The Study Of Democracy On Press In The Late Qing Dynasty

In Chinese modern history, the western missionary brought a new transmission modeto China, the newspaper. And they also brought the advanced western civilization,modern democracy and advanced western political system at the same time innewspaper. How to spread the democratic thought in the newspaper? What’s role ofthe newspaper when it’s done with the new thought in China? If the democracy waschanged when spread on the newspaper?In this study, we choose the important press of late Qing period during the1840-1911as the research object, and analyzing the related democratic thoughts on thenewspapers. During the late Qing Dynasty, lots of newspapers and magazines, newschools and other institutional media had been set up in large numbers, and the peoplewho set up these newspapers and magazines were enlightened gentry and intellectuals.They were respected by people and had important effect on the society, they caninfluencing the society on the democratic ideas when they introduced the newthoughts through the newspaper. As the main object of this study, the elite press canreflect the differences of democracy and can influences the opinion of democracy inthe community. Through an overall review of the democratic thought on the press ofthe late Qing Dynasty, we can clarify the introduction and development of the conceptof “democracy” in China.This paper is divided into six chapters. The introduction part discusses the backgroundof the relations of media and democracy, the current research situation of the spread ofdemocracy on newspapers in late Qing Dynasty, to lay the research foundation of thispaper.Chapter I studies the introduction of democracy on the early missionaries press. Inmodern history of China, the western missionaries brought in the newspaper, and atthe same time, they also brought the western advanced civilization. Before the modernnewspaper appeared in China, the concept of "democracy" is very simple, just as thepolitical system of western countries on the missionary press. Due to the xenophobia and seclusion of Chinese, the influence of missionary press is also very limited. Itonly provides an opportunity to the advanced gentry class and intellectuals to knowthe world.Chapter II discusses the promoting role of missionary newspapers on Chinesedemocratic ideas. The period, from Opium War to Sino-Japanese War, is the firstparagraph of Chinese political changes of the last hundreds, the era of foreigninvasion and new ideas brewing. It is also the early stage of western political culturewhich is at the base of democratic ideas that was initially introduced into China andpromoted Chinese’s awareness and knowledge of it. This cannot be separated frommissionary activity although the main purpose of the missionaries in China is to makenewspapers as "Text sermon" tool. But its newspapers which introduced modernWestern democracy objectively played a role in promoting the germination of Chinesemodern democratic ideas. The western knowledge passed by them, especially theadvanced Western democratic political philosophy, had a very great significance onthose Chinese people who wanted to find ways to save China. It also had some impacton the ruling class in Chinese society at that time. These effects are closely related toChina’s current situation.Chapter III studies the stereotype translation and elaboration of democracy on theearly domestic newspapers. In the times after the Opium War, a group of Chineseintellectuals and Westernization newspapers developed the fragmentation West"democracy" political ideology, and began to produce a yearning for democracy, butthe attitude for "democracy" reflected in the press is inconsistent. Chinese newspaperswhich had a strong proponent of "People,""civil rights" is actually the Chinese-stylecommentary of West "advanced democracy", the pursuit of "People,""civil rights".This is essentially the desire of Western democracy and the alienation to get a right toparticipate in political of Chinese feudal monarchy society.The fourth chapter describes the democracy and civil rights’ rational and radicalconfrontation of reformer newspapers. In this period, a great number of democraticpolitical discourse appeared in reformist newspapers. Some had a strong advocate offreedom, democracy, and prosperity and concerned human rights and democracy. Others hoped to explore the "origin of the West Asian countries’ prosperity" andrequired "stipulate the country ","open chamber","develop their wisdom, thrive civilrights". Although there are some differences of publicity intensity, it made a spread ofthe reform ideology and engraved in people’s minds which made ideologicalfoundation of the later split.The fifth chapter makes a research of Constitutional content after the ReformMovement of1898. They began to become rational and conservative who hoped totake gradual improvement of democracy road by presiding lucid criticism anddeveloping civil wisdom and launched petition campaign calling for political reformthrough the press.Chapter VI makes comparative analysis of diversion of democracy newspaper of theearly20th century. After the loss of the Sino-Japanese War of1894, apart fromReformers leaded by Kang Youwei who actively promoted the political reform,revolutionaries represented by Sun Zhongshan considered reform did not work inChina. They put forward bourgeois-democratic revolution ideas based on ThreePeople’s Principles, trying to establish a bourgeois republic. These two political forces,revolutionaries and reformers, made a controversy about "revolution" and"constitutional monarchy" for ten years in the late Qing Dynasty which became themainstream thinking before the May fourth Movement. Although Fu Yan, Chinaenlightening ideologist, who systematically introduced democratic ideas in this periodwas buried, he is still a diversion of Chinese newspapers democratic ideas, flowing innewspapers in the early20th century.The spreading of newspaper democratic ideas in late-Qing Dynasty is fragmented,scattered, and utilitarian. In such complex social and political environment,ever-changing and desperate need of new ideas and low theories nutrientsenvironment, the western concept of democracy was used directly. People did notnotice the deep development and rheometry behind the western democracy ideas.They just saw the advanced nature of western democracy ideas. The reason that whywestern is strong was easily considered that it is brought by advanced democraticpolitical system. Therefore, western advanced parliamentary system and democratic republican system was used by Chinese without any digestion. The spreading ofnewspaper democratic ideas in late-Qing Dynasty, not only it was put on thetraditional coat in the early stage,but also directly called democratic revolution later,is to the ultimate goal “salvation” and served this purpose. Therefore, it isfragmented, superficial, and utilitarian. It is undeniable that the late-Qing Dynastynewspaper’s spreading of the democratic ideas had a great impact on Chinese.