A Research On The Newspapermen Community Of Hunan During The Reform Movement In 1898

During the period of Reform Movement of 1898, Hunan transformed into the most vigorous province of the country from the city of iron gates, within this process, some local esquires represented by Tang Caichang, Tan Sitong, Liu Shanhan gathered into a community gradually while choosing newspaper to modify the conservative atmosphere, thus started the modern newspaper industry in Hunan.Based on existing researches, this article views these newspapermen above as a community, explaining its formation with historical and regional view, combing this process by four nodes:Liuyang Suanxueshe, Liu Shanhan and Xiangbao, Jiangbiao and Xiangxuexinbao, Xiong Xiling and Xiangbao, investigating the interactions between newspapermen of Hunan, local authority and newspapermen of other province while inspecting their main newspaper acticities. And concluding their newspaper ideas from the role of newspaper, practise of newspaper and the running of newspaper industry. At last, this paper comments on this group and induces its characteristics, such as views the change of society as the biggest motivation, conbines political,academic and economic identities.Letters between Tan Sitong, Jiangbiao, Liu Shanhan and other relevant people are analyzed to reveal the formation process of this community in the context of the reform movement, the interactions between newspapermen in Hunan and other areas and local authority, as well as exploring its motivations, spiritual connections and the method of cooperation. Meanwhile, by reading copies of Xiangbao, Xiangxue xinbao and collections of conservative gentry, the effect of the Reform Propaganda of Tan Sitong and Tang Caichang were proved, as well as the influence of this community on terms of "woke the people in Hunan", "talents were blooming afterwards". By this research on newspapermen community, this article also aims to have a restricted view of the origin of modern newspaper industry in Hunan.