What is it about?
This article is about the writings of Kuang Qizhao and other Chinese officials who were among the earliest to experience American democracy in the 19th century. These writings indicate that their hesitancy over promoting democracy in the late 19th century stemmed not because they were conservative or ignorant, but because they realized that democracy would not be effective if their own population was not well educated. Observing the U.S. Congress’s passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Chinese officials observed how immoral demagogues like Senator James G. Blaine, misled the common uneducated people in a bid to win the presidency. Therefore, for China, Kuang promoted universal education first and continued to emphasize the importance of moral education. Kuang would pass on his thoughts to some of China’s most important reformers and officials on his return home, suggesting he and the officials he associated with had a more realistic and sophisticated understanding of American society and democracy than is currently assumed.
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Why is it important?
Scholars have commonly assumed that democratic institutions were not introduced in China in the late 19th century because Qing officials were conservative authoritarians resistant to change. This article provides an alternative reason for the failure to introduce democracy--that the democracy that Qing diplomats experienced in the U.S., where racism was rampant and corruption rife, served as a poor example for the effectiveness of democracy. In the American democracy that Qing diplomats experienced, Chinese workers faced race riots while demagogues manipulated less educated Americans in an attempt to win political office. Closely observing the behavior of American politicians, Qing officials recognized that before they could consider any attempts at political reform in their own country, their own population had to be educated first, not only in specialized subjects, but also in morality.
Perspectives
This article provides a reminder about two of the most important weaknesses of democracy. The first is that democracy, in which the majority wins, often fails to consider morality, resulting in the passage of immoral laws such as The Chinese Exclusion Act. Second is the danger that immoral demagogues can mislead a population that is not properly educated. Kuang's experiences are very similar to the experiences of other minorities that have been recently attacked by populists and led by demagogues seeking political office by appealing to the less educated. This article therefore is a reminder that recent racist attacks against minorities in democracies is not just a recent phenomena, and that when this weakness of democracy emerges, democracy loses its power to inspire and serve as a model for other countries. Moreover, the article is also a reminder on the importance of education and also the importance of moral or character education that stresses the value of community and helping others. Specialized education alone is insufficient if it leads to leaders without strong morals to effectively lead a country and if it leads to a voting population that is unable to recognize demagogues.
Sam Jake Leong Wong
Yale University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Chinese Perceptions of American Democracy: Late Qing Observers and Their Experiences with the Chinese Exclusion Act, Journal of American-East Asian Relations, December 2020, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/18765610-27040002.
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