Wang Tao: Father of Chinese Journalism and Advocate for Reform

Today, we’ll talk about Wang Tao, a pioneering Chinese journalist and reformist, who founded the Universal Circulating Herald in 1874, marking the first major Chinese-led newspaper advocating modernization and political reform. His exposure to Western ideas profoundly shaped his journalism, leaving a lasting impact on China’s media landscape and reform movements.

Transcript

Wang Tao: Father of Chinese Journalism and Advocate for Reform

Today, we’ll talk about Wang Tao, a pioneering Chinese journalist and reformist, who founded the Universal Circulating Herald in 1874, marking the first major Chinese-led newspaper advocating modernization and political reform. His exposure to Western ideas profoundly shaped his journalism, leaving a lasting impact on China’s media landscape and reform movements.

For those studying modern intellectual history, political history, or journalism history, Wang Tao and his newspaper, the Universal Circulating Herald are unavoidable topics. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Universal Circulating Herald, China’s first newspaper advocating for bourgeois political reform. Since last year, various universities and research institutions have held commemorative events and published numerous studies on the subject. 

Wang Tao lived during the late Qing Dynasty, China’s last dynasty which lasted from 1644 to 1911, a period of unprecedented social upheaval in China. The decaying feudal system was crumbling under the influence of Western forces, and the pressing question for Wang Tao and his contemporaries was how to navigate the crisis and find a development path that suited China’s unique conditions amid the clash between feudal traditions and modern civilization.

The Opium War of 1840 marked the beginning of modern Chinese history, opening the country’s doors to the outside world. In addition to exporting firearms, cannons, trains, and steamships to China, Westerners also brought missionaries, who used newspapers to spread Western culture in China. Before the Opium War, missionaries were only active in Southeast Asia and the southeastern coastal areas of China. 

From the publication of the first Chinese-language newspaper, the Chinese Monthly Magazine, in August 1815, a total of six Chinese-language newspapers and eleven foreign-language newspapers were established. In the half-century following the Opium War, missionaries founded nearly 170 Chinese and foreign-language newspapers in the interior of China, accounting for about 95 percent of all newspapers in China during that period. Influenced by the missionary-run newspapers, some Chinese intellectuals began to enter the newspaper industry from the 19th century onwards, starting their own publications and introducing Western knowledge. Wang Tao was one of the representative figures of this movement.

In 1828, a boy was born into the family of a village teacher in Suzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province. The teacher was delighted and taught his son the Four Books and Five Classics from an early age, hoping that he would attain scholarly honors and become a high-ranking official when he grew up. In traditional Chinese society, the only path for scholars to realize their life’s value was through the imperial examinations and becoming officials. Following his father’s expectations, Wang Tao envisioned such a future for himself. However, when he participated in the provincial examination at the age of 17, he failed to pass. At 21, his father passed away, leaving Wang Tao without financial and emotional support, and his desire to pursue officialdom gradually faded.

Wang Tao’s father had once worked at a Shanghai publishing company called the London Missionary Society Press, whose owner was the British missionary Walter Henry Medhurst. At the age of 20, Wang Tao visited Shanghai to see his father and met Medhurst for the first time. Medhurst warmly invited Wang Tao to stay and work at the London Missionary Society Press, but Wang Tao declined, possibly because he still harbored ambitions of achieving scholarly honors. However, after his father’s death the following year, Wang Tao found himself in a difficult situation. Faced with the choice between livelihood and pursuit of officialdom, he ultimately decided to come to Shanghai and accepted a position as a Chinese editor at the London Missionary Society Press. He worked there for 13 years, during which he was exposed to Western ideologies that greatly broadened his horizons.

Shanghai was a place where interactions between Chinese and Westerners were frequent, situated at the forefront of cultural exchange between East and West. While working at the London Missionary Society Press, Wang Tao participated in translating books such as the Bible and became acquainted with a group of Western missionaries. He also developed close relationships with prominent figures of the Qing Dynasty, including mathematician Li Shanlan and poet Jiang Dunfu. As he gained knowledge of Western natural sciences and social sciences, Wang Tao’s values underwent significant changes, gradually shifting from traditional to modern perspectives. His experience working at the Western publishing house planted the seeds for his future pursuits.

In February 1862, Wang Tao, under the pseudonym “Huang Wan,” submitted a letter to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a theocratic monarchy which sought to overthrow the Qing Dynasty from 1851 to 1864, placing his hopes for political reform on the Taiping regime. Shortly after, Wang Tao’s letter was intercepted by the Qing army, and Qing officials accused him of colluding with the Taiping forces, leading to an order for his arrest.

In October 1862, Medhurst and a group of British missionaries arranged for Wang Tao to travel by ship to Hong Kong. Upon his arrival, Wang Tao assisted another missionary, James Legge, in translating China’s Four Books and Five Classics. Legge was then in charge of the Anglo-Chinese College in Hong Kong. They worked together for several years, and the books sold well. 

In 1867, when Legge returned to England, Wang Tao was invited to join him and continue their collaboration. This gave Wang Tao the opportunity to travel to Europe, where he stayed for over three years, visiting cities such as London, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Glasgow. He conducted close observations and studies of European society. Wang Tao also delivered lectures in Chinese at Oxford University, speaking on topics such as “Sino-British Trade” and “The Way of Confucius.” This made him one of the earliest Chinese to gain a direct understanding of the Western world, and his experiences in Europe predated those of China’s first overseas diplomat, Guo Songtao, by seven years.

The Western world greatly broadened Wang Tao’s horizons, challenging the views of this traditionally educated Chinese scholar. In 1870, after completing his travels in Europe, Wang Tao returned to Hong Kong. For a time, he contributed articles to the Chinese Mail. However, this newspaper, controlled by foreigners, did not advocate for Chinese interests. Wang Tao felt that his freedom of expression was constrained, and many of his political views could not be fully articulated.

During this period, Wang Tao compiled and translated A Brief History of France and The Franco-Prussian War Chronicles, which were serialized in the Chinese Mail and later reprinted in the Shanghai-based newspaper Shun Pao. Wang Tao later edited The Franco-Prussian War Chronicles into a standalone book of 210,000 characters, which garnered significant attention from Li Hongzhang, a leading Chinese statesman of the 19th century. The book also made an impact in Japan after its introduction there. 

Four years later, Wang Tao raised funds to purchase the printing equipment from the Anglo-Chinese College and established the Zhonghua Printing Office. On February 4, 1874, he founded the Universal Circulating Herald, the first newspaper in late Qing China that was both funded and operated by Chinese, marking the first Chinese newspaper to propagate reformist ideas.

Having experienced the ups and downs of life, 46-year-old Wang Tao found in Hong Kong – a place beyond the reach of the Qing government – a platform where he could finally speak freely. He took on the role of chief writer for the Universal Circulating Herald, where he commented on current affairs, criticized societal problems, and used the newspaper to advocate for advanced ideas such as mining in China, building railways, and establishing schools. These progressive views earned him a reputation as a prominent political commentator and a pioneer of the reform movement.

Wang Tao also invited intellectuals with early reformist ideas to write for the newspaper, where they passionately warned of the dangers of foreign powers carving up China and argued for learning from the West and strengthening the nation through reform. During the Meiji Restoration, Wang Tao was invited to visit Japan, where he was received as an honored guest, solidifying his status as a respected social figure.

Through years of running his newspaper, Wang Tao developed his own journalistic philosophy. He advocated for newspapers to express free speech, but with a clear and consistent stance, emphasizing the careful selection of chief writers. Wang Tao believed that newspapers should serve as a bridge for “broadening knowledge and connecting all levels of society,” highlighting their role in “supporting moral education” and their social responsibility to promote good, eliminate evil, and enlighten the public. He called for newspaper workers to be morally upright, well-versed in both ancient and modern knowledge, and to possess a broad range of skills.

The Universal Circulating Herald was a commercial newspaper. The first page featured business advertisements, while the second and third pages were dedicated to news. Wang Tao, inspired by Western newspapers, introduced an editorial column for commentary on current events. Initially, Wang Tao had a more closed-minded perspective, but he later recognized the importance of engaging with Western affairs and criticized the prevailing attitude of avoiding discussions on such matters and merely putting up a facade. He argued, “In today’s world, the trade relations between the West and China will endure as long as the Earth exists. To continue with a policy of deep isolation and stubborn refusal at this point is sheer folly, and those who adhere to it will only bring harm to the people.”

Wang Tao’s commentaries were characterized by a global perspective and a level of insight that surpassed the notion of “using Western knowledge to counter Western powers.” During his more than ten years as the chief writer, he authored thousands of editorials. His sharp commentary and exceptional insights caused a sensation and earned widespread attention.

However, as Wang Tao approached the age of 50, he remained childless. Friends advised him to have a child to continue his lineage, but he responded resolutely, “Why must one have descendants to carry on? If I can leave my writings to future generations, so that 500 years from now, my name is still spoken by readers, that would be far more valuable than a bowl of ceremonial rice.”

In 1884, Wang Tao ended his more than 20 years of exile and returned to Shanghai, where he maintained close ties with the Self-Strengthening Movement leaders. In 1894, in his twilight years, after receiving Sun Yat-sen’s Letter to Li Hongzhang, Wang Tao personally revised it and made every effort to introduce Sun Yat-sen to Li Hongzhang’s associates, hoping that the letter would garner a response from a powerful political figure. However, this hope ultimately ended in disappointment.

In the autumn of 1897, Wang Tao passed away peacefully at his residence in Shanghai. He once said, “As long as I have breath, I still think of serving my country.” Wang Tao’s life was emblematic of the late Qing Dynasty’s intellectuals who were navigating the transition of China. Famed writer Lin Yutang praised Wang Tao as the “Father of Chinese Journalism.”

In 1941, the Universal Circulating Herald was forcibly shut down by the Japanese forces during their occupation of Hong Kong. Although there were two brief attempts to revive the newspaper after the victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, they were short-lived, and in 1963, the publication ceased permanently. 

The Universal Circulating Herald played a significant role in resisting colonial oppression, voicing the concerns of the Chinese people, promoting reform in China, and supporting the development of industry and commerce. Its contributions have been recorded in history.

Well, that’s the end of our podcast. Our theme music is by the famous film score composer Roc Chen. We want to thank our writer Lü Weitao and translator Du Guodong. And thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please tell a friend so they, too, can understand The Context.