The Advisory Council (), also known as the Government Advisory Council, Political Advisory Council, or Political Advisory Board, was a preparatory body for the parliament established in 1910. It was part of the

New Policies Late Qing reforms (), commonly known as New Policies of the late Qing dynasty (), or New Deal of the late Qing dynasty, simply referred to as New Policies, were a series of cultural, economic, educational, military, diplomatic, and political refo ...

in the late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, of which the Qing court was moving toward the implementation of a constitution. In September 1907, the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China ...

promulgated a decree on the setting up of the Advisory Council, following by the provincial Consultative Bureaus in October. The Advisory Council was established on 6 November 1906, and formally opened on 10 October 1910, after the first

parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

in last October. The council was dissolved on 12 February 1912 along with the end of the Qing dynasty, and was replaced by the Provisional Senate of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

History

After the

Boxer Protocol The Boxer Protocol was a Protocol (diplomacy), diplomatic protocol signed in China's capital Beijing on September 7, 1901, between the Qing dynasty, Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces (including ...

was signed in 1901, the Qing court returned to its capital of

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

eager to reform the realm's governance. In around August 1906, the

declared the start of

preparative constitutionalism Preparative Constitutionalism or Preparatory Constitutionalism (), also known as Preparation of Constitutionalism, refers to attempts by the imperial government of the Qing dynasty of China at implementing top-down constitutional reforms. The Qi ...

after the study by the Constitutionalism Commission on foreign politics. Two months later, Yikuang, Prince Qing, recommended forming an Advisory Council to prepare for the institution of a parliament. On 6 November 1906, the Emperor issued an edict to revamp the governmental institutions, including the establishment of Advisory Council. On 20 September 1907, the Emperor appointed Pulun and Sun Jialun as joint Presidents of the council, and delegated to them the writing of its charter. In August 1908, the electoral system of the Council and the Provincial Assemblies were approved and governors of provinces were asked to hold relevant elections within a year. Half of the Council members were elected by members of the Assemblies, while the other half were appointed by the imperial court. The Council and the Commission further jointly agreed to a nine-year plan for installing constitutionalism. Provincial Assemblies were formed in 1908, with elections of the Assemblies and the

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

to be held a year later. The council was to be convened and formally opened in 1910. The constitution of the state, Parliamentary Law, Parliamentary Election Law, and election of the bicameral members were expected in 1916. By then

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

would have formally replaced absolute monarchy. The elections of the Council and Provincial Assemblies held as laid down in the plan. The bicameral parliament, however, did not come into existence as Qing dynasty was overthrown and Emperor Puyi forced to abdicate in 1912.

Session

The Council convened for the first time on 3 October 1910, with the President declaring it as "the unprecedented grand ceremony" in the Chinese history. All 196 members of the council were divided evenly in 6 divisions, followed by election of division head (股長) and director (理事). The second meeting marked the state opening of the council, attending by the regent and virtually all ministers of the court. Attendants first kowtowed to the throne. The regent then announced the edict and addressed the council. The Council agreed the President and the Vice President to present a humble address to thank His Majesty on behalf of the members. The meeting subsequently ended. A total of 42 meetings were held, 9 of which was after the extension of the council's session. On 18 December, the Council presented humble address (palace memorial) to the court over forming cabinet as responsibilities of Grand Council were unclear, which the court denounced as "interference by councillors" and insisted the court shall decide on matters of such. On 30 December, the Council presented another address to urge ending the policy of Manchu hairstyle and clothing. According to the records of proceedings, the council was closed on 11 January 1911 without the attendance of the regent. The edict was announced and the President kowtowed to the throne, marking the end of the first session of the council. However, the Council continued deliberation. On 25 January 1911, part of the new criminal code was promulgated after adoption by the council. Two days later, the standardised treasury regulation was adopted by the council, along with the 1911 (Xuantong Year 2) budget on the next day. During the Railway Protection protest, the Council passed resolution against government's nationalisation plan, which was in turn rejected. The second session of the Council started on 22 October 1911, days after outbreak of 1911 revolution. The Council recommended sacking of Sheng Xuanhuai as Minister of Mail for "violating rights, breaking laws, deceiving the Emperor", and calling him as the one "damaging the empire the most", which was agreed by the Emperor. Eight days later, the Council called for replacing the cabinet of Princes and to be completely responsible with non-royals as ministers of state, which was agreed by the court. On 3 November,

Nineteen Articles The Nineteen Articles (), officially the Nineteen Major Articles of Good Faith on the Constitution (), also known as the Doctrine of Nineteen Articles and 19 Fundamental Articles, was a constitutional document, and the only constitution of the la ...

were announced by the court after the Council voiced support for constitutional monarchy. The Charter of the council was amended on 20 November. On 27 October, upon recommendation from the council, the court finally repealed ban on Han hairstyle and costume and replaced

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based on the solar year, and lunisolar calendars, whose lunar months are br ...

with

solar calendar A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicates the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar ...

. One of the last acts of the council was the election of

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...

as the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. The council was dissolved upon the end of the Qing dynasty.

Power

According to the Charter of the Council amended on 3 July 1911 –

Article 14 Advisory Council shall decide on matters of – # Financial budgets on income and expenditure of the state; # Final accounts on income and expenditure of the state; # Taxation and public debt; # Legislations and amendments thereof, except constitution; and # Other issues upon directives by extraordinary edicts. Article 15 Motions under subsection 1 to 4 of the aforesaid article shall be drafted and presented by cabinet ministers, and submit to the Council at meetings. Advisory Council, however, can draft and present motions at its initiative for matters under subsection 3 and subsection 4. Article 16 Resolutions on matters particularised in Article 14 by the Advisory Council shall be presented by President or Vice President upon consultation with cabinet ministers for decisions by the Emperor.

Members

Some members resigned during the session and the vacancies were filled according to the precedence list. Supplementary members include: * 不入八分鎮國公載岐 (27 May 1911 appointed) * 三等承恩公瑞興 (27 May 1911 appointed) * 札薩克郡王鞥克濟爾噶勒 (27 May 1911 appointed) * 札薩克輔國公巴彥濟爾噶勒 (27 May 1911 appointed) * 黎湛枝 (22 July 1911 appointed) * 恩華 (22 July 1911 appointed) * 錢承鋕 (22 July 1911 appointed) * 范源濂 (22 July 1911 appointed) * 陳錦濤 (22 July 1911 appointed) * 奉國將軍溥善 (3 October 1911 appointed); 內閣官報 of 1911-10-04 * 一等侯德啟 (3 October 1911 appointed) * 彥惠 (3 October 1911 appointed) * 王季烈 (3 October 1911 appointed) * 程明超 (3 October 1911 appointed)

Gallery

File:Zizhengyuan.jpg, The inaugural meeting of the Advisory Council on 3 October 1910. File:Zizhengyuan2.jpg, The Advisory Council building

References

Sources

* {{Qing dynasty topics Government of the Qing dynasty Historical legislatures in China Defunct unicameral legislatures 1910 establishments in China 1912 disestablishments in China