In recent years, the constitutional movement in the late Qing Dynasty has always been a hot topic in the history circle. Although these studies are constantly revising outdated viewpoints, they cannot come up with new viewpoints and theoretical systems that run through the constitutional movement in the late Qing Dynasty. As a result, several "general history" books on constitutionalism in the late Qing Dynasty published in the early 1990s, although outdated views abound, have been reprinted frequently recently, and it seems that they are still the frontier achievements in the study of constitutionalism in the late Qing Dynasty. One of them is the Constitutional History of the Late Qing Dynasty, which Gao Fang is waiting for.
In the Postscript to the Revised and Updated Edition, the author of this book said that the new edition has made six changes in judgment and viewpoint. The fifth of these six revisions is, "The title of Chapter 13 of the original book is: the victory of the Revolution of 1911 and the end of the constitutional fraud in the late Qing Dynasty, and now the second half of the sentence is changed to' the end of the constitutional fraud in the late Qing Dynasty'", "Objectively and fairly speaking, Cixi's preparations for constitutionalism cannot be completely a scam" (page 596).
It is indeed worthy of recognition to get rid of the statement of "constitutional fraud". However, the original "deception" theory is not a single point of view, but an overall judgment to evaluate the constitutionalism in the late Qing Dynasty. Although the new research results deny the "fraud" theory, they fail to provide a new framework. Therefore, although the author changed the title, he could not change the tone of the whole book, which led to contradictions everywhere in the book.
For example, when it comes to making constitutional decrees, the book says that the essence of decrees is that "power is unified in the Qing court and public opinion is open", and asserts that "the last six words are just decorative foil", while "other kind words such as worrying about the country, saving the country and saving the people are just empty words" (123 page); When talking about the "nine-year preparatory list", it is said to be "for the purpose of cheating" (page 233); Speaking of the imperial edict of the Qing court, I hope that the Council will "praise the loyalty of the Qing court and do its best in Shu Ren" and even declare that "the former sentence is true and the latter sentence is a lie to deceive the people." (page 370) All these are in contradiction with the "deception" that the author deliberately denies in the postscript.
The content behind is more exciting.
The academic refutation of "fraud" ignores a key issue, that is, the theory of "fraud" does not originate from academic circles, but from the accusation of the constitutionalists at that time against the "fake constitutionalism" of the Qing court. It is debatable to substitute "procrastination" for "fraud" academically, but it can neither help us understand why the theory of "fraud" is popular nor constitute a real criticism of it.
Back to the historical situation at that time, it was not so much that the Qing court deceived the constitutionalists as that the constitutionalists deceived the Qing court. In the constitutionalism in the late Qing Dynasty, the Qing court was originally a passive party. The Constitutionalists said that if constitutionalism was good, the Qing court would prepare for constitutionalism. The Constitutionalists said that the establishment should have a fixed number of years, and the Qing court made a nine-year plan to set up the National Assembly in 19 16. Later, the Constitutionalists said that the National Assembly would be set up immediately, but the Qing court disagreed this time. The Constitutionalists accused the Qing court of deceiving the people by faking constitutionalism. However, the Qing court never promised to establish the National Assembly immediately. Where did the deception come from?
When the Qing court said that "great powers are unified in the imperial court and the government is open to public opinion", it placed a good wish for the harmonious unity of "great powers" and "public opinion". The constitutionalists who hold public opinion always ask the Qing court to act according to their own will with "public opinion". Once they don't obey, they accuse the other party of "pseudo-constitutionalism". The conflict between "great power" and "public opinion" was completely unexpected by the Qing court. Moreover, it was indeed the constitutionalists who first used "public opinion" as an offensive weapon, and the Qing court was forced to use "great power" as a shield. Besides, the Qing court said that "ordinary politics depends on public opinion", not "ordinary politics depends on public opinion". Whether it is right or wrong for the time being, the meaning of the Qing court's demand for "power control" is very clear. Where does the deception theory come from?
In the case of the impeachment of the military aircraft by the Senior Advisory Committee, the Qing court held that "the House of Representatives has the freedom to impeach, but has no power to do it", calling it "power is unified in the imperial court, and public opinion is controlled by the government" (the first issue of Oriental Magazine in five years). Constitutionalists believe that "the cloud of power means that the husband meets the wishes of the people of the whole country", while the Consultative Council "is an organ representing the public opinion of the whole country" (declaration19101221). Therefore, the "power" of the Qing court must act according to the meaning of the advisory board. The military plane failed to impeach, and the constitutionalists accused the Qing court of "pseudo-constitutionalism" to deceive the people. In fact, both sides have their own views. Where did the deception come from?
After the establishment of the royal cabinet, the constitutionalists accused the Qing court of "pseudo-constitutionalism", saying that "the royal family is not in charge of political power, which is the only principle of a constitutional monarchy country" ("Students' Union wrote to ask for imperial edicts and other ministers to sort out the cabinet draft", the thirteenth issue of the second year of the National Wind newspaper). The "only principle of constitutional state" in the mouth of the constitutionalists is a universal label. When they ask for a constitution, they will say that whether there is a constitution is "the only principle of a constitutional country"; When they ask for the establishment of a parliament, they will say that whether there is a parliament is "the only principle of a constitutional country"; When they asked for the establishment of a responsible cabinet, they also said that whether there is a responsible cabinet is "the only principle of a constitutional country." Now, this label has been labeled as "the royal family is not in charge of political power."
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However, before the establishment of the royal cabinet, although the constitutionalists advocated that the royal family should not enter the cabinet, they did not say much, nor did they rise to the height of "the only principle of constitutional state." As the royal family, it is expected that the game face will be destroyed once, and they have not expressed strong opposition from the angle that the royal family cannot enter the cabinet. Therefore, the royal cabinet was strongly condemned, not because it violated the principle of "the only constitutional country", but because there were too many royals and Manchu in the cabinet.
The establishment of the royal cabinet is not so much a "fake constitution" as a fear that the Qing court will lose its authority, which reflects the weakness and immaturity of the rulers. By the end of the Qing dynasty, the talents of the Qing court were dying, and * * * was becoming more and more corrupt, while the constitutionalists were abundant. I'm afraid it is overestimated to deceive bloody and aggressive constitutionalists with the disintegration, division and corruption of the Qing court. A wise man who clamored for being cheated from the beginning will definitely not suffer, but will be cheated and help others with money. That was really cheated. In the constitutional movement in the late Qing Dynasty, the Qing court was unconsciously confused by the constitutionalists.
When the Qing court decided to establish a constitution, the five ministers' reports after returning from overseas inspection were very important. Among them, the two most important reports were Zaize's "Please Announce the Secret Fold of Constitutionalism" and Duan's "Please Decide on National Peace", which strongly advocated the benefits of constitutionalism. Zaize's secret compromise says that constitutionalism benefits the country and the people, and he also puts forward three famous advantages of constitutionalism, namely, "the throne is permanent", "foreign invasion is alleviated" and "civil strife can be avoided". Duan Fang's memorial strongly criticized the autocratic system, saying that it was "dangerous to the monarch". Once it is constitutional, "the monarch is always safe without danger" and "not only is he always safe without danger, but his sacred and inviolable rights are also enshrined in the Constitution". Full of sweet words, Cixi finally moved her heart and decided to implement preparatory constitutionalism.
But these memorials were written by Liang Qichao and Yang Du of Constitutionalism School, which was an "open secret" in Tokyo at that time. These reports are either lip service or deliberate deception. Who can guarantee that constitutionalism will really have such an effect? "The throne will be fixed forever", "The foreign invasion will be lighter" and "Civil strife can be avoided"? In fact, just a few years after the Qing court announced that it was preparing for constitutionalism, the throne fell. How can it be "the throne will never change"? The secret compromise in Jersey is that "constitutional monarchy" can "consolidate the monarchy", and taking Japan as an example, it is said that "every country's internal affairs, diplomacy, armaments, financial rewards and punishments, and manipulation of parliament have the right to rule." If these words really come from the hands of the constitutionalists, it is absolutely naked deception. After the Qing court promised constitutionalism with the dream of "eternal throne" and "consolidating monarchical power", it was quickly fooled by the sugar-coated cannonball carefully concocted by the constitutionalists.
The first trick of the constitutional sugar-coated cannonball is that "the monarch is irresponsible." Liang Qichao said: "The principle of establishing the * * * system is that the monarch is not responsible for politics, which is the only reason why it is different from the authoritarian regime." (The Collection of Drinking Rooms, page 55) Constitutionalists say that the establishment of the * * * style means that the monarch is irresponsible and the monarch is irresponsible. Well, the people will not hate the monarch, and the monarch will not be in any danger. In fact, Sun Baozhen has made it very clear that "irresponsibility of the monarch" weakens the monarchy. "Leave a monarch whose dignity is inviolable, make him a representative of a country, and at the same time cut his power back, so he is responsible for each other, and the monarch is irresponsible." [Forgotten Mountain Diary (I), p. 580, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1988. The "yin" of "yin cuts its strength" is ostensibly ostentatious, but secretly it stumbles you.
In the * * * movement in Congress, the Qing court repeatedly rejected * * *, and the constitutionalists said that "the monarch is irresponsible". After the minister signed and sealed, it was the responsibility of the minister, and then publicly criticized the seal of the Qing court. When there was no constitutionalism before, no one dared to question the imperial edict of the Qing court. Now that the constitution is established, the monarch is irresponsible, but the imperial edict issued has been approved.
The second move of the constitutionalists is that "the monarch is sacred and inviolable." The word "sacred" is the mantra of the constitutionalists when they advocate constitutionalism, but in essence, the so-called "sacred and inviolable" means that you are the boss, you stand aside and do not interfere in secular affairs. Sun Bao U said, "Gai Wei Jun is sacrosanct and irresponsible, and the parliament is in charge of the cabinet. Therefore, the national government has fallen, and the people can argue with the Prime Minister to compare right and wrong, and the son of heaven is absent." [Diary of Forgotten Mountain and Lounge (Part II), p. 1230] This concept is also the curse of the constitutionalists to bind the monarch.
In the case of the impeachment of military aircraft by the Senior Advisory Committee, the Senior Advisory Committee asked the Qing court to cancel the military department and set up a responsible cabinet. Zai Feng issued a purchase order, but refused to accept it. He deliberately said that the monarch is responsible. Without the signature of the minister, he would not play "the monarch is irresponsible" with you. When Law P came out, the Senior Advisory Committee made a fuss, and so did the Constitutionalists. Congressman Liu Chunlin said rudely at the parliamentary meeting, "I read this P-letter yesterday, as if Regent Li Yu hadn't studied it very much", adding that "the monarch of a constitutional country is sacred and inviolable. If the Regent knows, what reason is there to be unhappy? " (Minutes of the Meeting of the Senior Advisory Committee: A Record of the Debate of the Preparatory Congress in the Late Qing Dynasty, pp. 405-406, Shanghai Sanlian Bookstore, 20 1 1 year) "holiness" is not unconditional. If you are mainly "sacred", you must be "distinguished" and "distinguished" will be sidelined.
In the tradition of China, the sacredness of the monarch is embodied in two aspects. On the one hand, "Heaven regards oneself and others, and Heaven listens to oneself and others". The monarch is the representative of the "people", and the monarch and the people are one; On the other hand, the monarch holds the supreme power, and "the sacredness of the emperor is integrated with the sacredness of power" (Liu Zehua: On the Sacredness of the Heavenly Kings, Yanhuang Chunqiu No.6, 20 1 1). Since advocating "the holiness of the monarch", the two sacred aspects that the monarch once had are gone. In the past, the monarch was the representative of the "people", and now the house is the representative of the people; In the past, the monarch had supreme power. Now, in the constitutional system hypothesis of "the monarch is sacred and inviolable", the monarch has no real power and the house holds the highest power.
Therefore, when Liu impeached the senior advisory group, he hit the nail on the head and said that the senior advisory group "made the court avoid the name of autocracy and the government practice autocracy." The settlement of the case must be made by * * *, sacred and inviolable, not by the emperor but by the parliamentarians (No.33 of the First Year of National Style). It is natural that whoever can represent the people can be "sacred" and who can hold the supreme power. As a result, Ta Kung Pao criticized Liu in turn and said, "It's shocking that Liu, a national civil servant, dares to openly participate in my sacred and inviolable advisory board." (Ta Kung Pao/KOLOC-0/9/KOLOC-0//KOLOC-0/March/KOLOC-0/) "Monarchy is inviolable" sounds good, in essence depriving the monarch and the House of Representatives of their power and sanctity.
The third trick of the constitutionalists is "one system and ten thousand generations". China has no concept of "eternal series". After the Russo-Japanese War, the idea that constitutionalism is superior to autocracy began to take root in people's hearts. At the same time, the history of the Japanese Emperor's "Eternal Series" became the bait to persuade Emperor China to agree to constitutionalism.
1904, French minister Sun Baoqi wrote to the administrative office to petition for constitutionalism, saying that the Japanese emperor is "a department of eternal life", so "those who set up a * * * body should respect the monarchy and consolidate the people's hearts" (to French minister Sun Shangxin, the seventh issue of the first year of Oriental Magazine). Sun Baodi's petition caused great repercussions among the constitutionalists, but it was not reproduced by the District Office. 1905, Cixi summoned Duan Fang and advocated constitutionalism to Cixi. Cixi said, "How about constitutionalism?" Duan Fang said: "Constitutionalism will make the emperor hereditary." Cixi was very happy and said, "I heard that the son of heaven has a hereditary purpose." [The Reform Movement of1898 (Volume IV), page 3 13]
Cixi agreed to constitutionalism, and later the constitutionalists "pushed their luck" and used the "eternal series" as bait. When Zhang Jian invited the Qing court to speed up the founding of the People's Republic of China and set up a responsible cabinet, he said, "It has been a series since ancient times", "I have never had a place in the history of China" and "How to establish a constitutional state?" That's because there is a parliament to have a responsible cabinet, so China needs to establish a parliament to establish a responsible cabinet [Zhang Jiulu (Political Annals), pp. 154-65438.
"Eternal series" is an extremely fragile thing that needs careful maintenance, just like the eternal sea and rocks. However, what the constitutionalists want is not how to maintain it, but what they want to get through sweet words. Once the Qing court failed, most constitutionalists, including Zhang Jian, forgot all about the pledge of eternal love.
Under the autocratic monarchy, if the constitutionalists want to make a constitution, they must rely on the power of the monarch. After Wuchang Uprising, Liang Qichao saw that constitutional monarchy was hopeless, and his years of efforts were wasted. He said bitterly, "But if the constitutional government is implemented and the political power is completely returned to China, the emperor will just sit still and do nothing." (The Chronicle of Liang Qichao is Long, p. 553, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1983)
However, after the Wuchang Uprising, Kang Youwei still attached great importance to constitutional monarchy, but put it another way, calling it "the harmony of virtual monarch * * *", and said: "A virtual monarch, like guarding the gods and protecting the virtual respect, is like guarding the temple and protecting the incense. He was named the emperor, but he was just a puppet of the cold temple. Cover the system of imitating Britain and Japan to compete for profit. " [Chronicle of Kang Nanhai (external two kinds)], p. 15 1 page, Zhonghua Book Company, 1992] This also tells the truth of the previous constitutionalists about constitutional monarchy. Words like "virtual respect" and "earth puppet" are essentially no different from "the monarch is sacred and inviolable" Therefore, it is not clear at a glance who cheated whom and who cheated whom in the late Qing Dynasty.
Constitutionalists accused the Qing court of "pseudo-constitutionalism", largely out of dissatisfaction with the corruption and incompetence of the Qing court; The crime of "cheating" in the Qing court was notorious because the Qing court was out of control and the constitutionalists mastered public opinion. As for why the constitutionalists cheated the Qing court, it is not so much that they are willing to do so, but that they can only overthrow the autocratic imperial power with the help of autocratic imperial power, and there is no other way. The deception of the constitutionalists to the Qing court was not a conspiracy or trick of individuals or groups, but was caused by the specific historical environment at that time. Moreover, once a certain kind of public opinion becomes a trend, many people who follow the trend often can't tell the truth from the false, let alone "cheat" the Qing court.
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