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log in or sign upThe full run (1872–1949) of the Shanghai-based newspaper Shen Bao has been released in electronic format by Green Apple Data Center in China. It is distributed in North America by East View Information Services.
Shanghai-based Shen Bao (formerly transliterated as Shun Pao) was the longest-lasting and probably most influential newspaper in modern China. Its history is enmeshed in the major Chinese political and cultural developments of the first half of the twentieth century. The full name of the newspaper was Shenjiang Xinbao (translated as Shenjiang New Post, also known in English as the Shanghai News); it was founded by British businessman Ernest Major and first appeared on April 30, 1872. Major returned to England in 1889, and the paper came under Chinese ownership in 1907.
From its start, Shen Bao was produced by Chinese journalists for Chinese readership. Circulation expanded until reaching 150,000 in the 1930s. The political stance shifted from conservative support of the government to a moderately liberal pro-constitution position. The newspaper also assumed a strong anti-Japanese position; Norwood Francis Allman, the former U.S. Consulate officer, took on the role of editor in 1938 to guide the paper’s independent position during Japanese occupation of Shanghai prior to World War II. After leadership by Japanese collaborators during the war, Shen Bao continued until it was shut down by the People’s Liberation Army in May 1949.
While the value of the content is high, presenting the full run of a title significant not only for the history of China but also for East-West relations in Asia during a critical time period from the late nineteenth century up through World War II, this database is best suited for area experts since there are very few subject tags in English.
The digitized Shen bao newspaper is available on two different platforms, either Green Apple or Huawenku, which is produced by Naver on behalf of Green Apple. Each of the two platforms offer their own strengths and weaknesses. It would be ideal in the future to combine the better features of the two platforms. One major interface challenge noted during trial access was the inability to download or print page images, which would be a considerable hindrance. But East View notes that downloading of both transcribed text files and page images will be available in the actual database.
The following platform characteristics have been observed by librarians at CRL institutions during trial access:
Green Apple strengths:
Green Apple weaknesses:
Huawenku strengths:
Huawenku weaknesses:
The licensor has recently made an arrangement for perpetual access and use of the database by supplying one complete electronic copy of the licensed materials to the Center for Research Libraries. This copy can be mounted or otherwise made accessible to authorized users in the event of a persistent outage of ninety or more days in duration. While CRL prefers that publishers make secure provisions for continuing access by depositing content with a certified third party repository, we recognize that the practice of making a copy available to licensees has been one of the standard approaches to providing perpetual access. For Shen Bao, this is the best arrangement currently available to CRL libraries.
Center for Research Libraries
Duke University