Ordering To Purchase And Read:Promotion Of The Reformist Presses By Officials In The Late Qing Dynasty

In the late Qing Dynasty,officials ordered the purchase and reading of reformist presses,which was a special phenomenon in the history of modern Chinese presses.The institutionalized promotion model of ordering the purchase and reading of reformist presses reshaped the distribution system of modern presses,and had a far-reaching impact.Before the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898,a total of 29 officials in the late Qing Dynasty promoted 12 reformist presses.The positive interaction between officials in the late Qing Dynasty and the reformist presses due to the convergence of ideas such as the dissemination of new learning and the consolidation of the state,reflected the political impetus behind the running of presses by Chinese people,and became an important link in understanding the acceleration of the reform movement promoted by the press.Starting from the historical background of the "Reform Movement",this study intends to use literature analysis and historical comparison methods to conduct data statistics,content analysis,and horizontal and vertical comparisons of reports or records on the purchase and reading of orders of officials in the late Qing Dynasty published in the reformist presses and other historical documents,in order to deeply understand the entire process of the promotion phenomenon of the purchase and reading of reformist presses by officials in the late Qing Dynasty.The overall idea is as follows:The first chapter,through literature analysis,combs the practice of ordering officials to purchase and read the reformist presses in the late Qing Dynasty.In 1896,Governor Zhang Zhidong of Huguang first ordered the official sale of the "The Chinese Progress" in Hubei,and then officials from many provinces ordered them to follow suit in purchasing and reading the reformist presses.This led to the rise of a boom in promoting the reformist presses,which spread throughout the country and even Japan.After the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898,conservative groups such as Cixi banned reformist presses such as "The Chinese Progress",while "Agronomy News" and "The Childrens’ Educator" were still promoted by officials such as Duan Fang due to the fact that the dissemination of new learning such as agronomy and elementary education did not harm the political system.The second chapter,based on the text of the purchase and reading order,deeply explores the multidimensional motivations behind the purchase and reading of the reformist presses by officials in the late Qing Dynasty.The Emperor Guangxu allowed the translation of presses,the lobbying of reformist pressmen by virtue of interpersonal relationships,or the formation of a community of interests by jointly running presses with officials with reformist tendencies,the new academic shift in selecting talents under the imperial examination reform,and the need to benefit the disorderly political system of the country,all of which successfully promoted the promotion of reformist presses by officials in the late Qing Dynasty.The third chapter explores the main target groups for the purchase and reading of the reformist presses ordered by officials in the late Qing Dynasty,and carefully examines their purchase and reading situation.In the late Qing Dynasty,officials ordered subordinate bureaucrats and gentry to open up a new atmosphere and broaden their knowledge through reading the reformist presses,and received a positive response from their contributions or repurchases after reading the presses.For the students in the late Qing Dynasty,reading the new Western learning spread by the reformist presses was the knowledge orientation in response to the tide of imperial examination reform.Especially when some officials in the late Qing Dynasty included the reformist presses in the scope of the imperial examination,imperial examination reading became a necessary step for students to enter the official career.The fourth chapter comprehensively analyzes the dual effects of official purchase and reading orders on the distribution and dissemination of reformist presses in the late Qing Dynasty.In the late Qing Dynasty,officials not only helped the reformist presses to develop official press distribution sites,but also set strict purchasing and reading regulations,established specialized distribution management agencies,and provided assistance for the distribution work of the reformist presses.However,once the statements published in the reformist presses undermine the authority of officials or exceed the acceptable consensus of officials,such distribution assistance instead translates into capital to curb the dissemination of statements in the press,and the reformist presses,which relies excessively on the strength of officials,has to choose to compromise.Therefore,"The Chinese Progress" is more cautious in writing titles,and the reform theory of "Xiangxue Press" is restricted.The fifth chapter discusses the historical significance of late Qing officials ordering the purchase and reading of reformist presses and summarizes the dissemination enlightenment of this promotion phenomenon.By ordering the purchase and reading of the reformist presses,officials in the late Qing Dynasty promoted their access to the official government from the private sector,which was conducive to the opening of "official intelligence" and "gentry intelligence",promoting their widespread circulation among students in academies and schools,accelerating the cultivation of new talents,and also helping them obtain relatively loose media living space,thereby becoming the main body of the press industry in the late Qing Dynasty.The social status of the reformist pressmen also increased.In addition,ordering purchase and reading even became an institutionalized means for the late Qing government to promote presses.The distribution model of hundreds of official presses such as the "Beiyang Official Press" established after the New Deal of the late Qing Dynasty evolved from this.This provides valuable experience and enlightenment for government agencies in the new era to do a good job of institutionalizing the promotion of high-quality media to promote social development.This study believes that the behavior of officials ordering purchase and reading in the late Qing Dynasty helped spread the new learning knowledge and reform ideas published in the reformist presses,promoted the reform movement to sweep the country,and promoted the development of the cause of running presses by Chinese people.However,the promotion model of ordering purchase and reading stems from political needs and is attached to political choices,leading to the survival of the reformist presses being largely influenced by official forces.