對中美政治理念的探究

摘要：中國的政治理念在很大程度上受到來自馬克思列寧主義，西方政治學以及中國人根深蒂固的傳統文化三方面的影響。由于它吸收了西方的如民主，平等，法治等觀念，中國的政治理念與美國有相同之處，然而，封建傳統的一直存在，加上外來入侵，中國在政治理念上也有不同之處。本文先列舉中美政治理念的相同和不同之處，然后從歷史，價值觀的角度對這些相同，不同點的形成原因進行探索。

Key Words（關鍵詞）: political philosophy； Chinese tradition； American values

關鍵詞：政治理念；中國傳統；美國價值觀

[中圖分類號]：G04 [文獻標識碼]：A

[文章編號]：1002-2139(2012)-17-0-03

Similarities and Differences

First， the conception of democracy is embraced by both nations. The basic thought of America’s politics is Natural Rights， unalienable rights from God and natural law， not from a monarch， government or anyone else. This theory applies to both religious and nonreligious people. The Chinese philosophies of government also believe in “All power in the People''s Republic of China belongs to the people” (Constitution of PRC， Article 1).

Second， the rule of law is another mutual belief. In the Constitution of People’s Republic of China， it says: “The state upholds the uniformity and dignity of the socialist legal system. No laws or administrative or local rules and regulations may contravene the Constitution.”

Also， when it comes to equality and human rights， we find that China is incredibly similar to America. The Constitution of PRC stipulates:

All citizens of the People''s Republic of China are equal before the law. Every citizen is entitled to the rights and at the same time must perform the duties prescribed by the Constitution and the law.

All citizens of the People''s Republic of China who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote and stand for election， regardless of ethnic status， race， sex， occupation， family background， religious belief， education， property status or length of residence， except persons deprived of political rights according to law. (Constitution of PRC， Article 33-34)

Furthermore， both countries protect the freedom of its citizen:

Citizens of the People''s Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech， of the press， of assembly， of association， of procession and of demonstration.

Citizens of the People''s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. (Constitution of PRC， Article 35-36)

However， all these articles in the Constitution of PRC are more like shining catchwords， an emulation of Western legal system， because when the founders and drafters met in Beijing， the whole country was in chaos， and the already existed and well-developed Western legal system was their very source. Without other efficient laws， balances and checks and mandate to enforce it， Chinese people never enjoy equal rights or never are protected by law. Though， Chinese government claims itself to be a democratic， liberal and equal state， but old habits die hard. Thousands of years’ feudal society and its hierarchy system has already implanted in Chinese minds. Brantly Womack argues in his In Search of Democracy that by western standard， the relationship between people and state in China had little to do with democracy. He says: “Individual freedom of speech and conscience， effective legislatures and legal systems， free and competitive elections—the hallmarks of mature legislative democracy—do not and have never played key role in modern Chinese politics. So the differences between the two countries are huge” (53).

American political philosophy believes that man organize government to be his tool， government is merely the creature and a tool， or instrument， of the sovereign people. They are afraid of a large government over man， and endeavor everything to limit the government. The principle of the Constitution of the United States is to protect individual rights; government must be limited in power if Individual Liberty is to be safeguarded， if each Individual''s God-given， unalienable rights are to be made and kept enduringly secure. However， such fear never occurs in Chinese people’s minds. Still， Chinese people pay high reverence to their government， regarding it as an absolute authority， viewing their government more like a surrogate for the removed monarch， not a tool to protect their rights， definitely not a threat which might steal their rights. They love their country and government， unable to conceive that country or nation is different from state or government. Of course it has its traditional inherent reason， which I’ll discuss in the next part.

And the traditional American philosophy teaches that decentralization of governmental power， to the maximum practicable extent， is essential to the security of Man''s God-given， unalienable rights. However， Chinese philosophy of government believes that Chinese government should be unitary and centralized， and that disunity means unacceptable chaos and disorder. That’s why Chinese government is so obsessed with issues of Taiwan and Tibet.

Reasons

The Chinese philosophies of government are very complicated. The zigzag and sometimes tragic search for democracy has been a central theme for modern Chinese politics. If we want to figure out why the Chinese philosophies of government are different， we have to go back to its deeply rooted traditional heritage， over one hundred years in search of democracy after Opium War in 1840， the flexuous path to establish a new democratic nation after 1949， and the turning point of Chinese history—Deng Xiaoping’s reformation in 1980s.

One could make a plausible argument that China’s traditional political heritage is the archenemy of China’s modernization， because it delayed the birth and even acceptance of democracy in China. Since 1840， reformers and revolutionists slashed traditional political institutions. Democracy， equality and freedom were emphatically modern， and modernity in China arrayed itself against China’s past. Nevertheless， it would be a mistake to ignore traditional China in the study of Chinese political philosophy. More and more people resort to traditional wisdom to find a better way to establish a better China， which might set another pattern of democratic society for the West.

Although the West and China both went through a period of feudal society， China’s feudal empire outlived many other countries. First of all， it is because the institutional structure of imperial China is very unique and powerful. The China Empire was a centralized power unrestricted by privilege or religious power. A westerner would expect such a society to be arbitrary and autocratic， because it did not have the institutions that in the West limited the abuse of prerogative. Undoubtedly， abuses occurred (as they did in the West)， but the discipline of the system was very different from that of the West， and that’s the main reason for the long existence of China’s feudal society.

The Chinese emperor and his officials were bound by ideology， ritual and tradition. Confucianism， especially， provided a well-developed ethic of rule， and mastery of that ethic was a major requirement of bureaucratic recruitment. The responsibility of the emperor and officials was to act according to the ideal， moral obligations of office. So the power of the imperial system was encumbered by a soft but strong web of ethical standard.

Also， traditional Chinese political thought shows a very active concern for the welfare of the people， as Confucius advocated in his whole life—Ren Zheng (仁政)—benevolent government. The concern can be illustrated by a passage from his disciple， Mencius:

King Hui of Liang said， “I wish quietly to receive your instructions.”

Mencius replied， “Is there any difference between killing a man with a stick and with a sword?” The King said， “There is no difference.”

“Is there any difference between doing it with a sword and with the style of government?” “There is no difference，” was the reply. Mencius then said， “In your kitchen there is fat meat; in your stable there are fat horses. But your people have the look of hunger， and on the wilds there are those who died of famine… When a prince， being the parent of his people， administers his government so as to be chargeable with leading in beasts to devour men， where in his parental relationship to his people?” (Mencius 133)

Classic Chinese political thought assumed that the welfare of the people was the root of the prosperous state. The ruler who was a bad shepherd of his people risked losing heaven’s mandate to rule， and in any case he weakened his state.

Clearly， modern China’s rejection of its past did not change its parentage. There are a few most important continuities in Chinese philosophies of government. The first is the cluster of political values that the government is responsible for the welfare of the people， and it is also the test of regime legitimacy. Chinese people are more than happy to let their government interfere with their own business so that the whole society and state can function well and harmoniously. While Americans are so afraid of a big government， Chinese people pay high reverence to their government， regarding it as their Father and Mother， an absolute authority， viewing their government more like a surrogate for the removed monarch.

A second continuity is the assumption that the Chinese government should be unitary and centralized， and that disunity means chaos and disorder. The founding of United States began with thirteen colonies， while China has been a united nation since Xia Dynasty 2100 BC-1600 BC. The American people and their leaders in 1776-1787 were determined that the central government should never be allowed to “possess power to act， or be permitted to act， as a consolidated government with sovereign， unlimited power over all of the people and things in the country” (Long 3). In the New York Ratifying Convention in 1788， Hamilton contended that the power of the States empowered by the Constitution must be protected in order to protect the freedom of individuals. And the Congress must play a key role in protecting them (M. Kennedy and A. Bailey 153).

Under such solid and powerful system， traditional China was not destroyed by Western thoughts or Enlightenment thoughts， like John Locke and John Stuart Mill’s theory， but was forced to open its gate by guns and fires of Western Power， whose political philosophies were based on liberalism and democracy. Therefore， the primary motive to study the West is to create a new， prosperous China， as powerful as its adversaries. Democracy and Science， according to Chen Duxiu in a famous essay， were two Western gentlemen with whom China must become acquitted (23-5). Leaning from the West also means the transfer of Western institutions to China. Finally， the Revolution of 1911， led by Sun Yat-sen， abolished the feudal monarchy and gave birth to the Republic of China. But after the Restoration of Yuan Shikai， the whole country remained disordered and chaotic. The Kuomintang had to compromise with warlords， imperialists， capitalists and communists. The Republic of China was neither liberal nor democratic. As we can see here， the establishment of a liberal and democratic China was never accomplished. The feudal thoughts and hierarchy was so deeply rooted that it could not be removed over night. Even after 1949， after the emancipation and founding of the People’s Republic of China， ironically， history always found a way to repeat itself， and the way to establish a new democratic nation was still flexuous. During the ten-year traumatic Cultural Revolution， the established democracy， equality and human rights were completely ruined. Everyone must submit to collectivism and communism， which was the ultimate goal of everybody. It even was a crime to speak of individualism. Mao Zedong was worshiped by people as the Great Leader， like a monarch， a god. In Post-Mao China， the Deng Xiaoping era pragmatically combined conservative habits of power with reform policies， and as a result its political direction struggled on the two fronts of defending the existing orthodoxy while promoting modernization.

Different Values

Although more and more people call for a political reformation， even the Prime Minister Wen Jiabao spoke publicly about reformation. However， an American must be amazed at how endurable and submissive a Chinese can be. As long as the most of them can scrape by， a reformation is out of the question， let alone revolution. This is because Chinese people and American people hold different values. While freedom， equality and individualism are the basic values of American， Chinese people pay more attention to harmony， Doctrine of Mean and collectivism.

What to Do

After knowing the differences between America and China， I may not become outrageous when hearing that US government interferes with another country’s business， or criticize the US government as very biased. Democracy， freedom and equality are really the basic foundation of United States， and they want to promote it to the whole world. And at the same time， I hope that American people can understand China better， understanding the long history of China and its culture. Many things were predetermined before we were born， like tradition and culture， which is like a double-edged sword， having its precious value while preventing us from improving. There are invaluable heritage in Chinese traditional culture， and we should reject the dross and assimilate the essence. China is a developing country facing pyramids of problems. The mission to establish a liberal and democratic nation is still unaccomplished， which I think both for United States and China， and also the pattern of liberty and democracy of China may be different from the West， but as long as it is the choice of Chinese people， I hope that Westerners can be more broad-minded and merciful. After all， tolerance is something embraced by all of us.

Works Cited：

[1]、Chen Duxiu. “A Rebuttal to the Crimes of New Youth.” An Anthology of Materials for Modern Chinese Intellectual History. Vol. 1. Hangzhou: Zhejiang People Press， 1986. Print.

[2]、China. Cong. Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. 5th National People’s Congress. Trans. the Bureau of Legislative Affairs of the State Council of the People''s Republic of China. Beijing: China Legal System Publishing House， 1991. Print.

[3]、Long， Hamilton Abert. “The American Ideal of 1776: The Twelve Basic American Principles.” Lexrex. 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2011.http://lexrex.com/enlightened/AmericanIdeal/

[4]、Mencius. Mencius. Trans. James Legge. New York: Dover， 1970. Print.

[5]、M. Kennedy， David. and A. Bailey， Thomas. The Brief American Pageant: A History of the Republic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Custom Publishing， 1999. Print.

[6]、Womack， Brantly. “In Search of Democracy.” Contemporary Chinese Politics in Historical Perspective. Ed. Brantly Womack. New York: Cambridge University Press， 1991. 53-89. Print.