The Founding of The New China and Its “Newspaper-politic Network”

The New China was an important publication of the May 4th period.Previous studies have suggested that Hu Shi had a close relationship with it.In fact,Behind the publication was a much more complex and extensive network of newspapers and politics.The magazine was funded by Zhang Hu,the under-secretary of the Ministry of Finance,with the support of Xu Shichang,the president of the Beijing government,and was organised by the newspaper personalities Qian Jiechen and Ye Heng.Hu Shi,who had worked with Qian and Ye on the newspaper,was interested in taking over The New China as an alternative to his unsuccessful plan to run The New Youth alone.But it never happened.The New China had great influence,but was repeatedly criticised by the new school,and was seen as a magazine endorsed by warlord bureaucrats.From the second volume,Zhang Xuan,Gu Junyi and Wang Xiaoyin have managed and renovated the The New China.Examining the history of the founding of The New China and revealing the convergence and divergence of the “newspaper-politic network” will help us to re-understand the complex relationship between the political circles and the media before and after the May 4th Movement.