Dibao (ancient Chinese gazette)
Dibao (Chinese: 邸報; pinyin: dǐbào; Wade–Giles: ti3-pao4), literally "reports from the [official] residences", were a type of publications issued by central and local governments in imperial China, which was the only official government newspaper published by the ancient Chinese central government in different dynasties.[1] 'Dibao' is a general term to describe the ancient Chinese gazette. Historically, there were different types of names used to describe Dibao in different dynasties among the imperial Chinese history.[2] While closest in form and function to gazettes in the Western world, they have also been called "palace reports" or "imperial bulletins". Different sources place Dibao's first publication as early as the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), which would make Dibao amongst the earliest newspapers in the world,[1] or as late as the Tang dynasty (June 18, 618 – June 4, 907) according to the earliest verified and proved Dibao with historical relics.[3] Dibao was continuously published among different imperial dynasties until the last imperial emperor in the Qing dynasty, Puyi, abdicated in 1912.[1]
Dibao contained official political edicts, announcements, and news from the Chinese imperial central government or local governments,
Historical origin and the controversy
There are two main origin theories of Dibao: the Han dynasty origin theory and the Tang dynasty origin theory.
Han dynasty origin theory
At the beginning of the
Tang dynasty Origin theory and Origin controversy
Historians who support the
Historians who disagree with the Han dynasty Origin theory argue that Xihan Huiya, which is the only historical text that records Dibao in the Han dynasty, is used as indirect historical text evidence rather than direct historical relics evidence to prove the existence of Dibao in the Han dynasty. The earliest verified Dibao with historical text and relics was a Dibao called Kaiyuan Za Bao (開元雜報), which was published in the Kaiyuan period in the Tang dynasty during the 8th century.[1] In Chinese imperial historical, there were many recordings written in historical texts that were not completely correct and provable as they could be falsified by historians throughout different imperial dynasties with different political and historical purposes.[2] Historians also doubt the societal and economic conditions in the Han dynasty that if it was powerful enough to support the huge Dibao delivery system among 100 Juns and 1400 Xians because the continuous wars with the northern Xiongnu (匈奴) nomadic nation continuously weakened the national strength of the Han dynasty.[7]
Content
There was little alteration in the content of Dibao in imperial Chinese history since it was first published in the Han dynasty.[1] There were four main aspects of the Dibao content:
The daily life of the emperor
Under the influence of traditional Chinese ideology based on
The significant edict, political decision, and decree
Kaiyuan Za Bao 開元雜報 | |
---|---|
In the
The dynamic of the imperial court
The dynamic of the imperial court became the official content on Dibao in the
The report of military and diplomacy
The content related to the military, diplomacy and natural disaster that published on Dibao was controlled strictly on every imperial dynasty, which aimed to maintain the feudal governance, safeguard the interest of the ruling class, and ensure the stabilisation of the
Historical development
Tang dynasty
Both the historians who support the
Song dynasty
Dibao became the official administrative department governed by the central government in the
Ming dynasty
The social climate and the restriction on the Dibao in the
Qing dynasty
The emperor in the Qing dynasty became the editor in chief of Dibao who completely controlled and managed the imperial propaganda and public opinion.[14] Dibao in the Qing dynasty still had the right to publish the criticism and opposition like the Ming dynasty, but they were all reviewed and selected by the emperor before publishing.[14] Jingbao (Peking Gazette; 京報), which literally means 'reports of the capital', became one of the imperial gazettes to publish with Dibao at the same time.[15] The content published on Jingbao only involved the edicts and decisions, which was used as Bulletin Board for the public and foreign ambassadors.[15] The content published on other Dibao was also allowed to only involve the edicts and decisions, which would be also selected by the emperor that aimed to make the content on all Dibao become the same as Jingbao and controlled all content published on each Dibao to further control the public opinion and consolidate feudal governance. In the Qing dynasty, publishers who published the content without the permission of the emperor on Dibao would be sentenced because it was a crime.[15]
See also
- Kaiyuan Za Bao
- List of the earliest newspapers
- Neican
- Acta Diurna
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ng, C., Fang, H. (Ed.). (2012). Journalism in Ancient China. A history of journalism in china (pp.24–70). Honolulu, HI: Enrich Professional Publishing (S) Private Limited.
- ^ a b c d e Zhao, Y., Sun, P. (Ed.). (2018). The communication mechanism in ancient China. A History of Journalism and Communication in China (pp.4–22). London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
- ^ "Newspaper – MSN Encarta". Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ a b c Irving Fang, A History of Mass Communication: Six Information Revolutions, Focal Press, 1997, p. 30
- ^ Lamont, Ian, "The Rise of the Press in Late Imperial China", November 27, 2007
- ^ a b c d Cioffi-Revilla, C., & Lai, D. (1995). War and Politics in Ancient China, 2700 B.C. to 722 B.C.: Measurement and Comparative Analysis. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 39(3), 467–494. doi: org/10.1177/0022002795039003004
- ^
- ^ doi:10.2307/1943756
- ^ a b Mokros, E. (2016). Communication, Empire, and Authority in the Qing Gazette. Retrieved from http://jhir.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/40303
- ^
- ^ a b c d e f Brook, T. (Ed.). (1998). Spring: The Middle Century (1450–1550) (pp. 86–152). The confusions of pleasure: commerce and culture in Ming China. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
- ^ Porter, J. (2016). Imperial China, 1350–1900. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield
- ^ a b c Hung, H. (2013). Li Shi Min, founding the Tang dynasty the strategies that made China the greatest empire in Asia. New York: Algora Pub.
- ^ a b Mittler, B. (2004). A Newspaper for China? Power, Identity, and Change in Shanghai's News Media,1872–1912. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Centre.
- ^ a b c Harris, L. J. (2018). The Peking Gazette. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
External links
- [1], Canadian Library Journal, 1992
- Mitchell Stephens, History of Newspapers For Collier's Encyclopedia