| This dissertation examines the constitutional thought of Liang Qichao between 1898 and 1907, focusing on the role his exploration of foreign political systems and political theories---of the United States, Russia, and Japan---played in the development of his political thought. The first part of the dissertation delves into the intellectual basis of Liang Qichao's political writings. I contextualize Liang's constitutional thought against the backdrop of Chinese constitutional movements and the intellectual influences that fed into Chinese constitutionalism. These included neo-Confucianism, Spencerianism, Anglo-American classical liberal constitutionalism, German-Continental statist constitutionalism, and Japanese constitutionalism. I go on to examine the development of two concepts central to Liang's political thought, ziyou (freedom) and quan (rights or powers). I argue that the close relationship Liang Qichao draws between rights and power is central to his understanding of how a people becomes politically modern. I note also that he views political modernization as simultaneously a psychological process, growing out of a people's consciousness of itself as a citizenry with rights and freedoms, and an institutional one, wherein the political structures of a constitutional, competitive party system help to create this consciousness.;I then turn to Liang's analyses of three nations to understand how his prescriptions for political reform were affected by their example. America's democracy, Russia's revolutionary struggles, and Japanese constitutional practice helped crystallize his thinking about the most appropriate path for China. While he increasingly came to believe in the importance of strong political leadership and robust political institutions, I argue that his focus remained on the capabilities and rights of the people and on the creation of a competitive, constitutional state.;Finally, this dissertation addresses two critiques of Liang's thought. First, I suggest that attempts to assess Liang's liberalism too often depict western constitutional liberalism as a monolithic entity with a single set of core concepts, and overlooking the prominence of constitutionalism in 19 th century liberal thought. Second, I focus analysis of Liang's thought away from his changing preference for certain governmental arrangements---monarchy vs. republic---and toward the underlying concepts that drove his political prescriptions. |
