Traditionally ,the ontology of reportage has emphasized three characteristics : journalism , literature and political commentary . Yet ,these three characteristics can no longer serve as the standard of contemporary reportage and should be replaced by the″five new characteristics″such as the″scientific principle of text connotation″. If the reportage before the″New Era (1978)″mainly dealt with themes closely connected with political reality ,the post-New-Era reportage has not only brought its potential critique of reason and political reason to a new stage ,but has developed the critique of tradition ,reflection of the past ,cultural enlightenment ,academic spirit and so on . Thus a″Neospirit of Reason″has taken shape which is characterized by the pursuit of modernity ,enhancement of the scientific spirit and humanism . The value and significance of the ″scientific principle″and″beauty of reason″lie in the fact that theoretically ,they have enhanced the philosophical social science;in practice ,they have promoted the development of our society;and spiritually ,they have enlightened people's mind ,stimulated them to further effort and refined their sentiment . The reason why reportage used to be looked down upon in the academic circle is that reportage is″utilitarian″. In fact ,″utilitarianism″is one of the most important featuresof ″modernity″in the theory of literature and art of modern China . The prominence of the″scientific principle″and″beauty of reason″in reportage proves that this is still an era of″reason″,not an era of″genuine aesthetics″. This phenomenon also proves that″utilitarianism″of reportage should be recognized and respected .