- North China Daily News
-
Front page of the inaugural issue of the North China Herald (August 3, 1850)
North China Daily News (Chinese: 字林西報; pinyin: Zìlín Xībào) was an English-language newspaper in Shanghai, China, called the most influential foreign newspaper of its time.[1]
The paper was founded as the weekly North-China Herald (北華捷報, Běihuá Jiébào) and was first published on 3 August 1850. Its founder, British auctioneer Henry Shearman (奚安門, Xī'ānmén), died in 1856. A daily edition commenced publication on 1 June 1864 as the North China Daily News. The North-China Herald was also the gazette (official record) of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan and the British Consulate. For much of the period it was published under the masthead North-China Herald and Supreme Court and Consular Gazette. The newspaper was an influential force in Shanghai and throughout China. Its circulation peaked at 7,817 copies.
A notable early editor was Frederic H. Balfour. Other editors included Archibald John Little's brother R.W. "Bob" Little (李德立 Lǐdélì), who also served on the Shanghai International Settlement, the municipal council. In 1901, the paper was purchased by Henry E. Morris (馬立斯 Mǎlìsī). In 1920, the paper passed to his son, H.E. Morris Jr., who used his money to build a compound of luxurious houses which became today's Ruijin Hotel,[2] as well as the Canidrome, a dog-racing stadium. One of the two Morrises also purchased the Hellier Stradivarius[3]. In 1924, the newspaper moved its headquarters to the new North China Daily News Building at Number 17 on the Bund, then the tallest building in Shanghai.
The North-China Herald and the daily edition suspended publication after 8 December 1941 during the Pacific war. Publication of the Herald was never resumed. On 31 March 1951, the North China Daily News suspended publication at the orders of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and the North China Daily News Building was seized by the Shanghai municipal government, part of the People's Republic of China.
The Shanghai Library keeps back issues of the North China Daily News and the North-China Herald at its branch in Xujiahui next to the old Catholic Cathedral. You need a library card from the Main Branch on Gao'an Road at Huaihai Road. The fee for a library card is ¥100 per year. You need to bring passport for identification.
Newspaperarchive.com (a subscription site) also has the North China Herald from 1850 to 1926 as part of its online database of old newspapers.
Notes
- ^ Xiaoqun Xu. Chinese Professionals and the Republican State: The Rise of Professional Associations in Shangahai, 1912–1937 Cambridge University Press, 2001. p. 45. ISBN 0521780713
- ^ City Guide to Shanghai
- ^ Cozio owner info
Other references
- Pan Haixia. "Witness to history." Shanghai Star. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
External links
- "The English-language Newspaper scene, 1930s" An excerpt from Sin City, by Ralph Shaw, a British journalist who worked for the North China Daily News
Categories:- Newspapers published in China
- Publications established in 1850
- Publications disestablished in 1951
- Shanghai culture
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
