Chapter 53 The Constitutional Movement: The Choice Between Political Reform and Economic Reform

It was in such an atmosphere of the times that the Westernization Movement entered its third stage, and the theme of change was rapidly advanced from the economic field to the political field. In 1904, Zhang Jian drafted for Zhang Zhidong the "Proposal for a Constitutional Recital", and for a while, "the theory of requesting a constitutionalization was widely circulated on the road", and a constitutional movement intended to imitate Japan kicked off.That is to say, when the market-oriented economic reform is in the middle, the demand for political reform will emerge immediately.At the same time, the revolutionaries headed by Sun Yat-sen tried to overthrow the monarchy by force, and reform and revolution began a thrilling contest.

Under the joint promotion of the government and the opposition, on September 1, 1906, Cixi finally issued a "preparatory constitutional edict". In November of the same year, Zhang Jian and others established a preliminary constitutional association in Shanghai.Hou Yijie used a large number of facts in his book "China's Political Reform Wave in the Early 20th Century: A History of the Constitutional Movement in the Late Qing Dynasty" to prove that the literati and business class outside the system were the most powerful driving force for the constitutional movement.In the process of promoting the establishment of the constitution, chambers of commerce at all levels formed a network and gradually learned the autonomy and democratic management of British chambers of commerce.In organizations such as the Preparatory Constitutional Convention, merchants had a clear advantage.As Hou Yijie said, businessmen realized that "the political phenomenon in China today is the most incompatible with the nature of joint-stock companies. And joint-stock companies cannot develop under the complete rule of law. Therefore, the key to revitalizing industry lies in the adoption of constitutional law. Establish the rule of law, limit political power, and protect civil rights to improve the political environment and political organization."

In an environment where people's enthusiasm has been completely mobilized, the central government, which has not made any psychological and institutional preparations, is in an extremely embarrassing situation.For more than two years, the imperial court repeatedly delayed the convening of the Congress, and even banned constitutional associations in various places on the charge of "inciting and disturbing public order".Disappointment among the people is strong. In November 1908, Guangxu and Cixi passed away within two days, and the ruling and opposition parties lost the "greatest common divisor" for negotiations.Afterwards, the "royal cabinet" in power squeezed out Han ministers and suppressed constitutional petitions in various places by force.

In this way, although the Qing government showed extraordinary radicalness and openness in economic reform, it was hesitant and lacking in foresight in political reform. With the trust of all groups, subversive revolution has become an inevitable trend. In 1911, the Qing government announced the nationalization of railways.After Sino-Japanese War, the Daxing Railway gradually became a craze. The imperial court regarded it as a national policy. The people saw huge benefits, and international capital was unwilling to lose the opportunity. Therefore, the railway became the biggest hot spot for competition and games among all parties.From 1904 to 1907, 18 railway companies were established in various provinces, of which 13 were commercial, 4 were government-supervised or government-supervised, and only 1 was government-run. Hundreds of thousands of people bought railway stocks.The nationalization policy has no regard for the protection of private shares. The government only returns 60% of the cash to private shareholders, and the other 40% becomes non-interest-bearing stocks. That is to say, investors not only have no investment income, but also bear 40% of the risk of loss .In the history of China's modernization, this is another serious incident of "advancement of the state and retreat of the people" after Li Hongzhang seized power in China Merchants Steamship in 1884.

After the promulgation of the "Right of Way Recovery Order", merchants and people in various provinces revolted, among which Hunan and Sichuan were the most violent. People in Changsha held a rally of ten thousand people and called on merchants to strike the market, students to strike classes, and refused to pay rent and taxes in protest.Sichuan organized the Baolu Comrade Association, swearing to "break the contract to protect the road with all my might."The governor of Sichuan shot and killed hundreds of petitioners, and the civil uprising broke out suddenly. The Qing court urgently dispatched new troops from Hubei to assist Sichuan, leaving Wuhan empty.This is the Revolution of 1911, which overthrew the thousand-year-old emperor's rule.