Chapter 36 Hu Zhengzhi: Newspapers die, newspapers die

Hu Zhengzhi (1889-1949) was named Lin, styled Zhengzhi, and acted with his style.Born in Chengdu, Sichuan.One of the founders of Xinji "Ta Kung Pao", served as the general manager and deputy editor-in-chief. Young Cha Liangyong stood at the door of the newspaper dormitory, watching Hu Zhengzhi walk down the slope step by step.He asked: "Mr. Hu, will you come back?" Hu replied: "You will." After speaking, he smiled lightly.In this smile, Cha Liangyong saw a sad look, so he stood at the door for a long time. The general manager of "Ta Kung Pao" did not come back, and even his name was gradually obliterated.The young "Ta Kung Pao" staff later became a well-known hero in the world, and it was Jin Yong.Jin Yong recalled that in 1948, Hu Zhengzhi personally presided over the revival of the Hong Kong edition of "Ta Kung Pao". More than a month, but I will never forget it."

One night in April 1948, Hu Zhengzhi suddenly fell ill and left Hong Kong to fly back to Shanghai for medical treatment.A year later, he passed away sadly in Shanghai.Scholar Fu Guoyong called it "a symbol of the end of an era".Scholar Xie Yong pointed out that in the minds of colleagues in Ta Kung Pao, Mr. Hu's departure is an ominous omen, and there may be some hints about the relationship between a person and an era in a precarious time. Xie Yong believes that after half a century, Hu Zhengzhi's death can be interpreted in this way: in a certain sense, Hu Zhengzhi's death is the death of "Ta Kung Pao", and Hu Zhengzhi's departure means that this "China's best "Newspaper" began its curtain call, and in the years that followed, the name "Ta Kung Pao" was still there, but we still have to say that "Ta Kung Pao" is dead.

To say that Ta Kung Pao is dead is to miss a dying tradition.In this short-lived tradition, free intellectuals were able to flaunt the policy of "no party, no selling, no selfishness, and no blindness" and "literati discuss politics" through newspapers.As Xie Yong said, there are two news traditions in modern China, one is the tradition of "Ta Kung Pao" and the other is the tradition of "Xinhua Daily". "We keep one of the two traditions." Hu Zhengzhi's journalistic demeanor is no longer to be pursued. At the age of 24, he became the editor-in-chief of Shanghai's "Great Republic Daily" hosted by Zhang Taiyan, and at the age of 31 as the editor-in-chief of Beijing's "New Society Daily" hosted by well-known newspaperman Lin Baishui. After that, he successfully founded the famous Guowen News Agency and "National News Weekly". In 1926, he, Wu Dingchang and Zhang Jiluan jointly took over the "Ta Kung Pao" with Xinji Company.

Xu Zhucheng, a well-known newspaperman, once said: "Mr. Shao Piaoping and Huang Yuansheng are rich in interviewing experience, and their writing style is unrestrained, but not good at business. Mr. Shi Liangcai, Zhang Zhuping, and Wang Hanxi are good at planning and drawing exquisitely, but not good at writing. Among the senior journalists I know, Mr. Hu Zhengzhi is probably the only one who can be called a generalist. The newcomer is more like me than my generation. Hu compared." Chen Jiying, an old person of Ta Kung Pao, also said: "Literati often disdain seeking profit when they run a newspaper. However, if they don't consider the process from printing to distribution, from advertising to travel expenses, from business to sales, they will often ruin the future of the newspaper. Based on management. For the purpose of running a good newspaper, Hu Zheng is probably the only one in the history of modern Chinese journalism with such dedication to management and a series of unique experience in running a newspaper.”

His colleagues described his work in the newspaper office as follows: Hu Zhengzhi handles distribution, advertising and other managerial affairs in the morning; attends editorial meetings in the afternoon, evaluates the contents of various newspapers, looks for news clues, and instructs reporters to interview; , Zhang Jiluan (Editor-in-Chief) discussed social affairs, researched current affairs, selected topics for editorials, and wrote several editorials every week.He mastered the overall operation of the newspaper office, and he was used to working eleven or twelve hours a day. Later generations will be amazed, such a newspaperman who can not only strategize and win thousands of miles away, but also be able to fight hard to edit and edit the front line, where is he now?

Hu Zhengzhi is a generation of social sages. The Kuomintang government invited him to be an official many times, but he refused all of them.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he went to Nanjing. The American ambassador to China Leighton Stuart tested whether he was willing to serve as the president of the Executive Yuan, and entertained him with a bungalow car, but he declined.He once said: "Although I have many contacts with the upper class and dignitaries in society, I only have public friendship and no personal friendship. What I talk about is domestic and international affairs, and I never involve personal matters. This is beneficial to my career."

As a reporter, he had an experience that was called by the news historian Fang Hanqi "unique in the news world in old China". In 1919, as a reporter, he lived in Europe to cover the Paris Peace Conference. He was not only the only Chinese reporter present at the conference, but also marked the beginning of Chinese journalists covering major international events. In April 1945, the inaugural meeting of the United Nations was held in San Francisco, USA. As a representative of the Chinese press and a political member of the National Political Council, he attended the meeting as a member of the Chinese delegation and signed the "United Nations Charter".