June 6, 2008
San Jin City News is a commercial daily run out of Taiyuan by the Shanxi Daily Group. “San Jin” refers to the three states of Han, Zhao, and Wei, which were formed out of the old state of Jin when it was split up at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period in 403 BC.
Like many other papers today, San Jin City News leads with the college entrance exams, the gaokao (for a quick overview of the exams, see this Slate article). But instead of using an actual news photo on the front page, the paper features a Photoshopped image of a beloved Peanuts character in a mortarboard. The caption urges students to stay calm and the rest of the city to keep quiet.
Below the photo, the paper announces that it is collaborating with Sohu.com to release a set of educational cartoons designed to teach the public how to save themselves when disaster strikes. Sohu calls its cartoon gallery Love Yourself.
See below for a translation of a cartoon that explains why you should always know where your towel is:
Panel 1: Earthquake!
Panel 2: (cough, cough)
Panel 3: Quick, use this wet towel to cover your mouth and nose. —Thanks.
Panel 4: An earthquake will fill the air with large quantities of dust. So you should cover your mouth and nose with a wet towel to to keep out dust and smoke.