Literati’s Commentary on Politics - A Perspective on Modern China’s Journalism Industry Xie Yong
1. “I can be a journalist for the rest of my life, but Wang cannot be the Executive Director for the rest of my life”
Since the 1990s, I have a feeling that the social status of newspaper people is declining. Although we do not have private newspapers in the strict sense, even in official newspaper organizations, the image of newspaper people in society is not as good as In the past, this was the tragedy of Chinese public opinion. In the official newspaper industry since the 1990s, there have been very few famous reporters and journalists with high social prestige. This is very different from the situation in the 1980s. An important reason for this situation is that China has not yet developed the social conditions to produce a large number of famous journalists and famous journalists. Now even the word "newspaperman" has disappeared. In a considerable sense, it can be said that without private newspapers, it would be extremely difficult to produce long-lasting journalists and newspapermen, unless they have the utmost courage to fight against a powerful society.
In the process of China's modernization, if we look at intellectuals as a group, there was once a "newspaper group" among them. Although this group did not have a centralized program or political demands, it served as a The influence and role of the intellectual "group" in China's social progress may be greater than that of writers and even scholars. In other words, it is through the "newspaper group" that writers and scholars have relations with society. This is because they Determined by professional characteristics. This group includes scholars from the late Qing Dynasty and students who studied in Japan and Europe and the United States, from Kang (Youwei), Liang (Qichao), Hu (Shi), Chen (Duxiu), to Shao Piaoping, Lin Baishui, and Huang Yuanyong; From She Wo, Hu Zhengzhi, Wang Yunsheng, Chen Mingde to Chu Anping and Xu Zhucheng, it can be said that there are talented people with endless literary spirit. They have different political attitudes, ideological tendencies, and life paths. However, as members of the "newspaper group", their basic value pursuits and feelings about social justice are the same. When they regard the newspaper industry as a sound public opinion In the sense that their activities have an impact on society, their efforts will always be admired by future generations. This "newspaper group" generally has experienced being moved by strong beliefs and ideals and choosing the profession of newspaper reporter in times of crisis. Few of them have given up their conscience as representatives of public opinion because of official oppression. Almost all of them have the same relationship with others. The experience of official resistance has the history of their newspapers being blocked. The history of Chinese journalism tells us: a newspaper that has not been blocked is not a good newspaper! People should not forget that many of them fell in a pool of blood under various political oppressions. Their life endings were tragic, but their ideals are cherished by future generations.
In the late 1980s, when Dai Qing first wrote a biography for Chu Anping, few people in the world remembered this long-dead journalist, as well as Cheng Shewo and Hu Zhengzhi, Wang Yunsheng, Chen Mingde and others. But after the 1990s, we frequently see their figures in all the literature on Chinese liberal intellectuals, their works are being republished, and their personalities are once again respected. Many high-ranking officials have long since disappeared, but the names of these journalists remain in people's memories... Cheng She once said in "Journalists of Our Generation", "Shoot Shao Piaoping, Lin Baishui and several journalism martyrs" How many executioners are there who are not murderers? The day after Mr. Lin died, I was arrested by Zhang Zongchang and was saved from execution by Mr. Sun Baoqi. , His majesty once made people tremble. However, a few years ago, I often saw him sitting in Jinyuxuan in Zhongshan Park, scratching his hands in boredom. He often wanted to talk to me, but I just smiled in return. Shewo also recounted that in 1934, because he opposed Wang Jingwei's diplomacy with Japan in a newspaper, after the newspaper was blocked, Wang asked Tang Youren to persuade him: "How can journalists go against the Executive Yuan? Journalists always fail. It is better to fight with him." If Mr. Wang compromises, the Minsheng Newspaper can still be restored. "Chengshe completely disagreed with his opinion and said: "I can be a journalist for the rest of my life, but Wang cannot be the executive director for the rest of my life."
In 1948. In July, when there were rumors that the Nationalist Government was going to shut down the weekly "Observation", Chu Anping wrote an article "The Government's Sharp Edge Points at "Observation"" in the weekly published that month. He said in the article: "We are willing to speak frankly. In a word, although the government is afraid of our criticism, in fact, we are no longer even interested in criticizing this government. In recent months, we have rarely published articles that severely criticize the government. Everyone is very depressed. What is there to say? What's the use of saying it? Let's think about the government. It's a miserable government when the people no longer even have the interest to criticize it! We don't even have this little bit of self-knowledge, and we are still scratching our heads and figuring out how to block private newspapers and periodicals. It is really pitiful and ridiculous. We are willing to tell all the friends who care about us that whether we block them or not, we will block them! It has been ignored for a long time. If it is blocked, please don’t feel sorry... Even if this small publication is blocked, it will not matter in the catastrophe of the entire country! Friends, we should stand up and face the reality. Facing persecution and serving the country, if this method doesn't work, you can continue to work hard in another way tomorrow.
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2. “Instead of joining the government, it is better to form a party, and than to form a party, it is better to run a newspaper.”
In the early 1940s, "Ta Kung Pao" used the name of a colleague of this newspaper An editorial was published which said, “China News is different from other countries in one thing. That is to say, newspapers in various countries are operated as a large-scale industrial operation, while China Newspaper is in principle an organ for literati to discuss politics, not an industrial organ. "This statement in "Ta Kung Pao" may be said to be the early source of the term "literati commentating on politics." Although "Ta Kung Pao" is operated on a commercial basis, it can still maintain the original appearance of literati commenting on politics. It can be said that in 1949, In the Chinese news tradition of 2000, literati political commentary was the most valuable asset of Chinese news.
There are several conditions for the formation of the literati political commentary tradition in Chinese newspapers:
1. Early Chinese newspapers were basically in the hands of idealistic Chinese intellectuals. In other words, those who were engaged in this career at that time cannot be said to have no commercial considerations, but this is not the main thing when looking at the history of China's newspaper industry. , if it were just for business, it would be impossible for there to be so many journalists who devote themselves to their ideals. Fu Sinian once said that many things in China were accomplished by fools. Chu Anping was only three years old when he ran the "Objective" weekly in Chongqing. At the age of sixteen, he went to Shanghai to start the weekly "Observation". At that time, his personal living conditions were very good, and he could get whatever he wanted, but he still wanted to make money from stock holdings. Cheng, his friend Lei Baoling's investment money was from the land his father gave him in Sichuan, and he used it to start the magazine. Chu Anping's idea at the time was: "If you lose everything, you will close down." Hu Shixin said: "Our purpose in founding "Observation" is to have a truly unbiased speech in the country and to cultivate some seeds of free thought for the country. "Nanjing also invited him, but he didn't consider it. At that time, his classmates Li Weiguo and Shen Changhuan, who came from Guanghua in Shanghai, were promising young political forces at that time, but Chu Anping did not choose their path. His idea was : “Today’s scholars are too eager for fame and want to be in politics, but I think a promising person should look far ahead, make decisions, and do his best to be loyal to his country. "
There is also Lei Zhen, who ran "Free China" in Taiwan. When he left the mainland, he was also an official with a very promising future in the political circles. At that time, he was already the Secretary-General of the old CPPCC, and Chiang Kai-shek valued him very much. But He was a person with ideals. When he was running "Free China", many friends tried to persuade him, and Chiang Kai-shek also tried to persuade him through others, but he still did not look back. Taiwan later embarked on the path of constitutional government, which was the same as that of Hu Shi, Lei Zhen and others. Efforts are inseparable. The efforts of intellectuals are all slow work, but in the long run, their efforts will not bear fruit. Zhang Foquan once said in the article "Why We Talk Long Talks": "We are here. It is most practical to use relatively knowledgeable elements as the initiators and promoters of new politics. I often feel that in recent years, society has too easily forgotten how important a role intellectuals play in our country's political arena! The Revolution of 1911, the May 4th Movement, the victory of the Kuomintang, and the opposition to the Hebei-Cha separatist movement were all initiated and promoted by elements who had received new education and training. I see clearly that there is no other way for the beginning of constitutional government than to be initiated by intellectuals. "
Zhang Dongsun said in the discussion of "Where is liberalism going" in the 1940s: "Although China has only accepted Western culture for nearly fifty years, it has actually become a leader in the ideological and cultural circles. Develop a so-called Liberal Mind. This word can be translated as "cultivation of a free mind", which is an attitude or style, that is, study, observation of things, and attitude or temperament towards people. It can also be said to be a spirit." This spirit "lasts the times" Although it hasn't been long, fortunately, some foundations have been planted for this spirit. Although it needs to be further developed in the future, it cannot but be said that it has already sprouted. "China's modern news tradition was slowly formed in the hands of these people.
2. The Chinese society at that time provided institutional guarantees for the survival of private newspapers. Because from the late Qing Dynasty through Beiyang to the era of the National Government, From an institutional perspective, the tradition of private newspapers was not completely cut off. This can be evidenced by the large number of newspapers and publications that existed during this period, and the fact that journalists were shot and assassinated. It happened from time to time, but closed newspapers could be reopened, and the killing of a few reporters did not deter more aspiring journalists from appearing. As far as the newspaper management system was concerned during that period, it could generally be said to be a kind of one. The registration system, rather than the approval system, means that the government also recognized the private sector’s right to run newspapers.
3. The society at that time was a society dominated by the private economy, and the private sector had independent capital. The advantage of a relatively developed civil society is that it is relatively independent and has great credibility among peers. These can ensure the basic self-discipline of the industry. Its rules and procedures are not restricted by ideology, but form industry customs. , these things are internalized into professional ethics.
China is a rising modern country. The characteristic of this kind of country is that imitation is far greater than innovation, especially in terms of institutions, because everything has a ready-made model. Under such historical conditions, with the emergence of every new system, choice is more valuable than innovation, or choice is innovation.
China did not have a modern news system in the strict sense, but because of the good style it chose, it quickly got on track. The tradition of the Chinese newspaper industry was initially influenced by students studying in Japan, but later it became more and more influenced by Europe and the United States.
In the past, people always used old-era newspapers to criticize the news system at that time. This is unreasonable. A person who always lives in such words will sometimes have a very low IQ. Newspapers open the skylight, which is also a kind of information in itself. If you have to choose between opening the window and telling lies, I think most newspaper people are willing to open the window rather than tell lies. This is common sense. A small scolding but a big help is a saying that was often used to disparage Ta Kung Pao in the past. Everyone said it, and few thought about whether it was true. "Ta Kung Pao" is the pride of China's journalism history. Later newspapers cannot compare with "Ta Kung Pao". This is common sense and needs no further explanation. There was a flood in Henan, and local officials embezzled disaster relief funds. Wang Yunsheng wrote an editorial in "Ta Kung Pao" "Looking at Chongqing, thinking about the Central Plains." If nothing else, this headline alone is something that no one can do today. People have talked a lot about the history of "Ta Kung Pao" in recent years. What kind of newspaper it is and who its employees are. Everyone also knows that "Ta Kung Pao" is a private newspaper. In those years, it became the most successful newspaper of that era, and left behind a tradition of literati discussing politics. This tradition is a good tradition. The Chinese press fifty years from now may not be qualified to ignore this tradition, because What they did back then, they couldn't do it later.
"Ta Kung Pao" is a practice of Western liberal thought in China. Although the three giants of the early "Ta Kung Pao" were all students studying in Japan, they practiced liberalism in terms of journalism concepts and political philosophy. Thoughtful. After they took over "Ta Kung Pao", they were able to establish the eight-character policy of "no party, no selling out, no selfishness, no blindness". This was not easy and reflected their expectation for independent speech. "Ta Kung Pao" also adopts non-partisanship as its basic selection criteria when it comes to employing people. However, the history is sometimes very intriguing. It is this private newspaper that has always been known for its independent speech, but among its famous reporters and editors, it has the best reputation. Many underground party members were recruited. This is a difficult problem left for future generations in the history of "Ta Kung Pao". Xu Zhucheng once recalled that in 1942, when he was the editor-in-chief of Guilin's "Ta Kung Pao", Chen Buley wanted him to join the Kuomintang, but Hu Zhengzhi and Wu Dingchang both disagreed. Wu Dingchang was already the chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Government at that time. Said: "It's okay not to participate. It's easier to stay on the outside and speak more easily." Hu Zhengzhi also said to Xu Zhucheng many times: "When running a newspaper, you should keep a certain distance from politics."
Hu Zhengzhi and the others are doing their own thing. In his lifelong journalism practice, he left behind many experiences for future generations. In his early years, he ran the National News Agency, and later the "National News Weekly" and later the "Ta Kung Pao". It can be said that they were all very successful. When we look at the efforts of an era in the news system, we must pay attention to practice. In other words, we must not only see the backwardness of an era in news censorship, but we must also see that there were so many private newspapers in that era. During its growth, "Ta Kung Pao" was completely a private industry. During those years, it existed for more than 20 years and produced so many reporters and famous journalists. This was also a long journey of the Western news system in China.
On May 22, 1931, when the 10,000th issue of Ta Kung Pao was published, congratulatory messages from many celebrities were published on the fourth page of that day. Hu Shi's congratulatory message was "The next generation is to be feared." He believes that "Ta Kung Pao" has surpassed "Shenbao" and "Xinwen" which have a longer history than it. "Ta Kung Pao" has continuously worked hard to catch up with those senile predecessors in their 50s and 60s, running ahead of them. Not only has it transformed from a local newspaper in Tianjin into a national public opinion organ, but it has also become the "best newspaper in China". Newspaper" honor. Regarding the reasons for the success of "Ta Kung Pao", Hu Shi believes that the reason why Ta Kung Pao has such a good reputation is simply because she has fulfilled two minimum newspaper duties in the past few years: the first is to publish accurate news, and the second is to It’s about making responsible comments. Both of these are duties that every newspaper should perform. Just because the newspapers in the middle school dared not do it, or were unwilling to do it, or were unable to do it, but Ta Kung Pao was actually willing to work hard and achieve considerable success, so she became famous all at once. Hu Shi also said: "A gentleman loves others with virtue. We dare not overly compliment this hard-working child. We want him to understand that the results he has obtained are not very great, they are just the results that every newspaper office should have. Just because We are too unimproved, so we let him go to the front. He should not be satisfied with being a giant in the dwarf country. Those of us who love Ta Kung Pao should sincerely congratulate him for his efforts to take two further steps or even a hundred thousand. It is expected that he will break the record of "China's best newspaper" and occupy an honorary position among the world's best newspapers.
Hu Shi raised three questions at the end of his congratulatory message: "First, in this twentieth century, is there any civilized country that records news and makes comments in ancient Chinese that the vast majority of the people cannot understand?"
"Second, in this era, should a newspaper still rely on shady novels that read people's family secrets to promote sales? Or should it strive to focus on correct and fast news and fair and honest comments? What about development?
"Third, in this era, should a public opinion organization stand in front of readers and serve as a guide? Or should we just follow the readers and obey them? ”
Since modern times in China, there are ready-made examples of the emergence and practice of the news system. In the hands of Hu Zhengzhi, he not only turned the newspaper into a famous newspaper, but was also quite successful in business. If it were not for the times, Hu Zhengzhi originally had the idea of ??establishing the China Press Trust. He told his colleagues at Ta Kung Pao many times about his idea. During the Anti-Japanese War, in Shanghai, Wuhan, Guilin, Chongqing and Hong Kong, he was able to quickly The speed with which he established a branch of "Ta Kung Pao" shows his vision. China's news originally has two traditions, one is the tradition of "Ta Kung Pao", and the other is the tradition of "Liberation Daily" and "Xinhua Daily". Tradition, only one was retained later.
Chinese newspapers have a tradition of literati deliberation. The mechanism of its occurrence is because China is not yet a constitutional country, and the newspaper industry bears the responsibility for social progress to a considerable extent. This is an unavoidable problem. Anyone who enters this industry naturally has a responsibility. This is why Chinese intellectuals always use speech to promote the progress of the country. In the late 1940s, Hu Shi was chosen. Fu Sinian once said: "It is better to form a party than to join the government; it is better to run a newspaper than to form a party." The life of traditional Chinese intellectuals was based on meritorious service, morality and reputation before the emergence of modern tradition. , the so-called making a statement is generally reflected in writing a book, but in modern society the main way of making a statement has been transformed into the habit of literati deliberation. This change is completed naturally.
3. "The diplomatic situation should be changed from now on. Make it public at any time and inform the whole country”
An important part of the literati’s discussion of politics is international issues. In China’s modern news tradition, this is not a problem. Regarding international issues, China has many experts and scholars, and their Their professionalism makes it impossible for them not to speak up when it comes to professional issues related to them. Because of the existence of private newspapers, their voices have never been one voice in international issues that occurred before 1949. The government has the voice of the government, and the people have the voice of the people. Multiple voices exist. On the Sino-Japanese issue, the Sino-Soviet issue, and Sino-US relations, the most famous example is after the Yalta Conference. , Chinese liberal intellectuals immediately issued statements in Ta Kung Pao to protest against agreements that were detrimental to China's interests. Such examples can be seen everywhere in China's modern journalism history, and international issues became a forbidden area. Unable to obtain wisdom from the people, those official experts on international issues rarely have their own independent opinions and generally only provide protective suggestions for established policies.
China's liberal intellectuals have already formed. The tradition of independence, especially when it comes to literati discussing politics, usually chooses a value-neutral attitude, does not rely on any political party, and always speaks for the public from an impartial standpoint.
When Hu Jinxi founded the "Independent Review" that year. , said in the "Introduction" to the first issue:
"In the past few months, eight or nine of our friends have often gathered to discuss national and social issues. Sometimes our debates were fierce, and sometimes our discussions were quite serious. consistent. We don't expect to have completely consistent opinions. We only expect everyone to study China's current problems based on their own knowledge and with a fair attitude. So despite the fierce debate, we always feel that this kind of discussion is useful.
"We are launching this publication now, and we want to publish the opinions of several of us at any time, as a kind of introduction, to attract the attention and discussion of the society. Our expectations for readers, and our expectations for ourselves Same: we don’t want unanimous sympathy, we just want some public-minded criticism and discussion based on facts.
“We call this publication the “Independent Review” because we all hope it will last forever. Maintain a little independent spirit. Not to be attached to any party, not to be superstitious about any prejudices, and to use responsible speech to express the results of our own thinking: this is the spirit of independence.
"The knowledge and insights of a few of us are very limited, and our judgments and opinions are inevitably wrong. We sincerely request criticism from the society and welcome contributions from all aspects."
< p> When it comes to Chu Anping's generation, they are also following Hu Shi's path. In the mid-1940s, when Chu Anping was running the "Objective" weekly in Chongqing, he also said, "We think this is the publication that China needs most at present. The editorial staff gather together once a week to discuss the manuscript arrangement of each issue and share their opinions. and external articles, I do not admit that our views, demeanor, and tastes are completely consistent with each other, nor do we require each other to agree on everything. What we only agree on is our stance, as well as our thinking and attitude towards doing things.We can make an unqualified statement on an issue and obey the opinions agreed by the majority. The author still has the right to make an unqualified statement; this will never cause the problem of "personal emotions". I would also like to solemnly declare here: Except for those who publish in the name of our colleagues, none of the words published in "Objective" can be regarded as representing the opinions of "Objective" or the 'all' of our group of friends. Each text is independent, and the author is solely responsible for the text. "Chu Anping also repeatedly stated that "Objective" is by no means a publication for a few people. It is absolutely open. As long as it conforms to their position, it is willing to publish it regardless of whether the views are inconsistent with the editor.
Literati Discussing Politics The typical way of doing this is the "Weekly Paper" of "Ta Kung Pao" at that time. On January 1, 1934, "Ta Kung Pao" published a "Special Announcement of this Newspaper" in a prominent position in the main news page: This newspaper every Sunday, We urge famous writers from outside the society to be published in the editorial section of "Weekly Papers." Mr. 6. Mr. Fu Sinian; 7. Mr. Yang Zhensheng; 8. Mr. Jiang Tingfu
In later years, "Weekly Papers" in "Ta Kung Pao" became a very famous column, and the articles in this column. Not only is it highly timely, but it also has high academic value. The design of this column is related to Hu Shi.
"Weekly Papers" is a column with scholars as its main contributors. It would be difficult to run a column without the contribution of an academic leader. Hu Shi played such a role at that time. Although "Weekly Papers" was a very inclusive column, scholars from the left, center and right were included. There were articles published, but on the whole, they were dominated by the opinions of liberal intellectuals. Especially in the early period, it can be said that they were mainly authors of Hu Shi's "Independent Review" group.
"Weekly Papers"* ** has existed for fifteen years. It represents the speech level and basic stance of Ta Kung Pao, which can also be said to be the stance of China's liberal intellectuals. The "Weekly Paper" was initially run by Zhang Jiluan, and later it was hosted every Monday. Article. In case of major news or postponement, it must be published. It has strict regulations but is relatively flexible. The editor-in-chief will personally select and finalize the manuscript.
Many political understandings throughout my life coincided with that of Ta Kung Pao. On many issues, it can even be said that Ta Kung Pao's position was Hu Shi's position. At that time, Ta Kung Pao paid special attention to China's foreign affairs. He has a basic view on the country's foreign affairs, that is, the diplomatic situation should be made known to the people. Hu Shi strongly agreed with this understanding of Ta Kung Pao: "Yesterday, there was an editorial in Ta Kung Pao that said: 'Things are getting tighter now. , (diplomatic situation) should be made public at any time and informed to the whole country. ’ I completely agree with this statement. … I believe that not only the ‘future’ diplomatic situation should be made public at any time, but the ‘previous’ diplomatic situation and diplomatic documents should be made public on the same day.
"Why? Because most of the current situation is the result of various diplomatic processes in the past two or three years. ... So we must ask the government to make all the negotiations and results of the negotiations that led to the current situation official. The announcement allows ordinary people to understand the extent of the country's crisis and allows a few experts to carefully study how to make amends. "Hu Shi said: "Last year, I proposed seven prerequisites for adjusting Sino-Japanese relations. Since then, domestic public opinion has gradually recognized that those projects are prerequisites that must be achieved at this stage (such as Ta Kung Pao’s “Adjustment Methods for the First Stage” and Wang Yunsheng’s “Three Things That Should Be Done First”). )".
The modern news system is originally a product of the West, but when China first accepted it, it showed a strong affinity because it is a good thing and can be used. When China came into contact with the West at the beginning of the last century, three transformations were very successful: the modern press system, the modern publishing system, and the modern university system. If these three things were accomplished well, the important thing is that the people who did these things at that time first accepted the concepts of modern journalism, modern publishing and modern universities. The core of this concept is its folk nature. That is to say, in these three things In matters, the state cannot interfere too much. It has considerable independence. This is not to say that journalism, publishing and universities in the past did not have faults, but that they did not have fatal weaknesses. The initial structure of China's modern universities consisted of state universities, private universities and church universities. Now it seems that this structure has a strong modernity. It is open and connected with the mainstream of civilization and progress. Mr. Zhang Kaiyuan once said that the Christian universities established by the West in Asia at that time were the most successful in China. The contributions made by Commercial Publishing House, Zhonghua Book Company, Liangyou Publishing Company, Cultural Life Publishing House, etc. are obvious to all. These successful precedents are supported by a large number of statistics and corresponding facts.