本书介绍1800至1912年中国报刊的发展概况，包括本土报刊的消亡，新兴报刊的崛起，后者从对前者的严重依赖演变成完全独立的过程。不同的报刊代表着不同的政治体系、党派组织或私营企业的心声，构成一座反映长达百余年特殊历史时期的中国社会现实的各种错综复杂、诡谲叵测的多面体架构，保守的，改良的；理想的，现实的；革命的，反动的；励志的，颓废的；严肃的，淫荡的；全面的，片面的；夸张的，冲淡的；科学的，迷信的；宗教的，邪教的；盈利的，亏损的；商业的，赞助的，诸如此类，不一而足。从中我们会看到中国报刊开始走向多元化、产业化和现代化的发展格局，充分展示中国社会风声鹤唳、波涛激荡、变幻莫测的生动画面。（This book introduces the overview of Chinese periodical press development in the period from 1800 to 1912. It describes the extinction of Chinese local press, the rise of the new press, and how the new press became independent from its heavy dependence on the local press. Different types of press, which represent the voice of different political systems, party organizations or private enterprises, constitute a polyhedral framework that reflects the intricate, treacherous social status quo of Chinese society during a special historical period of over 100 years. Such status quo involves numerous respects, including the conservative and the reformative; the ideal and the realistic; the revolutionary and the reactionary; the inspirational and the dispirited; the serious and the lascivious; the comprehensive and the one-sided; the exaggerated and the watered-down; the scientific and the superstitious; the religion and the heresy; the profitable and the loss-making; the commercial and the sponsored. From this book, we can see that Chinese press began to move towards the diversified, industry-based and modernized pattern. This work fully shows the vivid pictures of Chinese society that were gun-shy, tough and capricious. ）