Acquisition Of Fax Technology And Its Diffusion In China

Facsimile(abbreviated as fax)is a means of communication that reproduces at the receiving end by means of scanning,encoding and transmission the same of similar copy of the still image of text,chart,graph,photo,etc.recorded on the paper.With Scottish inventor Alexander Bain(1810-1877)'s invention of the world's first fax machine,modern fax technology has undergone two stages in its development,the first being document facsimile(1843-1902)characterized by contact mechanical scanning and electrochemical reduction and the second being picture facsimile(1902-1949)characterized by photoelectric scanning and photographic reduction,which has merged with Internet technology in the 1980 s to become one of the fundamental technologies in the field of information communication.This Paper examines comprehensively the diffusion of fax technology in China from1866 to 1949 from historical perspective by the use of historical science method and periodical literature analysis method.The new discovery of 345 articles from more than230 newspapers and periodicals and more than 10 books and treatises greatly enriched the research samples and content,leading to findings different from previous studies with regard to the origin,representatives and landmark events in the diffusion of fax technology in China,evolution of terminology in Chinese language,and means of introduction with periodicals as the major carrier.As such,the time regarded as the earliest introduction of fax technology has been brought forward from the Reformer China in 1898 to the Fuhkien Christian Advocate in 1895;with regard to the evolution of terminology,from two or three words to 34 words;Science World is confirmed to be the first to use Chinese translation of fax(??);the representative communicators is extended from Bin Chun(1804-?),Zhang Deyi(1847-1918),and Edward Belin(1876-1963)to more than 20 person such as Xia Yan(?-?),Li Shuhua(1890-1979),Wu Benmin(1897-1962),Ge Gongzhen(1890-1935),and Zhu Wuhua(1902-1998);and the major means of transmission is expanded from a single periodical of science and technology to all kinds of periodicals in areas such as the liberal arts and science,natural science,electrical and telecommunications,military,news,and publishing,extending the dimension understanding;new content is added to fill the gaps in previous studies,such as the establishment of domestic fax lines in the Republic of China and Northeast Photography&Telegraph Company,the opening of international fax lines during Sino-US wartime,the proposal of the standard for post and telecommunications and long-term planning by the National Government,and higher education in the field of telecommunications engineering in Jiaotong University,Central University,Northwestern Polytechnic Institute and Xiangqin University of Canton.Based on this,the study concludes that:(1)The diffusion of fax technology in modern China has gone through four historical periods,i.e.,the period of knowledge diffusion from 1866 to 1911 mainly by means of record of overseas Chinese and simple news report;the period of technical principles diffusion from 1912 to 1925 mainly through the trial experience and mechanical structure description by overseas students;the period of introducing material object from 1926 to 1936,emphasizing on introduction and policy deliberation of line construction;and the period of localized absorption and applied research from 1937 to 1949,centered on the proposal of forward-looking application,standard development and follow-up technical discussion with regard to the development of fax technology.(2)The confirmation of Chinese translation of “fax” is an important symbol for the introduction of fax technology to China.The Chinese translation of “fax” has gone through a process of Chinesization starting from 1868 in Zhigang's An Account of the First Diplomatic Mission to the Great West(Chu Shi Tai Xi Ji)to “Dian Qi Chuan Zi”(electric transmission of words),“Dian Chuan Bi Ji”(electric transmission of handwriting),“Dian Chuan Zhao Xiang”(electric transmission of photos),“Dian Chuan Xing Xiang”(electric transmission of images),“Dian Song Xie Zhen”(electric transmission of portrait),etc.from different perspectives.The Chinese characters are drawn from ancient Chinese but endowed with new meaning,which not only contains functional description of fax technology,but also helps Chinese to understand the technical principles by analogy.The final confirmation of Chinese translation of “fax”,which accompanied by the acquisition and application of fax technology in China,is a phased results by Chinese people through summary,induction and selection in the progress of its diffusion.It is objectively reflect the assimilation of this technology has reached a relatively mature level in modern China.(3)Fax technology takes periodicals as its major means of transmission and depends on higher education of telecommunication engineer to support its socialization in China.The periodicals runs through all historical periods of dissemination of fax technology in China by taking its advantages of scientificity,technicality and professionalism in all aspects such as topic selection,review,column arrangement,and publication.The acquisition of fax technology adheres to the principle of openness to the outside world by keeping up with the newest trends of major international technology though periodicals and timely stepping on the road of independent training of senior technical personnel through higher education.Along with the development of higher education in telecommunication engineering and west movement of education in China,an educational system for fax technicians has formed in China covering wide range of area from East China to South China,from Southwest to Northwest with all levels from junior college(special training course for telecommunications)to graduate school(telecommunications research institute).(4)The transmission of fax technology in China,driven by safeguarding national telecommunication rights and interests,has set an example for commercialized acquisition of technology in modern China in satisfaction of economic and social needs.Fax is a telecommunication technology actively introduced by modern Chinese intellectuals to solve the problem of telegraph coding in the transmission of hieroglyphics,and its application in China has completely eliminated many drawbacks of Chinese telegraph code,so that China has been freed from paying additional expenses occurred from cryptograph transmission of Chinese telegram,which has effectively safeguarded the telecommunication rights and interests of China.The government-dominated establishment of Northeast Photography & Telegraph Company and other cutting-edge technology enterprises,unlike the preferential acquisition of military technology since late Qing Dynasty,set the entry point of serving the news industry to establish society-oriented public telecommunications business so as to seek feeding back of business benefits to technology.It was a special example for the acquisition of advanced technology from the West.