Kang Youwei first advocated constitutional monarchy and then advocated false monarch **** and What is the difference between the two?

Test on the political thought of Kang Youwei in the period of Xinhai Revolution

Wang Cai

Kang Youwei is a famous representative of modern Chinese reformist ideology, the leader of the Hundred Days Reform and Restoration Movement, and one of the "advanced Chinese people"[1] who "searched for truth from the West"[2]. "[1]. However, after the Hundred Days' Rebellion, he took up the banner of royalism, insisted on constitutionalism, opposed the revolution, and opposed **** and, thus, fell behind the times. Based on this, over the years, the study of Kang Youwei by the historians in mainland China has mostly focused on his thoughts and activities during the Hundred Days of the Past, while his political attitudes and thoughts after the Hundred Days' Coup were generally given a simple denial and lacked specific and in-depth analytical studies. In order to comprehensively and correctly evaluate Kang Youwei, this paper intends to Kang Youwei's political thought in the period of the 1911 Revolution to make a preliminary exploration of the inappropriateness of the comrades in the field of history, please correct.

One

After the Hundred Days Rebellion, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao fled overseas. In the national crisis, class conflicts deepening situation, in order to save "40,000,000 people", continue to reform the cause of the reform, casting a superb "Great Qin" that is, Europe's new China [2], Kang Youwei did not avoid the hard work. "Japan and weeping court, walking in England and save" [3], and hope that Japan and British imperialism to force the Empress Dowager to return to the government of Emperor Guangxu. After this fantasy was shattered, he set up in Canada in July 1899 royalist society, and then took the opportunity of the Boxer Rebellion, planning the two lakes and the two Canton armed "king". Thereafter, during his residence in Singapore, Penang and Darjeeling, India, he continued to explore the way to save the country and the people on the one hand, and successively completed a series of important writings such as "Notes on Rites", "Notes on the Meanings", "Chunli Pengyi Danyi Miaojian Kao", "Notes on the Analects", "Notes on Universities", "Mengzi Miao" and "Datong Shu", which further improved his own theoretical system of thought; on the other hand, he was in the "royalist" camp. On the other hand, under the banner of "Protecting the Emperor", he not only fought with the stubborn feudalists, but also tried his best to stop the development of the bourgeois democratic revolutionary movement, and clearly put forward the theory of "saving the country through the constitution of the emperor" and the way to realize it.

(1) Attacking authoritarianism and celebrating democracy

Kang Youwei's important work, "The Book of Cosmos," firstly criticized the existing system in constructing a picture of the future cosmopolitan society, and especially attacked the feudal authoritarian system. The Pax Romana*** is divided into ten parts, one of which is entitled "Entering the World to See the Suffering of the Audience". The book enumerates all kinds of sufferings in the "chaotic world", such as "the sufferings of life", "the sufferings of natural disasters", "the sufferings of humanity", "the sufferings of the people", and "the sufferings of the people". There are as many as 38 kinds of "sufferings", such as "the sufferings of life", "the sufferings of natural disasters", "the sufferings of humanity", "the sufferings of human governance", etc., which in fact depicts the existing world as a sea of sufferings in which no one is free from suffering and no one is immune to suffering. When Kang Youwei explored the root causes of this series of sufferings, he mainly pointed his finger at the feudal monarchy. He pointed out that in the age of monarchy, "honoring the ruler and humbling the ministers while enslaving the people" and "honoring the men and humbling the women while subordinating the sons and daughters" were totally contrary to human nature. Successive emperors, in the seizure of the throne, "its brutal killings of the people can not be counted", the name of the emperor, in fact, "the people of the thief Tu Bo"; after the seizure of the throne, in order to maintain its rule, it is the subjects of all kinds of cruelty has been the extreme suppression: "If you are The name of the restriction, the system of oppression, surprised at the righteousness of the shackles, than the prison in the prison is still more than that"; "the monarch of the dictatorship of his country, the fish and flesh of his subjects, as if the insect sand, wanton cruelty"; and the great prison of words, "a word of loss, the death of the ". Under authoritarian rule, "the regime is not allowed to participate in, taxes are increasingly harsh, the destruction of people's livelihood, Ling hoe morale. Make sure to make their body constraints, shame withered, ambition sweeping, God is depressed, if the people of Wu Laiyue, stupid as a boar, humble as a slave and then have." He denounced this authoritarian rule, "the back of justice, the harm to the human way, there is no comparison," is the biggest obstacle to the realization of the commonwealth, "had to get rid of it."[4].

While criticizing authoritarianism, Kang Youwei combined the Western bourgeoisie's idea of "natural human rights" with the "Rites of Passage" and Confucianism's doctrine of "benevolence" and expounded his idea of democracy in concrete terms. He said, "All men in the world are born with the same nature and are brothers."[5] According to him, "All men in the world are born with the same nature and are brothers together." [5] Accordingly, he argued that, first, people are completely equal. Since "man is born of heaven, everyone is directly subordinate to the sky", it should be "everyone is free, everyone is equal, I can not be imposed on people with irrationality, people also can not be imposed on me with irrationality, I call the world of peace." [6] Second, the world is "public". That is, "all directly under the world are public", "public everyone as one, no noble and lowly, no rich and poor etc., no one race difference, no male and female differences." [7] Third, everyone has the right to autonomy. Since everyone is born, everyone has the same temperament and desires, everyone should have the same power. "In short, everyone has the right to autonomy, which is the axiom of the earth, the pole of civilization, and beyond all criticism." [8] Based on the above democratic principles, Kang Youwei elaborated on the origin of the state, the nature of the state and designed a blueprint for the ideal state of the future. He argued. Since everyone "is the same son of heaven", so "the world state, for the people of the world state public **** with the same instrument, not a person a family to get private ", [9] but the people gathered together, a lot of public affairs, and can not be engaged in the public **** cause of all people, so to be public election of a person to be appointed. "The so-called king, on behalf of the masses of people to do this public * * * to preserve the peace and happiness, for the masses of people by the public, that is, for the citizens of the public. The people are like the proprietors of a store, and the ruler is the manager of the employment; the people are and the ruler is the guest, the people are the masters and the ruler is the servant; therefore the people are noble and the ruler is light." [10] Since the "king" is the public servant elected by the people to do the work for the people, therefore, the existence of "monarchical dictatorship" is not based on any grounds, the only just and reasonable system of government can only be a democratic system of government. Kang Youwei envisioned that the "government" of the future "commonwealth" world would be called "public government", which would be mainly a social, economic and cultural management organization rather than a coercive and oppressive state apparatus. The members of the public government were elected by the people, and its administrative officials were elected by the members of the House of Representatives, and these officials "were given titles of rank and file, but in the course of their duties, and if outside their duties, they were equal to all the people of the world, and there was no difference in rank."[11] It is clear that the "government" of the world was called the "public government". [11] It is clear that this is the conception of a bourgeois state system based on the principle of "equality of all men", modeled after the Western countries.

(2) Adherence to constitutionalism and opposition to revolution*** and

Leung Chi-chiu pointed out that: "China's advocates of civil rights were led by Mr. Kang You-wei, but his words and policies were focused on the implementation of the policy, which was to be carried out on the basis of the principle of "equality for all". However, his words to implement the policy, it focuses on monarchical power,...... Mr. The proposal, said that when the monarch's law, the intention of the civil rights, if the democratic formulation, it is expected to think that can not be, cover the unique see, not just a sense of the present on the grace of only". [12] This passage clearly indicates that the perfect democratic system proposed by Kang Youwei was not immediately realized, but must first go through the stage of demanding civil rights from the ruler and gradually establishing a constitutional monarchy. Why? Kang Youwei put forward two reasons: First, the development of society can only be gradual and orderly, and cannot be rah-rah or transcendent. He believed that "thinking into the square, the line must be vegetative position" [13], the ideal can be high, the action must be due to the time. The development of human society is based on the order of the world of chaos, the world of peace, the world of peace. From the political aspect, each world has its corresponding political system, the imperial system is suitable for according to the chaotic world, constitutional monarchy is suitable for the ascension of the world, democracy **** and suitable for the peaceful world. The development of society and the evolution of the political system, can only be carried out in this order, man-made inhibition or encouragement are harmful, according to Kang Youwei's statement that: "for the rule of order, evolution has a level, if you don't examine its order, and want to step across the level of it, there is no not upside down also." [14] At that time, China was transforming from according to the chaotic world to the ascension of the world, it can only change the monarchical system for the constitutional monarchy, and can not be practiced **** and. Second, the Chinese people do not yet have the qualifications to do **** and nationals. Kang Youwei that the Chinese people under authoritarian rule for thousands of years, by the poison of authoritarianism has been deep, and the people's wisdom has not been opened, the people do not yet have the qualifications of democracy. In this case, the rush for a higher form of government is as dangerous as maintaining an outdated system that has lost its effectiveness, because "the people's wisdom has not yet been opened up in the chaotic times, and it is necessary for the contemporary monarchs to rule and the parents to nurture them, otherwise the groups will not be solid, and the people's livelihoods will be difficult to achieve, and before the time of peace and prosperity, the sudden desire to go to the monarchs will be the result of a chaotic struggle, and it is the only thing that will lead to the destruction of the country's species." [15] Therefore, in the process of striving for democracy, the most ideal way is to make use of the existing power of the monarch, and establish a constitutional monarchical system through change; the process of democratization in China must be insisted upon, but considering the existing forces and environment, the way of change must be slow and peaceful.

To utilize the power of the monarchy, one must protect the emperor. From the Hundred Days' Exodus, Kang Youwei put forward the slogan of "protecting the emperor", and in July 1899, he set up the "Society for the Protection and Salvation of the Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty", also known as the "Society for the Protection and Salvation of the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty", referred to as the Royal Society. So, what does Kang Youwei's idea of royalism include? First, against the rule of the stubborn faction headed by the Na La. Kang Youwei said: China's accumulation of weakness, "all by the west after a person is not willing to change the reason." [16] and "that after the old guard and the old school is planning to jeopardize Guangxu, so the royalist cloud, at the time of the anti-Nala's plan." [17] wuxu coup, support for the change of law of Guangxu emperor was imprisoned, Narasi, Ronglu and other intransigent faction in power, they suppressed the reformist and revolutionary faction internally, externally surrendered to sell the country, so to return to the emperor as a banner, against Narasi's reactionary rule, undoubtedly has a progressive significance. Secondly, in order to continue to rely on the Emperor to change the law and implement constitutional monarchy. Kang Youwei said: "View from the ancient move to change the law, all out of the great and powerful ruler. ...... have not seen no Yingwu sacred king, and can become a change of law and the scale of governance" [18]. "Try to look at the countries to open the House of the difficult, Britain, France are the king and the people fight each other, killing people, a hundred years and then set, Russia is fighting for several generations, so far not obtained. (I) the emperor wants to open it, absolutely no bit of heart, but to save the secret from the crowd for the idea, this is really the Lord of Yao and Shun also. If you have full power to do, March into the scale, three years and effective, ten years and China is strong." [19] Third, save China's peril. Kang Youwei drafted the "save the Qing emperor company regulations" clearly stipulates: "this comrades dedicated to save the emperor, to change the law to save China to save the yellow race is the main." [20] "If the emperor reset, the new party auxiliary change, China can be preserved, the people must be le lei, this can be wuxu hundred days of the effect and push it." [21] In short, Kang Youwei's "royal protection" that is, with the old "respect for the king" is different, but also with the simple maintenance of the "Qing dynasty" is different, he is to be through the In 1900, Tang Caichang's Self-Rising Army revolted, declaring on the one hand that it "decided not to recognize the right of the Manchu government to rule China" and that it "wanted the Manchu government to rule China", and on the other hand, it "decided not to recognize the right of the Manchu government to rule China" and that it "wanted the Manchu government to rule China". On the one hand, he declared that he "decided not to recognize the right of the Manchu government to rule China" and "wanted to create a new self-sustaining state", while on the other hand, he urged "to ask the Guangxu Emperor to be restored"[23]; this seemingly contradictory purpose in fact embodied the true ideology of the royalists led by Kang Youwei, that is, the establishment of a constitutional monarchy headed by Guangxu, so as to make China independent and strong. The establishment of a new British and Japanese constitutional monarchy headed by Guangxu. This country could be called "Qing Dynasty" or "China", but no matter how it was called, it was qualitatively different from the original monarchical dictatorship of the Qing Dynasty. Of course, Kang Youwei's hope of implementing the Law Reform and establishing a constitutional monarchy was entirely pinned on Emperor Guangxu, who had no real power, which could only be a fantasy that could never be realized. At the same time, it was even more wrong for him to use "royalism" to fight against the flourishing bourgeois democratic revolution.

Repudiating all forms of revolutionary struggle was Kang Youwei's unchanging thought. During the Hundred Days' Rebellion, he used the change of law as a means of resisting the revolutionary struggle of the masses. After the Hundred Days Rebellion, he fled to Japan and resolutely rejected Sun Yat-sen's proposal to unite **** with the revolutionary struggle. When the democratic revolutionary movement was flourishing, he published two open letters in 1902, "With Classmate Liang Qichao and Others on India's Demise Due to the Self-Reliance of Provinces" and "Reply to Chinese Businessmen in North and South America on China's Feasibility of Constitutionalism and Not Revolution", in which he opposed the bourgeois democratic revolutionary movement for various reasons. In the former letter, Kang Youwei concentrated on opposing the idea of revolutionary self-reliance of the provinces, saying that "I have lived in India for a long time, and roughly examined its modern history, and I have found that the cause of its demise is the self-reliance that you have been admiring and hoping for",[24] and that if the Chinese provinces were to get rid of the Qing government and declare themselves self-reliant, they would surely perish after India. In the latter letter, he pointed out that: First, the revolution is not a country of good fortune. French revolution, "eighty years of chaos, bleeding millions"; China's ancient peasant revolution, also not "blood into the river, the dead like hemp"; Moreover, today's guns are far from the ancient sword and spear can be compared, such as the implementation of the revolution, will "make 40,000,000 compatriots die half of their lives". If a revolution is carried out, it will "cause half of the 40,000,000 compatriots to die." Secondly, under the situation of stepped-up invasion by the great powers, if China held a revolution, "internal strife" would be like snipers and mussels holding each other's snipes and mussels, and the fisherman would be benefited, which would ultimately invite the intervention of the great powers and lead to the destruction of the country. Thirdly, if the revolutionary army, which started from the border area, had no new firearms and lacked training, was to fight against the national army, which had new firearms and was well-trained, the revolution "would be lost and would not be accomplished". Moreover, "if the revolution is not yet completed, and the people are suffering, then the civil rights and freedom will not be realized. Therefore, really patriotic heart, love the people of the sincerity, but the civil rights and freedoms can be carried out, do not have to talk about the revolution." Fourth, Manchuria, Mongolia and the Han Chinese are all of the same species; political dictatorship is an inheritance of the old Han, Tang, Song and Ming dynasties, not an original creation of Manchuria; Manchuria and China have long been equal, and "the Han people's zhuanzhuang can be prime ministers"; in this case, revolutionaries must attack Manchuria, which is "a strange and incomprehensible thing! In such circumstances, the revolutionaries were bound to attack Manchuria, which was "a strange and incomprehensible thing". Moreover, there are still in the royal family to save the people of the Guangxu Emperor, as long as "the emperor a restoration, can be carried out immediately to change the law and self-improvement, the establishment and the civil rights of the government, the establishment and the national freedom and autonomy, you may not be a little bit of time." [25] At that time, in the Qing dynasty has become a serious obstacle to China's independence and prosperity of the historical conditions, the revolutionaries resolutely set off to establish *** and the country as the goal of the anti-Qing revolutionary struggle, undoubtedly justice, progress, Kang Youwei stood long in the revolutionaries on the opposite side of the resolutely opposed to the revolution, is against the trend of historical development. His opposition to the revolution exposed his extreme weakness in ignoring the masses, fear of violence, fear of great upheaval, and fear of imperialism.

Two

On the eve of the growing revolutionary movement, the intensification of internal division among the royalists, and the collapse of the "New Deal" implemented by the Qing government, in order to resist the revolution and to promote the emerging constitutional movement, Kang Youwei began an extensive and in-depth study of the world's major countries in 1904. During this period, with a high degree of patriotic zeal and a sense of historical mission, he took "examining and rescuing politics, comparing the East and the West" as his "full-time job"[26], and with the self-approval of the divine farmer who "tasted all kinds of herbs", he made "a great deal of study" of the fruits of civilization in various countries. The fruits of civilization of various countries, "left stroke right, chewing and swallowing", "examining the nature of the system of color and taste, not its good and bitter, check whether it is appropriate, the system as a formula, picking as a medicine," in the hope of using this "divine prescription medicine ", to cure the motherland of the "disease" [27]. Through the study, he put forward in the economic "material salvation theory", "financial management theory of salvation" and "gold master coin salvation theory", centered on the industrialization of China and solve the financial difficulties; in the political through the compilation of the travelogue, further elaborated the theory of constitutional monarchy.

(1) Constitutional monarchy is the root of the prosperity of the Western countries

Kang Youwei, in his early years, got the knowledge about the Western countries from books, and used to eulogize the Western civilization warmly, and sincerely hoped to take the Western countries as an example, and make China go to the road of wealth and strength through the change of law. After examination, he y felt that the West also exists in serious social conflicts, in the spiritual and moral aspects are not superior to China. He said, as early as 1899 early to the United States and Europe, has felt "see far from the usual reading dreams of God, for the disappointment." After this trip, deepened this understanding. In Italy, Kang Youwei that is to see it everywhere there are pots of poverty, fraud and robbery, and this "ragged feelings, the appearance of uprooted", in other countries are not uncommon. From this he concludes: "Those who have not traveled to Europe, I would like to see the place if all the jade buildings, see its people as the gods, talents and sages, do not know that it is dirty and ungovernable, fraud and theft everywhere like this?" [28] However, he also saw, since modern times, the West has really undergone earth-shattering changes, the speed of its progress, "no ancient comparable" [29], and far more than China. The reason for the wealth and power of the West was the rise of civil rights and the establishment of constitutional government. Kang Youwei, although the difference in geography, as the House system arises in the West and did not occur in China based on [30], is wrong, but he clearly pointed out that: "the British extension of the Teutonic tribes of the old custom of military discussion, ambulance flow for thousands of years and sent to the three islands; and with the three islands of the old custom of the Congress, ambulance flow for thousands of miles and rose in the United States; its counter-power is stimulated in the law, and then for the earth's unique new system of government ". "Britain was the first to get the first ambush, so it was the first to be strongest in the earth. Europe and America got their seeding first, and so were second strongest." Italy, Germany, Japan, "all constitutional countries, also, in the past, all poor, now Germany's strength of several crown thin sea, and Japan is beyond the first-class countries carry on." If China will transplant this advanced system, its development will in turn exceed Europe and the United States [31].

In the study, Kang Youwei comparative study of the European and American countries of the system of government. First of all, Austria compared with Germany: Austria and Germany originally the same species and customs, Austrian territorial area is larger than Germany. But only a few decades of time, Germany to strengthen the armed forces, incentives for industry and commerce, and quickly become a world power; with its neighboring Austria is still weak and uninspiring. The reason for this, Austria's internal disunity, civil rights are very strong, Austrian king without the power of autocracy, "the people are difficult to obey", so the development is limited [32]. Germany is different, it "to the constitution of the people as the body, and to the British monarchy for the use." [33] that is, the German emperor has the very right, the government inside and outside the ministers and guards are to listen to its command, its administrative power "nothing to go and can not be carried out"; However, the monarch's administrative power can never be out of the scope of the law outside the scope of the law, so the people do not suffer from the harm of dictatorship, "so there is no profit, there is no disadvantage to remove the people in order to receive its benefits, the reason why Germany is strong day The reason why Germany is getting stronger and stronger, and the hegemony, for this reason also." [34] Secondly, Britain, the United States, France compared: Britain to take the constitutional monarchy, internal only three political parties, progressive, conservative two parties attack each other, "and to the small party seam," so the political get its flat; and its party is in power, the party leader of the autocratic power is no different from the monarch, so Britain can also be held within the scope of the law of the government to the strong [35]. The United States is alone in the North American continent, there is no other country with which to compete, "the people get grace to receive the effect of constitutional democracy" [36] legal person wants to the United States of America's political theory of France, "but the legal person line is too fast also. France at that time, the people of the country, reading and writing is still little, not only do not know the political science, and even can not know the law of the congressional bulletin. To such a personality, and listen to its hold the right to vote; hold the right to political discussion; and make the judicial officers, all listen to the people, and then hold the right to law. He can only indulge in his violent and greedy nature, to hate those who are different. The strong wantonly kill and the greedy wantonly rob." Therefore, under a democratic system, legal persons "benefit a lot, but are killed in vain. They have seen Germany, England, and the United States grow in power, but they have no way to revitalize themselves." [37] Again, look at the countries of Central and South America and Turkey: all the countries of Central and South America established **** and state after independence, but the civil unrest caused by the soldiers to fight for the president never stopped. Only Mexico's father in the national chaos after the election of the president, "to the democratic **** and the body, a little bit of both autocracy and the practice of" [38], ruling Mexico for nearly thirty years, resulting in Central and South American countries in the stability and progress has not been there; and the father of the expulsion by force in 1911, the Mexican is back to the previous struggle for the president of the recurring changes in the state. In July 1908, Kang Youwei traveled to Turkey, at the time when the Turkish Youth Party came to power, enacted the New Deal, called the National Assembly to Europe and the United States as an example, "the old system of law, the premier abandoned all, one day, and easy to more than two hundred articles of the Constitution of the empty text, however, when the green and yellow does not come into contact with the time in Europe and the United States of America's current situation is not the sudden acceptance of the Turkmen, the people of the country do not know how to handle the hands and feet, but only chaotic dance rubbing it only. " [39] Through the above comparison, Kang Youwei concluded the following: First, in the constitutional government, the ruler and the people **** rule, the ruler and the people, that is, the constitutional monarchy, "when the country fights for the time, is really suitable for the law, now Germany for the first big into the first sudden rise of the country, can be a proof of carry on." Second, in the constitutional system, "the fewer the political parties, the more the government lifted and the stronger the country; the more the political parties, the more the government is not lifted and the weaker the country" [40]. Third, "the constitution of each country, but the rule of law, up and down the same ruled by law only, not swing no program, everyone can be equal and free." And "the old system of thousands of years, the hearts of the people of the country's life, although the discipline of the law has accumulated shortcomings, can only go too far, in order to gradually line. Such as all to go, the human heart of the country life is not sent, then the chaos is not chaotic ear." [41] In short, can only be established in a gradual constitutional monarchy, but not get democracy **** and.

(2) Criticize the false constitution and demand the true constitution

As a patriot, Kang Youwei always insisted on the establishment of a true constitutional system of government in China. To this end, he fought relentlessly against the pseudo-revisionist and pseudo-constitutionalism of the stubborn faction of the Qing government. As early as 1903, he criticized the Qing government's "New Deal" for failing to grasp the fundamental principle of "making the people's rights the basis of the state" and failing to save China[42] In 1906, the Qing court issued an edict to prepare for the establishment of a constitutional government, and Kang was encouraged by this. However, he soon found that the reforms carried out by the Qing government under the signboard of constitutionalism were not constitutionalism, but general statecraft, which was actually "using the name of constitutionalism to reject the request of those who really establish a constitution", and wantonly deceived and obstructed the establishment of the constitution. Kang Youwei pointed out that there was a fundamental difference between autocracy and constitution-making. "despotism of the king, constitutional public people; despotism of the family world, constitutional public world"; "despotism of the government of the country decided to a few people, a king president in the upper, a number of phases running around in the lower ear. In the case of constitutional government, the people of the whole country will be publicly consulted and publicly appointed." The people of the country public discussion, public appointment of the embodiment of the state should be convened in the National Assembly, to ensure that the legislation of the public to the people [43]. He said, "the House of Representatives, a country of the people's hearts, raise a country of the wise, and agreed to a country's government, sincere official system of the first original also." [44] Therefore, "really want to save the country, must first establish a constitution, really want to establish a constitution, must first open the National Assembly." "living today and seek to save the country, to be the strong enemy of the policy, the way of security and border defense, give up the National Assembly has no other technique." [45]

Kang Youwei believed that in order to implement a true constitutional government, it was necessary to reform the existing bureaucracy and implement local autonomy. He pointed out that the people were the foundation of the country. Whether it is a constitutional monarchy or a democratic constitutional state, the interests of the people are of paramount importance. A government should be judged by its ability to serve the people. At the same time, in a highly competitive world, only a strong centralized government can deal with the serious problems facing the country. However, the strengthening of centralization and the enhancement of administrative efficiency are premised on political democracy. Kang Youwei said: "For those who rule, the officials rule for the people, not knowing the people's autonomy of the week. Therefore, the people's change of law said rule of the people, my change of law first said the people's self-governance." [46] He believed that, before the Diet was convened, local autonomy should first be practiced, with the people of each region electing their own representatives to form township, county, prefectural, and provincial assemblies; and with those elected to deal with the affairs of the region, such as household surveys, roads, public ****sanitation, schools, irrigation, and so on. The result of this would be to give the common people the opportunity to ask questions about politics and to improve the qualifications of the nation, thus laying a firm foundation for the introduction of constitutional government throughout the country [47].

(3) Resisting Democracy*** and by Imaginary Monarchs***

Kang Youwei, while fighting for the establishment of constitutional government and against the feudal rule of the Qing Dynasty, continued to struggle against the revolutionaries. Through his study of countries around the world, he further came to the conclusion that China was only viable for constitutionalism and not for revolution. However, the revolution did not stagnate because Kang Youwei stopped it, but continued to move forward, and finally contributed to the outbreak of the October 1911 Wuchang Uprising. In the face of the revolutionary storm sweeping across the country, Kang Youwei felt that "the momentum of the revolution is unstoppable, as if the tide is rolling down the river"[48]. However, he still tried to block the establishment of **** and state. He pointed out that since modern times, some countries in Europe and the United States did establish a different form of **** and polity, but "since the United States, France, outside the establishment of **** and polity, there is no not a big mess without the person also". In view of this, Europe and the United States, not many countries, "must not **** and, must set up a monarch, and even in the absence of a monarch, but also Kaoru Dan cave and seek, to welcome foreigners and foreigners and Zongzong as a king." [49] Kang Youwei believes that foreign experience has proved that **** and the system of government is not appropriate, constitutional monarchy is the most appropriate, but taking into account the domestic situation at the time, China should draw on the advantages of the two systems, to create a new system, that is, the "virtual monarch **** and". The virtual king **** and democratic **** and the comparison of the two systems, "its civil rights with the same, its parliamentary cabinet with the same, the prime minister's authority and the president of the same"; the only difference is that the virtual king **** and the system of government in the prime minister on top of the powerless and inactive "earth puppet" God style, it has the advantage of the virtual king, it is not the same. The false ruler, its benefits can be eliminated **** and the system of government for the president of the constant political disputes and turmoil, and because the people believe, the group of ministers fear, more conducive to the stability of the country. [50] Kang Youwei that, although the virtual king has no matter, no power, do not have to have the ability, but the virtual king is "God", must have a very high qualification status, no one in the country can be compared to, "and then there is a fixed point and do not compete" [51]. According to this condition, if we look around the world, only Emperor Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty and Diffractive Sheng Gong, a descendant of Confucius, could be honored to hold this position. Obviously, although Kang Youwei took great pains to create a new system of government, it is not difficult to see from its content that the false monarch **** and is still just an alias for the British and Japanese constitutional monarchies. His attempt to prevent the establishment of a democratic **** and state by this means was bound to be futile. Regrettably, Kang Youwei did not learn a lesson from this. After the establishment of the Republic of China, politically, although he gave a strong exposure and attack on Yuan Shikai's treason, autocracy and dictatorship, he still stubbornly insisted on overthrowing the democratic **** and system and establishing a constitutional monarchy, and directed the scandalous drama of Xuantong restoration, which was consequently spurned by the whole nation.

Overall, after the Hundred Days' Rebellion, the democratic revolutionary movement led by the bourgeoisie gradually became an irresistible trend of the times. In this situation, Kang Youwei advocated royalism, insisted on constitutional monarchy, and always opposed the revolution and the **** and system, thus falling behind the temporalization and playing an obstructive role in the development of the revolution, which should be denied. However, Kang Youwei was also a person with a high road to strengthening the country and enriching the people. His opposition to **** and was not to preserve autocracy; his opposition to revolution was not to maintain the corrupt Qing dynasty. His unremitting struggle was guided by the democratic ideas of the bourgeoisie, and he insisted on the gradual democratization of China's politics through gradual and peaceful means, so as to promote the modernization of China. This should be recognized. The tragedy of Kang Youwei was that, due to the limitations of his time and class, he always regarded himself as a prophetic savior, despised the masses, feared turmoil and imperialism, and therefore resolutely opposed violent revolution; at the same time, in the process of learning from the West, when the internal contradictions of capitalism were fully exposed before him, it was impossible for him to make a correct judgment with the weapon of scientific thought, and in order to avoid its drawbacks he could only revert to the feudal tradition to look for the "right" way of thinking and to make a correct judgment. In order to avoid its ills, it could only go back to the feudal tradition to look for a "medical prescription", and thus embarked on a retrograde course. All these should be analyzed specifically and evaluated realistically.

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