“两种清末宪法草案稿本”质疑

Questioning the Claim of “Two Draft Constitutions in the Late Qing Dynasty”

俞江先生1999年撰文称,在中国第一历史档案馆资政院档案中发现了“两种清末宪法草案稿本”(分别称之为“甲残本”和“乙全本”),并对两种宪草进行了初步研究。然而,通过进一步研究,可知所谓“甲残本”,并非宪法草案,而是度支部员外郎李景铭翻译日本学者北鬼三郎《大清宪法案》一书的部分内容,系为主持纂拟宪法的载泽等人提供的参考资料而已;“乙全本”宪草有可能是民间立宪派团体或人士所纂拟,似不能说是清廷秘密立宪的产物。

In his 1999 article,Mr.Yu Jiang claimed that he had found “two draft Constitutions from the late Qing Dynasty” in the Zi Zheng Yuan(Political Consultative Council)files in the First Historical Archives of China.He labeled them respectively “incomplete version A”(henceforth version A)and “the complete version B”(henceforth version B),and undertook preliminary research on both versions.However,further and careful study may show that version A was actually a partial translation of the Constitution of the Great Qing Dynasty by a Japanese scholar Kitaoni Sadu.The translator was Li Jingming,the vice director of the Duzhi Bu(the Ministry of Finance).Kitaoni Sadu's work was translated for reference for Zai Ze and others who were responsible for drafting a Constitution.Version B seems to be something compiled by non-government constitutional organizations or advocates,rather than a secret draft of the Constitution by the imperial court.