| “One month in Yan’an” is a journalistic work issued by Chaogou Zhao,a journalist from the Nationalist-ruled areas,after following a delegation of Chinese and foreign journalists from the northwest of China to Yan’an.By interpreting “One month in Yan’an”through the lens of knowledge,exploring the specific production process of the book and its interaction with society after its release,we can uncover more of its historical value as news.This article takes January in Yan’an as the core of its research,taking the process of knowledge production of January in Yan’an as its historical path and the sociology of knowledge combined with news production as its theoretical logic.The first part of the main body of the essay draws on Mannheim’s notion of the sociology of knowledge as a "constellation" to sort out the historical context around Yan’an January,to find its intellectual position in the knowledge spectrum constructed by Parker,and to categorise and analyse its intellectual content,which lies between the emotional travelogue and the rational objective historical facts.It is between the emotional travelogue and the rational and objective historical facts,fulfilling its unique historical mission in a central position.With the intervention of the American government,the Nationalist Party’s preoccupation with the Yan’an border area,and the Communist Party’s struggle against the war under years of blockade,why has January in Yan’an become a kind of knowledge? It was the combined efforts of politics,the media and the public,the appropriation,seizure and ultimate power of news as a social resource.The second part analyses the process of knowledge production in “One month in Yan’an”in depth after clarifying its intellectual positioning.The entanglement between the positions of Chaogou Zhao and the New People’s Daily,the interference of the Kuomintang in the entire production,and the full force of the Communist Party’s arrangements make the production of “One month in Yan’an” no longer a mere news report,but a dangerous one.Chaogou Zhao,as the first producer,insists on professional journalism and liberalism to objectively control the content of Yan’an January,but inevitably,due to his inevitable perceptions,he is biased in favour of the KMT’s perspective,but compared to his fellow journalists,the news value of “One month in Yan’an” still deserves recognition.The power of the Nationalist authorities to regulate the production of knowledge,the selection of journalists,the process of visits,and the entire process of editing and publishing were monitored.There is also the fact that the Communist Party and Chaogou Zhao constructs a platform for dialogue,the careful staging of the reception and the control of the knowledge content,which is also a force to be reckoned with in the production of knowledge.Meanwhile,the successful production of “One month in Yan’an” would not have been possible without the concerted efforts of the newspaper staff of Xinmin Bao,who played against the power of the authorities,insisted on speaking for the public and fully supported the publication of the book,but at the same time would have been forced to compromise by the newspaper’s business considerations.The final part of the article lands on the social interactions,i.e.the social impact,that“One month in Yan’an” generated as knowledge after the book was published.he positioning of knowledge varies in different intellectual spaces and has different social effects in different contexts of knowledge dissemination: for the Kuomintang authorities,it is assessed as ’opening the eyes of the bandits’ and its continued publication is strictly forbidden,and the power of knowledge to construct society in reverse is thus reflected in the nationalist-ruled areas.For the Communist Party,it was described as "Red Star Over China"","One month in Yan’an" reported on the true face of Yan’an behind the blockade and did justice to the Yan’an border area,yet the discrepancies between"Yan’an January" and the Communist Party’s propaganda guidelines,as well as its blinkered rhetoric to avoid Kuomintang censorship,have led to a significant difference in the historical treatment of the two works.For the young people living in the National Unification Area at the time,this book was undoubtedly a ’guiding light’,and the most realistic perceptions and changes brought about by “One month in Yan’an” were the best proof that it was regarded as knowledge.The knowledge produced in “One month in Yan’an” is more than just history,and the complex emotions and choices made by the many forces that supported,obstructed,interfered,insisted,wavered and compromised during its production are all reflected in the book,which seems to have overshadowed the essence of “One month in Yan’an” as journalism,but it is undeniable that this is the reality of journalism.Whether it is a powerful ideology or a small personal preference,a long historical and cultural background or a sudden obstacle,a government in power or anonymous people in the city,all influence the presentation and interpretation of news stories.And journalists are expected to navigate through them,maintaining a difficult but rewarding respect for and pursuit of the truth. |
