一次依法治国的失败尝试--清末《钦定宪法大纲》宪政实践的启示

摘要

The “Imperial Constitution Outline”promulgated in the late Qing Dynasty is an important event in the history of modern China,which was also an example of ruling the country by law as a failed attempt.There were four reasons.First,the supreme ruler of the time did not make distinctive top-level design,but made implementa-tion of constitutional reform under the pressure of the situation,without the political wisdom of leading the reform and the effective means to balance the fractions in the political power;the second was that the central government did not make clear definition of “local autonomy”,too much indulged and causing local centrifugal,potential lead-ership rendered ineffectual by recalcitrant subordinates;the third was that the whole society advocated empty talk, regarding the constitutionalism as a panacea,but falling into dissension and discord when meeting setbacks,the fourth was that political reform and national equality intertwined,causing social chaos.%清末颁布的《钦定宪法大纲》是中国近现代史上的一件大事，也是依法治国的一次失败尝试。究其原因笔者以为有四：一是当时的最高统治者缺乏鲜明的顶层设计，迫于形势被动推行维新立宪，缺乏引领变革的政治智慧和平衡各派政治势力的有效手段；二是中央政府对“地方自治”界定不明，过于放任，造成地方离心，势成尾大不掉；三是整个社会崇尚空谈，把立宪当成包治百病的灵丹妙药，遇到挫折，便离心离德；四是政治变革与民族平等相交织，混淆视听，造成社会混乱。