Life "magazine And The Urban Poor Culture,

Created initially by the professional education society of China inShanghai in October,1925,〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉was the key publication ofthe press at the beginning and then developed into a popular magazine onculture and daily life led by Tao-fen Zou. Before"September 18^th Incident",〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉was popular both domestically and abroad,especiallywelcomed by urban common people. However,the outburst of"September18^th Incident"changed the theme of〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉tremendously.Focusing on criticizing the present-day evils and propagandizing the thoughtsof anti-Japanese invasion and Marxism and socialism,〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉became a famous political news reporting magazine.〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉was closed down by currently ruling party of Kuomintang when publishing the50^th journal in the 8^th volume in December 1933.During the earlier stage of publication,〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉facedextreme difficulties of insufficient employees and short funds. Taken over byTao-fen Zou in 1926,who adjusted the direction of content timely to meet themarket demands,〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉began to flourish,with both sales andadvertisement amount soaring. During this course,〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉dealt with the relationship between career and commerce properly,striving topursue an ideal of"magazines managed,owned and shared by commonpeople". The economy independency and spirit freedom of〈THE LIFEWEEKLY〉builds a free,equal,open and independent space and platform forurban common people and the building of their culture.In 1920's and 1930's,with the formation of urban mass society inShanghai,increasing citizen cultural life demand gave birth to the prosperityand development of urban popular media. Popular mass media such asuniversal journalism etc. got involved in the daily life of the general public toparticipate directly in the creation of urban popular culture. Editors and authorsof〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉formed dialogue relation and communicationnetwork with the readers that go beyond the kindred and distance,andorganized a mutual interactive cultural community. While realizing balancingand merit-interchanging media modes,a kind of"both refined and popular","practical and progressive","developing with time"urban popular culture——〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉urban civilian culture was nurtured andcreated together,focusing on all the clerk-related problems of urban middleand lower class people and in the manner of contribution,communicationnetwork,discussion etc. as well as information transmission,emotionalcommunication and exchanges and conflicts of ideas. This cultural wentbeyond power and money proudly,which comes to be a kind of urban popularcultural that belongs to the urban common people in deed.The urban civilian culture of〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉was reflected throughthe related content of its own,which was embodied in all aspects of daily life,education and employment,love affair and marriage as well as entertainmentetc. of urban common people. In the event of daily life,it advocated modernliving style positively and endeavored to propose balancing,moderate,reasonable and healthy rational consumption as well as leisure andentertainment;In term of education and occupation selection,it claimed"Learning by yourself while working"to be self-taught to strive a successfuleducation and career road through profession and moral learning throughpersonal endeavor. In that of love affair and marriage,it encouraged the youthof urban civilian to break the cuff of traditional feudal thoughts and etiquettesand in pursuit of the freedom of love affair and marriage as well as happy lifeand small-scale family bravely. The urban civilian culture of〈THE LIFEWEEKLY〉reflected the changes of concepts and value behavior from traditionto the modern of urban petty-bourgeois youth in life growth transition processin 1920's and 1930's,as well as whose bewildering and pursuit in the socialproblems of education and employment,love affair and marriage and therelation between individuals and the society etc.The urban civilian culture of〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉belonged to the earlyurban popular cultural of modern society. Seen from region,sources and mainbody,it was characterized by modern traits of Shanghai,democracy andscientific and civilian youth. Whose function was embodied in the facets ofadjustment of citizen psychology,guiding the shaping of modern personalitycultivation and promoting political wakening.〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉and it'scivilian culture traced the living manner of modern culture,cared for theshaping of modern personality,paid attention to the value-spiritual direction ofsocial development and advancement,which influenced a lot to the positive modern changes of the living style,behavioral mode,thought value orientationand even the entire urban popular culture. After"September 18^th Incident",withthe change of current political situation,the Shanghai urban popular culturethat characterized by entertainment and consumption,declined gradually,while the urban civilian culture of〈THE LIFE WEEKLY〉turned to be the"leftwing"culture day by day.