The ''Guangming Daily'', also known as the ''Enlightenment Daily'', is a national Chinese-language daily newspaper published in the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1949 as the official paper of the

China Democratic League The China Democratic League (CDL) is one of the eight legally recognized minor political parties in the People's Republic of China under the Chinese Communist Party's United Front. The CDL was originally founded in 1941 as an umbrella coalition ...

. Starting from 1982, it was run by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and was officially recognized as an institution directly under the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the CCP from 1994. As one of China's "big three" newspapers during the Cultural Revolution, it played an important role in the political struggle between Hua Guofeng and the

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

in 1976 and between Hua and Deng Xiaoping in 1978.

History

The ''Guangming Daily'', then romanized as ''Kuangming'', was launched on 16 June 1949 in Beijing. It was originally the official newspaper of the

, but later became the Chinese Communist Party's official organ for China's educated elite. During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), ''Guangming Daily'' was one of the only three national newspapers that remained in circulation, together with the ''

People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' () is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language ...

'' and the '' People's Liberation Army Daily'', and the sole magazine ''

Red Flag Red flag may refer to: * Red flag (idiom), a metaphor for something signalling a problem ** Red flag warning, a term used by meteorologists ** Red flag (battle ensign), maritime flag signaling an intention to give battle with no quarter (fight to ...

''. The four periodicals, known as "the three papers and one magazine", dominated China's public affairs. For safety reasons, regional newspapers and specialist magazines all took cues from the big four, and largely reprinted articles from them. Before the death of Mao Zedong, the paper fell under the control of the radical left-lean

led by Mao's widow Jiang Qing. In October 1976, Vice Premier Ji Dengkui played a significant role in taking over the ''Guangming Daily'', helping Mao's successor Hua Guofeng oust the Gang of Four and put an end to the Cultural Revolution. In 1978, the liberal Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang appointed

Yang Xiguang Xiaokai Yang (born as Yang Xiguang; Simplified Chinese: 杨小凯; 6 October 1948 – 7 July 2004) was a Chinese-Australian economist. He was one of the world's pre-eminent theorists in economic analysis, and an influential campaigner for democr ...

, formerly with Shanghai's '' Jiefang Daily'', chief editor of the ''Guangming Daily''. Under Yang's editorship, ''Guangming'' was the first Chinese newspaper to stop publishing

Chairman Mao's Quotations ''Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung'' () is a book of statements from speeches and writings by Mao Zedong (formerly romanized as Mao Tse-tung), the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, published from 1964 to about 1976 and widel ...

on the front page every day. On 11 May 1978, it published Hu Fuming's (胡福明) famous editorial "Practice is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth" (), refuting Hua Guofeng's Two Whatevers theory in support of Deng Xiaoping's Reform and Opening policy. The article was quickly reprinted in almost all major Chinese newspapers, cementing support for Deng's victory over Hua. Since November 1982, it was run by the Chinese Communist Party. In 1984, it was officially recognized as an institution directly under the Chinese Communist Party and supervised by the

propaganda department of the Chinese Communist Party The Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, also known as the Propaganda Department or Central Propaganda Department, is an internal division of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in charge of spreading C ...

. Two ''Guangming Daily'' journalists, Xu Xinghu () and his wife Zhu Ying (), were killed on the night of 7 May 1999 in the United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. The ''Guangming Daily'' has been documented to have been used as cover by Ministry of State Security officers posing as journalists overseas.

Circulation

''Guangming Daily'' circulation reached 1.5 million in 1987, but as independent publications flourished during the Reform and Opening era, it dropped to 800,000 in 1993. To survive in the market, it reduced political coverage and propaganda, and increased its coverage on culture and science.

Guangming Online

In 1998, ''Guangming Daily'' launched its official website Guangming Online (GMW.cn), which was one of the earliest news websites in China.

''The Beijing News''

In 2003, ''Guangming Daily'' partnered with the Nanfang Media Group (publisher of the highly successful '' Southern Weekly'') to jointly publish '' The Beijing News'', which quickly became one of Beijing's most influential newspapers.

References

External links

Official website

Official website
{{Central Committee of the Communist Party of China 1949 establishments in China Newspapers published in Beijing Newspapers established in 1949 Chinese Communist Party newspapers Daily newspapers published in China