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: new-type 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 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.

“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 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 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,...