The first century of Magna Carta in China: an academic history from 1840's to 1940's

• Author: JIANG Dong
• Pages: 266-279

FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA

VOL. 11 JUNE 2016 NO. 2

DOI 10.3868/s050-005-016-0016-0

FOCUS

THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF RULE OF LAW

THE FIRST CENTURY OF MAGNA CARTA IN CHINA: AN ACADEMIC HIST ORY

FROM 1840’S TO 1940’S

JIANG Dong*

Abstract Magna Carta was introduced into China around the mid-19th century under

the context that learning from the West was then a trend for Chinese politicians and the

academia to modernize China. The English constitutionalism originating from Magna

Carta was considered as one of the models for China to reference. Even though the

constitutional reform in the late Qing Dynasty failed to establish the constitutionalism in

China, the strive for rule of law and democracy in China was never disrupted from then

on. In the first century of Magna Carta’s introduction into China, the academia used the

ideas of constitutional rights, the rule of law embedded in Magna Carta to influence

constitutionality in China, especially to push forward the protection of human rights and

democracy. Even though the constitutionalism was not finally established in the

Republic of China, the research on Magna Carta inspired the idea of constitutionalism in

China. In addition, the Chinese academia realized that what China should learn was the

spirit of Magna Carta, and that the construction of Chinese constitutionalism shall be

based on the context of Chinese history and culture.

Keywords Magna Carta in China, constitutionalism, rule of law, constitutional reform in

late qing, constitution drafting in the Republic of China, checks on government, consensus,

human rights

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 267

I. A MODEL FOR CHINA’S CONSTITUTIONAL IDEOLOGY AND PRACTICE: MAGNA CARTA

IN LATE QING DYNASTY......................................................................................... 267

A. The Introduction of Magna Carta Shortly after the First Opium War.............. 268

B. Magna Carta and the Law Amendment in Late Qing Dynasty .........................269

II. MAGNA CARTA IN THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA: 1911–1949 ...................................... 272

A. Magna Carta and Efforts of Constitution Drafting in Beijing Government: A

Study on ZHANG Shizhao’s Outcry for Constitutionalism ..............................272

* (󰓠) Ph.D and Associate Professor of Law, at School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing

100872, China. Contact: djiang@ruc.edu.cn