The True Record () was a pictorial magazine published in Shanghai, China, between June 1912 and March or April 1913. The magazine was established by brothers Gao Qifeng and Gao Jianfu as the nascent Republic of China was seeking to develop a new culture after centuries of Qing rule. It sought to monitor the new republic, report the welfare of the people, promote socialism, and distribute world knowledge. Under the Gaos and fellow editor Huang Binhong, the magazine published seventeen issues and expanded its reach from China through Southeast Asia and to Hawaii. Fervently supportive of Sun Yat-sen and the nationalist movement, the magazine was critical of Provisional President Yuan Shikai and closed during a time when he was consolidating his power.
Produced using a combination of copperplate printing and collotype, The True Record featured colourful covers as well as numerous photographs and illustrations. Between its pages, seven types of imagery were included, from paintings and photographs to satirical manhua. Articles covered such topics as traditional and modern art, current events, technological innovations, and politics; works of creative writing were also included. Essays called for the creation of a "new national art", as well as the expansion of the national economy through industrial art and other means. Despite having been published for less than one year, The True Record has been described as one of the most important illustrated magazines of the first years of the Republic of China.
History Background In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Qing dynasty which had ruled China since the 17th century faced growing opposition from various revolutionary groups. After a series of failed uprisings, in October 1911 an uprising broke out in Wuchang that spread through the country. Yuan Shikai, the General of the Beiyang Army, was initially tasked with ending the rebellion. Ultimately, he allied with the rebels, and negotiated the abdication of Emperor Puyi. The Republic of China was proclaimed on 1 January 1912, with Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Tongmenghui, a major resistance group, as its provisional president.
As the nascent nation sought a new culture, the philosopher and revolutionary Cai Yuanpei advocated for using aesthetic education to cultivate awareness of its needs.; Nineteen magazines began publication in this era, collectively serving to capitalize on demand for new, modern materials. Unlike earlier Chinese publications, which often produced using woodblock printing on soft paper and bound in plain paper or cloth, these new magazines used modern printing technology and illustrated covers. The True Record was one such magazine, though according to Julia F. Andrews of Ohio State University, it was characterized more by its political mission than the commercial enterprises of its contemporaries.
Establishment
The True Record was established by Gao Qifeng and Gao Jianfu, artists from Guangdong who, while studying in Japan in the late 1900s, had joined the Tongmenghui. They returned to China in 1908, with Gao Jianfu leading a revolutionary cell that was responsible for several assassinations. Gao Qifeng became the editor-in-chief of the new magazine and Gao Jianfu and Huang Binhong became supporting editors. Also involved were several alumni of the Journal of Current Pictorial including He Jianshi and Zheng Leiquan (), who had used their manhua (comics) to criticize the Qing dynasty. Another artist, Kwan Wai-nung, travelled from Hong Kong to contribute to the publication. Further contributions came from Chen Shuren, a colleague of the Gaos in Japan, and Xu Beihong, an employee of their bookstore.
Headquartered at No. 4 Road, Huifu Lane, Shanghai, The True Record provided the mailing address of 45 Wei Foo Lee (Foochow Road) on its cover. In February 1913, operations moved to Middle Section No. 84, Chessboard Street, also in Shanghai. Publication was handled by the Aesthetic Institute, a combined gallery, exhibition hall, and publishing house that also sold reproductions of Chinese and western paintings.; The Commerce Culture Print Shop did the printing, using a combination of copperplate printing and collotype.
Some photography for The True Record was provided by the Guangdong-based China Photo Team (), which had been established by Sun with the support of the provincial government to cover republican war efforts; funding for the magazine's publication has also been alleged to have come from the government. After The True Record published its second issue, the China Photo Team headquartered at Provincial Capital Bund No. 2 Road in Guangzhou was rebranded the Guangdong Branch of the True Record Press. Distribution of the magazine was handled by both the Shanghai and Guangdong offices.
Publication The first edition of The True Record was published on 5 June 1912. It was prefaced by introductions from Li Huaishuang (), Xie Yingbo (), and Hu Hanmin, all of whom were Tongmenghui members. In his contribution, Li introduced Gao Qifeng, highlighting his revolutionary activities, and provided the magazine's mission statement: to monitor the new republic, report the welfare of the people, promote socialism, and distribute world knowledge. Initially, The True Record was scheduled to publish a new issue every ten days, with a target of ten-thousand words per issue. The price was a quarter yuan (equivalent to ¥ in 2019) per copy, or seven yuan (equivalent to ¥ in 2019) for a one-year subscription expected to be 36 issues. This schedule was ultimately not realized and publication was irregular.
Over time, The True Record expanded its reach. Initially distributed throughout China via its offices in Shanghai and Guangdong, by the fourth issue a branch office had been established at the Cao Wanfeng Bookstore in Singapore, serving Southeast Asia. Distribution had reached Honolulu, Hawaii, by the seventh issue. As the magazine expanded its distribution networks, it sought to internationalize. With the third issue, the English-language title The True Record was provided alongside a mailing address. The subtitle "Illustrated Magazine" was included beginning with the fourth issue. Captions were provided in English and Chinese.
Closure In February 1912, President Sun had ceded leadership of the republic to Yuan, honouring an earlier agreement. As the new provisional president consolidated his power, he began to suppress the Nationalist Party which dominated the 1912 National Assembly election and curtail its activities, with publications deemed too critical of his government censored. In March 1913, Song Jiaoren was assassinated at Shanghai station, with Yuan rumoured to have been involved; a nationalist leader, Song had broad popular support and had openly opposed Yuan.
The True Record closed during this period, publishing its seventeenth and final issue in March or April 1913. Sources differ as to the reason. The comics scholar Wendy Siuyi Wong writes that the magazine was banned; this is supported by Tang Hongfeng of Beijing Normal University, who suggests that its implication of Yuan and Zhao Bingjun in Song's assassination was the deciding factor. The art historian Christina Chu describes the magazine as closing after government funding was pulled; this is supported by Andrews, who notes that the magazine's lavish production values would have limited its commercial viability without subsidies, as well as the art historian Ralph Croizier, who writes that the magazine had difficulty attracting advertisers.
Many of the magazine's staff left Shanghai after its closure. Zheng fled to Hong Kong, dying there by the end of the decade. Kwan returned to Hong Kong, where he used the tiger-painting techniques he had learned from the Gaos to advertise Tiger Balm. Gao Qifeng may have undergone a self-imposed exile in Japan, where he had studied the previous decade, returning some time later. Such flights were common among nationalists, with Sun escaping to Japan in August 1913.
Description and content The True Record was printed in black ink on thin acid paper. Covers used higher quality paper, allowing the printing of half-tone colour illustrations. Some issues featured colour insets and many contained fold-outs that could be removed for display. Issues were in size, and ranged in length from fifty to eighty pages.
Imagery
The Gao brothers believed that pictorials could best serve to educate the populace, as contemporary literacy rates were low and thus images had further reach than text. Consequently, imagery was extensively used in The True Record. In the first issue, the magazine enumerated seven types of images that it sought to publish: historical painting, art painting, photographic paintings of geology, parodic paintings, photographic paintings of current affairs, photographic paintings of scenic spots, and paintings of current affairs.
The use of thick paper allowed The True Record to feature extensive colour on its covers. Subjects were diverse, but often involved individuals uncovering a truth. The cover of the first edition depicted a young artist, garbed in clothing reflective of a Western bohemian, sitting on a stool and leaning toward a banner bearing the title of the magazine. The cover of the third issue, published on 1 July 1912, depicted a man in a western suit pulling a curtain back, revealing the Chinese word ("truth"). The final issue of The True Record depicted a man in Western garb, looking into a mirror and seeing the spirit of a Mandarin; Tang suggests that this was intended to criticize Yuan Shikai. Many of these covers were produced by Gao Qifeng.
The pages of The True Record contained numerous paintings by the Gaos and other artists, with two issues including sections dedicated to the staff artists. Tigers were commonly depicted, allegorically calling for boldness and bravery in the nation-building process; lions and eagles, favourites of Gao Qifeng that were understood to reflect a revolutionary spirit, also appeared. Political manhua, satirizing topics that ranged from political parties and corruption to misers and social parasites, were included in many issues. Some are signed, generally with pseudonyms, while others are uncredited.;
Almost two hundred photographs were included in The True Record throughout its run, including thirty in the first issue alone. The political activities of Sun Yat-sen were covered extensively, with a particular focus on his interactions with the common person. Military subjects such as field exercises and the naval fleet were frequently depicted as well. International stories also featured, with three issues including coverage of the Balkan Wars.
Text Art was frequently discussed in the articles of The True Record. In essays, the Gaos called for the creation of a "new national art", based on the synthesis of traditional Chinese painting with foreign art, as well as improvements in art education. Huang decried the abstraction of literati approaches to landscape painting and urged greater verisimilitude. Chen, over the course of fifteen issues, serialized his translation of a Japanese book on new painting methods derived from western traditions. Excluding certain chapters, such as discussions of watercolour, his adaptation also expanded its coverage to include references to ancient masters such as Wang Wei and Wu Daozi.