In the early years of the Republic of China, there were "three strange masters" in the Beijing press, namely Huang Yuansheng, Ding Foyan, and Liu Shaoshao. At that time, the "Three Strange Jies" all served the "Asia Newspaper" of the Constitutionalist faction of the People's Republic of China, and all three of them were known as the "proud dragons of the press", especially Huang Yuansheng, it can be said that in China, the real professional journalists began from Huang Yuansheng, whose people were "young and talented, good at showing sharp edges, and good at striking people's sore spots", and his communications are also unique in the history of Chinese journalism. On December 27, 1915, Huang Yuansheng, who was hiding in the United States, was shot and killed in his home by revolutionaries on the charge of Yuan Party, and died at the age of 30.
Born far away
Huang Yuansheng, formerly known as Ji, the character Yuanyong, Yuansheng is a pen name. Born in 1885 in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, to a family of scholars with "literary color and beautiful hair". Great-grandfather Huang Fenglou was a jinshi during the Daoguang years, and served as the county magistrate of Shexian County, Tongling, Dangtu and other counties in Anhui Province, and Tongzhi in Taiping Province. All three uncles are lifters. His father, Huang Ruzao, was also born in Xiucai and ran foreign affairs in Ningbo. Huang Yuansheng was well educated by his family since childhood, and during the enlightenment period, he not only widely involved in the subset of history, but also specially invited a foreign female teacher to teach him to learn English, plus Yuansheng's talent and wisdom, which was regarded by his family as a pearl in his hand. When he was studying at Nanxun Public School in Wuxing, Zhejiang, he actively participated in the student movement, showing his lofty ambition of caring for state affairs and family affairs and "being independent and self-respecting". In the twenty-ninth year of Guangxu (1903), Huang Yuansheng was admitted to Xiucai, and in the autumn of the same year, he was admitted to the 7th place in Jiangxi Province, and the following year he went to Beijing to pass the examination for a jinshi. This was the last meeting of the Qing Dynasty, and among the same list of jinshi were Shen Junru, Tan Yan, Ye Gongqiu and other well-known people. This was the last of China's jinshi, and Huang was the youngest, under the age of 20.
Huang Yuansheng in his youth
Huang Yuansheng had great ambitions and did not want to accept official positions according to the customs of the Qing court, but decided to study in Japan and study law at Chuo University. After returning to China after 6 years, he served as a foreign minister of the Ministry of Posts and Communications, a walker in the Senate Hall, and a revisionist in the Compilation Bureau. At this time, Li Shengduo, one of the five ministers of Beiyang, went to Western Europe to inspect the constitutional government and returned to China, and said to Huang Yuansheng: "Most of those in the Western region who are familiar with modern history and international conditions are newspaper writers, and if you do this line of work, you will definitely be a famous journalist in the future." Huang Yuansheng deeply felt that the Qing court was corrupt and his career was not good, and his intention to become an official was suddenly dissipated, and he accepted the suggestion and threw himself into the press.
Huang Yuansheng is well-known at home and abroad for his "four abilities" kung fu of "can think", "can run", "can listen" and "can write", not only is the article fluent and sharp, humorous and keen, and is well received by readers, but also his workload and creativity are also very amazing. He has successively edited the monthly magazine "Yongyan" founded by Liang Qichao, served as a special correspondent for Shanghai Times, "Declaration", "Oriental Daily" and Beijing "Asia Daily", and wrote for "Oriental Magazine", "On Balance", "National Gazette" and other newspapers and periodicals. According to The Statistics of Li Chuanzi's article "Anti-Yuan Warriors and The Wizards of the Press", judging from the 239 articles collected in the "Legacy of distant life" left behind, his newsletter has carried out timely and in-depth reports on major issues that have attracted the attention of the people in almost every period. Important figures include Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing, Song Jiaoren, Zhang Taiyan, Cai Yuanpei, Yuan Shikai, Li Yuanhong, Tang Shaoyi, Lu Zhengxiang, Zhao Bingjun, Xiong Xiling, Duan Qirui and so on. Important events such as the assassination of Song Jiaoren, the two downfalls of the Yuan cabinet, the loss of power and humiliation of the twenty-one articles, Tang Shaoyi's forced resignation, and Lu Zhengxiang's resignation from the government, etc., he can grasp the hearts of readers from all walks of life across the country and confess the truth to the world.
The opposition party fought and was almost taken under the banner of Yuan Shikai
Like many liberals, Huang Yuansheng was obsessed with the rule of law. He was eager to overthrow the imperial rule of the Republic of China to establish a legal order as soon as possible in Europe and the United States, so as to gradually realize the liberal ideals he dreamed of. He also once had illusions about Yuan Shikai, believing that Yuan Shikai was the savior who could lead the Chinese nation to democracy, rule of law, prosperity and strength.
Huang Yuansheng opposes "party strife", despises "partisan views" in his heart, and vows to be a clean intellectual who "transcends partyism". He held in "On the Casting of the Party": "The greatest danger of the republic lies in party politics, and the biggest problem in the Republic of China lies in the endless struggle of the party." But he also believed that the solution to the party struggle was authoritarian rule, so he fell into a paradoxical life choice—that is, believing in freedom under the rule of law and believing in the rule of law under power, and finally being used by Yuan Shikai and deviating from liberal principles.
In the autumn of 1915, Yuan Shikai took a fancy to Huang Yuansheng, a famous journalist in the sea, and tried to list him under his wing. Yuan Shikai first invited Huang Yuansheng to be the chief writer of his imperial newspaper Asia. Then he told Huang that if he could write an article in favor of the imperial system for himself, he would be rewarded with 100,000 yuan and given a ministerial position. Huang Yuansheng began to want to delay, and in the face of Yuan Shikai's pressure, he could only prevaricate with a "plausible" article. But Yuan was extremely dissatisfied and sent someone to force him to rewrite it.
At this time, Yuan Shikai's ambition to become emperor had been clearly revealed. Huang Yuansheng chose not to cooperate. On September 3, 1915, he secretly embarked on the road of escape to Shanghai. Before arriving in Shanghai, Huang Yuansheng published a notice opposing imperialism on the front page of the "Declaration", clearly stating that "it is difficult to approve the theory of changing the national system of the security conference this time." After arriving in Shanghai, he fled to the United States with the help of his friends Ge Gongzhen and Wu Guanyin.
Gunshots in San Francisco
December 27, 1915. Mr. Lin Zhijun heard the news that his good friend Huang Yuansheng, who was revered as "China's first journalist in the true modern sense", had been assassinated in the United States...
When the news came, the domestic press, political circles, and cultural circles were greatly shocked and deeply felt the loss of a talented and upright "wizard of the press." Huang Yuansheng's good friend, Liang Shuming, who once served as a reporter for the Republic of China Daily, was greatly stimulated after hearing this bad news and fell into a painful contradiction, so he began to write the book "The Theory of Doubting the Determination of the Yuan", trying to seek "the suffering of life" and the true meaning of life from the Buddhist idea of birth, and the thought and emotions have undergone a great change. The magnitude of the effects of the death of a distant life can be seen here.
Huang Yuansheng
At the beginning of 1916, the remains of the distant life were transported back to Shanghai by Gu Weijun, the then Chinese minister in the United States, and a rather solemn memorial service was held in Shanghai. According to Huang Xiqun, a distant son who attended the memorial service, the remains were placed in a small coffin with a layer of blue velvet on the outside, and a wooden rafter was later added in Shanghai. Afterwards, his relatives transported his ashes back to Jiujiang and buried them in Yinjia'ao Mountain, Guijia'an, Lianhua Township, Lushan District. The tomb hill is backed by a mountain face, surrounded by green pines, and the tombstone is vertically engraved "The Tomb of the Emperor Yuanyong of the Huang Gong Yuanyong Mansion", the right vertical Huang Yuansheng has a brief biography, and the left vertical inscription "Male Xi Tang, Qun, Chun Fengji". In front of the tomb there is a prayer platform, which is half-moon shaped.
Who was the real murderer of Huang Yuansheng, Yuan Shikai or Sun Yat-sen? The murderer has not been found, who is the killer? Opinions have been divided over the years. Until 1986, Liu Beihai, the murderer of Huang Yuansheng, told the truth before his death. The assassination he carried out was actually directed by the American Branch of the Chinese Revolutionary Party, directly commanded by Lin Sen, who later served as chairman of the National Government, and the order for the assassination came from Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Chinese Revolutionary Party at that time and the "Father of the Nation" of the Republic of China.
As a journalist, he has an iron shoulder and no partisan opinion. Because of this, 30-year-old Huang Yuansheng fell under the muzzle of the gun. But his thoughts and practices did not end with his life. In the eyes of later liberal newspapers, Huang Yuansheng was always a dazzling banner. Rightly or wrongly, we can clearly measure his weight and height in history.
Everyone is watching ↓
Source: Comprehensive Xinhua Net, People's Net, China Net report
Editor of this issue: Lingwen Shi