Political Cartoons in Commercial Advertising in Early Twentieth Century China

Xiaoqing Ye

doi:10.5539/ass.v5n10p62

Abstract

Though advertising has long existed in China, the extensive use of advertisements, especially visual images, to excite the consumers’ imagination only started in the early twentieth century in the treaty ports, Shanghai in particular. Many of the commercial advertisements of the period have clear political connotations, such as the 1911 Republican Revolution. This article studies commercial advertisements in early twentieth century China in their political and social context, in particular how advertisements tried to capture consumers’ aspirations for progress and prosperity.

Highlights

Perhaps no one could object to the view that advertising is as old as history, but it has only been since the mid nineteenth century that advertising, in the sense of the visual representation of commodities, together with exhortations to buy that particular commodity, has become a preponderant factor in everyday life in the industrial world (Richards, 1991:1)
The earliest extant illustrated advertisements in China can be traced back to the Song (Bai, 2003:1). (Note 1) In modern times, advertising in China began in the treaty ports, Shanghai, with the arrival of the modern press in the second half of the nineteenth century
The extensive use of illustrations, including political cartoons, in commercial advertising, started to appear in newspapers during the first decade of the twentieth century. (Note 2) A combination of factors - the development of a commodity culture, the use of illustrations to convey information, the rise of the modern press and social and political conditions in China contributed to this new marketing strategy

Summary

Introduction

Perhaps no one could object to the view that advertising is as old as history, but it has only been since the mid nineteenth century that advertising, in the sense of the visual representation of commodities, together with exhortations to buy that particular commodity, has become a preponderant factor in everyday life in the industrial world (Richards, 1991:1). The earliest extant illustrated advertisements in China can be traced back to the Song (Bai, 2003:1). (Note 1) In modern times, advertising in China began in the treaty ports, Shanghai, with the arrival of the modern press in the second half of the nineteenth century. The extensive use of illustrations, including political cartoons, in commercial advertising, started to appear in newspapers during the first decade of the twentieth century. (Note 2) A combination of factors - the development of a commodity culture, the use of illustrations to convey information, the rise of the modern press and social and political conditions in China contributed to this new marketing strategy. An examination of the political aspects of advertisements gives us a vivid sense of social anxieties and the aspirations, real and manufactured, of the time

Consumption and patriotism

In the name of social progress

Findings

Capitalizing on the national crisis