From street tabloids to the first newspaper of the Republic of China

It was almost noon.

The concessions in Shanghai were bustling with activity. Rickshaw pullers roamed the streets, and trams slowly made their way to the stations along the tracks.

The French Concession and the International Settlement were adjacent to each other. Shen Zishi, with a pipe in his mouth, swayed leisurely all the way to No. 309, Sanma Road, Wangping Street.

This area, known as "Newspaper Street" due to its concentration of newspaper offices, is permeated with the smell of ink. When the printing presses start up, it sounds like a thousand horses galloping, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

The two-story brick and wood building looks unremarkable from the outside, but the "Shenbao Office" sign in front of the door makes it impossible to look down on it.

It was a commercial newspaper founded on April 30, 1872, by British businessman Annasto Mecha and others. Its main purpose was to make a profit, and it was positioned as "a newspaper for the Chinese people". It gained fame in the late Qing Dynasty.

After changing hands several times, it was acquired by Shi Jiaxiu and others in 1912. Its reputation is steadily increasing, and it is known as one of the three major newspapers in Shanghai, along with the Xinwenbao and Shibao.

Shen Zishi was envious, but envy was useless. He sighed a few times and then stepped inside.

When the young man at the reception desk saw him, he was about to ask him something when he waved his hand in advance and walked away without stopping, as if he were returning home.

As he passed the editorial office on the second floor, he greeted a middle-aged man in a suit, exuding a composed demeanor, who was sitting in the editor-in-chief's seat.

"Old Chen!"

When Chen Huasheng's name was called, he looked up, saw it was him, nodded with his pipe in his mouth, and that was his way of greeting him.

Shen Zishi knew this was his "cold-blooded" personality, so he didn't dwell on it too much. After searching around again, he yelled at the editor-in-chief of the *Shenbao* newspaper's "Free Talk" section:

"A Wu Jue fan!"

Wu Juemi, who was writing furiously at his desk, was startled by the sudden call. His writing became crooked, and he looked up in annoyance. Seeing it was him, he laughed and scolded:

"Old man! What brings you here today?"

"I need to speak with Shi Jiaxiu!"

"Go away, he's in his office."

Shen Zishi smiled, went upstairs to the general manager's office, and when he got there, he didn't even knock on the door, he practically kicked it open.

"Old Shi, I'm here!"

Shi Jiaxiu, who was eating glutinous rice balls at his desk, was startled by the shout and his hand trembled. The glutinous rice ball fell back into the bowl with a "plop," and soup splashed all over his face.

What are you doing?

Shi Jiaxiu clutched his chest, looked up and saw Shen Zishi. He was both annoyed and amused: "You came, but you had to shout it from the rooftops. You'll scare me to death one day!"

Shen Zishi entered with an awkward smile, making no attempt to be polite. He pulled up a stool for himself and sat down at the table.

Shi Jiaxiu took out a handkerchief and wiped the soup off his face.

As a newspaper tycoon in Shanghai today, when he took over the Shen Bao in 1912, the newspaper was on its last legs; its daily circulation was only 7,000 copies, almost on par with street tabloids.

It was he who raised money from all over the place, recruited GGs, established a distribution network, and invited capable people like Chen Huasheng and Zhang Jueping; he also carried out sweeping reforms to the structure, established professional journalists, and hired special correspondents and foreign correspondents to build news gathering points all over the country, which saved the dying state.

He pulled the circulation back from the brink of bankruptcy to over 10,000 copies in just three years. This ability is remarkable, no matter where you place it.

However, he has been quite troubled lately because he has been involved in a lawsuit over the trademark "Shenbao" and has lost a lot of money.

Now my friend is showing up again, I wonder what kind of trouble he's up to...

"You never come here unless you need something. If you have something to say, say it. Don't just stand there rubbing your hands together."

Shi Jiaxiu poured two cups of tea for each person.

Shen Zishi chuckled:

"I do have something to do."

"Money or people?"

As Shi Jiaxiu spoke, he reached into his robes.

Shen Zishi quickly waved his hand:

"I don't want either!"

Shi Jiaxiu's hand paused, and he looked at him with some surprise:

"So you're here to make fun of me?"

Shen Zishi rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Just as he was about to explain his purpose, Shi Jiaxiu seemed to remember something, pulled out a copy of "Strange News" from the pile of newspapers on the table, and waved it in the air.

"You tabloid shill, what's with this sudden change of heart?"

Shen Zishi shook his head and replied:

"It was all because of Old Lin's son that I was forced to do it."

When someone asked about this, he put on a helpless expression, crossed his legs, spread his hands, and said in a strange tone:

"Originally, by appearing in sex scandals, fortune telling, and occasionally finding a sucker to rip you off, you could earn a few dollars a day. You wouldn't be rich, but you wouldn't be struggling either."

"Ever since this kid came, he's been thinking about making big news every day, talking about being tough and ruthless. A while ago, he directly broke off relations with me, complaining that my report was vulgar and that my content lacked backbone. What can I, as his uncle, do?"

Shi Jiaxiu was amused and burst out laughing:

"And then? How did he force you?"

Shen Zishi thought for a moment, then mimicked Lin Wangzheng's tone:

"Change to publishing articles about ordinary people, write responsible editorials, use vernacular Chinese, add punctuation, and also collect reader letters."

Shi Jiaxiu laughed heartily and gave a thumbs up:

"Young people really have ideas!"

Shen Zishi got more and more excited as he spoke, almost putting his feet on the table:

"The worst part is that I threatened him, saying that if I made him the chief writer, he would be the one executed if anything happened. But he didn't back down at all. Instead, he asked me for money, saying it was for expenses to go to the dock for reporting."

"The document you're holding now is his masterpiece, and the effect is indeed quite good."

Shi Jiaxiu's smile faded, and his expression turned serious:

"He did all of this?"

"Yes, I spent three days at Taikoo Wharf, getting close to the workers, drinking and chatting with them, and then I wrote all night after I got back."

Although it was supposed to be a rant, Shen Zishi's tone sounded somewhat smug.

Shi Jiaxiu looked at the contents again and realized the seriousness of the matter.

How could an 18-year-old write such an interview in just three days and one night?

His gaze lingered on the "Editor's Note" for a moment, then he sighed.

"This child is extraordinary."

"Old Lin died at the hands of Yuan Xiangcheng. He was filled with hatred for his father's murder and had witnessed the state of the world firsthand. It's normal for him to have ambitions."

"But you're really not lying to me? Did he really do this interview all by himself?"

Shen Zishi nodded:

"I just did some layout."

Shi Jiaxiu's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Shen Zishi noticed this change, his heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling arose within him. He cautiously inquired:

"What do you want to do?"

Shi Jiaxiu waved his hand, his smile gentle:

"It's nothing, go on, what brings you here?"

Shen Zishi put down his crossed legs, snatched the glutinous rice balls from the table, stuffed them into his mouth, and chewed with his eyes squinted:

"Authentic A-Liu Tangyuan from Sijing Town has a thin skin and a generous filling. One bite and your mouth is filled with juicy goodness. It's not something that most people can afford."

"Only a powerful tycoon like you can afford to eat that."

Shi Jiaxiu was so angry he laughed:

"What 'warlord'? You're making me sound like one of those warlords."

"You're even more powerful than warlords. Warlords control people and demand guns, while you control people and demand pens."

"Alright, alright, stop joking around. How much do you want?"

"I'm not here to borrow money, I'm here to ask about someone."

Shen Zishi swallowed the glutinous rice ball, wiped his mouth clean with his sleeve, and put on a serious expression: "Goodnow, you've heard of him, right?"

Shi Jiaxiu's expression changed instantly. He leaned back in his chair and stared at Shen Zishi with a serious look:

Why are you asking about this?

Shen Zishi was silent for a moment, then raised his head and gave a bitter smile:

"It's not that I want to ask, it's that kid."

"From the Lin family?"

"Yes."

Why?

The historian Xiu Man was puzzled.

Shen Zishi recounted in detail Lin Wangzheng's reaction upon seeing the article "On Monarchy and Co-governance".

After listening, Shi Jiaxiu's expression changed several times:

"Are you going to criticize Goodnow?"

"Yes."

"Are you out of your minds! Yuan Xiangcheng's influence may not reach into the foreign concessions, but do you think those lackeys of Yuan's faction inside will let you off the hook? Your shabby newspaper office doesn't even have a proper storefront; you're hiding in an alley. They could burn you and your newspaper to the ground in one night!"

Shi Jiaxiu stood up, stepped forward, pointed at Shen Zishi's nose, and scolded him.

Shen Zishi's face turned pale. He gritted his teeth and finally spoke:

"Old Shi, I've thought about all of what you've said."

"I've suppressed him for two years, I've done my best. Do you know what he told me? He said that running a newspaper is like risking your life, exactly what his father said!"

"He's only eighteen, in the prime of his youth. Not to mention the fire burning inside him for two years now, how am I supposed to quell it?"

"I can only go along with him and hint at it indirectly, lest he do something rash and go to the revolutionaries."