Study On Preliminary Constitutional Consortia In Late Qing Dynasty

During the last ten years of Qing Dynasty(1901-1911), China has undergonedomestic strife and foreign aggression. The foreign powers tries to dismemberChinese regime under the policy of hegemonism: railway construction, mineexploration and the manipulation of financial industry. In the late Qing Dynasty, thefierce party disputes within the imperial court result in deteriorated financial situationand the destitution of masses. In order to save the power and relieve social pressure,the governor gradually introduce a top-down reform, which is called “the New Deal inthe Late Qing Dynasty”. The most successful reform is the “Preparation forConstitutionalism” on Qing Dynasty, Guang Xu years of32(1906AD). In themeantime, the constitutionalists nationwide established Constitutionalist Institute,which formed an important part of “the New Deal in the Late Qing Dynasty”. KangYouwei reorganized the Royalist Institute into “Empire Constitutional Institute”.Liang Qichao established the “Zheng Wen Institute” in Japan. Domestically, theConstitutional Institutes include “Preliminary Constitutional Consortia” in Shanghai;“Constitutional Association” in Hu’nan;“Constitutional Preparatory Institution” inHubei. Among them,“Preliminary Constitutional Consortia” in Shanghai was themost influential one.“Preliminary Constitutional Consortia” in Shanghai was founded on1906byZheng, Xiaoxu. The constitutionalists mainly came from Jiangsu and Zhejiangprovince. The Consortia was dissolved after Republican Revolution of1911. In fiveyears,“Preliminary Constitutional Consortia” exerted advantages to promote the NewDeal. On the one hand, constitutionalists contacted civil and military governors topropel the New Deal and try to achieve breakthrough within the system. On the otherhand, the issue of papers; publication of books and dissemination of constitutionalthought achieved the enlightenment of people. The Consortia, together with theShanghai Chamber of Commerce and Business Association, held the Business LawSeminar and compiled “Company Law”,“General Principles of Commercial Law”, which aimed to vindicate legal rights of Chinese business and exerted great influenceto China modern legal system construction.As the preparatory stage for constitutionalism,“Preliminary ConstitutionalConsortia” had achieved fruitful effect, promoted the development of preparation forconstitutionalism and emancipated people’s mind. However, the Consortia still can’tachieve the expectations. The Consortia dissolved with the gunshot of WuchangUprising and the perish of Qing Dynasty. Looking back the history of “PreliminaryConstitutional Consortia”, we commemorate the constitutionalists’ effort to savenational peril.