ABSTRACT
Editors' Introduction: This early essay by Yan is a stark call for reform and democratization of China's political system through elections, "checks and balances," and the separation of power. While Yan's references to the abuses characteristic of autocracy in China are all taken from premodern times, his readers were well aware that the same flaws were also found in the People's Republic of China. Yan's concluding paragraphs make clear the connection between the imperial system and the Maoist system. By expressing his admiration for the establishment of democracy in the West, which he calls "an epoch making achievement in human history," Yan makes obvious his belief that China should borrow institutional arrangements from the West.
