Early "novel Monthly" And The End Of The Qing Shanghai Urban Culture

Monthly Novel is a novel magazine published in the initial period of Qing Dynasty,belonging to Commerce Publishing House. This paper does researches on the relationbetween this magazine and Shanghai urbanization in modern times. It involves twomeanings, namely, the relation between novel magazine and Shanghai urbanization,and relation between novel and Shanghai urbanization. In a broad sense, MonthlyNovel, originally published in Shanghai, and novels with Shanghai as theirbackground, are, indeed, parts of city civilization of Shanghai. Treating them as anindependent one, this paper carries on its observation. Apart from their prominentfeatures, they are also the reflections of characteristics of Shanghai culture of moderntimes, and are rather typical. Therefore, this paper, by means of culturally mutualprove of novel magazine, novel, and Shanghai city, intends to unveil the developmentof mass media with Monthly Novel as the representative and novels backgrounded byShanghai stories, as well as some principle of cultural prosperity of Shanghai city.Firstly, novel magazine and city civilization of Shanghai. By analyzing the basis ofnovel magazine, this paper put focus on introducing editing principles, editors of twoterms of office, and writing circle. Magazine is closely related with printing industry,so Commerce Publishing House, whose thoughts have direct influence on MonthlyNovel, can not be neglected in terms of its observation. The prosperity of Shanghaipublishing press with Commerce Publishing House as the leader became the mark ofthe improvement of national quality at that time, which not only reflects theenhancement of printing techniques, and development of mass media, but also bringscultural reform and thought renewing to speed up the prosperity of city culture, andvice versa.Externally, there exist some mutual relations between magazines, writers, and bookhouses, between readers and culture. Novel magazine mainly depends on good worksof writer, and is in need of excellent writers to prune magazine. No doubt, it can offera place for writers to publish their articles, and make a living as well. In order toobtain financial support of book houses, it also offer them free ads and transmit theirthought tendency. Because of profit, writers and houses use mutually. Novel magazineneeds writers. Under the influence of market, the interests of writers often determinethe aesthetics tendency of magazine while the taste of novel magazine also affectsreaders 'qualities. The development of magazine usually is the symbol of culturalprosperity, that is to say, mass media, undoubtedly, will turn into the externalreflection form of mass media. Readers and culture are mutually conditioned.Secondly, novel and city civilization of Shanghai. This part focuses on novel itself,mainly about metropolitan commercial, entertaining, public ones, and records ofactual events. Such works not only entertain people but also reflect the civilization ofShanghai, and meanwhile affect its civilization. On the contrary, the city civilizationof Shanghai in modern times has its own specialty and reasonable pursuit combiningelegant with vulgar things. It affects city people everywhere both materially andspiritually. Undoubtedly, it has an effect on the metropolitan novels themselvesbecause they are the products of the city civilization of Shanghai.By this time, influenced by European and American cultures, novel and civilizationof Shanghai have developed fast. Civilization of Shanghai demonstrates the modernspecialty of Shanghai from three main parts, including material, system and spirits,which are reflected centrally by novels. Furthermore, novels reveal the modernismabove the artistic level, for example, the creation of pattern of narrative novels.Novel is permeated with cultural thoughts. Through different perspective, anddifferent backgrounds of Shanghai stories, it actively reflects lots of heated problemsand culture of Shanghai city, e.g. fr...