Why is constitutionalism in the late Qing Dynasty actually a political scam?

In the current textbooks, the evaluation of the preparatory constitutionalism in the late Qing Dynasty is that "preparatory constitutionalism" is actually just a scam. So, is the preparation for constitutionalism really just a scam? I take the liberty to think that this kind of evaluation is a bit inappropriate. If the preparatory constitution can no longer adapt to the booming revolutionary situation at that time, it will eventually fail, which still makes sense. Then, why can't we simply regard the preparation for constitutionalism as a scam of the Qing government? I think we should make a realistic analysis of two important documents in the constitutional preparation in the late Qing Dynasty, the Outline of the King James Constitution and Article 19 of the Main Credo.

First of all, let's look at the outline of the King James Constitution. Under internal and external pressure, the Qing government promulgated the King James Constitution in the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu (1908), and at the same time promulgated its subsidiary law "Essentials of the Election Law of the House of Representatives". The Qing government announced: "From the imperial court to the officials, they all abide by the imperial constitution, with a view to abiding by it forever, but never surpassing it." (historical materials for preparing constitutional archives in the late Qing Dynasty). This shows that the Qing government has actually affirmed the supremacy of this constitution, which is one of them.

Secondly, this constitution is modeled after the Japanese constitution. On the one hand, because Japan defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, all circles in China pay more attention to the reasons for Japan's prosperity. On the other hand, Japan has implemented a dual constitutional monarchy with great monarchical power and serious feudal remnants, which is obviously in line with the desire of the Qing government to retain more monarchical power, but we cannot deny its capitalist nature because this regime contains a large number of feudal remnants, because in any case, this regime is actually a capitalist regime.

Third, from the content of the constitution, the first part of the constitutional outline stipulates 14 sovereign rights. There are naturally many regulations on the sanctity of feudal monarchy power, but we should not only focus on this, but also see some restrictions on imperial power. These restrictions are first manifested in the fact that the monarch can no longer do whatever he wants, and the monarch's behavior must be bound by the Constitution. According to the Constitution Compilation Library, the outline of King James' Constitution is being played. In other words, if the emperor wants to exercise his power, he must be restricted by the house, cabinet and judicial organs. In terms of the power to make laws for the emperor, the outline stipulates: "Any law that has been decided by the House of Representatives but promulgated without the approval of imperial edicts shall not be implemented." This clearly stipulates the power to make laws. In the House of Representatives, the power of the emperor is only "approving and promulgating", which is obviously different from that of the feudal emperor. In terms of judicial power, the outline stipulates: "The designated trial court shall act in accordance with the laws stipulated by the imperial edict and shall not be changed at any time." This actually means that judicial power has been separated from administrative power, which means that the emperor may not interfere with the independence of judicial power with administrative power. The second part of the outline is nine provisions on "the rights and obligations of the subject", which stipulates the basic rights of the subject. Because it confirms the basic rights of the subject, its positive significance is undeniable. At the same time, compared with the feudal autocratic system, it is also a great progress. For example, it is stipulated that "the subject has freedom of speech, writing, publication and association within the scope of law"; "No subject shall be arrested, imprisoned or punished unless decided by law"; "The subjects who meet the qualifications stipulated in the law can be civilian and military officials and parliamentarians"; From these regulations, we can see the progress of "the property and residence of subjects are not unreasonably violated" and so on.

Secondly, article 19 on the great creed. That was after the outbreak of Wuchang Uprising. Because the insurgents captured three towns in Wuhan, the provinces responded one after another, announcing their independence from the Qing government and facing great pressure. In order to continue its rule, the Qing government fantasized about overcoming difficulties through military strikes and political reforms. However, to the surprise of the Qing government, the troops they relied on, such as the 20 th town of the new army in Luanzhou, Zhili, and the Lantian Wei of the Second Association, all carried out military remonstrance. These people jointly called the Qing government, demanding that Congress be convened to formulate a constitution and organize a responsible cabinet. If their demands are not met, they will unite with the sixth town of Baoding's new army, control Wulu Town and attack Beijing. Under strong military pressure, Regent Zai Feng ordered the Special Advisory Committee to draft the Constitution. In just three days, the Special Advisory Committee formulated and adopted the 19th creed, which was immediately announced on September 13th, Xuantong. Because this purpose was formulated under military pressure, compared with the outline, it further narrowed the power of the emperor and expanded the power of the parliament. It clearly stipulates that the power of the emperor is limited to the constitutional provisions; Return the right to propose constitutional amendments; The Prime Minister is elected by the National Assembly; The royal family may not serve as prime minister, other ministers of state or provincial chief executives; Without the approval of the National Assembly, international treaties cannot be concluded; The official system and official rules are stipulated by law. Although this creed was forcibly formulated by the Qing government, we still can't deny that it is a great progress compared with the feudal monarchy.

In a word, the outline of the imperial constitution and Article 19, the main creed formulated by the Qing government in the later period, are obviously capitalist, which also shows that the Qing government had to adjust its policies to maintain its rule under the pressure of the booming people's revolution and constitutionalism. However, due to the development of the revolutionary situation, the mainstream of the times was no longer constitutionalism, and the preparatory constitutionalism of the Qing government could not meet the requirements of the people at all, and was finally overthrown by the revolution. However, we should not only regard the preparatory constitutionalism as a scam, but also affirm the capitalist color of the preparatory constitutionalism.