Chapter 92: The Imperial Ming Times

The Imperial Ming Times officially published its first issue on the fourth day of the eighth month. Because of the Shanxi merchants affair, some new content had been added, so the publication date was delayed by a few days from the original schedule.

The first issue ran five thousand copies at one wen per copy. Compared to the Shanghai Current Affairs News, edited by Liang Qichao in the late Qing, at ten wen per copy, the Imperial Ming Times not only made no money—it even lost money.

Zhu Cilang had no intention of using the Imperial Ming Times to make money. Through the newspaper, he wanted to spread knowledge, open the people's minds, help them understand the world, promote patriotic thought, introduce scientific and technological knowledge, and gradually transform the thinking of the people of the Great Ming.

Politics, economics, military affairs, culture, science, history—expansion on all fronts, with particular emphasis on political propaganda against the Manchu Qing in the north and the roving bandits in the Central Plains.

Of course, Zhu Cilang also took into account that the illiteracy rate among the people of the Great Ming was far too high, with most unable to read. So he established over a hundred newspaper kiosks throughout the capital, which not only sold the papers but also had dedicated readers reading them aloud every day.

Same trick as when the notice was posted back in Liangxiang—as long as someone literate opened their mouth and read, there was money to be made. Knowledge changes destiny.

On the very day the Imperial Ming Times was published, crowds packed the areas around the newspaper kiosks on every major street—some reading the paper, some listening to it being read. For a time, every corner of the capital was bustling with excitement.

In the past, although China's ancient books recorded many matters, their language was lofty and archaic. Though there were also somewhat more accessible books, novels, and encyclopedias of natural history, some of their content was absurd and groundless, fit only as material for literati idle talk. They could not be enjoyed by both refined and common alike—ordinary people simply could not understand them at all!

The articles in the Imperial Ming Times were concise yet detailed in their accounts, with language that was plain and down-to-earth. Not only could scholar-officials appreciate them, but even workers, farmers, and merchants with only slight literacy could understand them.

The Imperial Ming Times stated its purpose plainly from the very first page, taking ordinary people as its readership. This led some common folk to begin learning about reading newspapers, becoming loyal readers of the Imperial Ming Times.

Within just a few days of publication, the Imperial Ming Times immediately stirred discussion among people of all walks of life in the capital. Many literati rushed to praise it:

"The content of the Imperial Ming Times covers the politics of the state, the changes of customs, the essential affairs of governance, the gains and losses of merchant trade, and all manner of startling and delightful matters."

"Only with such a news-sheet can the things worth spreading under heaven be broadcast throughout the world, enabling people to know the affairs of the world without ever leaving their homes."

""

After Zhu Cilang had left the Han Scripture Factory last time, Shi Zhidong found over a dozen literati within just two days. These were all relatively down-and-out juren, mostly contemporaries or fellow townsmen of Shi Zhidong—literati belonging to the same circle.

Following the Crown Prince's requirements, Shi Zhidong formed the editorial department of the Imperial Ming Times. The content of the first issue was written by these very men.

After the first issue was published, work on the second and third issues began immediately. During this period, Zhu Cilang inspected the editorial department of the Imperial Ming Times, leaving the editors overwhelmed with flattered surprise.

Zhu Cilang told them to write boldly—anything was permissible as long as it did not oppose the court or oppose humanity. They could also solicit submissions from the reading public; anyone who wrote well would be paid.

Zhu Cilang finally told them that if they editors did a good job, they would all be given official posts and brought into the system in the future.

All the other talk of treatment was nonsense—that last sentence was what really hit home. It instantly made the editors of the Imperial Ming Times as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood, trembling with fervor, throwing their youth into the cause of newspaper journalism with even greater zeal.

Shi Zhidong was extremely interested in this assignment and even gave himself a pen name: Shi Hanlin. Though only three characters, it represented the Hanlin dream that filled his heart.

The other editors followed his example and gave themselves pen names as well, and all sorts of flashy pen names gradually came into being.

Zhu Cilang's continuous infusion of capital expanded the Han Scripture Factory several times over, with many new printing presses and craftsmen added.

At the same time, he converted the mansions of the eight great traitors in New Taicang Lane into the editorial headquarters of the Imperial Ming Times, and invested another ten thousand taels of silver to increase printing equipment and recruit craftsmen, formally establishing the Imperial Ming Times Society.

Starting from the second issue, the Imperial Ming Times officially confirmed a schedule of one issue every three days, with ten thousand copies per issue. Its readership expanded from the capital to Tongzhou, Daxing, Shunyi, and other places near the capital.

In the second issue, the person with the pen name "Number One Handsome Man of the Great Ming" published another article titled "Revealing How a Chen-surnamed Vice Bureau Director of the Ministry of Revenue Step by Step Walked into the Abyss." Zhu Cilang wanted to use this article to rap the knuckles of these officials—when you hold office, you must restrain yourself, and not bring ruin upon yourself.

This article involved a court official, which astonished many people. How dare the newspaper write something so taboo? Weren't they afraid of being invited to tea by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, or having the paper shut down by the court?

It was only when the Imperial Ming Times put out its third issue that people became convinced there must be some big shot behind it—otherwise, who would dare play it this way?

Soon word spread that the Crown Prince's entourage had been seen coming and going from the editorial department of the Imperial Ming Times. This news put many people at ease—no wonder the Imperial Ming Times was so bold, daring to say anything. So the current Crown Prince stood behind it after all.

Gradually, people began submitting articles one after another, publishing pieces on novel sights and strange experiences. Some even grew bold enough to comment on certain court policies.

When the literati saw that these articles did not draw punishment from the court, some of the bolder ones began publishing their own political views in the Imperial Ming Times as well.

What these people never expected was that not only were they not investigated, they could even collect that thing called a contribution fee. So more and more literati successively published articles in the Imperial Ming Times.

The types of content published in the Imperial Ming Times grew ever more numerous each day, covering literature, astronomy, geography, mathematics, agriculture, medicine, and every other field.

Worried that the editorial staff did not understand these subjects, Zhu Cilang directly had portions of Adam Schall's Chongzhen Calendar, Xu Guangqi's Complete Treatise on Agriculture, Elements of Geometry, and Hydraulic Methods of the West excerpted and published daily in the science section of the Imperial Ming Times.

Through the newspaper, Zhu Cilang wanted to subtly give the people of the Great Ming a clear understanding of the world, so they would not remain stuck in their ways. He sought to gradually change their thinking and spark some people's interest in science.

Historically, science and technology developed rapidly in the late Ming, producing many scientists. Now, with the Imperial Ming Times serving as a vehicle, these scattered individuals had the opportunity to communicate, to verify and inspire one another, and to promote scientific development.

The success of the Imperial Ming Times in the Northern Metropolitan Region set Zhu Cilang's mind greatly at ease. He began making arrangements to establish branch offices of the Imperial Ming Times throughout the country, which would simultaneously serve as intelligence posts for Li Tingbiao and other members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard across the nation, using the newspaper as cover to transmit information.

Zhu Cilang also memorialized the Chongzhen Emperor, requesting that the Imperial Ming Times Society be placed under the Ministry of Rites, establishing a Ministry of Rites Propaganda Bureau. Shi Zhidong would serve as Bureau Director at the fifth rank, responsible for managing the Imperial Ming Times Society. The Chongzhen Emperor approved on the spot.

As for the power of the newspaper—perhaps people did not think much of it at first, but gradually the court would come to realize its might. Zhu Cilang could not keep it clutched in his own hands forever; doing so would only invite criticism from others.