Dibao (ancient Chinese gazette)
Type of publication in imperial China / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Dibao (Chinese: 邸報; pinyin: dǐbào; Wade–Giles: ti3-pao4), literally "reports from the [official] residences", were a type of publications issued by central and local governments in imperial China, which was the only official government newspaper published by the ancient Chinese central government in different dynasties.[1] 'Dibao' is a general term to describe the ancient Chinese gazette. Historically, there were different types of names used to describe Dibao in different dynasties among the imperial Chinese history.[2] While closest in form and function to gazettes in the Western world, they have also been called "palace reports" or "imperial bulletins". Different sources place Dibao's first publication as early as the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), which would make Dibao amongst the earliest newspapers in the world,[1] or as late as the Tang dynasty (June 18, 618 – June 4, 907) according to the earliest verified and proved Dibao with historical relics.[3] Dibao was continuously published among different imperial dynasties until the last imperial emperor in the Qing dynasty, Puyi, abdicated in 1912.[1]
Dibao contained official political edicts, announcements, and news from the Chinese imperial central government or local governments,[4] which would be delivered to inform both the central and local governments by messengers periodically[1] and were intended to be seen only by bureaucrats (and a given dibao might only be intended for a certain subset of bureaucrats). Selected items from a gazette might then be conveyed to local citizenry by word of mouth and/or posted announcements. Frequency of publication varied widely over time and place. Before the invention of moveable type printing they were hand-written or printed with engraved wooden blocks.[4] The introduction of European-style Chinese language newspapers, along with the growing intersection of Chinese and global affairs generally, applied pressure for the Dibao to adapt, and circulation of the Beijing Gazette was in the tens of thousands by the time publication ceased altogether with the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911.[4] The gazettes from Beijing at this time were known as Jingbao (京報), literally "reports from the capital".[5]