Shi Ximin: Practitioner of Chinese journalism

2020-03-20

On December 25, 1935, all walks of life in Shanghai held a large-scale anti-Japanese patriotic parade in solidarity with the "129" patriotic student movement in Beiping. The person in charge of the demonstration was unable to arrive at the scene on time because he was surrounded by British patrols, leaving the procession unled. Seeing that chaos was about to occur, a medium-sized, determined young man emerged from the procession, came to the front of the team, talked briefly with the man carrying the banner, and then led the team to the destination, Shanghai North Railway Station. After the rally, the procession continued to advance, breaking through the armed interception of the Japanese Marines and the British patrol, and dozens of people were wounded. Along the way, many citizens warmly applauded and expressed their solidarity, several Western pharmacies dressed the injured people for free; the procession was scattered several times and gathered several times, insisting on moving forward... This young man who was not alarmed and had both wisdom and courage was Shi Ximin. A few days later, in early January 1936, Shi Ximin was hired as an editor of the "Declaration Weekly". Coincidentally, a new issue of the weekly magazine was published on the same day, and on the cover was a photograph of Shi Ximin and the wounded youth chanting slogans at the end of the parade that day. Mr. Yu Songhua, the editor-in-chief of the "Declaration Weekly", talked to Shi Ximin, pointed to this photo and asked: "Mr. Shi, is this you?" Stone replied: "Yes." Mr. Yu told Shi Ximin that the "Declaration" and the "Declaration Weekly" have a great influence, and we should be particularly cautious in working here. After this conversation, Mr. Yu not only did not mention the matter again, but also trusted this young editor who was quick-witted, calm and diligent. It turned out that Mr. Yu Songhua was a patriotic intellectual with a strong sense of justice, and he found Shi Ximin while reviewing the manuscript and decided to hire Shi Ximin as an editor. He once said to his family: "Among the colleagues in the editorial department, the most promising person in the future is Shi Ximin." But Mr. Yu did not know that the young man he appreciated had been in the Communist Party for seven years and eight years of revolutionary experience. Shi Ximin, whose original name was Shi Shigeng, was born on November 4, 1912 (the 26th day of the ninth lunar month) in Shizhai Village, Huyuan Township (now Hangping Town), Pujiang County, Zhejiang Province. His father, Shi Shuxun, was a talented man who studied in Hangzhou at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Shi Ximin's family lived a solid life by relying on the fields and shops left by their ancestors. In 1922, Shi Ximin went to the primary school attached to jinhua County Seventh Normal School more than 10 miles away from home, and in 1925 he was admitted to the junior high school of Jiande County No. 9 Middle School. At that time, the great anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolution was surging like fire; soon, the Northern Expedition was booming, Shi Ximin threw himself into the tide of learning, underwent the baptism of revolution, and experienced a fierce conflict in his heart: he was no longer willing to abide by his ancestral business like his father, and to live a parasitic squire life under the shackles of feudal etiquette. In the summer and autumn of 1928, Shi Ximin came to Shanghai for the first time and entered the high school of Qunzhi University. By chance, I met jiang zhi, a classmate from junior high school, who was studying at the Shanghai Art College and was already a communist party member. With his help and guidance, Shi Ximin read a large number of progressive books. It was during this period that Shi Ximin's desire to engage in journalism arose from reading a large number of newspapers and periodicals, and he longed to use the pen in his hand to mercilessly lash out at the evil old world. In October of that year, through Jiang Zhi's introduction, Shi Ximin joined the Anti-Imperialist Grand Alliance and the Mutual Masonic Association. In February of the following year, through the introduction of Jiang Zhi, Shi Ximin joined the Communist Youth League and joined the Communist Party of China in September of the same year. From then on, he began a bumpy career as a professional revolutionary. In March 1930, Shi Ximin served as an officer of the Propaganda Department of the Shanghai Hudong District Committee of the Communist Party of China, engaged in the workers' movement, developed the party organization among the workers, and also served as a correspondent for the Red Flag, the organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. "Red Flag" is a newspaper secretly published by the Party in the environment of white terror in Shanghai after the defeat of the Great Revolution, and a newsletter written by Shi Ximincai about the workers' movement in Hudong was published in "Red Flag". This was Shi Ximin's original practice of party newspaper work. During this period, he was also sent by the organization to the border area of Pujiang river with Zhuji and Yiwu to instigate armed rebellion. In the spring of 1932, Shi Ximin transferred to Shanghai Public School, and under the cover of reading, actively engaged in the student movement. Soon, because of the traitor's whistle-blowing, he was twice wanted by the Kuomintang authorities in Zhejiang, and the notice was posted to his hometown of Pujiang, Zhejiang. Shi Ximin was forced to move to Beiping and continue to participate in the activities of the Anti-Imperialist Grand Alliance. In May 1933, Feng Yuxiang, under the impetus and influence of the Communist Party of China, established the Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Allied Army, which fired the first shot of the Great Wall War of Resistance. Shi Ximin served as a political propaganda officer in the Jihongchang Military Department and heroically participated in the campaigns to retake Duolun and Baochang. In October, the anti-Japanese allies were defeated, and Shi Ximin ended his military life for half a year and sneaked back to Beiping. Because the Kuomintang gendarmes were very tightly searched and arrested, they went south again and participated in the editing of "China Economic Intelligence." From this time on, Shi Ximin immersed himself in the study of economic issues, began to publish papers on China's economic problems, and published papers such as "The Accumulation and Consolidation of China's Land Endowment" and "Evaluation of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Business Report of the Bank of China". Japan's prestigious publication Chuo Kokō has published isochyo's economic articles. After the North China Incident in 1935, Shi Ximin entered the "Declaration" again, serving as the editor of the "Declaration Weekly"; he overcame all kinds of difficulties, deeply studied international issues, wrote a number of influential international commentaries such as "Where Japan Is Going" and "Why Kawagoe Was Promoted to Ambassador to China", and became an important contributor to some progressive journals on international issues. After the "July 7 Incident" broke out, Shi Ximin rushed to the front line in North China as a reporter for the "Declaration," interviewed Sun Lianzhong, a prominent figure in the Kuomintang's North China Army, and Wang Lengzhai, the governor of Wanping County, interviewed soldiers and people who fought against the Japanese Kou, and published such famous battlefield communications as "The Fall of Pingjin and the Pinghan Front." Soon, with the consent of the party organization, Shi Ximin went to Hankou to prepare for the publication of the "Declaration" in Hankou. At this time, the Central Organ of the Communist Party of China, Xinhua Daily, decided to publish it in Hankou, and Comrade Zhang Hanfu, on behalf of the party organization, informed Shi Ximin to go to Xinhua Daily to participate in the founding work and worked for 9 years. In June 1938, Shi Ximin went to the Jiangxi front to cover the front, which was his second time as a war correspondent. At that time, Xuzhou fell, the Japanese invaded Wuhan, and the artillery fire in the northern part of Ganbei was fierce, and fan Changjiang, Meng Qiujiang and other famous reporters were interviewed here. Shi Ximin rushed around nervously, attending anti-Japanese rallies organized by Xu Deheng, Lei Jieqiong, and others; having long talks with Chiang Ching-kuo; listening to General Li Hanling analyze the war situation at the forward command post and state his determination to persist in the War of Resistance and kill the enemy to serve the country; and interviewed Xue Yue, Wu Qiwei, Leng Xin, Wang Yaowu, and other senior Kuomintang generals. In the trenches, junior Officers and soldiers of the Kuomintang told him the story of the vicious battle with the Japanese and the Kosovars for three days and nights, and the blood spilled on the battlefield. As a war correspondent, Shi Ximin risked his life and repeatedly rushed to the forefront of the fierce war, wrote a number of popular field communications, such as "The Great War Burns the Heart," "Field Visit to General Li Hanling," and "Remembering the Battle in Jiujiang Gutang," truthfully reported to the people in the rear area the deeds of the Kuomintang patriotic soldiers who heroically killed the enemy, and embodied the party's upright attitude in the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and the principle of seeking truth from facts in the party newspaper. After these news works were published in Xinhua Daily, they aroused a warm response in society, and Shi Ximin also became a well-known reporter who attracted the attention of readers. After that, Shi Ximin's New Fourth Army headquarters worked, and wrote such newsletters as "The New Fourth Army Active in Jingwu," "The New Fourth Army over the Past Year," and "Crossing the Enemy's Blockade Line in Jiangnan," which he sent to the "Xinhua Daily" and "Mass Weekly" for publication, and for the first time reported the heroic achievements of the New Fourth Army to the people of the whole country. These reports quickly spread in society. During his work at the New Fourth Army Headquarters, Shi Ximin also prepared and organized the military newspaper "Anti-Enemy Newspaper" and served as an editor, training a number of news cadres for the New Fourth Army. After the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee established the Southern Bureau, with Zhou Enlai as secretary, and Urgently transferred Shi Ximin to work in Xinhua Daily, serving as director of the editorial department. Since then, Xinhua Daily and Shi Ximin have been under the direct leadership of Zhou Enlai. After the "Anhui Incident" occurred in 1941, Xinhua Daily learned that the top Kuomintang authorities issued an order falsely accusing the New Fourth Army of being a "rebel army" and forcing chongqing newspapers to publish it the next day. Zhou Enlai instructed Shi Ximin, together with Pan Zinian, to go to several influential private newspapers overnight to explain the truth and expose the Kuomintang conspiracy, hoping that they would uphold justice in public opinion. After returning to the newspaper hall, Shi Ximin and Zhang Hanfu fought bravely and wits with the Kuomintang news inspectors who came to sit on the surveillance, so that Zhou Enlai's famous inscription Mourning for the Victims of the Death of the Country in Jiangnan: Thousands of ancient injustices, Jiangnan Yiye; the same room Ge, frying each other And what is urgent! It was made publicly available the next day. In April 1946, Shi Ximin was ordered by Zhou Enlai and Dong Biwu to go to Nanjing with the advance personnel of the CPC delegation, where he was responsible for preparing the Nanjing edition of Xinhua Daily and served as vice president. During this period, he interviewed the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China on peace talks, and published famous newsletters such as "The Torrent of the Current Situation," "'Dragging' and "Cheating" Have Come to an End," and "Autumn in Nanjing." In October, Shi Ximin returned to Yan'an from Nanjing with a CPC delegation and served as deputy editor-in-chief of Xinhua News Agency and Yan'an Liberation Daily. Later, it was transferred to the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Liberated Area to establish the Xinhua Headquarters. After the party Central Committee was stationed in Xibaipo, Hebei Province, more than 20 people, including Shi Ximin, were dispatched to the seat of the Party Central Committee to engage in news reporting work. In half a year, Shi Ximin often received teachings and guidance from Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi and other central leaders. In April 1949, the day after the liberation of Nanjing, Zhou Enlai, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, announced that the registration of two party newspapers with a glorious history, "Liberation Daily" and "Xinhua Daily," would be given to Shanghai and Nanjing, and Fan Changjiang would go to Shanghai to organize the "Liberation Daily", and Shi Ximin would go to Nanjing to organize the "Xinhua Daily." On April 26, Shi Ximin arrived in Nanjing, and as a military representative, he was responsible for taking over the Kuomintang Central Daily, the Central News Agency, and the Central Radio Station, and began to establish the people's journalism. On April 29, Nanjing Xinhua Daily was founded, with Shi Ximin as its president, concurrently serving as the director of the Nanjing branch of Xinhua News Agency and the director of Nanjing People's Radio Shentai. At the same time, he also served as a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee and the Propaganda Director of the Municipal Party Committee. In order to meet the needs of the development of new China's journalism, Shi Ximin presided over the establishment of the Xinhua Daily and the Nanjing Branch of the Xinhua News Agency news training class, recruiting more than 30 trainees and sending news talents to the army and localities. After the founding of New China, Shi Ximin continued to work the party's news and cultural front. In March 1950, he delivered a speech entitled "On the Issue of News Writing" at the All-Army Press Work Conference of the East China Military Region and the Third Field Army, applying Marxist viewpoints, summarizing the practical experience of party newspapers, and exploring the laws and style of news writing. Later, this speech was collected as an important document of journalistic work in the "Collected Works of Chinese Newspapers and Periodicals". After that, Shi Ximin served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Cpc Jiangsu Provincial Committee and the Propaganda Director of the Provincial Party Committee. In February 195, he was transferred to the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee as secretary general. 1 9 May 5 Shi Xi was transferred to Shanghai, where he worked for 10 years, successively serving as a member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, the Director of the Propaganda Department of the Municipal Party Committee, the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, and a member of the East China Bureau of the Communist Party of China and the Director of Propaganda. In 1956, he was elected as a deputy to the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China. In 1957, the Party Central Committee entrusted the task of revising the "Cihai" to Shanghai, and the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee designated Shi Ximin to personally supervise this work. Shi Ximin meticulously organized and coordinated all aspects of work, mobilized the strength of nearly 5,000 experts and scholars across the country, and worked hard to eliminate the influence of the "Left", so that "Ci Hai" could be published in a relatively short period of time. Unexpectedly, this contribution became a crime against him in the ten years of turmoil. In 1965, Shi Ximin was transferred to Beijing and served as vice minister of culture, deputy secretary of the party group, and vice president of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Association. During the Cultural Revolution, Shi Ximin was brutally persecuted and illegally imprisoned for nine years, physically and mentally devastated. After his freedom in 1975, he became the director of the State Press Administration. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the Party organization overthrew all the false words and charges imposed on Shi Ximin by the "Gang of Four." In March 1980, Shi Ximin was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in charge of the scientific research planning and organization of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. During this period, Shi Ximin began to study the history of journalism of the Communist Party of China. He has successively gone to Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Shanghai, and other places to extensively collect materials, thoroughly study the experience and lessons of the party's journalism over the past several decades, study the law governing the development of the party's journalism, and publish a series of important articles in the People's Daily, Red Flag magazine, and some academic journals, such as "Scholars and Fighters," "A Brilliant Page in the History of Party Newspapers," and "Strengthening Party Spirit to Penetrate Deep into the Masses." Under his impetus and organization, the Xinhua Daily and the Masses Weekly Historical Society were established, which was the first academic group for the study of journalistic history in China. He was elected as the head of the society. Shi Ximin made outstanding contributions to the establishment and development of the new discipline of party newspaper history. In 1983, after Shi Ximin retired to the second line, he still served as the honorary director of the Institute of Journalism of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and worked hard for news editing and publishing until he was critically ill. On October 17, 1987, Shi Ximin died of illness at Peking Union Medical College Hospital at the age of 75. Shi Ximin was the highest-ranking leader in our county before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China. In 1985, on the occasion of the 1800th anniversary of the establishment of the county, Shi Ximin was named one of the "Top Ten Historical and Cultural Celebrities" in Pujiang County. As a red cultural resource, Shi Ximin's former residence was listed as a county-level cultural relics protection unit by the county government in June 2010 and has been renovated. In 1982, Mr. Shi Ximin was invited to re-issue the inscription for Jinhua Daily: whether it is withering and shrinking, lack of spirit, or stubbornly fighting, advancing in spite of difficulties, this is a severe test. A journalistic warrior with achievements will surely find a way to overcome difficulties from many difficulties, and take pleasure in them, and enjoy them tirelessly. I think these two sentences are also the true portrayal of Shi Shimin's lifelong career in journalism.