Since the Opium War, Western countries, big and small, have been able to seize various privileges in China, which deeply stung Huang Zunxian's national pride. After the door was forced to open, frictions and disputes between Chinese and foreign governments and people continued to arise, and the result always ended with the loss of China's rights.
Huang Zunxian gradually realized that correctly understanding foreign political and legal systems and properly handling foreign-related affairs is the right way to serve the country. Through on-the-spot investigation of "teaching plans", he discovered that there are huge differences between China's existing legal system and Western legal systems. It is this gap that has become the excuse for Western powers to force China to give up "extraterritoriality." Therefore, in Huang Zunxian's independent and free research ideological system, he added attention to and thinking about legal issues, which was another starting point for the emergence of his constitutional thoughts.
In 1871, China and Japan concluded the "Articles of Reconciliation between China and Japan." Huang Zunxian was appointed as the first counselor in Japan. During his stay in Japan (1877-1882), Huang Zunxian conducted serious on-the-spot research on the great changes in the legal system of Japan, which originally belonged to the Chinese legal system, and began to write "The Chronicles of Japan" in order to provide a reference for China to get rid of its difficulties and humiliation. Huang Zunxian clearly realized that Japan left Asia and entered Europe and embarked on modernization. In terms of politics, a fundamental sign was the end of the traditional model of rule of man in the East and the move towards a Western-style society ruled by law. Therefore, Huang Zunxian paid attention to the progress of Japan's laws in his comprehensive evaluation of Japan, especially the changes in Japan's constitutional system, thus gradually forming his constitutional thoughts.
Huang Zunxian spent 8 years to complete "Japanese National Chronicle", with 12 chronicles, 40 volumes and 500,000 words. This book "is a masterpiece of the study of Japan in modern China." Huang Zunxian's introduction to the Western-style constitutional reforms that had just been carried out in Japan and his preliminary constitutional thoughts in "Japanese National Records" were very urgently needed theories and experiences for the Qing government that was in the same predicament as Japan before the Meiji Restoration. . But unfortunately, Huang Zunxian's "Japanese National Chronicle" manuscript was not officially published until 8 years after it was completed (1895). As the national crisis in modern China deepens, China's legal system has reached a point where it must be reformed. In the process of seeking the road to China's legal reform, Huang Zunxian's "Japanese National Records" began to receive the attention of all strata in the late Qing Dynasty, and gradually integrated into the theory and practice of modern Chinese constitutionalism.
Quoting ancient books According to the preface by Xue Fucheng, Huang Zunxian "collected more than 200 kinds of books" when compiling "Japanese National Chronicle". These books include official histories, unofficial histories, notes, miscellaneous records, etc. of China and Japan. Among them, Japanese historical books include Tokugawa Mitsukuni's "History of Japan", Aoyama Nomitsu's "National History Chronicles", Lai Sanyo's "Japanese Political Records" and "Japan's Foreign History", Iwagaki Matsue's "National History Brief", Kamao Hide The authentic "Shanling Chronicles" and "Jiguan Chronicles", as well as "Nihon Shoki", "Nihon Chronicles", "Nihon Chronicles", "Nihon Chronicles Continued", "Records of Emperor Bontoku", "Records of the Three Generations of Japan" ", "Huaifengzao", "Fusoji", "Fusoji", "Lingyunji", "Yanxishi", "Leiju Sandaige", "Azuma Mirror", "Suraiji", "Edo" "Fan Chang Ji" and so on.
According to other research, many entries in "Record of Etiquette and Customs" are taken from the Chinese work "Geien Nishiki" written by the sinologist Murase Kaitei during the Edo period. Regarding the information after the Meiji Restoration, according to Huang Zunxian, "it is based on many books of proclamations and the annual reports of various officials and provinces." It can be seen that it is mainly collected from the Taishengguan proclamations of the Meiji government and the annual reports of various provincial officials. According to textual research, most of the materials used in "Geographical Records" are taken from the Geographic Lao Geographical Textbook and the "Japanese Geographical Summary" compiled by Ming Yi and others.