A newspaper published in Taiyuan during the Republic of China period, the Republic vernacular newspaper

A newspaper published in Taiyuan during the Republic of China period, the Republic vernacular newspaper

"Cultural Relics World", 2004, No. 06, Zhou Junping

Not long ago, cultural relics enthusiasts bought 14 copies of the "Republic Vernacular Newspaper" in the Taiyuan Nangong Antique Market, which was a newspaper published in Taiyuan in the first year of the Republic of China (1912), known as the "First Newspaper of Taiyuan of the Republic of China". These newspapers have important historical and cultural relics value for studying the political, economic, cultural, and military aspects of Shanxi at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the early period of the Republic of China, as well as the news history of Taiyuan in the Republic of China.

The Republic Vernacular Newspaper is the organ newspaper of the Provisional Provincial Council of Shanxi. When was the Provisional Provincial Council of Shanxi established? Wang Yongbin, who served as the deputy speaker of the provisional provincial council, wrote a poem recalling the establishment of the provincial council, in which the poem was clouded: "The republic is initially determined to dissolve the saddle, and the provincial capital group pushes the main forum." Resign the tomb to the emperor and carry the lord, and seize the situation and mislead the country. He commented on the poem himself: "The republic has been decided, Taiyuan is still in the position of Qingfu Li Shengduo, Yu Naili dismissed the military regime, and the deputy governor Wen Jing'an observed that Zhang Shisheng continued to maintain, and resigned from the tomb with tears." To and organize the Provisional Provincial Council, Yu was raised as deputy speaker. [1] In the "Biography of Wang Yongbin", Yun: "The north and south peace was negotiated (on February 12, the first year of the Republic of China, the north and south were agreed upon, and the Qing Emperor abdicated), the military and the people were dissolved, the second and third comrades entered the province (Taiyuan), organized the Shanxi Provisional Provincial Council, and was elected as the deputy speaker, when Jin Fu Li Shengduo was still in Taiyuan, although he had heavy troops, he saw that the general situation had gone, and abandoned the city and fled." ("Representatives of Public Opinion in Shanxi", Taipei Shanxi Literature Society, 1978 edition).

The establishment of the Provisional Provincial Council according to Wang Yongbinyun came after the North-South Council and the Success (February 12). When the Qing Emperor abdicated, Qing rule ended. On February 13, Sun Yat-sen submitted his resignation address to the Provisional Senate and recommended Yuan Shikai as interim president. Wang Yongbin served as envoy and civil administrator of Hedong On the day of yuncheng's restoration (December 30, 1911), and until January 2, 1912, the Military and Political Branch of Hedong in Shanxi was established, with Wen Shouquan as the governor and Zhang Shixiu as the civil administrator, Wang resigned from his previous two positions, and after the successful peace between the north and the south, went to Taiyuan with Liu Mianxun and Shao Xiuwen. The day when Wang Yongbin and his party arrived in Taiyuan should be after mid-February, when Li Shengduo was still in Taiyuan, the situation was rather chaotic, students from various schools volunteered to come forward to maintain order, Wang Yongbin and other students who maintained order were the backbone, one county and one person were in principle, and without election, they formed the Provisional Provincial Council of Shanxi, and Du Shang was elected as the speaker of the parliament, and Wang Yongbin was elected as the deputy speaker. After the establishment of the Provisional Provincial Council, Li Shengduo repeatedly consulted Wang Yongbin on affairs, but Wang refused, and Li abandoned the city and fled out of fear. The Provisional Provincial Council should be established from mid-February until 16 March. Because Wang Yongbin Zengyun: "When Qiayan (Xishan) returned to Xinzhou, it was decided that the provincial council would represent the whole province, asking Governor Yan to return to the province to resume his post, and sending a telegram to President Sun Da of Nanjing and Beijing to fight, Yuan Shi appointed Yan as the governor of the capital, and appointed Zhou Bo, elected by the provincial council, as the head of civil affairs, and the system of military and civilian division was established from the beginning of the Jin Dynasty. ("Representatives of Public Opinion in Shanxi", Taipei Shanxi Literature Society, 1978 edition). It can be seen from this that Yan Xishan's appointment as the governor was related to the election of the Provisional Provincial Council, so the establishment of the Provisional Provincial Council should be at this time.

"Republic Vernacular Newspaper" is not only the "first newspaper in Taiyuan of the Republic of China", but also the earliest provincial newspaper that appeared in Taiyuan in the first year of the Republic of China.

When was The Republic Vernacular published? Ma Hetian, who had been the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, recalled: "Taiyuan Republican Vernacular Newspaper was founded in 1912 after the establishment of the Shanxi Provisional Provincial Council, and the monthly diary of the founding of the magazine is unclear, and the founder is Zhao Hongkui, a provincial councilor of Pinglu County. Zhao Yuan is a graduate of Shanxi Excellent Normal School, and my classmates, about me as the editor-in-chief, Zhao as the president, the funds are privately raised by Zhao, a big sheet every day... After the Taiyuan Revolutionary Army returned to the province, I went to Taiyuan to serve as the editor-in-chief of the Republican Vernacular Newspaper, and I never went south. ”[2]

There are 14 copies of the "Republic Vernacular Newspaper" that I have seen, and the earliest one is No. 86, that is, May 31, the first year of the Republic of China (1912), which is a daily publication. The existing No. 166 is August 26, if there are no special circumstances, from the 166 issue forward to the 86 issue, it should be June 7, which is inconsistent with the date of the existing No. 86, so the newspaper seems to be suspended in the event of special circumstances during the period of publication. If the journal is pushed forward from the 86th, then the newspaper should be launched on March 7 or earlier. Since the party concerned, Ma Hetianyun, was "founded after the establishment of the Provisional Provincial Council", the establishment of the Provisional Provincial Council should be between mid-February and March 6. From the time of the establishment of this newspaper, we can also know the time of the establishment of the Shanxi Provisional Provincial Council, which provides first-hand information for us to further study the situation of the Shanxi Provisional Provincial Council in the early years of the Republic of China.

The Republic Vernacular was founded on or before March 7, with Zhao Hongkui as its founder and Ma Hetian, editor-in-chief, arriving at the newspaper in early April. The layout is four-open and two-page. The address of the newspaper office is in Qiaotou Street, Taiyuan. The quotation is "full of money ten, the monthly pricing is Xiaoyang Triangle, half a year Xiaoyang is one yuan land corner, and the whole year Xiaoyang is three yuan", the newspaper has its own printing house, yan Xishan returned from Xinzhou to the province, the circulation of newspapers increased day by day, and by June, the daily circulation "has reached 2,000 copies". As for the date of suspension, Ma Hetian Zengyun: "About the winter of the second year of the Republic of China (1913), because the newspaper was privately run, the financial difficulties, the number of copies sold for subscriptions was very small, the income was not enough to cover the expenditure, and the editor-in-chief was not easy to hire (Ma Hetian had gone to Japan to study in the summer), I am afraid that I would stop publishing shortly after I left. ”

With the main purpose of promoting "republic", the Republic Vernacular newspaper uses the vernacular language, and the promotion of the vernacular language is its main feature. The content is "against the privilege, abuse, corruption, corruption, religious superstition, and unreasonable and unequal etiquette and customs of the era of absolute monarchy." Advocate people-oriented politics, love the country, and improve society. In terms of social reform, it advocates women's rights and opposes old-style marriages"[3]. The columns of the newspaper are: provincial chronicles, provincial news, provincial chronicles, current affairs, overseas chronicles, and current trivia. Court magazines, all kinds of communications, comments, national opinions, wenyuan, etc., are sewn in the middle of all kinds of advertisements in finance and commerce, grain market prices, and the price of silver and money making.

In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in order to prevent the archives from falling into the hands of the Japanese army, Yan Xishan burned the archives of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China in Shanxi Province, so the existing materials and archives of this period are extremely rare. The emergence of the Republic Vernacular Newspaper provides us with many rarely known precious historical materials that can supplement a gap in the social research of Shanxi in the early years of the Republic of China.

The Republic Vernacular Newspaper reported in great detail on the grand celebration of the National Day of the First Year of the Republic of China (October 10) by the people of Taiyuan. At 7:00 a.m. on October 10, Dudu Ge Xishan led government agencies and members of various organizations to the Zhaoyi Ancestral Hall to pay homage to the martyrs of Xinhai, with Yan as the main priest and Zhou Bo, the chief of civil affairs, accompanying the sacrifice. The ceremony consists of a military song; Incense, reading the altar text; salute. After the ceremony, Yan and his party went to the university campus to watch the military parade and sports meeting. The audience on the large school yard reached thousands, and the soldiers of the battalions who were inspected walked through the parade platform in a uniform pace, followed by a military drill. Students from the Girls' Normal School and the Music Department of the League jointly performed an instrumental ensemble on stage. After that, the sports meeting jointly organized by each school and the Jingwu Society began; The project has; 200 meters race walk, long jump, high jump, 100 meter race walk and rope pull, kick ball, etc. At six o'clock in the evening, nearly 10,000 people, including various organs, organizations, and businessmen's students, gathered at the Haizibian Exhibition Center, each holding a lantern, and first deputy Liu Yuexi made a report, and Ma Kasabo, Jing Meijiu, and others also spoke successively, and the speeches were interrupted by applause and cheers from time to time. At the end of the speech, the mighty procession followed the route of Xinnanmen, Qiaotou Street, Liu Lane, Dudu Mansion, Mashi Street, and Live Bull Market, singing military songs and carrying out a lantern-holding parade.

The Republic of China newspaper reported on the changes in the financial market in the first year of the Republic of China, the rise and fall of prices, the poisoning of opium smoke, the advocacy of national donations, the disputes between various parties, the restoration of schools, the activities of the Provisional Provincial Council, the storm of cutting off the debaters, the change of administrative organs, the abolition of foot bindings, and the advocacy of the Heavenly Foot, etc.; It reflects the various situations of the great social changes at that time. Therefore, from another point of view, the "Republic self-talk newspaper" is to open a window for us to understand Taiyuan in the first year of the Republic of China, and even the whole of Shanxi, in these 14 pieces of historical materials of up to 250,000 words, we can see the dusty yesterday when the heroes and ordinary people created the history of Shanxi.