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་晚清西文報紙導要
A RESEARCH GUIDE TO
CHINA-COAST NEWSPAPERS,
1822-1911
Frank H. H. King (editor)
and
Prescott Clarke
Harvard East Asian Monographs
A RESEARCH GUIDE TO CHINA-COAST EWSPAPERS, 1822-1911
 
by
Frank H. H. King (editor)
and
Prescott Clarke
Published by the
East Asian Research Center
Harvard University
Distributed by
Harvard University Press
Cambridge, Mass.
1965
Copyright, 1965, by
the President and Fellows of
Harvard College
The East Asian Research Center at Harvard University administers research projects designed to further scholarly understanding of China, Japan, Korea, and adjacent areas. These studies have been assisted by grants from the Ford Foundation.
HARVARD EAST ASIAN MONOGRAPHS, 18
1.
2.
3.
Liang Fang-chung, The Single-Whip Method of Taxation in China
Harold C. Hinton, The Grain Tribute System of China (1845-1911)
Ellsworth C. Carlson, The Kaiping Mines (1877-1912)
4.
Chao Kuo-chun, Agrarian Policies of Mainland China:
A Documentary
Study (1949-1956)
5.
Edgar Snow, Random Notes on Red China (1936-1945)
6.
Edwin George Beal, Jr., The Origin of Likin (1853-1864)
7.
8.
9.
Chao Kuo-chun, Economic Planning and Organization in Mainland China:
A Documentary Study (1949-1957)
John K. Fairbank, Ch'ing Documents: An Introductory Syllabus
Helen Yin and Yi-chang Yin, Economic Statistics of Mainland China
(1949-1957)
10. Wolfgang Franke, The Reform and Abolition of the Traditional Chinese
Examination System
11.
12.
13.
Albert Feuerwerker and S. Cheng, Chinese Communist Studies of Modern
Chinese History
C. John Stanley, Late Ch'ing Finance: Hu Kuang-yung as an Innovator
S.M. Meng, The Tsungli Yamen: Its Organization and Functions
14. Ssu-yu Teng, Historiography of the Taiping Rebellion
15.
16.
17.
18.
Chun-Jo Liu, Controversies in Modern Chinese Intellectual History: An Analytic Bibliography of Periodical Articles, Mainly of the May Fourth and Post-May Fourth Era
Edward J.M. Rhoads, The Chinese Red Army, 1927-1963: An Annotated
Bibliography
Andrew James Nathan, A History of the China International Famine
Relief Commission
Frank H.H. King (editor) and Prescott Clarke, A Research Guide to
China-Coast Newspapers, 1822-1911
CONTENTS
I.
II.
Foreword
Acknowledgments
The Character and Use of China-Coast Newspapers
Problems in the Interpretation of China-Coast Newspapers
a.
Language
b. Opinions on the Chinese
C.
Personalities
d. The Newspaper Staff
Coverage
National and Outport Newspapers
The Development of China-Coast Newspapers
A Survey by Cities
a.
Canton
b. Hong Kong to 1860
(1) Early Policies of the Hong Kong Newspapers
(2)
c.
The Government Gazette and Editorial Policy Hong Kong after 1860
d. Shanghai
III. An Annotated List of China-Coast Newspapers
1.
Macao: Portuguese
2. Canton and Macao: English
3. Hong Kong: English
4.
Hong Kong:
5.
Shanghai:
Portuguese English
6.
Shanghai: Portuguese, French, and German
7.
China: Other Cities
Tientsin
Tsingtao
Peking
Manchuria (Harbin, unless stated)
Amoy
Che foo
Foochow
Hankow
Weihaiwei
8.
London
IV.
Biographies of China-Coast Editors and Publishers
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101
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107
110
V.
Extant Copies of China-Coast Newspapers
162
List of Libraries and their Abbreviations
163
2.
3.
Hong Kong: English
1.
Macao:
Portuguese
Canton and Macao: English
165
168
169
4.
Hong Kong:
Portuguese
175
5.
Shanghai:
English
175
6. Shanghai:
French and German
180
7. China: Other Cities
181
8. London
183
Chinese-English Glossary of China-Coast Newspaper Titles
185
Appendix
189
A. Other China-Coast Periodicals Published through 1911
189
B. Japanese-Language Newspapers Published in China through 1911
193
Bibliography
197
A.
Reprints and Collections from China-Coast Newspapers
197
B.
Representative Works of China-Coast Journalists
198
C.
Other Sources
202
Index
207
A.
China-Coast Newspaper Titles: Chronological
207
B.
China-Coast Newspaper Titles: Alphabetical
215
C.
General Index
224
FOREWORD
This guide opens an unexpected door. The "China Coast" and the
"treaty ports" that flourished on it formed in their day the cultural frontier
between the Chinese empire and the outside world. Much of their record is in the literature described in this volume, produced by that transplanted Western institution, the newspaper. Most of these newspapers were in English, but Macao, first and last, had twenty in Portuguese.
This is a complex subject. During the course of the century whole newspaper families grew up, genealogically affiliated--the China Mail group of Hong Kong included eleven different titles, and there were eight in the North-China Herald group of Shanghai. Rival publications, the outport press, American, French, German, Russian and Japanese journals added diversity. The vicissitudes of journalistic enterprise were compounded by treaty-port feuds and politics.
The resulting bibliographic complexity has required historical study, both of publications and of personnel. For much of this we are indebted to the detailed studies of Mr. Clark, whose M.A. dissertation at the University of London in 1961 dealt with the development of China-coast newspapers to 1881. Meanwhile Mr. King (now an associate professor of economics at the University of Kansas) has pursued a parallel interest for many years, and to him we are indebted for the final putting together of this joint volume, which also includes bibliographical data from the many additional sources and contributors credited in the Acknowledgments. As a result of this happy combination, the main section below, in its historical accounts of the various newspapers and the relations and policies of their publishers and editors, indicates something of the origin of those treaty-port feelings that burned so brightly in their day. The fifty pages of biographies, list of holdings, glossary, and various other lists and indices further enhance the utility of this research tool.
East Asian Research Center
1737 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts
May 1965
vii
John K. Fairbank
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The present study developed from two simultaneous beginnings, encouraged from the first by William Beasley and Jack Gray of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and John K. Fairbank
and Kwang-Ching Liu of Harvard University's East Asian Research Center.
Prescott Clarke initiated research into the development of English-language
journalism on the China coast; at the same time I began taking systematic bibliographical notes on the China-coast newspapers used in my economic
research. Prescott Clarke's most important contribution is his interpretation
and research of English-language newspapers; the preparation of the manuscript, the coordinating of other research, as well as certain editorial contributions,
are my responsibility.
We wish now to acknowledge the essential contributions of the many
other students of modern Chinese history who co-operated in this venture.
J.M. Braga has provided material on his own valuable collection of Portuguese- language newspapers as well as supplementary information on Hong Kong journal-
ism.
T.R. Liu provided valuable research on Hong Kong.
tributed the notes on the French-language newspapers. bibliographical research on Russian-language material.
Lucien Bianco con-
S.T. Leong undertook
Chuzo Ichiko in
Japan and Wolfgang Seuberlich in Germany undertook the tedious but important
task of collecting precise information on library holdings. G. Raymond Nunn
circularized libraries in the United States.
N.P.
Many assisted the project with contributions and advice:
Avtonomoff, Masataka Banno, Tieh-chun Chen, Jean Chesneaux, J.L. Cranmer-
Byng, Robert L. Kirkpatrick, Karl Lo, Motoi Hiramatsu, T.G.N. Pearce, and Paul Rogers. Access to the Jardine Matheson archives was granted by Alan
Reid and Matheson and Co. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions also made available their archives. We gratefully acknowledge the
patient assistance given to us by the librarians with whom we consulted. Several also found themselves engaged in coordinating work or gave valuable bibliographical advice, including Paul J. McNiff, Geoffrey Bonsall, Edwin Beal, Jr., and the late Júlio Gonçalves.
ix
This project has been financed principally by the East Asian
Research Center, Harvard University. I also wish to acknowledge the financial assistance extended to me through a George Webb Medley Scholarship, University of Oxford.
Catherine E. King edited and typed several versions of the manuscript. Bertha Ezell typed the final copy for photo-offset, while Lien-sheng Yang and Yeh-chien Wang supplied the calligraphy on the cover and in the text respectively. Elizabeth M. Matheson made key editorial recommendations, and Anne T. Harby undertook the final editing of the guide.
Frank H.H. King Editor
Lawrence, Kansas
May 1965
X
I
THE CHARACTER AND USE OF CHINA-COAST NEWSPAPERS
This research guide is designed primarily to facilitate the use
of Western-language newspapers published in China, including Hong Kong and Macao, during the late Ch'ing period. It contains information on several related topics, including those newspapers published in London concerned with news of China, and certain Chinese-language sheets published
as an integral part of or in close connection with the Western-language news- papers. There is also an appendix listing Japanese-language newspapers published in China during the period through 1911. The guide consequently excludes consideration of purely missionary, official, and, with the ex- ceptions noted above, Chinese-language publications. It also excludes price currents and shipping lists except to the extent that they either contained some news items or played a role in the development of China-coast newspapers. Certain borderline publications have been included.
The complex nature of Sino-Western relationships is well known. Current research is concerned with the diversity of opinion within the foreign communities relative to China policy, missionaries, local treaty-port government, internal Chinese political developments, and economic prospects. Not surprisingly contemporaries gave expression to this diversity in the many and various newspapers and periodicals published on the China coast and elsewhere. Indeed, the index to this study lists some 200 newspaper titles. Yet a random sampling of recent studies of the late Ch'ing period reveals that, with the exception perhaps of the North-China Herald (5.1) and the China Mail (3.4.1), these newspapers have been little used.
The reasons for this failure to utilize an obvious primary source are quite straight forward. First, newspapers are costly to store and difficult to catalogue; locating the several newspapers is in itself a major problem. Secondly, their very diversity minimizes their immediate usefulness. Before a newspaper can be used as a source, the student must know something about its contributors, editors, and publishers; he must be
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able to assess its political and other bias and generalize as to its policy. The very variety of China-coast newspapers has made this task appear impractical, and the student has in consequence fallen back upon the two most readily available newspapers, the North-China Herald and the China Mail, whose life span covers almost our entire period.
By attempting to provide at least tentative answers to those questions which are a necessary preliminary to scholarly investigation, we hope to encourage both the use of the newspapers as a research tool and research into the history of China-coast journalism itself. Basic to this guide, therefore, is the comprehensive, alphabetically-arranged list of newspaper titles. This is immediately preceded by a chronological index permitting the student to determine the newspapers published in any year between 1822 and 1911. The guide also includes an introductory essay on the development of China-coast journalism; annotations which consider each title for which information is at all available and group those having editorial or ownership connection or which subsequently amalgamate; a biographical section dealing with editors and publishers; a list of extant copies by newspaper and library; and a bibliography which suggests sources for further research. Those reading Chinese-language texts may come across the Chinese title of a Western-language newspaper, and as these are not always direct translations, a glossary is provided. Few would recognize Te-ch'en pao
as the China Mail, for example, even if they were aware of Dixson's early editorship.
The basic sources consulted in the preparation of this guide are, of course, the newspapers themselves, supplemented primarily by other writings of China-coast journalists. The Jardine Matheson archives proved invaluable. Secondary sources, however well-regarded for other purposes, have proved highly inaccurate in detail. The lists of library holdings are based, wherever possible, upon personal examination not only of card catalogues but also of the actual volumes. Records of newspaper holdings are particularly susceptible to error, and a visit to the stacks was usually rewarding, often surprising. The Chinese titles were obtained from histories of Chinese journalism, from company directories, and from the newspapers themselves.
We have stated the problems of effective use of China-coast newspapers as involving their identification, the location of extant
copies, and assessment of their policies and reliability. A research
guide cannot give definitive answers to these questions, but it can
contribute by stating the problems and by taking first steps toward their
solution. Indeed, the location problem may be soon resolved through a
microfilming project sponsored by the University of Kansas.
Of the many titles listed in the index, which are most suitable
as research tools? Obviously the answer depends upon the nature of the
research project, but certain generalizations should prove useful.
First,
the value of a newspaper in a particular study is not to be measured by
its ability to survive in the competitive China-coast scene. The Hongkong
Register (3.3.2), for example, failed because the publisher, then in poor
health, was unable to find a suitable successor; the China Mail survived
periods of severe editorial criticism because of the sound financial base
of the parent company.
Secondly, certain newspapers were known to be preeminent in their
field. The Friend of China (3.1.2), for example, had a wider coverage of
the developing Taiping rebellion than its contemporaries; the North China
Herald was the official publisher of certain consular notices. For projects
dealing with particular areas or particular national interests, the problem
is simpler. The task of reading all newspaper sources outside the centers
of Shanghai and Hong Kong or in languages other than English is not an over-
whelming one, especially since extant copies of "outport" newspapers are
limited in number.
Thirdly, some of the titles listed in the index are merely those of separate editions rather than independent newspapers. Grouping of titles in this guide has facilitated identification of such editions, but there is
still a choice to be made.
The China-coast newspapers had their origins in foreign communities whose potential local subscribers numbered, at most, a few hundred. From the beginning, therefore, publishers attempted to meet the requirements of at least two audiences--the local residents and the home country. At first one edition served both markets, but quickly the custom of special
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supplements evolved.
For local residents an extra advertising sheet might appear, or a shipping list on a separate sheet inserted in or distributed with the weekly paper; for Europe a local news supplement might be added. Certain newspapers evolved the practice of giving their supplements different titles and then the task becomes considerably easier. For example, Andrew Dixson of Hong Kong's China Mail began circulation of Dixson's Hongkong Recorder (3.4.4) gratis in 1850, its income being derived solely from adver- tising. Holdings of this supplement have been located and are listed separately. The Hong Kong Times (3.7.3) had a local news supplement sufficiently separate to warrant individual mention in bibliographies and library catalogues, although it was included gratis with the overland edition.
These supplements proved only a temporary answer to the problem of different markets. As the size of the total market grew, newspapers could afford more than one edition, and the "overland edition" was born. The weekly newspapers had from the first been mailed to Europe, but the overland edition was published specifically to be sent via the Red Sea and Marseilles, then overland to England. The frequency and timing of publication coincided with the sailing of the mail ships. About 1860, the advertising supplements with their column of news developed into daily editions of the newspaper. For a time, therefore, one company might be publishing a daily, a weekly, and an overland edition. Subsequently the weekly might be eliminated with the principal title going in some cases to the daily and in others to the overland edition. The coming of the telegraph and other new developments in journalistic practices changed the requirements of all markets, and the overland edition became in some cases nothing more than a weekly mail edition containing reprints of the daily edition without the advertising pages.
Unfortunately, beyond this general pattern there was little uniformity. Selection of the right edition must be based on knowledge of the particular
For some the problem can be circumvented by consulting, for newspaper.
example, the London and China Telegraph (8.1.1-2), which was based on a cross-section of all China-coast newspapers and contained reprints of articles from outport publications no longer available.
Actual assessment of reliability and policy remains the most important and the most difficult of the student's tasks, however. China-coast newspapers,
especially during the first fifty years, were essentially personal. After identifying editor and publisher at the particular time in question and resolving the question as to who was the dominant force, the student can
concentrate his attention on that dominant personality. An examination
of the editorials, of comments by other newspapers, and of other writings by editor or publisher will very quickly reveal the attitudes and prejudices
involved.
There still remains the question of reliability, which is an issue
at two levels. First, most newspapers made general claims--they were the
voice of a community, of some section of a community, or, sometimes, of the
whole British or American nation. These claims cannot be accepted uncritically.
Charges and counter-charges of influence and interest were commonplace. Most
editors asserted complete editorial independence; yet there is often evidence to the contrary. Many editors claimed to speak for all those of their own nation; there is much to contradict this. We have made some preliminary
judgments on these matters below. On the second level, the student is con-
cerned with the accuracy of particular news articles. On this subject no
generalization can be made. The information must be checked against other
contemporary sources where at all possible. Opinions, of course, can be
discounted given the known bias of a particular writer, but facts were as
elusive then as they are today.
More specific comments on these and closely related topics are made
in the following two sections.
Problems in the Interpretation of China-Coast Newspapers
John K. Fairbank has warned the translators of Ch'ing documents
that they must have both an understanding of the background and way of thinking of the authors and the ability to adapt the literal translation into something meaningful in today's idiom. This task is not limited to translators; indeed, interpreters of nineteenth-century English-language material may have the more difficult task since they must overcome their apparent familiarity with the language!
We can change "trembling and prostrate your slave hears the Imperial pleasure" to "your instructions received," but are we similarly justified
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or even permitted to translate the China-coast Englishman's "the semi-
civilized Chinese" to "the Chinese, a people not yet conversant with the
application of steam to transport"? Yet this is precisely what most
writers meant by the term. Certainly a brief description of the character-
istic problems and attitudes of the early journalists appears essential.
a. Language
"The Chinese--a people characterized by a marvelous degree of
imbecility, avarice, conceit, and obstinacy..." is a description in good
nineteenth-century style which would appear clear enough. There is ample
historical evidence that many British supported James Matheson's view.
"The Chinaman is the best of society. He is always courteous and
suave in his manners; shrewd and 'piquant' in his remarks, cheerful in
his disposition," wrote the Shanghai Recorder (5.3.1) in 1867. This opinion, too, found support in the foreign community. We cannot conclude, therefore, that the attitude of British journalists to the Chinese was one of unrestrained contempt based on ignorance. Indeed, their attitude requires interpretation if the language of the newspaper is not to obscure the information it
contains.
The unrestrained comments both pro and con are typical not only of the newspapers' judgments of the Chinese but also of all others they had occasion to notice. A Hong Kong governor, Sir George Bonham, was described in the relatively mild China Mail as a "humbug," "...not of the vain, good-natured, obliging class...but a cold, selfish, uncharitable, evasive, blustering, addle-pated humbug, who never did or expected a dis- interested action, or enforced a policy even when persuaded it was right, if he also felt persuaded it would require to be defended." Nothing more severe was said of the Chinese officials, so often the target of criticism. In 1865, writing on another favorite target, Hong Kong's Daily Press (3.5.2) described Americans as "servile, impotent, selfish, and sneaking."
To dwell upon such quotations from China-coast newspapers would be to distort the relative severity of the criticisms. The editors wrote
in the idiom of their time; they made harsh judgments, but these require
some translation if we are not to be side-tracked by the apparently grotesque phrases, by the unfamiliarity of the tone.
b. Opinions on the Chinese
Criticism of the Chinese was a continuous and detailed newspaper activity, and cannot be dismissed solely by revising the language. The problem is to place the criticism in perspective. First, such criticism
must not be understood as necessarily the result of ignorance. Many editors.
were also Sinologues, all newspapers had on their staff or in their pay men capable of translating from the Chinese, and some--e.g. William Tarrant
of the Friend of China--made good use of Chinese informants. Secondly, Western attitudes to the Chinese were based upon two traditions: the
Protestant belief that those living without the Word of God were bound to
a life of evil--and missionary contributions were designed to illustrate and
support this conclusion; and the merchant support of free trade principles and the still surviving philosophical belief in the infallibility of man's
reason, a reason which had reformed the governments of enlightened Europe,
created the United States, and, if permitted free scope, would reform China. This latter tradition was supplemented by the new identity of progress with material innovations, especially steam, and the Chinese failure to adopt these was frequently cited as evidence of the backwardness of the people as a whole or the tyranny, corruption, or other vice of their government. Some few may find the conviction of the nineteenth-century foreigner refreshing; others, more familiar with the conversations at tea parties for foreign students, will be embarrassed. Neither reaction should be permitted to obscure the relevance of the information being presented.
C.
Personalities
One key problem in the full use of the newspapers is, then, the severity of the language used in criticism. A second problem is closely related.
The small size of the foreign communities, even in such a great city as Shanghai, tended to cause constructive comment on issues to de- generate into criticisms of personalities. The Canton Register (2.1.2)
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disapproved of Captain Elliot's 1837 actions on substantial grounds but
could not refrain from a personal attack: ...the reader will learn how
early Captain Elliot betrayed his lust for the exercise of unconstitutional
power over his countrymen."
Personalities played an essential role in Hong Kong, especially
until the middle 1860's; the more relevant details have been included in
our biographies of William Tarrant and Y.J. Murrow. So bitter indeed did
these controversies become that they clouded judgments; thus, knowledge of
the rivalries and personal relationships of editors and publishers is im-
portant to interpretation of their news items and editorials.
d.
The Newspaper Staff
The China-coast newspaper, especially in the period before 1880, was usually directed by an editor of limited experience supported by an in- adequate staff, dependent upon a narrow range of news sources. Indeed, until the 1860's newspapers were principally one-man affairs. By the end of the century the larger newspapers might have an editor, sub-editor, and
possibly one to three local reporters, with correspondents in Europe and
the outports, supplemented by Reuters' telegrams, translations from the Chinese, and some exchange with newspapers in other Western languages. The Shanghai Mercury (5.7.10), North-China Daily News (5.1.8), China Mail, South
China Morning Post (3.9), Der Ostasiatische Lloyd (6.8.1) and L'Echo de Chine
(6.7.1) were, for example, such newspapers, in scope and content comparable to their contemporaries elsewhere. The early newspapers require, however,
some general description. Details are added subsequently in the guide.
Between 1866 and 1868 the Hongkong Daily Press was edited by Alfred
Percy Sinnett, former editor of India's Pioneer. In 1873 William Curtis left
his inherited Brighton Gazette to edit and publish the Hong Kong Times, Daily Advertiser and Shipping Gazette (3.7.3). These men may well have been the first editors in China with any significant journalistic experience. The
Canton editors were former merchants or missionaries; the background of the
Hong Kong editors, with the exception of Andrew Short rede and his successors,
was principally mercantile, although William Tarrant of the Friend of China
was a discharged government servant. In Shanghai, Henry Shearman, the
founder of the North-China Herald (1850), had been an auctioneer. These
pioneers had varying reasons for beginning a newspaper, which must be
considered individually below.
The contrast between the China Mail and the other early newspapers
suggests that inexperience and "personalism" are generally coincident. The China Mail was first edited by Short rede, who may have had experience
on a newspaper in Sydney, Australia, but who came to China as proprietor of
a printing establishment. The editing of a newspaper was thus only one of
his functions. From the beginning the China Mail was milder in its criticism,
did not automatically support merchant opinion with which it had no personal
ties, and was more comparable to the manner of later newspapers. In contrast,
Robert Fraser-Smith's Hongkong Telegraph (3.8), founded in 1881, was a re-
version to an earlier, personal journalism.
Printing was the earliest Western industry established in China,
and the first generation of Chinese journalists served their apprenticeships
with missionary presses and Western newspapers. Leadership in the printing
industry went quickly to the Portuguese, however, and early editors came
to depend upon a Portuguese staff member not only for printing but also for
occasional reporting. There are examples of the printer taking over the editorial direction of the newspaper during an editor's temporary absence-- in jail, perhaps, or in North China. In addition to such assistance the editor could also call for general support from the foreign community. This came in the form of translations, signed or unsigned articles, and letters to the editor.
Since an editor was not always in a position to check the accuracy of these contributions, much of the content of the early newspaper was beyond his control and must be judged accordingly. Anonymity was considered a virtue in journalism of the period, although Y.J. Murrow, editor of the Hongkong Daily Press, admitted that as far as the editors were concerned, anonymity was impossible and "every article might as well be signed." Nevertheless, they were not, and their authorship is not as obvious today as it must have been at the time. Therefore, interpretation is rendered more difficult by the frequent use of amateur and unidentified sources.
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News
By the 1870's editors had gained experience on the job; in addition
they had one or more full-time assistants, usually assigned to report on
the courts, shipping, or other such routine but essential assignments. of the outports was at first dependent upon correspondence from merchants or missionaries stationed there. Routine trade reports might be sent in by
a merchant house in return for a free subscription. During the Taiping
rebellion, newspapers depended upon missionaries with the Taipings for their stories of the Heavenly Kingdom itself. When other ports supported
their own newspapers, the custom of reprinting extracts was generally
practiced, although the presence of special correspondents might be con-
tinued. Correspondents were not restricted to China, moreover, and the larger China-coast newspapers had news direct from other Far Eastern countries.
News from England was at first slight, owing to the speed with which the
merchant houses were able themselves to disseminate the news from corres-
pondence and from European newspapers arriving by the same mail ship.
Efforts to beat the distribution of the British newspapers were made, and
eventually there was sufficient demand for specialized reporting from England.
Former Hong Kong or China residents, sometimes former editors or staff members
of China-coast newspapers, would supply reports of special interest to local
readers, which were not available in the home papers. There were also agencies
which sent China-coast newspapers news columns with slight differences, so
that editors could label such dispatches "from our own correspondent."
The coming of the telegraph and Reuters service eventually broadened the
scope for European coverage in the local press, although Reuters at first
prevented publication of their telegrams for forty-eight hours after receipt
to protect private subscribers.
Coverage
The coverage of the China-coast newspapers broadened geographically
with the increased number of open ports, the growth of the foreign communities
within China, and with the interest of the home countries for China-side news.
But they remained essentially small town newspapers, and the broadened
geographical coverage did not necessarily broaden "coverage" in other senses.
The most serious defect from the point of view of today's student
of China is the lack of coverage of events in China which were unrelated to
the immediate interests of the foreign trading community. At first glance
this appears but a reflection of the bias of nineteenth-century foreigners,
but this judgment is incomplete. Certain editors made considerable efforts
to report happenings in China, as is indicated by the coverage of the re-
bellions and the translations of the various Peking gazettes. editors and reporters ignorant of China and the Chinese. lay elsewhere.
Nor were the
The difficulty
Interest in China was limited by the practical requirements of the
foreigner in China--either trader or missionary--and these requirements were
likely to direct attention almost exclusively to a limited aspect of the
China scene. Those who did have broader interests tended to concern them-
selves with traditional Chinese scholarship. At first, indeed, little more
could be expected when access to information was so restricted; the right
to study Chinese was a privilege to be won by armed conflict. Although
contact with Chinese officials subsequently became more frequent, the subjects
of discussion were not usually different from those which preoccupied Macartney
and Staunton. Throughout the period China-coast newspaper coverage of China
was in general restricted and, by modern journalistic standards, unsatisfactory
except in certain specific fields.
Newspapers could, of course, have used individual Chinese informants
more systematically, and some newspapers were more adventurous here than
others. But it is fair to add that editors, even Sinologist-editors, lacked
the background in contemporary China to use such informants effectually. The Friend of China used Chinese to great effect, but the accuracy of the reports has not as yet been subjected to rigorous analysis.
If the regular coverage of China was restricted or uncritical, there were notable exceptions. The larger newspapers had the co-operation of foreigners throughout China and many contributed articles which provide a unique insight into the changes being wrought in the late Ch'ing period. But these contributions were irregular, separate, feature-type articles, and their appearance cannot be predicted or their worth judged in advance. A student seeking information on some specific subject cannot afford to
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ignore these often definitive accounts, but they have to be sought through
the files of the newspapers.
The South China Morning Post (3.9) was founded with the avowed purpose of supporting the reform movement in China, and a detailed analysis.
of its contents may reveal a further exception to our previous generalization. Wang Tao 王韜 the Chinese scholar and pioneer journalist, wrote of his hope that a Chinese-owned newspaper might be founded to present in a Western
language the Chinese view to the foreign reader. The South China Morning
Post did not meet quite so rigorous a standard. The Hongkong Telegraph,
however, was for a short period in the 1900's owned by a Chinese syndicate,
and its policy should be examined. The Cycle (5.16), a Shanghai periodical
published 1870-1871, might appear at first to meet Wang T'ao's requirements,
despite its foreign ownership; but although the Cycle was sympathetic to
the Chinese point of view, it was so on subjects within the traditional
coverage--i.e. treaty relationships and trade privileges. It provided a
counter to the China-coast newspapers, not an extension of their range.
Peking's Chinese Public Opinion (7.17.1), and the successor Peking Daily News
(7.17.2) were both Chinese-owned and edited and expressive of Chinese patriotic
opinion, but this does not make them better interpreters of China news.
They were, perhaps, operating on too small a scale to have so great an
impact.
National and Outport Newspapers
The increased professionalism of later journalists and, in con-
sequence, the more adequate coverage by already existing newspapers coincided in time with two other developments--all leading to improved newspaper coverage of the China scene. The period from the 1880's witnessed the
founding of "national" newspapers and the growth of the outports, i.e.
foreign settlements other than Hong Kong and Shanghai, leading to the
establishment of local newspapers of particular regional interest.
In the 1860's the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank had its American
board members and its French chief manager; similarly, the North-China Herald,
although primarily British, yet had served many of the requirements of other
foreign communities. This did not satisfy the spirit of the Age of Imperialism.
French, German, and Russian banks were established. And in 1887 came Der
Ostasiatische Lloyd, in 1898 L'Echo de Chine (6.7.1), in 1901 the Shanghai
Times (5.11)--all papers avowedly intending to serve the interests of
Germany, France, and the United States respectively. A comprehensive use
of China-coast newspapers requires consultation of these representatives
of the late-comers.
Thus far we have been concentrating on publications in Hong Kong and
Shanghai. But as the foreign communities of other treaty ports grew, news- papers were founded there. With certain noteworthy exceptions, few copies of these newspapers have been located, although their articles have been reprinted in London and in other China-coast publications. For the most part these outport newspapers appear to have been similar to the early Hong Kong editions for local circulation--advertising and shipping lists
with a single column of news, some correspondence, and perhaps an occasional
contributed feature article. Their survival rate was low.
An exception is found in the journalistic history of Tientsin,
where in 1886 the Chinese Times (7.1) was established, to be succeeded
in 1894 by the Peking and Tientsin Times (7.2). Both had exceptional
coverage of local North China news. To tie two themes together, the latter
paper thought proper to bow to the temper of the times and state directly
its primarily British policy. As in Shanghai, newspapers representing
other national interests were eventually established: in 1898 the Bolletino Italiano dell'Estremo Oriente (7.3), the only Italian-language journal of which mention has been found in this period; in 1904 the English-language China Review (7.6.1), said to have represented Russian views; also in 1904 Tageblatt für Nordchina (7.5); and in 1906 Le Courrier de Tientsin (7.7.1).
In Tsingtao, as in Ilong Kong, the ruling power dominated, and both general interest and specialized German-language newspapers were established.
Developments in the Chinese capital were slower. The China Times (7.14) was established in 1901 and was heralded as the first foreign news- paper in the capital, but before six months had passed the newspaper had moved to Tientsin. The other Peking Western-language newspapers established
14
before the Revolution appear to have been slight, suitable to be classed
with the smaller, less influential foreign-language newspapers of the outports of China.
II
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA-COAST NEWSPAPERS
15
When in the 1820's the first Western-language newspapers were published on the China coast, foreigners had already been resident in China for more than 200 years. The timing of the first newspapers suggests that the history of early journalism in China was, like most other aspects of life in the Macao-Canton area, affected by developments in the "old Canton system." Traditionally, the British residing in Macao and Canton had been servants of the East India Company; in such a closed community there had been
no need for a newspaper.
The Roman Catholic Church had been successful
in prohibiting the residence of Protestant missionaries, and all foreigners were under the joint tolerance of the Chinese and Portuguese governments. As the main purpose of residence was trade, much inconvenience could be tolerated, and the dubious advantages of a newspaper were luxuries which
were easily forgone.
The forces which challenged the old Canton system also brought journalism to China. The independent or country merchants attacked the monopoly of the East India Company; in 1824 their advocacy of free trade found voice in the Oriental Herald and Colonial Review (8.7), published,
however, in London. The Reverend Robert Morrison became the first Pro- testant missionary in China, but began his activities by studying Chinese within the permissive scope of the Company. The Protestants found that their activities could develop more fruitfully outside the jurisdiction
of the China trade "establishment" and accordingly established a base in
Malacca where in 1827 or 1828 the Malacca Observer and Chinese Chronicle
was founded. The paper dealt mainly with local news but included as the "China Chronicle" a column of news from China. The country merchants however needed but the spark and they, too, would establish a journal; this spark was found in the unlikely combination of William W. Wood, an American adventurer--significantly beyond the jurisdiction of the East India Company--and Alexander Matheson. The unbridled pen of the former
16
17
and the handpress of the latter were together responsible in 1827 for
the first issues of the Canton Register (2.1.1), which marked the beginning of English-language journalism on the China coast. This was not the first China-coast newspaper, however. Two Portuguese newspapers, both under Catholic auspices and supporting the ruling groups in the Macao government, had already lived their short lives--A Abelha da China (1.1) was the first in 1822. It ceased with a change in government and was replaced in 1824 by the Gazeta de Macau (1,2), which closed in 1826 for lack of support.
After the first issues of the Register, it was apparent that the country merchants had gone too far--in China. Although pressing for trade reform in England, they had not the same freedom in Canton, and the Canton Register dropped Wood to become, in the words of the publisher, James Matheson, "a record of facts, not a vehicle for controversy." Controversy
was provided in 1831 with the publication of Wood's Chinese Courier and Canton Gazette (2.2), which, in the unrestrained language which was to become typical of China-coast journalism for the next half-century, urged the ending of the Company's monopoly.
News that the Company's monopoly had been ended reached Canton in 1833; the Register was then free to speak--and to urge the winding up of the Company's Canton agency. Foreign opinion was not even then monolithic, however, and the dominant group of British merchants, led by Jardine Matheson and Company, whose position was supported by the Register, soon found them- selves attacked in the Canton Press (2.3), sponsored by Dent and Company. A pattern had been established which was to typify the years of "personal journalism," that is, the years up to the 1880's when more professional and experienced men undertook the publishing and editing of China-coast newspapers.
A Survey by Cities
Canton
a.
The history of China-coast newspapers in Canton may be divided into three relatively clear-cut periods. The first, up to 1844, has been de- scribed in a previous section as witnessing the beginnings of Western journalism on the China coast; this was the period of the old Canton system and its breakdown. The First Sino-British War resulted in the ceding of Hong Kong to Britain; in 1843 the Canton Register moved to Hong Kong, and in 1844 the Canton Press ceased publication, ending the first period of
In the second period, from 1844 to 1911, Canton's journalistic history.
Hong Kong dominated South China journalism, and the several efforts to establish a newspaper in Canton failed. The third period, beyond the
scope of this guide, witnessed the revival of Canton's political importance, the growth of her foreign community, and the successful establishment of Western-language daily newspapers.
The year 1833, when the East India Company lost the trade monopoly,
Up to marks a further division of the period of the old Canton system. this date the Canton Register had been a self-avowed recorder of facts
The country merchants' case was rather than a vehicle for controversy. presented not in Canton but in England, although W.W. Wood, the American editor of the Courier, was able to attack the Company even in its Canton stronghold. Unable to engage in controversy over matters of fact, the Register and Courier became quickly engaged in controversies involving personalities, and the Register's editor, A.S. Keating, challenged Wood to a duel. The duel never took place, but China-coast journalism had made a typical beginning.
With the end of the East India Company's monopoly and political jurisdiction, the Register was able to speak for itself; the Courier was
*
For a Portuguese-language newspapers are excluded from this survey. brief introductory comment on their development, see Section III (1) below. Other available information is to be found under the newspaper in Section III or under the name of the editor/publisher in Section IV.
18
left without support. The British community now apparently had a uniform objective. Free trade had been granted by the British government; it had yet to be granted by the Chinese. The merchants sought, therefore, liberali- zation of their trading relations with the Chinese, and they welcomed the support given their objectives by the appointment of a British representative who was expected to reside in Canton.
The scope for controversy remained, however, surprisingly great. First, there was the question of the East India Company's Canton agency, which the country merchants sought to eliminate. The new Canton Press and Price Current, established in 1835, was actually edited by ex-East India Company servants who defended both the Company's old policies and the maintenance of the agency. But the more important and more persistent controversies had deeper roots.
During the period of the Company's monopoly, trade and political jurisdiction had been united; the country merchants existed under sufferance. The form of relationship with the Chinese was subjected to the requirements of trade, a subordination made possible first because the existing system did permit trade to flourish within set limits and secondly because no Crown servant was involved and thus no question of interstate relationships arose, except when embassies to Peking were attempted.
With the ending of the Company's monopoly, this combination of trade interest and political power ceased. It had existed, of course, to the detriment of those traders without the London monopoly, and now they were free to act. But they still required political leadership, if only to maintain the trade privileges the Chinese had granted the Company. At first it seemed as if this would create no problem, since both the British government and the country merchants were advocates of free trade and would urge this
the Chinese. The new political authority, however, added a condition the consequences of which the merchants could hardly have foreseen--i.e., that the relationship with China should be consistent with the dignity of the Crown.
on
The controversies arose, then, over actions which the Crown's repre- sentatives, Lord Napier and Captain Elliot, were forced to take to maintain their concept of national dignity. Their actions in the long run might tend
19
to a liberalization of trade; in the short run they led to trade stoppages which the merchants would not support. Nor was merchant opinion united; a sharp division within the community arose between supporters of James Matheson and his associates on the one hand and Thomas Dent and his supporters on the other. Significantly, the Register and the Press were supported by these
rival groups.
Against this background the two Canton newspapers considered the tactics most likely to achieve sound and stable trade relations with China.
Commissioner Lin's Their specific policies are considered in Section III. seizure of privately owned opium, the capitulation of Captain Elliot, and the subsequent disruption of trade provided the opportunity for a conflict to modify the Ch'ing dynasty's traditional trade-tribute policy. That this opportunity should be taken was agreed, but again the community (and the newspapers) were divided on the proper execution of the plan. When war came and Hong Kong was ceded to the Crown, both the Register and the Press questioned its value. The detractors of Hong Kong were not fully answered for many years, but the newspapers quickly succumbed to its competition. The year 1844 saw no English-language newspaper left in either Canton or Macao, and until 1850 Hong Kong was the uncontested scene of English-language journalism on the China coast.
There was a brief transition period from 1839, when the Canton newspapers moved to the relative safety of Macao, and 1844, when the Canton Press closed. Indeed, the first issue of the Hong Kong Gazette was published in Macao in May 1841, the first issue of the Friend of China (3.1.1) in 1842. The two were combined and published in Hong Kong in 1842. The Press, although it remained in Macao, continued to the end to be a valuable source of in-
formation on early Hong Kong.
With one exception, no copies of English-language newspapers pub- lished in Canton between 1844 and 1911 have been found. That exception is the Friend of China (2.4), published in exile in Canton during 1860-1862, after the editor, William Tarrant, had been released from Hong Kong debt- or's prison. He subsequently moved his newspaper north to Shanghai. formation on this period must be based on the report of Hong Kong contempo- raries and rivals, and, judging from their comments on other newspapers
In-
I
20
21
which have survived, they were highly biased.
Apparently there was still
a demand in Canton for shipping lists, and at least two of the newspapers were growths of such publications, but little more generalization is possible.
b. Hong Kong to 1860
Three newspapers dominated this first period of Hong Kong journalism: the Friend of China and Hongkong Gazette (3.1.2), founded in 1842; the Hong- kong Register, successor of the oldest English-language journal on the China coast, relocated in 1843; and the China Mail, established in 1845. The Friend of China ceased publication in Hong Kong in 1859, the Register failed in 1863 after suffering a series of reverses which began in 1859, and only the China Mail survived. With these three this section is primarily concerned. 1857 Hong Kong's first daily, the Daily Press, was founded, surviving with China Mail through the period to 1911, and leading other long Kong newspapers into daily journalism. The year 1860 approximately delimits the end of the pioneer period and is an obvious bench mark in any journalistic survey.
In
The year 1860, has, however, greater significance, for it is important not only in marking the death and birth of newspapers but also, certainly by coincidence, a termination of the issues so bitterly disputed in the Colony's early years; furthermore, it marks the date when Shanghai's growing importance was felt in Hong Kong in journalism as in other fields.
General developments in the newspapers themselves are considered before the policy problems. In 1843 the Eastern Globe and Commercial Advertiser (3.2) published from June to December, but in the following January its press was advertised for sale. No copies survive. The three principal publishers quickly reacted to the need for a special edition to be sent "overland" viz Suez and Marseilles; the last to be established was the Overland China Mail (3.4.2) in 1848. The overland editions were published monthly, except in 1853-1854 when the mail frequency was increased to twice a month. The regular editions of the China Mail and Register continued weekly; the Friend of China began bi-weekly publication in 1844. These regular editions con- sisted generally of four folio pages, with shipping notices and new advertising dominating the first page. Purely local news items were at a minimum, but
editorials, letters to the editor, and contributions from correspondents
dealing with larger policy issues filled at least another page and a half. Advertising completed the issue.
The publication of separate advertising sheets which developed their
own news columns preceded the regular issue of daily newspapers. Andrew
Dixson of A. Short rede and Company was proprietor on his own account of
Dixson's Hongkong Recorder (3.4.4) from 1850 to 1859; the Register's Advertiser (3.3.8) was published in 1853 and probably into 1854; and the China Mail in
1854 published the Hong Kong Shipping List (3.4.6) to supplement Dixson's
primarily advertising venture. These publications appear to have been issued gratis to subscribers of the parent newspaper. The direct evolution to regular daily newspapers will be noted under each journal concerned.
(1) Early Policies of the Hong Kong Newspapers. The Treaty of
Nanking, following the negotiations of the widely praised Sir Henry Pottinger,
seemed for a short time to have answered the demands of British merchants.
But the fundamental question of interstate relationships remained, and an
increasing number of smaller incidents, as well as the controversy over
entry into the city of Canton, were allowed to incite the merchant community
into demands for further treaty concessions. An incident was eventually
found in the Chinese seizure of the lorcha "Arrow," and the second Sino-
British War had begun. Its conclusion in a sense settled this second series
of demands and resulted in a shift of focus north to Shanghai, with con- sequences which will be considered in subsequent sections.
As in the case of Canton, however, merchant opinion was not uniform,
and in the Hong Kong context there were further complications. The Hong
Kong government itself became a center of controversy, both because of its
administration of the Colony and because the governor was at that time also
Superintendent of Trade on the China coast. The leading merchant houses
appear to have held aloof from the bitter controversies surrounding certain
government personalities, but the newspapers did not, and thus the opportuni-
ties for argument were multiplied with three newspapers required to represent the various positions, rather than two as in the case of Canton. Unfortunately, the policies of the newspapers changed within the period and no simple
22
23
generalization is possible, but some simple summary will be attempted here.
The
The Friend of China began as a rigorous supporter of the Colony, but in the fifties was noted for its violent attacks on such government person- alities as Colonel William Caine, Dr. W.T. Bridges, and D.W. Caldwell. basis of this controversy, described briefly under the biographies of Tarrant and Murrow, should be understood if the newspapers are to be more sympatheti- cally interpreted than the personal vilìfication to be found on too many of their pages would otherwise permit. The Friend of China may also be con- sidered as writing in the interests of the mercantile community, from which it received considerable financial and personal support. The Friend of China was, however, less dogmatic than most of its contemporaries in its condemna- tion of the Chinese people, and its support of the Taiping rebels indicated its strong anti-Manchu bias. At the opposite pole was the China Mail. been characterized as pro-government, and certainly this is a fair description of its policy during much of the period. But between 1853 and 1855 when the Register was successful in obtaining the government printing contract, other- wise held (to 1858) by the China Mail, i.e. by Alexander Short rede and Company, the China Mail was strongly anti-government. Then, too, the China Mail under Dixson's editorship attempted to counter corruption in government and discover the connection of certain officials with Chinese pirates. The China Mail, again in opposition to the Friend of China, was critical of the Chinese but took a more correct attitude to the Chinese government and opposed the strong demands of the mercantile community for intervention. The Register was both pro-mercantile and anti-Chinese.
It has
In a small community such as that formed by the foreign residents of Hong Kong, it was perhaps inevitable that these different points of view should result in personal animosities. Two characteristics of Hong Kong journalism of the period arise from this situation: first, the tendency to assume, or to pretend to assume, that the other paper was influenced financially or improperly by the side it was supporting; and secondly, the frequency of libel cases--neither being a journalistic characteristic unique to Hong Kong. Until 1860 the press had operated under the Registration Ordinance of 1844, which simply required registration; libel had been prosecuted under the common law of England which Hong Kong took over on its
foundation.
An 1860 ordinance required a surety of £250 against damages
and cost of conviction should editor or publisher be found guilty of libel.
That a business must not criticize its customers would appear too
obvious to state, but in the case of the three Hong Kong newspapers such reticence is not apparent. The story is told that when the East India Company canceled its eleven subscriptions to the Chinese Courier and Canton
Gazette,
the paper, in consequence, failed. On the contrary, even in so limited a market it was able to continue publication until it failed on other grounds. Likewise, when the Canton merchants canceled their sub- scriptions to the China Mail over its editorial criticism of merchant demands for the right of entry to the city being immediately enforced, the newspaper continued to publish; its support rested on broader foundations--including the government gazette contract. The Friend of China, although mercantile in its basic orientation, could not have failed to annoy when from time to time it wrote sympathetically of the Chinese. Only the Hongkong Register, which would appear to have offended few subscribers, lost ground. There is the suspicion that customers were primarily interested in a lively news- paper even at their own expense, and the Friend of China certainly met those qualifications.
The success of a newspaper depended on more than its local subscrip- tion support. There was the home market in Great Britain to consider, and here the China Mail and its overland edition probably led the field, making
up thereby for its loss of local readers. Then, too, the China Mail was part of a much larger establishment, A. Short rede and Company. The details of such financial problems are, unfortunately, not presently available.
The most insistent type of accusation was, however, that a paper
owed its success to official support, that it was an official mouthpiece. Shanghai's North-China Herald would under different circumstances make such a claim for itself; in the period now under consideration it was a charge to be denied. The accusation arose from the circumstances of the granting of the contract for the official gazette and for other government printing. The charges can perhaps be better understood if the history of these con-
tracts is briefly traced.
24
25
In
(2) The Government Gazette and Editorial Policy. began as a separate publication in Macao in May 1841, and the contract for
A Hongkong Gazette its printing was let to the missionary press. The Canton Press objected immediately, a reaction which was natural and would become typical. The gazette does not appear to have published again in the form of a collected newspaper until 1853. Instead, Hong Kong government announcements as well as those of the Superintendent of Trade were probably issued individually as signed. In 1842 the Friend of China was established in Macao as a private newspaper venture for a single issue. It was granted the government contract and came out subsequently as the Friend of China and Hongkong Gazette. April 1844 the contract was given to the Hongkong Register which became the Hongkong Register and Government Gazette (3.3.3). But the Register gave up the contract voluntarily in September and it reverted to the Friend of China. In 1845, however, the contract was transferred to the China Mail which retained it until 1853, all official announcements, proclamations, and other notices being published officially in that newspaper. the China Mail lost the contract to the Register, which issued official
In 1853
announcements in a separate publication, the Hongkong Government Gazette. The China Mail regained the contract in 1855, but the gazette continued as a separate publication. This aspect of the controversy ended in 1858 when the contract was awarded to Noronha and Company, then unconnected with any
newspaper.
The charge can be made that each of these changes was influenced by government desire to control the policy of a newspaper. Or it can be and
was charged that in order to keep the remunerative contract the holder toadied to government. These were serious charges in early Hong Kong, but they were easily made and difficult to substantiate. Students using the newspapers are urged to bear in mind the dates during which a particular newspaper held the government contract but to make their own judgment as to government influence on any particular editorial or story. The annotations
If a general
dealing with particular newspapers may be of further assistance. statement can be made at this stage in the development of research on China-coast journalism, it would be that the blanket charges are unproven, although there is evidence that the government favored the China Mail
especially in the switch (engineered by Governor Bowring) from the Register to the China Mail in 1855.
Between 1858 and 1860-1862 many of the early controversies were re- solved. The Treaty of Tientsin ended the second series of merchant complaints, although it hardly established Sino-British relations on a permanent or satisfactory basis. The government printing contract was let to a private firm unconnected with journalism. The series of accusations against govern-
ment officers reached a climax with the conviction of William Tarrant in a criminal libel case; this ended the Friend of China as a Hong Kong publication, but it also exposed the rottenness of the administration and led to the in- quiries which, together with normal attrition, removed the most infamous personalities from the scene.
In 1860-1861 a Civil Service Abuses Enquiry recommended the removal of D.W. Caldwell for consorting with known pirates. Meanwhile, Colonel Caine had retired, and Dr. Bridge had discreetly left the Colony. A new type of colonial servant was rising through former Governor Sir John Bowring's cadet system, and Sir Hercules Robinson, the new governor, was to bring order to the administrative chaos of Bowring's rule. The conflicts among the news- papers themselves were resolved by the removal of the Friend of China to Canton and the failure of the Register, after its six-month disguise in 1860 as the China Chronicle (3.3.5) under direct Jardine Matheson control. This was also the period in which the Daily Press rose to journalistic importance in the Colony, a story better told in the following section.
C.
Hong Kong after 1860
As the first period was dominated by three newspapers, so the period from 1860 to 1881 was dominated by two: the China Mail and the Daily Press. Two attempts to establish a "third newspaper" in this period failed of permanent success, although this failure does not make them any the less important to the student of China. Then in 1881 Robert Fraser-Smith was successful in founding the Hongkong Telegraph (3.8), a paper which lasted through 1911. With the founding of the South China Morning Post (3.9) in 1903, the Colony had four daily newspapers.
26
27
The first of the unsuccessful "third newspapers" was the Hongkong In Mercury and Shipping Gazette (3.6), published for six months in 1866. 1869 the Hongkong Daily Advertiser (3.7.1) became the first in a series of three relatively short-lived papers including the Hongkong Daily Advertiser and Shipping Gazette (3.7.2), 1872-1873, and the Hongkong Times, Daily Advertiser and Shipping Gazette (3.7.3), 1873-1876.
This was a period which witnessed both the growth of the Colony-- its population doubled between 1881 and 1906 from 160,000 to 320,000--and its decline as the main focus of the drama being enacted between China and the
Indeed, the non-Chinese community of Hong Kong had reached but 12,400 by 1906, evidence that the four English-language newspapers must
have found support
Western powers.
difficult and must still have relied heavily on subscribers beyond the Colony--in Canton, Macao, and other South China ports for which Hong Kong was still the leader, and in Great Britain where the China Mail continued
to be of influence.
Two characteristics of Hong Kong journalism after 1860 have already been mentioned. First, there was a tendency toward a more professional
and less personal journalism. This generalization is best illustrated by reference to the biographical index; contrast, for example, the background of Cairns, Tarrant, and Wood with that of Cunningham of the South China Morning Post, Donald of the China Mail, or Duncan of the Hongkong Telegraph.
Secondly, the separation of the government of Hong Kong from the direction of Britain's China policy was reflected in the coverage of the Hong Kong newspapers. Although newspapers by the turn of the century were following the general practice of securing the services of professional correspondents to cover important events, the Hong Kong newspapers were
For more thorough more concerned with events in the Colony and South China. coverage of the continuing struggle between China and the Powers, for news of the Yangtze Valley, and for diplomatic developments in Peking, the Shanghai and London newspapers are more useful. Such a generalization is not, of course, equally applicable to every crisis, and Hong Kong newspapers as a general source should not be neglected.
In the development of daily journalism, the Daily Press led the way. But it was not without its precursors, the advertising and shipping sheets.
In 1859 the new editor of the Register issued a daily supplement, but the additional expense involved was one factor which lost him control of the
The China Mail's Shipping List and Commercial Intelligencer (3.4.7) paper. began including a column of news, and in 1862 as the Evening Mail and Hongkong Shipping List (3.4.8) the paper became a regular daily. Newspapers founded subsequently were established as dailies. The Hong Kong Daily Advertiser in 1869 began in a form similar to the older advertising and shipping lists but met with little success; in 1871 it was sold and changed in form to a more conventional newspaper. The dividing line was thin, however,
for more than half the space in the daily newspapers continued to be taken up with advertising and shipping news.
One of the more important developments in the history of Hong Kong journalism, beginning almost with the founding of the Colony, was the in- creasing role of the Chinese. This took two forms: first, and most widely researched, the development of the Chinese-language press itself; secondly,
the investment of Chinese capital in English-language newspapers. On the latter development, considerable research is required before even the most
tentative generalization can be made. The known facts are quickly stated.
In 1901 the Hongkong Telegraph was purchased by a group of Chinese investors,
including Sir Robert Ho Tung. In 1903 Chinese money was invested in the company founded to publish the South China Morning Post, a newspaper designed to support the reform movement in China. The effects of these investments
on policy have yet to be established.
The influence of Hong Kong journalism on the growth of the Chinese press began, indirectly at least, with Andrew Short rede, who financed the American education of Wong Shing
(Huang Sheng) at Monson, Massachusetts,
in 1847-1848. Wong was one of the three Morrison Education Society boys sent to America, but he returned in 1848 because of poor health, and Short rede taught him the printing trade. Another thread is also traceable to the China Mail, since Wang T'ao, while assisting James Legge in his translation of the
Chinese classics, served concurrently as editor of the Chin-shih pien-lu
(Hong Kong News; 3.4.10), a Chinese newspaper founded in 1864
by the China Mail. In 1873-1874 Wang T'ao and Wong Shing founded the success-
ful Tsun Wan Yat Pao (HsUn-huan jih-pao; Universal circulating
循環日報
28
herald), an independent daily newspaper.
Although credit has been given to Short rede and the China Mail, the most significant step was taken by Murrow of the Daily Press. When the news- paper began publication in 1857, or very shortly thereafter, he included a Chinese-language weekly paper as an integral part of the Daily Press itself. It was entitled Ilsiang-kang ch'uan-t'ou huo-chia chih
1
(3.5.5), and was apparently the first privately published, Western- style newspaper in the Chinese language. The few copies available, for example those bound with the Essex Institute collection, indicate that the bulk of its space, like that of the parent newspaper, was devoted to commercial news and reprints of relevant proclamations, and that a column or so of general news items was also included. The news items examined include reports on the movement of troops during the Arrow War, general market conditions, and problems of securing indentured labor for Cuba. In 1860, the Daily Press published a separate Chinese newspaper, Chung Ngoi San Pao$$ (Chung-wai hsin-pao). A similar development took place some ten years later when from March 1871 to April 1872 the China Mail published a Chinese page in its Saturday edition entitled Chung-wai hsin-wen ch'i-jih pao A 中外新聞 *
日報(3.4.11). It too was replaced in 1872 by the separate Hua-tzu jih-pao (Chinese Mail), which the China Mail claimed to be the
華字日報
first Chinese-language newspaper "ever issued under purely native direction."
The significance of the assertion rests, of course, in the meaning of "news- paper" and "purely."
d. Shanghai
The North-China Herald, with which the history of Shanghai journalism begins in 1850, has a deservedly high reputation. For eleven years, until publication of the Shanghai Daily Times (5.2.1) in 1861, the Herald had no Shanghai rival. Ilenry Shearman, its founder and first editor, had like his long Kong contemporaries no formal journalistic experience, but his
*
*
It has proved impossible to note all variant spellings of "Shanghai." Hence this spelling has been used for the English throughout, and "Changhai" for the French. The usual spelling with this particular paper was "Shanghae."
source.
29
deeply religious nature and his willingness to permit his newspaper to become the vehicle for many shades of opinion resulted in a journal quite unlike any then published in Hong Kong. Throughout its history the North-China Herald carried a tone of authoritativeness and completeness which, while justified in a relative sense, has perhaps led students to overdependence on this single
While not detracting from the value of the North-China Herald, we
should consider in this section the existence and sequence of other Shanghai
These will be discussed in further detail in Section III.
The popularity of the North-China Herald rests also on its availability,
and one of the problems confronting the historian of Shanghai journalism
will be the piecing together of evidence relating to the several newspapers
of which only a few copies, if any, survive. However, as the Daily Press
and the China Mail provide a thread lasting throughout this period in Hong Kong,
so the North-China Herald and the Celestial Empire (5.7.8), founded in 1874,
are keys to Shanghai journalism.
newspapers.
Although the North-China Herald began as a weekly in 1850, it soon
began an evolution similar to that of the China Mail in Hong Kong. A daily shipping list and advertising sheet was published as the North-China Daily
News.
The Shanghai Daily Times was, of course, a daily, but it failed in
1862 after one year of publication. In 1868-1869 there were no less than five daily newspapers in Shanghai. These included the North-China Daily News; the (tri-weekly) Friend of China (5.4.1), which moved from Canton in 1863;
the Shanghai Recorder (5.3.1), founded 1862; the Shanghai Evening Express
(5.5), 1867; and the Shanghai Evening Courier (5.7.3), 1868. All of them published more than one edition, usually including an overland; in addition there was an independent overland, the Shanghai News-letter (5.7.1), 1867, which was the only mail edition designed for transmission to the United States
and whose editorial policy reflected this destination.
These newspapers can be reduced into groups for convenient study. The Friend of China ceased publication in 1859. The Recorder group (5.3)
was bought by the North-China Herald in 1869; the Express arose from a dis-
pute between the proprietors of the Recorder and failed in 1871; the Courier
and the Shanghai News-letter had evolved by 1890 into the Shanghai Mercury
and its overland, the Celestial Empire, after combination with the Evening
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31
Gazette (5.7.6), founded 1874, and the Shanghai Mercury, 1879. We are thus reduced to the principal two which we suggested earlier were the keys to Shanghai journalism, i.e. the North-China Herald and the Celestial Empire.
Since between 1898 and 1905 the foreign population of Shanghai more than doubled, from 5,000 to 11,500, it is not surprising that additional English-language newspapers were founded. Although lists of editors and publishers are available for the China Gazette, the Shanghai Daily Press, and the Shanghai Times, only copies of the China Gazette have been located. Biographical data indicate, however, that these papers too were staffed by men with journalistic experience. Other newspapers with specialized functions were published, e.g. the Temperance Union, but these, with the exception of the Cycle, are not considered further in this guide.
No copies of the first French-language newspapers have been located, and the available secondary sources are not entirely consistent. From 1870 to the end of 1872, however, the evidence is conclusive that the weekly Le Nouvelliste de Changhai (6.4.1) was published, edited by a M. Beer. In 1873 this became the larger Le Courrier de Changhai (6.4.2), which lasted but three issues. On March 21, 1871, shortly after the first publication of Le Nouvelliste, an opposition paper was founded, Le Progrès (6.5), edited by Emile Lépissier, but it succumbed in January 1872.
There was another French newspaper published in 1886, L'Echo de Changhai (6.6.1), and copies of its overland edition, Le Courrier de l'Extrême Orient (6.6.2), provide the basis for our later comments. The main French effort began with L'Echo de Chine (6.7.1), whose policy confirms the generali- zation that the age of the New Imperialism required a national voice. Similarly the German Der Ostasiatische Lloyd spoke for German interests, although its editor and proprietor in the 1900's, Carl Fink, was also a director of the Shanghai Mercury by whose presses it was printed.
There can be little question but that the principal French and German newspapers claimed to represent official opinions. The early British tradition had been to deny official connections, but this, of course, had been in Hong Kong where British supremacy was unquestioned. In the international atmosphere of Shanghai, the North-China Herald reacted otherwise. Since 1859 the newspaper had been the vehicle for all official notifications; from 1862
the Daily Shipping and Commercial News (5.1.7), published by the same office,
All this did not, officially carried all Shanghai British consular notices. however, make it an official newspaper, and its views often differed sharply from those of British representatives in Peking. In 1877, for example, the editor of the Celestial Empire castigated the North-China Daily News for its "official" presumption, doubted it, and commented, "We are independent seeking to satisfy a cosmopolitan audience." Shanghai newspapers, like their Hong Kong contemporaries, made frequent claims and counter-claims, charges and counter- charges. However convenient their acceptance may be for purposes of research, accuracy requires individual examination and evaluation.
This survey of the development of China-coast newspapers has lacked quantification. We do not have circulation figures, nor do we have sufficient financial information to be able to make useful statements about this essential
In 1875 the circulation of the Hong Kong aspect of the history of journalism. Times (3.7.3) was 303, of which only 243 were paid. In private correspondence the editor told his publisher that if he could reach 500 he would "probably" have the biggest circulation in the Far East. Although this information is difficult to interpret, it is clear that these newspapers, while certainly "small," nevertheless exerted an influence which was considerably greater than their size, and that today they enjoy an ever-increasing importance as primary sources for the study of the history of the late Ch'ing period.
32
33
III
AN ANNOTATED LIST OF CHINA-COAST NEWSPAPERS
In this section are listed all Western-language newspapers published in China, Hong Kong, or Macao during the period through 1911, together with certain London publications. The newspapers are arranged by language and place of publication, and within these major headings are grouped by publisher, historical sequence, or eventual merger. Groups are arranged in chronological order. Although grouping has not always proved possible, the technique should assist the student in placing the newspaper in its proper context.
And
although each history is told individually, we have attempted to provide some continuity to the story, so that the list can be read through, rather than used simply for reference to a particular newspaper. The type and amount of information available differ from newspaper to newspaper, and the annotations vary accordingly. The brief histories are, of course, preliminary, and in- tended to stimulate further research.
Unless stated otherwise, publishers and editors are assumed to have held their positions until the next date mentioned.
Chinese titles of China-coast newspapers are given in those cases where such translations have been found. They are listed against a specific newspaper title; however, the reader is warned that the Chinese might also refer to some other title in the group. For example, "Shang-hai ching-lang yu mei-chou ch'ai-pao" was found to refer to the Shanghai Budget and Weekly Courier (5.7.4), but it might very well have been used to refer to the Shanghai Budget and Weekly News-Letter (5.7.5) or some other of the 5.7-group. On the other hand, some writers in Chinese might devise their own translation rather than the one shown in the lists below.
1.
MACAO:
PORTUGUESE*
The history of the Portuguese-language press in Macao appears even more stormy than that of the English-language press in neighbor- ing Hong Kong. As in early Hong Kong, the newspapers were usually excessively outspoken, and their short life reflects both government reaction to extreme criticism and uncertain financial support. Several papers discontinued publication in Macao to reappear tempo-
These instances are rarily in Hong Kong, sometimes to return. noted below. Other short-lived papers originated solely to provide
an opposition voice to some particularly outspoken journal or at some critical time. This was especially true in the case of contro- versies arising out of the coolie slave trade and is reflected in the histories of 0 Independente, 0 Oriente, Gazeta de Macau e Timor, and Jornal de Macau (group 1.9).
As in Hong Kong, there was an official publication of the Macao
Boletim do Governo da government, published under varying titles: Província de Macão e Timor e Solor, Boletim Oficial do Governo da Provincia de Macão e Timor, Boletim do Governo de Macão e Timor, Boletim da Provincia de Macão e Timor, Boletim Oficial do Governo da Província de Macau e Timor, and Boletim Oficial do Governo da Província de Macau. A Chinese section was first included in 1879.
A publication entitled Boletim do Governo de Macao (1.5.1), 1838-1839, printed at the Typografia Macaense of S. Wells Williams, was the fore-
Since it was edited by Manuel runner of these wholly official journals. Maria Dias Pegado, however, it has been included below in the Pegado group (1.5); it was probably not wholly an official publication.
Because of the number of Macao newspapers, we have made parti- cular efforts to set up groups. Lack of extant copies or of
*A Canton Portuguese newspaper is listed as 1.20 below; see also 1.9.5.
With a few exceptions, the entries in this section are based on information supplied by J.M. Braga, Hong Kong. Miss Nancy Stevens was able to add comments based on a brief examination of microfilms received at the University of Kansas from the National Library, Lisbon, just before final submission of the manuscript.
!
i
דיי
1.3
1.1
34
35
sufficient information on the histories has forced a more arbitrary system than applies elsewhere in this guide. Common editorship provides one special basis for grouping; concern with the coolie trade another.
A Abelha da China, 1822-1823
Mi-feng Hua-pao #
蜜蜂華報
Editor: Frey António de S. Gonzalo de Amarante, O.D. Two other names are closely connected with the paper, in important but unknown capacities: Joaquim José dos Santos, to whom re- quests for subscriptions were to be addressed, and Carlos José Pereira, who wrote most of the signed articles.
This was the first Western-language newspaper published on the China coast. The political organ of the Absolutist Party (Miguelites) and government-sponsored, it was issued weekly with various supplements. The editor was Superior of the Dominicans in Macao. With the overthrow of the Absolutists by the Conserva- tives, the paper was forced to cease publication and its editor, along with other leading members of the party, fled to Canton and thence to Calcutta.
The paper's title is usually translated simply as "The Bee."
Gazeta de Macau, 1824-1826
Editor: Frey Jose da Conceição, O.S.A.
In contrast to A Abelha (1.1), Gazeta de Macau was moderate in tone and published information of a commercial nature. It was, however, the organ of the Conservative Party, which had taken over both the government and the press on which A Abelha had been printed. The editor was Prior of the Augustinians; António José de Rocha was listed as "nominal editor." The paper failed financially.
A Chronica de Macab, 1834-1837
Ao-men ch'ao-pao
The paper, which contained news and political items, was first published weekly and later fortnightly.
Macaista Imparcial (1.4.1).
Its competitor was
Felis F. da Cruz sequence
1.4
1.4.1
Macaista Imparcial, 1836-1837
Ti-kuo Ao-men ren 帝國澳門人
1.4.2
1.4.3
1.4.4
1.5
1.5.1
1.5.2
Macaista Imparcial e Registe Mercantil, 1837-1838
Publisher and editor: Felis Feliciano da Cruz
The paper, which contained articles of varied interest, including historical and commercial material, was suspended for criticism
of the governor. 5, 1837.
There was a title change with the issue of July Imparcial was succeeded by 0 Portuguêz na China (1.5.3).
See also 1.3.
O Farol Macaense, 1841-1842
This weekly was printed at the Typographia Armenia of Felis Feliciano da Cruz, former editor of Imparcial (1.4.1-2).
A Aurora Macaense, 1843-1844
Editor: Felis Feliciano da Cruz
This weekly, which was also published at the Typographia Armenia, appears to have been the successor of O Farol (1.4.3). According to the Hong Kong Times (3.7.3), it was a vehicle for the political opinions of Chief Justice Amaral.
Dias Pegado sequence
Boletim do Governo de Macão, 1838-1839
Editor: Manuel Maria Dias Pegado
Boletim was the forerunner of a series of official gazettes (see list in the introductory comments above). Printed at the Typografia Macaense of Dr. S. Wells Williams, the publication may already have been wholly official, although there is some evidence that it did differ in content from later "Boletims."
Gazeta de Macau, Jan. -Aug. 1839
Editor: Manuel Maria Dias Pegado
1.2
36
37
1.5.3
1.5.4
1.5.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.9.1
The first twenty-two issues were printed at the Typographia Mercantil, suggesting that Dias Pegado continued publication of what was, in effect, the same newspaper (1.5.1). The government,
however, was issuing its own gazette, which necessitated a change in title. The contents included commercial, social and other news. The paper was discontinued in favor of 0 Portuguêz na China (1.5.3). O Portuguêz na China, 1839-1843(?), 1860
Editor: Manuel Maria Dias Pegado
Important especially for its interpretation of the First Sino- British War from a Macao viewpoint, this newspaper was the successor of both Imparcial (1.4.2) and Gazeta (1.5.2). It concentrated on local Macao political events.
O Procurador dos Macaistas, 1844-1845
Editor: Manuel M. Dias Pegado
This weekly was transferred to Hong Kong following the issue. dated September 2 (?), 1845.
It was published there under the
title A Voz de Macaista (4.1.1).
O Solitário na China, 1845
Editor: Manuel M. Dias Pegado
Dias Pegado founded this newspaper after 0 Procurador was closed by the authorities. It too ceased publication in December 1845.
O Correio Macaense, 1838-1839
Editor:
Dr. J.C. da Silva Telles
The newspaper was published monthly from October to March.
O Verdadeiro Patriota, 1838-1839 (weekly)
Chih-ai-kuo che * 0 *
O Commercial, 1838-1842 (weekly)
Magalhães coolie-trade controversy
Ta-Ssi-Yang-Kuo, 1863-1866
Editor: José da Silva
1.9.2
1.9.3
This publication is included in the group because of its editorship by José da Silva. Actually it is noted mostly for its
excellent articles, mainly of a historical nature. Its contributors include José Gabriel Fernandes, António Feliciano Marques Pereira,
Gregoria José Ribeiro, Jeronimo Osorio de Castro Cabral Albuquerque, Alexandre Meireles de Tavora, Rev. António Maria de Vasconcelos.
J.M. Braga writes that this publication was the brain child of António Feliciano Marques da Silva. His collection of histori-
cal material was taken back to Portugal, and in 1899-1902 his son
published a Ta-Ssi-Yang-Kuo in Lisbon. Although this latter journal
was based on material collected originally for the Macao publication, much had been lost in the intervening thirty years.
O Independente, 1867-1869, 1873-1880, 1882-1898
Publisher and editor: José da Silva (at least through 1878);
editor (1889-1898): Constancio José da Silva
The editor was a colorful figure within the traditions of China-
coast journalism. His outspoken comments led to the paper's sus- pension as noted in the above dates; during these periods it was published in Hong Kong (4.1.4). The newspaper, published twice weekly, supported Francisco da Silva Magalhães against Pinto Bastos in a crucial election over the coolie trade, which Magalhães supported.
The paper was closely involved in local politics of the most personal kind. According to Hong Kong sources, A. Marques Pereira and Gonçalves, both co-editors of the paper, were accused of accepting
bribes from coolie dealers.
O Oriente, 1869-1870, Jan.-Oct. 1872
Editor: Francisco da Silva Magalhães
The editor was bitterly opposed to government reform of the coolie trade. His attacks led to suspension of the paper in 1870
and again in September-October 1872. The paper was finally
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closed after the October 14 special issue and the editor was exiled to Timor. The newspaper was a weekly, printed by Jose da Silva, sometime editor of 0 Independente (1.9.2). According to Hong Kong's Daily Press (3.5.2), Dr. António Ferreira de Lacerda, Chief Justice of Macao, had been an editor; he died in July 1873--"hounded to death by others in Macao" was the quote from Magalhães. Joas Albino Ribeiro Cabral was a prominent contributor.
1.9.4
Gazeta de Macau e Timor, 1872-1874
新聞
1.9.5
1.9.6
1.10
Ao-men hsin-wen chih, then (after
Apr. 29, 1873) Ao-men ti-men hsin-went 109 $4 P
Editor: Francisco de Sousa
The Daily Press (3.5.2) also lists Pinto Bastos as editor until his departure to Lisbon in 1874 following his election as deputy to parliament. Pedro Gastão Mesnier, private secretary to Viscount de S. Januaria, governor of Macao, was the driving force behind this weekly. Indeed, its editorial purpose was to counter the arguments of the Magalhães group. An important summary of the coolie trade is found in the issue of January 14, 1873.
Jornal de Macau, 1875-1876
Editor: Manoel L. Roza Pereira
>
Hong Kong sources state that this paper provided a powerful check to 0 Independente (1.9.2), and for this reason it is listed here. The weekly was published in Canton during May 1876. The editor then left for Shanghai.
A Verdade, 1880-(?)
Publisher: A. A. Martins Velho; editor: A de Silva Magalhães Only one copy, the first (dated May 2, 1880), survives. It is included here because of the possible relationship with other Silva Magalhães family publications. This paper appears unrelated to a later publication of the same name (1.18).
O Noticiario Macaense, 1869-1870
Editor: Miguel Aires da Silva
This weekly ceased publication in Macao with the issue dated February 24, 1870, but subsequently reappeared in Hong Kong (4.1.3).
1.11
1.11.1
1.11.2
1.11.3
Antonio Joaquim Bastos sequence
This group is composed of newspapers in which Bastos played
a prominent role.
O Imparcial, 1873
The principal contributors to this weekly included António Joaquim Bastos, A.A. de Mello, and Vicente de Paula Salat awich
Pitter.
O Macaense, 1882-1892 (?)
Hao ching hsin-pao 豪鏡新報
Editors: Manuel José Maria Gonçalves da Silva (1882), António Joaquim Bastos (1885)
Bastos succeeded on the death of da Silva.
show publication ceasing in 1886 with Vol. 5.
Some sources
However, we have
located a Vol. 4 dated 1891, and there is evidence of publication
in 1892. The change in numbering suggests a change in management
or an even more important break in the series.
A Voz do Crente, 1887-1895
Editor: António Borges
The real power on A Voz was Fr. José Maria da Cruz Simeão, assisted by Fr. F. Narciso, Horacio Poiares (1.16), and António
Joaquim Bastos. The paper, a weekly, presented a strongly religious
view and approach to the news. It continued "until the contributors
tired."
1.11.4 O Echo Macaense, 1893-1899
Ching hai ts'ung-pao 鏡海叢報
Publisher and editor: Francisco Hermenegildo Fernandes
The paper became increasingly involved in local politics, a trend which was the consequence of contributions from Pedro
Nolasco da Silva from April 1896, and was intensified by those
of António Joaquim Bastos who joined the paper in 1899. Da Silva
may have become editor in 1896. A Chinese-language section was
included. The paper was eventually suspended for criticism of
the governor.
40
1.12
O Correio group
1.12.1
O Correio de Macau, 1882-1883
1.12.2
Editor: Manuel Joaquim dos Santos
O Correio's political views led to suspension by the government.
O Correio Macaense, 1883-1889, 1890 (?) -1891 (?)
Editor: António Gomes da Silva Telles
The successor of O Correio de Macau (1.12.1), this weekly did not take so vigorous a political position. By 1899 it was appearing irregularly, and there was a gap from November 1888 to February 1889. Clarke has also found this paper listed in 1890-1891.
1.13
A Liberdade, 1896-(?)
Editor: José Cesario da Silva
1.14
O Oriente Portuguez, 1892-1894
Manager: A.V. da Silva
41
The editor, following in the footsteps of his father José
da Silva, strongly criticized the government. The paper was
suspended temporarily in 1910 and again and finally in April 1911.
Some issues contained up to a page of Chinese text.
1.19
Vida Nova, 1909-1910
Ao-men hsin ching-pao
1.20
9 4 4 4
Editors: Luis Ayres da Silva, then Luiz Nolasco
Vida Nova was a rival of A Verdade (1.18), but it too was
ordered suspended by the government.
Verdade e Liberdade, Canton 1852
With the exception of the Jornal de Macau (1.9.5), this was
the only Portuguese-language newspaper known to have been published
in Canton in the period through 1911. It is apparently the same newspaper as the one published subsequently in Hong Kong (4.1.2).
1.15
A weekly dedicated to Portuguese interests in China and "Oceania."
O Porvir, 1897(?)
A weekly, O Porvir may have been published in Macao prior
2.
CANTON AND MACAO: ENGLISII
2.1
Canton Register
to Hong Kong, for which see 4.1.5.
1.16
O Lusitano, 1898-1899
Editors: E.F. das Neves Tavares (1898), João Pereira Vasco
2.1.1
Kuang-tung chi-lu 廣東紀錄
For comment on this group, see text below 2.1.2. See also 3.3.
Canton Register and Price Current, 1827-1828
(1899)
2.1.2
Canton Register, 1828-1843
The paper was directed by Artur Tamagnini de Abreu da Mota Barbosa, Joas Albino Ribeiro Cabral, and iloracio Poiares (1.11.3).
Date
Publishers
1827
1.17
Jornal de Macau, 1899-1901
Publisher: Luiz da Silva Catharino; editor: Antonio
Casimiro Ferreira
1833 (Dec.)
1.18
A Verdade, 1908-1911
Editor: Constancio José da Silva
James Matheson (?)
1828 (Feb.) James Matheson
1830
Editors
William W. Wood
James Matheson, Robert Morrison Arthur S. Keating
John Slade
James Matheson was probably the publisher from the first and is generally so listed. The initiative for founding the paper appears to have come, however, from William W. Wood, who used a handpress lent by Alexander Matheson. Certainly the owner- ship of the handpress gave de facto control to the Mathesons, and
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43
when the paper failed to receive support from the foreign community, it was Wood who was dropped. James Matheson then personally under- took management of the paper, although Robert Morrison was the chief contributor. Matheson maintained editorial supervision during the editorship of Arthur Keating. There was an interregnum period between August and December 1833, when John Slade became editor. As Slade wrote on October 6, 1840: "Mr. Matheson establish- ed the Canton Register in November 1827, and until the end of 1833 held, we believe, great if not undivided control over it.
But we and only we are accountable, editorially, for all that has appeared in the columns of the Canton Register since the first number of 1834." This editorial independence is confirmed first by the fact that James Matheson complained of Slade's anti-American "excesses" in a letter to the editor signed "A British Merchant" (October 6, 1840); it was in response to this that Slade wrote the above explanation. Secondly, in the Jardine Matheson letters it is clear that Slade in 1841 again successfully asserted his editorial independence.
History
Journalism had been inhibited by the political control of the East India Company and pressure from both church and government in Macao. Therefore, the first issue of the Canton Register--even though under the editorship of the young American adventurer William W. Wood--was cautious: "The want of a printed register of the commercial and other information of China, has long been felt....It will be perceived, that our principal endeavour will be, to present a copious and correct price-current...accounts relative to...the Chinese will occasionally occupy a portion of our page." But Wood's editorial policy was in fact considerably less restrained than this would indicate, and by February 1828 he had lost control of the paper.
Wood's fight with the East India Company may well have been based at first on his belief that it was tyrannical and that its actions were prejudicial to American interests. Particularly, he
objected to East India Company interference with the importation into Canton of British goods on American vessels, despite the fact
that the British raised no objection to their original exportation
by Americans. He felt, correctly, that the East India Company
staff's unanimity of action enabled them to be more effective than

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