古代中国早有“事实”之说，并在“虚-实”对应的话语框架中被国人长期使用。而清末对译英文“Fact”的“事实”则源自日本，构成“事实（客观）-理论（主观）”二元对应的话语框架。此框架被引入报界后，转化为新闻思想领域关于“事实”和“言论”关系的话语辨析，影响深远。清末侧重“言论”的作用，主张“言论为事实之母”，民初则突出“事实”的地位，强调“言论必于事实上负责任”。文章指出，两种“事实”概念在清末是分离的，至民初则结合到一起，它们最终促成彼时新闻界重“事实”轻“言论”的认知取向。此种取向，为“五四”时期新闻本位思想的兴盛奠定了基础。

The concept of “Shishi” has existed for a long time in China, which is embedded in the discourse framework of true and false. However, the late-Qing Chinese translation for the English word “fact” came from Japanese, which took shape into the discourse framework of “fact” (objective) and “theory” (subjective), which featured binary correspondence. When the framework was introduced to the press, the distinctions between “fact” and “expression” gradually gained attention and were differentiated, which had a profound impact. The effect of “expression” was valued to a greater extent in the late Qing period and the idea of “expression being the mother of fact” was advocated. In the early Republican era, the importance of “fact” was more valued gradually, and it was emphasized that “the obligations of expression be carried out based on facts”. The two concepts of “Shishi” were separated in the late Qing Dynasty, but combined in the early Republic of China. They eventually led to the idea orientation that the modern press paid more attention to “fact” than “speech”. This kind of orientation laid an immediate foundation for the popularity of the news-based theory around the May Fourth Movement.