.jpg) The first issue of The True Record | |
| Editor | Gao Qifeng |
|---|---|
| Categories | Art, politics, current events |
| Frequency | Irregular |
| Publisher | Aesthetic Institute |
| First issue | 5 June 1912 |
| Final issue | March or April 1913 |
| Company | The True Record Press[1] |
| Country | Republic of China |
| Based in | Shanghai |
| Language | Chinese, with English captions |
The True Record (simplified Chinese: 真相画报; traditional Chinese: 真相畫報; pinyin: Zhēnxiāng Huàbào) was a pictorial magazine published in Shanghai, China, between June 1912 and March or April 1913. Established by brothers Gao Qifeng and Gao Jianfu as the nascent Republic of China was seeking to develop a new culture after centuries of Qing rule, it sought to monitor the new republic, report the welfare of the people, promote socialism, and distribute world knowledge. Under the Gaos and fellow editor Huang Binhong, the magazine published seventeen issues and expanded its reach from China through Southeast Asia and Hawaii. Fervently supportive of Sun Yat-sen and the nationalist movement, the magazine was critical of Provisional President Yuan Shikai and closed during a time when he was consolidating his power.
Produced using a combination of copperplate printing and collotype, The True Record featured colourful covers as well as numerous photographs and illustrations. Between its pages, seven types of imagery were included, from paintings and photographs to satirical manhua. Articles covered such topics as traditional and modern art, current events, technological innovations, and politics; works of creative writing were also included. Essays called for the creation of a "new national art", as well as the expansion of the national economy through industrial art and other means. Despite having been published for less than one year, The True Record has been described as one of the most important illustrated magazines of the early Republic of China.