The momentous Edict in which the Manchu house signed away its imperial heritage was issued on the twelfth day of February, 1912.  It contains many noteworthy features, but the words which are of special interest from the constitutional point of view I translate as follows:  “The whole nation is now inclined toward a republican form of government.  The southern and central provinces first gave clear evidence of this inclination, and the military leaders of the northern provinces have since promised their support in the same cause. By observing the nature of the people’s aspirations we learn the Will of Heaven (T’ien-ming). It is not fitting that We should withstand the desires of the nation merely for the sake of the glorification of Our own House.  We recognize the signs of the age, and We have tested the trend of popular opinion; and We now, with the Emperor at Our side, invest the Nation with the Sovereign Power and decree the establishment of a constitutional government on a republican basis.  In coming to this decision, We are actuated not only by a hope to bring solace to Our subjects, who long for the cessation of political tumult, but also by a desire to follow the precepts of the Sages of old who taught that political sovereignty rests ultimately with the people.”

Such was the dignified and yet pathetic swan-song of the dying Manchu dynasty.  Whatever our political sympathies may be, we are not obliged to withhold our tribute of compassion for the sudden and startling collapse of a dynasty that has ruled China—­not always inefficiently—­for the last two hundred and sixty-seven years.

The Abdication Edict can not fail to be of interest to students of the science of politics.  The Throne itself is converted into a bridge to facilitate the transition from the monarchical to the republican form of government.  The Emperor remains absolute to the last, and the very Republican Constitution, which involves his own disappearance from political existence, is created by the fiat of the Emperor in his last official utterance.  Theoretically, the Republic is established not by a people in arms acting in opposition to the imperial will, but by the Emperor acting with august benevolence for his people’s good.  The cynic may smile at the transparency of the attempt to represent the abdication as entirely voluntary, but in this procedure we find something more than a mere “face-saving” device intended for the purpose of effecting a dignified retreat in the hour of disaster.

Perhaps the greatest interest of the decree centers in its appeal to the wisdom of the national sages, and its acceptance of their theory as to the ultimate seat of political sovereignty.  The heart of the drafter may have quailed when he wrote the words that signified the surrender of the imperial power, but the spirit of Mencius guided his hand.  It now remains for us to hope that the teachings of the wise men of old, which have been obeyed to such momentous issues by the last of the Emperors, will not be treated with contempt by his Republican successors.