Shen Bao 1872 was founded in Shanghai on April 30th by British businessmen Ernest Major, Woodward, Puya and melchior. It was named Shenbao because Shanghai, where it was founded, was referred to as Shenshen for short, and this year was Ren Shennian in Ganzhi year, so it was named. Started as a bimonthly newspaper, it was changed into a periodical from the fifth issue, and published a large piece every day, becoming the earliest modern daily newspaper in China. 1884 After the outbreak of the Sino-French war, the newspaper's sales increased greatly due to its detailed reports on the war situation. In order to spread the news of the war in time, the newspaper also published the earliest extra in China newspapers. In 1905, the space is expanded into two originals and two copies. The arrangement has also been reformed, and each edition and news classification has columns. In 1907, the text is punctuated by an improved method.

After the publication of Shenbao, there was a fierce competition with Shanghai New Newspaper. As a result, Shenbao soon came from behind and became the main newspaper in Shanghai. Because Shenbao is run by foreigners, many people call it "foreign newspaper". Generally speaking, the newspaper's speech tendency is relatively stable or even conservative. 1907, in order to expand other businesses, Ernest Major Company transferred the newspaper to comprador Xizipei. 19 12 years, Shi entered Shenbao, and his achievements were greatly improved. By 19 19, the circulation has gradually increased from 7000 to 30000. Since then, the newspaper has continuously improved its layout and content, and its circulation has also increased steadily, reaching more than 140000 copies in 1926. In the next ten years, the circulation of Shenbao has been stable at around 6.5438+0.5 million, with the highest year exceeding 200,000. In the 1920s, Shenbao accumulated rich profits and its strength was superior, which consolidated its position as a national newspaper.

Shenbao is one of the earliest newspapers in China with a long history and rich contents. It has preserved important information about China's politics, economy, military affairs, culture, industrial and agricultural production and social life in the past hundred years. Known as the encyclopedia of modern history, it has important reference value for history, culture and academic research.