Li Ka Kui's last "Speaker of the House"

Li Jiaju, the president of the Academy of Capitalism on the eve of the Qing Dynasty's demise, was a popular figure in the constitutional movement,

and now he has not only been forgotten, but also "lost" his hometown and become a lonely soul in a foreign land. Li Jiaju in the late Qing Dynasty tends to new camp belongs to a very active figure, once served as the General Supervisor of the Peking University Hall (equivalent to the President of Peking University), the Minister of Constitutionalism, active participation in the New Deal, the Constitutional Movement, but no change in circumstances, unable to go back to heaven, after the revolution, living in Qingdao, today almost no one knows that he is a native of Guangzhou.

There is a "Dictionary of Northeastern Characters" will be included in the Li Jiaju, the reason for the error, may be because he is a flag person, and most of the ancestors of the flag people from the Northeast. According to the Qing Dynasty system, "flag" and "people" separate management. The "people" had a place of origin, such as Panyu or Nanhai, while the Banner people usually claimed to belong to a certain banner, such as the "Yellow Banner" or the "Blue Banner". The ancestors of the Han Chinese were early Han Chinese who joined Manchuria, not necessarily in the northeast. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Banner people gradually transferred to the people's nationality, most of them will be like the Han Chinese as affiliated with a certain place, such as the famous Shang Yanliu, Shang Chengzuo family, originally also belongs to the Han Army Banner, but now they are recognized as the Guangzhou people. "Old man chatting about youthful madness"

Li Jiaju (1871-1938), the word Liuxi, the number of angruo, Guangzhou garrison Han army Zhenghuang Banner people, Guangxu twenty years (1894) and Sanshui Liang Shiyi, Xinhui Chen Zhaoshang with the same list of students. Guangxu twenty-four years (1898) as the new opening of the Beijing University Hall transfer, with Li Shengduo, etc., went to Japan to study the academic affairs. Twenty-nine years as the Hubei school government, thirty years to the eastern provinces, thirty-two years (1906) as the Peking University Hall General Supervisor. In the Peking University Hall, Li Jiaju did an unprecedented, I'm afraid there will be no successor to the interesting things, for the Peking University school history to add a colorful one.

Li Jiaju as early as in the wuxu year to Japan to study education, know the importance of sports. Before he took office, the Peking University Hall in the initiative of foreign teachers to engage in the first games, but whether the number of participants, the number of spectators and the impact of the lack of good. Li Ka Kui took office as the "president" of the second games, personally, Chinese referees, the first time the organization of girls to participate in the competition, a sensation, the number of spectators more than 10,000 people. On the first two days of the games, President Li dressed in official robes and entertained the guests. On the last day of the competition, he hurried to the playground, took off his robe and coat, dressed in a short shirt and shorts, and stood on the 300-yard starting line. The starting gun sounded, President Li step as fast as flying, in the field of more than 10,000 people cheering, the third sprinted across the finish line. At the end of the race, he said proudly to the people next to him: "Old man chatting about youthful madness it!" Li Ka Kui's "anti-traditional" behavior was strongly praised by the enlightened newspapers at the time, and also led to the development of school sports in China. Li Ka Kui called himself an "old man", but in fact he was not old, he was only in his 30s. Guangxu 33 years (1907), Li Jiaju served as Qing Minister to Japan, once again to Japan, the next year and also served as Minister of constitutional examination, the Japanese system for in-depth study, in the first year of the Xuantong submitted several important reports on the late Qing dynasty constitutional and official system, the tax system, the impact of the judicial reform is far-reaching. He specialized in writing the "Japanese judicial system", to the royal family and officials vigorously promote the concept of "judicial independence", defining the "judicial power" and "judicial administrative power" both the connotation and the difference between the two In August of that year, Li Ka Kui "assisted in the affairs of the Seiseikai" (资政院). The so-called Senior Government Council was a transitional institution before the establishment of the formal parliament, partially replacing the functions of the National Assembly, somewhat like the "House of Lords" in the United Kingdom. Xuantong three years, served as minister of the constitution, the seniority of the vice president of the early July, Li Jiaju and his friend Wang Rongbao to hide in the Taoist temple, and finally ran to the top of Taishan, closed to formulate the draft constitution, known as "Li Wang Xianqiao." Unfortunately, the Qing Dynasty soon fell, and the draft constitution failed to work.

Li Jiaju based on the results of long-term investigation, compiled into the Japanese rental tax system, "10 books," the Japanese accounting system, "4 books submitted to the court, put forward the consolidation and reform of the fiscal system of ideas, quite insightful. The Qing court to the end of the year, financial difficulties reached the extreme point, in addition to the "xin chou treaty" reparations caused by the heavy burden, the lack of tariff autonomy, tax unreasonable, tax base is too narrow, tax burden is also an important reason for the plight of the financial revenue. Only, by this time, even the best policy proposals lacked a strong central government to implement them. Taxation is not just a technical issue, but involves the legitimacy of the regime and the public's trust in the government, which cannot be solved by relying on the pressure of individual powerful senior officials. The apparently united multi-ethnic state, in the implementation of the law of diminishing power, centrifugal force in front of the law of increasing, it is difficult to get rid of the destiny of disintegration; Chongzhen Emperor, Regent Zai Feng, Chiang Kai-shek, too. The only ones who have managed to escape this "destiny" so far are the "Western" countries and some countries and regions that have been occupied by the "West".

On October 10, 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out; on October 30, 1911, Li Jiaju was appointed as the president of the Academy of Capitalism, and on November 9, 1911, as the president of the Academy of Capitalism, Li Jiaju submitted a petition requesting that Yuan Shikai be appointed as the prime minister of the cabinet, and that a "responsible cabinet" be organized. On November 26, 1911, under the pressure of a telegram from Zhang Shaozeng, the commander of the twentieth town of the New Army (the "Luanzhou Twelve Articles"), the RGC urgently promulgated the "Nineteen Articles of Important Letters of the Constitution", which weakened the monarch's power and ceded power to the people in an attempt to escape from the disaster. In view of the hopelessness of the North-South peace talks, Li resigned as president of the RGC and was succeeded by Xu Dinglin, and the RGC soon came to an end without a trace. The establishment of a constitution at the end of the Qing Dynasty is now a hot topic in historiography, political science, law and even "current commentary "****. From the early years of the constitutionalists, revolutionaries and the national government to today's official writings, accusing the Qing court of "false constitutionalism" scolding; the last 30 years we have heard the Qing court constitutionalism rich in sincerity. These two opposing views are not immune to the disadvantages of "theme first". The Qing court determined to establish a constitution, out of pragmatic considerations, its starting point is two: one is the "system omnipotence", the second is to use the constitution to resist the revolution, to preserve the Qing dynasty. "System omnipotence" by Kang Liang initiated its end, towards the new officials in the army, especially after the Russo-Japanese War, this group of new people used to persuade the Qing Court to reform the logic of the simple to the extreme: Japan's constitutionalism, so the victory; Russian authoritarianism, so the defeat. The Qing court could not resist the overwhelming tide of rhetoric. The starting point of the preparatory constitution was an attempt to use a foreign system to realize the wealth and strength of the country and to extend the life of the Qing dynasty. The new people thus gave the Qing court a false hope.

The Qing court rulers themselves are still relatively pragmatic, know that the introduction of a major system, not overnight, need to make adequate preparations, there are a large number of supporting reform measures, the concept of change will take time to set the tone of the "preparation for constitutionalism". On the other hand, those who are not pragmatic are the new people who control public opinion, and their basic concept is: the sooner the better, the later the country will die. After more than two hundred years of a dynasty, according to the cyclical law of Chinese history, the chance of collapse tends to be infinite; can the introduction of a foreign system that may be "not suited to the soil" break the cyclical law? This kind of "dead horse as a living horse" mentality is irresponsible in the end.

Today we have gained the "depth of history" (a phrase often used by Huang Renyu), and when we look back at the "constitutional government" of the late Qing and early Republican period, we cannot deny that it was a failed experiment. The Beiyang period, with its constitution, parliamentary assembly and "responsible cabinet", did not work for the time being, and it is still unknown when it will work. Culture and system are two sides of the same coin in society, and it is difficult to separate them. The system is based on culture. Can not blend the two traditions, adaptive adjustments to the institutional framework, no concept, behavioral patterns of change, blindly copy, the introduction of the system may be just empty symbols, as in the Beiyang period, became a tool for the various factions of the forces to manipulate the power of selfishness.

Revolutionary Liu Chengyu was a funny and witty person, and once pretended to be a famous scribe Yu Shimei's name, wrote a section of "Raccoon River Sand" to ridicule Yuan Shikai's cronies, and two lines were "the murder of Hong Shuzu, the closed door of the constitutional Li Jiajui". It is a bit too much to criticize Li Jiaju together with Hong Shuzu, the assassin of Song Jiaoren, but the mockery of Li Jiaju's "closed-door constitutionalism" is still meaningful today. European and American countries have their own conditions for the success of their constitutions. Japan's constitution at that time could not be considered a success, otherwise militarism would not have emerged. Li Jiaju only knew to copy Japan's ready-made provisions, do not open the eyes to see the domestic reality, "closed-door constitutionalism", go out and hit the board, can not be blamed. Li Ka Kui and Yuan Shikai personal relationship is good, but Yuan became president, Li Ka Kui that is to leave Beijing, is not a tendency to follow the trend of the people. 1914, in Xu Shichang again and again persuaded, Li served as a short period of time in the Senate Senate, once realized Yuan Shikai's true colors, but also resigned from the job, leisurely forest, Qingdao, old age. The reason for not returning to settle in his hometown, one is the early years of the Republic of Guangzhou on the former Qing dynasty is not friendly to the old man, and the second is a group of similar interest in the old man concentrated in Qingdao, the so-called "calling his voice, seek their friends voice."

In 1933, a Nanhai student at the Peking University Hall, recalled that year when Li Jiaju was the principal of an anecdote, it is overwhelming. Li grew up in Guangzhou, keen on Cantonese cuisine. The top has a good, the bottom will be very good. Logistics department in charge, even the whole school chef replaced by Cantonese; canteen meals, also "all Cantonese". One day, the chef elaborately concocted "curry chicken" dish, thought it could win the applause of the whole school teachers and students, who knows that the northern students have never seen, by the curry juice associated with the color of the dung, a big appetite, the gathering of the crowd outcry, they have to carry the dish pots to look for miscellaneous questioning, said: we are the highest educational institutions, how can we supply this kind of dishes? The miscellaneous affairs to consult the common services transfer (logistics director) Jin Liang, Jin Liang first stunned, then laughed, said: This is a famous dish in the Cantonese cuisine, imitated from the West, you do not be so old-fashioned la! (The Nation magazine, 1933)

Li Jiaju was a Manchu, but he was born and grew up in Guangzhou, which he recognized as his hometown. When he wrote the preface to many books, he wrote "Li Jiaju of Guangzhou" in his signature. Especially in 1924, when he wrote the preface for Liao Fengshu's "New Cantonese Acura", he lamented "the touching sound of the hometown", recalled the prosperous scene of Guangzhou in the early years, and wrote a paragraph of sincere words, and the feeling of homesickness was overflowing: "When the sun was about to set, the lanterns were beginning to be opened; the fragrance of jasmine was warm, and the grapes were ripened; the bead maiden made up after all, and the banquet of tortoiseshell was opened; the boat-dwelling ladies came to the boat; the boat-dwelling ladies came to the boat-dwelling villages, and the boat-dwelling ladies came to the boat-dwelling villages. When the sun was setting, the lanterns were opened; the fragrance of jasmine was warm, and the grapes were ripe; the pearl lady made up, and opened the tortoiseshell banquet; the boat-dwelling women came, and played the pipa. The first sound, the four seats are speechless. ...... or when the wine is gone and the people are quiet, the candles are long and leaky, the cool moon falls in front of the bed, and the sound of the pipa is sent out on the water; if it is raised, the lonely geese will be loud and clear in the air, and if it is suppressed, then the fish will come out of the sky to listen to it, and it is always called Naihe. This is another situation. Cover, although the quiet noise is different, but also stubborn and colorful sense of the same. Read the world for a hundred years, the vicissitudes of life have changed repeatedly, do not hear the heir of the sound, where all the feelings?" Hanlin's talent, a wanderer's heart, the feeling of vicissitudes, reading the sour nose. More than seventy years after the death of Li Ka Kui, we "lost his hometown", it seems that we should sing a song: "Souls come back!"