A history of journalism and communication in China

183 Pages·2018·1.147 MB·English

by  Ping Sun, Yunze Zhao

A History of Journalism and
Communication in China
From a modern perspective, journalism is highly relevant to modern society, along
with the emergence of mass printing system and professionalisation. This book,
however, expands the meaning of journalism and views it as a social process. It
will not only explore the roots and development of Chinese journalism and
communication but also demonstrate how Chinese journalism and communication
interact and struggle with social culture and politics.
A rranged in chronological order mainly, this book examines the initial
development of Chinese journalism in ancient times, which from then manifested
strong political attributes. After the Opium War in 1840, missionaries and
businessmen from the West started to set up newspapers and periodicals in China,
which brought about the birth of China’s modern journalism industry. Then China’s
private newspapers and political party’s press are studied, which are closely linked
with political revolutions and have a far-reaching impact on modern Chinese
society. What happened to Chinese journalism and communication after the
founding of People’s Republic of China in 1949? This book reviews the newspaper
reforms, and studies the great negative impacts brought by “Cultural Revolution”.
Noteworthy news phenomena after the reform and opening-up are also covered.
This book will appeal to scholars and students in journalism, communication
and Chinese studies. Readers interested in Chinese society and modern Chinese
history will also be attracted by it.
Yunze Zhao is Associate Professor and Associate Dean in School of Journalism
and Communication, Renmin University of China. His research interests include
history of Chinese journalism and communication, new media and so on.
Ping Sun is Assistant Professor in the Institute of Journalism and Communication,
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Her research focus lies in new media and
history of Chinese communication.
Chinese Perspectives on Journalism and
Communication
Series Editor: Wenshan Jia is Professor of Communication at
Renmin University of China and Chapman University
With the increasing impact of China on global affairs, Chinese perspectives on
journalism and communication are growing in global demand. This series focuses
on theory and research-oriented scholarship on journalism and communication
broadly defi ned from Chinese perspectives, aided by a variety of methods, and
informed by indigenous, interdisciplinary, intercultural or global approaches.
Titles in this series currently include:
A History of Journalism and Communication in China
Yunze Zhao, Ping Sun
Propaganda
Concept, Utterance, and Legitimation
Hailong Liu
Cyber Nationalism in China
Hailong Liu ed.
Immersive Communication: The Communication Paradigm of the Third
Media Age
Qin Li
For more information, please visit www.routledge.com/Chinese-Perspectives-on-
Journalism-and-Communication-Series/book-series/CPJC
A History of Journalism and
Communication in China
Yunze Zhao
Ping Sun
First published in English 2018
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Yunze Zhao and Ping Sun
The right of Yunze Zhao and Ping Sun to be identifi ed as authors of this
work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Published in Chinese by China Renmin University Press, 2012
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
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ISBN: 978-1-138-85509-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-72055-5 (ebk)
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Contents

List of fi gures vi
Introduction 1
1 The communication mechanism in ancient China 4
2 The birth of the modern journalism industry in China 22
3 China’s private newspapers and periodicals 40
4 The development of Chinese political party’s press 66
5 The reform and development of journalism in the
new China 97
6 Journalism in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao 112
7 Conclusion 152
Postscript 159
References 160
Index 164
Figures
2.1 Liang Fa 36
4.1 Li Dazhao 81
5.1 Guan Guangmei 106
7.1 The social stratifi cation that the communication system
relied on in ancient China 153
Introduction

Only when people are familiar with the past can they grasp the present and make
plans for the future. A History of Journalism and Communication in China is a
modest attempt to explore the roots of Chinese journalism and its development.
From a modern perspective, the concept of a journalism industry is highly relevant
to modern society, along with the emergence of mass printing systems and profes-
sionalization. This book, however, expands the meaning of journalism, viewing it
from an extended historical perspective in a Chinese context. In other words, jour-
nalism in this book is not only a term that describes news collecting, writing,
editing, and commenting but also a social process, which actively interacts with
political, social, and cultural contexts in different periods of Chinese history.
We argue that understanding the history of Chinese journalism is of vital
importance. It not only helps us gain an overview of how Chinese newspapers
and communication mechanisms have developed but also pushes the reader to
reconsider the relationship between journalism and its historical context in dif-
ferent times of China. Chinese journalism can never be fully understood without
taking corresponding sociopolitical structures and forces into consideration.
Known as the only one among the world’s four ancient civilizations still in exis-
tence, the development of China’s journalism and communication provides us
with a unique reference to broaden our understanding of the social dynamics of
journalism worldwide.
A s early as 1900 B.C., communication activities already existed in China. From
its initial development, Chinese journalism manifested strong political attributes.
For instance, the earliest collection of news resources was to help the ruler know
his people better (called c aifeng in ancient China, 采风). In the following feudal
periods, the political system became the underlying backbone of Chinese journal-
ism and its development. The earliest newspaper D i Bao in ancient China was an
offi cial publication, which was mainly used to deliver imperial decrees or offi cial
memoranda. The readership of ancient newspapers was limited among the ruling
class, such as the imperial institutions, offi cials, and intellectuals. Offi cial news-
papers, therefore, maintained their dominance from the very beginning.
C ommunication and journalism have played active roles in enhancing imperial
power. Paradoxically however, they have also served an important function in
social collaboration and emancipation. This can be seen in the prevalence of their
2 Introduction
counterpart, unoffi cial tabloids, as well as the enlightening role modern newspa-
pers have played in advocating for liberation, science, democracy, and indepen-
dence. In other words, the history of Chinese journalism becomes more interesting
when it displays the struggle between journalism and authority. When China was
colonized by foreign countries, modern newspapers and their journalists became
a bridge to disseminate knowledge and enhance communication between China
and the West. At the same time, newspapers also became a tool for China’s inde-
pendence. The modern newspaper industry in China came to refl ect China’s role
during the process of modernity: journalists talked about freedom and democracy
and advocated reports being independent, objective, and fair. T a Kung Pao was
one of these cases. It emerged as an outstanding newspaper known for its “Four
Nos Policy” ( sibu fangzhen , including “no party affi liation, no political endorse-
ment, no self-promotion, and no ignorance”). The four doctrines indicate T a Kung
Pao ’s pursuit for being objective and professional.
T his book also presents cases of the outstanding journalists and classic works
in Chinese history. In ancient China, there were offi cials who were responsible
for recording the life of the emperors. Some of the offi cials were brave enough
to record the bad habits, mistakes, or inappropriate behaviors of emperors and
confronted the confl icts between themselves and the rulers. These offi cials are
not journalists in the classic defi nition, but their spirit inspired people through-
out time and space and paved a solid path for journalists following in their
footsteps to stand up and speak out. By the dawn of the modern era, Chinese
journalists were not afraid to express their opinions. As newspapers, magazines,
and the press fl ourished, some of the journalists even led movements of public
criticism, especially when the government was corrupt or when China was on
the verge of war.
N ot until the late nineteenth century was journalism accepted as a “decent”
occupation, even though most of the scholar–offi cials and intellectuals actively
participated in journalism and communication activities. The ideology “he who
excels in learning should become a politician” (x ueeryou zeshi ), in ancient China,
maintained such a strong infl uence on modern scholars that they would become
journalists only when they could not fi nd a way into politics. There were, however,
many intellectuals who failed in the imperial examination and joined the ranks of
journalists in modern China. This group of people greatly infl uenced the social
development of modern China, even to this day. These aim-to-be politicians saw
the problems of the government and tried to provoke social challenges through
newspapers and the press.
W e also think that learning the history of Chinese journalism is an important
way to learn from our outstanding journalists, who have never lacked the courage
to challenge authority or promote social change. For example, as a journalist who
used to study in the United States, Xu Baohuang became the fi rst person in China
to open a journalism class in a university. His book J ournalism (1919) was the fi rst
that specialized in journalism. Another example is Shao Piaoping, who surrendered
his life to uncover the dark side of warlord Zhang Zuolin. As a talented writer and
photographer who excelled in reporting social problems, Shao was called the
Introduction 3
“all-rounder of news”. His support for students’ social movements and social revo-
lutions was legendary.
S imilarly, you will also fi nd many classic works in the history of Chinese jour-
nalism, for example, the “Three Color Report” (s anse baodao ). In 1987, after the
Daxinganling inferno, four reporters from C hina Youth Daily (Zhongguo Qingnian
Bao) – Lei Shoumai, Li Zhongwei, Ye Yan, and Jia Yonggan – rushed to the front
line to conduct in-depth interviews and subsequently wrote three in-depth reports
called R ed Warning, Black Chant and Green Sadness, which are considered to be
classic Chinese in-depth reports. R ed Warning cut into institutional problems that
caused the fi re. The article depicted “a female magistrate who is a fanatical com-
munist”. It also refl ected upon fl aws of the system including the “endless meeting”.
Black Chant refl ected on the nature of humanity. During the outbreak of the disas-
ter, there were unsung heroes who saved others regardless of personal safety – for
example, PLA (People’s liberation Army of China) soldiers who fought against the
fi re and the thief who helped a household to put out the fi re – and also some syco-
phants who did not forget to fawn over their leaders. G reen Sadness was written
from the perspective of environmental protection to reveal the reason for this
disaster. After the fi re, many people were most concerned about whether or not
they could afford to buy a big closet instead of dealing with the ecological prob-
lems. These three in-depth reports, each from a different perspective, revealed the
profound underlying causes of the fi re. At the time, they caused a great sensation.
These three reports are still towering classics today no matter the reporting per-
spective or writing method.
There is no doubt that the study of the history of Chinese journalism is an inter-
esting and fulfi lling journey. The study of Chinese journalism represents a long
journey across time and space. Following our guide, readers will move from slave
society, where journalism and communication were still in their very beginning,
to feudal society, when imperial power and its offi cial newspaper maintained their
dominance. Readers will also visit the newspapers and journalists in modern
China, when China was defi ned as a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society, where
newspapers struggled for independence and were also a bridge to spread Western
knowledge. The journey will end in socialist China, where, under the guidance of
the Chinese Community Party, newspapers and the press have contributed to great
social and economic benefi ts. This book will not talk about journalism and com-
munication activities in isolation but will reveal a more complicated map that
demonstrates how journalism interacts with social culture and politics. It will show
that despite being forcefully controlled and managed, journalism has fought back
to become a powerful tool for the enlightenment in Chinese society.

This study is supported by funding for building world-class universities (disciplines)
of Renmin University of China.