The forgotten foreign correspondent who framed America's early views of China

As the May 30th Movement swept through the streets of Shanghai in June 1925, The New York Times appointed Thomas Franklin Fairfax Millard as its first staff correspondent in China.

For the 57-year-old Millard, this recognition felt akin to receiving a lifetime achievement award. A seasoned "China hand" and specialist in Far East affairs, his appointment garnered headlines in both Chinese and other newspapers.

A newsroom maverick, Millard pioneered "interpretive telegrams" – dispatches that integrated his extensive understanding of China's political landscape. In an interview with The China Press, an English-language daily in Shanghai that he co-founded in 1911, he stated, "I will telegraph nothing except opinions and analyses (to The New York Times)."

Serving as The Times' China correspondent from June 1925 to February 1927, Millard filed 42 in-depth reports. His first telegram regarding the May 30th Movement was headlined, "Shanghai is Calmed, but National Unrest Remains Ominous" (June 5, 1925). Many of his reports were classified as "special cable," with two even making it to the paper's front page.

Millard demonstrated support for Chinese sovereignty through extensive news coverage and policy advocacy, contrasting sharply with the pro-imperialist narratives prevalent in Western media.

On July 26, 1925, he opined, "In extraterritoriality lies the well-springs of China's national awakening," predicting the eventual abolition of extraterritorial rights due to China's growing political consciousness and global trends.

Millard authored seven books and numerous pamphlets and memoranda, covered at least six wars, founded two pioneering English-language news outlets in Shanghai – The China Press and Millard's Review of the Far East – served as a correspondent or contributor for nearly every major New York daily and magazine, and advised Chinese leaders for over a decade.

From his reporting on the 1900 Boxer Rebellion until his death in 1942, Millard became closely associated with China's modernization and quest for sovereignty.

Midwest son's Orient odyssey

Millard was raised in the rugged Midwest, known for its pioneering spirit and strong, adventurous individuals. His upbringing in Missouri during the height of populism and the muckraking progressive movement left an indelible mark on him, instilling him with a deep-seated sense of justice. He worked as a journalist and publicist in China, championing Chinese interests and a more engaged American role in the Far East.

Born in 1868 in Phelps County, Missouri, Millard's formal education was brief and unconventional. His father, a university board member, sent him to Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy at the age of 15. He studied law and humanities at the University of Missouri from 1886 to 1887. However, academia couldn't hold his attention for long, and he spent the next six years searching for his true calling, all the while sharpening a self-reliant personality.

In 1897, the St. Louis Republican publication fired Millard for refusing to cover a minor fire. As luck would have it, the managing editor told him the New York Herald was looking for a correspondent to cover the Greco-Turkish War. Thus, he began his career as a global war correspondent.

The Boxer Rebellion in 1900 brought Millard to China. Initially, he shared many of the era's Western biases, but his views started to change after seeing the West's brutal response to the rebellion. He sympathized with China and understood America's role in the Far East. It was his belief that the US should protect and help China grow.

In his memoirs, J.B. Powell, the highly regarded editor of The China Weekly Review, vividly describes his first meeting with Millard. "He was a short, slender man weighing perhaps 125 pounds and dressed so perfectly that I wondered how he would be able to sit down without wrinkling his immaculate suit."

Powell noted that Millard "never modified his principles on the fundamentals of the Far Eastern situation as so many of his colleagues did – for a quick profit."

Millard died from cancer on September 7, 1942, in Seattle, and left behind the warmest legacy of China. Through his writings, Millard left behind the warmest legacy of China. Through his writings and mentorship, Millard instilled in journalists such as Carl Crow, J. B. Powell and Edgar Snow a profound empathy for the underdog, a strong affection for China, and a set of ideals based on anti-imperialism, self-determination and a positive view of America.

Founding father of American journalism in China

Millard shaped American journalism in China long before his stint with The New York Times. In his dissertation, historian Mordechai Rozanski wrote, "Millard dominated American journalism in China for three decades."

In 1911, he dreamed up an ambitious media blueprint with Shanghai as its core and assembled an international team. He invited B.W. Fleisher, publisher of the prominent English-language daily The Japan Advertiser in Tokyo, to be his business manager in Shanghai. He also hired Herbert Webb, the Sunday editor of The Chicago Examiner, and Carl Crow, a University of Missouri graduate, as deputy editor and chief writer, respectively. They planned to run three daily newspapers in Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo, as well as two weekly newspapers in English and Chinese, two monthly magazines in both languages, an annual yearbook of China, and a news agency.

Despite the ambitious goals and foreign talent, only The China Press (大陆报) became a reality, thanks to financial support from Chicago manufacturer Charles R. Crane. Millard's vision for the paper was clear: "China and the Chinese at present have no adequate means through the columns of the daily press, of promptly and continuously presenting their point of view, and of refuting misrepresentation designed to injure China, and which impair her national prestige and credit. It is said 'China has no voice.' (The China Press) is designed to correct this condition."

The China Press was launched in Shanghai on August 29, 1911, as China's first American-style news daily run by professional journalists. The paper's inception coincided with the commencement of China's Xinhai Revolution, and it was the first foreign-language daily to refer to these events as a "revolution." It swiftly became the largest-circulation foreign daily in East Asia, thanks to innovations like multi-deck headlines, exclusive breaking news, Shanghai's first Sunday edition, and front-page coverage of Chinese topics.

"The Sunday edition, Shanghai's first, shocked the city terrifically," Millard later recalled with pride.

Six years later, Millard launched the English-language weekly Millard's Review of the Far East (密勒氏评论报) in Shanghai, with the help of another Missouri graduate, J.B. Powell. The publication was renamed China Weekly Review in 1922. The flagship publication eventually evolved into a key intellectual hub in East Asia, training generations of journalists, including future icon Edgar Snow.

During the interwar period, China's English-language media circles debated the "Missouri news monopoly." Millard was unquestionably one of the main drivers for this monopoly. His magnetism attracted those who shared his interests. Edgar Snow's first wife, Helen Foster Snow, hailed him as "the dean of American newspapermen in the Orient."

First US political adviser to Chinese leaders

Millard's influence extended beyond journalism. As a trusted confidant to influential figures such as Sun Yat-sen, Yuan Shikai, Wu Tingfang and Wellington Koo, Millard advised Chinese governments during critical events like the Twenty-One Demands crisis (1915), the Paris Peace Conference (1919), and the Washington Naval Conference (1921-1922).

He actively promoted Chinese interests and positions through his extensive journalistic and media connections. After leaving journalism, Millard served as a full-time adviser to China's foreign ministry from 1929 to 1935. His close relationship with Dr Sun was particularly significant; he recognized Sun's vision for a new, modern China and was eager to support it.

Before meeting Sun, Millard believed that "his notoriety as a reformer might be used favorably in making a good impression in the United States and England, where people would have a sentimental idea about the Revolution and a sympathy with its objects."

Millard continued to support Sun even after Sun resigned from the presidency in favor of Yuan. In December 1912, he instructed Carl Crow, his chief reporter and a United Press correspondent, to interview Sun once a week whenever possible.

For several months, Crow visited Sun at his home in the then French concession.

Although Millard is now largely forgotten, he played a pivotal role in shaping early 20th-century Sino-American relations. His life and work illustrate how media and advocacy can bridge cultures and influence history.

(The author is associate professor at School of Journalism, Fudan University.)