Chapter 10: Reassessing Liang Qichao — The Foremost Thinker of Constitutional Monarchy

Textbooks of both the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party portray Liang Qichao as a bourgeois reformist who opposed revolution. They emphasize that in his early years he joined Kang Youwei in advocating reform under the imperial system, stood in opposition to Sun Yat-sen, and was also opposed to the Communist Party—thus downgrading Liang Qichao in terms of revolutionary significance.

I. Constitutional Monarchy as China’s Best Choice

Liang Qichao (1873–1929), a native of Xinhui, Guangdong, consistently advocated constitutional monarchy and opposed overthrowing the Qing government. He believed that once the Qing dynasty fell, rival powers would inevitably rise, civil wars would erupt one after another, and the situation would become unmanageable. In his view, while democratic republicanism was indeed desirable, China’s national conditions made it unattainable in the short term. He had studied Europe and the United States and concluded that American-style democracy would not work in China. Britain still retained a queen; Spain, Sweden, and other countries also preserved monarchs and practiced constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy to good effect. For China, constitutional monarchy was the optimal choice. Overthrowing the imperial system would inevitably lead to great chaos and civil war.

History validated his prediction: once the Qing dynasty collapsed, a century of calamities followed. After the Xinhai Revolution, however, Liang adapted to the changing tide. He spoke only of constitutional democracy and no longer of constitutional monarchy, affirming the Xinhai Revolution in positive terms and offering little criticism. This distinguished him from Kang Youwei, who persisted in advocating monarchist restoration. Liang openly criticized Kang in his writings, and the two parted ways after the Hundred Days’ Reform. Nevertheless, when Kang Youwei died in 1927 in financial distress, Liang sent 5,000 yuan to help cover funeral arrangements, not forgetting the kindness of his former teacher.

II. Deng Xiaoping’s Reform Parallels Liang Qichao

Deng Xiaoping ended Mao Zedong’s tide of class struggle and implemented reform and opening up. In essence, Deng’s reforms were the same as Liang Qichao’s reformism: peaceful and gradual, without killing or persecuting people, without class struggle—improving the economy step by step and bettering people’s livelihoods. Deng Xiaoping effectively put into practice Liang Qichao’s reform ideas some eighty years later. Over two decades of reform, Deng achieved remarkable success. History proves that reform is correct: only by following a path of gradual improvement, inch by inch and step by step, can society progress. Class struggle and violent rebellion bring only destruction and regression.

III. A Moral Exemplar: Patriotism Without Power-Seeking

Liang Qichao was a politician filled with patriotic passion. He devoted his entire life to reform, engaged in politics without a thirst for power, avoided factional struggles, and stood as a selfless and fearless moral exemplar.

He was a thinker who integrated tradition with modernity to construct a “new moral orthodoxy,” pointing the way forward for the nation and society. He revitalized Confucian thought and combined it with modern global democratic trends, setting an enduring example.

Liang Qichao was an encyclopedic scholar whose learning spanned ancient and modern China and the wider world. He advocated fully mining traditional cultural resources while absorbing world civilizations, contributing to innovation in Chinese civilization. He was China’s foremost modern thinker, politician, educator, historian, and literary figure—a leading representative of modern reformism. After the Xinhai Revolution, he served briefly as Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance, but resigned when he found it difficult to realize his ambitions, turning instead to education and writing. He advocated the New Culture Movement and is widely recognized as the most outstanding modern Chinese thinker, standing above his peers.

IV. Over Thirty Years, Averaging 400,000 Characters Annually

With a lifetime of fervent patriotism, Liang Qichao advocated innovation and moderate reform—neither radical nor conservative—eschewing power struggles. With fiery passion and his pen as a weapon, he wrote about history, reality, and the future, leaving invaluable intellectual wealth for posterity. Over more than thirty years, he completed some 14 million characters in twelve large volumes of the Collected Works from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio, averaging about 400,000 characters per year. After the failure of the reform movement, he continued his reformist passion, traveling and working both at home and abroad.

Traditionally, China’s “old moral orthodoxy” centered on Confucius. Entering the twentieth century, Liang Qichao inherited Confucius and integrated modern global democratic trends to form a “new moral orthodoxy.” He was the first in modern China to introduce new terms such as “nation,” “state,” and “citizen,” and an authoritative interpreter of constitutionalism, democracy, and nationalism. He was the foremost thinker of the late Qing dynasty.

V. The First to Popularize “the Chinese Nation”

On ethnic issues, Sun Yat-sen spoke of “expelling the Manchus,” while Liang Qichao advocated “uniting the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui, Miao, and Tibetan peoples into one great nation.” After the establishment of the Republic, Sun Yat-sen moved closer to Liang’s view, shifting from “small nationalism” to “great nationalism,” though he still spoke of assimilating Manchus, Mongols, Hui, and Tibetans into the Han. Liang’s concept of a “great nation” was “unity in diversity”—a shared Chinese national community. He was the first to propose the concept of the “Chinese nation” (Zhonghua minzu) and is regarded as the founder of modern Chinese nationalism.

Politically, Liang resolutely opposed extremism and promoted moderate reform. He opposed Yuan Shikai’s bid for emperorship and Zhang Xun’s restoration attempt, becoming a key contributor to the restoration of the republic.

VI. Without an Army or Power, He Chose to Withdraw

In his final years, Liang Qichao had no choice but to withdraw from politics and focus on education and writing. Many urged him to organize a third party, but he believed he was not suited to party struggles under a partisan system and could not compete with parties that had armies and power. Thus, he neither joined the Nationalists nor the Communists, nor formed a third party, choosing instead to teach at Tsinghua University. Had he continued in politics, he might not have met a good end.

Liang pointed out that without industrialization, China could not leapfrog stages of social development and could not implement socialism. When China embarked on reform and opening up in the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping carried forward Liang Qichao’s theory of staged development.

A thinker reflects at the macro level on life and society, guiding political development toward goals. A politician organizes groups, competes for power, and builds institutions to achieve set objectives. A scholar emphasizes the accumulation and transmission of knowledge. Liang Qichao embodied all three roles.

VII. An Encyclopedic Thinker, Scholar, and Man of Action

Liang Qichao was a master who integrated Chinese and Western learning, making extraordinary intellectual and scholarly contributions across many fields. He was an encyclopedic figure in Chinese history. After leaving politics, he continued to achieve major accomplishments in scholarship.

Before the Xinhai Revolution, he pioneered a new style of writing in debates—between classical Chinese and vernacular—that appealed to both scholars and ordinary people. He absorbed many new terms from Japanese kanji, such as “economy,” “organization,” and “cadre,” all first introduced by Liang. His academic research ranged widely across philosophy, literature, history, classics, law, ethics, and religious studies, with his achievements in historiography being particularly outstanding.

VIII. Founder of the “Liang Qichao Style”

Liang Qichao was not only a reformer but also a major contributor to early Chinese journalism and political commentary. He worked in journalism for twenty-seven years, founding or leading seventeen newspapers and journals, earning the title “pride of the world of public opinion.” He was praised as having initiated the rise of Chinese newspapers and the development of modern thought.

He believed the function of the press was to “remove blockages and seek openness,” with two primary duties: “supervising the government” and “guiding the people.” His four principles of journalism were: a clear and lofty purpose, innovative and correct thinking, rich and accurate materials, and precise and timely reporting. He proposed five foundations of sound public opinion: common knowledge, sincerity, straightforwardness, public-mindedness, and restraint.

IX. Triumphant Reception in the Americas; Sun Yat-sen’s Cold Reception

From 1903 to 1906, Liang Qichao traveled from Japan to the Americas for two years. Everywhere he went in the United States, he received grand welcomes, delivered lectures, and enjoyed great acclaim, later recording his experiences in Travels in the New Continent. By contrast, Sun Yat-sen, who was also traveling across the United States seeking support for revolution, found few respondents and was often coldly received—a stark contrast. This also shows that overseas Chinese offered limited support for revolution and largely favored constitutional monarchy.

X. In His Later Years, He Bitterly Condemned “Communist Arson and Killing, Soviet Puppet Rule”

In letters to his children late in life, Liang Qichao bitterly condemned the Communists for “burning, killing, and plunging the people into misery, acting as puppets of Soviet Russia.” These letters were written after the April 12 purge, reflecting his state of mind—“barely able to sleep night after night”—and noting that “the Communist Party has become a parasite on the Nationalist Party.”

One month after Liang’s letters, Wang Guowei drowned himself, shocking the nation. In his final note, Wang wrote: “After this upheaval, there is no way to endure further humiliation,” echoing Liang’s sentiments.

XI. Died Young Due to a Surgical Accident, Aged Only Fifty-Six

In 1929, Liang Qichao died due to a medical accident, passing away prematurely at the age of fifty-six. At the time, Western medicine was in vogue and traditional Chinese medicine was marginalized. A surgical operation mistakenly removed a kidney that should not have been removed, worsening his condition and leading to his death. His tomb, designed by his son Liang Sicheng, is located in the Beijing Botanical Garden in the Western Hills.

XII. Mao Zedong: “I Admired Liang Qichao, but His Life Ended Somewhat Weakly”

Mao Zedong greatly admired Liang Qichao in his youth and imitated his writing style. In 1936, Mao told American journalist Edgar Snow in Yan’an: “I admire Liang Qichao.” Mao praised him as sharp in argument, clear in logic, emotionally powerful, and refreshing in style, breaking away from the rigidity of the eight-legged essay and becoming the most influential political commentator of his time. Yet Mao also said that Liang Qichao’s life “ended somewhat weakly.”

Liang knew he had no guns or cannons and could not contend with the Communists. He avoided direct confrontation and withdrew. Had he lived to see Mao establish the People’s Republic, he would almost certainly have been imprisoned.

XIII. A Precious Soul of China, the Father of the Chinese Spirit

The Japanese prime minister called him “a precious soul of China.”

American journalist Edgar Snow called him “the father of the Chinese spirit.”

Hu Shi wrote: “Creating new citizens for China, proud throughout his life; in China’s revolution, his pen achieved miraculous feats. Without Liang’s pen, even with scores of Sun Yat-sens, could success have come so swiftly?”

Liang Shuming said: “In his innocence and childlike heart lies both his charm and his greatness.”

Huang Zunxian said: “Liang Qichao’s writing is soul-stirring, worth a thousand pieces of gold in every word, expressing what everyone feels. Even a man of iron or stone would be moved. From ancient times to the present, there has been no greater power of words.”

XIV. Over the Next 50–100 Years, Liang Qichao Will Rise Greatly in Prominence

Liang Qichao’s spirit lives on. Over the next fifty to one hundred years, his influence will be fully realized. Because he sharply criticized the Communist Party—especially in his later years—many of his critical writings remain unpublished on the mainland. He criticized the Nationalists less.

When the Communist Party exits the stage of history and abandons Mao Zedong, the true golden age for Liang Qichao’s influence will arrive. He is an inexhaustible gold mine. His fourteen million characters in twelve volumes of the Collected Works from the Ice-Drinker’s Studio are such a treasure. He named his study the “Ice-Drinker’s Studio” to describe his burning patriotic passion—so intense that only by constantly “drinking ice” could he cool himself enough to write.