从晚清看辛亥革命:百年之反思

Looking at the 1911 Revolution from the Perspective of the Late Qing:A Reflection over One Hundred Years

辛亥革命推翻了数千年的专制,建立起共和政体。此一重大变化,有其复杂的历史背景。本文尝试梳理清朝中晚期的历史脉络,来解释革命发生的根源与促成革命成功的一些关键因素。文中强调清中叶以来中国士人与传教士开始引介西方共和体制;这些观念透过书籍、报刊的传播,发挥了思想动员的力量,使晚清时的人们敢于去构想一个崭新的未来。其次,从辛亥革命爆发到南北议和,各地立宪派人物扮演了关键性的角色,不容忽略。因此,辛亥革命实由各种思想、势力共同促成。革命党人多受理想激发,揭竿起义,立宪派人士亦认同共和体制,同时也为了自保与维系秩序,起而响应。辛亥革命就在新、旧势力既合作又妥协之下获得了成功。民国成立之后,国人在实施民主过程中所面临的诸多困难与挫折,亦部分地源于此一妥协的性格。

The 1911 Revolution overthrew an autocracy of thousands of years and established a republic.This great change had a complex historical background.This article tries to clarify the historical context of the middle and late periods of the Qing dynasty and explain the origins of the revolution and some key factors that contributed to its success.The author argues that Chinese literati and Western missionaries started introducing Western ideas of republicanism and democracy from the middle Qing period.These ideas spread through books,journals,and newspapers,marshaling an ideological force that encouraged people to imagine an entirely new future.Moreover,from the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution to the peace negotiations between the North and South,the constitutionalists in various provinces played crucial roles that cannot be ignored.Therefore,the 1911 Revolution was brought about by the combination of various ideals and forces.The revolutionaries were encouraged by the new ideals and rose up,while the constitutionalists responded because they upheld many of the same republican ideals and also wanted to protect their property and maintain the stability of their hometowns.The success of the 1911 Revolution came about through cooperation and compromise between the new and old political powers.After the establishment of the Republic of China,the frustrations and difficulties faced by the Chinese people in the process of undertaking democracy partly result from this character of compromise.