A Study On China’s First English-language Newspaper, The Canton Register

The Canton Register, founded in Guangzhou on November 8th, 1827, is China’s first English-language newspaper, and it is also the first modern newspaper publicated in Guangzhou. From its publication in 1827 to 1839(when it was forced to move to Macao because of the Opium War), the paper published twelve years continuously in Guangzhou, after moving to Macao, it continued its publication for another four years. It was one of the most important periodicals during the Opium War in China. But in comparison to the Chinese Repository, it had attracted much less academic attention, there is no systematic research of it. This paper attempts to analyze the newspaper, relying on photocopies and electronic versions collected before, using the method of literature analysis. The content of this article covering the analyzing of the historical background of its publication, who founded it, the two founders’ life stories, the paper’s editorial policy, the main content of it, and the features of its editing. We can learn that The Canton Register was founded under the background of the rising power of free English traders in China. The main content of the newspaper also reflect the free English traders’ interests, the paper actually played an important role in promoting the Opium war. In addition, as China’s first English-language newspaper, The Canton Register invited many innovative practices on editing, and at the same time spread the idea of free press in China.