An analysis of the early constitutional ideology of TANG Shou-qian in Wei Yan

Wei Yan is a book written by TANG Shou-qian, in which he advocated reform to meet the needs of the times in the late Qing Dynasty. In this book, he on the one hand condemned the western powers’ invasion of China and on the other hand advocated learning western democratic system for innovating China’s absolute monarchy and then advised to establish Chinese-style parliamentary system. Though the early system devised by TANG was actually at variance with the western constitutional government in its style, content, composition of parliaments, and efficacy, it was the beginning of Chinese constitutional ideology and practice and had particular significance in the process of constructing the Chinese constitutional culture.