Su Bao

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Su Bao, or Jiangsu Daily, was a small newspaper in Shanghai during the late Qing Dynasty. Owned by Chen Fan and edited by Zhang Shizhao of the Patriotic Study Society, it began publishing in January 1900 and pushed reform and radical ideas, backing the Patriotic Academy.

In the summer of 1903, the paper was shut down by authorities. It had run articles calling for the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic. It also supported Zou Rong’s Revolutionary Army, publishing and praising related writings by Zou Rong, Zhang Binglin, and Zhang Shizhao.

On June 29, Su Bao published an article titled “The Relationship between Kang Youwei and Sir Jue Luo,” which attacked Kang Youwei’s constitutionalism and urged revolution, while challenging Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi. On the same day, the foreign concession government arrested Zhang Binglin and Zou Rong and closed Su Bao.

The Qing government wanted to execute them, but public pressure led to life sentences in the initial trial. Later, Zhang Binglin received three years and Zou Rong two years.

This case is famous in Chinese press history. It showed the clash between feudal rulers and modern ideas, using literary inquisition to suppress dissent. It is often seen as one of the earliest and clearest examples of literary inquisition in China’s press.