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

August 14th, Shanghai.

The weather was gloomy today, with low-hanging light gray clouds.

The air was damp, it felt like rain was about to fall but wouldn't, and the stuffiness was making people restless.

The outline of the dock was faint and indistinct, as blurry as a faded ink painting. The ship's whistle sounded dull and mournful, like a call from another world.

In the alleyways of Dongxinqiao Street, the moss at the base of the walls grows very thick; you know how painful it is to fall if you step on it.

A vegetable vendor squatted by the roadside, a few bunches of greens and scallions laid out in front of him, calling out listlessly. Hachimi jumped down from the wall, a fish tail in its mouth, and quickly disappeared into the depths of the alley.

Lin Wangzheng was having breakfast in his room on the third floor of the hotel.

A bowl of plain rice porridge, a plate of fermented bean curd, and a plate of pickled vegetables—a very common breakfast in Shanghai. However, he wasn't picky. Although he had made some money these days and even made a name for the "Strange News" newspaper, if he were to be extravagant and wasteful, he would be left with nowhere to turn when he needed money in the future.

"Creak—"

The door was suddenly pushed open.

Shen Zishi rushed in, the newspaper in his hand crumpled, his face extremely grim.

Lin Wangzheng looked up at him and asked in confusion:

"What's wrong? Did the police call?"

Shen Zishi shook his head and slammed the newspaper on the table:

"The Asia Daily has fired back! Xue Dake himself wrote the article!"

That slap was quite forceful; it spilled the rice porridge and almost soaked the manuscript on the table.

"What are you doing? What are you doing!"

Lin Wangzheng hurriedly grabbed a rag to wipe the table: "It's just Xue Dake, why are you so agitated?"

It's no wonder Shen Zishi was in such a hurry.

As the mouthpiece of Yuan Shikai's party, Xue Da was likely the chief editor of the Asia Daily. He must have had his own exceptional qualities, certainly not lacking in knowledge, and also very sharp-tongued.

Putting aside his speed in sliding on his knees, his abilities, achievements, and influence in the newspaper industry are not to be underestimated.

For the Strange News, writing articles and hosting special sessions is now a tremendous challenge.

If they don't accept the offer, their hard-earned reputation will crumble; if they do, the hard-won improvement will be followed by an even greater crisis.

Never underestimate the shamelessness of those who serve as imperial pens. If they can make a living by selling newspapers, it's not surprising that when they can't win a literary contest, they can summon an invisible hand to use martial arts against scholars.

At that point, it won't be a debate, but rather a night raid on the small inn by spies, leaving the uncle and nephew with nowhere to turn!

"Look at this, stop just talking!"

Shen Zishi was getting a little anxious.

Lin Wangzheng felt that his uncle lacked the demeanor of a journalist, so he glanced at him speechlessly and picked up the Asia Daily.

Hey! It's still on the front page!

"A Rebuttal to the Outrageous Claims of a Certain Shanghai-Songjiang Tabloid—Written by Xue Dake, Chief Writer of this Newspaper"

Upon seeing the title, Lin Wangzheng burst out laughing, his eyes narrowing as he nearly burst out laughing.

That's so stingy! They're not even willing to give "Strange News" a shout-out!

Shen Zishi was confused by his nephew's reaction:

"What are you laughing at?"

"I thought of something happy."

Lin Wangzheng gave a vague reply and then looked down at the article.

Recently, some unscrupulous individuals, under the guise of public opinion, have published erroneous articles, raving that "the ancient scholars were wrong." Their language is vulgar, their meaning perverse, like an ant trying to shake a giant tree, or a sparrow mocking a roc. Nothing could be more disgraceful to scholarship! Therefore, I have written this article to refute these fallacies and rectify people's minds.

It must be admitted that Xue Dake's writing is quite good. He begins by using the three words "petty scoundrels," "faking public opinion," and "publishing fallacies" to characterize the "Strange News," and then uses "its language is vulgar and its meaning is perverse" to denigrate Lin Wangzheng's article as worthless.

Finally, the author uses two allusions, "an ant trying to shake a giant tree" and "a sparrow mocking a roc," to belittle the opponent and attempt to trample Lin Wangzheng into the mud. The author's tone is aggressive and easy to read aloud.

The veteran journalist still has some skills.

However, Lin Wangzheng didn't care much. If the reactionaries were truly capable in theory, why would they resort to such insults?

A Russian revolutionary, now residing in Switzerland, made the following statement in his book "The Political Significance of Insults," published last year:

"Political abuse often masks the abuser's lack of principles, helplessness, and weakness."

Let's continue.

[Refuting the fallacy that "the people's will can choose the form of government"]

This article falsely claims that "the form of government is chosen by the hearts of hundreds of millions," a view utterly ignorant and unsophisticated! Confucius, in writing the *Spring and Autumn Annals*, established social roles and created rites and music; did he consult commoners? Guan Zhong governed Qi, and Shang Yang strengthened Qin; were these decisions made in the marketplace? Governing a country is not a trivial matter. In times of great upheaval, only a wise and capable ruler can pacify the realm. Now, after four years of communist rule, chaos abounds: vote-buying by members of parliament, partisan infighting, and provincial divisions—is this not the result of the "people's will"? The ancient scholar Gu clearly understood the root of order and chaos in the East and West, stating that the political system should conform to history and public sentiment—truly insightful! These people, using the Wuchang Uprising as a mere coincidence, attempt to equate it with "the choice of hundreds of millions," but have they not seen the century of turmoil and bloodshed in France? According to their logic, the Paris rioters would all be "heroes who chose their ruler"! This is the first instance of a misunderstanding of the concept of governance.

"Oh!"

Lin Wangzheng scoffed.

This passage simply uses the contrast between "Confucius writing the Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Guanzi governing Qi," "establishing names and social roles" and "the powerful Qin," and "not consulting the common people" and "not deciding in the marketplace," to prove that the development of history is determined by wise and capable rulers. On the contrary, the current chaos is a result of "people's livelihood."

This heroic historical perspective is used to defend Goodnow.

Finally, he also went on to distort the French Revolution and satirize Lin Wangzheng for not knowing how to govern a country.

If he were an ordinary reader, he might actually be convinced after reading this.

Unfortunately, he was a young man raised under the red flag, not an ordinary reader.

[A Second Rebuttal to the Folly of "Co-governance Can Avoid Hidden Conflicts"]

This article denigrates the system of succession and boasts of the "enlightenment" of elections, which is nothing but self-deception. It cites the Xuanwu Incident of the Tang Dynasty and the Tumu Crisis of the Ming Dynasty, but these were extraordinary events. Since the Zhou Dynasty established primogeniture, the succession of the Han, Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties has been orderly for over three hundred generations. Is this not the foundation of long-term stability? Now, look at the so-called "elections": in the year of Gui Chou, bribery was rampant, with five thousand silver dollars for a single vote; factions A and B turned the council chamber into a martial arts arena. Cao Kun, Lu Rongting, and their ilk—weren't they using the guise of "co-governance" to actually establish their own separatist regimes? As for the assassinations of Lincoln and Garfield in America, did their "enlightened" elections truly prevent bloodshed? Dr. Gu's profound consideration of the established rules of succession is truly intended to prevent treacherous schemers from plotting and to extinguish the ambitions of ruthless villains. Those who consider street brawls "upright and honorable" and palace intrigues "the root of all evil" are demonstrating their utter ignorance of the ways of the world.

This passage uses the hypocrisy and incompleteness of bourgeois democratic elections to defend the "primogeniture" system, which is not worth refuting.

It should be understood that while bourgeois formal democracy, compared to feudal autocracy, may not guarantee a perfect solution, its absence would certainly lead to utter chaos.

This is the principle that Lin Wangzheng learned in his previous life when he studied at the Academy of Marxism.

We cannot abandon the struggle for democracy and turn to feudal autocracy just because democracy has been undermined or is only superficial.

[A Third Rebuttal to the Claim that "Public Intelligence Can Be Cultivated Through Co-governance"]

The most laughable argument is attributing the lack of public awareness to the lingering poison of autocracy. They claim "co-governance is impossible without enlightening the people," yet look at the current situation: schools chant "freedom and equality," yet children disobey their fathers and brothers; newspapers advocate "individual liberation," yet women are seen showing their faces in public. In Anqing, students assaulted officials; in Shanghai, women openly displayed their arms. This is not enlightenment, but a collapse of morality! In the past, Zichan did not destroy village schools, and Confucius consulted Laozi about rites; did they ever tolerate ignorant people discussing politics? The ancient scholar said, "Co-governance is difficult when the people are ignorant," which is a fundamental and accurate argument. They cite South America as an example, unaware that Mexico's leader, Jaszczuk, ruled with an iron fist for thirty years, and the country's power was just beginning to rise; however, due to the empty formalities of "elections," rebellions broke out, leading to the deployment of American warships to Veracruz. Is this not clear evidence that "co-governance harms the country"?

Upon reading this, Lin Wangzheng laughed out loud again.

What does this passage mean? In Xue Dake's view, students learn about "freedom and equality" and then disobey their fathers and brothers when they return home; newspapers advocate "individual liberation" and women start showing their faces in public, which is simply "the collapse of morality and social order".

This is Confucian doctrine, so absurd that there's basically no need to read the rest.

[Four stabs at the false loyalty of "outside interference"]

The final paragraph of this article, ostensibly patriotic, conceals malicious intent. It claims to be "warning against foreigners leading us down the same old path," a veiled insult that also insults friendly nations! Dr. Gu, a Harvard graduate, is well-versed in both Chinese and Western learning. His invitation to China to offer advice was purely out of a sense of justice. Max Weber called bureaucracy the crystallization of reason, and Hobbes considered Leviathan a necessity for order. Civilized nations learn from each other's theories; how can there be talk of "manipulation"? Conversely, the author of this article implicitly cites border unrest as "the will of the people," clearly sharing the same sentiments as overseas rebels and Southeast Asian revolutionaries. In contemporary China, President Yuan Shikai quelled two major upheavals, earnestly requesting international recognition before achieving tariff autonomy—a wise example of "leveraging external forces." These individuals, spouting empty rhetoric of "spiritual independence," seek to isolate China once again; their intentions are despicable!

This insults our friendly nations!

At this time, American imperialism also became a friendly nation.

He also cited Weber and Hobbes to justify the regression, and then praised Yuan Shikai's great achievements, such as "suppressing the Second Revolution" and "tariff autonomy," saying that this was the imperial wisdom of "using leverage," which was still blatant lying.

[Conclusion]

[Having read Zhuangzi, I recall the ephemeral mushroom that knows neither dawn nor dusk, nor the cicada that knows neither spring nor autumn. Looking at these people today, they are almost like that! They fail to see that the European war is raging, and the great powers are vying for supremacy; only a strong regime can ensure survival. They fail to understand the national character of the Chinese people, who have been fragmented for millennia; only a single leader can unite them. The ancient scholar's "On Co-governance and Monarchy" is meticulously researched, insightful about current affairs, and truly a panacea. Yet these people, with their vulgar and rustic language, presumptuously discuss grand theories, like a summer insect discussing ice, or a frog in a well discussing the sea.]

This newspaper hereby informs these people: your so-called "criticism" is nothing but a tactic for seeking fame and fortune; your so-called "civil rights" are in fact the wellspring of chaos and ruin for the nation. At this critical juncture of survival, you should calmly listen to the teachings of wise men and refrain from barking like mad dogs. If you continue to be deluded, you will not only be a disgrace to the newspaper, but also a scourge to the nation!

[This newspaper solemnly declares: Anyone who slanders the national system or incites public sentiment will be prosecuted according to law without leniency!]

Finally, using a story from Zhuangzi, they continued to label Lin Wangzheng and threatened him fiercely, saying that if he continued to be "stubborn and unrepentant," he would be a criminal against the country and would be severely punished according to the law!

It really came to this.

Lin Wangzheng put down the newspaper, picked up his rice porridge and continued eating, saying nonchalantly:

"Xue Dake is a learned man."

Shen Zishi was extremely anxious:

"You're praising him? He's insulting you!"

Lin Wangzheng picked up half a piece of fermented bean curd and put it in his mouth, clicking his tongue as he said:

"Good for you! The more you scold me, the happier I am."

Shen Zishi was stunned:

"Are you out of your mind?"

Lin Wangzheng tapped the newspaper with his chopsticks:

"The harsher his words, the more anxious he is; the more anxious he is, the more it means my article hit a nerve."

"If he replies with a nonchalant 'read, no comment,' or simply ignores us, that's the real problem; it means he doesn't take us seriously at all."

"Now, with such a long and detailed article, what does it mean? It means I've really hurt them."

Shen Zishi opened his mouth, unable to refute:

"Can you please stop being so careless?"

Lin Wangzheng nodded, quickly finished his rice porridge, walked to the table, spread out the manuscript paper, dipped his pen in ink, and made as if he was about to write something.

Shen Zishi asked:

What are you doing?