Peking Gazette

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Peking Gazette was a publication of the Chinese imperial court dating back to the Tang dynasty in the 8th century, and issued almost every day from then until 1912, soon after the last Qing Dynasty fell and republican China was born.

The publication was called Jing Bao (京报) in Chinese - literally "the Capital Report" - and it contained information of the official memorials submitted to the emperor, and the decisions made or deferred.

Author J.C. Sun in his book [Modern Chinese Press], published in 1946, said the Gazette seemed to have been
designed entirely for officers of the Chinese Government, and its publication to the people was merely by connivance contrary to law, as was formerly the case with regard the publication of parliamentary speeches in England. The recommendation of individuals for promotion, the impeachment of others, notices of removal from office and of rewards or degradations — these were the chief topics which filled its columns.

Publication type

Contrary to a sometimes voiced belief, the Peking Gazette was not a newspaper, but a government bulletin, although it might be considered a distant precursor:

The East Asian press was studied relatively late in the West. One of the reasons is that newspapers did not exist in China, Japan, and Korea until these countries opened to Western influences. There were certainly forerunners of newsprint also in the indigenous tradition, like the famous Peking Gazette (Jingpao) which is often claimed to be oldest newspaper of the world. We find numerous little articles in Western papers on the Jingbao, usually from secondary or tertiary sources; they do not take into account that this gazette had limited circulation and that it just contained edicts and decrees – thus it does not fit the modern definition of newspaper. But it definitely was a forerunner of newsprint.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Hartmut Walravens: "The Early East Asian Press in the Eyes of the West. Some bibliographical notes", World Library and Information Congress, 72nd General Conference and Council of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 20-24 August 2006, Seoul, Korea, p. 2

See also

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