著者

馬 挺

出版者

日本マス・コミュニケーション学会

雑誌

マス・コミュニケーション研究 (ISSN:13411306)

巻号頁・発行日

no.43, pp.117-131, 210-209, 1993-12-28

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Ticou Shijan, a Chinese newspaper puplished in the latter half of the 18th century, is preserved in Japan's National Diet Library, the University of Tokyo, and in the hands of a Chinese collector. Ticou Shijan is seen as a daily newspaper, published by Gongshen Tang in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty. Di Bao and Jing Bao are commonly known as China's ancient newspapers. Many editions of Jing Bao are conserved, but the oldest one comes 100 years after Ticou Shijan was published. The name Di Bao is mentioned in historic documents, But hardly any of its editions are to be found. Di Bao was published in a housing for government officials in charge of correspondence. The paper served as source of information for"Di", a municipal director, and the Emperor in Beijing. Reports and orders were printed in the paper. Some historians see Ticou Shijan as Di Bao. However, Gongshen Tang, the publisher, is seen as a private printing company. Since Di Bao is published from an official source, it may be appropriate to separate it from Ticou Shijan, and acknowledge Ticou Shijan as the oldest surviving newspaper. Ticou Shijan was published for 30 years between June, 1771 to 1801, and edition for 86 days have been found so far. Information in this newspaper deals with reports submitted to the Emperor by the ministers, and instructions and orders by the Emperor, as well as appointment, promotion, and demotion of government officials. The newspaper is six pages long and contains about 1500 characters. Some form of editing had been used, as the newspaper had extra pages at times, and also had serials. The quality of the paper, characters, and printing are poor, reflecting the quality of materials available during that time. This proves that the newspaper was not printed for preservation, but solely for giving out information. Ticou Shijan apparently targeted readers in all classes, as the level of some of the government officials written about in the paper was not so high. At times, the paper had a circulation of over one hundred which also shows that the paper was read by many people. Another character of the newspaper was the speed of publication. Official information was published in this paper ten days after the government's announcement, or up to half a month at the latest. This is verified through Qing Shi Lu, a government document compiled during the Qing Dynasty. It is needless to say that the speed is slow compared to today, but may have been fast considering the political and social situation during that time.