林则徐去广州:19世纪中国“传播网络”的一个片段

Lin Zexu's Journey to Guangzhou:A Glance on Daily “Communication Network” in 19th century

本文将"传播网络"赋予物质性与历史性,以"林则徐去广州"为叙事对象,借助《林则徐日记》等史料,深描了近代中国传播网络的一个片段。通过追寻1838年到1840年之间林则徐的旅行、禁烟与翻译活动,文章呈现了近代中国传播网络的日常运作:道路交通、市镇分布和网络中的主要流动物(权力、商品和信息)。在此基础上本文指出,权力和信息网络的封闭、权力网络和广阔疆域存在的矛盾、以及信息网络的要素限制,是19世纪前期中国传播网络存在的主要问题。相较而言,甲午战争之所以引起巨大的社会震动,则与传播网络在19世纪后期发生的变化有关——主要是新闻纸兴起所引起的网络地理的拓展、同时性的增强以及传播网络凝聚周围人群意见的能力提升。

This article put the materialistic and historical perspective on the concept of "Communication Network"and deeply depicted a scene of Lin Zexu's journey to Guangzhou in 1838-1840.By tracing the travel,opium and translation,the paper displayed a daily operation of communication network,which included road traffic,town distribution,and the main flows (power,goods,and information).On this basis,it is found that closure of power and information,contradiction between the power and territory,and the limited elements of information are the major problems in the network.In contrast,the large social reaction on the Sino-Japanese War in 1894was mainly due to the emergence of newspapers.As a new element,newspapers had largely expanded the geographical coverage,enhanced the simultaneity of time and enforced to unite people around the network.