A Research On The System Of Freedom Of Expression In Late Qing Dynasty

Late Qing dynasty is a greatly changed period in modern China. The western culture impacted our traditional culture, as the time as Qing dynasty decayed, and their joint influence is that new institutions should be bringing up. News come and olds go. The right of freedom of expression sure was the result of the great change in late Qing dynasty. The bans of expression have been lasting thousand years in ancient China gradually lost its effects as new ways of expression bloomed, and at last the right of the freedom of expression was approved by the emperor of Qing dynasty and was also loading on the constitutional paper. However, the traditional legal culture will influenced the drafting and implementation of the institutions, and the rulers of Qing dynasty obviously didn’t integrate both well until the period of republic of China. It serves us reference in contemporary time of course. The research is making of five pieces:The preface:this piece analysis the meaning of freedom of expression and why we should have the right of freedom of expression. Except this we try to find out how does the right work under constitution and legal system.Chapter one: this piece focus on bans of the freedom of expression, especially the institutions of expression in early Qing dynasty, and we find that the feudal rulers control peoples’expression by three ways which are identity、ways and contents. After the first opium war a few waken intellectuals criticized the government’s policy and the theory of freedom of expression came into China at the same time.Chapter two:this piece focus on the social conditions in late Qing dynasty for the development of freedom of expression: decayed central government、appearance of concession and public intellectuals. It’s really a hard time for freedom of expression developing in feudal society.Chapter three: this piece focus on how was the laws of freedom of expression drafting. We find that the government just take the laws as a tool to restrict peoples’ right. The traditional legal culture made the right become true impossible.Chapter four:this chapter focus on the implement of the legal system of the right of freedom of expression.By analyse the cases happened in late Qing dynasty after the right was written in law,we found that the law was just a new tool for the government to restrict people’s right.Chapter five: this piece focus on the integration of traditional legal culture and the new laws of freedom of expression, and formed a fresh legal tradition: a low-order law can restrict peoples’ fundamental rights of the constitutional law, and we can also learn much from the process.