In the context of Vietnamese society being under colonial rule from 1925 to 1930, distributing Thanh Nien newspaper to the public was extremely difficult. This situation forced revolutionaries to create methods of publishing and sharing unorthodox content while still ensuring dissemination , secrecy and effective mass impact .
SECRET OF BRINGING NEWSPAPERS TO VIETNAM
According to historical press documents, the editorial office of Thanh Nien newspaper was initially located secretly at house number 13 (now number 248 - 250), Van Minh street, Guangzhou city, Guangdong province, China. Published from overseas, Thanh Nien newspaper was born with the role of organizing and guiding the revolutionary movement in the country. Mr. Le Hong Son, Ho Tung Mau, Le Duy Diem, Truong Van Linh - students of President Ho Chi Minh - joined the newspaper. And in addition to the task of organizing the content, the revolutionaries also had to find a thousand ways to publish the newspaper to the Fatherland, avoiding the control net of the colonial government.
Thanh Nien Newspaper No. 66 - PHOTO: DOCUMENT
Thanh Nien newspaper was handwritten with a steel pen on wax paper (roneo printing technology), printed over 100 copies per issue. At first, the newspaper was published once a week, later due to difficult conditions, the next issue was sometimes 3 weeks apart, sometimes 5 weeks apart. The newspaper's manchette had the two words Thanh Nien written in Chinese and Vietnamese. In the left corner of each newspaper was a 5-pointed star, in which the issue number was written. Most were 2 pages, a few were 4 pages, the average paper size was small, 18 x 24 cm.
The content of Thanh Nien newspaper focuses mainly on: 1. Deepening hatred for the invaders to encourage uprising and revolution; 2. Using Marxism-Leninism as a guide, building a genuine revolutionary party to lead the Vietnamese revolution to complete victory, liberate the nation and rebuild a rich and strong country.
Thanh Nien printed in small format, with few pages, ensuring the goal of being compact, secret, easy to pass around, easy to store. The newspaper sometimes resembled a leaflet. Nguyen Ai Quoc and the students in the revolutionary training class wrote with a sharp iron pen on each wax copy to print hundreds of copies. Sometimes, due to lack of paper, the organization had to recycle from wrapping paper and notebook paper.
After printing, Nguyen Ai Quoc sent the newspaper to Shanghai and Hong Kong. From there, the newspaper was transported back to Vietnam by a communication system on ships. This method made it easier, faster, and in larger quantities than by land. It also helped keep the place where the newspaper was printed and the agency that distributed it secret.
HAND COPIED, MORTAL TRANSLATION
When the newspaper reached domestic readers, due to the limited format, content and quantity of the original (about 100 copies), domestic establishments hand-copied many copies for wider distribution. For example, in Hanoi , Mr. Nguyen Danh Doi - Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee - assigned Nguyen Duc Canh and some others to organize a printing agency at No. 92, Cho Duoi Street to reprint Thanh Nien newspaper and other documents. Nguyen Duc Canh said that he hand-copied and reprinted in stone the book Duong Kach Menh and Thanh Nien newspaper . Ms. Vu Thi Mai (later a heroic martyr) was also the one who hand-copied Thanh Nien newspaper as assigned by Mr. Nguyen Duc Canh.
Bedroom of a member of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association, where Thanh Nien newspaper was printed (house number 13, Van Minh Street, Guangzhou City, China) - PHOTO: DOCUMENT
Despite the newspaper's crude appearance and small initial print run, the French colonial government was well aware of its effectiveness and potential dangers, soon classifying Thanh Nien as a "subversive book or newspaper" and banning its publication in the colony.
Looking into the modern media thinking, we see that nearly 100 years ago, Thanh Nien newspaper exploited the outstanding characteristics of viral media . That is, the content has contagiousness , the ability to reproduce easily (replicability) and the speed of spread (rapid diffusion).
At that time, each printed or handwritten copy of Thanh Nien Newspaper was passed around, read silently, copied by hand, or passed around orally in secret meetings. In the period of information shortage, each handwritten copy of each issue of Thanh Nien Newspaper at that time was an "event", a valuable document that readers respected, read carefully, and discussed seriously.
The secret hand-copied distribution of Thanh Nien newspaper is a testament to the resilience, creativity and extraordinary determination of the revolutionaries in extremely difficult conditions, lacking in resources and facing brutal repression. Although slow and initially limited in scale, thanks to the dedication of the network, Thanh Nien 's message spread, making a great contribution to enlightening and organizing the masses, preparing for major turning points in the nation's history.
The hand-copying of Thanh Nien newspaper shows that the strongest spread is not the fastest, but the spread with ideals, purpose and inspiration for action. This is a point worth pondering for today's media. (continued)
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/100-nam-bao-chi-cach-mang-viet-nam-bao-thanh-nien-da-duoc-viral-the-nao-18525060421561259.htm
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