Observe Zhang Jian's Constitutional Thought (1901-1911) From The Congress Of Zhang Jian

The academia tends to use the "Constitution—Wealth and Power" paradigm to explain the constitutional movement in the late Qing Dynasty.This expression is in compliance with the general sentiment of modern constitutionalists and therefore has certain rationality.However,in the context of the conflict of civilizations,how can people be constitutional? The issue of "Constitution—Wealth and Power" offers a limited explanation.Therefore,it is necessary to reexamine the thought and the practice of modern constitutionalists from a cultural perspective.Zhang Jian is a typical figure of the gentry-constitutionalism group.His understanding of constitutionalism is concreted and substantial.His constitutional thought includes many elements such as industry,education,and autonomy.His congressional cognition is an important clue to connect all these elements..Zhang 's concept of Congress went through three stages.In the first stage,Zhang was deeply influenced by traditional culture.His imagination space for the representative system was limited.Under the constraints of reform thinking,he proposed the "Advisory Congress " and "Local Congress".In the second stage,the experience of traveling eastward to Japan and the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War led Zhang's thinking to change to constitutionalism,as a result,Zhang advocated the establishment of a "Limited Congress" using the Japanese Imperial Constitution as a template;In the third stage,Zhang actively responded to the government's call for constitutionalism.Under the pressure of the National degree Theory,Zhang tried to achieve the conditions for constitutionalism through the popularization of education and local autonomy.However,in the practice of constitutionalism,Zhang gradually realized the logical error of the National degree Theory.Under the pressure of the national crisis,Zhang chose to move from preparatory constitutionalism to “Quickly open parliament”.Finally,the practice of local autonomy further strengthened Zhang's concept of nationalism and the thought of “Rule of law-Congress”was proposed.Zhang is a firm Confucianist and an industrial politician.The Confucian doctrine played an important role in the development of Zhang's constitutional thought.The concept of Principle &Change and Taoism provided Zhang with a formal thinking for understanding constitutionalism.The rule of humanism also guided Zhang's constitutional practice to a certain extent.Understanding constitutionalism with Confucianism is Zhang's great attempt to link tradition and modern civilizations.However,because Zhang's understanding of constitutionalism is biased towards the specific relationship of society,his academic rationality is relatively weak,and Confucian constitutional government has finally failed to become a reality.