A Research Paper Of"Xiangxue Newspaper"

Among the great wave of national reform movement of China,"Xiangxue Newspaper" which held by Jiang Biao and Tang Caichang, etc, was founded in Changsha. As the first modern newspaper in Hunan Province, this newspaper had a close connection with The Reform Movement and worked as an important opinion battlefield of capitalist reformers in the middle China. It did a boldly work in the publicity buildup of the movement, including calling for the reform in politics, economy, education, military, etc. In its prior period, it made a significant influence on the national social environment along with Chinese Progress(Shanghai) and The China Reformer (Macao).At the end of the20th century, China was in the life-or-death crisis and the request for reform was getting a increasingly loud voice. The newspaper emerged at this historic moment and then took the responsibility of propagandizing The Reform Movement. The cooperation of open-minded officials, literates and modern gentry was one of its characteristics. It had six columns including historical, the study of historical records, Geography, Maths, Business, and diplomacy, which arranged according to their cateloges strictly and hence convenient to read. For a smooth distribution, its critics were rather mild at first, upholding the principle of not interfere in politics. Along with the development of The Reform Movement and the enlarge of its readers, the newspaper’s expressions being gradually radical and once played the role of a battlefield of the controversy between the reformers and the conservatives.Articles on this newspaper were pretty distinctive because of its religion of emphasize on studies, which distinguished this newspaper from other reformers’newspapers like "Chinese Progress"(Shanghai) and "The Reformer China"(Macao). It introduced a great amount of western studies in fields of natural science, pedagogics, economics, and diplomacy, which overwhelmed other papers as well as broadened people’s outlook. As a reformers’newspaper and standing in Hunan’s corner, it put forward a series of proposition including carrying out a constitutional monarchy, being pragmatic, supporting business, and pushing modern education. It also played an important role in propaganding reform and assist the new policy in Hunan. Western studies and reform are main contents of "Xiangxue Newspaper".It was the comprehensive western studies and pragmatic reform propositions which made this paper a impactive one. It laid the foundation of "Xiang Newspaper", promoted The Reform Movement effectively, and broadcasted patriotism. When evaluate it, however, we should also clearly aware of the shortcomings in both its surface and contents.