Shen Bao newspaper (1872–1949)
Overview
Abstract
The 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.
This review is in progress. CRL is working to gather more information and critical assessment. We encourage our community to submit comments on their experiences with the database.
This resource is currently offered to CRL libraries at favorable terms. Representatives at each library have been sent login access to view purchase or subscription offers.
Analysis
Collection Content
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 staff 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.
Delivery
Technical platform & interface
Some text is presented as full text transcription, and there are also black and white page images for each issue. The open source document viewer "Flexpaper" is used to present the page images, instead of Adobe Acrobat. Issues can be browsed by date in addition to a full text article search.
There is very little English language labeling in the interface. While the browse contents are laid out clearly, navigation overall is awkward because there are few links back to the home page or the main search and browse pages.
Comments from CRL libraries during trial access period, November 2011
The databases's interface is clean, searches are clear and straightforward, and searching by both dates and articles seems to be quick and intuitive. The option of display using unifontsb.exe does not seem to function in the trial access.
Strengths and weaknesses
The database presents the full run of a title significant not only for the history of China but also for foreign relations in Asia during a critical time period from the late nineteenth century up through World War II. While the layout of the interface is fairly logical despite a scarcity of navigation links, this database is best suited for subject experts since there are very few labels in English. One major interface challenge noted during trial access was the inability to download or print page images, which would be a considerable problem for consulting the content. Eastview Information Services notes that downloading of both transcribed text files and page images will be available in the actual database.
Details
Direct from Publisher
Sources
Collection Content
| Subjects covered | Chinese news, politics, economics, trade, and culture | |
| Geographic coverage | China; Chinese foreign relations; Japanese occupation of Shanghai | |
| Chronological coverage | 1872-1949 | |
| Content types | newspaper | |
| Source formats | Microfilm? | |
| Total titles | 1 | |
| Total pages | Approximately 500,000 pages (25,600 issues) | |
| Digital collection launch date | spring 2011 | |
| Update frequency | NA | |
| Collection ongoing | NA | |
| Completion date | 2011 | |
| Available supplements | NA | |
| Major languages | Chinese, some English (advertisements) |
Technical Platform
| P | Browser compatibility | Microsoft Internet Explorer version 8 or higher; Firefox 3.5 or higher |
| P | Authentication options | Secure access vi the following authentication methods: IP recognition, Password Barcode only for trial account |
| Archiving solution – master files | ||
| Archiving solution – derivative files | ||
| Availability in web discovery tools | ||
| P | Open URL target | Y |
| P | Federated searching, z39.50 | N |
| P | Local host option | Y |
| P | Usage statistics | Y |
Interface Tools
| P | Full text displayed | Y |
| P | Page images | Y |
| P | Color images | N |
| P | Search full text | Y |
| P | Advanced search | Y |
| P | Search within results | Y |
| P | Limit results by dates and/or document types | Y |
| P | Display highlighted search terms | Y |
| P | Display snippet -- search term in context | Y |
| P | Relevance sorting | Y |
| P | Save searches | N |
| P | Download PDF | Y (in actual product, not trial) |
| P | Download HTML | Y |
| P | Print page | Y (in actual product, not trial) |
| P | Print full document | Y |
| P | Export citations | N |
| P | Annotation tools | N |
| P | Cross-product searching | N |
| P | ILL | NA |
| P | Restrictions on use | NA |
Provider
| Publisher / Distributor | Green Apple Data Center; East View Information Services | |
| Address | ||
| url; contact email | http://egreenapple.com/english/channels/136.html | |
| Related product(s) | Guangming Daily; People’s Daily | |
| CRL Profile of Publisher |
Terms
| Subscription option | N | |
| Purchase option | Y | |
| Multiple year payments option | NA | |
| Hosting charges | NA | |
| List of purchasers available | NA | |
| Sample license available | NA | |
| MARC records purchase fee | NA | |
| Price tier basis | NA |
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