Why did Yan Fu return to tradition in his later years?

In Yan Fu's circle of friends, there is a very important person named Yuan Shikai.

That year, Yuan Shikai trained in tianjin railway station and met Yan Fu, then general manager of Beiyang Naval Academy. He has taught in the Naval Academy for more than ten years, and all his former classmates have risen to the highest level, but he is still the general manager of the district. He is very frustrated and depressed.

When they talked, Yuan Shikai was impressed by Yan Fu's erudition and foresight and expressed sympathy for Yan Fu's experience. Since then, the two have been in close contact and often comment on what's going on in the world, making them happy.

However, during the political reform, Yuan Shikai tried his best to gain the trust of Cixi and others, even betraying the reformists.

Yan Fu was so picky about this that when Yuan Shikai was promoted to the governor of Zhili, he wanted to recruit Yan Fu. Yan Fu decisively refused and angered: "Who is Yuan Shikai? He is enough to recruit me. "

Although his words were rude, Yan Fu spoke highly of Yuan Shikai's talent.

1909, Yuan Shikai was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown. The city wall was knocked down by everyone, and only Yan Fu stood up and said, "Shikai has only two talents. ..... This person is the pillar of the country, why not leave it idle. "

When Yuan Shikai was down and out, he naturally appreciated Yan Fu's grandiloquence. Therefore, when Yuan made a comeback in the future, he highly valued Yan Fu.

With the sound of a gun in Wuchang, Yuan Shikai appointed Yan Fu as the representative of Fujian to participate in the North-South peace talks. At that time, Li, the representative of the Revolutionary Party, was his student. Yan Fu thinks he can persuade Li to implement a constitutional monarchy in China.

Obviously, Yan Fu is too simple. He didn't know that Yuan Shikai sent representatives to participate in the North-South Conference and the real purpose was to ask the Southern Revolutionary Party to support him as president.

Even so, Yan Fu, who always advocated constitutional monarchy, resolutely chose to support Yuan Shikai.

Yan Fu once said: "Although the president is a hero for a while, he is extremely capable. However, in the old monarchy, he was just a governor! If you want to compete with big countries, you are too short of scientific and philosophical knowledge, too short of world vision, and too eager to follow others, and don't want to follow others. Its personnel administration is unsatisfactory. I hope it will turn to customs and lay a solid foundation. Alas! Not its choice. "

Yan Fu believes that although Yuan Shikai is full of talents and almost ready to be president, there was no other choice to stabilize the overall situation except Yuan Shikai.

19 15, Yuan Shikai took advantage of this chaotic situation, ordered people to form a "security meeting" in the name of "improving national security", announced the implementation of "constitutional monarchy", and ordered Yang Du to encourage Yan Fu to participate.

When Yang Zhiyi Yuan Shikai was restored, Yan Fu hesitated. Although he didn't agree with the * * * peace system, he also thought that "the right of the monarch is gone, and he rashly revived it, adding chaos to chaos."

Yang Du advised according to the situation: "If someone knows that * * * and the state system will not help save the country, that is, it is not appropriate to live in peace, listen to its changes ... The purpose of this meeting is to discuss whether the state system is suitable, not as good as the rest."

This speech was exactly what Yan Fu wanted, so he publicly supported Yuan Shikai as emperor in the name of discussing the national sports system. Yuan Shikai was overjoyed when he learned that Yan Fu was involved in the case.

After the establishment of the Security Council, Yan Fu was "stolen" as a sponsor.

At that time, people scoffed at "organizing a security house" and despised it. Yan Fu was one of them, and published a picture of a running dog in Tianjin Guang Zhi Newspaper.

Ma Xiang Bo thought that Yan Fu only wanted fame and fortune, so he advised him: You are so old, why bother?

Therefore, the "preparation of an parliament" is also considered to be a stain in Yan Fu's life. There are also many good people at present. Looking at the superficial phenomenon, they spare no effort to belittle Yan Fu to show their erudition, but in fact they are just "showing stupidity".

And bluntly pointed out that the current situation in China is not suitable for a completely different new government like the United States. The reason is that China people's temperament and environment need at least 30 years of variation and normalization to be suitable for the establishment of the Republic of * * *. If we follow the revolutionary thinking now, it is very likely that Mongolia and Zhungeer will split.

In view of the situation in China at that time, Yan Fu also put forward a solution in his letter: to establish a government higher than the present one, that is, to retain the imperial system, but subject to appropriate constitutional constraints to adapt it to the environment. He also pointed out that the young emperor should be forced to abdicate and an adult member of the royal family should be chosen to take his place.

As can be seen from this letter, Yan Fu has been insisting on his idea of "constitutional monarchy".

Therefore, it is obviously too arbitrary and unfair to judge Yan Fu as "retrogression in his later years", even to the point of grandstanding.

Perhaps because of this letter, after Yuan Shikai's death, Yan Fu was not among them when Duan and others punished a bunch of people who "held an security meeting", thus avoiding a disaster.