During the Republic of China, it was in the environment of two world wars. Fierce contradictions and struggles among major powers not only complicate the international situation, but also have a serious impact on the development of China. The international environment can bring both positive factors and disasters to China. Sun Yat-sen has long said: the world trend is vast, if it goes with it, it will prosper, if it goes against it, it will die. No country or people can deviate from this general trend of world development. Therefore, under such a vast background, China has also entered the democratic revolution.

Second, the dream and tears of stepping on modernization

As for the concept of modernity, it is the theme of China's historical development in the past century. The history of modern China is the history of China people's struggle for strength, getting rid of imperialist bullying and oppression, getting rid of poverty and backwardness, and striving to realize a modern country. Modernization was the dream goal of China people in the Republic of China. The historical process of China people's attempts to start and promote China's modernization and the setbacks or failures they encountered during this period are indelible. The five political choices of independence, freedom, democracy, unity and prosperity that the people of China fought for, and our strong anti-imperialist and anti-feudal declaration should be two complementary aspects in the historical movement of modern China.

Third, the merits and demerits of the Revolution of 1911.

The Revolution of 1911 was an important historical event in modern China. Together with the establishment of the Nanjing Provisional Government of the Republic of China, it marked the transformation of China from a traditional society to a modern society and was the first important milestone in the historical development of modern China.

We can't simply say that the Revolution of 1911 finally failed. We analyze the success or failure of all revolutions and observe whether they have fulfilled the mission entrusted by history. Completed, this is a victorious revolution; Otherwise, it is a failure. History has given the Revolution of 1911 two tasks: one is to overthrow the autocratic and corrupt rule of the Qing Dynasty; The first is to establish a democratic republic. Investigating the Revolution of 1911, these two tasks have been completed. As for the more complicated task of social transformation that existed at that time, it was by no means a gunshot of Wuchang Uprising or a revolutionary party's overnight success. After the Revolution of 1911, there are still serious feudal remnants and forces that want to restore retrogression, which is inevitable in the face of any great revolution that changes the historical destiny of the country and the nation. 1949 After the victory of the democratic revolution, we compared a large number of old traditions left over from China's political, social and ideological fields. It has been several decades, and the task of reform needs to be deepened. From this, it is not difficult to understand the arduousness and complexity of the victory of the Revolution of 1911, and it will not be too demanding of the revolutionary pioneers.

4. Understanding of Nanjing Provisional Government

Understanding of the historical position of Nanjing Provisional Government: The important achievement of the Revolution of 1911 was the establishment of the Republic of China, and Nanjing Provisional Government was the main symbol of the Republic of China. As a new thing in the new era, the Nanjing Provisional Government of the Republic of China has made outstanding contributions in the history of China, leaving a valuable historical and cultural heritage. Nanjing Provisional Government was born in the storm. It constructs the embryonic form of China's modern country from the political, social and economic aspects, and embodies Sun Yat-sen's theory and conception of building a modern country. As early as 190 1, Sun Yat-sen said, "We must overthrow the Manchu government and establish the Republic of China. On the day of the success of the revolution, follow the example of the United States to elect a president, abolish autocracy, and implement * * * and. " The Nanjing Provisional Government opened a new era in China's history, showing the prospect of democracy and the country's future development, and its contribution was unprecedented in China.

For example, it established the first democratic republic in China's history. It broke and destroyed the feudal dynasty system and system that existed in China for two years. Since then, democracy and ideas have gradually taken root in people's hearts. Although the imperial dynasty was restored again and again, it was completely impossible to bring history back under the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

It establishes the basic principles of building a modern country. One is the people-oriented principle. On June 1 91265438+1October1day, Sun Yat-sen declared more clearly in his inaugural declaration as the interim president of Nanjing Interim Government: "The foundation of a country lies in the people." The Nanjing Provisional Government confirmed: "The people of the Republic of China are equal regardless of race, class or religion." This is essentially different from the fact that the Qing Dynasty ignored the most basic rights and interests of the broad masses of the people.

The second is the principle of rule of law. The feudal dynasty was a country ruled by the rule of law, and the Nanjing Provisional Government standardized the country's operating mechanism with modern legal principles and legislative ideas, and established the country's political system by relying on the Chinese-style decentralization thought initiated by Sun Yat-sen; The Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China initially provided China with the necessary legitimacy and democracy to enter a modern legal society.

The third is the principle of people governing the country. The fundamental difference between modern countries and feudal autocratic countries lies in the great concern of modern countries for the people and the implementation and continuous expansion of the political participation of the broad masses. Nanjing Provisional Government has given people more democracy and freedom. It is the first time in China's history to elect a national leader-an interim president and a vice president, and strongly advocates that civil servants should be public servants of the people, and implement clean politics in state organs at all levels. These are all important signs of the country's transition from authoritarian politics to political democratization.

From its birth to its relocation to the north, the Nanjing Provisional Government operated for less than 100 days, and all its national policies, political systems, policies and regulations were not fully implemented, let alone tested its effectiveness. Some of them are still on paper, or they have not thought about it from the beginning, and there are no precedents to learn from, so there are some shortcomings or deficiencies. But its development direction and political initiative are worthy of recognition. It is of far-reaching political significance to China's modernization.

Fourth, the right and wrong of Beiyang government

Beiyang government is the inevitable product of China's political transition period.

First of all, the Beiyang period was a transitional period for China to evolve from a traditional society to a modern society. On the surface, the feudal dynasty was overthrown, the revolution won, and the social, political and economic situation should be obviously improved. But the whole society is full of contradictions, chaos, conflicts and wars, and the people are full of complaints. However, the appearance of these phenomena is not surprising, but inevitable or even inevitable in the process of historical turning and social change. During the period of Beiyang government, there were many dual characteristics in the period of social transformation. In politics, culture and ideology, there are obvious and prominent mixed coexistence and contradictions between new and old, progress and conservatism, modernity and tradition, and the opposing sides are constantly ups and downs, which are manifested in all fields of the whole society.

Most of the military and political personnel of Beiyang government came from or separated from the ruling clique in the late Qing Dynasty. They retained a lot of traditional politics and traditional consciousness, but under the trend of democracy and harmony, they also absorbed and maintained more democratic political achievements made by the Revolution of 1911 and the Nanjing Provisional Government, which was more reflected in the political system and life of the Beiyang Government.

Therefore, Beiyang politics is a deformed political form that conflicts between China's remaining traditional politics and the increasingly developing modern political civilization. We should see that China made slow progress in the conflict between two political and cultural forms during the Beiyang period. It is not enough to fully understand the nature of this regime in the early Republic of China only through military politics or by characterizing it as a feudal autocratic regime. It is precisely because the Beiyang government did not establish a stable political power, and the politics was constantly turbulent. The politicians lacked the concept of transforming society and the program, direction and goal of building the country, and could not win the support of people from all walks of life. Finally, being pushed off the political stage by the national revolutionary movement is also suicide.

Secondly, the modernization of China in Beiyang period developed slowly. China's modernization began in the 1960s. Stimulated by the political pressure of western powers and material civilization, China's modernization movement has achieved initial results after half a century of twists and turns. Various factors that modern society should have are constantly strengthening or improving. In addition to the above analysis of the political situation, the national economy, as the basis of modernization, has made great progress. In the past, when we analyzed the economic development in the early years of the Republic of China, we often referred to it as the golden age of the national economy, saying that it was achieved in the cracks between imperialism in World War I and domestic feudal rule. This conclusion is obviously not objective and accurate enough. It is true that the western powers were busy with the war, but the Beiyang government formulated many policies and decrees that supported or benefited the development of the national economy during its rule. It has established the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce. , and Zhang Jian presided over the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Industry. We have improved industrial and commercial laws and regulations, improved the modern financial system, formulated protective tariffs, sorted out the central and local finances, and formulated regulations to encourage the development of industrial and mining enterprises. These measures have promoted the development of private capital enterprises in China. During the Republic of China, many large-scale industrial and mining enterprises with important economic influence were established in the 1920s, so we should affirm the role of Beiyang government in promoting national economic development.

Thirdly, it is still a serious academic problem whether the military and political figures in Beiyang can be scientifically evaluated. It is not logical to affirm historical facts and deny historical figures. We often call those who have mastered military forces, large and small, and those who were active in the political arena at that time, or even did some bad things as politicians, warlords. It seems that there are no good people among Beiyang military and political figures.

However, the political situation of warlord melee has not developed into a domineering and gentle situation of soldiers from five dynasties and ten countries, and the democratic system can still operate. The key is that there is such a strong belief in the upper class of society. A considerable number of soldiers are actually the products of modern China's learning from the West and carrying out military modernization. They also have this belief. The background of class discourse is still evolution. As long as someone can successfully convince people that a scientific theory tells us that advanced people belong to the poorest part of the bottom people, and only they represent the direction of historical development, then class discourse can play a huge role in changing the world. Obviously, it is not difficult to do this in China, a country where the opposition between the rich and the poor has been lingering for thousands of years and the intellectual community has a traditional anti-intellectual and populist tendency.