Author ｜
Min-yuan Tsai
Abstract ｜
This article centers on the Chinese translation of James Bryce’s The American Commonwealth, titled Pingmin Chengchi《平民政治》, and the concept of “pingmin chengchi” embedded within it. It examines their development and influence in early Republican China, thereby highlighting the characteristics and intellectual historical significance of the “first decade of the Republic.” At the textual level, the translation of Pingmin Chengchi was closely tied to the political situation of the early Republic and can be viewed as a deliberate cultural endeavor by political parties of the time. Moreover, a close examination of contemporary reading and citation patterns reveals that Pingmin Chengchi had become a shared intellectual resource, appearing in various types of discussions. At the conceptual level, this article first elucidates that “pingmin chengchi” simultaneously encompasses the concepts of “democracy” and “ochlocracy,” which I term “conceptual ambiguity.” This ambiguity allowed “pingmin chengchi” to be interpreted along a spectrum from representative democracy to direct democracy. The potential of “pingmin chengchi” to lean towards the masses was explored by some in the increasingly leftist atmosphere that followed, connecting it to political forms emphasizing mass participation. However, as the concept of “pingmin chengchi” shifted towards the masses, it began to refer not just to the general public but sometimes more specifically to the lower working class. This transformation also meant that “pingmin chengchi” had to compete interpretively with other leftist discursive concepts. Finally, changes in the political situation and intellectual environment led both Pingmin Chengchi (the text) and “pingmin chengchi” (the concept) to become “lost political keywords.” The text not only faded from the public’s eye, but the concept also lost the influence it once held in the intellectual sphere during the first decade of the Republic.
keywords ｜
first decade of the Republic of China, Pingmin Chengchi/pingmin chengchi, conceptual ambiguity, representative democracy, direct democracy