A Study Of Political And History News Images In Pictorial Newspapers In The Late Qing Dynasty (1884-1912)

At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China,the tide of Eastward spread of Western learning opened the era of mass media building"national consciousness".In the process of gradually spreading the "national consciousness" through words in political discourse newspapers and magazines,the political history news images in pictorials also played the social influence of consciousness enlightenment and public opinion propaganda.Originating from the popular real experience of "good deeds are drawn as victories in the war" during the Sino French War,merchant Meicha naturally intentionally devoted a lot of attention to political and historical news in the late Qing social and current affairs news during the operation of the Dianshizhai Pictorial.Based on historical materials,the political concept of Dianshizhai Pictorial is biased towards gentleness,and there are even instances of historical facts in pink ink.Compared to the "Current Affairs Pictorial" founded in Guangzhou in 1905,the latter has a strong sense of irony and debate.Based on this contrast,the author noticed in the process of sorting out the image materials of the late Qing pictorial that the reporting of political history news in the late Qing pictorial went through a process from "enlightenment" to "awakening".In fact,this was also the path of awakening the political consciousness of the late Qing people.The ethnic characteristics reflected in the late Qing pictorial newspapers naturally cannot be separated from image expression,and at the same time,images as a carrier can help later people understand the"collective feelings" of the era behind them.Therefore,the author attempts to propose the feasibility of "using images to prove history".The content expressed in the political history news images in the late Qing pictorial newspaper is closely related to the people of the late Qing Dynasty(creators and viewers of the pictorial newspaper),but in reality,it is different from other current affairs news that are close to daily life.Due to the special nature of the late Qing government as the associated object of the political history news images in the pictorial newspaper,there is a certain sense of distance between the images and the audience.The author attempts to analyze the process and reasons for the changes in political consciousness in the political history news images in the late Qing pictorial newspapers,and at the same time,attempts to debate the authenticity of this phenomenon.In this process,the awakening process and manifestation of the"national character" and "national character" of the late Qing masses are explored.Starting from the relationship between images and history,and between images and viewers,this article explores whether and how images themselves can supplement or criticize history itself.