Well, Lao Mo took out the newspaper in the last chapter. I saw many book friends saying that daily newspapers are impossible. Lao Mo would like to explain here. This chapter is free.
When talking about the printing of newspapers in the Ming Dynasty, researchers of journalism history can’t help but coincidentally quote a classic statement by Gu Yanwu, a famous scholar in the Ming Dynasty:
"I secretly think that this compilation can only be based on Di Bao, with rough drafts for future generations. This is what Liu Xun did. I recall that Di Bao did not have a movable version until the eleventh year of Chongzhen. Since then, it has not been a manuscript. ..."
Readers, please note that in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Di Bao had adopted movable type printing. So when did non-movable type printing begin?
See page 1332: "I started to fall ill yesterday, and suddenly I heard that it was a written biography of the residence. It is popular to record it. I am surprised..."
It can be seen that during the Wanli period, the printed Dibao had already appeared in the Ming Dynasty, which may be parallel to the "manuscripts" mentioned by Gu Yanwu, with the manuscripts being the mainstay.
So how many days does Dibao issue an issue?
Let's look at it first. Volume 213 says: "Fan Liu Ke received the memorials from each yamen every day, copied them into volumes one by one, and sent them to the cabinet every five days for compilation."
Based on this record, many scholars arbitrarily say that Di Bao published an issue every five days. However, judging from the Ming Dynasty opera theorist He Liangjun's record that "Gi Shizhong received copies at Liu Ke Gallery every day", many scholars have verified that Di Bao should be published daily. ——Even if one issue is published every five days, it shows that the Ming Dynasty had the technical conditions to publish newspapers, let alone the guidance of time travellers.
How many words can be in each issue? The content of Di Bao comes from the emperor's memorials. During Wanli's youth and prime years, 20 to 30 comments were made every day. If half of the memorials could be made public, according to the research of Taiwanese journalism historian Su Tongbing, each issue of Di Bao should be published every seven days. More than a thousand words.
After talking about Di Bao, let’s talk about the distribution.
From the Ming Dynasty documents, operas, scripts, etc., it can be seen that the circulation speed of Dibao was very slow, which is closely related to the speed of information transmission in ancient times.
It can be seen that the Ming Dynasty had strict regulations on the speed of transmitting information. Here is an example:
"Shaanxi Dusi, 2650 miles of land route, 43 stops, limited to 86 days."
In other words, the message sent from Shaanxi Dusi to the capital would take 86 days if not rushed.
On the other hand, if you use the Imperial Military and Horse Station, the newspaper will not be timely at all.
Therefore, the book is intended to be published mainly to the citizens of Nanjing and surrounding cities, and it will be spread as a cultural product to other provinces through the original book sales network of Qingliu Bookstore.
So how big is the newspaper market in Nanjing?
When Nanjing developed into the Wanli period, industry and commerce were extremely developed. According to later research, its population is at least 1.2 million, and some scholars have estimated it at around 3 million. Due to time constraints, Lao Mo will not list the sources one by one. You can search for it on the Internet.
Lao Mo obtained the minimum number verified by later generations, which was 1.2 million. So what is the literacy rate? The most intuitive reflection of the literacy rate in the Ming Dynasty is in the vernacular. Three of the four major masterpieces appeared in the Ming Dynasty. In addition, there were also classics such as "The Literacy Rate" and "The Literacy Rate" in the Ming Dynasty. The writing and distribution of these books shows that the literate population in the Ming Dynasty could fully support a large Head work.
Secondly, see: "At the beginning of Chenghua, Wang Ao recommended him to be promoted to the prefect of Jiaxing... A large number of schools were established. If the children of the people did not become scholars at the age of eight, their fathers and brothers would be punished."
The legal basis for Yang Jizong's fines was well founded. The Ming Dynasty established a large number of private schools and also stipulated the age for admission. "Public children under fifteen years old can enter social schools." This is the imperial court's regulation on universal education.
Based on the above and other data, later scholars have verified that the male literacy rate in Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty should have exceeded 45%, and could reach as low as 30% - the female literacy rate was very low and could be ignored.
Having said this, readers can probably know whether a literate population of at least 400,000 people can support a daily newspaper published in this city? Not to mention teahouses and government subscriptions - Lao Mo arranged for the protagonist to open the first daily newspaper in Nanjing, not just for pats on the back.
Why do you think Lao Mo’s daily report is a bit ridiculous? Everyone has overlooked one point. After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the killings in the entire south were extremely brutal. You can search for details on your own. Lao Mo doesn’t want to read this information - these massacres were also occasionally seen in the descendants of Nurhachi, not only I feel like this is something that needs to be obscured.
The literary prisons that flourished after the massacre were unprecedented in intensity from Shunzhi to Qianlong. Therefore - the entire Chinese nation lags behind in literacy and knowledge. The "numb Chinese" criticized by Lu Xun emerged not because our ancestors have always been like this, but because they became domesticated under the butcher's knife and after hundreds of years. Collective numbness and ignorance, insensitivity to new knowledge and new things.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, at least in the south of the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese nation was ready to enter the modern era economically and culturally. Unfortunately, this process was ruined by a combination of factors such as the Little Glacier climate, the corruption of the Ming government, and the shortcomings of the system and mechanisms. This was also one of Lao Mo's motivations for writing this book.
To sum up, please have more confidence in your own nation’s culture. The legacy of our ancestors has made China proudly lead the world for nearly two thousand years. Only in the past two hundred years has it completely fallen behind. What we have to do is not to blame our ancestors or criticize the Manchus, but to do every job at hand well. , through everyone's efforts, let our great nation return to her original position again.
Finally, this explanatory article by Lao Mo is not to start a fight, nor is it to argue. It is just an explanation of the questions raised by everyone, and has no other meaning. Laomo always welcomes everyone's comments. No matter what point of view you put forward, Laomo can benefit from it. thank you all!
Mo Jie.
