The story of modern information dissemination

The "water telegraph" in the road protection movement is a typical example. The intensification of the trend of protecting roads caused great anxiety and fear of Manchu rulers and Sichuan Governor Zhao Erfeng. On September 7, Zhao Erfeng trapped Pu Dianjun and Lauren in the name of going to the Governor's Office to see the reply from the postal service. He also ordered the shooting of unarmed petitioners who rushed to the governor's office to protest after hearing the news. At that time, more than 30 people fell in a pool of blood at the gate of the Governor's Office and outside the courtyard.

After the "Chengdu Massacre", Zhao Erfeng ordered the whole city of Chengdu to be under martial law, and the city walls were heavily guarded, blocking traffic and posts and telecommunications in an attempt to block news and stop the people's resistance struggle.

That night, Long Mingjian, a member of the Chinese League, took advantage of the night and rushed to the agricultural experimental farm beside Jinjiang outside the city to discuss with Cao Du and Zhu, members of the League, how to spread the news of the "Chengdu bloody case" in the fastest way. Finally, they decided to make hundreds of "wooden signs", which read "Zhao Erfeng will catch Pu and Luo first, then suppress all comrades in Sichuan, and save himself quickly", and then painted "wooden signs" with tung oil, wrapped them in oil paper and secretly threw them into the river overnight. Sichuan has numerous rivers and dense water networks extending in all directions. This kind of "water telegraph" is called "water telegraph", which rises in the autumn tide and drifts down with the river. The news of the "water telegraph" spread from one place to another. Many people copied it and threw more "water telegrams" into the river, so that the news of "Chengdu bloody case" quickly spread throughout the counties along the river. Some boatmen also handed over the salvaged "water telegraph" to teachers in local schools, who distributed leaflets, led students to post them on the streets, and encouraged the masses to rebel against the Qing Dynasty. Soon, the Manchu government ordered the spread of "hydropower" to be strictly prohibited, but this order aroused greater resentment among Sichuan people, and "hydropower" not only became more and more diverse.

"Water Telegraph" is the battle slogan of Sichuan people's crusade against the Manchu government and its Sichuan favorite Zhao Erfeng. It greatly inspired revolutionaries in Sichuan and other places, and finally fired the first shot of Wuchang Uprising at 10+00, which sounded the death knell of Manchu rule.