Communication Strategy Of Hunan Ta Kung Pao In The Movement Aganist Yuan Shih-kai’s Restoration Of Monarchy

Hunan Ta Kung Pao was the most extremely influential local private newspaper of Hunan during the Time of the Republic of China. Along with its establishment, Yuan Shih-kai’s restoration of monarchy had just begun. The Chou’an Committee denigrate the republican at the behest of Yuan Shih-kai in the name of maintaining peace, advocating a constitutional monarchy, and made a wave of the restoration of the monarchy across the country. In the face of this historical counter-current, the just-born Hunan Ta Kung Pao exalted the idea of maintaining the republican and fighting against the monarchy, condemning the imperial in writing and promoted the development of the struggle against Yuan’s restoration.Hunan Ta Kung Pao’s anti-imperialist propagation during the restoration have three stages:(1) against the Chou’an Committee|1915.9 1915.12); (2)circuitous resistance under the imperial oppression (1915.12 1916.3); (3) revival of the theme of republican after breaking down the monarchy (1916.31916.6). This paper also analyzes Hunan Ta Kung Pao’s communication characters and strategies used in this period through studying the news and comment during this three phases of time.From the pungent criticism of Chou’an Committee, to the circuitous resistance to the restoration of monarchy, and then to the final exposure and criticism after Yuan Shih-kai’s abdication, Hunan Ta Kung Pao had taken a clear-cut stand and guided the public opinion through news reports. Firstly, it used agenda-setting, through the pattern of perception, significance and priority, to draw the audience’s attention to the issue "the restoration of the monarchy" step by step and caused widespread discussion. Then, it applied three kinds of communication strategies, namely, borrowing other people’s voice, hiding views behind facts, flexible integration of information as silent confrontation, to affect the audience’s way of thinking indirectly, guiding them to the anti-Yuan road.At the same time, the comment section agitated sparing no efforts, combined with concentrated continuous report in news section to create a powerful public opinion to direct audience, playing a driving part in the gradually-forming anti-Yuan trend.Hunan Ta Kung Pao’s anti-Yuan propaganda also demonstrated the supervision by public opinion and its survival strategies. Under Yuan’s government’s suppression to public opinion, Ta Kung Pao people followed the literati’s convention. On one hand, it sticked to the supervision by and guidance for public opinion, exposing and criticizing Yuan Shih-kai’s anti-historical crime in China; on the other hand, by the independent operation and flexible reporting strategy, with the help of external force, Hunan Ta Kung Pao maintained its freedom of the press in seeking survival, which provides a good reference for medias’survival and developlation.