found in schools, and true writings must not be found in magazines.”105 The defense of the “true knowledge” and “true writings” had also become a line of defense against the writing of newspapers, and had had a lasting impact. In 1922, The Eastern Miscellany published an article reviewing the progress of the Chinese old school in the first two decades of the twentieth century. It also criticized that “young scholars who read magazines” found it difficult to understand the “special old school.”106 The author regarded this as a “singular phenomenon,” just to show that academic influence was closely related to the carrier of expression. Besides, the emergence of newspapers also brought up the issue of neologisms. Gao Fengqian said, “Today’s neologisms are mostly translated, or simply use the idiom of our east neighbor. The ones whose meanings are unreasonable are innumerable.” He himself took a more open position, thinking that he should not give up food and abandon it because of choking: “Exchanges of civilizations and foreign things that are beneficial to our country should never be refused,” there was no need to “care about mere terms.”107 The “neologisms” mentioned here constituted a scene that deserved attention in the academic evolution of late Qing ideology. The popularity of neologisms was not only closely related to the dissemination of new knowledge, but also difficult to separate from the popularity of newspapers as a new medium. The acceptance of newspaper texts had become a problem, and it was conceivable that neologisms borrowed from Japan would cause a lot of controversy. Politics and Arts Magazine founded in Shanghai in February 1902 had such a background. Deng Shi pointed out, “Within a society, there must be one kind of language which is the essence of the society, and it is the root of the people’s spirit, so that it can be a self-reliant country.” Therefore, the spirit of founding a country was a treasure for those who considered the quintessence of the country.

 Xia Chengtao, “Tianfeng Pavilion Diary of Learning Ci,” The Collection of Xia Chengtao, Vol. 5, Zhejiang Ancient Books Publishing House, Zhejiang Education Publishing House, 1997, pp. 326–327.  Kang Fu, “Progress of Traditional Chinese Learning in the Last Twenty Years,” Vol. 19, No. 3, The Eastern Miscellany, February 10, 1922, pp. 33, 38.  Gao Fengqian, “On Preserving the Essence of the Chinese,” Journal of Education, No. 7, Year 1, August 10, 1909, pp. 547–548.

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To destroy the quintessence of the country was to destroy the country itself.108 Journal of Chinese Culture, which was founded in 1905, also stated, “What is written in this newspaper is purely Chinese style,” which clearly expressed its rejection of the popular “Japanese style.”109 Liu Shipei did not deny the trend of “from the text to the quality, from the depth to the superficial” presented in the development of writing, and even believed that “to promote books and newspapers with popular texts, all those who are literate in the world can have a home. Edited for the purpose of helping the people realize that this is the urgent task of modern China.” However, Liu Shipei also wondered “how can ancient Chinese words be abolished suddenly.”110 Correspondingly, Liu also clearly regarded the importation of Japanese literary styles into China as “the evil of Chinese literature.”111 Huang Jie even pointed out in Journal of the Chinese Quintessence that when Britain and Russia destroyed India and split Poland, they also “disrupted their language and literature first, and then their country was declining.” After the first Sino-Japanese war of 1894–1895, Japan’s influence gradually deepened, which inevitably made people worry, “Are our scholars in Japan instead of the West?”112 In the subsequent seminars organized by Zhang Taiyan and others, the salvation of “sinology” was also implemented in “language.” The text published in the name of the founder of the Chinese Studies Seminar pointed out, “The former vocational civil examination scholars did not dare to reject Chinese learning, but now the new scholars of the vocation dare to slander Chinese learning when it should be abolished.”113 In his letter to Qian Xuantong, Zhang Taiyan made a sharp criticism of the prevailing way of writing at the time, “Lin Shu and Liang Qichao are the chief culprits for the bad words (Yan Fu and Kang Youwei are not guilty yet).” According to Zhang, “Lin Zhu’s article is the style of Liang Qichao’s newspaper, but it can be used in novels and newspapers, and it cannot be used to write articles. Everyone knows this.” In particular, it also explained, “There are more novels than

 Deng Shi, “The Independent Book of Jiming Wind and Rain Building·Second Independence of Language and Writing,” Journal of Politics and the Arts, No. 24 of Guimao Year, January 17, 1904, p. 1.  “Exemplary Examples of the Journal of the Quintessence of China,” No. 1, Journal of the Quintessence of China, February 23, 1905, p. 1.  Liu Guanghan, “Miscellaneous Essays,” Journal of the Quintessence of China, No. 1, February 23, 1905, pp. 5–7.  Liu Shipei, “On the Changes of Modern Literature,” Journal of the Quintessence of China, No. 26, March 4, 1907, p. 4.  Yellow Jie, “Journal of the Quintessence of China,” Journal of the Quintessence of China, No. 1, 1905 February 23, p. 2.  Initiator of the Chinese Studies Seminar, “Preface to the Chinese Studies Seminar,” People’s Journal, No. 7, September 5, 1906, pp. 124–130.

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extraterrestrial depictions, and newspapers are happy with unexpected speeches. This is the most harmful to style.”114 In other places, he also specifically pointed out that Liang Qichao’s “literary revolution” was nothing more than “participating in the Japanese style,” which caused serious consequences.115

Schools Must Not Abandon Classical Chinese As mentioned earlier, the way of writing affected scholars no less than the imperial examination. The late Qing Dynasty’s “abolition of Chinese classical writings and reform of examination strategies” also influenced the change of writing style. Zhu Zhisan’s 1903 diary showed that styles such as New Citizen and The Soul of China were regarded as imperial examination tools by scholars, and “many of the papers that pass the imperial examinations at the provincial level imitated this style.”116 Wang Lifu also observed that New Citizen “marketed very widely” because “the imperial examination of the Qing court was not abolished at that time, and most of the students brought this book into the venue.”117 Not only would the new chapter of the imperial examination affect the style of writing, but the opening of a new school too. In this process, how to treat the article and newspaper text had also become an issue that the principals had to care about. In July 1898, Zhang Zhidong and Chen Baozhen’s “A New Chapter to Properly Discuss the Imperial Examinations” urged that in the reform of the imperial examination examinations, “the trivial language of the newspaper” should be “strictly suppressed and not allowed to enter.”118 At a time when the voice of opening schools was increasing, the Minister of Management Zhang Baixi was responsible for formulating the regulations of each school, and had asked Zhang Zhidong for advice many times. Zhang Zhidong specifically pointed out, “Chinese articles must

 Zhang Taiyan, “To Qian Xuantong,” October 20, 1910, in Ma Yong, ed., The Collection of Zhang Taiyan’s Letters, p. 118.  Zhang Taiyan, “Criticism on Political Parties,” originally in Guanghua Daily, October 26, 28, 31, 1911, in Tang Zhijun, ed., Zhang Taiyan Chronicles, Vol. 1, Zhonghua Book Company, 1979, p. 354.  Yan Changhong, ed., Diaries of Zhu Zhisan (1893–1919), December 10, 1902, p. 103.  Wang Lifu, “Contents of The China Discussion, New Citizen, The Tiger in my collection,” in Zhang Yu and Chen Shengjiang, eds., Wang Lifu Collection, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press, 2006, pp. 145–146.  Zhang Zhidong and Chen Baozhen, “A New Chapter of the Imperial Examinations,” in Wang Shuzi and Zhang Qiuhui, eds., Chen Baozhen Collection, Vol. I, p. 765; see also Yuan Shuyi et al., eds. The Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 2, pp. 1304–1310.

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be covered.”119 This position was highlighted by the “Zouding School Regulations” (Guimao School System) jointly formulated by Zhang Baixi, Rong Qing, and Zhang Zhidong. Promulgated on January 13, 1904, this regulation could be regarded as an epoch-making document. How to adhere to the principle of “Chinese and Western learning” made the school run a “correct trend” and strictly reject all “heresy and criticism,” which had also become the focus of the “Study Program Outline.” There were two contents in it, both of which were related to the way of the article. First, “schools must not discard Chinese diction in order to read ancient scriptures.” For this reason, it was required that “all provincial schools shall not discard this matter.” The second was to “Stop using foreign unnecessary nouns to preserve the Chinese language, so as to endure the spirit of scholars.” Emphasis was made like this: “As for narration and reasoning, China has its own generic terms, why pick up the wisdom of others?”120 This also showed that the problems caused by neologisms were quite prominent. “On the Input of New Languages” written by Wang Guowei in 1905 could be regarded as the most profound reflection on this, revealing that “there is the most famous phenomenon in literature in recent years, and the input of new languages is justified.” He pointed out that this phenomenon was a change in speech brought about by the acceptance of new knowledge: “The speaker is the representative of thought, so the input of new thought, that is, the meaning of new speech input.” Therefore, “present today and give lectures . . . There was already a tendency to add new words, and since people have created them, I will continue to use them, and the tendency is not convenient for this.”121

New Knowledge and Neologisms Wang Guowei’s analysis of “new terminology” revealed that this was truly vital to the spread of “new knowledge.” Westerners who came to China had a deep understanding of this. For this reason, Young John Allen also stated in 1904 that “neologisms must be written . . . In a country that has not been civilized, it is impossible to translate a book written by a civilized and educated country. With its own words and thoughts, it is too simple.” As for China, although Chinese culture “opened up

 Zhang Zhidong, “To Minister Zhang Yeqiu of Beijing,” January 30, 1902, Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., The Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 11, pp. 8743–8745.  Zhang Baixi, Rong Qing, Zhang Zhidong, “Proposal to Set School Regulations: Outline for Academic Affairs,” Hubei Academic Affairs Office, 1904, pp. 12–15.  Wang Guowei, “On the Input of New Academic Terminology,” Education World, No. 96, April 1905, pp. 1–5.

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the earliest . . . the translation still inevitably hinders people today.”122 This also constituted the basic reason for the birth of new Chinese words. The book New Er Ya published in 1903 listed such categories as Interpretations of Politics, Law, Mathematics, Education, Sociology, Taxonomy, Geometry, Astronomy, Geography, Science and Technology, Chemistry, Physiology, Zoology, and Botany. This also revealed that neologisms and concepts were often concentrated in new areas of knowledge.123 A pamphlet published by Shanghai Meihua Library in 1913 directly conveyed that neologisms were born from the introduction of new ideas.124 Liang Qichao provided an example of how to accept neologisms. Liang could be regarded as an important promoter of the popularity of neologisms. He once said, “I have used Japanese sentences to write articles, and the readers have been surprised and praised the novelty.”125 However, Liang regarded the emergence of neologisms as a progress that was difficult to stop, “Societal changes are becoming more and more frequent, and new phenomena and neologisms must rise, either from accumulation or from exchange.”126 To this end, Huang Zunxian also wrote to Liang Qichao, stating that after the publication of New Citizen, “all the forty or fifty newspapers in China in the past six months were fighting to help the public.”127 In this context, neologisms attracted a lot of attention. The introduction of neologisms based on the acceptance of new knowledge was not a problem for scholars who tended to be open-minded. However, those who originally questioned the new knowledge would inevitably find it difficult to accept neologisms. It could even be said that in China, which emphasized the art of writing, neologisms were often the best reason to reject new knowledge. Of course, resistance to neologisms did not express a single appeal. In addition to knowledge, it also contained political and cultural factors. Moreover, because the

 Young John Allen, Fan Yi, “Distinguishing and Confusing Neologisms,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 184, May 1904, pp. 23–24.  Wang Rongbao and Ye Lan, eds., New Erya, Mingquan Press, 1903, table of contents.  Ada Haven Mateer, New Term for New Ideas: A Study of the Chinese Newspaper, American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1913. Later researchers also took this view and used it as the title of the book. See Michael Lacker, Iwo Amelung, Joachim Kurtz, eds., Neologisms for New Ideas, Western Knowledge and Lexical Change in Late Imperial China, Brill, 2001. For the Chinese translation, see Lang Mixie, Ameron, and Gu Youxin, New Words and New Concepts, Western Learning Translation and the Changes of Chinese Vocabulary in the Late Qing Dynasty, Zhao Xingsheng at al., trans., Shandong Pictorial Publishing House, 2012.  Liang Qichao, “Travel in Hawaii,” Collected Writings from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio, Vol. 7, “Special Collection No. 22,” p. 190.  Liang Qichao, “New Citizen (10), On Progress,” New Citizen No. 10, June 20, 1902, p. 4.  “Letter from Shui Cangyan Red Mansion Master,” November 1902, New Citizen, No. 24, January 13, 1903, pp. 45–46.

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new term had a Japanese background, it had evolved into a scene that resists the “Oriental style.” Moreover, the complexity of the problem lay in the fact that although the emergence of neologisms may not be attributed to newspapers, it was clearly associated with newspapers in the perception of the times, so that the acceptance of neologisms was also related to newspapers. This acceptance of neologisms was entangled with the style of the newspaper. Chai E mentioned how this scene was unfolded, “For decades, my country’s articles have been influenced by Japanese style the most . . . After going to Japan to pursue further studies became more and more popular . . . Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad was translated according to the text, and Liang’s New Citizen is regarded as a secret book by the candidates, serving as a new language, and acting as the leader.”128 This specified that the main thrust of the new term was the newspaper text that appeared with the popularity of the newspaper. Wang Xianqian wrote to Hunan Governor Chen Baozhen in 1898. He also pointed the crux of the problem to the emergence of newspapers, and emphasized, “The existence of newspapers is irrelevant. This matter is difficult to profit regardless of whether it is public or private. The title of Hunan Gazette is particularly embarrassing. It is a pity to throw at public funds . . . Official commentary and public recitation, it is advisable to stop.”129 However, the “experimental policy theory” that Wang expected not only did not help the “differentiated body”; on the contrary, it accelerated the process. The reform of the imperial examination system affected the writers, and it was not inferior to the appearance of newspapers (to be detailed later). The most severely critical stance on neologisms was probably Peng Wenzu’s Neologisms for Blind People and Blind Horses, the title of the book which expressed its position on the neologisms. The book combined neologisms with new learning, and ridiculed the “new people.” After the first Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, the origin of the new term began to spread to many ears. These international students and the new figures (such as the great writer Liang Qichao) jointly built one of the great memorials. In the book, 59 examples of neologisms that were popular at the time were reviewed one by one, and it even warned that “The neologisms are extremely harmful, doing harm to the country and the people, and it is a sign that the country will perish.”130 The debate on neologisms was not limited to the late Qing dynasty, and continued to ferment in the Republic of China. The New Culture Movement took the  Chai E, “Neologisms,” Fantianlu Collection, Vol. 14, Zhonghua Book Company, 1926, Vol. 27, pp. 33–35.  Wang Xianqian, Xushoutang Letters, Wen Hai Press Company, 1971, pp. 1805–1806.  Peng Wenzu, Neologisms: Blind People and Blind Horse, Xiuguangshe, 1915, pp. 3–4.

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“literary revolution” as its precursor, and it also involved views on new styles and neologisms. Qian Xuantong’s previous questioning of new terminology pointed out, “Mr. Liang is actually one of the creators of new literature” and affirmed that he “imported Japanese new style literature, using neologisms and colloquialisms in the essay, and regarded the writing of drama, novels and essays as equal.”131 Hu Shih also affirmed that Liang Qichao “doesn’t avoid neologisms imported from Japan.” Therefore, “his articles are the most inconsistent with ‘ancient literary law’, but his application is also the most magical.”132 However, the new faction camp was not universally applauded; Liu Bannong expressed different views on Qian Xuantong’s opinions.133 This also affected later generations’ views on the new culture. An article published in The Eastern Miscellany in 1921 pointed out, “The new culture is not just picking up one or two new names, that is, it has been a mistake. The key lies in exploring the essence of the new culture and applying it to our reality.”134 Yang Yinhang’s article in Shen Bao also stated, “The customs of this world attach greatest importance to neologisms. Those who know the current affairs can use one or two such things.” He also pointed out that neologisms were also widely borrowed in politics: “Although the Republic of China cannot get rid of its old elements and become a new one, the terms and expressions it uses are always new every day.”135

“Feat of Writings” The appearance of newspapers had not only caused a change in style of writing, and re-evaluation of scholars’ articles had also become the proper meaning of the topic. What could be expected was that when it came to articles, it was inevitable that people had different opinions; each had its own “prejudices” and it was difficult to avoid them. The 1911 article titled “Feat of Writings” published in Guanghua Daily, based on the standpoint of “revolution,” conveyed this meaning: “Although the revolution emphasizes practice, not empty words, the theory is sufficient to produce

 Qian Xuantong, “To Chen Duxiu,” February 25, 1917, New Youth, Vol. 3 No. 1, March 1, 1917, p. 6.  Hu Shih, “Chinese Literature in Fifty Years,” The Complete Works of Hu Shih, Vol. 2, p. 286.  Liu Bannong, “My View on the Literary Reform,” New Youth, Vol. 3 No. 3, May 1, 1917, pp. 4–5.  Huixin, “Negative Optimism for the Future of the New Culture,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 18, No. 12, June 25, 1921, p. 3.  Lao Pu (Yang Yinhang), “Neologisms,” Shen Bao, June 26, 1922, p. 20.

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facts, the success to today’s revolution should also be attributed to texts.”136 In the early Republican period, writings that required a medal for Zhang Taiyan emphasized the role of words, in shaking “the theory of monarchical power,” saying that the merit “has to be attributed to the speeches over the past ten years” and “the backbone of speeches should be named Zhang Binglin.” Therefore, “Zhang Binglin’s achievements are extraordinary . . . comparable to that of Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing.”137 In contrast, Wu Qichang, who was admitted to the Institute of Chinese Studies, Tsinghua University, in 1925 and studied under Liang Qichao, dedicated praise to Liang Qichao, and specifically stated, in the 16 years from before the Hundred Days’ Reform to before the Xinhai Revolution (c. 1896–1910), “Mr. Liang was indeed a leader of public opinion, and a very talented writer . . . After these 16 years when Liang and others were highly active, the system and style of the new writing (or the newspaper style) were completely established. Many more people in the country had started to read, and I thus reaped the fruits of the success of the writing revolution across the nation.”138 It could be further noticed that the writings of scholars in the late Qing and the Republican eras were a transition. In this period, writings of scholars often concentrated in newspapers. Even if there was a university, there were no clear requirements for the publication of the results of faculty at the beginning. The carriers of expression in universities were mainly various journals. In 1918, Zhang Shenfu pointed out that “China has no old magazines, and they are not familiar with them, so they can rarely be used.”139 Later, Zhang Shenfu also listed the main texts that he wrote, including “newspapers and periodicals submitted from 1911 to 1948,” “books and pamphlets I published,” and “periods and magazines edited by myself.”140 From this list, it was not difficult to see how close the relationship between scholars and periodicals during the Republic of China was. The most influential “single-line books and pamphlets” produced during this period such as Collection Chen Duxiu and Collection of Hu Shih were often compiled from the text published in journals. Moreover, as far as universities were concerned, academic achievements seemed to be mainly reflected in the text published in journals or the creation of some publications.

 “Feat of Writing,” Guanghua Daily November 16, 1911, in Tang Zhijun, ed., Unabridged Zhang Taiyan Chronicles, Vol. 1, p. 361.  “Min Li Bao,” May 28, 1913, in Tang Zhijun, ed., Unabridged Zhang Taiyan Chronicles, Vol. 1, pp. 434–435.  Wu Qichang, “Liang Qichao,” Shengli Publishing House, 1944, p. 29.  Zhang Shenfu, “Call to Read Magazines,” New Youth, Vol. 5, No. 4, October 15, 1918, p. 433.  Zhang Shenfu, “Memories,” Collected Works of Zhang Shenfu, Vol. 3, Hebei People’s Publishing House, 2005, pp. 565–607.

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In fact, scholars would also think about how to publish after contacting newspapers. Wang Kangnian, who was in charge of newspapers, was constantly asked for help in this aspect. A letter he received asked him for help to get a deceased friend’s writings published in a newspaper. “I have sent the writing to The Eastern Times and Ta Kung Pao, but I still need your great help regarding the various newspapers in the capital.”141 To have one’s books recommended in newspapers was the desire of not only Yang Du, but also many scholars since the late Qing Dynasty.142

IV The Other Side of the Intelligentsia Since newspapers became popular in the late Qing dynasty, the writing style of Chinese scholars had undergone a revolutionary change compared to the past, and the main texts were published in newspapers. Liang Qichao’s sudden rise to fame can be partly attributed to “the beauty of language in his writing.” However, the “rush and hasty” style of the newspaper text cannot be avoided. Not only did its unique way of expression invite all kinds of doubts, it also affected the scrutiny of the right of public opinion. Therefore, finding an alternative path became the other side of the intelligentsia. Since newspapers often became spokespersons of social forces after they were published, the corresponding ware of newspapers observed by people at that time had also formed: Observe the victory and defeat of the war of newspapers, and one can see the rise and decline of various social forces. The newspaper industry in our country is still premature, but the newspapers of Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tianjin have been able to represent various social forces and fight against one another. In recent years, they have been fierce. This also shows the growth and decline of the old and new societies in our country.143

This reflected that the newspapers were competing for readers, highlighting their own ideas, and gradually showing distinctive characteristics for the style of writing. Liang Qichao made no secret of saying, “As long as the professional press recognizes a purpose, it is advisable to use extreme arguments for it, although it is a little bit radical and not a disease.”144 In this way, it was not just an exaggeration

 Unkown, Kang, “To Wang Kangnian,” Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (4), p. 3719.  Beijing Archives, ed., Diary of Yang Du, January 3, 1899, p. 120.  “The Debate between Newspapers,” The Alarming Bell Daily, March 16, 1904, p. 1.  Liang Qichao, “To My Peers in the Industry,” New Citizen, No. 17, October 2, 1902, pp. 1–7.

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to move the pen forward, it was also a yardstick that must be grasped by those who preside over public opinion. Undeniably, there was no lack of reflections on this. But all kinds of warning words cannot stop the fierce debate among scholars. This was exactly the consequence of the formation of the intelligentsia. By starting or writing articles in newspapers, scholars had gained a stage for public debate and encouraged those who were sharp and powerful to shine. This especially added to the “public” attribute of the intelligentsia. The key here was that the “public” and the “private” was indistinguishable, and this had triggered various reactions. The dispute between Zheng Xiaoxu and The Universal Gazette and The Eastern Times in 1907 was quite illustrative. The matter was caused by the fact that the two newspapers “had a major attack on Zheng Xiaoxu through the discussion of relief,” so Zheng wrote to Wang Yinian and Di Chuqing, who were presiding over the two newspapers, stating, “You have disagreements and you should discuss it through private letter. It is not appropriate to publish your quarrels in the newspaper and make the public judge the values of our generation.”145 The implication was that these disputes could be resolved by private letters, and there was no need to resort to announcement in the newspaper. It was also the interest of newspapers to use the media they controlled to dominate public opinion. Hu Sijing especially revealed the “modus operandi of gaining profits” of newspapers, “People fear officials and officials fear censors and the press.” He also stated that “people who are good eunuchs all have ties to the press.”146 From some examples, it was not difficult to find that the “swords go to the front” was already the norm in the intelligentsia, especially in a period of drastic change. Although it cannot be compared, the study of the French Revolution also clarified that “language is the key to uncovering the deviance of the French Revolution.”147

The Debate between New Citizen and People’s Journal The debate between New Citizen and People’s Journal showed the attitude of scholars in the late Qing Dynasty. Zhang Pengyuan summed up how the two sides

 Diary of Zheng Xiaoxu, Vol. 2, April 2, 1907, p. 1083.  Hu Sijing, “Guo Wen Bei Cheng,” in Rong Mengyuan and Zhang Bofeng, eds., Modern Barnyard Sea, No. 1, pp. 308–309.  Lynn Hunter, Politics, Culture and Class in the French Revolution, Wang Zhenzhu, trans., East China Normal University Press, 2011, pp. 31–33.

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used the newspapers they founded to fight: “It is tit-for-tat, the fortresses are high, like never before.”148 Both parties regarded this as the key to the right to speak. On the side of the revolutionaries, Sun Yat-sen made his righteous words in “A Letter to My Fellow Countrymen”: “Revolutionists and Conservatives are as divided as black and white and must not mix.”149 On the other side, Liang Qichao wrote to Kang Youwei, saying, “Today, our party’s fight with the government is secondary; the fight with the revolutionary party is the top priority. It is a fight of life or death.”150 The writings of both sides of the argument were not only full of gunpowder; essays were often in the name of the “public . . . to defend the world.” In 1903, Zhang Taiyan wrote an open letter to Kang Youwei, “Refuting Kang Youwei’s Theory of Revolution,” in response to Kang Youwei’s overseas statement that China could only make a constitutional reform, not a revolution. Kang spoke about how if “the world is bewitched,” then “how can my words contain nothing right?”151 After Zhang was released from prison and presided over People’s Journal in 1906, he started a decisive battle with New Citizen. Lou Sigao (Wang Kangnian’s nephew), who traveled to Japan, reported on his observations from time to time in letters to Wang Kangnian. One of them wrote, “In the fight between Sun and Kang, Sun is winning and Kang is losing . . . Those who followed Kang are leaving.”152 Of course, Liang Qichao’s pen was also sonorous and powerful. He believed that the other party just garbled a state “in order to deceive the ignorant.”153 Regarding this war of writings, Tao Juyin analyzed from the perspective of text in “Anecdotes of the Sea of Political Affairs” and affirmed that Liang Qichao was “excellent in literary talent, and he was a giant of debates at home and abroad,” “but readers enjoyed the beauty of his writing but despised the ugliness of its viewpoints.” Then People’s Journal came out, a blockbuster, and was engaged with all over China.154 Li Jiannong analyzed the reasons for the advantage

 Zhang Pengyuan, Liang Qichao and the Revolution of the Qing Dynasty, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, 1999, p. 152.  Sun Yat-sen, “A Letter to My Fellow Countrymen,” December 1903, The Complete Works of Sun Yat-sen, Vol. 1, p. 232.  Liang Qichao, “Letter to Master,” November 1906, in Ding Wenjiang and Zhao Fengtian, eds., Unabridged Chronicle of Liang Qichao, p. 373.  Zhang Taiyan, “Refuting Kang Youwei’s Theory of Revolution,” The Complete Works of Zhang Taiyan, Vol. 4, p. 173.  Lou Sigao, “To Wang Kangnian” (39), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (4), p. 3967.  Liang Qichao, “Miscellaneous Answer to a Newspaper,” New Citizen, No. 86, September 3, 1906, pp. 5, 24.  Tao Juyin, “An Old Story,” Anecdotes the Sea of Political Affairs, p. 7.

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of People’s Journal, “Liang Qichao’s writing is always emotional, but Wang Jingwei on the other side also writes with emotions . . . If Liang wants to quote Chinese classics. Zhang Binglin does that better.”155 Many people also expressed their worries about the situation at that time when the pen war went slanting forward, “Today’s people who are known as lofty ideals, Chen Yi fears that they will not be high, and stand up for fear that they will not be exciting, and those who are so confident, I must be in charge of China.”156 Sun Baoxuan sharply criticized the situation in his diary in 1908, “The public opinion today is one of the most unreliable things, and it is all made by the extremely shallow knowledge in society.”157 All of this showed that the ideological confrontation presented by the intelligentsia had intensified. Wang Guowei’s “On the Academia in Recent Years” had evaluated the ideological figures in the structure of the intelligentsia in the late Qing Dynasty. However, Wang also discussed the writing methods that contributed to the formation of the intelligentsia. He introspected deeply and focused on distinguishing the “academic” from “politics.” In his view, “For the development of academics, academics must be regarded as goals, not as means.” However, through Kang Youwei and others, it can be found that politics actually dominated academics. There was an inherent interest, but using it as a political means, “this academic career has to be attributed to the loser as well as its political attempt.” Regarding the negative results brought about by “various magazines one after another,” Wang Guowei also explained accordingly, “The writer is not a student of a happy event, but a desperate minister. These magazines do not know what the knowledge is. But it has a political purpose.”158 Wang Guowei’s review of the thought of the late Qing Dynasty touched on the evaluation of the intelligentsia that was forming. Although it focused on the distinction between academics and “politics,” it was not aimed at the intelligentsia. This scene of the intelligentsia had been encountered as soon as it was formed, which was undoubtedly intriguing. The reason was that the formation of the “thinking world” originally sought a broader stage for the “academic,” but it seemed that “academic” was sacrificed in the end, and both participants and bystanders subsequently returned to the “academic” voice. Therefore, the factors that had an important influence on the formation of the intelligentsia were also reflected in the transformation

 Li Jiannong, China’s Political History in the Past 100 Years, History and Geography Society of National Normal University, 1942, p. 141.  Initiator of the Chinese Studies Seminar, “Preface to the Chinese Studies Seminar,” People’s Journal, No. 7, September 5, 1906, p. 27.  Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 2, December 24, 1907, pp. 1132–1133.  Wang Guowei, “On the Academia in Recent Years,” Education World, No. 93, February 1905, pp. 1–6.

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of expression. Speaking of this, the formation of the intelligentsia in the late Qing Dynasty was manifested to the public by the intensification of ideological confrontations. In the past, scholarly critics were often very private, expressed in private text, and were discovered by later generations after some time. However, choosing a newspaper means a whole new way of expression. The author could clarify his views straightforwardly, and even in pursuit of the effect of expression, often upheld that “mistakes must be over-corrected.” Here, the openness of the intelligentsia was also reflected, and the tension between scholars had become increasingly prominent.

Magazine-mania and New Cultural Trends The popularity of newspapers during the Republic of China also showed that scholars used newspapers. Hu Shih’s “literary reform” proposal originated in the debate among friends during his stay in the United States. Perhaps it was difficult for those involved to convince each other, so he thought of the newspaper as a “touchstone.” In his letter to Chen Duxiu, Hu Shih stated that with regard to the literary reform proposal (the “eight principles”), “if it is uncovered, it may be valuable for discussion by people in the world. This issue was very relevant and should be outspoken. Discuss, right and wrong can only be determined.”159 This was the side of using newspapers to resolve disputes. However, using this to create public opinion was also inevitable. The most vivid scene of this was nothing more than the “Double Letter” published by “New Youth” to promote vernacular Chinese. After Hu and Chen’s proposition on the “literary revolution” was published, it did not arouse great repercussions at the beginning, so New Youth directed such a pair, and Qian Xuan and the pseudonym Wang Jingxuan wrote to the editor of New Youth, listing out reasons for opposing the literary revolution were then written by Liu Bannong, and he denounced those reasons,160 “therefore it was an overkill.” The subsequent publication of New Youth continued to show, and then Qian Xuantong published “The Issue of Chinese Characters in the Future,” sharply proposing to bring China to life: “The abolition of Confucianism and Taoism must be the fundamental solution; and the abolition of the Chinese language that records Confucianism and Taoist magic words is a fundamental solution.”161 Even the “New Youth” colleagues may not have agreed with such a proposition, but it could arouse repercussions and achieve the goal. Later Qian  Hu Shih, “To Chen Duxiu,” New Youth, Vol. 2, No. 2, October 1, 1916, p. 3.  “Responses to the Literary Revolution,” New Youth, Vol. 4 No. 3, March 15, 1918, pp. 265–285.  Qian Xuantong, “Chinese Characters in the Future,” New Youth, Vol. 4, No. 4, April 15, 1918, p. 345.

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also reflected on this. He mentioned in his letter to Zhou Zuoren: “Recently, I feel that if I take Wang Jingxuan’s attitude to curse people, however the advocated ideas are, I will not get rid of the vice of “saints”, so I am quite embarrassed to write an article.”162 People from different schools of thought wrote articles in newspapers, and both sides had difficulty controlling their tone, which inevitably raised a series of questions. Zhang Dongsun’s “Miscellaneous Commentary on The Renaissance” published in The Renaissance involved the issue of the style of The Renaissance. Fu Sinian responded immediately that he would not accept the label of a “cursor” put on by Zhang Dongsun: “For such unfounded accusations, please be careful about your own value.” Fu said unceremoniously, “Mr. Zhang is accustomed to confronting Peking University, and we are of course useless to him.”163 There were countless examples of this. Swordsmanship in words had become the norm. In addition, the public opinion environment was not so ideal. There were political factors behind all kinds of speeches, making the problem more complicated. Hu Shih reviewed the writing of newspapers. Because Qian Xuantong had a disagreement with Song Chunfang and Zhang Houzai, Hu pointed out in his letter to Qian, “We should not swear indiscriminately. It is really useless to abuse people. Song Jun, in any case, he is a new school figure.” He pointed out that this was also true for Zhang Houzai, “This person has also been poisoned by the daily newspaper writing and the juvenile pride, so I really want to save him and make him use it for our generation.”164 The reason why Hu Shih proposed to “study more questions and talk less about doctrines” was also to be wary of the newspaper text, trying to point out that “the great danger in the current public opinion circle is to lean toward the doctrines on paper.”165 In the letter to Liao Zhongkai, he also made it clear, “Recent magazines really do not have many articles that can really do research. This is a major shortcoming of the new thought movement.”166 All of the above could be attributed to the problems raised by the newspapers. In such disputes, the review of publications had also spawned. In 1916, Li  Qian Xuantong, “Letter to Zhou Zuoren,” September 25, 1920, Collected Works of Qian Xuantong, Vol. 6, China Renmin University Press, 2000, pp. 32–33.  Fu Sinian, “Reply to a Reporter from China Times,” The Renaissance, Vol. 1, No. 3, March 1, 1919, pp. 523–529.  Hu Shih, “To Qian Xuantong,” February 20, 1919, Selected Letters from Hu Shih, Vol. 1, pp. 24–25.  Hu Shih, “Study More Issues and Talk Less about ‘–Isms’,” Weekly Review, No. 31, July 20, 1919, p. 1.  Hu Shih et al., “A Study on the Existence of the Wellfield System”, Construction Vol. 2, No. 1, February 1, 1920, p. 1.

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Dazhao noticed that after Yuan Shikai’s death, Beijing’s political situation “gradually became a view of activity,” presenting two new scenes, “One, it was flooded by newspapers; the other was the concentration of gangsters.”167 In 1920, Chen Duxiu also pointed out, “Publications are one end of the cultural movement, not the whole of the cultural movement. Apart from publications, we are eager to do a lot of real undertakings. Why do [sic] everyone only take this path?”168 Considering the popularity of ideological publications at the beginning of the Republic of China, Chen could be regarded as the instigator, but now he blamed the scholars for being too fond of running magazines, which showed that facing the popular readers of magazines, they were also introspective. Luo Jialun also clearly pointed out that the fragmentation of learning and the bankruptcy of the intelligentsia were partly because everyone was keen to read magazine articles instead of systematically reading special works.169 Yun Daiying even linked “magazine madness” with “new cultural trend,” saying that “There are indeed some people who write essays because they want to show up, and read books because they want to write essays.”170 The above-mentioned criticisms had all revealed the shortcomings exposed after the magazine became popular.

Writings Should be Based on Truth, Not Emotions The criticism of the magazine also led to a review of the “style of writing.” In 1918, Du Yaquan wrote an article reviewing “the reasons for the fall in the power of speech,” and he talked about the issue of writing style, “When society is silent and lazy, it must be awakened by stimulation. The sensationalist of speech will revitalize the deaf. A sharp weapon.” However, “dangerous words can be tried temporarily but not commonly used.”171 Later, The Eastern Miscellany also published an article to remind the magazine industry that “they should be based on truth, not feelings.”172 When Zhang Xiruo read New Youth, The Renaissance, and  Li Dazhao, “New Phenomenon,” Morning Bell, September 4, 1916, In Li Dazhao Collected Works, Vol. 1, p. 211.  Chen Duxiu, “New Publication,” New Youth, Vol. 7, No. 2, January 1, 1920, pp. 153–154.  Luo Jialun, “The Success and Failure of our Student Movement in the Past Year and the Future Policy,” The Renaissance, Vol. 2, No. 4, May 1, 1920, pp. 859–860.  Yun Daiying, “How to Create a Young China? (Part 2),” Journal of the Young China Association, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 15, 1920, p. 8.  Gao Lao (Du Yaquan), “The Reasons for the Fall of the Power of Speech,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 15, No. 12, December 15, 1918, p. 3.  Jing Zang, “Post in the Magazine Circle in the Future,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 16, No. 7, July 15, 1919, pp. 6–7.

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Weekly Review in the United States, he was also quite touched. It was difficult to express whether he was happy or sad, agreed with or opposed to it. However, he was a radical theory of newspaper reporters, and “he likes to make an obliteration theory,” but he was not without criticism.173 Not only that, in order to achieve their goals, newspapers had even taken a step toward creating public opinion. The Eastern Miscellany stated in an article in 1919 that “our newspapers often produce electricity because of the lack of telegraphic manuscripts, and people who are afraid of the lack of telegraphic manuscripts lightly read it.”174 During the period when Hu Shih presided over The Endeavor newspaper, he also mentioned the “means of fabricating news” in the press. For this reason, he also analyzed it from the perspective of historical research, emphasizing that people who study history had a problem with “documentary evidence . . . now China’s news manufacturers actually produce ‘documentary evidence’; as soon as this trend began, the credit of the newspaper was completely lost, and readers cannot be trusted today, and there will be no historical reference value in the future!”175 Liang Qichao, Yan Fu, and others, who used to be in the newspaper industry of the late Qing Dynasty, had expressed similar opinions in this regard during the period of the Republic of China. Liang Qichao’s Introduction to Qing Dynasty Academics completed in 1920 talked more about this. The book commented on Kang Youwei, who believed that his theory was not indisputable, and the key lay in “the one who is incomprehensible for things, and what was done must be held.” He not only criticized his teachers, but also deeply introspected himself, “The intelligentsia of the late Qing dynasty were crude and shallow, Qichao should not be blamed for this.”176 Yan Fu also had an angry remark of not reading newspapers. Xiong Chunru asked him to recommend a readable newspaper, and Yan said in his letter, “I don’t know who is right when I choose a newspaper.” The implication was that he did not know which newspaper was worth reading.177 This also shows that after a brief period of excitement, scholars have gradually realized the negative effects of newspapers. Regaining academic ideals can be regarded as adjustments made by scholars. In fact, at the time when the newspapers

 Zhang Xiruo, “To Hu Shih,” March 13, 1919, Selected Letters from Hu Shih, Vol. 1, pp. 30–31.  Wang Zhang, “A Word for Today’s Press,” Vol. 16, No. 5, The Eastern Miscellany, May 15, 1919, p. 11.  Q (Hu Shih), “This Week,” The Endeavor, No. 21, September 24, 1922, p. 1.  Liang Qichao, “An Introduction to Qing Dynasty Academics,” in Zhu Weizheng Annotated “Liang Qichao’s Discussion on the Two Kinds of Qing Academics History,” pp. 64, 73–74.  Yan Fu, “Letter to Xiong Chunru,” about 1915, in Wang Shi, ed., Collection of Yan Fu, Vol. 3, p. 624.

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became popular in the early Republican period, all sorts of speeches of bankruptcy had been heard. In 1918, Du Yaquan pointed out, “Since the restructuring of the state system, the freedom of speech has been contained in the conventions, and newspapers have been numerous, and the power of speech should be increased. However, the degree of fear of the Chinese people’s beliefs is more difficult to change than in the past.”178 In 1920, Shiji Xinbao published a book from readers in Tokyo. On the one hand, it was to advise the publishing industry not to commit crimes, and on the other hand, it was to tell ordinary readers not to be deceived. The author couldn’t help sighing, “I was in Tokyo, and I saw the situation in their publishing industry. Looking back and looking at the publishing industry in my own country, it made me unable to cry and laugh.” In short, the current speech industry was getting worse.179

 Gao Lao (Du Yaquan), “The Reasons for the Fall of the Power of Speech,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 15, No. 12, December 15, 1918, pp. 1–2.  Ruishu, “To the Publishing Circle,” Xuedeng – Supplement of Current Affairs News, April 4, 1920, No. 4.

Chapter Eight Reading Newspapers: “Ladder of Social Mobility” for Scholars As far as the intelligentsia reviewed in this book is concerned, the reading part is also worth paying attention to. It is precisely because of the emergence of newspapers that the “reading habit” is different from the past, that the intelligentsia is associated with more people; without the “reading public” it is difficult to form the intelligentsia.1 And paying attention to the reading part has also made the study of books a significant breakthrough when compared to the past.2 What’s more, to examine the “reading world” in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period, it is also necessary to grasp the “rhythm” and host displayed in it. The former implies a different pace in the dissemination of knowledge, while the latter indicates that, apart from books, newspapers also play an important role. It is important to note that there is also a unique medium for the presentation of the “reading world.” Before “publishing” has become the usual form of readers, that is, under the circumstance that newspapers are not so common, “reading” is mainly completed in diaries, so it is necessary to grasp the color of the “reading world” by this. Such reading may only be a fragmented case data, but it is difficult to reconstruct the reading history of books and periodicals without it. To rebuild the reading world during the late Qing and the Republic of China era, we should not only pay attention to the situation of newspapers being read, but also research about what kind of influence mechanism has been produced. As Habermas emphasized, “The press develops in the midst of public criticism, but it is only an extension of public discussion, and always a mechanism for the public, its function is that of a microphone and a megaphone, not just . . . the car-

 Wang Fansen noticed the formation of the “reading public” and pointed out that the New Culture Movement has cultivated a new “reading mass”. In order to win these new readers, the publishing industry with profit considerations has changed accordingly. Wang Fansen, “Ideological Trends and Social Conditions-Two Examples in the New Culture Movement,” Yu Ying-shih et al., Neither Renaissance nor Enlightenment: A Historian’s Reflection on the May Fourth Movement, p. 93.  Issues involving reading and impact are not easy to determine. Darnton sees this as a “typical historical problem” and points out that looking at these problems from the perspective of the publisher may only make the problem seem “not so abstract, but more practical.” See Robert Darnton, The literary underground of the Old Regime, Liu Jun, trans., China Renmin University Press, 2012, “Foreword,” p. 3. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-009

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rier of information.”3 Here, reading newspapers is regarded as a ladder for scholars to promote, and it is hoped that the impact of newspapers on scholars is farreaching. In a certain sense, it can even be compared to the role played by imperial examinations, which constitutes the key to the connection between individuals and society.

I Cultivation of the “Reading Public,” Interaction between the Upper and the Lower Classes The problem also stems from the “ideological map” created by newspapers. As mentioned in the introduction of this book, jingbao, dibao, gongmenchao, yuanmenchao, and other forms of communication about political affairs constituted the main channels of information dissemination in the imperial era. Since the late Qing Dynasty, the emergence of various new styles of newspapers quickly created a new “ideological map.” The problem here is, what about the reading of newspapers? As far as the formation of public opinion was concerned, the reading public was also indispensable. Newspapers in particular faced the problem of how to win the public. Therefore, to pay attention to reading, we must first consider how ordinary readers could obtain newspapers and why they could read newspapers. It is undeniable that the acceptance of newspapers in the late Qing dynasty was quite tortuous. It is necessary to start with the official and scholars’ positions on this issue, and to focus on the interaction between the higher class of the society and the lower one.

Government Advocacy for Newspaper Reading In the late Qing dynasty, scholars and even officials raised the establishment of newspapers to a height that symbolized the strength of the country and the rise and fall of civilization, and they also worked hard to promote the work of reading newspapers. The acceptance of newspapers in the late Qing dynasty was not going smoothly. The work of promoting newspaper reading was particularly difficult. It was by no means dependent on the propaganda of the newspaper organizers to implement it. To put this into practice, apart from propaganda, it was important to spread the newspaper to a wider area and to more people. Without specific measures, it would be difficult to achieve results.

 Habermas, Structural Transformation in the Public Sphere, p. 220.

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It should be admitted that under the trend of “self-reform” in the late Qing Dynasty, the government did take many measures to promote newspaper reading. Zhang Zhidong was one of the representatives. He not only actively promoted the establishment of Current Affairs, but also ordered the provincial government to sell the newspaper. The two provinces under his jurisdiction, Hubei and Hunan, had become the two largest sales provinces besides Shanghai. This was not accidental. Zhang Zhidong supported the newspapers founded during this period in the same way. It also particularly reminded that the former “should be sent to the students of the academy for reading” and the latter “should be sent to officials and businessmen for reading.”4 And from Hunan’s experience, we can also see that the local government had also vigorously promoted the “reading of newspapers.” After Hunan Vernacular News was founded in 1903, local officials also clearly instructed, “All counties and groups have their own public funds, and each group should order a volume. The cost is not much, and the effect is very great. It is urgent to carry out this plan.”5 An article published later described how the newspaper sold well.6 Of course, the creation and distribution of newspapers were inherently differentiate with being centered and being marginal. It was a common phenomenon for major newspapers to set up newspaper sales offices across the country. It was only the newspapers that could be contacted in various regions. It was difficult to have a comprehensive estimation of the situation. Only some sporadic information can be grasped. Su News mentioned “the current situation of the development of Jiangxi newspaper industry” in 1903. The result of the investigation showed the number of reimbursements in Jiangxi as the following: New Citizen 250 copies (an increase of one third from the previous year), New Fiction 40 copies (for subscribers above the number of sales of New Citizen), Compiled Translations 120 copies, Tide of Zhejiang 80 copies, Student Community of Hubei 30 copies, Translations by Overseas Students 50 copies, Female Journal 40 copies, Su News 200 copies (an increase of three quarters compared with the previous year), The Universal Gazette 280 copies, and The News 70 copies.7 The Table of “Newspaper Sales in Hangzhou” published in the third issue of Tide of Zhejiang provided the number of newspapers issued in Hangzhou and their main sales offices,8 of which Table 8.1 shows the details.

 Zhang Zhidong, “Call for People in Hubei to Buy and Read Hunan Gazette and Journal Agriculture,” July 10, 1897, in Yuan Shuyi et al., eds., The Complete Works of Zhang Zhidong, Vol. 5, p. 3493.  “Liling Zhang Daling Calls for the Township Group to Read Newspapers,” Hunan Public Speech, No. 6, July 1903, p 2.  Chu Nengzi, “Best-selling Newspaper,” Hunan Vernacular News, No. 8, August, 1903, p. 2.  “The Status Quo of the Newspaper Circle in Jiangxi,” Su News, May 30, 1903, pp. 1–2.  “Hangzhou Newspaper Sales,” Tide of Zhejiang, No. 3, April 17, 1903, pp. 1–2.

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Table 8.1: Hangzhou newspapers sales. Newspaper

Sales

Buyers

The Universal Gazette

About 

Officials, businessmen, schools, residents

Su News

About 

Mostly schools

The News

About –

Officials, businessmen, schools, and residents

Shen Bao

Over 

Mostly officials and businessmen

Hangzhou Vernacular News

 to 

Mostly residents

New Citizen

About 

Mostly students

Translations by Overseas Students (later renamed Journal of Political Science and Law)

About 

Mostly students

Source: “Hangzhou Newspapers Sales,” Tide of Zhejiang, No. 3, April 17, 1903, pp. 1–2.

The Alarming Bell Daily also published a survey in 1904, pointing out that “The atmosphere in one of the districts in Hubei Province has been very different since the Hundred Days’ Reform, and the merchants all attached great importance to reading newspapers.”9 For details, see Table 8.2. The second chapter of this book has briefly introduced the “ideological map” constructed by newspapers, which roughly explains the establishment of newspapers in various regions. It can be added that the issuance of newspapers also constitutes a “ideological map.” The newspapers discussed earlier, such as Shen Bao and Current Affairs, had been sold nationwide. Taking Shen Bao as an example, initially it was only sold in Shanghai’s main port, and later distribution offices were set up in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Nanjing, Yangzhou, and other places. By February 1881, the distribution offices in other cities had increased to as many as 17, including Beijing, Tianjin, and other places. The number of copies sold per day had also increased from about 600 to about 2,000; by 1887, another 15 distribution offices were added, bringing the total to 32. By 1907, Shen Bao had set up distribution offices in Guilin in the southwest, Harbin in the northeast, Vladivostok occupied by Russia, and foreign countries such as Japan, Britain, France,

 “Wuhan Newspaper Sales Survey,” The Alarming Bell Daily, December 1, 1904, p. 4.

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Table 8.2: Sales of newspapers and magazines in Wuhan. Newspaper The Universal Gazette Shen Bao The News Tung Wen Hu Pao The Eastern Times The Alarming Bell Daily Hankou Daily Wuhan Tabloid Diplomatic News Politics and Arts Magazine Tide of Zhejiang Jiangsu Journal of Political Science and Law Voice of Hankou The Eastern Miscellany Chinese Vernacular News Anhui Vernacular News New Vernacular New Fiction New Citizen New New Fiction

Sales                     

Buyers Officials, businessmen, and schools Same as above Same as above Same as above Same as above New academic circles Officials, businessmen Same as above Same as above Schools New academic circles Same as above Same as above Same as above Officials, businessmen, and new scholars Schools Same as above Same as above New scholars Same as above Schools

Source: “Newspaper Sales in Wuhan,” The Alarming Bell Daily, December 1, 1904, p.4.

and others. The number of sales per day had increased from 7,000 to 8,000 in 1897. The increase amounted to more than ten thousand copies.10 After Wan Guo Gong Bao took over Christian Literature Society for China, how to realize the “the widespread of Wan Guo Gong Bao” was its top priority.11 To add more contents that would interest officials and consciously spread the newspapers among scholars was the direction they were trying to take. In 1889, 1,200 copies of Wan Guo Gong Bao were distributed to scholars who took part in imperial examinations in Hangzhou, Nanjing, Jinan, and Beijing.12 In 1894, “an additional 5,000 copies of Wan Guo Gong Bao were printed and distributed among  Xu Zaiping and Xu Ruifang, eds., Historical Materials on the Application for the Forty Years of the Late Qing Dynasty, p. 73. The sales and price of Shen Bao, including the general situation of distribution in various regions, can be found in Li Songsheng’s The History of this Newspaper, the third part of Recent Fifty Years—The 50th Anniversary Commemorative Journal of Shen Bao compiled by Shen Bao. p. 31.  “Widespread Gazette” (selected from Guang Bao), Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 6, July 1889, p. 14.  “Annual Report of Tongwenhui” (No. 2), Publishing Historical Materials, No. 2, 1988, p. 28.

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the candidates.”13 Such efforts had good results. According to Annual Report of the Christian Literature Society for China (No. 12), by 1899 the number of sales offices had increased to 35.14 Relying on the distribution channels of the church system, Wan Guo Gong Bao had also traveled across the oceans, “to the overseas continents of Europe, the United States, and Australia.”15 In 1901, Young John Allen went to the United States via Honolulu, and found Chinese living here, “often reading Yu and other new books and the co-authored Wan Guo Gong Bao.”16 The “knowing your name without meeting in person” was undoubtedly quite gratifying to the newspaper staff members. According to the 1906 Annual Report of the Christian Literature Society for China, “Wan Guo Gong Bao had sold 369,000 copies in the previous nine years.”17 It could also be seen that from 1897 to 1905, the annual sales volume was about 40,000 copies. Although the number may not be astonishing, it should be considered that the relationship between newspapers and readers was not a simple one-to-one correspondence. The Annual Report of the Christian Literature Society for China introduced the situation of scholars circulating Wan Guo Gong Bao, “Several gentry in a city in Zhejiang . . . subscribe to six or seven copies of Wan Guo Gong Bao every month, and circulate it among some officials and scholars in this city in turn.”18 In addition to ordinary scholars, there were many high-ranking celebrities. “The Annual Report of the Tongshuhui” (No. 2) recorded, The British Consul in Guangzhou learned in a conversation with Zhang Zhidong’s staff that the staff and his friends were “subscribers to this magazine” and “the Governor himself occasionally reads this magazine.”19 The fourth annual report also revealed that Wan Guo Gong Bao was frequently subscribed to by the Prime Minister’s office, and Prince Chun often read it during his lifetime, and senior officials would often express their opinions on the issues discussed in the publication.20 Hankou Renji

 “Annual Report of Tongwenhui” (No. 7,1894), Publishing Historical Materials, 1899, No. 3 and No. 4, p. 78.  “Christian Literature Society for China Annual Report” (No. 12), Publishing Historical Materials, 1992, No. 2, pp. 105–106.  Wan Guo Gong Bao, “Please Advertize,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, No. 100, May 1897, p. 33.  Oral by Young John Allen, “New Record of Three Circles Around the Earth” by Cai Erkang, Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 155, December 1901, p. 1.  “Report of the Annual Meeting of the Christian Literature Society for China,” Ji Lifei, trans., Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 206, March 1906, p. 28.  “Christian Literature Society for China Annual Report” No. 10th (1897), Publishing Historical Materials, 1991, No. 2, pp. 79–81.  “Annual Report of Tongwenhui” (No. 2), Publishing Historical Materials, 1988, No. 2, p. 29.  “Annual Report of Tongwenhui” (No. 4), Publishing Historical Materials, 1988 No. 3 and No. 4 joint issue, p. 65.

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Hospital’s “Release of Wan Guo Gong Bao” also specifically stated, “The hospital receives Wan Guo Gong Bao from Shanghai Pastor Young John Allen every week . . . In addition to church pastors, priests, and members of the faith, the buyers, from the governor to the driver and merchants, are all vying to see first.”21 At first, it may have been mostly church members, but then the proportion of other scholars had increased significantly. Let’s take a look at the distribution of newspapers founded by Chinese scholars. As mentioned earlier, there were about 202 “local distribution offices” established by Current Affairs. It should be said that Current Affairs had been quite successful in sales. “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office” in its thirty-ninth volume, stated, “Thanks to the reward from the government and the help from comrades, the circulation has already amounted to 12,000 copies.”22 The fifty-ninth volume published in 1898 also stated, “For all the monarchs in European countries, Southeastern Islands, Japan, etc., who wish the museum to send their reports, please sent [sic] us the money needed. Once received we will sent [sic] out the reports without any delay.”23 The publication of Current Affairs, which had received a lot of support from the government, may not be of typical significance. Newspapers founded during this period often used various methods to expand the scope of distribution, and the locations they depended on were roughly the same. With regard to Chongqing, located in the southwest, as an example, Chongqing Journal, founded in 1897, established representative offices in 19 prefectures and counties in the province and in 36 regions of 17 provinces across the country, with a maximum of 52 representative offices outside the province. The newspaper also assumed the responsibility of selling for other newspapers, such as Current Affairs and Wan Guo Gong Bao. Guang Yi Cong Bao, which was founded in 1903, had nearly 40 representative offices in and outside the province before the hundredth volume. By the time the one hundred and eighty-sixth volume was issued, the number of representative offices had increased to 74, and the number of other newspapers it represented had increased toa dozen.24 Chengdu General Guide published in 1909 also introduced the establishment and distribution of  “Reseller of Wang Guo Gong Bao Revelation,” Wang Guo Gong Bao, No. 8, Vol. 396, July 15, 1876, p. 29.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper Office,” Vol. 39, September 17, 1897, “Advertisements,” p. 1. A list of newspaper distribution offices in various places, the number of copies they sent out and the amount of subscription fees they collected is provided in the List of Newspaper Distribution and Fee Collection published in the same issue.  “The Newspaper Office’s Collective Statement,” Current Affairs, Vol. 59, May 1, 1898, “Advertisements,” p. 1. Based on this, the researcher also sorted out the issuance of the newspaper. Liao Mei, Wang Kangnian, From Civil Rights Theory to Cultural Conservatism, p. 77.  Jiang Xiaoli, “Journalism in Chongqing and the Modernization of the City,” in Kui Yingtao, ed., Chongqing Urban Studies, Sichuan University Press, 1989, pp. 291 and 293.

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newspapers in Chengdu in the late Qing Dynasty. It specifically listed Chengdu reading rooms and the newspapers available, and explained the information provided by the Reading Newspaper Commune. What are the specific newspapers?25 The ideological map displayed by newspaper publications did not fully reflect the reading situation. Neither the sales offices nor the distribution agencies could cover the issue of circulation. It was very common to deliver newspapers by mail or piggyback. It was also difficult to estimate to how many people a newspaper would circulate. The key point was that reading was not done by buying books and newspapers. Zhang Jinglu recalled his life as an apprentice in Shanghai in the early years of the Republic of China. He said that in order to adjust the boring and hard life, “the only comfort is to read the “‘small book’.” This had to rely on booksellers who specialized in renting and selling: “Only three or four coppers would be able to get you books to read and enjoy.”26 Reading newspapers through the newspaper reading office was even more common.

Establishing Reading Rooms To promote the development of reading activities, apart from publishing, it was also necessary to solve the problem of venues, especially for new-style newspapers. Introductions and expositions around public reading places had also become the focus of this period. Peking Magazine published an article in 1874 stating “There are big academies in capitals and big cities of Western countries with tens of thousands of books stored for those who have interests to do research.”27 That year, Wan Guo Gong Bao also detailed that “countries in the West have established big academies for the purpose of cultivating talents. There are various kinds of books are displayed there, and people are allowed to enter to read.”28 Ernst Faber’s From the West to the East not only explained that “intellectuals in the west who are rich and elegant would search for good books carefully and widely, and send them to the library and museum for reference” but also emphasized that this move could make “all citizens, no matter poor or rich, have the access to observe and inspect.” For this reason, he also made suggestions to China to “follow up such examples in the west countries in the provincial capitals.”29

 Fu Chongju ed., Chengdu Overview, Vol. 1, Bashu Publishing House, 1987, pp. 356–358.  Zhang Jinglu, Twenty Years in the Publishing Industry: Zhang Jinglu’s Autobiography, p. 29.  Yingtang Jushi, “On the British and Beijing Book Museum,” Peking Magazine, No. 21, April 1874, p. 8.  “Number of Books Collected in Major Libraries in the West,” Vol. 305, Year 7, October 3, 1874, p. 29.  Ernst Faber, “From the West to the East,” Vol. 4, The Collection of Wisdom, pp. 271–272.

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From the above information, it was not difficult to see that with the emergence of newspapers, a new way of reading was provided to the public, which was also introduced in the late Qing Dynasty. It is not the intention of this book to indicate that China lacks such a mechanism. The role of the library in advancing academic development was also revealed by researchers.30 The important thing was that such a new type of reading place aimed at a wider audience, and it was similar to the establishment of the newspaper. The nature of the libraries and other places that existed in China before this period was not comparable. The library was set up to solve the problem of how to achieve better reading. In specific practice, The North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (The North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, referred to as the “Asian Society”) established in Shanghai in 1857 was an attempt. As a cultural institution, the library it owned had become the center of sinology books written in foreign languages. The books in its collection were mainly donated by the society and were open to the public free of charge.31 Coincidentally, in 1865, Fryer and gentry and merchants at home and abroad co-founded Yinghua Book Company, which aimed to solve the problem of making more people “read,” indicating that “the books in the library can be borrowed from home and abroad, and there was no need to bring your own paper, ink, pen and ink-stone.”32 In 1875, a piece of information published in Wan Guo Gong Bao introduced the efforts made by the Shanghai Gezhi Academy: The law is to divide into three parts. One is a museum, which houses various machines and utensils, as well as manufactured goods, so that it is convenient for the Chinese to see them. The second is [the] lecture room to teach science and technology. The third is [the] reading room, in which various kinds of books are stored.

It also specifically stated, “The reading section in the study room prepares all kinds of new Chinese newspapers, and books issued on a daily basis; the library should store books that have been translated into Chinese, and a collection of various Chinese classics and history books. Books related to missionary must not be included. Rules and regulations in the study room will be determined later.”33 Shen Bao also

 The commentator discusses the rise of Jiangnan textual research and reveals the important role played by the “book company”. See Elman’s From Neo-Confucianism to Puxue: A Survey of Thought and Social Changes in the Late Chinese Empire, Zhao Gang, trans., Jiangsu People’s Publishing House, 1995, pp. 101–106.  Wang Yi, Research on the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Literary Society, Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House, 2005, pp. 57, 166.  “The Reopening of Yinghua Library,” Shen Bao, February 4, 1873, p. 5.  “Shanghai Gezhi Academy’s Articles,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 323, 7th year, February 13, 1875, p. 316.

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issued an article affirming the establishment of Gezhi Academy, which was “a good strategy to promote Chinese people’s desire to learn western learning.”34 As mentioned earlier, the efforts of scholars in the late Qing Dynasty to “communicate” were mainly reflected in the establishment of schools, newspapers, and organization of societies. For this reason, newspaper reading offices were often planned and set up as an important way to receive new knowledge. In 1897, Zhang Yuanji and others founded the Tongyi Academy in Beijing, which received support from many Beijing officials. When the Emperor Guangxu summoned Zhang Yuanji, he was quite concerned about the development of the school.35 It was not difficult to see from the “Articles of the Tongyi Academy” that the school paid considerable attention to solving reading problems from the very beginning. The statutes listed three “attachments,” namely “Reading Regulations,” “Library Regulations,” and “Newspaper Articles Regulations.” Among them, the “Regulations of the Newspaper Office” stated, “The newspapers in the library were specially designed to facilitate students’ knowledge and information, and those who come to read should know this meaning.”36 From the correspondence between Zhang Yuanji and Wang Kangnian during this period, it could be seen that Zhang from time to time entrusted Wang to purchase books and newspapers in Shanghai. A communication letter dated September 5, 1897 stated: “It is also planned to set up a library and newspaper reading room here. However, it was not able to solve the problem. Once books are translated and printed by your library, will you be so kind to donate a copy? There are new books published in the South, it is hoped that you will feel free to purchase and send them.”37 The work of setting up newspaper reading offices (posts) had also received positive responses at the local level. In 1895, Tan Sitong sent a letter to his teacher Ouyang Zhonghu, suggesting that he set up a “Shu Xue Ge Zhi Guan” in his hometown of Liuyang, and “to recruit disciples to study there.” There was also a special announcement: “In addition to purchasing and reading and translating western books, it is advisable to read all kinds of newspapers, such as the Shen Bao, Shanghai News, Hankou Daily and Wan Guo Gong Bao and the kind.”38 The regulation  “Gezhi Academy About to Open,” Shen Bao, October 7, 1874, p. 1.  Notes by Zhang Yuanji, Ru Cheng, et al., “Reminiscences of the Hundred Days’ Reform,” in Chinese History Society, ed., Modern Chinese History Materials Series · Hundred Days’ Reform, Vol. 4, pp. 324–325.  Zhang Yuanji, et al., “Articles Submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” August 24, 1897, Poems and Prose of Zhang Yuanji, The Commercial Press, 1986, pp. 98, 108–109.  Zhang Yuanji, “To Wang Kangnian” (19), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1706.  Tan Sitong, “Letter to Ouyang Zhonghu,” in Cai Shangsi and Fang Xing, eds. The Complete Works of Tan Sitong Vol. 1, pp. 165–166.

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proposed by Tan Sitong for this purpose also included how to solve the problem of students’ reading newspapers. Among the ten students that were planned to be recruited, “the two elders will be chosen to manage books and bind newly printed papers.” He also planned to “raise enough money to buy papers to print Shen Bao, Hankou Daily, and Wan Guo Gong Bao.”39 It could be said that although there was no “newspaper reading office” yet, this work was already in progress. With the advancement of reform activities in Hunan, work in this area had gradually improved. Hunan Gazette had made a lot of efforts in this aspect. Article 9 of its “Regulations” stated that, for those who cannot buy Hunan Gazette in remote areas, we will send our members of the provincial and county branch associations to handle with this situation, and the provincial association would try to “transfer the newspaper to members living in those areas to find appropriate places to post, such as government notices and the method of persuading benevolent maxims, for the public to see.”40 Efforts made by the South Society mentioned earlier were also worthy of attention. “List of Books Donated to the South Society” published in No. 19 of Hunan Gazette introduced books donated by Tan Sitong.41 Later, this would also become a fixed column, which would publish the situation of donating books to the South Society from time to time. No. 27 published the titles of books donated by Zou Daijun, and No. 28 listed books donated by Wanmu Caotang.42 “Articles of Association of Southern Society Application” shows the actual results achieved: “The books in the collection of the Society are allowed to receive reading vouchers for entry and browse. There are now dozens of people every day. Various newspapers will be purchased. Starting from the 15th of this month, those who wish to read the newspaper will receive their own opinions according to the regulations.”43 At about the same time, similar initiatives took place elsewhere. Xu Zhaowei mentioned that in 1897, Pan Yiyuan founded the “Chinese and Western Society” in Changshu, and he “donated 25 kinds of books.” However, it failed to receive a positive response at the beginning, and was “accused” by the advanced villagers.44 Jing Yuanshan, who had always been enthusiastic about education, also actively promoted the establishment of the “Newspaper Reading Society” in Shangyu,

 Tan Sitong, “Record of Developing Mathematics in Hunan,” in Cai Shangsi and Fang Xing, eds. The Complete Works of Tan Sitong, Vol. 1, pp. 174–176.  “Hunan Gazette Regulations,” Hunan Gazette, No. 27, April 6, 1898, p. 107.  “Title of Book Donated to Southern Society,” Hunan Gazette, No. 19, March 28, 1898, p. 76.  “List of Books Donated to Southern Society,” Hunan Gazette, No. 27, April 6, 1898, p. 108; “List of Books Donated to Southern Society,” Hunan Gazette, No. 28, April 8, 1898, p. 116.  “Southern Society Application Regulations,” Hunan Gazette, No. 75, June 1, 1898, p. 298.  Xu Zhaowei, “Diqiu Pavilion Diary of 1898,” May 26 and July 23, 1898, Xu Zhaowei’s Diary (1), pp. 20, 23.

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Zhejiang Province, in 1898. The “Ten Articles of Regulations” formulated also specifically stated, “This move is designed for the sake of ethics and righteousness. The fees for buying books and newspapers this year will be raised by the comrades in the meeting.”45 In 1901, Zhejiang Ruian Academy of Science and Technology also set up a newspaper reading office and books collection building. Zhang Wei wrote in his diary, “It is discussed that newspaper reading office will be established inside of the academy, and those who wish to read there have to pay five cents each time with receipts as the proof.” However, it was a little regretful that after the newspaper reading office was opened, “there are very few people in the city who would like to pay to read.”46 Sun Yizhong founded a newspaper reading society in Hangzhou, and also commissioned Wang Kangnian to try to solve the problem of the source of the newspaper, but the result was not satisfactory: “Very few people would like to come and the atmosphere is extremely desperate. Those that have stepped in once in a while are mainly from other provinces.”47 The promotion of the newspaper reading agency was mainly planned by local scholars. In addition, booksellers had also tried to set up newspaper reading agencies because they had favorable conditions. An advertisement published in No. 62 of Current Affairs mentioned that Jiangzuo Hanji Book Company not only dispatched newspapers to Shanghai and other places, but also “established a newspaper reading committee to prepare all reports for public viewing.”48 Wang Weitai’s Selling Books in Bianliang recorded the fact that booksellers were also involved in setting up newspaper reading offices: “I want to set up a newspaper reading office in the provincial capital” and “would call on comrades and raise funds to rent houses” to promote the cause. Their efforts had received positive responses, “the location has been carefully chosen and various newspapers have been entrusted to mail in.”49 In addition, the “Table of Numbers of Books in Hangzhou Library” published in the third issue of Tide of Zhejiang also stated that there are “12 kinds of newspapers, including dailies and others” in the collection.50 It was revealed here that the books collection building also collected newspapers.

 Jing Yuanshan, “Yu Shangquanshan’s Interpretation of the Newspaper Reading Society,” in Yu Heping, ed., Jing Yuanshan Collection, Central China Normal University Press, 1988, pp. 267–269.  Yu Xiong, ed., Diary of Zhang Wang, February 27 and September 17, 1901, pp. 72, 85–86.  Sun Yizhong, “To Wang Kangnian” (1, 2), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), pp. 1486, 1487.  “Advertisement of Jiangzuo Hanji Book Company of the Newspapers in Hankou,” Current Affairs, Vol. 62, May 30, 1898, “Advertisements,” p. 1.  Wang Weitai, “Remembering Communication,” Selling Books in Bianliang, p. 44.  “Hangzhou Library Collections,” Tide of Zhejiang, No. 3, April 17, 1903, p. 2.

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Understanding the newspapers established in the late Qing Dynasty still needed to be based on the essential meanings of the changes at that time. The most prominent point was that, as the basic carrier of “being gregarious,” the academy often regarded managing newspapers as an important task, and this attitude promoted the development of newspaper reading in the meantime. The importance could be understood through the situation shown in Learning New Knowledge. The newspaper once published the status of the establishment of academies in various regions, and the academies often considered the promotion of newspaper reading as their basic task. Founded in 1897, the constitution (with the purchase of books and reading regulations) of The Hunan Longnan Practical Academy emphasized that “the current situation is not good enough, newspapers have not been read . . . Therefore, the academy would purchase various kinds of Chinese and foreign newspapers for all comrades to read.”51 Liang Qichao’s “Decleration of Wanmu Caotang Solicitation Book Donations” also mentioned that he and a few other comrades had “produced all of his books in one place . . . known as the Wanmu Caotang Collection.” To this end, it also pointed out, “The lack of books can meet the needs of learning; the lack of pictures and devices is not helpful to learn. If you want to learn more, you must first collect the books.”52 People of insight across the country opened newspaper reading offices, which was also very helpful to newspapers reading. The Eastern Miscellany was first published in 1904, explaining the condition of the establishment of newspaper reading offices in various places. For example, the introduction of the situation in Shandong: “Li Mingpo, the chief editor of the official newspaper in Jinan, is now setting up a newspaper office on Buzheng Street. Various kinds of newspapers are available, and people are allowed to read free of charge. Hearing that some people could not afford to buy newspapers, Li Shujian in Penglai donated his own salary to buy newspapers and send them out for students and children to read.”53 After 1905, examples of this kind increased a lot. In Sichuan province, “Jiang Yunqing of Jiangjin donated a huge amount of money to set up a newspaper reading post, those who have heard about it could come and read, no introduction is required.” In Lingshui County, Guangdong, “most of the county fellows are uncivilized, and the county government has recently ordered a newspaper reading post to be set up in front of the government bureau to promote the atmosphere of reading and

 “Hunan Longnan Practical Society Regulations” (with purchase and reading regulations), Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 43, February 11, 1898, pp. 9–10.  “Advertisement of Wanmu Caotang’s Solicitation for Book Donations,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 46, March 13, 1898, pp. 1–2.  “Journal of the Press of All Provinces,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 1, No. 6, August 6, 1904, pp. 146–147.

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learning.”54 The situation in Fujian province was somewhat different: “Being isolated by the river from other places of the province, the information in Lianjiang County is very limited and people there know little about the outside world. It is heard that gentlemen in the county are discussing to set up newspapers reading offices to promote the atmosphere of reading and learning.”55 Related to this, newspapers had also written articles respectively to explain the significance of setting up “newspaper reading offices.” In addition to reporting the establishment of “newspaper reading offices” in various regions, The News also published a number of “essays” to give encouragement. The “essay” published on June 21, 1905 emphasized that “the strength of a country in the twentieth century . . . is all determined by the number of its national newspapers, the sales condition of those newspapers, and how many newspapers its citizens can read.”56 The essay also pointed out, “It is easy to open up the higher class society, but it is difficult to open up the lower class society.” Therefore, “the only way is to set up more lectures of interpreting newspapers in big cities and counties, to recruit more capable scholars to explain simple matters about internal and diplomatic affairs. When listening to the speech, the crowds move around, and the customs will be changed automatically. There must be those who have the insight to understand what is being lectured from the bottom of heart.”57 In the same year, there were many articles on Hui Bao, explaining the meaning of setting up newspaper reading offices, “The newspaper industry in our country is still in its preliminary stage . . . There are people in remote counties of Huangzhou and the middle and lower society who do not know what a newspaper is.” Therefore, newspaper reading offices should be widely set up, “to purchase all kinds of useful Chinese and foreign newspapers and store them in the meantime.”58 Most of the texts and articles published on Hui Bao were selected from local newspapers, which also showed that the establishment of “newspaper reading office” had become a common issue in various regions. It may be difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of the newspaper after its establishment. In 1906, Shen Bao published “Comparison of the Number of People Who Read Newspapers Now and Past,” which quite meaningfully explained that newspaper reading had become a common practice, and especially emphasized the significance of establishing newspaper reading offices to the lower classes,

 “Journal Reports of Various Provinces,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 2, No. 3, April 29, 1905, pp. 51–52.  The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 2, No. 8, September 23, 1905, pp. 202–203.  “Setup of Lectures,” The News, June 21, 1905, “On Lectures,” p. 1.  “Supplied Lecture Newspaper Office,” The News, November 9, 1905, “Discussion,” p. 1.  “On the establishment of newspapers in Yitong,” the original issue of Hankou Daily, according to Hui Bao August 7, 1905, p. 5; August 8, p. 5.

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“For those peasants, in the past, they did not know that there were newspapers, but now they gradually know . . . what newspapers are. When listening to the speeches of interpreting news on newspapers, they would cheer and applaud, for fear of the end of speeches. They regret so much not reading newspapers . . . by themselves.”59 The individual cases were really diversified. Many scholars living in remote places had provided examples of contact with newspapers through reading offices. Xupu in Hunan, the hometown of Shu Xincheng, could only be regarded as a small remote county. During his three years of studying in the county elementary school, Shu Xincheng read a lot of “new books” through the “newspaper reading room” in his spare time. In this regard, Shu Xincheng shared a lot of similar feelings, and he confirmed the important role of “books and newspapers” in his personal growth: “In decades, there has never been a day without reading books and newspapers as well as writing.”60 What happened to newspaper reading offices that were prosperous in the late Qing dynasty? What kind of influence did this have on scholars? Further explanation about specific cases will be given later in this text. What could be added is that after the founding of Republic of China, many initiatives had been taken to promote this work. On July 18, 1915, the Ministry of Education issued a submission for the establishment of the Popular Education Research Association, stating that “popular education is indeed an urgent task nowadays.”61 Later, the Ministry of Education reported the drafted social education regulations, emphasizing that, “The condition of the country has just settled down, the mind of the people is waiting to be enlightened, and school education has not yet been universalized. If social education is not implemented, there is no way to enlighten and become a citizen.” For this reason, it was particularly emphasized that, “The most important ones, such as libraries, are necessary for communicating culture, promoting national glory, broadening knowledge, and revitalizing learning and art.”62 Subsequent investigations had also reflected the establishment of the

 “Comparison of the degree of the readers of newspapers between the past and the present,” Shen Bao, February 5, 1906, p. 2.  Shu Xincheng, “My Education,” in Zhang Yufa, Zhang Ruide, eds., Modern China Biography Series, Vol. 2, Long Wen Publishing House, 1990, pp. 55, 105.  “Ministry of Education on the establishment of the Popular Education Research Association submitted and merged the President’s Approval,” July 18, 1915, “The Archives of the Ministry of Education of the Beiyang Government,” in Second Historical Archives of China, ed., the third series of The Collection of Archives of the Republic of China, “Culture,” pp. 101–102.  “The Ministry of Education drafted social education regulations and submitted them to the President for approval.” On October 23, 1915, in Second Historical Archives of China, ed., the third series of The Collection of Archives of the Republic of China, “Culture,” “Archives of the Ministry of Education of the Beiyang Government,” pp. 104–109.

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above-mentioned institutions, As for libraries, there were 33 places in each province who filled out the form. The author also reflected on this, pointing out that “there are few domestic libraries, and there must be fewer readers in the country, and there are invisible obstacles to the progress of national culture.”63 The “Public Libraries in Various Provinces” listed such information, details of which can be seen in Table 8.3: Table 8.3: Public Libraries in various provinces. Province

Number Annual Collection Average Remarks funding number of readers per day 





 All public



,

,

 All public

Jilin







 All public

Heilongjiang







 All public

Shandong



,

,

Henan



,

,

Shanxi



,

,

  public,  private

Jiangsu



,

,

  public,  private

Anhui





,

 All public

Jiangxi



,

,

 All public

Fujian







 All public

Zhejiang



,

,

Hubei



,

,

Hunan



,

,

Zhili Fengtian

, Provincial, a large-scale location with more than a thousand readers every day , Provincial, one location with about  readers every day

  public,  private , One provincial, a large-scale location with an average of  readers per day  All public

 Shen Shaoming, “China National Library Questionnaire,” Journal of Education, Vol. 10, No. 8, August 20, 1918, pp. 37, 44.

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Table 8.3 (continued) Province

Number Annual Collection Average Remarks funding number of readers per day

Gansu







 All public

Xinjiang





,

 All public

Sichuan



,

,

  public,  private

Guangdong



,

,

  public,  private

Guangxi







Yunnan



,

,

Rehe







 Public  All public  Public

Source: “Administrative Statistical Report, Education, and Provincial Popular Libraries Survey Compiled by the Bureau of Statistics,” Government Gazette No. 447, April 10, 1917, appendix, pp. 29–30.

Regarding the information from the public reading press, a survey in 1918 could also shed light on many problems. It is just that such survey data may not be accurate, and the editor discovered the problem, “There are 30 public reading rooms in Anhui, and the remarks column contains ‘45 public reading rooms,’ which does not match. The original statistics are incorrect.” See Table 8.4 for details. Table 8.4: Reading rooms in various provinces. Province

Jingzhao Zhili Fengtian

Reading rooms

Number of newspapers

Average number of readers per day

Remarks













 private, the rest are public







 private, the rest are provided by public subsidies and public welfare organizations

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Table 8.4 (continued) Province

Reading rooms

Number of newspapers

Average number of readers per day













Shandong







There are  affiliated public and public welfare organizations, and the remaining  are privately founded

Henan







 private, the rest are subsidized by the public

Shanxi







 private, the rest are attached by various local agencies, also with public subsidies

Jiangsu







 private establishments, the rest are private

Anhui







 public, the rest set up by private individuals

Jiangxi







 private,  with public subsidies and affiliates

Fujian







Many are attached in various places, only  private

Zhejiang







 private, the rest are attached or publicly organized

Hubei







 provincial,  private establishments, the rest are organized by the public

Hunan







Shaanxi







Gansu













Jilin

Heilongjiang

Xinjiang

Remarks

Public funding subsidies have been complicated recently, so the number of visitors is larger than that of other provinces

 private, the rest are attached

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Table 8.4 (continued) Province

Reading rooms

Number of newspapers

Average number of readers per day

Sichuan







Many public establishments, only  private

Guangdong







 private, the rest are set up by the public or organizations

Guangxi







 public, the rest are private

Yunnan







 public, the rest are private

Guizhou







The number of visitors is very small, only one private site







Rehe

Remarks

Source: “Public Reading Rooms in Various Provinces,” Archives of the State Council of Beiyang Government.

According to the third series of “Republic of China Archives Collection” compiled by the Second Historical Archives of China, “Culture,” pp. 131–132. Through the survey of the 1916 Beijing Normal University and the popular lecture halls (groups) of the provinces, we can also discover the new atmosphere of this period. Not only had the capital set up popular lectures, but the provinces had also organized tour propaganda groups to promote the tour library. However, “there are not many establishments in each province. According to the Ministry’s inspection report and survey, except for Fengtian, there are four in Jiangsu, one in Sichuan, four in Gansu, and four in Yunnan, no others have been established.”64

II From Dibao to New-style Newspapers: A Turn in Reading In addition to setting up a newspaper reading office, we should also care about who will read the newspaper. Jingbao, dibao, gongmenchao, and yuanmenchao were the main channels for information distribution in the imperial era. Scholars in the late Qing Dynasty, especially those who devoted themselves to “merits,”

 “Peking Masters and Provincial Popular Lectures (Groups) Survey Form from Archives of the State Council of Beiyang Government,” based on Second Historical Archives of China, ed., the third series of The Collection of Archives of the Republic of China, “Culture,” pp. 133–136.

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often learned about the outside world through dibao and the kind. After the appearance of newspapers, what changes had been made in the channels and methods of receiving information? Through the diaries of some scholars, we can get a general understanding of the “turn in reading.” The acquisition of information by scholars had gradually shifted from reading dibao to reading newspapers in the modern sense. There were many understandable reasons why the scholars in the late Qing Dynasty turned in reading. The important point was that the newspapers that first appeared published information similar to dichao in the form of “Gong Lu Shang Yu” or “Full Record of Jingbao” and they were also easy to obtain. Wen Tingshi was dismissed from his post in 1896. He was “expelled to his hometown.” He mentioned in a letter, “As a expelled minister, it is especially inappropriate to get to know the political affairs. Thus, what was published in dichao could not be known except for reading Shen Bao and Hankou Daily.”65 Yao Xiguang’s diary in 1896 also showed that, in addition to dibao, jingbao, and yuanmenchao, newspapers such as Shen Bao, Wan Guo Gong Bao, and Current Affairs were added one after another.66 It could also be seen that the role of newspapers was becoming more and more prominent in the process of acquiring new knowledge for scholars. Here is a selection of the diaries of a few scholars, which will be explained briefly. As mentioned above, the diary is an important resource for grasping the “reading world” of the late Qing Dynasty. It is necessary to select specific texts and individual cases of scholars for analysis. The reading presented on this basis may be only a fragment of case data, but it is difficult to reconstruct the reading history of the late Qing Dynasty without it.

Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou Diary of Xiangqilou left by Wang Kaiyun (from the eighth year of Tongzhi to the fifth year of the Republic of China, with a small gap), together with its Letters, can roughly present the “reading world” of an old-style scholar. However, although the length of Wang Kaiyun’s diary is not small, it often leaves only sporadic and fragmentary records.67 Not only that, Wang not only added “review” to the diary,

 Wen Tingshi, “Letter to Yu Shimei” (46), in Wang Shuzi, ed., Wen Tingshi Collection, Vol. 2, p. 1221.  Yao Xiguang, Yao Xiguang Diary in Jiangsu and Hubei, April 29, 1896, p. 96.  Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 4, Yuelu Publishing House, 1997, p. 2364.

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but also showed it to people to read it, and the content of the record would inevitably be affected. The reason for emphasizing the Diary of Xiangqilou reflected the reading life of old-style scholars, mainly because the information about reading western books was rarely recorded (especially prominent before 1884). Of course, it cannot be judged that Wang Kaiyun lacked channels to understand western learning. He had channels to understand the outside world, such as communication and interviews with many friends and students. Dichao, jingbao, and “foreign” newspapers such as Shen Bao were also important sources of information. However, it was also very obvious that his thoughts were confined to the traditional spiritual world. In 1876, Guo Songtao was ordered to go to the United Kingdom and Wang Kaiyun, who had a great relationship with Guo, revealed his lack of a basic understanding of the outside world in his letter to Guo. He positioned Guo as an envoy to the United Kingdom as follows: “It is a temporary benefit to be entrusted and competent; therefore, to preach is a blessing for all eternity.”68 From the perspective of Wang Kaiyun’s understanding of the outside world, dichao and jingbao could be regarded as the main channels for understanding affairs. The focus was on the appointment of officials and the information on imperial examinations. The information of friends in officialdom had also become the focus of his attention. Moreover, Wang continued to read dibao and jingbao for a long time, and continued to pay attention to them in the early twentieth century. The books and slips left by Wang Kaiyun also revealed that information was often obtained through various banknotes and newspapers, and then sent to the relevant persons in the book. He sent letters to Li Hanzhang and Li Hongzhang because “he heard the news about their mother through dichao.”69 His letter to Guo Songtao was also written because of reading dichao, “I know that the imperial court is really paying attention to the public.”70 Wang Kaiyun often used this to express his views on related matters in his diary when he learned various information through dichao, jingbo, and others. In addition to dichao and jingbao, further changes in Wang Kaiyun’s reading life could be found. Among them, reading Shen Bao was a noteworthy one. The “foreign newspapers” frequently mentioned in the diary were mainly newspapers like Shen Bao, which were established and managed by outsiders. His diary entry of November 13, 1882 wrote, “Reading Shen Bao, Chen Sanli and Pi Liuyun write

 Wang Kaiyun, “To Guo Bingzuo,” Letters, Vol. 2, in Ma Jigao, ed., Xiangqilou Poems and Essays, pp. 868–869.  Wang Kaiyun, “Concerning Two Li,” Letters, Vol. 1, Xiangqilou Poems and Essays, p. 821.  Wang Kaiyun, “To Guo Bingzuo,” Letters, Vol. 2, Xiangqilou Poems and Essays, p. 897.

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in the same Chinese style.”71 By the beginning of the twentieth century, Wang Kaiyun had many records of reading newspapers, he just did not register the specific name. His diary of July 18, 1907, wrote, “While reading the newspaper, I find reporters are also confused because of the political changes.” On December 20 of the same year, he wrote again, “When I read the newspaper, there is nothing new. It is all about the competition.”72 The reform activities carried out in Hunan also affected Wang Kaiyun, who had lived there for a long time, and encouraged him to get in touch with local newspapers. His diary entry of June 25, 1898, wrote, “Reading Hunan Gazette for a month,”73 while his diary entry of December 26, 1900, wrote “Scholars are better off gambling than doing business, and even better to lose than to win. This is what Hunan Gazette has not mentioned, and it is really something new to learn.”74 The various official newspapers published in the early twentieth century were also accepted by Wang. His diary entry of July 14, 1903, wrote, “Get the official newspaper, the spring is over and the summer begins.”75 Of course, Wang Kaiyun’s reading of newspapers was more of a “game” mentality. He once wrote to Fan Zengxiang, explaining that, “I have found a lot of fun in reading newspapers, the newspapers are serious while I have fun in it.”76 This was also true. In the diary, all kinds of new things and new figures were discussed in a ridiculous and joking way, not only showing rejection of the new learning everywhere, but also proving the cause from all aspects. The various shortcomings of the company highlighted their own “insights.” The records left by Wang Kaiyun’s reading of Shen Bao and other newspapers showed that his focus was still similar to that of reading dichao and jingbao. This also showed that people like Wang who cared about “the classic studies” also gained knowledge through new media channels. Book related to current affairs and economy also constituted a channel for Wang to acquire new knowledge. The first example is Jingshi Wenbian. The diary entry of June 19, 1892, wrote, “It’s really difficult to read Lu Yao’s Wen Chao at night. Economics should be like this. It’s more enjoyable to read He’s Collection of Essays.”77 On March 3, 1899, he wrote, “Reading Liang Qichao’s New Edition of Classics, I thought he would not talk about Westernization, but the fact was he just made a little change at this

      

Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 2, October 3, 1882, p. 1149. Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 5, June 9 and November 16, 1907, pp. 2824, 2855. Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 4, May 7, 1898, p. 2154. Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 4, November 5, 1900, p. 2345. Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou Vol. 4, Leap May 20, 1903, p. 2554. Wang Kaiyun, “To Fantai,” Letters, Vol. 7, Xiangqilou Poems and Essays, pp. 1075. Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 3, May 25, 1892, p. 1791.

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point. Kang and Liang’s younger brothers privately taught Guo, Wang, but because of carelessness and was dispelled to be like this.”78 Except for these “new edition of scriptures and writings” related to China’s foreign exchanges and some new factions of theses, there were also scattered records in his diary. The diary entry of October 22, 1896, wrote, “Reading The Chronicles of the Sino-Japanese War, I think it must be written by someone totally indifferent.”79 The diary entry of March 22, 1898, discussed Huang Zunxian’s The History of Japan. His evaluation was completely negative, “Although the author is diligent in writing, it is useless. I don’t know whether Japanese like the book. If it was a novel, it would be more impressive. Since there were so many concerns and the words were required to be graceful, thus it naturally becomes useless.” On May 24, 1907, he wrote, “Reading the New Book of Law and Politics, the reasoning is boring.”80 A brief overview of Wang Kaiyun’s understanding of the external world could provide insights into the changes that had occurred. At first, it was mainly through writing letters and dichao, jingbao, and then the new medium appeared. In terms of the effectiveness of information communication, it was quite different. It was undeniable that through the old methods, the “news” they know was often “outdated news.” After contacting with newspapers, the situation would be completely different. What’s more, the telegraph gradually had an impact on Wang Kaiyun’s life. In the diary entry dated May 1, 1908, there was a record, “The supervisor asked for 800 money for inquiries by telegram, and the case was not replied. I would like to see whether the book should be sent or not.”81 On May 11 of the following year, he also mentioned such an experience, “I got a telegram from the telegraph bureau again. It was a problem of not receiving telegrams, and I had to read it again, and a lot of money has to be paid for this concern.”82 Combining these two diaries, it could be roughly determined that the frequent reception of “telegrams” had caused him a lot of trouble, and the expensive delivery costs had led to this complaint. As an old-fashioned scholar, Wang Kaiyun also provided an example of how the telegraph affected the lives of individuals. As far as Wang Kaiyun’s relationship with the new media was concerned, it could be added that one year before Wang’s death, there were such records in his diary: “I wrote a letter to Shenzhou Daily publishing house to express my gratitude for sending me newspaper without asking for money. What was written about Yang Du impressed people a lot, and he deserved to be a student.” Soon

    

Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 4, January 20, 1899, p. 2195. Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 4, September 13, 16, 1896, p. 2117. Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 6, April 13, 1907, p. 2812. Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 5, April 2, 1908, p. 2883. Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 5, March 22, 1909, p. 2967.

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later, he wrote, “I will submit my essays to the newspaper publishing house.”83 This was a strong proof of the influence of the new media.

Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai Liu Dapeng’s existing diary began in 1891 and lasted until his death in 1942. His reading habit could better reflect the lifestyle of ordinary scholars.84 Similar to Wang Kaiyun, Liu’s reading life also showed a change in his understanding of the outside world, from relying on rumors to reading dichao, and then contacting Shen Bao, the local newspaper, and other newspapers. Regrettably, the existing diaries have already been “selected,” which affects the reconstruction of the historical facts of their reading life. There is not much content related to reading involved. It is difficult to tell whether the record itself is less or the result of the selection. Liu Dapeng was born in 1857. He trained as a teacher at a young age, studying at Tongfeng Academy in Taiyuan County and Chongxiu Academy in Taiyuan, the provincial capital. He also served as a private school teacher for nearly 20 years. In 1878, he was admitted as a scholar, and passed the imperial examinations at the provincial level in 1884. Later, he participated in the general examination three times in 1895, 1898, and 1903, but failed each time. As Liu had always held the ideal of imperial examinations, it is also worthy of attention to review the influence of imperial examinations on ordinary scholars (more on this later). This experience left many observations on the reading life of ordinary scholars in the countryside, but his evaluation was completely negative, especially indicating that it was rare for ordinary scholars to read the sub-collection of classics and history, let alone other western books. Liu’s comments on others may be a portrayal of his own reading life. A diary entry of 1893 wrote, “I went to Jinci Temple for a tour and saw a copy of The Three Kingdoms for sale at a grocery stall. I couldn’t help and bought it with 320 yuan. It is like a treasure.”85 His reaction to the book The Three Kingdoms somewhat showed that Liu rarely had access to

 Wang Kaiyun, Diary of Xiangqilou, Vol. 5, July 20 and 23, the Republic of China (ROC), p. 3391.  For Liu Dapeng, see Luo Zhitian’s “The Abolition of the Imperial Examination System and the Disintegration of the Four People’s Society, Modern Social Changes in the Eyes of a Mainland Country Gentry,” and his book The Transfer of Power: Thought, Society and Academics in Modern China, pp. 161–190. Henrietta Harrison, The Awakened from Dreams, One Man’s Life in a North China Village,1857–1942, Stanford University Press, 2005.  Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, July 4, 1893, p. 22.

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books other than those about imperial examination during this period; indeed, there was no record of reading other books in his diary during this period. The reading life of the enthusiastic scholars was not surprising. The content of the scientific examinations was adjusted several times in the late Qing Dynasty, which would also affect the choice of scholars. Liu Dapeng’s diary on October 14, 1896 contained records of the purchase of Huang Chao Jing Shi Wen Compilation and Huang Chao Jing Shi Wen Sequel, which showed a new choice in reading.86 The reason was easy to understand. Liu Zi also knew that the imperial examinations gradually showed the importance of western learning and current affairs from the information transmitted by all parties. The diary entry of August 27, 1898, also wrote, “Wu Shaoyun brought a part of The Beginning and End of Commerce to Yu Yuezhi, and recorded the business interactions between China and foreign countries.”87 However, Liu had his own views on such a change, and he may not have been able to adapt well. It was important to review the medium that village scholars relied on to understand the outside world. Which links did people rely on? What were the substantial changes? The information provided in Liu Dapeng’s diary was quite valuable. Whether it involved local or military affairs, many of them were obtained through “rumors.” The diary of November 11, 1894, wrote, “Someone from the capital said the situation on the battlefield is very bad. A thousand soldiers from the province went to Tongzhou under the leadership of Governor Ding.” About two months later, Liu arrived in the provincial capital and also learned about the progress of the matter through rumors, “Yesterday in the province, I heard that the military affairs were upset, the Japanese army entered the Liaodong region. Our army has been repeatedly defeated, and there were very few strong troops. I don’t know if it was true.”88 It was obviously difficult to really understand what happened through various rumors. The understanding of the outside world was entirely dependent on rumors, perhaps as this was the normal state of ordinary scholars living in the countryside. In 1896, Liu Dapeng went to work as a tutor at a businessman’s house in Nanxi Village, Taigu County, and the channels for obtaining information changed. Perhaps because of his relationship with the owner, he had the opportunity to read dichao. Compared with the past, the changes that had taken place were also worthy of attention. Before the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 was involved, information was obtained entirely from rumors. When the Boxer Rebellion took place, Liu paid

 Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, September 8, 1896, p. 62.  Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, July 11, 1898, p 86.  Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, October 14, December 23, 1894, pp. 35, 37.

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more attention to dichao to follow up with it. The diary entry of April 4, 1901, was a poem, and he also wrote, “Dichao has already published the news about Yu Gong’s sentence.”89 In addition, Liu also had records about the reform of the imperial examination system. The diary entry of August 28, 1903, stated, “It is known from dibao that examiners in Shanxi were released on 22 last month, and examiners in Jiangnan and Shanxi were also released that day.”90 In this way, the channels for obtaining information had been retained, and new media had been gradually added. In addition to Shen Bao, local newspapers were also included. A diary entry of December 27, 1901 wrote, “Shen Bao, The Queen and the Emperor returned to Beijing from Xi’an.”91 The new-style newspaper that had been more exposed to was the local newspaper Journal of Shanxi. The diary entry of September 18, 1902, mentioned, “Recently, the provincial capital has set up the Shanxi Newspaper Bureau, modeled on Shen Bao of Shanghai and Tianjin. It [is] known from the newspaper sent by the owner that there has been a plague prevailed in many provinces.”92 The diary entry of November 18 wrote, “It is known from Jin Bao that teaching plans are all over China, and one wave has not been smoothed.”93 In a diary entry of August 7, 1908, Liu also explained how the newspaper was “delivered” by “forcing the villages to read it,” and it cost a lot of money.94 From completely relying on various rumors to reading dibao and jingbao to extensively explore local newspapers, Liu Dapeng’s experience showed the transformation of the reading life of old-style scholars, which constituted a restoration of the “reading world” of ordinary scholars in the countryside. By the time of the Republic of China, knowing the information of the outside world through various newspapers also constituted an important part of his reading life. Liu read more than a dozen major newspapers and tabloids, and mainly borrowed them. On April 7, 1922, there was a record of “borrowing and reading newspaper[s] of the previous month.”95

      

Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, February 16, 1901, p. 93. Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, July 6, 1903, p. 127. Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, November 17, 1901, p. 103. Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, August 17, 1902, p. 114. Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, October 19, 1902, p. 117. Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, July 11, 1908, p. 171. Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, April 7, 1922, p. 297.

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Sun Baoxuan: Diary of Wangshanlu Sun Baoxuan’s Diary of Wangshanlu began in 1893. There had been one volume every year without interruption. Unfortunately, only a few years’ diary entries were kept intact, and the rest were destroyed during the wartime. Nevertheless, the “reading life” presented in his diary could well explain many problems, which was in sharp contrast with the aforementioned scholars. Sun Baoxuan was born in a family of officials in the late Qing Dynasty, and his identity and status was undoubtedly special. Moreover, he “showed little interest in imperial examination,” so he was able to read with less restraint or even with no “expectations.” It was also important that Sun had lived in central cities for a long time, and the new things he could come into contact with were incomparable to those of ordinary scholars. In 1906, he wrote in a diary, “I have lived in Shanghai for eight years, and then in Beijing for three years. I have been able to read widely and get to know various subjects.”96 The “reading world” shown in Zheng Zhuqi’s diary showed that this statement was true. In a sense, it could even be said that such a reading style had atypical meaning. It was still worth paying attention to Sun Baoxuan’s channels for obtaining information from the outside world. Due to different positions, it may be difficult to sort out this in detail. I can only say that the channels for scholars to obtain information discussed earlier are all reflected in Sun. Through reading Dichao, he also paid attention to some measures taken by the imperial government and the promotion of friends in the officialdom. Sun Baoxuan, who was quite concerned with current social affairs, would also read books such as Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms and Imperial Scriptures. On February 18, 1894, there was a record of “Viewing Wei Moshen’s Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms.”97 There were many such works, making it difficult to list them one by one. On December 21 of that year, Sun also left in his diary his feelings about reading the book “Warning Words,” stating that the book “understands the pros and cons of both Chinese and foreign countries.”98 Sun Baoxuan also explained how to obtain these books in his diary. His diary entry of January 10, 1895 wrote, “Out of town, I bought the Chinese and Western Chronicles, Zhuyeting Miscellaneous Notes and History of the World to bring home.”99 In addition to ordinary book publishers, institutions such as the Christian Literature Society for China and Gezhi Book Company were also choices for Sun to buy books.    

Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu,Vol. II, January 29, 1906, p. 826. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, January 13, 1894, p. 28. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, November 25, 1894, pp. 55–56. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, December 20, 1889, p. 63.

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A diary entry of 1897 wrote, “I purchased Annual Politics Report of Major Countries and Silver Mine Guide, Illustration of Animals and Plants and other books.”100 In addition, the record of his book purchase also showed the transition from “western learning” to “eastern learning” during that period. A diary entry of October 4, 1903 reads: “I went out to buy all kinds of new books. Since the it became possible to study in Japan, Eastern learning has been coming into our country. The new books and newspapers come out ceaselessly every year, and it is almost dizzying. Therefore, the minds of people in my country can no longer be closed.”101 Both Chinese and western books had become the objects of Sun Baoxuan’s choice, which was quite a distinctive feature. The wide range of research was quite rare among contemporary scholars; the comments left by him also showed that this type of reading had had an important influence on him. In the diaries of 1897 and 1898, there was a period of time when the activities of “recording foreign history” and “recording Western history” were recorded every day. The main subjects involved were Historical Records of the World and Richard Timothy’s translation of Looking Backward.102 These historical books even affected his attitudes towards history. Sun expressed his admiration for Song Shu’s insights: “If the world’s fortunes do not advance, they will withdraw. The western world moves forward day by day, so they focus on the present but not the past. While we go backward gradually, that explains why many respect the past but humble the present.”103 In addition to reading history, knowledge related to public law had also become his focus. For example, in the book On Public Laws of Negotiation, there were frequent records of reading the book in the diary, and the evaluations made are generally positive.104 From the above reading records, it was not difficult to see that Sun Baoxuan’s reading life was mixed with both eastern and western learning. The reason for this choice was related to his cognition. In 1897, he expressed this view in his diary, “In today’s world, it doesn’t matter whether you learn from the east or from the west; the new learning is also the old learning; the current learning is also the ancient learning.”105 With the passage of time, Sun undoubtedly got more close to Western learning. After reading Evolution and Ethics translated by Yan

     

Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, June 7, 1882, p. 115. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, August 14, 1903, p. 739. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, April 9, 231897, p. 97. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, May 4, 1898, p. 213. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, August 19, 1897, p. 138. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, February 15, 1897, p. 80.

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Fu, Sun raised the question of the boundary between the eastern and Western learning: At present, the dividing line between eastern and western learning is apparent, Chinese tend to learn from the past, and the westerners tend to look forward to the future. What is the past learning? Archeology is also. What is the future learning? Science, technology and economics. However, it is not in this case that the study of Taoism can detect the past and know the coming.106

Two years after 1894 of Sun Baoxuan’s diary were missing. It can be said that he started to contact new-style newspapers in those years and participated in the founding of many newspapers. He read more than 30 kinds of newspapers listed in the diary alone, covering all the famous newspapers of that time. Maybe because there were too many newspapers, it could only be written “reading all the newspapers” or “scanning all the newspapers” in the diary. Extensive contact with newspapers also affected Sun Baoxuan’s perception of this. The diary entry of May 25, 1897, wrote “Reading Hunan Gazette is extremely superficial and useful. I have the chance to read Journal of Agricultural Science in the publishing house of Current Affairs, there are all pictures and explanations in the newspaper which are translations of important laws in western countries.”107 Correspondingly, Sun Baoxuan also thought about the role of newspapers. The diary entry dated May 5, 1901 wrote, “What we can do today is the only way to enlighten the inland culture, to promote the wisdom of the people, and to sell new books and newspapers on a commission basis, there is no other way out.”108 In the diary entry on September 8, 1906, there was a paragraph in praise of the newspaper, “Newspaper is a kind of universal study today, everyone should be involved with no exception.”109 One point should be made clear, that Sun Baoxuan had his own special background, thus the new things accepted by other ordinary scholars could not be comparable to him. This was also quite prominent in terms of accepting new media. Sun had a lot of praise for the telegram in his diary. After reading the book Instructions on Electricity, he wrote in his diary, “Those who have studied here today have not yet been able to further their studies. There will be infinite wonders in the future, and they will come out from here.”110 The 1906 diary mentioned the use of telephones. The January 28 diary entry wrote, “The poem made

    

Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, December 5, 1897, p. 156. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu Vol. 1, April 24, 1897, p. 100. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, March 13, 1901, p. 331. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 2, July 20, 1904, p. 917. Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 1, May 1, 1897, pp. 101–102.

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by Ji Ying and me on the day of heavy snowfall in the past came from the phone.” On September 1, he also mentioned, “I had a telephone conversation with Fuping again. It was said that there was a notification that the government had issued the constitution. After returning home in the evening, Luping recited the full text of the constitution to me. There were in total hundreds of words, the essence of the constitution was clearly defined.”111 Sun Baoxuan provided vivid examples of exposure to various new media. In the past, it was through dichao, then through newspapers, and finally through the telephone. The understanding of the outside world by the scholars in the late Qing Dynasty did indeed undergo quite interesting changes. Soon, the Qing government had a proposal to establish a Postal Department, and Sun who was hired by the department also spoke highly of this, “With steaming boats, mailing will be faster, and people’s writings and thoughts can be printed in newspapers and transported to remote places.”112

Zhou Zuoren: Stories of Students in the New School We have briefly introduced the reading life of scholars such as Wang Kaiyun, Liu Dapeng, and Sun Baoxuan, and intend to outline the reading life of Zhou Zuoren who came from school. Zhou Zuoren, who was born in 1885, still aimed at the imperial examination in his early school life, and went through the county examination, the government examination, and the college examination. In October 1901, he entered Jiangnan Naval Academy. Although it was hard to talk about the goal of completely abandoning the “scientific research” there were signs that a change was gradually taking place. The typical significance of Zhou Zuoren’s reading life was reflected in the fact that the opening of the new school had changed the reading world of scholars, and the contacts they had were mainly with new-style books and newspapers. At the same time, it showed that under the circumstance of “prohibition,” insightful scholars could still have access to these publications by mailing, borrowing, and purchasing. Zhou Zuoren’s diary began on February 18, 1898, when he was 14 years old. In the diary on July 1 of that year, there was a note, “Reforms of major subjects are now taking place according to the requirement of the government.”113 This revealed that, even though he was still taking part in the imperial examination,

 Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 2, July 13, 1906, p. 913.  Sun Baoxuan, Diary of Wangshanlu, Vol. 2, December 2,1906, p. 963.  Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, July 1, 1898, p. 10.

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Zhou was already facing a “change.” In the following years, he participated in two imperial examinations in 1898 and 1900, and failed the county examination and the government examination. This failure also prompted him to plan a change, and with the help of his family, he entered Jiangnan Naval Academy in October, 1901. When he was in his hometown, Zhou had come into contact with newspapers such as Shen Bao and The News. After entering Jiangnan Naval Academy, he read many new-style books and newspapers with the help of Lu Xun, who also studied in Nanjing. On February 2, 1902, Zhou wrote, “My eldest brother arrived suddenly after dinner and brought Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics, which was a very good translation.”114 After Lu Xun arrived in Japan, he sent various books and periodicals by post. On December 28, 1902, Zhou Zuoren received Lu Xun’s seventeenth letter from Japan, stating that he planned to mail Tide of Zhejiang, New Fiction and other books.115 Lu Xun’s influence was an important aspect. At the same time, we must also see that the navy school where Zhou Zuoren was admitted had already formed a trend of reading new books and newspapers, and it was quite popular among students to borrow books and periodicals. It was in here that Zhou had extensive exposure to such readings. The diary on August 6, 1902 wrote, “I borrowed New Citizen of 11th volume (published in June) from classmate Huang Junming at night to read. There are many good books in it, and all of them are written by Yin Bingzi. Reading till midnight, I can’t bear to sleep, so I am so admirable to him.”116 On August 9, there was another record, “Zheng Jun (Zeshan) also came and brought a lot of newspapers. I borrowed The Nation, Compiled Translations, Wen Yan Bao and so on . . . the book Freedom was borrowed at night, the beauty of reading is beyond recognition.”117 Furthermore, they also met with each other to “read magazines together.” Dalu Bao (China Press) and Su News were what three or four of Zhou’s classmates would “read together.”118 Later, he read The World of Children attached to Su News, felt it “very good,” and “planned to read it with Chen Bingliang.”119 As mentioned earlier, the Qing government’s ban on such books and periodicals was also interesting. Mingda Book Company, located in the Confucius Temple, was the main place to buy books. Zhou Zuoren left this record on March 7, 1903, “I read the regulations of Tide of Zhejiang in the morning, and asked Chen

     

Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, February 2, 1902, p. 278. Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, December 28, 1902, p. 364. Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, August 6, 1902, p. 344. Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, August 9, 1902, p. 345. Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, February 26, 1903, p. 374. Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, April 13, 1903, p. 385.

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Junbing in the afternoon to purchase Women’s Journal or On the Communication between Men and Women at Mingda Book Company in the southern part of the city the day after, with twelve yuan paid in advance.”120 On May 10, it was mentioned that he had purchased “a volume of Student Community of Hubei in March, which was divided into two pieces by foreigners.”121 I mentioned that Mingda Book Company was banned, and it seemed that there was a reason. It was also the usual way to mail through a friend to directly contact the newspaper manager. Zhou wrote in his diary, “On behalf of Li Junzuo I send a letter to Cai Junren, the member in mainland China. It has been agreed that the newspaper will be sent every three days. It is better to ask for the fourth issue of China Press.”122 In addition, there were many books and periodicals sent directly from Japan. On April 3, 1903, Zhou Zuoren received 20 letters from Lu Xun who was in Japan, stating that he was feeling “excited to know that you would send back The China Discussion and New Fiction.”123 It is quite difficult to completely sort out the reading of the new-style books and periodicals shown in Zhou Zuoren’s diary. This was almost an indispensable “homework” for him every day, and it was difficult to list all the books and periodicals that had been mentioned. In any case, the “reading world” shown in Zhou Zuoren’s diary had fully illustrated the close relationship between the growth of students in the new school and the new books and newspapers. It was also common to become an intellectual newcomer through reading these newspapers. The reading life presented by several scholars at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century may not be a universal sample; even scholars with similar identities may not be representative of the category. Sun Yirang, who was also classified as an old-fashioned scholar, was quite an exception to the acceptance of newspapers. According to the information provided by his chronology, since 1886, Sun began “reading Chinese translations of Western science and technology, such as Shanghai Polytechnic translated and printed by foreigners in Shanghai.” In the following year, he “frequently subscribed to Shen Bao and subscribed to Wan Guo Gong Bao from the Christian Literature Society for China.” By 1894, he “subscribed to The News” from Shanghai. Later, the scholars of the Qing dynasty started to establish newspapers, and Sun Yirang had the chance to read newspapers such as Current Affairs. The chronology of 1897 also stated, “Subscribe to Tianjin Guowen Bao and Guowen Compilation, subscribe to Learning New Knowledge from Macao, and subscribe to Shanghai Shizheng Xue Bao and Translated    

Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, March 7, 1903, p. 376. Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, May 10, 1903, p. 392. Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, March 16, 1903, p. 378. Diary of Zhou Zuoren, Vol. 1, April 3, 1903, p. 382.

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Book Association Journal.” This was not over yet. There was also a record of this in 1901. Liang Qichao “sent New Citizen from Japan” and he himself subscribed to Shanghai Education World and Foreign News published by the Commercial Press, and also subscribed to Hangzhou The Vernacular News. In addition, Journal of Politics and the Arts, The Eastern Miscellany, Journal of Chinese Quintessence and other magazines were just published, and he managed to subscribe as well.124 The information provided by Sun Yirang could also show that when analyzing the newspaper reading of scholars in the late Qing Dynasty, only some cases could be discussed, and it was difficult to make a comprehensive analysis. However, these cases could roughly explain that the “reading world” of the scholars in the late Qing Dynasty had obviously changed and the acquisition of information from the outside world had gradually shifted from reading dibao to reading new style newspapers; at the same time, newspapers also constituted their acceptance of new styles, becoming an important channel of knowledge.

III Newspapers and New Knowledge: The Impact of the Imperial Examination System Reform Publishing and reading seem to be inseparable, but sometimes they are completely different. In any case, it is obviously not desirable to establish a simplistic connection between publishing and reading. Whether it was western learning or a newspapers related to it, what was worth paying attention to was that whether scholars were willing to read in the late Qing Dynasty. Before the abolition of the imperial examination, when scholars were still bound by the imperial examination, the channels for obtaining knowledge were undoubtedly one-sided. Poems and books read by people were nothing more than the four books and five classics. Western learning, which had not been linked to the imperial examinations, struggled to attract scholars’ attention. The question then arose of whether, after the introduction of western learning into China, there would be many people to read relevant books translated and published by various publishing organizations; after the rise of newspapers, not only should we care about the number of readers, but also consider what information readers could get from the newspapers. Therefore, when researching the reading of newspapers, one should also consider the impact of the imperial examination reform. This was an extremely important clue to grasp the influence of newspapers.

 Sun Yanzhao, Chronicle of Sun Yiyan and Sun Yirang, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press, 2003, pp. 228, 233, 262, 279, 284, 300.

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The composition of the “reading world” in the late Qing Dynasty also demonstrated the characteristics of the transitional era. What cannot be ignored was the influence of local knowledge production methods and reading patterns. In this sense, combined with the atmosphere at the time, it was undoubtedly necessary to better understand the reading life of scholars. In particular, it was worth noting that the extent to which newspapers were circulated and read was often closely related to the value orientation of the times. What had to be mentioned in the late Qing Dynasty was the impact of the imperial examination reform. Not only were the publication of many books and newspapers related to the reform of imperial examinations, the reason why these books and newspapers were accepted by scholars and became part of their reading material was also due to the influence of the imperial examination reform. The core of the reform of the imperial examination system was embodied in “abolishing eight-legged essays and reforming the examination system.” Many of the “policy questions” were based on western knowledge, and candidates needed to use western knowledge to complete the “responsible policy” work. Books and newspapers closely related to Western learning and current affairs had become possible choices for scholars.

Combination of Newspapers and the Imperial Examination As mentioned earlier, regarding the compilation of materials published in the late Qing Dynasty which aimed at seeking western learning, there were various kinds of newspapers that indicated reading such a text type had become an important part of understanding western studies in the 1890s. In terms of time, during this period, the imperial examination was still a ladder for scholars to climb up the social hierarchy, and various reform plans were also under discussion. Therefore, it was necessary to pay attention to the combination of newspapers as a new type of media and imperial examinations, and how scholars valued the information provided by the newspapers. The imperial examination system, which had lasted for more than a thousand years since the Sui and Tang dynasties, constituted the main channel of social mobility in China which included space and identity. In his autobiography, Chen Duxiu stated that the first time he left his hometown was to take part in rural examination in Nanjing.125 By passing the imperial examination, the “humble men” were able to step up the ladder of promotion and change their social

 Chen Duxiu, “The Autobiography of Shi’an,” Selected Works of Chen Duxiu, Vol. 2, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1984, p. 559.

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identity.126 When the focus of society as a whole was still focused on imperial examinations, newspapers would naturally be no exception. From the perspective of Shen Bao, during the period of the rural examination and the general examination, relevant content was often published, and information was published for scholars to “consider.” The Christian Literature Society for China and Wan Guo Gong Bao had also done a lot of work for scholars. During the 1888 imperial examination, they distributed 2,000 copies of Geological Exploration with illustrations, including 500 copies from Beijing, Nanjing, and Shenyang, as well as 250 volumes each for Hangzhou and Jinan. Ten thousand volumes of From the West to the East were handed over to missionaries in Nanjing for distribution to local candidates.127 By the time of general examination in 1892, another 5,000 copies of The Four Great Policies of China and the West were distributed to scholars in Beijing. The Annual Report of the Tongchuihui of that year also explained the significance of this move: “You can reach to the leaders of one hundred counties in the rural examination of a provincial city, and you can reach to the leaders of ten counties in the field of general examination.”128 The various award-winning essays organized by the Christian Literature Society for China were specifically aimed at scholars. Wan Guo Gong Bao published “Announcement of Wan Guo Gong Bao for Essay Submission” in August 1889. There were two questions: 1) “Are there similarities and differences between China and the West”; and 2) “Why is Western learning better than eastern learning?”129 The most influential was the essay call held in 1894. The five issues listed were 1) That building a railway, making money, and rectifying the post office were important to revitalize China; 2) Maintaining the discussion of silk and tea; 3) A new custom examination in Jianghai; 4) A smoking ban; and 5) Seeking a good relationship between China and western countries. Moreover, “each province will be given a total of 100 silver taels to pay the writers, and 500 taels for 5 provinces . . . each volume will be kept in this association, and the best ones will be published in Wan Guo Gong Bao.”130  Many studies on imperial examinations cannot be proved here. For concerns about “social mobility,” please refer to Ping-ti Ho, The Ladder of Success in Imperial China: Aspects of Social Mobility, Columbia University Press, 1962; Wolfram Eberhard, Social Mobility in Traditional China, Brill, 1962.  “Annual Report of Tongwenhui” (No. 1), Publishing Historical Materials, No. 2, 1988, p. 26.  “Annual Report of Tongwenhui” (No. 5), October 31, 1892, Publishing Historical Materials, 1989, No. 1, pp. 34–35.  “Wan Guo Gong Bao’s Small Enlightenment on Beggars,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 7, August 1889, p. 1.  Timothy Richard, “Improve the New Issues of Newspaper to Reveal the Current Situation,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 67, August 1894, pp. 10–11.

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Similar work had also been carried out after the publication of Current Affairs. The advertisement published in the seventeenth volume of the newspaper stated that the solicitation work for the current affairs conference class was planned to be carried out: “Classes are opened twice a year, and test papers will be drafted and decided by examiners together. Answers will be sealed and marked by different group of experts in various fields. Award [sic] will be issued, the first place is 30 yuan, the second and the third place are 15 yuan, the fourth to the tenth place are each 10 yuan. The best volume will be chosen for publishing.” Names of two lessons were announced respectively, “why there can’t be reforms in China” and “on Agronomy” (a detailed discussion on the Yixing and new agronomy laws in China, where the provinces were suitable, and the articles were mainly listed in detail).131 It was not difficult to see that the questions presented were based on the common forms in the imperial examinations. Later, the second test questions of the lesson of current affairs were released, which were, “Ask if all the bad policies before the Japanese Restoration are more similar to those of China today, if so, the policies should be listed”; and “After the book The End of the Middle East War.”132 In addition, the previously discussed newspapers such as Learning New Knowledge, Hunan Gazette, Ta Kung Pao, and The Eastern Miscellany had also held similar essays. Such questions were highly consistent with the questions proposed in “policy discussion” of the imperial examination, indicating that newspapers were involved in the imperial examination in a variety of ways. In the newspaper sales process, it also showed that the imperial examinations had an important influence. Current Affairs provided examples that were accepted by scholars because of the imperial examination. When Huang Zunxian wrote to Wang Kangnian, he said, “In this year’s rural examination, scholars will gather in the provincial capital. It seems that one or two hundred copies can be sent to each province, and more copies are expected.” Based on this judgment, “If other provinces follow the suit, two or three thousand copies or even more could be added.”133 The last chapter explained that Wang Liyuan, who was in Jiangxi, complained and felt it difficult to promote Current Affairs. However, in a letter to Wang Kangnian later, the tone had completely changed, as there was “no copies to sell,” and thus Wang Kangnian was urged to send miniatures of Current Affairs

 “Advertisements of the Newspaper Office,” Current Affairs, Vol. 17, January 13, 1897, “advertisements,” p. 2.  “Advertisements of the Newspaper Office,” Current Affairs, Vol. 38, September 7, 1897, “advertisements,” p. 1.  Huang Zunxian, “To Wang Kangnian” (30), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (3), p. 2357.

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for sale.134 What made Wang Liyuan so eager was that the imperial examination offered a great opportunity to sell Current Affairs.

The Influence of Abolishing Eight-egged Essays and Requiring Policy Essays The reform of the imperial examination system in the late Qing Dynasty was quite tortuous. During the Hundred Days’ Reform, Emperor Guangxu issued an announcement about rural and general examinations, “For the first test, there will be five questions about Chinese history and the state politics; the second test also includes five questions about current affairs, specializing in politics of other countries on five continents. In the third test, two essays from four books and one essay from five classics will be tested.” In particular, it also pointed out that “all subsequent examinations will focus on studies and politics.”135 However, most of the measures issued during the Hundred Days’ Reform were not implemented. After the coup, everything was stopped and the old system was restored with imperial examination as no exception. But the wheels of history could not be stopped, and on August 28, 1901, the encyclical reiterated the opinions of the period of the Hundred Days’ Reform period.136 In this case, the review of the reaction triggered by the “imperial examination reform” actually included two periods. Although the proposals of the Hundred Days’ Reform were not implemented, their influence was still spreading, especially booksellers, whose interests were at stake, and their responses were quicker than ordinary scholars. Liang Qichao later reviewed the influence of “abolition of eight-legged essay and reform of the test” on ordinary scholars, and pointed out that the selection of officials through imperial examinations made it difficult to accept new knowledge. The implication was that the effect of abolishing imperial examination was to introduce new knowledge to the public. Whether it was as Liang said, that “Anyone with lofty ideals in the world will drink wine to celebrate when reading the edict,” was hard to say. While in the face of such a sudden change, scholars would inevitably panic. But the other situation he mentioned was worth paying attention to, that “Imperial examinations have been abandoned. Over the past few months, the world has changed. Tens of millions of people have had to give

 Wang Liyuan, “To Wang Kangnian” (8), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (1), p. 1029.  Zhu Shoupeng, Guangxu Era Donghua Records, Vol. 4, p. 4141.  Veritable Records of Emperor Dezong of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 485, July 16, 1901, in Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, Vol. 58, pp. 411–412.

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up their rabbit garden pamphlets and include sermons, and argue for the reason of the nations, and various new studies, scrambling to read maps and to discuss translated Western Books.”137 Liang Qichao clearly pointed out the guiding role of the imperial examination reform and “policy discussion” was an important intermediary for the introduction of new knowledge. An article in Ge Zhi Yi Wen Hui Bao stated that the reform of the imperial examination system was the opportunity for change, and he was convinced that “the China hereafter will not be the same as she was 20 years ago; the later China’s learning from the west will also be different from that of 20 years ago.”138 In combination with the publication activities of the Christian Literature Society for China, Timothy Richard explained, regarding the books translated by the Christian Literature Society for China in the past ten years, “Few people were interested when they were first printed, and they were often given away at random . . . In recent three years, the popularity of these publications across the whole country has fully proved the will of Chinese people to seek new knowledge.”139 As for the scholars who participated in the imperial examination, there were unavoidable changes. Xu Baoheng, who was currently on the road of scientific research, was worried about the inheritance of the “sacred path.”140 In fact, this matter had caused quite a fierce response among related groups such as tutors and scholars. On the one hand, there were abundant insightful people who “welcome the change all together,” and surely the change would make “the foundation of the nation’s prosperity and strength,” as “relief is an urgent task.” But on the other hand, the conservative party “knows the imperial decree of the time and text, guesses that there is nothing to do, and all are dumbfounded, crying at the same time.”141 The article called “Ghost of Current Essay” published by Dianshizhai Pictorial also ridiculed scholars who found it difficult to adapt to the reform of the imperial examination system in the form of pictures and texts.142

 Liang Qichao, “The Coup of 1898,” Collected Writings from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio, Vol. 6, Special Collection One, pp. 25–26.  “Western Learning is the Fundamental Theory of Prosperity and Power,” Gezhiyiwen News, No. 2, July 24, 1898, In The News, August 29, 1898, p. 2.  Timothy Richard, Cai Erkang, “A Brief Introduction to the Eleventh Annual Report of the Christian Literature Society for China” (with speeches from the annual meeting), Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 120, January 1899, pp. 25–26.  Xu Keru, ed., Diary of Xu Baoheng, Vol. 1, May 14, 1898, Zhonghua Book Company, 2010, p. 27.  “Punctuality,” marked “Recorded in Shanghai News,” see Hunan Gazette, No. 132, August 19, 1898, p. 527.  “Ghost of Current Essay,” Dianshizhai Pictorial, Zhen No. 12, August 3, 1898, p. 94.

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However, Wu Rulun pointed out the gains and losses among them, stating “this is not justified.” What he questioned the key to it this, he stated, “It is easy to say but difficult to do”143 and that the “imperial examination has just started to change, the translation and compilation are still in their preliminary stages, while writers in the northern and southern government have their own opinions.”144 Yan Fu’s letter to Zhang Yuanji talked about the promotion of the translation industry after the reform of the imperial examination system. It was this change that had triggered various “transitions” in the book industry. When the reform of the imperial examination system was officially launched in 1902, The Universal Gazette also continuously published articles for review. “On the Many Books of Poor Quality in Shanghai” directly explained the results brought about by the new chapter of the imperial examination: those book merchants found a great opportunity and thus categorized whatever was needed for the imperial examination and demanded by scholars, making a lot of profit.145 The other text pointed out that the imperial examination was not bad, “but there are many disadvantages.” After the examination policy theory was changed, in a short period of time, the candidates were expected to not only know all about the politics and history of their country, but also understand the politics of other countries, and not neglect the four books and five classics, which was quite difficult to do.146 For this reason, The Universal Gazette later also stated the proposition that “translated books should be promoted urgently . . . The country’s existing imperial examinations, the wide-ranging translation of books cannot be delayed.”147 This also meant that the impact of the reform of the trial policy theory was first reflected in the publication. In fact, the reform of the imperial examination system was still in the stage of “rumors.” The Christian Literature Society for China, which had always attached great importance to the promotion of new learning for scholars, published an advertisement in Wan Guo Gong Bao to promote books. An advertisement detailed The End of the War in the Middle East, Literature Rejuvenation Policy, New Views on Current Affairs, and The New History of the West published by the Society, stating

 Wu Rulun, “To Li Jigao,” Wu Zhifu Letters, Vol. 1, Rotary Club of Chinese Studies, Vol. 1, 1910, p. 7.  Yan Fu, “Letter to Zhang Yuanji” (11), September 18, 1901, in Wang Shi, ed., Yan Fu Collection, No. 3, p. 544.  “On the Many Inferior Books in Shanghai,” The Universal Gazette, August 29, 1902, p. 1.  “On the Unsoundness of the Reform of the Imperial Examination,” The Universal Gazette, August 30, 1902, p. 1.  “On the Urgent Promotion of Translated Books,” The Universal Gazette, August 30 and 31, 1903, p. 1.

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“it is a sharp tool for investment in time . . . Meihua Library, Shenyang Library, Shenyang On consignment at Chang Calligraphy and Painting Studio and Gezhi Book Company, reprints must be investigated.”148 In 1898, the imperial examination reformation was published, and the New Learning Compendium published by the Guangxi society that year even stated, “The scholars who inherited the studies can then draw materials,” so fortunately there was.149 By 1901, when the imperial government reiterated its views during the Reform Movement of 1898, the publication of planning books around the second volume of “Political Arts and Learning Strategies of Various Countries” also became a trend. Three Important Aspects of Western Learning published in 1902 pointed out that, in recent years, a great number of western books have been translated, and those with aspirations couldn’t help but sigh. In the context of the reform of imperial examination system, scholars were even more “suffering and helpless” in the face of the huge amount. For this reason, it was hoped that the compilation of the books with careful categorization and classification “could benefit scholars who are interested in western learning in order to seek governance.”150 There were countless materials on various courses specially compiled for exam-takers. The Compilation of Sino-Foreign Economics and Strategies published in 1902 pointed out, “This compilation is designed for the exam-takers of imperial examination and the prosperity of the country.”151 The Compilation of Chinese and Foreign Current Affairs Policy published in 1903 also pointed out, “the imperial examination was based on foreign political art. Those who were not experts in western books would inevitably be at a loss and sigh. It was based on the origins of Chinese and western academics, and the political gains and losses of various countries could also be integrated into China.”152 It was almost impossible to fully display the many policy materials published by the late Qing Dynasty in conjunction with the reform of the imperial examination system; and it was also difficult to evaluate the situation of publication and distribution. The various “restrictions” frequently published in Shen Bao showed

 Wan Guo Gong Bao Office, “A Necessary Book in the Examination Field,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, Vol. 91, August 1896, p. 32.  Timothy Richard, “Preface to the New Learning Compendium,” co-authored by Young John Allen, Timothy Richard, and Li Jiabai, in Cai Erkang, ed., New Learning Compendium, Christian Literature Society for China, 1898, p. 1.  Xie Ruochao, “Three Links of Western Learning·Study,” in Yuan Zonglian and Yan Zhiqing, eds., Three Links of Western Learning, Shanghai Wenshengtang, 1902, pp. 2–3.  Tingqiu Jiulu Zhuren, ed., Chinese and Foreign Economics and Strategies, Hongxuezhai edition, 1902, “Preface,” 1–2.  Ling Lianghan, “Preface,” in Qiushizhai Zhuren, ed., Chinese and Foreign Current Affairs Policy Questions, Qiushizhai, 1903, p. 1.

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that such books had been repeatedly “reprinted.” An article entitled “Ban on Reprints” issued such a sentiment: “Reprinting must be investigated. It is almost a commonplace talk.” In particular, “Since the imperial examination of the imperial court has been revised, new books have appeared in endlessly, and profit-shooters have rushed to reprint it first. When every book is published, the author must ask the official to show it to protect his rights.”153 Regarding the sales of books, the records left by Kaiming Bookstore were sufficient for reference. The book company sold books in Jinling in 1901 and left relevant records, as shown in Table 8.5. Table 8.5: Book sales of Kaiming book company. Subject History Geography Politics and Law Economy Education Science Newspaper Essay Examination

Sales Categories Number of Sales         

        

Source: Gong Nu (Xia Songlai), “Selling Books in Jinling” (1902), in Zhang Jinglu, Materials of Modern Chinese Publishing History, Part 3, pp. 384–402.

It was not surprising to list newspapers in books that were to be sold. There were many test-takers who read newspapers to prepare for the examination (to be detailed later). As for the most of books that had been sold, history was the most common for two reasons, “First, history is facts, so the translation is smooth and easy to read; second, this imperial examination also asks about the political affairs of various countries, so I have to ask for some clues.” But why were the sales of academic books unsatisfactory? The author explained the reason like this, “Experimental books are not what our generation pays attention to, thus very few people would like to purchase.” It also specifically stated that the average store should exceed this number dozens of times, “it is not a criterion.”154 Later, the group went to Bianliang again and loaded more than 20 boxes containing more

 “The Encyclopedia of Reprinting,” Shen Bao, 1903 March 18, p. 3.  Gong Nu (Xia Songlai), “Selling Books in Jinling” (1902), Zhang Jinglu annotated The First Edition of Chinese Modern Publishing Historical Materials, pp. 384–402.

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than 200 kinds of books, from which we can also understand the situation of the book buyers.155

Choices of Imperial Examination Participants The “reform of the examination policy” not only affected the translation and publishing industry, but also greatly affected scholars. This move sent out a clear message. The content of the imperial examination would focus on testing scholars’ understanding of current affairs and mastery of new knowledge of Western learning. Therefore, regardless of whether they agreed or not, scholars who participated in the imperial examination would be affected by this to understand the format and genre, as well as model essays that could be exemplified. In fact, scholars valued not only western books, with newspapers also their important choices. Bao Tianxiao’s Memoirs of Kushiro Studios told about the various changes experienced by the young people who were affected by the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. Scholars who had never talked about national affairs were shocked and also had to keep up with current affairs. They were thinking about whether scholars had other knowledge that should be studied besides what was required by the imperial examination. So, “I often buy posters to read to have a little knowledge of current affairs, to make comments, and pretend to be a reformer.”156 Bao mentioned that newspapers had become the choice of scholars, indicating that newspapers, as a new medium, had long been associated with new knowledge and current affairs. Specific to scholars who used the imperial examination as a stepping stone, there were also many examples to illustrate the impact of the “examination reform.” Pi Xirui made such a judgment in his diary at the beginning of 1898, “Here we hear about the changes in the imperial examination, the price of western learning books will definitely rise.” In the next few days, Pi Guozhen went to Fu Book Company, Xinxue Book Company and other places to buy new books and newspapers.157 Pi Xirui was not under the pressure of exams. Based on this, it was conceivable that the scholars

 Wang Weitai, “Sell Books,” Selling Books in Bianliang, p. 11.The article also revealed that in Bianliang “opened Shizhong Book Company to those who have no new books for sale, and in the autumn there are friends in Shanghai who set up Shizhong Book Company, and they sell all the books in the field, with new books occasionally, and there are quite a few consultants.” Ibid., p. 1.  Bao Tianxiao, Memoirs of Kushiro Studios, p. 135.  Pi Xirui, Diary of Shifutang, Vol. 3, January 20–24, 1898, p. 14.

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who took the exam would chase these books and newspapers. Wang Weitai’s Selling Books in Bianliang also mentioned this scene, “Many people asked if they had entrained the book the day before the show” and “the buyers followed each other.”158 Here was a clear way to deal with scholars participating in the imperial examination. Because of the requirements of the “examination reform strategy,” it was almost impossible for scholars to read the books involved in the three examinations, so they had to “buy as many books as they can in case needed.” In other words, although many scholars found it difficult to accept such a reform, they still had to make adjustments to it. The diaries of Zhu Zhisan comprehensively reflected the situation from 1901 to 1904. In 1901, he recorded the adjustments made by his teacher in teaching, and immediately set up “positive topics,” namely “China and the West, the source of profit overflows, how to rectify business, redeem the rights of profits,” and “Railway in one fell swoop in the overall situation of China. What’s the problem, try to make it exactly.” It is no wonder that Zhu also reacted like this, “At this time, the teacher likes to read new books and emphasizes on current affairs. The teachers in the city are all happy and talk, and lead them to teach.”159 By 1902, Zhu was actively making choices. The diary mentioned, “There are people from Wuhan who sell private essays from various provinces to the county. The format of these essays are the same as required by the reform. For those who have just stopped writing eight-legged essays, they get to know how to write according to the requirement of the reform.”160 In a 1904 diary entry, Zhu Zhisan wrote, “I’ve been reading examination papers for a few days, the papers are litho-printed by a book company in Shanghai this year, and the first question was selected Great Learning. It is a pity that font is too small, and hard to the eyes.”161 Not only this, Zhu also tried various ways to obtain new books to meet the needs of writing articles. There was a record in the diary, “In the afternoon, Yuan Xiasheng borrowed new current affairs books purchased by Zheng Chifan, such as The Soul of China and New Citizen.”162 The reason for choosing these books and periodicals was that “imitating its style is a useful tool for imperial examination.”163

 Wang Weitai, “Selling Books,” Selling Books in Bianliang, pp. 7–8.  Yan Changhong, ed., Diaries of Zhu Zhisan (1893–1919), August 22, September 23, 24, 1901, pp. 90–91, 92.  Yan Changhong, ed., Diaries of Zhu Zhisan (1893–1919), September 21, 1902, p. 101.  Yan Changhong, ed., Diaries of Zhu Zhisan (1893–1919), September 24, 1904, p. 155.  Yan Changhong, ed., Diaries of Zhu Zhisan (1893–1919), April 18, 1902, p. 102.  Yan Changhong ed., Diaries of Zhu Zhisan (1893–1919), December 10, 1902, p. 103.

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The same incident happened to Qian Xuantong. Qian’s chronicle of 1901 stated that after the reform of the imperial examination, he was asked by his teacher to read Yinghuan Zhilue (A Short Account of the Maritime Circuit), Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, Oriental History, and Geography Questions and Answers, and also read Prosperous Times and Xiaoyulu Protest as well as other books. It is just that Qian was still “extremely abominable in new learning” at this time, and was quite content with “not following up with new scholars.”164 In 1902, Qian Xuantong took part in the Huzhou City Examination: “After returning from the examination, he was greeted by the teacher, and Feng Shi also said that he read a new book for a while.” That year, his brother came to Huzhou to visit the tomb and “presented four books from World Geography, History of the World, National Studies, and General Theory of Law.” It was also during this time that Qian said that “I intend to read the new book for a while, but I have not got the way. It is suitable for those who report to New Citizen because I want to read it.”165 The 1904 article also had such a record, “The spring of the year was the county exam, and many book publishers came to the book publishers. Because of the quality of the clothes, they bought new books and maps.”166 The choice of the above-mentioned scholars was not exceptional. On the occasion of the rural examination in 1902, an article published in Shen Bao noticed that there were quite a few scholars who were “good for knowledge of the new.” All the words in the books were complacent.167 In 1902, Huang Shaoji wrote to Zhang Feng and others about what he observed: “Beijing officials who are slightly talented and interested in learning scramble to read new books, and future selections will be among them. Books and newspapers in Shanghai have sold a hundred times more widely than in previous years.”168 Of course, in the face of such a major change, it was difficult for exam-takers to adapt, and there were many such examples. After the reform, when the rural exam was officially held, The News noticed that “the school was troubled, and the imperial examination was also troubled.” However, there was more sympathy for students, with mention that “the country seeks for talents, sometimes it sets up schools, sometimes it resorts to imperial examinations, and sometimes it calls up

 Qian Xuantong, “Draft of Mr. Qian Deqian’s Chronicle,” Diary of Qian Xuantong, Vol. 12, “Appendix 2,” pp. 7542–7543.  Qian Xuantong, “Draft of Mr. Qian Deqian’s Chronicle,” Diary of Qian Xuantong, Vol. 12, “Appendix 2,” pp. 7544–7548.  Qian Xuantong, “Draft of Mr. Qian Deqian’s Chronicle,” Diary of Qian Xuantong, Vol. 12, “Appendix 2,” p. 7555.  “Shu Ewei Post Promulgation,” Shen Bao, September 7, 1902, p. 1.  Yu Xiong, Diary of Zhang Wang, February 9, 1902, p. 92.

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imperial examinations and schools at the same time.” Such a changing policy had led to the occurrence of “riots in Jiangnan rural examination,” which were inevitable.169

IV Reading Newspapers: The Ladder Leading Scholars to Society After the abolition of the imperial examination in 1905, scholars who had lost the foundation they previously relied on needed an alternative. Wu Jianren’s Xin Xiaolin Guangji (New Laughing Forest Collection) depicted scholars who had been affected, “Scholars from Foshan began to write novels, and suddenly heard that the imperial examination was abolished, and it was clearly visible. I was eager to report it. As expected, I cast a pen and sighed, ‘From now on, howling ghosts will cry.’”170 Liu Dapeng also noticed, “Yesterday in the county, all my colleagues said that the scientific examination was abolished, and our way of earning lives were put to an end. If we want to seek other careers to make a living, but there is no job to trust, what will we do?”171 In this case, establishing a new role and identity would inevitably become the focus of scholars’ thinking. With the influence of newspapers ubiquitous, scholars were affected by the newspapers they read at this stage of academic development. There were also many examples, such as Li Oufan’s “collective sketch” of the May Fourth generation which highlighted the importance of reading newspapers.172 The only reason was that, in the consciousness of the scholars, the publication was clearly determined to be at the beginning of the relationship with the country and society. Liang Qichao clearly stated in a speech, “My first relationship with the country, that is, from the beginning of the newspaper business.”173 Qu Qiubai also regarded his participation in organizing the “New Society” issue as “the first contact with social life.”174 It was necessary to further explore how newspapers constituted a ladder for scholars to climb up the social ladder, and comprehensively affected the basic lives of scholars. It was not uncommon for scholars to achieve a worldly reputation through publication in newspapers. Since the beginning of the newspaper, the principals

 “On the Trouble in Jiangnan Township,” The News, October 11, 1903, p. 1.  Yao Gonghe, Shanghai Gossip, p. 128.  Liu Dapeng, Diary of Tuixiangzhai, September 25,1905, p. 147.  Leo Ou-fan Lee, “The Romantic Spirit of the May Fourth Literati,” in Zhou Cezong, et al., May Fourth and China, Times Culture Publishing Company, 1980, pp. 296–297.  “Liang Rengong’s Speech to the Press,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 14, No. 3, March 15, 1917, p. 183.  Qu Qiubai, New Russia Travel Notes, p. 30.

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of all parties chose the person they liked through the article. The reason why Chen Yan became Zhang Zhidong’s important staff was that Zhang saw his words from Qiu Shi Bao and praised him as “outstanding talent, brilliant articles, rare in modern times,” leading to him being invited to Hubei by his trustee.175 Chen Shutong recalled how the Business Translation Institute recruited talents, and also specifically mentioned Gao Mengdan’s entry into business because his articles in Current Affairs were “appreciated” by Zhang Yuanji.176 Yang Du founded China New Paper in Japan, which also enabled him to set foot on the ladder of success, and was later “submitted” by Yuan Shikai.177 This also showed that after the newspapers became popular, the “promotion” of scholars had a completely different meaning from that of the past. Not only that, writing articles for newspapers to solve livelihood problems had also become a possible choice for new-style scholars. Here we might as well combine the growth trajectory of several scholars at the beginning of the Republic of China. The experiences of Wu Yu and Wu Mi showed how newspapers connected individuals with society and relied on the resources they provide to improve their social status. It can even be said that for scholars, newspapers were the beginning of their relationship with society and constituted a “ladder of promotion” (of course only one of the ladders).

Wu Yu: The Tiger and New Youth as a Ladder of Social Mobility Wu Yu’s diary during the early Republican years showed that reading newspapers became an important part of the daily life of scholars in that era. In 1912, a diary entry read, “From now on, I read new books in the first half of the day, old books in the second half, and newspapers and novels in the evening to entertain myself.”178 Wu regarded reading newspapers and novels as entertainment, and his reading life revolved around these three areas, but there is evidence that the relationship with magazines was quite deep. In 1915, Wu Yu made a list of his published articles, involving 25 journals.179 A diary entry of 1920 indicated that he

 Li Xizhu, Zhang Zhidong and the Study of the Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty, Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House, 2003, p. 345.  Chen Shutong, “Memories of the Commercial Press,” The 90th Anniversary of The Commercial Press: Me and The Commercial Press, p. 135.  Ling Xiao Yi Shi’s Essays (2), Shanxi Ancient Books Publishing House, 1997, p. 590.  The Chinese Revolution Museum ed., Diary of Wu Yu, Vol. 1, March 2, 1912, p. 23.  The Chinese Revolution Museum ed., Diary of Wu Yu, Vol. 1, December 11, 12, 1915, pp. 230–231.

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subscribed to 12 magazines.180 This also showed how a scholar in China connected with the outside world through newspapers. Regarding “Looking for people who share the same opinions,” the process of reading newspapers and periodicals was also a process of choosing fellow scholars. When Wu Yu was reading the newspaper, anyone who felt similar thoughts wrote to the relevant editors and provided their own manuscripts. This was where the relationship between him and The Tiger and New Youth began. Chen Duxiu’s publication of Wu Yu’s text in The Tiger and New Youth also enabled Wu to enter the road of promotion. Because of Zhang Shizhao and Xie Wuliang’s approval, Chen learned that Wu Yu was a “famous place in Shu,” so he selected his “Xinhai Miscellaneous Poems,” interpreted this text, and published it in The Tiger Vol. 1, No. 7, published in 1915. Through the text published in New Youth, we can understand the general situation of the interaction between Chen and Wu. In his letter to Chen Duxiu, Wu Yu recorded his words one by one, “for confirmation.” Chen wrote back, “If all the rewards are given to you, you will receive New Youth and The Tiger separately, which will reward the later learning and will definitely be a good thing.”181 There were many examples of this aspect recorded in the diary, showing how the interaction between the reader and the publication occurs. In 1919, Wu Yu read Zhu Qianzhi’s “The Opposite of the New and the Old” in the News of Current Affairs, which mentioned, “If there is Mr. Wu Yu in Shu, it is better to reject the theory of Confucius. Especially meritorious.” He also said that “Mr. Wu Changwen wrote a book that praised Li Zhuowu, which was banned by officials.” For this reason, Wu immediately checked out the text about Li Zhuowu published in the “Progress” magazine and sent it to Zhu. Two months later, Zhu Qianzhi also wrote a letter from Beijing, “Please write “Li Zhuowu Learning Notes””.182 By publishing texts in newspapers, Wu Yu’s influence gradually expanded. In 1917, Liu Yazi, who was in charge of the Nanshe Society, wrote to Wu Yu, “Previously, I read a great book from The Republican Daily News. I know that he was the person who could advocate the style of the Tang dynasty in this world. I have no responsibility to admire. Please join the company.” Wu also accepted this happily, “Fill in the book, that is, Liu Yazi and Xie Wuliang will be the introductions.”183 In addition, there were Chen Yanzheng from the “remote part of western Hubei” and Masaji Aoki from Japan who wrote to Wu Yu expressing his admiration for reading

 The Chinese Revolution Museum ed., Diary of Wu Yu, Vol. 1, October 25, 1920, p. 561.  Chen Duxiu, “Answer to Wu Youling,” New Youth, Vol. 2, No. 5, January 1, 1917, p. 4.  The Chinese Revolution Museum, ed., Diary of Wu Yu, Vol. 1, May 14 and July 18, 1919, pp. 462, 473.  The Chinese Revolution Museum, ed., Diary of Wu Yu, Vol. 1, March 5, 1917, p. 290.

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his words in newspapers and periodicals.184 Moreover, the influence was not limited to the public opinion circle, and the door of Peking University was also opened for it. In 1917, his cousin Wu Junyi wrote and stated that Zhang Shizhao and Hu Shih “proclaimed that the academic thoughts of his brother are not like those who read more old books,” so “the brother plans to recommend his brother to teach Chinese literature at Peking University.”185 It was a recommendation, not because Wu Yu had long been famous. In the summer of 1921, Wu was formally employed at Peking University as a professor of Chinese literature. Wu Yu’s example showed how scholars made use of newspapers to embark on the road of promotion. Such examples were not isolated. Reading newspapers and periodicals had actually become the main way for teenagers in that era to receive training. Liang Shuming’s self-reported “history of self-study” stated, Magazines and newspapers has been of great importance to my self-study. Many specialized books or important classics that have attracted my attention are often read from magazines and newspapers, and then I would find the complete edition to read through. This is true of Chinese scriptures and even Buddhist scriptures. It is also the case with books in various social sciences.

Of course, there was a special case of Peng Yizhong (who had a close relationship with Liang Ji) who founded Enlightenment Pictorial and Jinghua Ribao. When he was in his elementary school years, there were people who had “prepared for him a lot of good books to read.”186 Ai Wu had also read newspapers and periodicals extensively since elementary school: “From the beginning of his love of Students Tide, he went further to search for the vernacular newspapers and periodicals in the school library.” New Youth, The Renaissance, Weekly Review, Weekly Critic, and The Journal of the Young China Association had “become a regular reading after class in the future.”187 The same happened to Mao Zedong. In 1920, Mao stated in a letter, “Now I have not obtained a clearer concept of all kinds of doctrines and doctrines. They each constitute a clear concept.”188 When interviewed by Edgar Snow in Yan’an, Mao also specifically stated:

 The Chinese Revolution Museum, ed., Diary of Wu Yu, Vol. 1, December 3, 1920, November 18, 1921, pp. 567–578, 654–655.  The Chinese Revolution Museum, ed., Diary of Wu Yu, Vol. 1, December 27, 1917, p. 361.  Liang Shuming’s Self Account, Lijiang Publishing House, 1996, pp. 12–13.  Ai Wu, “The Waves of the May Fourth Movement,” Memoirs of the May Fourth Movement, Vol. 2, China Social Sciences Press, 1979, pp. 961–962.  Literature Research Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, ed., Mao Zedong’s Early Manuscripts, Hunan Publishing House, 1995, p. 474.

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During my years at Changsha Normal School, I spent only one hundred and sixty dollars in total—including my many registration fees! Of this money, one-third must be spent on newspapers, because the subscription fee is one yuan per month. I often bought books and magazines at newsstands. My father scolded me for waste. He said it was squandering money on waste paper. But I have developed the habit of reading newspapers. From 1911 to 1927, when I went to Jinggangshan, I never stopped reading the daily newspapers of Beijing, Shanghai and Hunan.189

In Zhang Jinglu’s autobiography, the famous publisher talked about “changing tastes” in reading. His reading life started when he was an apprentice in a tavern in Shanghai: “There are more notes and novels . . . It was only when I was 16 that I changed my taste . . . The first thing I got in touch with was Fiction Monthly edited by Mr. Yun Tieqiao.” That was how he stepped into reading, writing, and contributing his writings: “On the one hand, I work every day (reading), on the other hand, I produce every day (writing) without any interruption.” Not only writing and submitting articles, “When I was 17 years old, I also ran a small newspaper – ‘Little Shanghai.’” After the customs declaration, he borrowed a few hundred yuan in debt and published two magazines, Novel Forest and Comedy Forest.190

Wu Mi: Taking Magazines as his Ambition Wu Mi’s experience was also worth mentioning. It not only showed how a young life was related to magazines, but also how Wu Hexin chose this as his lifelong career. In a diary entry of July 1911, Wu Mi described the creation of magazines as a teenager. From the age of 11 to 16 years old, there were more than 10 kinds. Although what was left was only a record of failure: many magazines were not officially compiled, and often only one or two volumes were published. However, children at this age did not have such an experience, which cannot but be eyecatching. What made Wu Mi feel relieved was that “My writings were printed and published properly before the end of his career.” Therefore, he also said, “If you have time in the future, you can still regroup and open up a new world for our Shanxi newspaper industry.”191

 Edgar Snow, Westward Journey, Dong Leshan trans., SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1979, p. 126.  Zhang Jinglu, Twenty Years in the Publishing Industry: Zhang Jinglu’s Autobiography, pp. 29–30, 45–46.  Wu Xuezhao, ed., Diary of Wu Mi, Vol. 1, July 16, 1911, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1998, pp. 109–110.

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The newspaper activities that Wu Mi tried when he was young in a remote place in Shanxi may not have necessarily become his “ladder of promotion,” but his childhood experience was obviously not without influence. After entering Tsinghua School, in his busy academic life, he still devoted a lot of energy to running magazines. He not only intervened in the compilation of Tsinghua Weekly and read magazines published in the United States, but also linked his academic ideals with running magazines. Talking to classmate Tang Yongtong about his future ambitions, Wu stated that his goal was to “connect with comrades, open an academy, and create a doctrine that is dedicated to advocating morality and supporting society.” The way to proceed was to “publish multiple magazines.”192 With this idea, when choosing a subject, he also cautiously stated that he would use magazines as his career. The diary entry dated March 9, 1915 stated, “The future will be the most beautiful. I specialize in printing and magazine business. I hope that I will succeed and have nothing to do.” Regarding Wu Mi’s decision, “all friends disagree.” The family’s parents and relatives and friends, “all took the remaining decision as a mistake,” but he insisted on this choice.193 At this time, Wu Mi may not have known what the “newspaper industry” was about, and whether there was this subject to choose from. After arriving in the United States, Wu Fang knew that “the newspaper industry is dedicated to business profitability.” There are details that teachers and Chen Yinke “both deeply contemptuously despise the newspaper industry, and persuaded Mi to study literature as a ‘critic’.” Even so, Wu Mi still said, “If you are in the United States, if you don’t look at the facts, such as the newspaper industry and the printing industry, if you don’t know anything about it, then this is a false line of business.”194 What led to Wu Mi’s obsession in choosing a career was also related to his attention to the domestic magazine industry. Wu Mi was very concerned about New Youth, The Renaissance, and other magazines and Chen Duxiu, Hu Shih, and others who advocated vernacular literature, and the evaluation was completely negative, “The vernacular literature of today is prosperous, and the poison is very serious.”195 By 1920, Wu Mi planned to return to China and finally chose Beijing. Jingshi was a nationwide school. There was nothing wrong with making this choice. The key was that Wu Mi had already planned to return to the country, “It must be the old testament, and Mei Jun and others co-organize a journal to ward

   

Wu Xuezhao, ed., Diary of Wu Mi Vol. 1, March 13, 1914, p. 312. Wu Xuezhao, ed., Diary of Wu Mi Vol. 1, March 9, October 20, 1915, pp. 413, 511. Wu Xuezhao, ed., Diary of Wu Mi Vol. 2, November 13, 1919, p. 91. Wu Xuezhao, ed., Diary of Wu Mi Vol. 2, December 14, 1919, p. 105.

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off evil spirits with righteousness.”196 In fact, Wu had not yet returned to China, so he published “Remembering the New Culture Movement” and “China’s Old and New Culture Movement” in Students Abroad to comprehensively review the New Culture Movement. The activities of Wu Yu and Wu Mi who devoted themselves to the magazine industry showed how scholars who had bid farewell to the imperial examination era established new roles and identities by relying on newspapers. Regardless of the time, scholars always had symbols to show the meaning of their status (the same is true for other social classes); what had changed was the way that this status was expressed. From the above examples, it was not difficult to find that newspapers were forming an “intermediate link” that connected scholars with the outside world in the Republic of China. The key point was that the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic was a period of transition from scholars to intellectuals. The prosperity of newspapers had also become an important channel for scholars to express their identity. Of course, scholars relying on newspapers did not share a single identity. Different from the late Qing Dynasty, scholars who were involved in the newspaper industry had multiple identities. This also meant further thinking about how newspapers should transcend individuals and integrate with universities and other institutions. Through the interaction between the scholars and the newspapers, especially the association between the scholars on the university campus and the newspapers, it could be seen that the lifestyle of scholars in the Republic of China was different from that of the past. A short article published by Zhang Dongsun on Morning News highlighted this point, “Newspapers are a miniature of the society” and “when society changes, newspapers must also change.”197 Similarly, newspapers also reflected the new role of scholars. One thing was clear; no matter how we look at the newspapers, perhaps we have to admit that the newspapers have increasingly and profoundly affected all aspects of social life since the late Qing Dynasty; and the scholars’ discussions about this may not directly influence the evolution of society. However, what kind of social class thinking about China issues can bypass the newspaper as a medium?

 Wu Xuezhao, ed., Diary of Wu Mi, Vol. 2, March 4, 1920, p. 134.  Dongsun, “The Present and Future of Newspapers,” Morning News Anniversary Supplement, December 1, 1919, p. 5.

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V Center and Periphery: Different Reading Experiences Newspapers constituted a ladder for the promotion of new-style scholars and made them relevant to society. It was a prominent scene since the late-Qing Dynasty, but when it came to reading newspapers, it was also necessary to see that there was a big difference between the center and the periphery. The second chapter of this book depicted the “ideological map” created by newspapers, which had shown that the book market in modern China presented huge differences between places, and the reading link was no exception. Yao Wenzhuo wrote to Wang Kangnian when he was the education minister in Yunnan province. He wrote in the letter, “Wan Guo Gong Bao had the most detailed description about negotiation. There is no such newspaper here, thus it is impossible to know. There are only two or three places where Chinese newspapers from Shanghai could be read throughout the province.”198 It was not difficult to see from this that the channels for scholars to obtain newspapers were inherently different, and it was not easy for scholars living in remote areas to access newspapers. The differences in regions and identities would naturally bring about different reading experiences. Therefore, it was also necessary to investigate the different reading experiences of scholars based on the difference between the center and the periphery. It needed to be explained that the review of the reading life of scholars in the late-Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China was quite difficult and could only be differentiated and analyzed based on individual cases. The analysis here focused on the reading of New Youth after its inauguration and the feedback it had generated. It was really a last resort. The choice of New Youth and the New Culture Movement was only because only by reducing the “unit of historical research” could the situation of reading be better presented. In other words, focusing on individual cases was more helpful to grasp the mechanism by which newspapers influence individuals. It was also worth reviewing that the inquiry into influence tended to focus on the participants of the event, focusing on “being,” while those who were not affected by this became “aphasia,” which were all attributed to “nothing.” Regarding the “influence” of the New Culture Movement, numerous “reminiscences” provided information about the “existence.” Various “memories” established the narrative mode of reading New Youth and participating in the May Fourth Movement. It was undeniable that even according to the “Communications” column of New Youth, it was not difficult to find how the magazine was widely read. However,

 Yao Wenzhuo, “To Wang Kangnian” (1), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1236.

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the narrative could also be based on “nothing,” because the establishment of the “time” of reading also proved that there had never been any contact with New Youth; this was by no means uncommon. This tone may not be so harmonious, but it did emerge. Wang Fanxi, who was born in a remote town in Haining, Zhejiang Province, in 1907, said, “The trouble of the students in Beijing was not even noticed by the teachers in our highest institution.” Of course, children who were more than ten years old were even more at a loss. It had been one or two years since I knew about this, and even was affected by this movement.199 The “highest institution” referred to a “complete elementary school” where Wang attended. Yu Ying-shih, born in 1930, also mentioned that he spent eight years in his hometown, Guanzhuang County of Qianshan, Anhui, a typical “poor and remote place” where there was neither modern education nor traditional private schools. Before the age of 16, he did not know at all about the May Fourth Movement.200 What is more intriguing was that the national language test paper of the Peking University entrance examination in 1922 contained a question that mentioned “Discussing the lessons learned by the youth since the May Fourth Movement.” Elsewhere, an article in Student Magazine named “The Japanese Sports Meeting” detailed how “there are very few candidates” for the May Fourth Movement.201 The research situation was not optimistic. Wu Qiyuan’s An Overview of China’s New Culture Movement was published by Modern Publishing House in 1934. The comments published in Tsinghua Weekly discussed the unprecedented changes in thinking that had occurred in recent decades: “or only the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period can be compared . . . Unfortunately, until now, there has not been a book that can capture this complicated and confusing situation and give a brief and concise introduction.”202 It can be seen that the impact of the May Fourth Movement was still a question that needed to be reviewed in depth. It was quite necessary to examine the new cultural movement based on the “center” and “periphery.” If you can discover specific reading experiences from a broader perspective, the perception of this may be different. It must be admitted that it was not easy to speak about the “marginal.” After all, New Youth was widely spread. International students in the United States and Japan, as well as teenagers living in remote places, had provided proof of

 Wang Fanxi, Shuangshan Memoirs, Oriental Publishing House, 2004, p. 1.  Yu Ying-shih, “My Inheritance from the May Fourth Movement,” Modern Crisis and Thought Figures, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2005, pp. 71–74.  Jia Mo, “Youth Life and Common Sense,” Students’ Magazine, Vol. 11, No. 9, September 1924, pp. 42–47.  Qiao Ping, “Wu Qiyuan’s An Overview of China’s New Cultural Movement” (Book Review), Vol. 41, No. 6, Tsinghua Weekly, April 28, 1934, p. 106.

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reading. The analysis was difficult to provide a full range of perspectives. But how to read and whether it presented the different colors of “center” and “periphery” was also worthy of attention. It was especially necessary to reveal the reading experience of New Youth in different time and space backgrounds.203 Here I will select a few individuals to review their reading experience, and distinguish two different situations, one being the situation of those who have left the campus, and the other the situation of the students in school. The former took Jin Yufu in the northeast as an example, while the latter chose Yun Daiying from Wuchang Zhonghua University and Chen Fanyu from Zhejiang First Normal School as examples.

Jin Yufu’s Reading Life in the Northeast Jin Yufu’s study life began when he entered a private school at the age of six. Although he once dropped out of school at the age of 16, he stated there “has not been a waste of books in a day.” In 1906, he re-entered Qihua Primary School in Liaoyang County, Liaoning Province. In 1916, he graduated from the School of Literature of Peking University. After returning to the northeast, Jin taught at the Shenyang Literature College and concurrently served as secretary of the Fengtian Provincial Assembly. Since then, he had traveled between Shenyang, Qiqihar, and Changchun. Jin Yufu’s Diary of the Quiet Meeting Room began in March 1920, showing examples of widespread exposure to new knowledge despite being on the edge. Reading newspapers had also become the main content of daily life, and there was this comment: “Europeans and Americans like to read newspapers and magazines. They become addicted to it and do not give up for a day. This is the reason why their civilization is advancing . . . However, most people in our country do not like to read newspapers. As for the scholars of the magazine’s monographs, almost no one has ever asked about it.”204 After starting to keep a diary in 1920, Jin Yufu reviewed magazines including New Youth, New China, Ta Kung Pao, Study Art, The Eastern Miscellany, Reconstruction, Current Affairs News, Morning News, Construction, and Pacific. Where it was, it seemed that it was easy to buy the required magazines, indicating that

 The “center” and “periphery” are really too broad and vague words. Moreover, the “center” becoming the “center” relies on the “periphery,” and the “periphery” also continuously produces identification with the “center”. The two themselves form an interactive relationship, which makes it difficult to draw a clear boundary. For an analysis of this, see Edward Shils, Center and Periphery, University of Chicago Press, 1975.  Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 2, Book 1, June 11, 1920, p. 52.

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books and newspapers had established a fairly convenient sales channel at that time. Jin often commented on the magazines he read in his diary. On August 29, 1920, he stated: “In the past few years, the domestic publishing industry has been very developed. Among the newspapers, the best daily newspapers are Shanghai’s Current Affairs and Beijing’s Morning News, as for monthly publications the best are New Youth, The Renaissance, University Monthly, New Education, and Xueyi. It is also appreciable.”205 Regarding the influence of the New Culture Movement, the translocation of New Youth and The Eastern Miscellany was often mentioned, but the information provided by Jin Yufu was not the case. On December 5, 1920, there was a record, “New Youth and Construction are all top grade magazines in recent years.”206 This record was inaccurate. The previous diary said that he had read New Youth and quoted related texts. However, the reason for such a “memory” dislocation may be because of reading too many magazines, or it may be because of unimpressed reading. In contrast, the diary of January 15, 1921, had more sympathy for The Eastern Miscellany: “There are people who ridicule the stale The Eastern Miscellany, but there is no equivalent in their domestic fate. This year’s The Eastern Miscellany is the eighteenth year. Anyone who runs any business, such as the longevity of The Eastern Miscellany, will not have a greater subsidy with our country’s culture!”207 In addition to magazines, Jin Yufu also commented on popular discourses in the New Culture Movement in his diary. What is interesting was that there was no tension between the new faction and the old faction, and there was even no clear boundary between the two factions. The influence of Hu Shih in the New Culture Movement surpassed that of Liang Qichao, which was based on a rather important observation based on the “central” standpoint. However, Jin’s comments on Hu Shih and Liang Qichao in his diary only paid attention to the “new ideological trend.” The explanation was slightly different.208 One diary entry stated, “The only person who can talk about academic theory in vernacular language and is fascinating at this is Hu Shih. He is the only one comparable to Liang Qichao. The big difference between the two is that Liang lacks expertise in other subjects besides politics. In this sense, Liang is not as good as Hu.”209 Jin Yufu not only criticized Liang Qichao for “pursuing not perfection but extensive learning” but also pointed out that the “new scholar Hu Shih” also had

    

Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 3, Book 1, August 29, 1920, p. 99. Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 5, Book 1, December 5, 1920, p. 169. Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 6, Book 1, January 15, 1921, p. 214. Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 4, Book 1, October 6, 1920, p. 132. Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 5, Book 1, November 24, 1920, p. 160.

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this drawback, indicating that his argument was more of “reconciliation.”210 It could be seen that the dispute between the old and the new was based on the perspective of the outside world, or there may be different views. Jin’s diary often mentioned the remarks made by the old and the new factions, which were probably equal, and there is no indication of toward which side they are biased. He also particularly advocated “compatibility and inclusiveness.” “Construction” magazine once published Hu Hanmin’s article on Confucianism’s rejection of dissidents, and cited Confucius Zhu Shaozhengmao as a testimony. Jin could not help but sigh, “Based on this, I think about today’s people who are engaged in the New Cultural Movement. If they have been contemporaries of Confucius, who would not be been condemned by Confucius?”211 Upon learning of the discussion on Mandarin and socialism, Kim also believed that the discussion of this “truth can be seen from time to time, it is not a welcome phenomenon,” and pointed out: “There is still spirit or private opinion, or worse, it will be verbally abused. Discussing academics is originally a theory of invention, and it is not the same individual’s interest. It is still impossible to clarify the irritation in order to seek the truth. What about this?”212 Such a “theory of reconciliation” conveyed Jin Yufu’s evaluation of the New Culture Movement as a whole. The diary entry on December 18, 1920, extracted a lot of texts from The Eastern Miscellany, and then commented, “What is said in the perspective, and the conclusion obtained by observing from the side with a calm eye, is eloquent, and it is sufficient to promote new ideas. The loss of the cultural person.”213 However, for Mei Guangdi’s “Comment on the Advocates of New Culture,” published by the magazine The Critical Review, Jin did not agree with him.214 Jin Yufu, who wandered in several cities in the northeast, provided an example of examining the “center” from the “periphery.” Obviously, the new cultural movement perceived from the “periphery” was different from the view of being at the “center.” However, Jin himself also provided an example of being affected by the “center.” After reading a magazine article, he often turned to his own research. On September 23, 1920, he wrote, “Reading the article ‘What is Literature’ by Luo Jialun from The Renaissance. His literary theory is based on Western literature, and whether it is suitable for literary principles, he will be a special article

    

Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 6, Book 1, January 25, 1921, pp. 220–221. Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 5, Book 1, November 23, 1920, p. 159. Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 5, Book 1, December 15, 1920, p. 182. Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 6, Book 1, December 18, 1920, pp. 186–187. Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 13, Book 1, January 22, 1922, p. 512.

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in the future.”215 After reading Hu Shih’s “On New Poems” he was also quite touched, “I tried two new poems on the way today . . . The two poems are the first trial works, and they claim to be able to co-produce and still have artistic conception.”216

Yun Daiying: Student at School Jin Yufu’s interpretation of New Youth and the New Culture Movement showed the situation of those who had achieved success in their studies. What about the situation of the students in school? Looking back, it would undoubtedly leave a deep impression on the youthful atmosphere of that era. In 1915, Chen Duxiu founded Youth, and all his concerns were initially focused on youth. Not only that, there were so many books, newspapers, and societies named after “youth” and even “teenagers.” In this sense, combing through how young people as school students were affected by the new culture may be more interesting. Diary of Yun Daiying could be used as a clue to briefly introduce this. Yun’s diary began in 1917, when he was studying at Wuchang Zhonghua University (after graduation in 1918, he served as teaching director at the affiliated middle school). A student at school had such a close connection with the newspaper, which is particularly fully reflected in Yun. The first thing worth paying attention to was still the modus operandi. Yun Daiying, who had a heavy burden to support his family, submitted articles to newspapers in exchange for cash and book coupons, which was his main support for family life and study. In February 1917, he used “On Slaves” to “get cash for the first time from Women’s journal.”217 The diary recorded the status of each magazine he contributed to, and the specific income was also registered in detail. Throughout 1917, he earned 109 yuan in cash and 35.2 yuan in book coupons.218 The subscription to magazines was also quite detailed. The magazines to be subscribed included The Eastern Miscellany, Women’s Magazine, Education Magazine, and Science (one year each), while the three magazines, The Great Chung Hwa Magazine, Education Circle, and Students Circle were undecided.219 The diary entry on March 20, 1919 also stated that he subscribed to The Eastern Miscellany,

 Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 4, Book 1, September 23, 1920, p. 121.  Jin Yufu, Diary of Jingwushi, Vol. 4, Book 1, September 29, 1920, pp. 127–128.  Yun Daiying, “Memorabilia in the Sixth Year of the Republic of China,” Diary of Yun Daiying, p. 211.  Yun Daiying, “Ailan Pavilion Manuscript Catalogue,” Diary of Yun Daiying, pp. 219–221.  Diary of Yun Daiying, February 10, 1917, p. 32.

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Peking University Monthly, Industry Monthly, New Education, and New Youth (all for the whole year).220 Yun Daiying’s choice of magazines was also reflected in other aspects. Newspaper reading agencies and the reading public that were mentioned earlier were also recorded in his diaries, showing that the newspapers read by Yun and the people around him had changed in the past two years. Yun Daiying’s personal reading experience also illustrated this point. Judging from the initial diary, Yun Daiying was undoubtedly more enamored by The Eastern Miscellany. When did New Youth become his first choice? The diary did show that Yun Daiying gradually liked New Youth. The diary entry on April 24, 1919 stated, “Reading New Youth is very helpful for your mind.”221 On September 9, Yun letter to Wang Guangqi even stated, “I like to read New Youth and The Renaissance because they spread the gospel of freedom, equality, fraternity, mutual assistance, and labor.”222 But if it was inferred from this that Yun made a choice, it may not be completely accurate. In fact, Yun had not been exposed to New Youth until June 1917 at the latest, however, he did not subscribe to New Youth until March 1919. It seemed that it took longer; if you looked at his knowledge of New Youth again, you might find the problem. On September 27, 1917, Yun Daiying noticed New Youth advocating the reform of writing. He said in his diary, “Literature is literature, and popular literature is popular literature. Today, I speak of popular literature and denigrate literature. It’s too much.”223 During that time, Yun was reading The Dream of Red Mansions. The following year, he said, “New literature is simple and popular, but in terms of beauty, old literature also has its own value, and eight-legged essays also has [sic] their value, but it is just that they are not suitable for the ordinary people.”224 In his diary entry dated April 27, 1919, Yun Daiying expressed his views on the new and old ideas, stating that “the use of old ideas to promote new ideas is the best way.” He went on to say, “The theory of Confucius is naturally not completely credible. However, those who do insightful universities often have their fundamental ideas that are not ridiculous. The rest are influenced by the society at that time, and there are some inaccuracies and unavoidable ones.”225

 Diary of Yun Daiying, March 20, 1919, p. 506.  Diary of Yun Daiying, April 24, 1919, p. 528.  Diary of Yun Daiying, September 9, 1919, p. 624.  Diary of Yun Daiying, September 27, 1917, pp. 153–154. At that time, Yun was reading A Dream of the Red Mansion.  Yun Daiying, “A Letter to Wu Zhijue,” April 27, 1918, Diary of Yun Daiying, p. 439.  Diary of Yun Daiying, April 27, 1919, p. 584.

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Although New Youth had not been mentioned, it could be found that the defense for Confucius was partly expressed in the text published by New Youth. This somewhat showed that it was regarded as the most important symbol of the New Culture Movement, and it did not arouse an enthusiastic response from Yun Daiying. On the contrary, there were other opinions, even those negative. In his diary entry dated February 10, 1919, Yun also left such a record, “Sending Zhongfu’s letter to persuade him to be gentle.”226 Although there were not many words, the meaning of the above examples was still clear. This also prompted us to further review whether Yun, as a young student, had other reasons for reading. As far as reading was concerned, this was also not negligible. The “good intentions” of those who promoted the new culture movement at the “center” did not necessarily guarantee a gain in “compassionate understanding,” especially for young students. Yun Daiying had plans for her own future, and the ideas conveyed by the “center” were also very different from those of her own. Yun Daiying had this expectation for herself, “I rarely study, but doing things, writing, and talking is always more beneficial than reading.” In short, “I just want to learn things, never want to be a university professor.”227 It can be said that Yun did not consider choosing the path of a scholar, and was more interested in “action.” As mentioned earlier, Yun expressed his liking for New Youth and The Renaissance in his letter to Wang Guangqi. The letter immediately followed, “I prefer to see your conference report because you are doing it by yourself.” The letter also expressed the desire to join the Youth China Association. This should be sincere. Judging from Yun’s evaluation of New Youth, he often had no response to academic content, but was interested in action content. It can be said that although the “central” members of Peking University had spared no effort in improving the academic quality of China, they may not be able to win the approval of the youth. When Cai Yuanpei became dean at Peking University, he warned students that they should “concentrate on their studies,” but Yun Daiying made it clear, “I don’t agree.” He emphasized, “If learning is not put into use, not proved practical, it be [sic] no true learning.”228 There is no intention here to use Yun Daiying as a representative of young students, and to determine how young students perceived the new culture based on this. Focusing on Chen Fanyu, another student, may present a different view.

 Diary of Yun Daiying, February 10, 1919, p. 483.  Diary of Yun Daiying, July 3, 1919, p. 572.  Diary of Yun Daiying, January 19, 1917, p. 19.

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Chen Fanyu at Zhejiang First Normal School Chen Changbiao, courtesy name Fanyuu, was admitted to Zhejiang First Normal School in Hangzhou after graduating from Le’an Senior Primary School in Zhuji, Zhejiang Province, in 1918. Cao Juren once said, “When people talked about the evolution of the May Fourth Movement Peking University, Changsha First Normal School and Hangzhou First Normal School must be mentioned together. These are the cultural seeds of the new era.”229 The experience of Chen Fanyu could also illustrate this point. The teachers in this school had conveyed more fashionable content to the students. For example, Chen had read Liang Qichao’s Young China, Hu Shih’s Immortal, and Construction of Literary Revolution in the Chinese language class. When he learned about the New Culture Movement from the newspaper, his position was also clear, and he clearly stood on the side of the “new faction.” After experiencing some things in daily life, Chen would also express opinions that fit a similar tone. For example, in response to the holiday of Confucius’s birthday, Chen stated in his diary that he was “very unsolvable.”230 The question turned to reading, and a lot of information was also provided in the diary. The newspapers and magazines that Chen Fanyu read from 1919 to 1920 included Education Tide, New Youth, New Education, Weekly Critic, Shijie Huabao (World Pictorial), The Renaissance, Shishi Xinbao (New Current Affairs Daily), Zhejiang Xinchao (Zhejiang New Tide Weekly), Xuesheng Lianhehui Bao (The United Student Association Newspaper), New Society, Popular Education, and Qianjiang Review. If being classified more carefully, there were roughly three categories: the first were educational publications, the second were the various publications published by the “center,” and the third were local newspapers and periodicals. As far as reading New Youth was concerned, the information provided may be quite different from our expectations. There were only two mentions of New Youth in the diary, and there was nothing special about it. The point was that the more involved content in the diary was mainly concerned with practical issues, especially student sports. On May 6, 1919, it was learned from The Eastern Times that “At 2 pm on the May 4, 5,000 people including Peking University students went to the embassies of various countries to return to Qingdao and punish the traitors Lu, Cao, Zhang and others.” Chen wrote in his diary, “Students of this kind are sincere in taking the law.” On the evening of the second day, Zhijiang University wrote, “Our students should form a group to protect Beijing students.” Chen also left such a

 Cao Juren, I and My World, Vol. 1, Beiyue Literature and Art Publishing House, 2001, p. 116.  Hiroshi Sakai, ed., Diary of Chen Fanyu, October 8, 1920, Xuelin Publishing House, 1997, p. 238.

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rhetoric in his diary, “The rise and fall of the country . . . Everyone is responsible, and we are looking for scholars. Therefore, we have to work hard on this important matter, and it is also possible to achieve it.”231 There was still a lot of relevant content in the diary, which showed how young students were awakened and tended to take concrete actions. The point was that this also affected the way of cognition of the new culture. There was not much in the diary that responded to the theory of new culture, and the content that could arouse its resonance was often speeches, far more than the magazine itself. The experience of listening to lectures was often mentioned in the diary, which also showed that, outside the newspapers, what affected students was a form that deserved attention. In addition, debating learning methods were also emerging. The diary on January 29, 1920, wrote, “When I went to school to debate new learning with Tianchi and Naigeng, I was also studying new learning. The opportunity for this kind of research is a good opportunity to promote new learning, and it is also a pleasure.”232 Yu Ying-shih clearly expressed this meaning in “My Inheritance of the Legacy of the May Fourth Movement.” The May Fourth Movement as depicted by Yu has a strong autobiographical sense and is more worthy of cherishing. From this special perspective, the May Fourth Movement was no longer a general ideological movement, but a “moon reflected in the river” whose image can vary from person to person. The same “moon” was reflected on different “rivers” and had different images.233 Based on the “center” and “periphery” to examine the reading situation of some scholars, some of them also hoped to show the picture of the “moon reflecting on the rivers” during the May Fourth Movement. The analysis and reading of the case of New Youth here did not intend to shake the interpretive framework of the New Culture Movement. It only showed that individual stories were precious and provide a worthy aspect of reflection on this period of history. Reading was originally a private activity. In fact, as far as the reading of New Youth was concerned, there may not necessarily be any general rules that could be cited. In addition to the cases mentioned above, there were many more examples to illustrate this. As mentioned earlier, Shu Xincheng completed about 20 years of study at a private school to enter a higher normal school in 1917. In the second half of 1918, he taught at Fuxiang Women’s School in Hunan, run by the American Presbyterian Church. The information about this school provided  Hiroshi Sakai, ed., Diary of Chen Fanyu, May 6 and 7, 1919, pp. 85–87.  Hiroshi Sakai, ed., Diary of Chen Fanyu, January 29, 1920, p. 183.  Yu Ying-shih, “My Inheritance of teh Legacy of the May Fourth Movement,” Modern Crisis and Thought Figures, pp. 71–74.

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by Shu was quite surprising: “The school banned students from reading certain books and newspapers – the New Youth was banned at the time.” He had also become a supervisor to guide students to read new cultural newspapers. According to what he said, after entering the school, he soon felt that the students’ “national common sense” was not as good as others, but he himself continued the habit of reading newspapers and periodicals extensively before. For this reason, he also used this to educate students: “I want to develop their habit of reading newspapers, delineating a number of major news at home and abroad for them every day, force them to read them, and inquire about them in the first few minutes of each class or when they talk about the relationship between the course and the current situation.”234 However, it was not enough to just outline the personal reading experience. The distinction between “center” and “periphery” can transcend individual experience, search for the mechanism of the two, and recognize the new cultural movement from a broader perspective. The reason was that although reading was an individual’s behavior and created by various opportunities, even private reading can show the mechanism of the “center” infiltrating the “periphery.” At the same time, the identification of the “marginal” with the “center” was also a problem that needed to be solved. Otherwise, the “center” would also be difficult to form. The aforementioned cases mainly showed the penetration of the “center” into the “periphery.” What needed to be supplemented was the identification of the “center” by the “periphery” formed in this process. Yun Daiying provided an example of this. On March 14, 1917, Yun said in his diary proudly, “Mr. Liu Zitong heard that I had contributed to Mr. Chen Duxiu, and he read the article and wrote a letter to praise me.” The diary of August 22, 1919, also stated he was quite attentive to this: “Writing a letter to Dongsun and a letter to Shizhi yesterday are all my efforts to build ties with good people to get proper help for the plan.”235 It could be inferred that the business that Yun had created clearly demonstrated his hope to get help from the “center.” New Youth Vol. 6, no. 3 “Communication” column published “Welcome New Voice,” with its content the letter from New Voice of Wuchang Zhonghua University Middle School to the editors of New Youth: “We had always lived in chaos. Since the moment I read New Youth, I gradually came to my senses. it was like seeing the light in a dark place.”236 Selling one’s own publications in such a way was quite popular at the time. It was influenced by New Youth without question, but it also

 Shu Xincheng, My Education, Vol. I, pp. 139, 141.  Diary of Yun Daiying, March 14, 1917, August 22, 1919, pp. 50, 610.  “Welcome New Voice,” New Youth, Vol. 6, No. 3, 1919 March 15, “Communications,” p. 337.

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meant seeking support from the “center.” Reading the advertisements in New Youth, they were mainly the introduction of books from Qunyi Book Company at first, and then there were mostly advertisements for newly founded newspapers, showing a common market formed by various newspapers. It was not only Yun Daiying, who was a young student, trying to gain the recognition of the “center,” but the aforementioned example of Wu Yu also provided an example of moving toward the “center.” Analyzing the “Communications” column of New Youth, it can be seen that those who first contributed articles to New Youth and then became major authors included Wu Yu and many more: Qian Xuantong, Chang Naitian, Zhang Shenfu, Yu Songhua, Cai Hesen, and Chen Wangdao, among others. Therefore, it may be helpful to reveal the reading landscape related to New Youth and the New Culture Movement to show the diversity of the New Culture Movement and the differences in Chinese society. The distinction between “center” and “periphery” can also help future generations to better understand the influence mechanism of the new cultural movement. Rebuilding the reading world of scholars in the late Qing and Republican era to better understand the intelligentsia is what should be done. However, the difficulty of arguing is also obvious. As far as the reading range is concerned, it is naturally not singular; different temporal and spatial backgrounds often cause various differences. The “center” and the “periphery,” the “coastal” and “inland” areas somewhat divided modern China into multiple worlds, which is of analytical significance and can show the colorful reading world of the late Qing and the Republican era of China. Of course, as a new medium for knowledge dissemination, newspapers are different from books in the general sense, and their effects deserve special recognition. Yang Changji said in an article in 1913, “People must not read newspapers and magazines for a day . . . Reading newspapers every day, you always have the concept of society and the state in your mind, and the heart of worrying about the world and patriotism will heal itself. The meaning is thick.”237 This certainly shows that scholars have extensive connections with newspapers, and the widelyrun newspapers that are also worthy of attention have the problem of how to sell and promote them as well. In fact, with the popularity of newspapers, there is no shortage of reviews on how to make better use of newspapers. The book Books, Magazines, and Newspaper Handling Laws clearly puts forward that, “Today’s magazines and newspapers occupy a very important position in the needs of libraries”. . . The reason is that “most of all the materials in the magazine are the most novel knowledge and inventions, and the scope is particularly extensive, and the newspapers are

 Yang Changji, “Points to Pay Attention to in Education,” Hunan Education Magazine No. 16, 1913, in Wang Xingguo, ed., Anthology of Yang Changji, Hunan Education Press, 1983, pp. 47–51.

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the transcripts of recent social life . . . These two are clearly no less important than books.”238 In this sense, it can be said that in the review of books and periodicals, in addition to the authors and opinions, there are still many links that need to be clarified, from writing to publishing, from printing to circulation, and from sales to reading, with the authors, publishers and readers all involved. Only in this way can the influence mechanism of the intelligentsia and the degree of influence of various media be better grasped.

 Liu Zonghao, The Books, Magazines, and Newspapers Handling Laws, Great Wall Book Company, 1939, “Self Preface,” pp. 1–2, 81–82.

Conclusion The Intelligentsia: Public Opinion of the Late-Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China Period The intelligentsia in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China is the subject of this book. When outlining the formation of the intelligentsia, especially the combination of new media and scholars, it is not difficult to see that the emergence of the intelligentsia is a product of profound changes in modern Chinese society. It is a significant difference between the “past” and the “present.” In other words, the intelligentsia has also become a symbol of indicator significance, from which we can examine some aspects of this history that are worthy of attention. Of course, whether the intelligentsia, which has formed an important part of society, has grown well is also a cause for concern. This involves how to evaluate the intelligentsia in the late-Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. The analysis of this still needs to return to many aspects related to the intelligentsia. As mentioned earlier, as a new word in modern Chinese, “the world of ～” appeared in the transitional period of China in the lateQing Dynasty, which was mainly reflected in the close connection with the growth of society; it had actually become a portrayal of the new correspondence between the country and the society. As a combination of virtual and reality, the intelligentsia mainly conveyed its voice through books and periodicals as the carrier. Therefore, from writing to publishing, from printing to circulation, from sales to reading, namely authors, publishers and readers that are involved are all worthy of attention. Only in this way can we grasp whether the new media can send messages to a wider place-from the “center” to the “periphery.” This is the first point. People of all kinds who are active in the intelligentsia – not only scholars, who are also an indispensable part – should also pay attention to whether they choose expressions acceptable to the public, and their voices can demonstrate basic social values and transfer all kinds of knowledge to the public. This is the second point. As a platform, the intelligentsia has both a center and an edge; there are both “core figures” who master the discourse and also “aphasia.” For this reason, we should also examine whether the public can have connection to it, obtain relevant information, and then convey information from the lower level. This is the third point. The connotation of the intelligentsia is so extensive that it is difficult to cover where the above three ends, and it can be analyzed from other aspects. Among the topics that cannot be avoided is the evaluation of “public opinion” in modern China, and the ways and effects of its influences on politics and economics, ideology, and academia. Both “public” and “public opinion” correspond

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-010

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to the new relationship between the state and society established in the modern world. The intelligentsia, as a “public space” that combines virtual reality and reality, is precisely due to the formation of the “public opinion” and its involvement in public affairs, a variety of topics of concern, while the public is also involved. It should be said that after many twists and turns, certain newspapers in modern China do have the characteristics of “public opinion,” which had also become a portrayal of the gradual growth of the intelligentsia. However, the twists and turns of the growth of modern Chinese new media and the dilemma of cultivating “public opinion” are unavoidable problems. In this sense, it can also be said that the analysis of the intelligentsia during the late-Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China has become a key to grasping modern Chinese history and a mirror for examining the future society.

I New Media and the Construction of Civilization The intelligentsia was critical to the construction of new media and constitutes a unique landscape in the evolution of modern Chinese history. Correspondingly, how to promote the construction of new media had attracted attention from all parties since the late-Qing Dynasty. Just like other western or modern things, modern newspapers, as a product of assisting the west into China, often carried special meaning in their circulation in China and became a representative of the strong west; the acceptance of this by Chinese scholars often promoted this to the pursuit of wealth and power. Through relevant discourses, it is not difficult to find that the expectations expressed by people of the time often combined newspapers with the construction of civilization. Timothy Richard’s position of the newspaper in the book New Opinions on Current Affairs has already been mentioned. In other texts on the development of the west, there were various relations between newspapers and the wealth and civilization of the west. Young John Allen realized the communication between the emperor and the people, “What is in the newspapers of western countries is the best.” The specific manifestation is, “Every country issues an order and does something, it must publish the new newspaper, the people see the new newspaper, there is no violation, this is the beautiful law of no internal troubles, no foreign insults.”1 Ernst Faber From the West to the East had a special chapter on newsprint, stating that “if you get newsprint and read it, you will get to know

 Young John Allen, A Brief Discussion on Sino-Western Relations, Vol. 1, signed with Meng Qiu Zhonghuan in the Second Year of Guangxu (1876), p. 12.

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from the affairs of your own country to the affairs of various ports. The gains and loss of the current situation, the price of goods, all can be known and understood.”2 In addition, the book The New History of the West, which had an important influence in the late-Qing Dynasty, also revealed the context of the growth of newsprint and its significance: The theories are all related to the national economy and the people’s livelihood. Whenever there is a major event, the celebrities preside over the discussion day by day. People who read newspapers also talk to each other again. More and more people have been civilized, there is [sic] no worries of separation between ups and downs, and there is no danger of confusion between pros and cons. People who dedicate themselves to their country are easy to take care of everything, and the people do not have to worry about it. Why is it not the power of newsprint.3

Newspapers established in China by westerners who came to China often highlighted their role in circulating knowledge and importing civilization; the benefits of reading newspapers naturally constituted the focus of the discussion. Taking Wan Guo Gong Bao which was influential in the late-Qing Dynasty as an example, it not only emphasized that “this newspaper is dedicated to the purpose of opening up the air and importing civilization” but also pointed out “the content of this newspaper” and “to be unique in knowledge and sufficient China’s future policy.”4 Moreover, from the very beginning, the newspaper had attached great importance to the interaction between newspaper reporters and newspaper readers, stating that “the new newspaper is designed to benefit people and is also designed to be convenient for people.”5 Scholars in the late Qing dynasty accepted newspapers and guided the people to read newspapers. This was often combined with the strength of the country and the level of civilization. Many newspapers discussed above often have this positioning. When Hunan Gazette was first published, Tang Caichang stated in his essay, “Politics and ethics can be seen in the newspapers.” No matter who you were, “If you can read and write, you can comprehend by analogy . . . It made China a very smart, strong and civilized country, so I decided it was inevitable.”6 “On Reading Newspaper” published in Volume 101 of Learning New Knowledge also pointed out, “How do people know the politics and customs of today’s world?

 Ernst Faber, “The Collection of Wisdom,” From the West to the East, Vol. 4, pp. 276–280.  Robert MacKenzie, translated by Timothy Richard, and narrated by Cai Erkang, The New History of the West, Vol. 9, Section 16, “The First Trip to Newspapers,” pp. 12–13.  “Special Advertisement in Wan Guo Gong Bao,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, No. 193, February 1905, cover page.  “Self-report by the owner of the Newspaper Office,” Wan Guo Gong Bao, 7th year, Vol. 322, January 30, 1875, p. 306.  Tang Caichang, “Preface to Hunan Gazette,” Hunan Gazette, No. 1, March 7, 1898, p. 1.

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It is nothing more than a newspaper . . . From their high spirit, people can expect to know the progress of their country.”7 In addition, many newspapers were directly related to “importing civilization” from the perspective of the purpose of the publication. In the twentieth century, the discussion in this area had become more prominent. Compilation of Translations by Students Abroad, which was founded in 1902, stated that the journal “is dedicated to importing civilization and enriching people’s wisdom.” Students Community of Hubei published in 1903 also stated that it was a periodical that “was considered to be stage for Hubei students to import civilization of other countries.”8 Zhang Jixi also emphasized in the essay he wrote for the magazine, “As for reading newspapers, people are interested in talking about the war of soldiers and the war of business, but they neglect the war of learning. It is more like to indicate that water does not come from its origin, and it must be in a disadvantageous position. It is invincible. Our students should take the importing of civilization as our own responsibility.”9 Tide of Zhejiang, which was launched in the same year, also noticed that “people who repay their kindness in the past few days can import civilization and put a layer of brilliance for our country,” and emphasized that the book “must focus on this everywhere.”10 This pointed out that the newspapers at that time generally regarded “importing civilization” as their basic responsibility, which was regarded as “magazine qualification.” Correspondingly, the role of newspapers in “importing new knowledge” and “importing ideas” had also been affirmed. A publication advertised as “civilized people” regarded the newspaper as the “mother of new learning.”11 The magazine called Journal of Yunnan, which was founded in 1906, also stated, “There are two ways to import ideas, schools and news magazines.” In contrast, schools “have a slower performance and are difficult to popularize for a while,” while news magazines, “With the noble thoughts of civilization and the prevention of chaos around the world, it is noisy day by day, stimulating its heart, so that readers will be like a sincere teaching and understanding, like walking in the land of civilization, refreshing.”12 Not only

 “On Reading the Newspaper Can Know the Strength of the Country,” Learning New Knowledge, Vol. 101, October 5, 1899, p. 3.  “The Narrative of the Hubei Investigation Department,” Student Community of Hubei, No. 1, January 29, 1903, p. 131.  Zhang Jixi, “Study,” Students Community of Hubei, No. 1, January 29, 1903, p. 5.  “Foreword to the First Issue,” Tide of Zhejiang, No. 1, February 17, 1903, p. 2.  Juemin, “On the Benefits of Reading Newspapers,” Civilized Cititzens, Vol. 1, November 1903. This is based on Gao Xu et al., ed., Civilized Citizens Monthly Magazine Rearranged Edition, Social Science Literature Publishing House, 1996, pp. 9–10.  “Foreword to the First Issue,” Yunnan, No. 1, October 15, 1906, p. 6.

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did it regard newspapers as a manifestation of “importing civilization,” it also raised the habit of reading newspapers to the height of building a civilized country. Through several texts reproduced by The Eastern Miscellany, which was founded in 1904, the position of the newspaper could be made even clearer. Volume 2, no. 4 of the journal transcribed an article “On the Benefits of Newspaper Publishers for the Country” from The News, stating that, “To save today’s China, we must expand the wisdom of the people; if we want to open the people’s wisdom today, we must set up more newspapers. No; if you want people to set up more newspapers, it must be protected, especially rewarded.” “The more people who read newspapers in China today means that the more people who can open up, so why not be strong and rich?”13 Later, the article “On Newspapers” in South China Daily expressed the similar idea, “The progress of newspapers depends on the society as a predecessor.” “If society does not advance, newspapers would be less developed as a result.” And the growth of Chinese newspapers in the past 40 years, “the progress of newspapers is actually due to the progress of society.”14 This kind of cognition did not only happen for a while. In the years of the Xinhai Revolution, several articles published in The Eastern Times still showed such intentions, and the discussion also extended to the entire publishing industry. One article stated that “the degree of literacy in modern society is balanced by the number of printed materials . . . there are no printed materials that are underdeveloped, and the level of civilization can be improved.” What the author worried about was, “How many things do my country publish every year? . . . This is one of the most worrying things about China’s future.”15 Another text mainly reviewed many unsatisfactory aspects of China’s publishing industry from the link of “freedom of the press,”: “The three major freedoms of a civilized country, and publishing is one of them. Freedom is the result of publishing . . . I look at the publishing industry in my country over the past few years, but I am full of sorrow and worries.”16 Another article analyzed the situation of the book industry, the prosperity of which was “enough to interpret the popularization of education and the revitalization of academics,” which could “rank among its national strength and prosperous, so that its cultural relics are known as the company

 “On the Benefit of the Newspaper House to the Country” (recorded in Year Yisi, February 23–26 “Newspaper”), The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 2, No. 4, May 28, 1905, p. 56.  “Talking about Newspapers” (recorded in Year Yisi, July 24, Nanfang Daily), The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 2, No. 9, October 23, 1905, pp. 207–209.  Gufen (“lonely anger”), “On the level of civilization that can be viewed in printed matter,” The Eastern Times, March 9, 1911, first edition.  Zhiyan, “On the Freedom of the Press in Our Country,” The Eastern Times, March 16, 1911, first edition.

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that the earth admires.” On the other hand, the book industry in our country “is obviously unsatisfactory.”17 In addition to Current Affairs, The Eastern Miscellany published several articles more than a decade after its publication, which was dedicated to exerting efforts on the social level, and was also very important for the positioning of the newspaper. “The Post in the Magazine Industry in the Future” published in 1919 pointed out, “The mutual assistance of all scholars, the choice of doctrines, the transfer of fashions, and the improvement of customs are almost all using magazines as a weapon of progress and an organ of announcement.” Therefore, “study theory inspiring ideas” and “correcting customs” are also “the job of a magazine.”18 The “Hope of the Origin” published the following year also stated, “The hope of our country lies in social consciousness, and people who are in control and governing have nothing to do with each other . . . Specific issues that are practical and feasible.”19 The Eastern Times mainly reviewed the entire publishing industry, and the newspapers were included in it. Even if there was no comment on the newspaper, the actual situation was almost the same, which meant that the expectations for the development of newspapers since the late Qing dynasty had become the promotion of the late Qing dynasty and the early Republic of China, the driving force for the such development of newspapers. The admiration of The Eastern Miscellany for magazines was also of significance. In any case, after the development of the late Qing dynasty, the indication of the significance of the new media for the development of civilization had become a social consensus.

II The Intelligentsia Key to Understanding Modern China Equally worthy of concern was what people thought about the state of the intelligentsia. In fact, the situation of the intelligentsia since the late Qing Dynasty had also become the focus of attention of all parties. Various summaries of intelligentsia, or the “liquidation,” had become popular and continuous thinking. The beginning of Gan Zhexian’s “Reflections on the Chinese Intelligentsia in Recent Years” wrote,

 Xisong, “On the Changes of Shanghai Book Industry,” The Eastern Times, July 31, 1911, first edition.  Jing Zang, “Post in the Magazine Circle in the Future,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 16, No. 7, July 15, 1919, pp. 1–7.  Jianhu, “The Hope of the Book,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 17, No. 1, January 10, 1920, pp. 1–3.

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“Today of last year, I have made some comments on my country’s intelligentsia . . . Until today of this year, it has been one year. In this year, what is the general history of Chinese thought circles? In order to continue the unfinished work of last year, I will review and reflect on the effectiveness of this year.”20 Not only that, the cognition of the intelligentsia also obviously concentrated on such topics, either to divide it into stages, or to divide the intelligentsia by “ideological schools.” All this showed that the intelligentsia actually constituted a key to the analysis of modern Chinese history. The staging of the intelligentsia reflected the requirement of looking forward, and it could also be regarded as a kind of summary. Liang Qichao and Hu Shih, as the most influential scholars of this period, had both done this kind of work. In 1923, Liang Qichao wrote An Introduction to the Evolution of China in Fifty Years, which divided the evolutionary process of Chinese thought in modern times into three phases, “The first period is to feel the insufficiency from the utensils . . .” “The second period is to feel the insufficiency from the system . . . The third period is that the culture is fundamentally inadequate.”21 By 1933, Hu Shih divided modern thought into two periods with 1923 as the boundary: the first period was “the reform era, from Liang Qichao to New Youth, mostly focusing on personal liberation”; the second period was the era of “collectivism. After 1923, whether it was a nationalist movement or a communist revolutionary movement, all belong to this antiindividualist tendency.”22 Obviously, this kind of staging had a special meaning, which should not be overlooked. Liang had been somewhat contemptuous of the change in the third period. Not only did he point out that the seeds of the third period were sown from the second period, but he also defined the second period as “from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895”. It seemed that “The New Culture Movement was only a supplement to the second phase. Of course, Hu Shih’s staging also had his “prejudices,” which were almost entirely based on what he understood as the “Chinese Renaissance Movement,” especially highlighting the interference of political movements on ideological and cultural movements. Later, when Chen Duxiu was dismissed from the meeting of Peking University on March 26, 1919, Hu Shih made such an interpretation, saying that such “not only determines the destiny of

 Gan Zhexian, “Remarks on the Chinese Intelligentsia in Recent Years,” Morning News, Fifth Anniversary Supplement, December 1, 1923, p. 5.  Liang Qichao, “An Introduction to China’s Evolution in Fifty Years,” Collected Writings from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio, Vol. 5, Collection 39, pp. 43–45.  Diary of Hu Shih (manuscript), Vol. 11, December 22, 1933.

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Peking University, but also opens the political and ideological divide for more than ten years.”23 The staging of the intelligentsia in different periods had also become a key to grasping the academic changes of thought. In 1935, Lu Xun stated in a text that in the first few years of the 1920s, Beijing, as the source of the “May Fourth Movement,” had been “remarkably lonely and desolate as the ancient battlefield since the people who supported New Youth and The Renaissance disappeared.”24 Hu Shih’s article, which reviewed the failure of the Chinese national self-help movement, also focused on this meaning. According to his observations, the difficulties encountered in modern China were only because “we spent sixty to seventy years in search of a social center of gravity, and it was finally unavailable.” In the imperial era, the center of gravity should be in the imperial room, but after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it had long lost its qualifications for political center of gravity. Since then, both the generals in “Zhong Xing” period, the leaders of the Reform Movement of 1898 and the later Kuomintang had worked hard to create a new social center of gravity, but often only one or two or three to five years, and gradually lost the qualification to be the social center of gravity. Hu Shih tried to show that what he and his friends were fighting for, to create a “center of social gravity.”25 This view had also appeared in the study of the New Culture Movement. Chen Duanzhi’s Evaluation of the History of the May Fourth Movement published in 1936 elaborated on this view, The original center of the New Culture Movement was “the remnants of breaking the feudal era . . . The shackles of the world, and the negation of the culture that restricted the upward development of mankind,” but soon afterwards split: One faction took Marx’s thought as the main target, while the other took Deweyism as the compass. Under this anti-Confucian frenzy, two opposing teams, socialism and experimentalism, were divided. Although they each went their own way and planned their own development, the Chinese cultural and intelligentsia lost their focus because of this.26

The intelligentsia that “lost its center of gravity” also represented a more general view, and there was still no shortage of such voices in the 1940s. In 1941, Lin Tongji’s The Transformation of Chinese Thought in the Past Twenty Years was also concerned about “Is there a general trend in China’s general ideological trend over  Hu Shih, “To Tang Erhe,” December 23, 1935, Selected Letters of Hu Shih, Vol. 2, pp. 281–282.  Lu Xun, “Introduction to Modern Fiction” (2), Cai Yuanpei and others, The Collection of Introduction to Chinese New Literature, Liangyou Book Company, 1940, p. 132.  Hu Shih, “Bitter Memories and Reflections,” Independent Review, No. 18, September 18, 1932, pp. 8–13.  Chen Duanzhi, Evaluation of the History of the May Fourth Movement, Life Bookstore, 1936, p. 339.

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the past two decades that can be pointed out?” In his view, “Tens of thousands of years’ history has in fact reflected several big rules, natural rules.” However, “these meanings have not yet been fully elucidated by our intelligentsia.”27 In contrast, what Zhang Junmai still emphasized was the “loneliness” presented by the intelligentsia, “completely exposing the weakness of our academic world.” The invention of atomic energy and the publication of Toynbee’s Historical Research all reflected “the changes in world thinking, the invention and progress of science, and there are several amazing things that have made people around the world uneasy.” For this reason, he also emphasized, “Our ideological efforts should not be based on social unrest as a reason, and everyone is waiting to die.”28 In addition to the division of the period, the issue of factions in the intelligentsia had also aroused much discussion. In 1925, Lu Maode roughly distinguished the following different factions: 1) Democrats and non-democrats; 2) Utilitarian and non-utilitarian; 3) Religious and non-religious; 4) New Culture and non-New Culture School; 5) Social School and Non-Social School. According to this, “Our country’s intelligentsia have not yet developed into a state of development; however, when young students enter it, they feel that they are ‘various’ and thus do not know who they are. The majority of thinkers are today and yesterday are not. The meaning is that.”29 Tao Xisheng also pointed out in 1935 that “the intelligentsia in China today can still be divided into three major camps . . . The first is the camp of feudal society, the second is the barrier of capitalist imitation, and the third is socialism. The front line of suspense.”30 In addition, although some texts did not list specific schools of thought, their intentions were quite similar. After the Nanjing National Government was established, the “national spirit” became an important symbol for the construction of the Three People’s Principles, and various opinions criticized the May Fourth Movement. Ye Chujia not only claimed that “China was originally a golden world built by virtues,” but also set the golden age to be as early as 300 years ago, which clearly showed his disdain for cultural changes since modern times, especially

 Lin Tongji, “The Transformation of Chinese Thought in the Past Twenty Years,” Warring States Policy, Vol. 2, No. 17, July 1941, pp. 45–50.  Zhang Junmai, “Loneliness in My Country’s Intelligentsia-Lecture at Wuhan University on October 12,” Zhengfei Weekly, No. 237, October 25, 1948, pp. 1–5.  Lu Maode, “China Today’s Intelligentsia,” Tsinghua Weekly, Vol. 24, No. 2, September 18, 1925, pp. 2–11.  Tao Xisheng, “Recent Thoughts in China,” The Forties, Vol. 6, No. 3, September 15, 1935, pp. 1–16.

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the May Fourth New Culture Movement.31 Chen Lifu even said that since the May Fourth Movement, “most of the cultural work has been sabotage work, so that the inherent culture of our country has been destroyed.”32 In the name of revolution, the May Fourth thought was also broken down. Peng Kang’s “settlement” of the intelligentsia clearly pointed out, “Six years ago, there was a fierce controversy in the Chinese intelligentsia, which is the dispute between science and outlook on life.” However, “it’s just a lot of tricks. Nouns, a little bit of ghosts, quotes and quotes the bad news . . . ridiculously naïve.”33 Zhu Jingwo also pointed out that China’s intelligentsia “has built two sharply opposed camps-revolutionary Marxism and all anti-Marxist camps,” “a considerable power of thought system,” including reformism, liberalism, and opportunism, and clearly stated that “the ideological system of bourgeois liberalism” was the theory of Hu Shih’s school.34 Peng Kang also tried to distinguish “our cultural movement from Hu Shih’s cultural movement,” emphasizing that Hu Shih was “lagging behind in thought.” Therefore, “in the fundamental sense of cultural movement, we have to say that Hu Shih himself was also reactionary.”35 This clearly pointed out that the intelligentsia had gradually become a stage for the performance of ideological trends. People at the time often grasped the intelligentsia based on various ideological trends; at the same time, the disputes between factions in the intelligentsia, whether called “new” or “old,” or deliberately distinguishing “us” from “them” in self-consciousness, all illustrated the complexity of the struggle. The important thing was that the division of ideological schools mainly came from the smearing of hostile ideas, and the political color was quite strong. It can be said that with the reorganization of Chinese society, the intelligentsia had also formed a new pattern, often tracing the previous history based on specific political positions.

 Ye Chucang, “Recover the Atmosphere by the Party’s Efforts,” Central Weekly, No. 71, October 14, 1929, pp. 13–14.  Chen Lifu, “The Eve Before Cultural Construction,” Overseas Chinese Semi-Monthly, No. 46, May 10, 1935, pp. 3–5.  Peng Kang, “Science and Outlook on Life-The General Accounting of Chinese Thoughts in Recent Years,” Cultural Criticism, No. 2, February 15, 1928, pp. 23–47.  Gu Yin (Zhu Jingwo), “Anatomy of China’s Current Intelligentsia,” World Culture, No. 1, September 10, 1930, pp. 1–23.  Peng Kang, “New Culture Movement and Human Rights Movement,” New Trends of Thought, No. 4, February 28, 1931, pp. 12–13.

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III Review of the Intelligentsia Although there was a “virtual” side in the intelligentsia, it still constituted an important part of reflection on modern Chinese history. In examining the many texts of the intelligentsia, we can also see that there is no shortage of reflections on the abuses of the intelligentsia. Hu Shih tried to purify the intelligentsia with the “non-intelligentsia.” In essence, the intelligentsia was used as the symbol of Chinese thought and scholarship. Roughly speaking, a review of the intelligentsia was a review of scholars and various publications. An article published in Ya Yan in 1914 bluntly stated, “If today’s intelligentsia is depressed, how can it be regarded as a country.” Therefore, “I live today and want to reform the nation’s ideology, if the publication industry won’t take the responsibility, who will?”36 It also revealed that when the intelligentsia was just taking shape, people were more expressing of expectations. However, when the stage presented multiple colors, there were various performances that exceeded expectations, so there were voices of doubt. It cannot be said that there was a lack of criticism in the late Qing dynasty. The aforementioned On the Academic Circle in Recent Years written by Wang Guowei in 1905 could be regarded as the most profound reflection on the intelligentsia of this period. The emergence of the New Culture Movement had made the problem more prominent, leading to constant criticism of the intelligentsia. An article published by Mei Guangdi in The Critical Review directly pointed out that “there is really no academic in our country now, but it is just like a scholar in the academic world, and masturbation.”37 Liang Qichao also pointed out that “the symptoms of Chinese intelligentsia” were mainly embodied in generality, arbitrary, hypocrisy, instigation, and loss: “If things go on like this, how can we survive? To save this disease, apart from advocating a scientific spirit, there is no other cure. ”38 Criticisms like this continued. In 1935, Zhang Shenfu focused on “the ills and weaknesses of today’s intelligentsia” in a communication to Hu Shih: “Since the Han dynasty, the Chinese intelligentsia has been permeated with generality, chaos, indifference, and confusion. Recently, this kind of disease seems to

 Qishi, “Two Major Causes of Depression in the World of Thought,” Ya Yan, Vol. 1, No. 7, April 1914, pp. 14–15.  Mei Guangdi, “On the Needs of Our Country’s Academic Circles Today,” The Critical Review, No. 4, April 1922, p. 1.  Liang Qichao, “Scientific Spirit and Eastern and Western Culture” (continued), Morning News Supplement, August 26, 1922, first edition.

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be rampant there again. This also seems to call on strong people to come out and destroy it.”39 The above-mentioned criticisms of the “sickness” of the Chinese intelligentsia had revealed various unsatisfactory phenomena in the intelligentsia. Related to this, the rise of the newspaper media had given birth to a new generation of scholars, and reviews of this were almost simultaneously unfolding. In 1919, Zhang Dongsun published a short essay, “The Liberation and Transformation of the Chinese Intellectual Class.” The opening quoted a friend who said, “The worst of the Chinese is the scholar-officials.” Zhang said that at first he did not “believe very much” about this, but later learned of the sentence “but it is the truth . . . China’s intellectual class really has a lot of immorality that is not comparable to other classes, such as slanderous competition and self-sufficiency. The frivolousness of the party, the private views of the party’s disagreement, the spreading of rumors that reverse right and wrong, the shamelessness of escalating the flames, and so on.”40 Lin Yutang put forward “the importance of rusticity in the intelligentsia and it should not be ignored,” suggesting that those scholars studying in Europe and the United States should appreciate “the meaning of rusticity and its great power,” so that they could “take a bit of caution when thinking about what ideal to pursue and what plan to make while they are away from China, rather than expecting everything to be easy in China.”41 Yang Quan even pointed out that Chen “who caused all the chaos in China today is the degenerate selfish intelligentsia—the intellectual class.” Therefore, “if you want to transform China, you must first transform the scholars—the intelligentsia . . . all intelligentsia. Those who do not bear the responsibility of saving the country equal to their knowledge are sinners in China.”42 What’s more, there were different voices on the influence of scholars and even knowledge. Yang Yinhang revealed this phenomenon in 1921, “It is a common problem for Chinese people to not solve the fundamental problem first, but to write an essay first. It is a common problem for the people of the country to learn it.”43 When “good governmentism” declared bankruptcy in a dramatic way, Tang Erhe,

 Zhang Shenfu, “Speaking by Name—A Correspondence on the Maladies and Weaknesses of Today’s Intelligentsia,” Independent Review, No. 158, July 7, 1935, pp. 16–17.  Dongsun, “Liberation and Transformation of the Chinese Intellectual Class,” Liberation and Transformation, Vol. 1, No. 3, October 1, 1919, “Talks,” p. 1.  Lin Yutang, “On the Relationship between Rustic State and the World of Thought,” Threads of Words, No. 3, December 1, 1924, pp. 2–3.  Yang Quan, “Thoughts and China’s Disasters Today,” Anglican Newspaper, Vol. 19, No. 45, December 20, 1925, pp. 26–28.  Lao Pu (Yang Yinhang), “Articles,” Shen Bao, May 6, 1921, p 3.

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who had experienced the ups and downs of this political experiment, also said to Hu Shih, “I advise you not to talk about politics. I read your current review before. It might not be unreasonable; when I went to the government to take a look, it turned out that it’s not the same thing! . . . You are talking about one world, and we are walking in another world.”44 Bai Jianwu, who had been through ups and downs in the political field for a long time, looked at this from a different point of view. Reading Essay Collection of Hu Shih, he said, “Political essays are more laymen, as if you are scratching your shoes, you can’t get away with each other.”45 Later on, Bai also pointed out to scholars, “Scholars are too weak and often dominated by people, and their methods are self-destructive. People were invariably dominated by the environment, but scholars were particularly vulnerable. The language of groaning without illness is also an argument for scholars.”46 Jiang Tingfu even bluntly said that China had become an “outdated country,” because of “the bankruptcy of the scholar-official class, the bankruptcy of knowledge, the bankruptcy of morality, and the bankruptcy of physique.”47 He also blamed the intellectuals for the difficulty in getting Chinese politics on track, and believed that there were two problems that the intellectual class should be aware of. One should not collude with military personnel to engage in political activities. Literati who had no ambitions in one place often gather in other places and created all kinds of right and wrong. Over time, their masters fight. The second was that political activities must not be merely lip service. Western political systems and political thoughts were inherently valuable as academic research, but they were too boring to be regarded as actual politics.48 In addition to scholars, publications, the other pole of the intelligentsia, also constituted the main target of criticism. An article in “The Intellectual Realm Seen from the Publishing Circle” in The Eastern Miscellany explained, “Today the intelligentsia is said to be awakened.” However, the situation in the publishing circle was still not optimistic. Those who were on the front line only had a few largescale systematic works such as Outline of the History of Chinese Philosophy, Eastern and Western Cultures and Philosophy, and Research Method of Chinese History.49 Chang Naidi’s Thinking of Chinese Thoughts from Reading “Hurricane” also

 Q (Hu Shih), “This Week · Anxiety,” The Endeavor, No. 47, March 25, 1923, p. 1.  Du Chunhe and Geng Jinlai, eds., Diary of Bai Jianwu, April 11, 1931, p. 863.  Du Chunhe and Geng Jinlai, eds., Diary of Bai Jianwu, October 28, 1936, p. 1322.  Jiang Tingfu, “A Few Opinions on Contributing to Freshmen,” Independent Review, No. 69, September 24, 1933, p. 7.  Jiang Tingfu, “The Intellectual Class and Politics,” Independent Review, No. 51, May 21, 1933, pp. 15–19.  Jicheng, “The Intellectual Circle in the Perspective of the Publishing Circle,” The Eastern Miscellany Vol. 19, No. 9, May 10, 1922, pp. 2–4.

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contained a sharp criticism of publications, “The current intelligentsia is too unpopular,” which was very popular in society, “There is a common expression. Sex means only saying beautiful, empty, or humorous words,” there was no real thing at all.50 Gao Changhong’s “Walk to the Publishing World” also involved many reviews of the publishing industry, clearly criticizing China for too few good publications, and “the current various periodicals are too similar, even if they are in a hostile position. Yes, the materials are very embarrassing, and it is enough to barely maintain the publication, and there is no development.”51 Judging from the above text alone, one might feel that they were all critics of the intelligentsia, which from the negative side also confirmed that scholars valued speech. In fact, as emphasized above, it was the transition from the “learning war” to the “ideological war” that constituted the division of intelligentsia during the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China. The difference was also obvious. The awareness of “learning warfare” was more embodied in cognition, focusing on the “learning” behind the skills, while the proposition of “ideological warfare” was based on social changes to think about and highlight the role of thought. This was often regarded as the source of all that was social, political, and academic. To explain the popularity of discourses such as the “ideological revolution” in modern China, one cannot ignore that newspapers constituted the main platform for scholars to speak.

IV What is a Public Realm? Whose Is it? “There is no documentary news but only pleasant rumors in a country, and no fair criticism but only malicious slurs and slanders – this is a great shame for a nation.”52 This was what Hu Shih expressed on public opinion in an unpublished text. As a central figure in the Chinese intelligentsia in the twentieth century, Hu Shih’s expectations of public opinion were consistent, and he paid particular attention to whether he could guarantee freedom of speech. The Nanjing National Government had been established not long before this article was written, and before that, Hu Shih had expressed his views on this new regime many times. On May 16, 1928, he wrote in his diary, “The newspapers in Shanghai are all dead,

 Chang Naidi, “Thinking of Chinese Thoughts from Reading Cyclonus,” World Journal, January 16, 1927, pp. 31–33.  Gao Changhong, “There Are Not a Few Good Periodicals,” Walk to the Publishing World, pp. 52–53.  Hu Shi, “We Want Our Freedom,” in Geng Yunzhi, ed., Hu Shi’s Posthumous Manuscripts and Secret Collection of Letters, Vol. 12, p. 28.

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crushed to death by the revolutionary government. There are only a few tabloids, occasionally telling the truth.” Hu Shih later attended the National Education Conference in Nanjing. To put it bluntly, the government hoped that scholars would come to the cause of construction. It dared not give up this burden, but at the same time it had three requirements for the government: “First, give us money. Second, give us peace. Third, give us a little bit of freedom.”53 Needless to say, when analyzing the intelligentsia in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, the political environment of this period cannot be avoided; and the evaluation of “public forums” and “public opinion” was more related to the legal environment on which they depended. Analyzing the intelligentsia in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican era, we should also focus on how freedom of speech was guaranteed under the rule of law, and in particular, we must examine the constraints and controls on the two poles related to it: scholars and publications. Among them, the issue of “reporting law” constituted a mirror. In 1907, Shenzhou Daily published the article “On the Law of Newspapers,” which was not without profound meaning: “The degree to which one desires to view society is based on the feelings of welcoming newspapers; the degree to which one desires to view the country is based on the laws and regulations governing newspapers.”54 Based on this analysis, on the one hand, we can examine what the legal environment of “public opinion” is; on the other hand, we can also examine how scholars deal with it, and how they really feel about it. With the emergence of modern newspapers in the late Qing Dynasty, the issue of “newspaper law” was also put on the agenda. During the Hundred Days’ Reform, Kang Youwei fully affirmed the significance of newspapers, and also raised the issue of the formulation of the “newspaper law”: “There is a newspaper law in the laws of the Western countries, can the minister translate it” for reference so that we can set China’s newspaper law.55 In the practice of running a newspaper, the newspaperman also had this requirement. Wang Kangnian said, “My country’s newspapers are not protected by law, and there will be no retreat from society. The enemy’s strength is aided, and I’m lonely and helpless, and

 Diary of Hu Shih (manuscript), Vol. 8, May 16 and 19, 1928.  Han Hui, “On the Law of Newspapers,” Shenzhou Daily, June 11, 1907, based on Rao Huaimin, ed. The Collection of Yang Yulin, Yuelu Publishing House, 2001, pp. 237–238.  Kang Youwei, “A Chinese Journalist Film,” this is the supplementary film of “Congratulations to Tian’en Tiao Chen for Reporting Matters” (July 31, 1898), in Jiang Yihua and Zhang Ronghua, eds., The Complete Works of Kang Youwei, Episode 4, p. 343.

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benefit each other.”56 This aspect of speech could be said to be endless. In 1905, The News also published an article conveying such a voice: “Since the axioms have become clear, the power of the newspaper has gradually developed.” Those “who were concerned about the society were getting bigger and bigger, and sincerely, with the newspaper law indispensable.”57 Between 1906 and 1911, several laws targeted at newspapers were promulgated. From the perspective of the article itself, it also reflects the affirmation of freedom of speech. The “Outline of the Constitution” issued on August 27, 1908, even pointed out, “Subjects are within the scope of the law. All speeches, writings, publications, assemblies, associations are allowed to be free.”58 However, the punitive measures entangled in it showed that whether such a report can protect freedom of speech was quite worrying. For example, Article 14 of a proposal to review newspaper laws states, “Words that slander the court; words that confuse the political system; words that disturb public security; words that corrupt customs . . . newspapers shall not be published.”59 Such vague language undoubtedly provided great convenience for the official control of public opinion. After the establishment of the Republic of China, the various regulations of the Qing Dynasty became invalid. Given that there was no formal newspaper law, the Ministry of Internal Affairs drafted the “Temporary Law of Newspapers,” hoping that all newspapers would “abide by it as a whole.”60 This also caused great doubts. The Chinese Press Association said, “Today the law of murder and robbery has not yet been determined, yet there is already a newspaper law. This is a continuation of the dictatorship of the Qing Dynasty to suppress public opinion. It is extremely difficult for the newspaper community to accept.”61 Zhang Taiyan also pointed out that it was “heavier than the authoritarian law of the Qing Dynasty” and that “all kinds of discrepancies should be notified but returned, and the law of newspapers will never recognize it.”62 The “Temporary Newspaper Law” was forced to be revoked five days after its promulgation, and then the

 Wang Kangnian, “To Qu Hongji,” in Wang Linmao, ed., Wang Kangnian Collected Works, Vol. 2, p. 619.  “On the Law of Newspaper,” The News, October 15, 1905, p. 1.  “Constitutional Compilation and Checking of the Constitution Outline and the Essentials of the House Law Election Law,” Peiyang Law and Political Science Journal, Vol. 77, October 1908, p. 3.  “Constitutional Compilation,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 5, No. 4, May 24, 1908, p. 237.  “Ministry of the Interior Issues Interim Reporting Message,” Provisional Government Gazette, No. 30, March 6, 1912, p. 1.  “President Sun on the Poster Circle,” Shen Bao, March 6, 1912, p. 1.  Zhang Taiyan, “Return to the Law of the Ministry of the Interior,” Shen Bao, March 7, 1912, p. 1.

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“Newspaper Regulations” (1914), “Publication Law” (1914), “Amendment of Newspaper Regulations” (1915), “Press and Telegraph Regulations” (1915), “Existing Measures for Reviewing Newspapers” (1916) and other laws and regulations were promulgated. Although “the people have freedom of speech, writing, publication, assembly, and association” was written in various texts with “constitutional” significance, this was not necessarily the case for the management of newspapers. Not only had the range of bans on newspapers and periodicals been expanded, it also required that “Each newspaper should be delivered to the police station for inspection on the date of issue,” thus establishing a publication pre-check system. The “Publishing Law” promulgated later had made similar provisions for all printed texts and pictures, including newspapers.63 After the Nanjing National Government was established, it also issued a large number of laws and regulations related to speech publishing. The more prominent one was the establishment of the “political correctness” standard, which stipulated that all newspapers and periodicals had to follow the principles and policies of the Kuomintang, and obey the rules of the Kuomintang Central and local party departments. For example, the “Propaganda Material Review Regulations” stipulated that newspapers and newsletters inside and outside the party must be submitted to the KMT Central Propaganda Department for review. The review criteria were “1) The legacy of the Prime Minister; 2) Partyism; 3) The party’s political platform and policies; 4) The party’s resolutions; 5) The party’s current laws and regulations; 6) All other party affairs and political records approved by the central government.” In this way, it was too easy for the publication to be judged as “reactionary propaganda” or “false propaganda.”64 In 1929, the “Report on the Propaganda Department of the Kuomintang Central Committee on Prohibition of Books and Periodicals in the Republic of China in the 18th Year of the Republic of China” mentioned the situation of “banning reactionary propaganda.” There were 148 kinds of Communist Party publications alone, which was more than 54%: “The number of newspapers totaled 358.”65 This had only been over the course of a year, and the ban would continue to be carried out in the

 “Newspaper Regulations,” Government Gazette, No. 684, April 3, 1914, pp. 3–4; “Publication Law,” Government Gazette, No. 929, December 5, 1914, pp. 11–14.  “Regulations on the Review of Publicity Materials,” Central Weekly, No. 33, January 21, 1929, p. 20.  “Report on the Propaganda Department of the Kuomintang Central Committee on Prohibition of Books and Periodicals in the 18th Year of the Republic of China” (1929), Compilation of History and Archives of the Republic of China, Part 1, “Culture” (1), Jiangsu Ancient Books Publishing House, 1997, pp. 214–217.

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future. The KMT Central Propaganda Department or other departments often announced banned books.66 The various laws of retribution made in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican era, as well as the twists and turns experienced, may need to be discussed in a special book. It was also not intended to show that the restrictions on publications were gradually becoming stricter. After the Republic of China was established, there were indeed many laws and regulations on publishing, but the punishment, after all, compared with the frequent “decapitation” in the imperial era, was still obvious. The huge difference reflected a scene where newspaper publishing was closely related to social changes. It was worth noting how the scholars who were committed to expanding “public opinion” really felt. After all, legal issues, the “representation,” were often relative to “practice.”67 When Zhang Jinglu recalled the publishing industry he was engaged in, he sighed, “When doing cultural business in concessions, there is the possibility of breaking the ‘slave law’ at any time and after a while, lawsuit had become common for book company managers . . . In the period of the Republic of China, the situation seemed to be even worse. In 1930, Zhang’s United book company received instructions to ban 17 kinds of social science books. Books that sells good [sic] are all gone and the books left would never sell.”68 Cheng Shewo, who had engaged in the press for a long time, had been in jail for more than 30 years, and the newspaper had been closed no fewer than ten times. For this reason, he also said, “We are so unfortunate to be newspapermen of this era!”69 What Zhang Jinglu and Cheng Shewo talked about was only personal experience. Based on this, it is also necessary to evaluate which factors were restrictive when the scholar made a sound, and how to resist. It was undeniable that the official suppression of speech was the same as in the past, but the “names” and “punishment” methods attributed to it were very different, and scholars’ ways of responding were also slightly different. The scholars in the late Qing Dynasty felt more of all kinds of constraints, and had to consider how to avoid the “temporal  See Ma Xiaoli, The Dilemma and Choice of Modern Chinese Copyright Legislation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press, 2011.  The researcher’s review of the legal system in the Qing Dynasty has revealed that the law of the Qing Dynasty is composed of deviating and contradictory “expression” and practice. Only by taking both into account can we grasp the truth of history. See Huang Zongzhi, Law, Society and Culture in Qing Dynasty: The Expression and Practice of Civil Law, Liu Chang and Li Huaiyin, trans., Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House, 2002.  Zhang Jinglu, Twenty Years in the Publishing Industry: Zhang Jinglu’s Autobiography, pp. 118, 139.  Cheng Shewo, “The Newsmen of Our Time,” World Journal, November 20, 1945, reopening issue, p. 1.

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taboo” when speaking; the scholars in the Republic of China were still restrained by various constraints, but there were no shortage of examples of fighting against them. The encounter between Yan Fu and Hu Shih also reflected the changes in the public opinion from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period.70 Assessing modern China’s “public opinion” and its role in politics and its effectiveness actually provided an important dimension for thinking about the intelligentsia. It can even be said that the ideal intelligentsia should be a “public space” created by “public opinion.” The problem was worth paying attention to because the growth of “public opinion” in modern China and political entanglements were quite intriguing, and newspaper reporters often have difficulty making choices. When Zhang Jiluan presided over Ta Kung Pao, he expounded the famous “Four Nos” propositions: “no party,” “no sales,” “unselfish,” and “no blindness.”71 But on the other hand, as Zhang himself pointed out, Chinese newspapers were “in principle an organ for literati to discuss politics . . . In this regard, it can be said that China is backward, but it can also be said to be a specialty.” He also stated that the value of Ta Kung Pao, “is that it can maintain the original features of literati discussing politics even though it is operated as a business.”72 From the thinking of scholars when they intervened in “politics” and the tendency of depoliticization shown in newspapers, we can see the plight of cultivating “public opinion” in modern China. The “no politics for twenty years” and “to lay a foundation for reforms in Chinese politics in terms of ideology and culture” is Hu Shih’s master. What’s interesting is that Hu didn’t defend his life clearly because of the ugly politics. He sincerely felt that there were more fundamental problems than politics. This was not Hu Shih’s personal opinion, but also represented a fairly common view among scholars. When Hu Shih embarked on the “different road” to talk about politics, Sun Fuyuan, who opposed it, believed that, “Culture is more important than politics. Most people who have no knowledge can never produce good politics.” This is why the three Chinese characters “Hu Shihzhi” are so valuable: “It was all because Hu’s innovative method can be used in ideology, which is different from many innovators in the past.” Therefore, Sun also stated that he would do his best to “come back [sic] the gentleman who has been taken away from political history for cultural history.”73 Hu Shih’s closest allies were also exerting

 In addition to the previous examples, for further discussion, please refer to Zhang Qing, Public Opinion and Politics: A Brief Discussion on the Twists and Turns of the Growth of Modern Chinese Press, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 2013, pp. 465–506.  Zhang Jiluan, “The Interests of Our Fellows,” Ta Kung Pao, September 1, 1926, p. 1.  Zhang Jiluan, “Declaration of Our Fellows,” Ta Kung Pao, May 5, 1941, p. 1.  Hu Shih, “My Cross-Roads,” The Endeavor, No. 7, June 18, 1922, p. 3.

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influence. When preparing The Endeavor, Hu Shih’s old friends Gao Mengdan, Zhang Yuanji, Wang Yunwu, and others raised objections one after another. The direction they pointed out for Hu was, “Concentrate on the book, that is the best policy; the professor is the middle policy; the newspaper is the lower policy.”74 Scholars’ establishment of publications had caused many disputes. It had more or less explained the level of recognition of “public” and it also meant that there was a lack of basic confidence in “public opinion.” What was especially lamentable was that even if it was expressed to the “public,” the speech business was more or less “unprofessional.” Hu Shih’s friends worried that Hu Shih, who was involved in politics, would become “Liang’s continuation,” but Hu himself stated that “Liang Rengong suffered because he gave up his speech career to become the general manager. I can make up my mind not to be an official.”75 This also drew a clear boundary between participation and discussion of politics for scholars to intervene in politics, and the reason was sufficient; the “discussing politics” naturally had a value that could be underestimated. In any case, this somewhat showed that they were not engaged in political undertakings, but that politics were listed in the “supporting role” position. Hu Shih himself honestly admitted that his spirit would not be focused on politics, because “philosophy is my profession, literature is my entertainment, and politics is just a new endeavor that I cannot bear.”76 Putting politics in third place after occupation and entertainment was undoubtedly to show his unwillingness to pay more attention to politics. Hu Shih later became the spokesman of Chinese liberalism, and it was this way of cognition and participation in politics that led to the idea that this way of thinking could only become an ideal for some scholars rather than an ideological movement that had widespread influence.77 The entanglement caused by Hu Shih’s “talking about politics” is not a special case. Chang Yansheng’s criticism of the intelligentsia specifically aimed at the popular “not talking about politics” among the new figures: “It was already very funny to hear about political parties because of their private disputes. If you hear about politics, you can’t even think of a reason.” In short, “the attitude of ‘not talking about politics’ is really a manifestation of the Chinese people’s spirit of ignoring reality. This is the result of thousands of years of authoritarian regimes, and

 Diary of Hu Shih (manuscript), Vol. 2, February 7, 1922.  Diary of Hu Shih (manuscript), Vol. 2, February 7, 1922.  Hu Shih, “My Cross-Roads,” The Endeavor, No. 7, June 18, 1922, p. 4.  See Zhang Qing, “Hu Shih and China’s Liberalism,” in Geng Yunzhi and Song Guangbo, eds., Hu Shih Research Collection, 2nd Series, Social Science Academic Press, 2012, pp. 476–519.

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it is no different from the Westerners’ spirit of governance by the people.”78 Commentary Review also published an article expounding this view: “There is a very special creed of the Juvenile China Society, which is not an official, not a member, or engage in political activities [sic], in order to clean itself. In fact, it is clean. It doesn’t matter if he is an official or a parliamentarian, as long as he is willing to work hard for the popular revolution when he is an official.”79 What was “public” was questionable in the cognition of modern Chinese scholars. Although the state behavior had been understood as a kind of “public life” in the scholar’s remarks, it had some reservations to truly intervene in actual politics. In other words, in the process of seeking new roles and identities, the original intention of scholars not only did not contain much political meaning, but also aimed to get rid of the entanglement of politics. This was not only true of readers, but more often than not of those magazines with no obvious political color, which were advertised as “public forums.” Can they be called “public” without a clear political proposition? In fact, it was this tendency of “depoliticization” that had become a puzzle that the “public opinion” of modern China had to face. The path taken by The News and The Eastern Miscellany further showed that this tendency to “depoliticize” was still universal. On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of The News, “The Newspaper Office’s 30th Anniversary Commemorative Album” was published. John Calvin Ferguson worked hard to draw a clear line between the newspaper’s position and politics. He especially advertised, “Since the establishment of the newspaper, the editors and colleagues have presided over the written affairs, and it has not been controlled by any individual or any political party.”80 Wang Hanxi specifically analyzed economic reasons and party relations, which were the difficulties encountered by the Chinese press. It was precisely because it was difficult to be economically independent, “have to rely on the outside world, be nurtured by others, and stand up to others, even invert black and white, and confuse the hearing.”81 In addition to flaunting the value of The News, it actually pointed out that it was difficult to rid the newspapers in modern China of political influence due to economic reasons.

 Yan Sheng, “The Intelligentsia in Reaction,” Xuedeng, May 9, 1922; see also Supplement of Morning News, May 25, 1922, pp. 1–2.  Zemin, “Disordered Thoughts,” Commentary Review, No. 16, July 6, 1924, p. 4.  John Calvin Ferguson, “Retrospect and Future of the Newspaper,” Commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Newspaper, p. 1.  Wang Hanxi, “Causes of Difficulties in Journalism,”Commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Newspaper, pp. 2–3.

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The self-positioning of The Eastern Miscellany was more representative. Soon after its inauguration, the magazine published an article reviewing the inability of Chinese newspapers and journals, concluding that the root of the problem lay half in society and half in people who presided over newspapers, emphasizing that “news is the mother of public opinion, and the source of political discussions. It holds the people in its left hand and the government in its right hand. Those that are good for society will be promoted, and those that are harmful to society will be corrected . . . this is exactly the conscience of newsprint.”82 In terms of reputation, the status of news was still inadequate, but to some extent it showed that at that time, there was much concern about the role of public opinion. About ten years later, the magazine published another article on “responsibilities” of the magazine industry, which summarized the responsibilities of magazines into three categories, researching theories, inspiring ideas, and correcting customs. In particular, it mentioned, “the mutual assistance of learning, the choice of doctrine, the transfer of fashion, the improvement of customs, are almost all done with magazines as a great means and a channel of dissemination.”83 And the concluding article of The Twentieth Year of the Book stated that “we hope to be consultants of public opinion, but dare not claim to be the guide of public opinion.”84 These 20 years of The Eastern Miscellany articles that could be regarded as selfpositioning had outlined the evolutionary trajectory of Chinese newspapers and magazines. At first, it was positioned as the “mother of public opinion”: “the clearing house came out, left the people in control, and the right supervised the government.” Ten years later, magazines were used as the “declarative organs” such as “mutual assistance of learning, choice of doctrine, transfer of fashion, and improvement of customs.” Twenty years later, they became the “consultant of public opinion.” From this particular point, it was not difficult to see that the positioning of newspapers seemed to be getting lower and lower, and they were on quite marginal. It was natural to ask whether this was to stay away from politics and represent “public” without specific political opinions. Not only did The Eastern Miscellany show such a trend, those that claimed to be “public forums” were often the magazines that clearly declared they were far away from politics. Moreover, when the country encountered a crisis, or when partisanship had become fierce,

 He Gu, “On the Reasons Why Chinese Books and Newspapers Cannot Be Developed,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 2, No. 1, February 28, 1905, p. 7.  Jing Zang, “Post in the Magazine Circle in the Future,” The Eastern Miscellany, Vol. 16, No. 7, July 15, 1919, pp. 1, 4.  Jianhu, “The Twentieth Year of the Magazine,” Vol. 20, No. 1, The Eastern Miscellany, January 10, 1923, p. 1.

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magazines labeling themselves as “public forums” would often appear. The Tiger, founded in 1914, was a typical instance of this. Later magazines that were usually classified as liberalism, such as Contemporary Review, Independent Review, and Observation Weekly, were even more typical of this. The purpose of The Tiger was clearly stated at the time of its publication, highlighting the position of protecting society: “on the one hand, it is social realism, and the other is social sentiment.” Even so, The Tiger did not shy away from its use as an organ of “public opinion,” “make sure that all the opinions of the whole country can be published as they are.”85 At this time, when Yuan Shikai disbanded the parliament, Zhang Shizhao’s Political Foundation published an attempt to seek “tolerance” on both sides of the confrontation. On the one hand, it emphasized that it was the foundation of politics, and it was in the “badness of the same evil,” “the virtue of a political party is to listen to the opinions of the opposition party.” This was obviously a criticism of Yuan. But on the other hand, he pointed out that the Revolutionary Party had also made the mistake of being “like the same as the evil,” and “leverages its prejudices, and uses its best efforts to strengthen the people with oneself, so that the talents of the world will be better than the party.”86 This position inevitably invited criticism of “aiding the evil,” saying that it was nothing more than “seeking relief for the evil government.” It can be seen that the theory of seeking “accommodation” was not easy, and the current public opinion environment may not be able to accept such a position. In this sense, many publications advertised as “public forums” were also a response to this political ecology. This attitude was even more obvious from the perspective of the publications published by scholars during the May Fourth period. Founded in 1924, Contemporary Review clearly set up the banner of “public forum” as “a public forum for fans and their friends and readers,” remarking “the spirit is independent, not the main echo”; “attitude . . . It is research, not criticized”; “Remarks tend to focus on practical issues, not empty talk.”87 The manifestation of its “publicity” was that it did not declare its own opinions, so as to “seek its friends.” In the inaugural issue of Independent Review published in 1932, Hu Shih also emphasized the purpose of running the journal, only applying the principle of “academic independence” upheld in the theory to study current issues in China. Later, Hu summarized this

 “Notice,” The Tiger, No. 1, May 10, 1914, title page.  Zhang Shizhao, “Political Foundation,” The Tiger, No. 1, May 10, 1914, pp. 1, 11.  “Advertisement of the Newspaper,” Contemporary Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, December 13, 1924, p. 2.

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“independent spirit” as a cautious and “fearless” attitude.88 Observation Weekly, founded in 1945, also upheld this position. The journal did not deny its colleagues’ rights to pursue their basic positions, mainly pursuing “democracy,” “freedom,” “progress,” “rationality,” and “speaking about things” here. But at the same time it emphasized that “we will accommodate all kinds of opinions” and “respect the spirit of free speech.”89 The above-mentioned publications advertised as public forums had often become basic examples for evaluating “public opinion” in modern China. It was worth noting that if there was no clear political opinion, could it be equated with “public” and “public forum”? The key point was that the “public forum” showed a tendency to “depoliticize”; not only did the scholars not have much political meaning in the process of seeking new roles and identities, but they also intended to get rid of political entanglement. This was very important for understanding the scholars who bid farewell to the imperial examination era to explore new roles and identities. To rebuild the dignity of knowledge in a transitional society and make academics form the center of gravity of the future society was the ideal of academic society expressed by scholars. In addition to academics, the involvement of public affairs, along with the rise of newspaper media, had also shown a new atmosphere. In his letter to Wang Kangnian, Tan Sitong already had such an opinion: “In this world, what our power can do must be writing articles and publishing newspapers.”90 Such an expression showed a trace of going rogue, but relying on newspapers was also the choice of scholars. Of course, there were not necessarily all positive voices. In a letter to Wang Kangnian, Xia Zengyou expressed regret to Liang Qichao who had joined the newspaper, “I said that Liang was victimized by you. If you did not ask him to help you manage Current Affairs, his achievement in academia would have been far greater than that.”91 Although scholars still had many reservations about the activities of creating newspapers, it was not easy to use newspapers and magazines as “public forums” to generate awareness of “public people.” When Liang Qichao established New Citizen, he clearly mentioned “public affairs” and “public servants.”92 The newspaper clearly hoped that politicians in the

 Hu Shih, “Introduction,” Independent Review, No. 1, May 22, 1932, p. 2; “My Opinion is Nothing but This,” Independent Review, No. 46, April 11, 1933, p. 3.  “Our Interests and Attitudes,” Observation Weekly, Vol. 1, No. 1, September 1, 1946, pp. 3–4.  Tan Sitong, “To Wang Kangnian” (4), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (4), p. 3238.  Xia Zengyou, “To Wang Kangnian” (81), Wang Kangnian’s Correspondences with His Teachers and Friends (2), p. 1392.  Liang Qichao, “A Warning to Those in Power,” New Citizen, No. 18, October 16, 1902, p. 1.

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opposition (as opposed to politicians in the ruling party) would grow in influence in China, and sighed at the admonition that “Chinese people are stubbornly incapable of standing, so that thousands of years Come, there will be no opposition politicians.”93 In fact, scholars also had their own understanding of politics. “Instead of joining the government, it is better to form a party; instead of forming a party, it is better to run a newspaper.” The letter of Fu Sinian to Hu Shih in 1947 showed that it was between “entering the government,” “organizing a party,” and “running a newspaper.” The scholars chose to “run a newspaper” without hesitation. In connection with the context, we can also understand that this was Fu’s statement that “liberals must decide their own destiny,” trying to draw a clear line with “entry into the government”: “We have to fight, but this is the only way we should stay in the opposition forever. Once you enter the government, you can’t fight.”94 Hu Shih also mentioned some “sincere words” in his reply: “I am in the opposition – we are in the opposition – is a force of the country and the government.”95 The dialogue between Hu Shih and Fu Sinian reflected the self-positioning of a scholar who had experienced decades of ups and downs and was convinced of his ability. In 1931, Yu Pingbo said in a letter to Hu Shih, “Everyone should resolutely save the country in today’s affairs. Our profession is only pen and tongue. If you really want to go out of the country, how can you get it! Therefore, “My generation saves the country!” There is no more way than this. In addition to this, there are fewer things we can do.”96 Cheng Shewo expressed a kind of affirmation of this role: “We are so lucky to be the reporter of this era! . . . In the past, everything we opposed was completely wiped out. This is not us. The power of some newspapermen is the result of our faithful and faithful reflection of public opinion.”97 And Hu Shih confessed to the scholars gathered around him in his later years: Who is the most powerful person? Or can people with military strength and political power be considered powerful and powerful? Or does our class of poor scholars and writers have a little power and a little momentum? This issue is also worth thinking about. I think there

 Yuzhi, “On China’s Current Political Parties and Future Political Parties,” New Citizen, No. 92, November 30, 1906, pp. 37–39.  Fu Sinian, “To Hu Shih,” February 4, 1947, Hu Shih Selected Letters, Vol. 2, 168–170.  Hu Shih, “To Fu Sinian,” February 6, 1947, Hu Shih Selected Letters, Vol. 2, p. 173.  Yu Pingbo, “To Hu Shih,” September 30, 1931, Complete Works of Yu Pingbo, Vol. 9, Huashan Literature and Art Publishing House, 1997, pp. 324–325.  Cheng Shewo, “The Newspaperman of Our Time,” World Journal, reopening issue, November 20, 1945, p. 1.

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are many powerful people, so they must oppose freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of the press. They may feel that they are a little dangerous . . . This is power.98

Perhaps what Hu Shih said was not wrong. Didn’t a scholar rely on the pen in his hand to point out the country and move it up and down? The reason why the powerful groups wanted to suppress the scholars was indeed proof that the power of the scholars holding the pen should not be underestimated. However, if scholars could only prove the existence of their power through the suppression of the powerful group, then we should also ask further, did the power of their role end there? In fact, Hu Shih’s words showed that the sense of the scholar’s position was still not implemented. For this reason, what was “public” and “public forum” was questionable in the cognition of modern Chinese scholars. Although many people considered the state behavior as a kind of “public life,” they had reservations about it when they actually intervened in political life. Of course, this tendency of depoliticization also revealed that there was another force that dominated the intelligentsia during this period. In other words, the two sides of the problem were also worthy of attention. Whether it meant “not talking about politics” or was advertised as a “public forum,” it was a direct reflection of real politics. Either because of the decline and decay of politics, scholars could only express their positions on politics in a way that was far from politics, or it was also because public opinion had been dominated by the political power of the party, and scholars could only make other choices. The cardinal behind this was worthy of “compassionate understanding.” Avoiding politics did not actually mean no talk about politics; instead, it was about how to talk about politics; advertised as a “public forum” did not necessarily have a clear political stance, but an attempt to focus on other issues in a political environment dominated by political parties. This also reflected the basic political ecology of modern China from one aspect, how the “mouthpiece” cultivated by political forces exerted a great squeeze on “public opinion” and compressed the space for scholars to speak, expressing views on public affairs in the appeal of “depoliticization.” Of course, there was a sympathetic and comprehensible aspect of such a choice. As J. B. Grieder explained, it was the first time that the new cultural generation encountered a group of people who could properly be called Chinese intellectuals, consciously criticized and self-criticized, and stood on the opposition party’s knowledge group, “their demands to exert influence . . . based on the self-confidence that personal opinions, personal qualities, and personal tastes have public significance

 Hu Shih, “Tolerance and Freedom,” Free China, Vol. 21, No. 11, December 1, 1959, pp. 7–8.

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and can attract public attention.”99 It is just that such a role failed to constitute the “center of gravity” and lacked real support. In June 1927, when Wang Guowei committed suicide in the Summer Palace in Beijing, Gu Jiegang asked who killed Wang Guowei. His judgment condensed his thoughts on the fate of scholars at the time: “The state has no institution specializing in academic studies and that killed Wang Guowei! We should build an institution specializing in academic research! The vanity of the scholar-official class killed Wang Guowei! We should defeat the scholar-official class! We are not scholar-officials! We are all ordinary people!”100 The crux of the problem was still that the intelligentsia on which scholars relied may not necessarily form the dominant force in society: “If the skin does not exist, there is nowhere for hair to be attached.” When talking about Chinese scholars, the phrase from Zuo Zhuan was Mao Zedong’s favorite, and he was adept in history. In any case, it must be admitted that the dialectic of “skin” and “hair” pointed to a question that had a stake in the fate of scholars. In other words, the intelligentsia was the “skin” and the rise of newspaper media had changed the attributes of this “skin.” And after decades of ups and downs, the scholar’s transition from the “center” to the “periphery” clearly showed the fineness of the “skin.” Regarding the social role of intellectuals, it had always been a problem full of divergent opinions, and is also a worldwide problem.101 The transition from “official” to “intellectual” in China was responding to the growth of the intelligentsia. Correspondingly, the re-identification of the role of modern Chinese scholars had actually become an evaluation of the “ideology” of the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China where the cardinal of the “world” was located. The gradual loss of the “center of gravity” expected by scholars not only meant that scholars no longer occupied the “central” position, but also that the intelligentsia they created was controlled by other social forces. In this sense, it could also be said that Yu Ying-shih’s proposal of the “marginalization of Chinese intellectuals” also had insights. However, the “marginalization” was not only because the “personnel” as the “head of the four people” no longer occupied a central position in the social  J.B.Grieder, Intellectuals and the State in Modern China: A Narrative History, Shan Zhengping, trans., Nankai University Press, 2002, p. 277.  Gu Jiegang, “Mourning for Mr. Wang Jingan,” Literature Weekly, Vol. 5, Nos. 1 and 2, August 7, 1927, pp. 10–11.  According to Said, the two most famous descriptions of intellectuals in the 20th century are basically opposites. One is the role of intellectuals demonstrated by Antonio Gramsci in his career. It is a collection of Marxists, journalists, activists, and outstanding political philosophers; one is Julien Benda’s famous definition of intellectuals. Intellectuals are a small group of philosophers with outstanding talents and high morals- The king (philosopher-kings). See Said, Edward W., Representations of the Intellectual, Shan Dexing, trans., Rye Field Publishing Co., 1997.

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structure, especially the intelligentsia created by the modern new media. The new roles and identities of the scholars still cannot constitute the “center of gravity of society.” The conclusion is that the history of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period reflected by the intelligentsia may not be a record of “failure,” but neither is it the result of the “ideal.” In essence, the growth of social forces still has a long journey. It is inevitable to have the heavy influence of interpretation of history here.

Postscript In his Varieties of Cultural History, British historian Peter Burke is frustrated over “what constitutes cultural history”—“How can anyone write a history of something which lacks a fixed identity?” I felt the same frustration when writing this book. First and foremost, the intelligentsia is something undefinable; yet, the intelligentsia has a wide presence in the Chinese society—it is a tough work to write a book like this. Thus, it is wise to examine the intelligentsia as a historical fact and investigate its history as thus, to represent a comprehensive history. The book relates the intelligentsia to the Chinese history at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, because the shaping of the intelligentsia cannot be irrelevant to the broader backdrop. The intelligentsia must be understood against the drastic changes in modern Chinese society: it was born in modern China and witnessed the growth of modern China, and in it we see how the past was replaced by the modern. That is, the intelligentsia emerged in China in no other time other than the age of transition in late Qing, indicative of both an evolution of society and a new state-society relation. The intelligentsia in the period in question was a new thing in pre-modern China and out of it grew a modern China. The book runs a great length to examine as much as it can the issues relevant to the intelligentsia. Invariably, a focused study is traded off for an extensive one. Undefinable as it is, the intelligentsia has too many facets that deserve full study, and that leaves me in a dilemma: more focused, less extensive; and more extensive, less focused. It may be not a question of right or wrong. Many of the issues discussed in the book deserve research assigned to them. Too many related issues are left undiscussed despite the length of the book, though. The book focuses on the influence new-type publications had on the intelligentsia. Undeniably, the best carrier of information on pre-modern China, newspapers portrayed social changes in late imperial China, through which we see phenomena that deserve our attention in modern Chinese history. It is noteworthy that beyond the print, material and technological conditions for information dissemination also counted. Collectively, the print and material and technological progress have changed the scene of modern history and helped preserve what the world looked like back then. In this sense, new-type media, print and technologies included, facilitate the study of modern history. The book has talked about such issues, but regretfully there is too much left untouched. I dedicate this book to the intelligentsia in late Qing China, trying to understand modern Chinese history from the perspective of new-type media. I’ve engaged in studying the intelligentsia issue over the past decade. My study in the area was heralded by the paper “Provincial Border, Trade Community, and Class: Emergence and Dilemma of Group Forces in Modern China” published in https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-011

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Social Sciences in China, 2003 (2). I benefited greatly from the serial academic meetings organized by Wang Chaoguang, Wang Qisheng, and Jin Yilin from the Research Team on the Republic of China, Institute of Modern History CASS, and the book is in principal a collection of my papers submitted to the serial meetings. Some of the papers were published in academic journals, including “An Analysis of the Intelligentsia of the Early Republican Period in China” in Modern Chinese History Studies, 2007 (3), and “The 1920s: The Split of the Intelligentsia and the Reorganization of Chinese Society” in Modern Chinese History Studies, 2004 (6). I have also published articles on other issues related to the intelligentsia, such as “Adoption of Western Learning: “Study Order” and Its Significance” in Historical Research, 2007 (3), and “Policy Questions (Cewen) and the Reception of ‘Western Learning’ in the Imperial Examination System” in Bulletin of Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, 2007 (58). My research has been based on the existing fruitful research and inspired by various sources. I would like to extend my gratitude to Jiang Yihua, Zhou Zhenhe, Ge Zhaoguang, Xiong Yuezhi, Luo Zhitian, Sang Bing, Wang Chaoguang, Wang Qisheng, Jin Yilin, Huang Xingtao, Fang Weigui, Chen Liwei, Shen Guowei, Sun Jiang, Huang Kewu, Zhang Shou’an, Pan Guangzhe, Benjamin Elman, Murata Yujiro, Kubo Toru, Kshikawa Yoshihiro, Iwo Amelung, and Joachim Kurtz for their thought-provoking ideas. It took me more than a decade to finish this book on the complicated issues concerning the intelligentsia, over the period of which came more sources for modern Chinese history study, resulting in repeated revisions to the draft; I was “urged” to finish the book when it was selected to the National Library of Philosophy and Social Sciences of China. I would like to extend my gratitude to Senior Editor Xu Siyan and Editor Song Rongxin from Social Sciences Academic Press (China). Many thanks go to Sun Qing, Zhang Zhongmin, Zhang Ke, Pan Weilin, Cao Nanping, Zhao Zhongya, Liu Zongling, and Zhang Xiaochuan for their efforts on finding and checking references. Also, I am in Cao Nanping’s debt for spending so much time double-checking the text before the delivery of the book. Last but not least, my heartfelt thanks goes to my wife for her unfailing love and unwavering support. Zhang Qing February 14, 2014 at Fudan University, Shanghai

References Digital and Database Materials China Academic Digital Associative Library (CADAL) Books in the Republican Period Digital Collections of National Diet Library, Japan Full-text database of journals in late Qing Dynasty (1833–1910) Full-text database of journals in the Republic of China (1911–1949) ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chinese Newspapers Collection (1832–1953) Shanghai News Database ssreader.chaoxing.com

Newspapers and Magazines Twentieth-Century China, The Great Chung Hwa Magazine, Ta Kung Pao, Da Lu Bao, Wan Guo Gong Bao, Shanghai News Times, Fiction Monthly, Novel Forest, Kaizhilu, Wuxi Vernacular Newspaper, Yunnan, The Journal of the Young China Association, Central Daily News, Chinese and Foreign Gazette, China Daily News, The Chinese Students, Women’s Journal, Chinese Vernacular Magazine, China Youth, The Church News, China New Book Monthly Bulletin, China New Paper, Shanghai Serial, Cultural Criticism, World’s Culture, The Eastern Miscellany, Beiyang Gazette, Peking University Daily, The Tiger, Shanghai News, Sichuan, Official Newspaper of Sichuan, Sichuan Education Official Newspaper, Life Weekly, In Vernacular Language, Hui Bao, Han Flag, People’s Voice Daily, People’s Journal, The Republican Daily News, Yaquan Journal, Regeneration Weekly, Tung Wen Hu Pao, The Guide Weekly, Jiangxi, Official Newspaper of Jiangxi, Jiangsu, North China Daily News, Anhui Colloquial Periodical, Journalism Quarterly, Su News, Current Affairs, The Eastern Times, The China Times, Journal of Liji Medical School, Weekly Review, Compilation of Translated Books, Correction, Buddhist Series, The Buddhism Semimonthly, The Endeavor, Modern Review, Description, The National News, China National Gazette, The Chinese National, China News Weekly, Journal of Chinese Quintessence, Book Review, Henan, The Students Magazine, Xue Lin, Xue Heng, Journal of Real Science, The Construction, Statecraft Journal, Politics and Arts Magazine, Political Treatise, Journal of Political Science and Law, Southern Daily, Learning New Knowledge, The Scientific World, Fu Bao, The Alarming News from Russia, Shanghai Polytechnic, Collection of Scientific Reviews, Scientific Review, Tide of Zhejiang, Sound of Waves (a Buddhist magazine), The Education World, Morning Paper, Supplement of Morning Paper, The Justice, The China Discussion, Tsinghua Weekly, Jicheng Newspaper, Universal Circulating Herald, A World of People with Absolute Sincerity, Students Community of Hubei, Hubei Journal, Hunan Gazette, Hunan Journal, Chongqing News, Translation Works During Study in Japan, Chinese Serial, Popularization of the Hundred Day’s Reform, Liberation and Transformation, New Novels, New Moon, Journal of the New World, New Citizen, New Youth, New Journal, New Thoughts, The News, The Renaissance, Journal of Mathematical Sciences, The Alarming Bell Daily.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-012

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Research Treatises in Chinese Language Books Bazaill, Jean Frédéric, History of Books, trans: Liu Yang, etc., Guangxi Normal University Press, 2005. Benedict, Richard, Anderson O’Gorman, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, trans: Wu Ruiren, Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 2005. Bourdieu, Pierre, Loic J. D. Wacquant, An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, trans: Li Meng and Li Kang, Central Compilation & Translation Press, 1998. Burke, Peter, A Social History of Knowledge: From Gutenberg to Diderot, trans: Jia Shiheng, Taipei: Maitian Publishing House, 2003. Burke, Peter, Varieties of Cultural History, trans: Feng Huaqin and Liu Yan. Peking University Press, 2013. Chen Jianhua, Modernity of “Revolution” – On China’s Revolutionary Discourse, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2000. Chen Wanxiong, The Origin of the May 4th Movement, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1997. Cohen, Paul A., Discovering History in China, American Historical Writing on the Recent Chinese Past, trans: Lin Tongqi, Zhonghua Book Company, 1989. Curran, James, Media and Power, trans: Shi Anbin and Dong Guanpeng, Tsinghua University Press, 2006. Darnton, Robert, The Business of Enlightenment: A Publishing History of the Encyclopedia 1775–1800, trans: Ye Tong and Gu Hang, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2005. Darnton, Robert, The Literary Underground of the Old Regime, trans: Liu Jun, China Renmin University Press, 2012. Drege, Jean-Pierre, The Commercial Press: 1897–1949, trans: Li Tongshi, the Commercial Press, 2000. Dynasty: 1901–1911, Hebei Education Press, 2001. Eisenstadt, S. N., The Political Systems of Empires, trans: Yan Buke, Guizhou People’s Publishing House, 1992.

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425

Luo Zhitian, An Attempt to Rebuild Civilization: Biography of Hu Shi (1891–1929), Zhonghua Book Company, 2006. Lyu Fangshang, From Student Movement to Students in Movement: The 8th to 18th Year of the Republic of China, Taipei: Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, 1994. Mao Haijian, From Jiawu to Wuxu: Kang Youwei’s Commentary on the History of Myself, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2009. Masini, Federico, The Formation of Modern Chinese Lexicon and Its Revolution Towards a National Language: The Period from 1840 to 1898, trans: Huang Heqing, Unabridged Chinese Dictionary Publishing House, 1997. McDermott, Joseph P., A Social History of the Chinese Book: Books and Literati Culture in Late Imperial China, trans: He Zhaohui, Peking University Press, 2009. Reynolds, Douglas R., The Xinzheng Revolution and Japan, China (1898–1912), trans: Li zhongxian, Jiangsu People’s Publishing House, 1998. Said, Edward W., Representation of the Intellectual, trans: Shan Dexing, Taipei: Maitian Publishing House, 1997. Schwartz, Benjamin I, In Search of Wealth and Power: Yen Fu and the West, trans: Ye Fengmei, Jiangsu People’s Publishing House, 1996. Sessoms Britton, Roswell, The Chinese Periodical Press(1800–1912), trans: Su Shijun, Central Compilation & Translation Press, 2013. Shen Guowei, Exchanges About Chinese and Japanese Vocabularies in the Modern Era: Creation, Tolerance and Sharing of New Chinese Words, Zhonghua Book Company, 2010. Skinner, Quentin, The Foundations of Modern Political Thought, trans: Xi Ruisen and Ya Fang, the Commercial Press, 2002. Su Jing, Casting and Printing: Protestant Missionaries and Changes in Chinese Book Printing, Taipei: National Taiwan University Press, 2014. Su Jing, Robert Morrison and Printing and Publication in Chinese, Taipei: Student Book Co. Ltd., 2000. Wang Dewei, Repressed Modernity: On Novels in the Late Qing Dynasty, trans: Song Weijie, Peking University Press, 2005. Wang Dezhao, Study on the Imperial Examination System in the Qing Dynasty, Zhonghua Book Company, 1984. Wang Fansen, Fu Ssu-nien: A Life in Chinese History and Politics, trans: Wang Xiaobing, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2012. Wang Fansen, Reflections on Some Historical Thinking Modes, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2014. Wang Fansen, Transition of the Ideological History in Modern China, Taipei: Linking Publishing, 2007. Wen-Hsin Yeh, The Alienated Academy: Culture and Politics in Republican China (1919–1937), trans: Feng Xiagen, China Renmin University Press, 2012. Yang Guoqiang, Late-Qing Intellectuals and the Ways of the World, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2008. Yoshihiro Ishikawa, The Founding of the Communist Party of China, trans: Yuan Guangquan, China Social Sciences Press, 2006. Yu Shiying, A Modern Interpretation of China’s Ideological Traditions, Jiangsu People’s Publishing House, 1995. Yu Shiying, Re-discovering Hu Shi and His Thoughts, Guangxi Normal University Press, 2004. Zhang Pengyuan, Liang Qichao and the Revolution in the Qing Dynasty After 1840, Taipei: Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, 1999. Zhang Qing, “Hu Shi School” and Liberalism in Modern China, Shanghai Sanlian Book Store, 2015. Zhang Yufa, Political Parties in the Early Years of the Republic of China, Yuelu Shushe, 2004.

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Theses Chen Liwei, “The Popularity and Generalization of ‘-ism’ in China,” Academic Monthly, (9), 2012. Fang Weigui, “Research Method of the Concept History and Problems Encountered in China’s Relevant Research,” New Historiography, (3), Zhonghua Book Company, 2010. Ge Zhaoguang, “China in the Year 1895: Symbolic Meanings in the Ideological History,” Open Times, (1), 2001. Luo Zhitian, “Between the Old and the New: Multiple Worlds and the ‘Aphasia’ Groups in Modern China,” Journal of Sichuan University, (6), 1999. Luo Zhitian, “China and the World: Changes of Scholars’ Cognition of the Human Society in the Late Qing Dynasty: Emphasis on Liang Qichao’s Concepts,” Social Sciences in China, (5), 2007. Mizoguchi Yuzo, “The Historical Position of Ming Yi Dai Fang Lu,” Translation of Japanese Scholars’ Studies on Chinese History, Zhonghua Book Company, 1993. Pan Guangzhe, “Current Affairs and Its Readers,” Historical Research, (5), 2005. Sang Bing, “Predecessors in the Academic Circles of the Republic of China,” Historical Research, (6), 2005. Wang Fansen, “‘-ism’ and ‘Learning’ – Split of China’s Ideological Circles in the 1920s,” Xu Jilin (ed.), Reflection on the Enlightenment and Its Legacy (On Intellectuals (Vol. 9), Jiangsu People’s Publishing House, 2010. Wang Fansen, “Image Transformation of Modern Intellectuals,” Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy of NTU, May 2002. Wang Qisheng, “Development of the New Culture Movement – Take La Jeunesse as an Example,” Modern Chinese History Studies (1), 2007. Yu Yingshi, “The Marginalization of Chinese Intellectuals,” Twenty-First Century, (6), August 1991. Zhang Hao, “Transition of the Ideological History in Modern China,” Twenty-First Century, (52), April 1999. Zhang Qing, “Formation and Predicament of Group Powers in Modern China in Different Provinces, Industries, and Classes,” Social Sciences in China, (4), 2003. Zhang Qing, “Independence Review: The Construction of an ‘Academic Society’ and the ‘Power Network’ of Intellectuals,” Historical Research, (4), 2002.

References in Other Languages Bourdieu, Pierre, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, Edited and Introduced by Randal Johnson, New York: Columbia University Press, 1993. Britton, Roswell S. (白瑞华), The Chinese Periodical 1800–1912, Kelly and Walsh Limited, 1933. Brokaw, Cynthia J., and Kai-wing Chow, Printing and Book Culture in Late Imperial China, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.

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Index Alexander Williamson 9 Alexander Wylie 5 Bai Jianwu 221, 226, 399 Bao Tianxiao 45, 73, 222, 251, 276, 279, 280, 300 Baoxue Jikan 109 Calvin W. Mateer 291 Cai Yuanpei 99, 170, 171, 175, 182, 189, 193, 194, 235, 257, 267, 281, 381 Chen Baozhen 46, 49, 50, 53, 54, 311 Chen Duxiu 70, 170, 171 Chen Fanyu 376, 381, 382 Chen Qiu 40, 42, 149, 236 Chen Yinke 372 Cheng Shewo 404, 411 Chinese Monthly Magazine 3 Christian Literature Society for China 9, 160, 166, 240, 244, 261, 327, 328, 349, 354, 357, 360, 361 Da Zhonghua (The Great Chung Hwa Magazine) 124, 180, 379 Daniel Jerome Magowan Deng Shi 157, 306 Deng Zhongxia 202 Di Chuqing 251, 315 Di Bao (Government gazette) 2, 12–14, 17, 144, 324, 341–343, 348, 355 Ding Wenjiang 188, 190, 191, 211 Duli Pinglun (Independent Review) 129, 136, 409 Du Yaquan 66, 149, 150, 183, 265, 320, 322 Eshi Jingwen (The Alarming News from Russia) 81–83, 87 Ernst Faber 14, 237, 330, 388 Fu Sinian 140, 173, 189, 190, 194, 319, 411 Fu Zengxiang 194 Foxue Banyue Kan (Buddhism Semi-Monthly) 128 Foxue Congkan (Buddhist View of the Republic of China) 127

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661101-013

Gao Fengchi 264, 265 Gao Fengqian 51, 257, 294, 306 Gao Mengdan 257, 267, 406 Ge Gongzhen 45, 122 Guo Moruo 203, 270 Hu Shih 27, 134–136, 139, 140, 170–172, 175, 181, 182, 188, 189, 191, 193, 196–199, 201, 203, 204, 208, 209, 218, 223, 227, 255, 259, 266–269, 280, 285, 289, 290, 301, 312, 313, 318, 319, 321, 370, 372, 377, 393, 394, 396, 397, 399–401, 405, 406, 409, 411, 412 Huang Kan 70, 83 Huang Xing 313 Huang Yuanyong 222, 299 Huang Zunsan 71 Huang Zunxian 27, 30, 31, 50, 51, 53, 54, 91, 92, 129, 233, 242, 274, 300, 310, 358 Imperial examination 1, 7, 8, 10, 28, 34, 55, 118, 167, 169, 239, 260, 261, 263, 270, 271, 283, 286, 287, 289–292, 308, 311, 324, 327, 343, 346–349, 352, 353, 355–367, 373, 410, 416 James Legge 5 Jesuits 1 John Calvin Ferguson 407 Joseph Edkins John Fryer 163, 242, 297 Johannes Gutenberg 3 Karl Gützlaff 3, 4 Kang Youwei 13, 35, 38, 52, 55, 97, 102, 134, 135, 214, 236, 307, 316, 317, 321, 401 Library 162, 247, 253–255, 258, 259, 267, 305, 310, 330–332, 334, 341, 362, 370, 416 Li Dazhao 137, 171, 174, 175, 200, 201, 208, 209 Li Yuanhong 220 Liang Qichao 13, 30, 31, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 49, 50, 52, 55, 65–67, 75, 80, 90, 92, 97–99, 101, 102, 106, 107, 134, 135, 142, 146, 147, 152, 153, 160, 161, 164, 180, 181, 195, 200, 202–204, 206, 214–216, 229, 236, 245–247,

430

Index

249, 250, 262, 268, 269, 277, 280–282, 300–303, 305, 307, 310–314, 316, 321, 355, 359, 360, 367, 377, 393, 397, 410 Liang Shuming 200 London Missionary Society 3, 5, 292 – London Missionary Society Press 240 lower society 80–82 Lu Xun 75, 136, 138, 175, 196, 199, 203, 255, 277, 285, 353, 354, 394 Luo Jialun 137, 138, 140, 141, 173, 184, 226, 265, 320, 378 Luo Zhenyu 36, 148, 203

Ta Kung Pao 95, 114, 176, 217, 218, 298, 299, 314, 358, 376, 405 Tang Caichang 147, 389 Tan Sitong 33, 52, 90, 91, 135, 147, 235, 303, 332, 333, 410 Telegram 8, 16, 101, 165, 170, 219, 220–222, 345, 351 – Telegram war 221, 222 The North- China Herald 260 The Chinese Repository 237 Timothy Richard 2, 10–13, 242, 360 Tsinghua Weekly 372, 375

middle society 79–82

Vernacular 223, 284, 292, 295–299, 301, 305, 318, 370, 372, 377

newspaper war 214 Ou Jujia 73, 90, 92 Ouyang Zhonghu 332 Pan Guangdan 226 Peking University Daily 172, 173, 189 Peng Kang 204, 396 power network 231, 268 Qian Xuantong 70, 136, 171, 178, 307, 318, 319, 366, 385 Qu Qiubai 196, 353, 367 Robert Darnton 20 Robert Morrison 3, 292 Shanghai Serial 4, 5, 237 Shen Bao 6–8, 15, 16, 22–25, 44, 46, 47, 59, 74, 93, 110, 112, 114–118, 122, 131, 177, 178, 217, 218, 220, 229–231, 238–241, 46, 252, 253, 256, 272, 275, 279, 295, 312, 326, 331–333, 336, 342–344, 346, 348, 353, 354, 357, 362, 366 Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese 9–11 Song Shu 35, 98, 103, 149, 304, 305 Sun Baoxuan 54, 317, 349, 351, 352 Sun Yat-sen 31, 32, 69, 79, 135, 222, 223, 313, 316 Sun Yirang 149, 236, 354, 355

Wan Guo Gong Bao 4, 6, 9–12, 47, 78, 229–231, 233, 240, 244, 272, 291, 327–333, 342, 354, 357, 361, 374, 389 Wang Guowei 66, 134, 203, 309, 317 397, 413 Wang Kangnian 33, 35, 40–42, 47, 50–53, 55, 91, 99, 170, 214, 229–233, 235, 236, 241, 243, 247, 262, 263, 273, 274, 294, 300–303, 314, 316, 332, 334, 358, 374, 401, 410 Wang Tao 5, 14, 43, 145, 163, 293 William Milne 3 Wu Mi 368, 371–373 Wu Yu 136, 368–370, 373, 385 Xu Weize 41, 165 Xu Zhaowei 104, 333 Xu Zhucheng 15 Yan Fu 30, 36, 37, 40, 66, 89, 104, 134, 135, 148, 181, 230, 252, 263, 264, 275, 276, 301–303, 305, 307, 321, 405 Yang Du 66, 71, 87, 155, 206, 289, 304, 305, 314, 345, 368 Yuan Shikai 56, 138, 215, 217, 218, 221, 222, 320, 368, 409 Yun Daiying 174, 320, 376, 379–381, 384, 385 Young John Allen 9, 10, 261, 291, 304, 309, 328, 329, 388 Zeng Guofan 285–290 Zhang Jiluan 219, 405

Index

Zhang Shizhao 77, 93, 253, 257, 258, 301, 369, 370, 409 Zhang Taiyan 15, 31, 32, 59, 70, 82, 134, 196, 198, 222, 250, 307, 313, 316, 402, 409 Zhang Yuanji 13, 52, 256, 257, 263–269, 275, 276, 281, 282, 332, 361, 368, 406

431

Zhang Zhidong 15, 49, 52–54, 56, 98, 101–104, 149, 150, 162–164, 166, 227, 273, 287, 288, 290, 308, 309, 325, 328, 368 Zhou Zuoren 75, 76, 171, 191, 197–199, 277, 319, 352–354