载泽考察团日本之行若干问题补说

Supplementary Comments on Several Questions Concerning Zaize’s Visit to Japan

对于清政府在1905年派出的出洋考察团,起初日本怀疑其目的在于游说各国以影响日俄和议,但很快意识到此举是清政府谋求制度革新的重大举措。载泽考察团在日本期间广览博取,并且与日本政商各界广泛交往且普遍受到礼遇,书写了近代中日关系史上值得重视的一页。考察团主要通过日本宪政专家讲演的途径了解日本宪政制度,然后者基于制度“殖民”的出发点,强调日本宪政对君权的保留而不言制限,直接导致考察团对宪政理解的片面性和工具化倾向,这也成为革命派针砭考察团考无实效的重要理由。就日本舆论界而言,对载泽考察团日本之行以及清政府即将铺开的宪政改革多所评论和建言,当中不乏切中要害之论,展示出外论对清政府宪政改革的基本态度。

Qing government dispatched a commission investigating abroad in 1905.Although Japan at first suspected its purpose was to influence the Japanese-Russian peace talks, it soon turned to regard this delegation was a major step of Qing government in seeking system innovation. Zaize delegation made a thorough investigation of Japan and had warmly contacts with Japanese officials and businessmen which wrote an important page in the history of Sino-Japanese relations. Zaize delegation understood Japanese constitutionalism mainly by inviting experts to explain,but the latter based on the starting point of system“colonization” to emphasise its reservation of monarchy but ignored restriction which directly led to the one-sidedness and instrumental tendency of the delegation’s understanding. This also became an important reason for revolutionaries to criticize the ineffectiveness of Zaize delegation and even for the Qing government to carry out constitutional reform as a political scam. The Japanese media gave Zaize delegation and Qing government who will launch constitutional reform a lot of comments and suggestions among which there was no lack of insights,showing the basic attitude of foreign media to China’s reform.