" Southern Daily " First issue number on October 23, 1949
"Yangcheng Evening News" First issue number on October 1, 1957
In 2012, Yang Qi won the first news lifelong honorary award in Guangdong Province.
In June 11957, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to prepare for the evening newspaper. The famous newspaperman Yang Qi talked about the founding story of the Yangcheng Evening News -
. In his career as a newspaperman for more than half a century, he personally founded five newspapers and presided over seven newspapers. He traveled through Guangdong and Hong Kong and was committed to the party's news and united front work. He went through the glorious years of the founding and development of the Southern Daily and the Yangcheng Evening News, and made great contributions to the foundation and exploratory. He is Mr. Yang Qi, a famous reporter from Guangdong and Hong Kong.
As the main founder and host of Southern Daily and Yangcheng Evening News, Mr. Yang Qi has left many precious historical materials for the Lingnan newspaper industry. On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Yangcheng Evening News, we present the oral transcript of an interview with Mr. Yang Qi in April 2015.
Talk about the founding of the Southern Daily
Quotation: On October 1, 1949, of the People's Republic of China was established. Subsequently, the millions of heroic troops continued to march south to chase and annihilate the remnants of the defeated Kuomintang army. On October 14, 1949, Guangzhou was liberated. According to Mr. Yang Qi's recollection during his lifetime, "In mid-September of the same year, we received instructions from the South China Branch of the CPC Central Committee: As soon as Guangzhou is liberated, the "Huashang Daily" will be suspended, and all cadres and staff (from Hong Kong) will be sent to Guangzhou to establish the "Southern Daily" as soon as possible." From the "southward cadre" Zeng Yanxiu and others entering Guangzhou on October 18, to the Propaganda Department of the Guangdong Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, Secretary-General of the Dongjiang Column, and head of the "Huashang Daily", and Yang Qi, then acting editor-in-chief of the "Huashang Daily", to the publication of the "Southern Daily" on October 23, why was this official newspaper of the South China Branch of the Communist Party of China successfully launched in Guangzhou in just a few days?
Yang Qi: On October 23, 1949, the Southern Daily was founded. Why can (we arrive in Guangzhou) be successfully launched in just a few days? Because first of all, Zeng Yanxiu (who was in charge of the editorial department at that time) had already prepared the notices such as "The Establishment of Guangzhou Military Control Commission" and " Notices of the People's Liberation Army of China " that needed to be founded, and edited them on the page; more importantly, he wrote "New China·New Guangdong - The Publishing Speech of this newspaper" on October 21. I returned on the evening of the 21st and learned that all my colleagues who came to work in the Southern Daily will arrive tomorrow, including the former Duai, Hua Jia, Yao Limin and old editor Pan Lang, etc., who are all old newsmen; several very capable reporters, Situ Jian, Cheng Youshu, etc., also arrived on the 21st. In terms of business management, Hong Wenkaihe departments of finance, distribution, advertising, and general affairs have also arrived one after another, so I think the issuance and advertising work after the founding of the publication can also be carried out.
The biggest problem is in typing and printing, how to publish it smoothly? The first website of Southern Daily is on Guangfu Road, and is in the original Central Daily Newspaper. After the Central Daily News was suspended, (the Kuomintang ordered people) to move the copper mold machine of the typing room to Tianzi Wharf and prepare to transport it to Hainan Island . (This matter) was not too late, because the People's Liberation Army entered the city on the evening of the 14th. As soon as our takeover committee came in, we asked the workers to move all the machines at the dock back. So as soon as I entered this building, I talked to the typography worker and asked them if it was OK to report on the 23rd? They agreed very readily, saying that we can do whatever the president said, and it’s okay to make two big shots! Now that I feel relieved, I will find a printing press. Because the Central Daily News had only printed 800 copies and used lithographic printing machines, and the Southern Daily had to publish more than 200,000 copies, and it was necessary to use a rolling printing machine. Finally, we entrusted the private newspaper "Yuehua News Agency" on the same street to print it. The reason why
can be published in three days is because there is a founding editorial written by Zeng Yanxiu, a typist in place, and an editorial reporter and a business management colleague, so he can immediately start working normally.
Talk about the story of the early days of the founding of the Yangcheng Evening News
Quotation: "Yangcheng Evening News" is the first large socialist evening newspaper in my country. Its birth has opened a new page in the history of China's newspaper industry. In June 1957, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to prepare for the evening newspaper.In mid-August, the provincial party committee conveyed its opinions: The Yangcheng Evening News must be founded on October 1 of that year. Yang Qi, then deputy president of Southern Daily, was ordered to participate in the founding of Yangcheng Evening News, and he was the deputy editor-in-chief at the beginning and later as the editor-in-chief. Before the founding of the magazine, they made six trial issues.
Yang Qi: We have to go through six trial issues to determine the layout, and the content cannot be repeated from the daily newspaper. (At that time, the first secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China) Tao Zhu said that we should not make the second place in Southern Daily, and we should not make the second place, so we should be different from the Southern Daily.
At that time, I also made a standard process table, when will I publish the article for the typing room, when will the supplement and front page be put together, and when will the printing be started - this is on-site training, in order to see if the "Yangcheng Evening News" can be printed at 2:30 pm (the deadline I set at that time was 12:30 noon). The daily newspaper can also be buffered during the day. Our evening newspaper starts from the early stage, and is closely linked and very nervous.
The most stressful test was the last trial issue. Listening to the radio, the meteorological observatory revealed that the next day, 10-11 typhoon logged into Bao'an , and we decided to use this as the headline of the day in the morning. We took four reporters to interview relevant institutions of "sea, land and air" in relevant cities and counties one by one. At that time, there was no mobile phone, and they were all through (fixed) phone calls. The reporter recorded the news from all parties and immediately sorted it out and sent it to the typing room. I had never tried such a job, so I was very nervous. Finally, the newspaper was printed that day, 10 minutes later than my original standard time (laughs). In addition to the trial version,
has another problem to be solved, which is release. At that time, the entire society, including Guangzhou, had never published an "evening newspaper". The post office said that it could only be delivered with the "Daily" the next day - this agreement could not be reached; the number of distributions could not be reached, and the number I mentioned was relatively high, while the post office said that it could only be delivered at most 50,000 copies (a day) and they also disagree to increase retail outlets. And if it is not retailed, this newspaper will have no way to (develop). The negotiation with the post office failed, and I said, we will issue it ourselves.
On the one hand, the newspaper commissioned the Southern Daily promotion station of major units to collect and sell evening newspapers on their behalf. On the other hand, it vigorously promoted the city's newspaper vendors to expand their manpower, set up retail and hawking along the way.
At the same time, we also thought of a way to buy 50 bicycles (it was not easy to buy 50 bicycles at that time), and temporarily hired a group of young people to ask them to sell along the street. For a time, the shouts of "evening newspaper, evening newspaper, and "Yangcheng Evening News" were founded and published" were heard throughout the streets and alleys of Guangzhou. (The Yangcheng Evening News on the day of its founding was actually sold 84,000 copies.) More than two months after the issuance of
, the post office "reported" that it violated the provisions of "unity of postal and delivery". After coordination from the above, it will be issued by the post office in January of the following year. At this time, our issuance has exceeded 110,000 copies, which is much more than 50,000 copies.
The newspaper's various breakthroughs in the distribution of
from its founding to the time of the three months since its inception, and the various breakthroughs in the newspaper's distribution were also the pioneering efforts of the Yangcheng Evening News.
Talk about Tao Zhu and Yangcheng Evening News
Quotes: According to Wang Kuang, who was the Minister of the Propaganda Department of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Tao Zhu had long considered running the evening newspaper at that time. Around the first half of 1957, Tao Zhu once explained his ideas for running an evening newspaper in one go. He said that the target of the evening newspaper is the general public. Tao Zhu often gave instructions in the early days of the evening newspaper's founding. On the way to Beijing for business trips, he would look for Yangcheng Evening News to read at newsstands at major stations along the route, and make requests or criticisms from time to time.
Yang Qi: Tao Zhu has a deep relationship with the Yangcheng Evening News. Without Tao Zhu, there would be no Yangcheng Evening News. As the first secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China at that time, it was rare for him to advocate running an evening newspaper and have such an idea of running a newspaper. Some of the things he said during the preparations for the founding of the publication were not said by others, nor were they said by others.
He said, can socialist newspapers be diverse? I think it is OK. He said that it would be better to go home at night and read the evening newspaper than to play poker. He also said that writing articles can also educate the people, and it can also be diverse, so that the articles can be written more interestingly.So much so that later he said that the supplement should "integrate communist education into the world", all of which constituted his idea of publishing newspapers. Such ideological liberation was not easy in the past.
It can be said that Tao Zhu's care for the Yangcheng Evening News is meticulous and caring. Let me give you an example, first of all, he ordered a copy of the "Yangcheng Evening News". In his words, it means who likes to read and who orders, so that this newspaper is really popular.
Also, he saw three newspapers (our) newspapers reporting the press releases of the heads of the provincial party committee and municipal party committee going down to inspect the work, and they all said that comrade XX gave important instructions. Tao Zhu said twice that the speeches of the leaders of the provincial party committee and municipal party committee on work, before making written instructions through the discussion of the party committee, can only be said to be "speaking", and very importantly, "important speech", and generally "speaking". The Yangcheng Evening News took the lead in reporting according to his opinion. It is very rare that he can not only give advice on the newspaper policy, but also on news reports.
resume
was born in Zhongshan, Guangdong.
1940 graduated from the China Academy of Journalism in Hong Kong. Since then, he has served in the press and publishing industry for more than 50 years. He is a famous journalist who travels between Guangdong and Hong Kong and has a variety of newspapers. He has been in charge of 7 newspapers.
11945 went to Hong Kong for the second time, founded the "Zhengbao" and served as the president; in 1947, he transferred to the "Huashangbao" and served as the general manager and acting editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and participated in escorting the democratic figures from , , leaving Hong Kong to attend the "New CPPCC" meeting.
1949 participated in the founding of the Southern Daily and served as vice president.
1957 participated in the founding of the "Yangcheng Evening News", serving as deputy editor-in-chief, and later became editor-in-chief. He fully presided over the work of the Yangcheng Evening News from its inception to the nine years before the suspension of publication of the "Cultural Revolution".
1973 was appointed Minister of the Propaganda Department of the Zhaoqing Prefectural Committee of the Communist Party of China.
1974-1978, he served as the president of Guangdong People's Publishing House and the director of the Guangdong Provincial Publishing Administration Bureau.
went to Hong Kong for the third time in 1978, and served as deputy secretary-general, minister of publicity and secretary-general of Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong Branch.
1988 took over as president of " Grand Bulletin ", making outstanding contributions to the stable return of Hong Kong.
retired in 1992 and returned to Guangzhou.
passed away in Guangzhou on October 1, 2021.
Execution
Yangcheng Evening News Group
Lingnan Old News Popular Oral History Research Group
Interview
Yangcheng Evening News Reporter Deng Qiong
Data compilation and writing
New Express Reporter Pan Weiqian
Some of the information in this article comes from "History of Yangcheng Evening News" and "Contemporary Lingnan Cultural Famous Artist·Yang Qi", and the picture comes from the data picture of Yangcheng Evening News.
