The Reform Movement of 1898, also known as the Reform Movement of 1898, was a political reform movement in China during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty (1898). This reform advocated that Emperor Guangxu personally led the political system reform, and hoped that China would embark on the modernization road of constitutional monarchy.
The real reasons for the success of Meiji Restoration and the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898.
Simply put:
1. The radical changes of Emperor Guangxu and several scholars offended the whole upper class, including intellectuals, and the abolition of the imperial examination blocked the promotion of some intellectuals. On the other hand, Japan is steadily reforming.
2. Both the Reform Movement of 1898 and the New Deal of Empress Dowager Cixi were destroyed by foreigners, and Japan's reform was supported by foreigners.
Of the above two reasons, the first is the most important. Let me elaborate on my reasons:
As for some people who say that the failure is due to "subjectively, the bourgeoisie in China is not fully developed, and it is weak and compromised. Objectively speaking, the feudal reactionary forces in China are too strong and seriously hindered. " This is the standard answer in textbooks, but it is not the case. In fact, the subjective and objective factors in Japan and the Qing Dynasty also had this problem. The resistance of Japanese feudal reactionary forces is even stronger than that of China. For example, after the Japanese Reform, Kyushu feudal forces launched an armed attack on the new regime.
1895 After the failure of the Sino-Japanese War, the Reform Movement of 1898 presided over by Emperor Guangxu came into being. Under the influence of textbooks and mainstream media, people basically think that Wude's reform movement was suppressed by Empress Dowager Cixi, who was the bane of China's progress. But this is not the case. How can Lafayette be indifferent to the fiasco in the Sino-Japanese War? According to Fei Xingjian's biography of Empress Dowager Cixi, as early as the beginning of the political reform, Empress Dowager Cixi said to Emperor Guangxu: "Political reform is an ambition. In the early years of Tongzhi, Zeng Guofan was invited to study abroad, and his children were sent to build ships and machines in order to be rich and strong. " "If you can be rich and strong, you can do it yourself. I don't do it internally." Emperor Guangxu has always been afraid of Empress Dowager Cixi. Empress Dowager Cixi, when her true feelings were revealed and her mood was low, took bold actions surrounded by several literati, hoping to complete the Millennium task within one week. Haste makes waste, but it backfires, offending a large number of vested interests. The radical changes advocated by Emperor Guangxu and the reformists have caused a strong shock to the whole social structure and threatened many social groups and political forces with interests in the existing society. During the Reform Movement of 1898, there were more than 1 10 imperial edicts, which were dizzying. Local officials complained bitterly. Emperor Guangxu severely punished officials who obstructed political reform and made too many enemies. As for the reform of abolishing stereotyped writing in the imperial examination system, it also caused widespread panic among a large group of scholars.
The actions of several literati will lead to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, and Empress Dowager Cixi has to come out to stabilize the political situation and swallow the consequences of the "bloody coup". Empress Dowager Cixi had both merits and demerits in dealing with the Reform Movement of 1898. If Empress Dowager Cixi really wanted to be as ambitious as Empress Wu Zetian at that time, why didn't Empress Dowager Cixi become emperor later? For various reasons, Empress Dowager Cixi could not be uglier.
Empress Dowager Cixi supported the reform, and the new policy she personally led proved this. "Because of the deep domestic and international disadvantages, we have to make efforts to rectify according to the times. And hooligans, stealing the law, disturbing it. The industry has been severely punished to curb cross-flow. Whatever is politically related to the national economy and people's livelihood, the old and the new must implement it for the second time, and they must never give up food because of choking. " But in such an era of great social change, she does not have the knowledge and literacy that a supreme ruler should have. She didn't take the initiative to absorb new knowledge, so she showed amazing ignorance on many issues. For example, she thought that building a railway would destroy Feng Shui, and the train would use donkeys and horses (but this can't be entirely her fault, and the knowledge background of that era was like this). Her ignorance affected the Westernization Movement she supported and the achievements of Tongzhi Zhongxing. More importantly, due to the limitation of education level and times, she did not have enough psychological preparation and overall consideration for the seriousness of the situation, the process and goal of reform, and passively adjusted her policies under the stimulation of external forces. After the implementation of the New Deal, he still made the rash mistake of the Reform Movement of 1898 presided over by Emperor Guangxu. Japan's reform took 20 years to complete, and Empress Dowager Cixi took 8 years. Because the pace of reform is too big and too fast, it leads to political instability and decentralized power. The most obvious example is the road protection movement. It is emphasized here that the demise of the Qing dynasty was not due to corruption, but to its own great leap forward in reform. This is similar to the reason for the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The disintegration of the Soviet Union was not due to corruption, but to radical reform.
Judging from the international environment. The Meiji Restoration in Japan took place in the late 1960s in 19. At that time, the world was still in the period of free competition capitalism, and the climax of colonial conquest had not yet begun. The main target of western powers' aggression in East Asia is China, which has a vast territory and rich resources. In addition, the national liberation movement in Asia, especially the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement in China, contained the western powers and provided a more favorable international environment for the Meiji Restoration in Japan. Japanese reformists themselves pay more attention to the strategy of diplomatic struggle and make great use of the contradictions between Britain and France, Britain and Russia. The people of China and the Reform Movement of 1898 reached 19 at the end of the 1990s, when world capitalism was in the transition to imperialism, and the powers basically carved up the world through the climax of their struggle for colonies. China became the "only rich source" that the great powers competed for in the East, and there was a frenzy to carve up China. At this time, the imperialist powers never wanted China to become an independent and powerful capitalist country, and the international environment was very unfavorable to China's reform movement.
Because China has a vast territory and a large population, its development is unfavorable to other countries, and the resources in the world are limited. Other countries are also for their own interests, so it is not important to evaluate whether their aggression is good or bad. The West strongly supported Japanese reform and took destructive actions against the Reform Movement of 1898 in the late Qing Dynasty, precisely to make China, a sleeping lion, never wake up. Therefore, from the perspective of national interests, the West's suppression of People's Republic of China (PRC)'s development began with the first collision between the East and the West, and the West's policy of suppressing China continues now and will continue in the foreseeable future. The suppression of China by the West has nothing to do with Chinese surnames Feng, Zi and She. However, Japan is a small country, and no matter how it develops, it will not pose a serious threat to the West, which is why the West has been supported by the West since the Meiji Restoration, and a powerful Japan controls the development of China.
Westernization Movement
1840 After the defeat of the Opium War, the relationship between China and the world has undergone unprecedented changes. Successive external troubles and internal worries made the Qing government and a group of intellectuals gradually wake up to the need for change to strengthen themselves. During the reign of Xianfeng and Tongzhi, the Qing government began to carry out the Westernization Movement, hoping to "learn from foreigners for self-improvement" and improve production technology. All localities introduced new foreign technologies, set up mines and factories, built railways, set up telegraph networks and trained technicians; Militarily, it also established the largest Beiyang Navy in the Far East. 1894 to 1895, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, the people of China were defeated by the Japanese, and the Beiyang Navy was completely annihilated. It proves that the economic westernization movement alone cannot fundamentally change the backwardness of Chinese people. Then there was a voice calling for political reform, calling for reform from a more basic level, including the political system.
Imperial examination candidates jointly wrote to the emperor.
The reform movement began with a bus petition in Beijing on 1895. At that time, people gathered in 18 provinces in Beijing to take the imperial examination, and got the news that China cut Taiwan Province Province and Liaodong in treaty of shimonoseki and paid 22,000 Japanese reparations. At that time, the crowd got excited. In April, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao wrote "A Million Words Book of Emperor Shang", proposing the idea of rejecting peace and moving the capital to reform, which was signed by more than a thousand people. On May 2nd, two people, Kang and Liang, juren from eighteen provinces and thousands of citizens, gathered in front of Duchayuan and asked to play on their behalf. Because people from other provinces went to Beijing by imperial car, the incident was also called a letter on the bus. Although the writing on the bus didn't get direct and substantial consequences at that time, it formed an atmosphere of citizens asking about politics, which in turn gave birth to various discussion groups. Among them, the die-hards initiated by Kang and Liang were the most powerful, and were once supported by the emperor Weng Tonghe, Nanyang Minister Zhang Zhidong and other senior officials of the Qing Dynasty.
Reform has begun.
1897 At the end of the year, there was a Caozhou religious case in Shandong, and two missionaries of the German Empire were killed. Germany took the opportunity to occupy Jiaozhou Bay (now Qingdao), Russia occupied Lushun Dalian, France occupied Guangzhou Bay (now Zhanjiang, Guangdong), and Britain occupied Weihai, Shandong, demanding the expansion of Kowloon New Territories. The fierce intention to carve up the Republic of China, which was just defeated by Japan, once again sounded the alarm in North Korea.
Although Emperor Guangxu was nominally pro-government at the age of 1887, the real power was still in the hands of Empress Dowager Cixi. Faced with the danger of dismemberment, 1898 (the year of the Reform Movement of 1898), Empress Dowager Cixi agreed to Guangxu's reform of state affairs. 1 1 In June, Emperor Guangxu promulgated the Imperial Decree on Determining the Country, which showed his determination to change the system, and this was also the beginning of the Hundred Days Reform. Later, Emperor Guangxu summoned Kang Youwei and asked him to walk for Zhang Jing as a think tank of political reform. Later, Tan Sitong, Yang Rui, Xu Lin, Liu Guangdi and others were used to assist the political reform.
The contents of the New Deal mainly include: eliminating redundant staff, abolishing stereotyped writing, opening schools, training new troops, equality between Manchu and Han, and so on; Policies and systems covering education and military affairs. Its ultimate goal is to implement constitutional monarchy. Kang Youwei presented Emperor Guangxu with Kang Youwei's own works on the Japanese Reform and Peter's Reform in Russia, as well as Timothy Richard's translation of The New History of Taixi and other books on the reform of various countries. I wanted to recommend it during the political reform, so much so that I especially regarded the model as the reform of Meiji Restoration.
1898 coup
From the beginning, the New Deal was resisted by former ministers. In particular, Rong Lu, minister of Beiyang and governor of Zhili, was a conservative leader. /kloc-in September of 0/6, Emperor Guangxu summoned Yuan Shikai, the provincial judge of Zhili who commanded the Beiyang New Army, and was promoted to assistant minister after the interview. On the other hand, Rong Lu, the governor of Zhili, went to Britain and Russia and urged Yuan to return to Tianjin as soon as possible. According to Yuan Shikai's diary, Tan Sitong later visited Yuan Shikai's residence on the night of September 18, revealing that the emperor hoped that Yuan Shikai would arise and work hard to kill Rong Lu and surround the Summer Palace where Empress Dowager Cixi lived. Two days later (September 20th), Yuan Shikai returned to Tianjin and reported Tan Sitong's plan to Rong Lu. /kloc-in September of 0/9, Empress Dowager Cixi returned to the palace. On September 2 1 day, she came to the DPRK, declared martial law and stopped the train. In other words, Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned, the New Deal was abolished, and the reformists were searched. It was a coup in 1898, which only ended the reform in 103. Among the reformists, Kang Youwei left Beijing early and Liang Qichao fled to the Japanese embassy. Also arrested were Tan Sitong, Yang Rui, Liu Guangdi and He Kang, who were called the "Six Gentlemen of the 1898 Movement". Six people were beheaded in the food market on September 28th. Xu Zhijing was sentenced to life imprisonment; Zhang Fa matches Xinjiang. All the new policies, except Shi Jing University Hall, have been abolished.
The influence of political reform
In recent years, some historians believe that the reform movement had no hope of success from the beginning. Apart from the fact that Emperor Guangxu lacked the power and prestige to carry out reforms, the reformists (especially Kang Youwei as a think tank) were doomed to failure because of their ignorance of political reality and their rough understanding of western social systems.
It has been a hundred years since the Reform Movement of 1898 (the 24th year of Guangxu). One hundred years ago, China was in a semi-feudal and semi-colonial dark society. At that time, the feudal rule of Qing Dynasty was decadent, and the imperialist aggression gradually deepened. It was in this unprecedented and severe national crisis that a reform movement called for patriotism and strength took place, which was called "the Reform Movement of 1898" in history.
The Reform Movement of 1898 was a great patriotic and national salvation movement. 19 in the 1960s and 1970s, western powers successively changed from the stage of liberal capitalism to the stage of imperialism, and their aggression against China also changed from mainly commodity export to capital export. Japan in the East quickly embarked on the capitalist road after the Meiji Restoration and participated in the colonial plunder of the Far East, including China. 1895 The Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 ended with the fiasco of the Qing Dynasty and the signing of an unequal treaty with Japan, the treaty of shimonoseki. When the news reached Beijing, people were angry. On May 2, 2008, Kang Youwei and others joined forces with more than 300 people from other provinces/KLOC-0 to take an exam in Beijing and signed a letter. Kang Youwei and others first pointed out in the book: stop making peace, refuse to go abroad, protect territory and prolong the life of the country. Resolutely oppose the signing of treaty of shimonoseki, and put forward three suggestions: refusing to sign a peace treaty, moving the capital to fight against Japan, and strengthening political reform. 1897, Germany occupied Jiaozhou Bay, and Russia also leased Lushun and Dalian. The crisis of the great powers threatening or seizing China by force is imminent. For this reason, Kang Youwei rushed to Beijing from Shanghai and wrote to Emperor Guangxu for the fifth time, complaining about the dangerous situation of China being divided up, and put forward the strategy of "adopting France, Russia and Japan to determine the country", "gathering only large groups to seek change" and "letting Xinjiang ministers change their policies". At the same time, reformists such as Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Yan Fu and Tan Sitong organized societies, set up schools, founded newspapers and periodicals, wrote books and advocated political reform in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangdong and Hunan. A patriotic movement for reform and survival has flourished in China.
The Reform Movement of 1898 was the first ideological emancipation movement in modern China. According to incomplete statistics, from 1895 to 1897, the reformists founded 33 societies in China, 17 schools, 9 newspapers and 2 bookstores, and by 1898, the number increased to more than 300 (institutes), which widely publicized the reform ideas. The activities of reformists aroused the hatred and panic of feudal die-hards. They criticized the reformists for their political reform, which undermined the ancestral law and deviated from the law. In this regard, reformists and die-hards have launched a big debate. The focus of the debate is: first, "Is it necessary to reform?" The reformists criticized the die-hards' metaphysical thought of "the sky remains unchanged and the Tao remains unchanged" with the theory of evolution. Kang Youwei used the meaning of change in China's traditional Confucian classics as the basis of his reform argument. In his view, "the meaning of change" reflects the development law of human society and nature and is irresistible. "New things are strong, old things are old; The new is fresh and the old is rotten; The new is alive and the old is board; New access, old stagnation, things are reasonable. " Liang Qichao said: "Change also changes, and the same changes. People who change and the right to change can protect the country, species and education. On the other hand, "those who change and remain unchanged will have the right to change, and they will be bound and rushed" (Note: Liang Qichao's General Theory of Reform. )。 Yan Fu pointed out: "The truth in the world is the clearest and the situation is inevitable. For example, if China does not change the law today, he will die. " Even Emperor Guangxu realized that "no reform is not enough to survive". Second, "Do you want to implement a constitutional monarchy?" The reformists criticized the feudal autocratic thought of "divine right of monarchy" with bourgeois civil rights thought. It is pointed out that the country is "the public property of the people, and the vassals are only public servants of the whole country" and the people are "the gods of the world" (note: Volume III of the Reform Movement of 1898. ), and then expounds the rationality of changing the absolute monarchy, which provides a theoretical basis for reformists to promote civil rights, open parliament and realize constitutional monarchy. Kang Youwei also put forward democratic theories such as individual freedom, equality, independence, individual power and personality liberation in Datong Book, and endowed him with great ideals of the reform movement. Third, "Do you want to change the feudal education system? From the viewpoint of bourgeois education, the reformists criticized the imperial examination system for "imprisoning people's hearts". It is pointed out that stereotyped writing is actually a kind of cage art, which controls the scholars' thoughts and creates a harmonious situation. It is believed that in order to cultivate people's wisdom, we should first abolish stereotyped writing to recruit talents, set up various schools and learn western science and technology, so as to cultivate new talents needed by society. Emperor Guangxu said: "Westerners are all useful learning, but I in China are all useless learning." (Note: Chronicle of Kang Nanhai. Therefore, he made an imperial edict: "From the next subject, all those who take the exam in the township association and have children and use four books will try to discuss." (Note: Imperial edicts are kept in the First Historical Archives of China. After a big debate, the idea of reform was widely spread, just like throwing a boulder into a stagnant pool, which opened the eyes of intellectuals and made them active, forming the first ideological emancipation trend in modern China.
The Reform Movement of 1898 was a violent impact on the decadent feudal system, which initiated the political reform in modern China. /kloc-At the end of 0/9, the ancient China was hobbled in feudal society for more than 2,000 years. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the feudal system was dying. On behalf of the interests of the national bourgeoisie and the requirements of progressive intellectuals, the reformists proposed to reform the feudal system and establish a capitalist system in China through top-down reform and transformation. Reformists advocate: follow the constitutional monarchy of foreign countries politically and set up parliament. Kang Youwei put forward "to build a house and communicate feelings" in the fourth book to Emperor Guangxu. In view of the powerful forces of the die-hards, it changed to the idea of "opening the system in the palace" Kang Youwei believes that "it is not feasible to formulate a new law today without determining the three powers" (Note: Examination of Japanese Political Change, Volume I). )。 Economically, reformists advocate enriching the country, supporting the people and developing capitalism. In the second book, Kang Youwei put forward specific measures to "enrich the country", "support the people" and "teach the people". Among them, the methods of "enriching the country" include "banknote method, railway, machinery, ship, mining, silver casting and postal service"; The methods of "supporting the people" include farming, persuading workers, benefiting businesses and taking care of farmers; The method of "teaching the people" is mainly to set up schools and educate the people. In order to achieve "the country does not suffer from poverty and the people do not want it" (note: "Kang Youwei's political essays"). The purpose of).
The Reform Movement of 1898 embodied the thoughts of the reformists. For example, Emperor Guangxu ordered to revitalize commerce, farming and industry, reward industrial innovation, mine and build roads, organize postal services, scrap grain transportation and cut lijin to protect the development of capitalism in China. At the same time, it also abolished stereotyped writing to recruit talents and scholars, abolished the temple of obscenity and changed it into an academy, and started learning and running newspapers to open up the atmosphere and cultivate new talents. The Reform Movement of 1898 lit the torch of reform, patriotism and democracy in the dark feudal society of China, calling on generations of people with lofty ideals to devote themselves to the truth of saving the country and the people.
Author: Bao
China's constitutional transplant movement originated from the Reform Movement of 1898. Since then, cultural resistance has unveiled the banner of "nationalism" and branded it with ideology. In the Examination of Japan's Reform System submitted in May and June of the Reform Movement of 1898, Kang Youwei expounded his reform proposition: buying a ship and installing machinery can be described as change, but it can not be described as constant; Setting up a post office and mining can be described as a change, not a political change; Changing the official system of elections can be described as political change, but it is not political reform; Japan changed its constitution, and so did all reforms. In Kang's view, only by making a constitution and governing the elected house can we consider political reform and "capture the hearts of courtiers". The people will not alienate the imperial court, but will try their best to make the government act in a legal way and make the country long-term stability.
Kang Youwei believes that the final result of political reform is fierce, but the process of reform must be slow and peaceful. China must go through a transitional period of constitutional monarchy to realize the "peaceful world" known to the whole people. In the Textual Research on Japan's Reform, Kang put forward that "it is all right to reform the DPRK, but not to observe the Japanese". Kang also understands that there is a fundamental difference between the constitutional monarchy of "prospering the world" and the autocratic monarchy of "according to the troubled times", so he must make some explanations and preparations: because of the Constitution, for the people of the whole country and for the welfare of the people, all the officials in the country are civilian, but the ancient and modern things are different, and the officials are often different, which is different from the autocratic regime in China in the past.
Obviously, constitutionalism has a completely different spirit and culture from autocracy. At this time, Kang Youwei encountered a difficult problem: Does China have the spirit of constitutionalism without the practice of constitutionalism? If so, why can't we have constitutionalism? If not, does it mean that culture is completely westernized? The Kang family is in a dilemma: if they advocate it, they will take great risks, overthrow the thousand-year-old fixed knowledge and reinterpret Confucianism; If nothing is advocated, it will hurt national self-esteem, which is equivalent to declaring "cultural suicide" and fundamentally shaking Confucianism as the foundation of the Qing government. This is not only the emperor's disapproval, but also the official disapproval, which is bound to arouse the general resentment of the literati class and may eventually lead to Kang himself's punishment in the world. Of the two evils, he chose the first way: a democratic government in which the executive, legislative and judicial powers are integrated in western countries, but this theory already exists in China. China lags behind the West in implementing democracy, not because Confucius' theory is flawed, but because many of his disciples misunderstood him. This is the problem to be explained in Kang's Textual Research on New Learning and Pseudo-Classics (189 1) and Textual Research on Confucius' Reform (1896).
Kang Youwei not only thinks that Confucianism has a constitutional theory (such as Confucius' theory of democracy and humanity), but also goes deep into the "stage theory" on the operational level. He wrote in Notes on the Analects of Confucius: "The meaning of the Spring and Autumn Period, the principle of troubled times and the principle of peaceful times". Each generation has its own corresponding political system: absolute monarchy is suitable for troubled times, constitutional monarchy is suitable for peaceful times, and the system of * * * is suitable for peaceful times. When human beings develop from a lower social level to a higher social level, the form of government will also change accordingly. Confucius said in the Analects that "there is a way in the world, and rites and music are conquered from the emperor." The traditional understanding is that doctors can't control the government and people don't discuss politics. Kang criticized that this common word "no" was planted by mistake, and the person who planted it by mistake did not know the true meaning of Confucius, so it must be deleted. When commenting on Mencius' "people are the most important", Kang said: This Mencius established a democratic system, and the Taiping Law also ... justice belongs to democracy, such as Britain and the legal president ... close to the world of Datong. After such an explanation, Confucianism already has the idea of constitutional monarchy and democratic constitutionalism, and clearly shows the change and gradual process of the two. Kang Youwei advocated the establishment of a constitutional bureau, claiming that Confucius was the king of element. Confucius also advocated political reform, which laid a classic foundation for his constitutional reform. In this way, through the re-excavation of the local resources of Confucianism, the constitutional theory can be self-sufficient and transplant western constitutionalism without introducing western learning at the same time. No wonder Liang Qichao called Kang Youwei "Martin Luther of Confucianism".
Kang Youwei proposed to reform Confucianism, taking Confucianism as the state religion, and also had the motivation to directly resist Christian culture. Kang believes that "Ye teaches the spiritual world, its perfection is not as good as that of Buddha, and its preparation is not as good as that of Confucius". He believes that although Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are basically the same as Christianity, Christianity is the most unsatisfactory. He believes that Confucianism is superior to any other theory in the world, which is suitable for all mankind in theory and the only religion suitable for China in the current situation. In order to preserve the empire, China's legal, administrative and economic systems must be changed according to the western model; But if we give up Confucianism and try to westernize the whole moral life, it will be cultural suicide. Therefore, the position taken by Kang in Confucius Reform can be said to be a kind of "cultural nationalism".
To sum up, Kang Youwei believes that the direct goal of the Reform Movement of 1898 is to open a parliament, formulate a constitution, and establish a constitutional monarchy, with Confucianism as the guiding ideology after the explanation, rather than based on the introduction of Christian western learning. Although Kang Youwei's "reinterpretation" of Confucian classics caused a lot of criticism, most of Emperor Guangxu's ideas were accepted except that he did not explicitly promise to establish the country and appointed Kang Youwei as the "chief architect" of the whole reform. Therefore, it can be said that Kang's thought basically represents the style of "constitutional transplantation and cultural resistance" during the political reform period. I believe that the great influence of Kang Youwei and the Reform Movement of 1898 on China's constitutionalism in the twentieth century is mainly reflected in the following three aspects:
First, all Kang Youwei's efforts, in my opinion, are to seek a legal basis for China's constitutional transplant that can be recognized by Chinese people. This foundation is rooted in traditional culture and closely related to ideology, but it cannot fundamentally go against the world trend. As a result, there has been a reinterpretation of Confucian classics, but Kang's good intentions have aggravated the crisis of cultural identity, making his "legitimacy foundation" always on the edge: the traditional power groups and the literati class denounced Kang's "boring appearance and boring heart"; Revolutionaries and westerners don't buy it, thinking that Kang is an extremely conservative diehard. In this regard, Fei Zhengqing pointed out: "In order to make up for the loopholes, Kang often had to violate the accepted interpretation, and extended the scriptures to inject equality, freedom, * * and constitutional justice into Confucianism. His method is to sincerely modernize China's moral heritage to protect it, and make the ideological foundation of the Qing court save its danger in time. If Kang follows the family law, he is just another respectable ram family, which is completely different from what he did. " Although you're welcome, the successors found that the problems that Kang thought could not be bypassed almost took the same road: constitutional transplantation and cultural resistance. The former is westernization and modernization, while the latter is nationalization and localization. In the end, China transplanted the body of constitutionalism and rejected the soul of constitutionalism.
Secondly, Kang Youwei advocates gradual reform, and thinks that China's constitutional monarchy is a necessary transitional stage to realize real democratic constitutionalism, and the revolution of quick success and instant benefit can only lead to a historical cycle. "Since the Reform Movement of 1898, he advocated constitutional monarchy; Since 19 1 1 year, he has advocated "virtual monarch * * * and". Kang believes that the virtual monarch can stay out of political competition and is a symbol of national unity and stability, which not only conforms to the traditional people's feelings, but also provides a peaceful environment for constitutional construction. At that time, Dr. Sun Yat-sen put forward revolutionary constitutionalism and "rule by the people". The difference between the two is not the goal, but the means of peace and violence. However, the more we look back, the clearer Dr. Sun Yat-sen's approach becomes: he has to admit that constitutionalism by the people can only be gradual and cannot be achieved overnight, so there is a "constitutional syllogism". During the 20-year political training period, the people have no rights at all. The emperor was driven away, but countless "emperors" were ushered in. Warlords scuffle, the country is not peaceful and the people are poor, not to mention human rights, democracy and constitutionalism. Unfortunately, the experience of constitutionalism in this century was pointed out by Duan Fang and Kang Youwei, and the thought of the Reform Movement of 1898 could have directly avoided this situation (if constitutional monarchy was implemented after the Revolution of 1911, there would be no resistance at all). The actual operator of the successor is secretly crossing Kang's Chen Cang, but he paid a heavy price for the superficial form.
Thirdly, an important reason for Kang Youwei's "gradualism" is that "the wisdom of the people has not been developed", which is the origin of Kang's initial advocacy of constitutional monarchy and enlightened autocracy. Kang believes that the people of China have experienced thousands of years of autocratic rule, and they have neither the ability nor the desire to gain political power. Therefore, it is foolish to give them political power before they are qualified to use it. The safest way is to make full use of existing facilities and prepare for major changes. Kang believes that democracy suitable for the "Taiping era" has not yet arrived, and rushing into it will be counterproductive: it is inevitable to spread the wind of equality and freedom of civil rights, which is in line with justice and popular support ... In the future, it will be implemented all over the world ... It is necessary but possible to wait ... He took the medicine of revolution and China will die. The situation after the founding of the Republic of China confirmed Kang's many worries about the immaturity of political reform. He said, "The so-called civil rights activists are just reckless and reckless with the help of thugs. The so-called equal, Ji Gang swept away, etiquette was abandoned. The so-called freedom, indulging in defeat, sweeping away shame, destroying righteousness and wanting to be poor. "
Dr. Sun Yat-sen originally advocated radical revolution. After the founding of the Republic of China, he declared that everyone was equal, free and enjoyed natural human rights. However, he soon discovered that, as Kang Youwei said, the people of China still need guidance before they can embark on democratic constitutionalism. Therefore, he put forward the theory of "political training"-the theory of constitutional nanny, and pinned his hopes on the elite of "prophets" At the same time, great scholars such as Hu Shi, Cai Yuanpei and Ding Wenjiang also called for "good government". In this way, the ingenious combination of so-and-so doctrine and Confucian culture has enabled the people of China to realize a "good government" that has been beyond doubt in morality and wisdom for thousands of years.
During the Reform Movement of 1898, Kang Youwei advocated the enlightened autocracy of constitutional monarchy on the basis of "the wisdom of the people cannot be separated", and the education of the people with imperial power and the realization of constitutional rights ranked second, so Kang's thought was naturally criticized. However, those who accuse Kang of coming to power later and following his old path only omit an "emperor". This "coincidence" is inevitable: constitutionalism was moved from the west, but the mind is still China's. Its source is the Confucian philosophy of human nature: the first-class "sage nature" is good and does not need enlightenment; "The nature of China people" and "the nature of fighting" need education and reform before they can be transformed into fakes and perfected. Sages, monarchs and officials naturally "accept God's will and take it as their duty to become citizens". Calling for a savior and a good government is not a political product of "being a saint inside and being a king outside" and "nourishing qi and calming the world"?
The reason why China couldn't establish a constitutional government by himself and the transplant was unsuccessful can be seen from Kang Youwei's proposition of "political reform": it seems reasonable to advocate centralized discipline and education with "the people's wisdom is not open", but it is actually a false proposition with deep harm. First, "people's wisdom is not open" does not constitute a legitimate reason for government intervention, because the government itself has similar problems. In essence, the government is not an entity beyond the individual, nor is it omniscient and omnipotent. It is also composed of specific individuals, and these individuals are often "not open for the wisdom of the officials." At least before the constitution of China, there will not be a group of officials with good constitutional literacy to demonstrate and educate the people, because the officials and the people are only in a constitutional environment. Secondly, "the people don't do their own things" is by no means a sufficient condition for "the government acts on their behalf". In constitutional life, citizens have rights, which they can exercise or abstain from, but no one can overstep the bubble without authorization. Implementing people's constitutional government through enlightened autocracy constitutes a paradox of means and purpose. Third, the people do not have the enthusiasm and ability to implement the constitution, or once the constitutional government is started, it will lead to the confusion of people's feelings, free abuse and indulgence, which is often not "the wisdom of the people has not been opened", but the constitutional government itself has not yet produced an effective incentive and restraint mechanism, which is an inevitable phenomenon in the early stage of implementing the constitution, and once the government is keen on intervention, it may return to authoritarian countries. Finally, the policy of discipline before education will inevitably use power to the extreme and treat the people as experiments that can be rubbed at will. The inevitable outcome is that "politicians are enemies of the people under the banner of the people, and officials enrich themselves in the name of public welfare". "Power is prone to corruption, and absolute power is absolutely corrupt." The experience of the twentieth century provides too many examples for this truth.