Dian Shi Zhai Huabao Xuan

Author: Chen Pingyuan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-10-01
Features: Founded on May 8, 1884, and discontinued in 1898, the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao published over 4,000 illustrated pictures with text over the span of fifteen years. This serves as an invaluable treasure trove for modern scholars to directly engage with the late Qing era and understand various aspects of modern Chinese social life. Excerpt: The Westward Spread of Learning in the Late Qing Era / Original by Chen Ping. Founded on May 8, 1884, and discontinued in 1898, the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao published over 4,000 illustrated pictures with text over the span of fifteen years. This serves as an invaluable treasure trove for modern scholars to directly engage with the late Qing era and understand various aspects of modern Chinese social life. For this reason, academia in recent years has increasingly regarded it as a key research subject. Although research findings from both China and abroad have not yet been widely published, it is evident that a growing interest in late Qing studies is emerging. With the rapid rise of late Qing social research, the swift advancement of popular culture studies, and the gradual formation of a preference for interpretive reading of images and texts, the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao will undoubtedly stand prominently on the bookshelves of modern Chinese historians in the next century. I firmly believe in this. As a landmark event in the wave of the Westward Spread of Learning in the late Qing era, the founding of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao touched upon numerous crucial areas. First, it pioneered the " Illustrated Newspaper" format, which combined images and text, making it accessible to both the elite and the masses. This format served as an excellent medium for disseminating new knowledge and reflecting popular tastes, with significant potential for future development. Second, the " Illustrated Newspaper" blended "news" and "art," pursuing both realism and aesthetic appeal. The former preserved various aspects of late Qing society, while the latter allowed us to appreciate the dynamism of Chinese art. Third, the integration of images and text in the " Illustrated Newspaper" could either align perfectly or create noticeable gaps. It was precisely these gaps that provided deeper insights into the complexity of late Qing social customs, cultural trends, and aesthetic preferences. Lastly, the texts accompanying the illustrations, though seemingly minor, were equally significant for understanding the evolution of late Qing newspaper styles. As for the pursuit, nostalgia, and commemoration of this "remnant" by scholars and literati over the past century from another perspective, it further helped us appreciate this unique cultural landscape of the late Qing era.
I. Rise and Decline
The Dian Shi Zhai Huabao, once a prominent publication in modern Chinese history, has no dispute regarding its founding date. Any scholar who delves into this topic knows that it was established on May 8, 1884. The reason is simple: the first issue of the publication is easily accessible, clearly marked with "the fourth month of the tenth year of the Guangxu reign" (i.e., April 1884). Additionally, on the front page of the Shanghai Daily on April 14, 1884 (May 8, 1884), the publisher's announcement proudly introduced the newly launched Dian Shi Zhai Huabao. This nine-day series in the Shanghai Daily provided a detailed explanation of the newspaper's format, printing techniques, pricing, publication cycle, and distribution channels. However, determining the exact date of its discontinuation proved more challenging.
For a long time, academia was divided on this issue, with some claiming it ended in 1894, others extending it to 1898, and still others asserting it ceased in late 1896 with a total run of thirteen years. Without relying on secondhand accounts, let us examine a few representative works. In The Development of Chinese Illustrated Newspapers, Ai Ying stated, "The Dian Shi Zhai Huabao continued to be published until after the First Sino-Japanese War (1894), lasting over ten years." The Dictionary of Modern Chinese History, edited by Chen Xulu and others, firmly declared, "The Dian Shi Zhai Huabao ceased publication in 1894 (the twentieth year of the Guangxu reign)." Peng Yongxiang's Introduction to Modern Chinese Illustrated Newspapers identified, "The Dian Shi Zhai Huabao was discontinued at the end of 1896, with a total run of thirteen years." In the "Introduction" of The End of the Century China's Illustrated Newspapers, Motoyoshi Masayoshi mentioned that the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao was founded on May 8, 1884, and had been published continuously for thirteen years until late 1896, likely based on Peng's assertion. Fan Muhai's History of Modern Chinese Printing noted the existence of 528 volumes of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao, but failed to make precise calculations, still stating, "It ceased publication at the end of 1896, with a total of twelve and a half years of publication." In the notes to Lu Xun's Collected Works, Volume 4, the article A Glance at Shanghai Literature discusses the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao as follows: "Founded in 1884, discontinued in 1898." Ye Xiaojing's Shanghai Popular Culture in the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao also states that the newspaper was discontinued in 1898. Scholars who insisted on 1896 as the end date were precise about the timing, while those who favored 1898 were more vague. Likely realizing the pitfalls, many scholars avoided the issue, only mentioning the founding date without addressing the discontinuation. Zheng Wei's Timely Paintings of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao and the 1983 reprinted edition by Hong Kong's Guangjiao Mirror Publishing House both followed this "sidestepping" approach.
Regarding the three different claims about the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao's discontinuation, the 1894 theory can first be dismissed. The author of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao entry in the Dictionary of Modern Chinese History clearly misinterpreted Ai Ying's work. Ai Ying, cautious due to uncertainty, only mentioned that the newspaper ceased publication after 1894, not that it ended in 1894. While not entirely inaccurate, misinterpretations by later transmitters led to significant errors. Unlike the vague and uncertain speculations of others, Peng Yongxiang confidently asserted that the newspaper had published a total of 36 volumes and 473 issues, a claim worth particular attention. Let us start here, carefully analyze, and establish a solid foundation for collaborative research. If my guess is correct, Peng's confidence stems from his direct experience with the Shanghai Daily. According to traditional practice, each new issue of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao was introduced in the Shanghai Daily, essentially serving as "internal self-advertising" within the Shanghai Daily group. The Shanghai Daily's last announcement about the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao was on December 26, 1897 (January 28, 1898), which was issue number 473. Accounting for the conversion between the Chinese and Gregorian calendars, the last issue's publication date had already entered 1898. Of course, this is a minor detail that can be ignored. I want to emphasize two points: First, since there were 473 issues, there could not have been only 36 volumes; second, the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao that ceased to be advertised in the Shanghai Daily after issue 473 still existed for a considerable time.
A small trick must be mentioned in advance: the two systems of numbering in the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao could actually be interchanged. The cover printed with issue numbers and publication dates was designed for contemporary readers' convenience in purchasing and reading. However, considering Chinese readers' preference for preserving books over newspapers, the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao had alreadyed markers for binding into volumes from the beginning. The specific method involved indicating issue numbers with labels like "Jia Yi," "Jia Er," "Jia San" in the book's seams, supplemented by continuous page numbers. Each issue had 8 pages, and each volume contained 12 issues, totaling 96 pages, which could be neatly arranged. Of course, this refers to excluding the cover and the appendices that repeatedly appeared after the sixth issue—the 1983 reprinted edition by Guangdong People's Publishing House handled it in this manner. Fortunately, the issue numbers in the book's seams allowed us to determine the publication dates of the issues even without the covers (see Appendices I and II). The editors were clearly proud of this "ingenious design for binding into books." They took special notice of how the issues "followed each other in sequence," with "uniform size of illustrations" and "no disordered arrangement." After boasting about how "appreciators would agree," they still humbly asked, "Do you think this is acceptable?" On May 17, 1884, the Shanghai Daily published The Second Issue of the Illustrated Newspaper for Sale, once again reminding readers of its distinctive feature: "The numbers in the book's seams are a continuation of the issue."
Both the issue numbers and publication dates of modern newspapers and the volume numbers and page numbers of books coexisted without conflict. Such a "dual-track" approach was indeed a unique trick of the "transitional era." The Shanghai Daily mentioned "issues," while the reprinted editions readers saw only "volumes," seemingly mismatched. However, once the inherent connection between the two is understood and converted smoothly, many doubts are resolved. The order of the "volumes" in the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao followed the Heavenly Stems ("Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Kui" for ten volumes), Earthly Branches ("Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Shen, You, Xu, Hai" for twelve volumes), Eight Sounds ("Metal, Stone, Silk, Bamboo, Gourd, Earth, Wood, Grass" for eight volumes), and Six Arts ("Rites, Music, Archery, Charioteering, Calligraphy, Mathematics" for six volumes). Ai Ying's The Development of Chinese Illustrated Newspapers accurately clarified the order of these 36 volumes, but the subsequent arrangement of "Yuan, Li, He, Zheng" first and then "Wen, Xing, Zhong, Xin" was clearly incorrect. This can be easily understood by examining the content of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao: the "Zheng" volume should precede the "Yuan" volume (see the following discussion).
According to the of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao, with 12 issues per volume, if only "36 volumes" were published ("volume" should be "issue"), the maximum would only be 432 issues, not "473 issues" ("issue" should be "number"). However, the existence of issue number 473 of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao is undeniable. How to reconcile this contradiction? The most direct solution is to check the positions of issue numbers 473 and the preceding few issues in the reprinted edition. Fortunately, the Shanghai Daily published announcements and summaries of issues 470, 471, 472, and 473 on November 26, December 6, 16, and 26, 1897, respectively. A comparison reveals that these are indeed the "Zheng Er," "Zheng San," "Zheng Si," and "Zheng Wu" volumes of the reprinted edition.
The Dian Shi Zhai Huabao was a ten-day newspaper, founded on April 14, 1884, and continuing until December 26, 1897. There were five leap months in the five years between its founding and the end of 1897, totaling exactly 473 issues. That is to say, from "Jia Yi" to "Zheng Wu," every issue was published regularly over the thirteen years. Researchers can follow the arrangement of the reprinted edition to calculate the publication dates of each issue. Starting from 1898, the Shanghai Daily no longer published information about the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao's publications. This is precisely why scholars mistakenly believed the newspaper had ceased publication. The reprinted edition clearly shows that the issues from "Zheng Liu" onwards maintained their basic appearance—no changes in the author lineup, layout design, writing style, artistic techniques, or political stance. The only change was in the way publication announcements were made. This adjustment might not have posed any problem for the original subscribers but was a fatal blow to later researchers. Without the textual introductions in the Shanghai Daily for indexing and reference, can we conclude that the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao continued to be published normally after 1898? If not published on schedule, how would we determine the publication dates of the issues? Without reliable supporting materials, we can only seek evidence within the content of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao itself. Fortunately, the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao at this time still adhered to the principle stated by the editor-in-chief of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao in the "Origin of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao": "Selecting novel and pleasing events, depicting them as illustrations so that readers of news can verify the facts." The Dian Shi Zhai Huabao, linked to news, helped verify events, benefiting not only contemporary readers but also later researchers. By selecting some news-related images and texts and referencing various relevant materials, we can roughly determine the publication dates of the issues using the "internal evidence" method. Below, specific examples are omitted, only listing their relationship with the publication dates I have determined. The principle for determining these dates is based on the assumption that the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao continued to be published normally after 1898. First, let's see if the dates align, and then we can examine the validity of this assumption:
Zheng Shi (Volume 12, Issue 1): Great Turmoil in the Foreign Quarter – The event occurred on the first day of the third lunar month of the 23rd year of the Guangxu reign (March 1, 1897). The estimated publication date is six days later, March 6.
Yuan Er (Volume 1, Issue 2): Making a Mountain out of a Molehill – The event occurred on the eighth day of the third lunar month (March 8). The estimated publication date is March 26.
Yuan Ba (Volume 1, Issue 8): Western Boys Horse Race – The event occurred on the 22nd day of the fifth lunar month (May 22). The estimated publication date is the 26th day of May.
Heng Ba (Volume 8, Issue 8): Fire in the Forbidden City – The event occurred on the fifth day of the ninth lunar month (September 5). The estimated publication date is September 26.
Li Wu (Volume 5, Issue 5): Festival of Women's Rights – The event occurred on the 13th day of the eleventh lunar month (November 13). The estimated publication date is December 26.
Zheng Liu (Volume 6, Issue 6): Bandits Rampant – The event occurred on the 18th day of the 16th month of the 24th year of the Guangxu reign (March 18, 1898). The estimated publication date is April 6.
Zheng Qi (Volume 7, Issue 7): Westerners Showing Mercy to Prisoners – The event occurred on the fourth day of the fourth lunar month (April 4). The estimated publication date is April 16.
Zheng Jiu (Volume 7, Issue 9): The Chief Culprit Executed – The event occurred on the 25th day of the fourth lunar month (April 25). The estimated publication date is May 6.
Zheng Shi Yi (Volume 11, Issue 11): French Brutality – The event occurred on the 29th day of the fifth lunar month (May 29). The estimated publication date is May 26.
From the event to the publication of the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao, the earliest was four or five days, and the latest was a month, depending on the importance of the news and the editors' preferences. Generally, events occurring outside the city were reported later in the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao (e.g., "Fire in the Forbidden City," "Bandits Rampant"), while those in Shanghai were published within days—except for the "Festival of Women's Rights," which is worth noting. Until the publication of "Zheng Jiu" on the sixth day of May, everything seemed normal. The problem was that the "Zheng Shi Yi" scheduled for May 26 featured an advance report of the event on May 29, when French troops shot and killed 17 protesters at the Tongmengguan. This time, it was clearly delayed—otherwise, the authors could not have "predicted" the outcome. So, when was "Zheng Shi Yi" actually published? According to the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao's consistent style and the high attention the event received—on May 29, the Shanghai Daily published an article titled "Tongmengguan Seized," and from May 30 to early June 5, it published six consecutive articles titled "Detailed Account of the Seizure of Tongmengguan." The Dian Shi Zhai Huabao did not lag behind, with the article "French Brutality" and another introducing the event's background, "Seizure of Tongmengguan." Such strong focus, combined with the high efficiency often demonstrated, suggests that "Zheng Shi Yi" was published on the sixth day of June, shortly after the event. If this is correct, then by June of the 24th year of the Guangxu reign, the Dian Shi Zhai Huabao had only missed one issue. As for "Zheng Shi Er," whether it was published on the 16th day of June (August 3, 1898), the conclusion remains the same.