王局拍案|戈尔巴乔夫,最成功的失败者。威权社会转型的风险在哪,为什么苏联会解体,而中国的改革有为什么会“成功”?20220831

王局拍案
31 Aug 202219:58

Summary

TLDR视频中讨论了戈尔巴乔夫的生平及其对中国社会的影响。戈尔巴乔夫以其改革思想和新思维而闻名,对中国改革开放时期产生了深远影响。1989年访华时,他与邓小平的会晤标志着中苏关系正常化。然而,戈尔巴乔夫的改革最终未能实现其预期目标,反而导致了苏联解体,他本人也失去了权力。视频还比较了中苏两国改革策略的不同,指出中国选择先进行经济改革是明智之举,而戈尔巴乔夫的激进改革策略则是苏联解体的原因之一。

Takeaways

  • 😀戈尔巴乔夫去世,他的改革和新思维在中国影响深远。
  • 😀戈尔巴乔夫认为社会主义系统和集体农场系统无效,并提出人道主义超越意识形态斗争。
  • 😀中国改革开放时,戈尔巴乔夫的书《改革与新思维》在中国非常受欢迎。
  • 😀戈尔巴乔夫1989年访问中国,改善了中苏关系。
  • 😀中苏关系因为毛泽东和赫鲁晓夫的竞争而恶化,但在邓小平和戈尔巴乔夫的推动下得以改善。
  • 😀1989年戈尔巴乔夫访华期间,天安门广场上仍有学生游行。
  • 😀1991年苏联解体,戈尔巴乔夫在克里米亚被保守派软禁。
  • 😀戈尔巴乔夫未能实现他的改革目标,但他终结了冷战。
  • 😀戈尔巴乔夫的改革在国内外引发了巨大变化,但导致了苏联解体。
  • 😀戈尔巴乔夫的改革与晚清的宪政改革相似,最终导致了政权的崩溃。
  • 😀中国从苏联解体中吸取教训,选择经济改革而非政治改革。
  • 😀中国共产党通过经济改革和维护执政合法性,避免了苏联的命运。
  • 😀戈尔巴乔夫在西方被视为结束冷战的英雄,但在俄罗斯被视为失败者。

Q & A

  • 戈尔巴乔夫的去世对中国年轻一代有何意义?

    -戈尔巴乔夫的去世让中国年轻一代回忆起改革开放时期,他的书籍《改革与新思维》在中国广受欢迎,影响了中国社会的思想解放运动。

  • 戈尔巴乔夫对中国改革开放有何影响?

    -戈尔巴乔夫的改革思想和实践对中国改革开放产生了重要影响,他的书《改革与新思维》成为中国改革的借鉴之一。

  • 1989年戈尔巴乔夫访华的背景是什么?

    -1989年戈尔巴乔夫访华是在中苏关系长期对立后,双方均有改善关系的需要,特别是邓小平希望改善与苏联的关系,为中国经济建设创造和平环境。

  • 戈尔巴乔夫如何看待中苏历史上的领土争端和意识形态争论?

    -在1989年的会晤中,戈尔巴乔夫和邓小平都表示,过去在领土争端和意识形态争论中的一些言论并不完全正确,显示了双方对历史的反思和和解的意愿。

  • 如何评价戈尔巴乔夫在苏联解体中的作用?

    -戈尔巴乔夫在苏联解体中起到了关键作用,他的改革措施虽然未能实现其预期目标,但最终导致了苏联的解体和冷战的结束。

  • 戈尔巴乔夫为何被称为“最成功的失败者”?

    -戈尔巴乔夫被称为“最成功的失败者”,因为他成功结束了冷战,促进了世界和平,但同时也导致了苏联的解体和自己政治生涯的结束。

  • 戈尔巴乔夫的改革为何未能实现其预期目标?

    -戈尔巴乔夫的改革过于激进,未能平衡好改革与政权合法性的关系,最终损害了自己的合法性,导致苏联解体。

  • 中国和苏联的改革策略有何不同?

    -中国选择了先进行经济改革,而苏联则选择了先进行政治改革。中国的改革策略更为稳定和渐进,使得社会各界都能从中受益。

  • 中国共产党如何看待苏联的崩溃?

    -中国共产党对苏联的崩溃感到震惊,并认为苏联的政治改革是导致崩溃的原因,因此中国在改革中更加谨慎,特别是对政治改革。

  • 戈尔巴乔夫的去世对中国有何启示?

    -戈尔巴乔夫的去世提醒中国在改革过程中要平衡好改革的深度与广度,处理好改革与政权合法性的关系,避免激进改革带来的不稳定。

  • 戈尔巴乔夫的改革对中国改革开放有哪些借鉴意义?

    -戈尔巴乔夫的改革经验提醒中国在改革开放中要注重改革的顺序和步骤,避免因改革过急而导致的社会动荡。

Outlines

00:00

📚戈尔巴乔夫对中国改革的影响

昨天晚上,我和大学同学聊到很晚,今天早上醒来看到戈尔巴乔夫去世的消息。戈尔巴乔夫在我们这一代人中印象深刻,因为他在改革开放时期写了一本在中国非常受欢迎的书,叫《改革与新思维》。戈尔巴乔夫认为社会主义体系无法奏效,并提出人道主义超越意识形态的斗争,这对当时中国的思想解放运动产生了巨大影响。他1989年访华时,与邓小平会面,解冻了中苏关系,给我们留下深刻印象。

05:01

🪖苏联解体与戈尔巴乔夫的角色

1989年,戈尔巴乔夫访问中国,见证了天安门广场的学生游行。1991年苏联解体时,我大学毕业,戈尔巴乔夫在克里米亚度假时被保守派软禁,但拒绝签署辞职令。叶利钦在这期间崭露头角,站在坦克上向市民和士兵讲话,士兵们放下武器,行动委员会的计划破产。12月25日,戈尔巴乔夫签署了解散苏联的命令,苏联旗帜被降下,叶利钦在克里姆林宫庆祝。

10:02

💡戈尔巴乔夫改革的失败原因

戈尔巴乔夫改革失败的原因在于他试图将权力下放,放弃计划经济,开放政治,但这些措施最终削弱了自身的合法性。对比中国,清朝在鸦片战争后改革失败,而戈尔巴乔夫的改革在苏联解体时也同样失败。专制社会向开放社会过渡的过程极其危险,需要高超的政治策略。

15:04

🔍中国对苏联解体的反思

苏联解体对中国产生了巨大影响。中国共产党认为苏联的政治改革导致了解体,因此选择专注于经济改革,并通过科学发展观和三个代表等理论重建合法性。相比之下,苏联的改革过于激进,导致了社会动荡和最终的失败。戈尔巴乔夫被认为是历史上最成功的失败者,他的改革虽然结束了冷战,但未能达到预期目标,最终失去了权力。

Mindmap

Keywords

💡戈尔巴乔夫

戈尔巴乔夫是前苏联的领导人,视频中提到他去世的消息,以及他在改革和新思维方面的贡献。他在中国的改革开放时期有着深刻的影响,特别是他的书籍《改革与新思维》在中国广受欢迎,这与视频的主题紧密相关。

💡改革开放

改革开放是中国在1978年开始实施的一系列经济和政治改革政策,视频中提到这一时期中国与苏联的改革相互影响,特别是戈尔巴乔夫的改革思想对中国产生了深远的影响。

💡意识形态

意识形态指的是一套具有指导意义的思想或信仰体系。视频中提到戈尔巴乔夫重新审视社会主义制度,提出人道主义超越意识形态的冲突,这表明意识形态在政治改革中的重要性及其转变。

💡铁幕

铁幕是指冷战时期将资本主义国家与社会主义国家分隔开的政治、军事和意识形态屏障。视频中提到戈尔巴乔夫成功结束了铁幕,结束了两大阵营的对立,这是他作为改革者的重要成就。

💡苏联解体

苏联解体是指1991年苏联的正式解体,标志着冷战的结束。视频中提到戈尔巴乔夫在苏联解体过程中的角色,以及这一事件对世界历史的重大影响。

💡改革

改革指的是对现有制度或政策进行的变革或改进。视频中多次提到戈尔巴乔夫的改革尝试,包括政治、经济和社会领域的改革,这些改革最终导致了苏联的解体。

💡新思维

新思维是戈尔巴乔夫提出的政治理念,主张更新对社会主义制度的认识,推动改革。视频中提到《改革与新思维》这本书,体现了戈尔巴乔夫改革思想的核心。

💡人道主义

人道主义是一种强调人的价值和尊严的思想体系,主张超越意识形态的分歧。视频中提到戈尔巴乔夫认为人道主义可以超越意识形态的冲突,体现了他对和平与共存的追求。

💡合法性危机

合法性危机指的是政府或政权在公众心目中的正当性受到质疑的情况。视频中提到,戈尔巴乔夫的改革导致了苏联的合法性危机,最终影响了其政权的稳定性。

💡经济改革

经济改革是指对国家经济体制进行的结构性或政策性调整。视频中提到中国选择了先进行经济改革,而苏联则选择了先进行政治改革,这两种不同的改革策略对两国的发展产生了不同的影响。

💡政治改革

政治改革是指对国家政治体制或政策进行的变革。视频中提到苏联的政治改革过于激进,导致了国家的不稳定,而中国则采取了更为谨慎的态度,优先考虑经济改革。

Highlights

昨晚与大学同学聊天晚睡,今早醒来得知戈尔巴乔夫去世的消息。

戈尔巴乔夫对中国80年代改革和思想解放运动有深远影响。

戈尔巴乔夫的《改革与新思维》一书在中国广受欢迎。

戈尔巴乔夫认为社会主义制度和集体农庄制度不可行。

戈尔巴乔夫提出人道主义超越意识形态之争。

戈尔巴乔夫1989年访华,中苏关系开始正常化。

戈尔巴乔夫与邓小平的会晤,标志着中苏关系的新篇章。

1991年苏联解体,戈尔巴乔夫签署了解散苏联的命令。

戈尔巴乔夫被评价为最成功的失败者。

戈尔巴乔夫成功结束了两大阵营的敌对状态,结束了铁幕。

戈尔巴乔夫的改革未能实现其预期目标,导致苏联解体。

改革过程中的自我否定可能导致政权合法性的丧失。

晚清改革的失败与政权合法性危机有关。

戈尔巴乔夫的改革过于激进,采取了突然的方式。

中国共产党选择先进行经济改革,而非政治改革。

中国共产党在改革中更加注重证明其执政合法性。

戈尔巴乔夫去世后成为历史人物,人们对他的评价各异。

Transcripts

play00:01

Last night I chatted with my college friends and slept late

play00:05

This morning I woke up and saw that Gorbachev had passed away

play00:08

Gorbachev, this guy

play00:09

Our generation has a deeper impression of him

play00:12

We went to university just in time for the reform and opening up

play00:14

The era of the fierce intellectual liberation movement

play00:17

At the time, Gorbachev had a book that was popular in China

play00:21

The name of the book is Reform and New Thinking

play00:24

This book was actually written after Gorbachev came to power

play00:27

He believed his understanding toward the communist system

play00:30

system of socialist communism

play00:31

To renew awareness

play00:33

To put it bluntly, the socialist system is not going to work

play00:35

collective farm system, the public ownership system does not work

play00:39

Add to that his ideological strife between the two camps

play00:43

Also re-examined

play00:45

He then brought up

play00:46

Humanitarianism actually transcends ideological strife

play00:49

Why does this book have a great impact on Chinese society?

play00:52

Because of a very important reason

play00:54

It was when China was also engaged in reform and opening up

play00:56

Then the Soviet Union, as the big brother of the socialist camp

play00:59

Although it does not have a good relationship with China

play01:01

But its re-evaluating the socialist system

play01:05

It also became the era of the ideological liberation movement in China

play01:09

A lot of people draw over

play01:12

As a very important reason to learn from

play01:17

You think that the Soviet Union was the first country to develop socialism

play01:20

It is also the leading brother of the socialist camp

play01:23

big brother are rethinking the public system

play01:26

Rethinking the socialist system now

play01:28

Then as other countries you have what reason not to change it?

play01:30

So this is a very impressive thing

play01:34

The second thing

play01:34

It was then in 1989 when Gorbachev visited China

play01:40

Because we all know that Sino-Soviet relations used to

play01:43

There have been decades of antipathy

play01:45

The first is a comrade plus brothers and then turned against each other

play01:49

The reason is because Mao and that Khrushchev

play01:52

Trying to compete for the big brother of the socialist camp

play01:54

Later, after the unsuccessful competition, China and the Soviet Union turned against each other

play01:58

China then published a nine-commentary article in the People's Daily

play02:01

Commenting on the Soviet view that the Soviet Union was engaging in revisionism

play02:03

No more socialism

play02:05

So the whole communist camp was thus split

play02:08

Splitting into parts, one was following the Soviet Union

play02:10

one was following China

play02:13

But later, after Deng Xiaoping came to power

play02:16

including later changes in the political situation in the Soviet Union

play02:19

In fact, both China and the Soviet Union have such a need to improve the relationship between the two parties

play02:25

Before Brezhnev's death

play02:27

It is also said to have written a letter to the Chinese Communist Party

play02:30

Just hope to improve the relationship

play02:33

This is especially true after Deng Xiaoping came to power

play02:35

After Deng Xiaoping came to power, he not only established diplomatic relations with the United States

play02:37

At the same time, he wanted to make good relations with the Soviet Union

play02:40

Why though?

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Because at that time the Soviet Union had millions of troops on the northern border of China

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It's the Sino-Mongolian border and the Sino-Soviet border

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This is a real and very big threat to China

play02:50

And China wants to build its economy

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To build the economy, you need a peaceful environment

play02:55

So Deng Xiaoping very much hope to be able to defrost this relationship with the Soviet Union

play02:59

At this time, the conditions are actually in place

play03:01

Because Mao has actually been dead for many years, right?

play03:05

That personal grudge is no longer there

play03:07

Another very important point

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It's the two countries, China and the Soviet Union, that have given up

play03:12

Ideology-centered diplomatic thinking

play03:15

After Deng Xiaoping came to power in China

play03:16

It's starting to go the way of pragmatism, isn't it?

play03:19

The Soviet Union also abandoned the past after Gorbachev came to power

play03:23

That ideology-centered diplomatic thinking

play03:25

So it was under these circumstances that on May 16, 1989

play03:29

Gorbachev's visit to China on May 15

play03:31

The two sides met on May 16th at the Great Hall of the People

play03:34

At that time, Tiananmen Square was still full of students marching

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Meeting between Gorbachev and Deng Xiaoping in Tiananmen Square

play03:43

In the process of this meeting Deng Xiaoping is actually quite smart

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On the one hand, he said

play03:47

Soviet Union has occupied so much territory in China throughout history

play03:51

And then later on the Sino-Soviet debate

play03:53

In fact, he later euphemistically said

play03:55

He said that we now look at what was said during the debate back then

play03:59

We don't think it's all right now either

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It is also a disguised admission

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The spirited diplomatic rhetoric of the time was itself wrong

play04:07

Gorbachev also said

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He said we also thought the things we said at the time

play04:11

was not always right

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That's why China and the Soviet Union have a nearly 30-year-long feud

play04:18

Just because Deng Xiaoping and Gorbachev met each other, they have no grudge

play04:22

So we were particularly impressed by this

play04:24

especially on 1989

play04:26

The third impression is the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991

play04:30

I was graduating from college that year.

play04:33

At the time of the August 19 coup d'état

play04:34

At that time Gorbachev went on vacation to Crimea

play04:37

It's the same place that Ukraine and Russia are fighting over now

play04:40

As a result, the conservative wing of the party held him down and put him under house arrest

play04:44

Then it was announced that Gorbachev was dismissed from his post

play04:47

Gorbachev was quite tough at the time and refused to sign

play04:50

Then the Western society supported Gorbachev

play04:52

It was in the middle of the "August 19 Incident" that Yeltsin rose to prominence

play04:57

That so-called action committee at the time

play05:00

Then they sent troops into Moscow and tried to surround the Kremlin

play05:04

As a result, Yeltsin stood on a tank and told the citizens of Moscow

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And these soldiers, giving speeches

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After a speech the soldiers put down their weapons by themselves

play05:16

refused to carry out these so-called action committee orders

play05:20

The whole affair was aborted, and it went bankrupt

play05:23

Then Gorbachev was released back into office

play05:27

But not long after, on December 25 of that year

play05:30

Gorbachev also signed an order for the dissolution of the Soviet Union

play05:36

The antecedent, of course, was because Yeltsin had met

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The heads of those three countries of Belarus and Ukraine

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They signed themselves up to form a Commonwealth of Independent States

play05:45

Then he declared himself that the Soviet Union no longer existed

play05:47

Gorbachev amounted to an admission of this reality

play05:50

On December 25, I still remember that the TV

play05:53

After he signed it

play05:55

That's an Associated Press reporter

play05:56

Or which reporter, just took his pen away

play05:58

After taking it away, he told others

play06:00

It was this pen that announced the end of the Soviet Union

play06:05

Gorbachev's own memories

play06:07

It was on December 25 that he signed this resolution

play06:11

He hasn't finished signing

play06:12

Then the Soviet flag has been lowered

play06:14

When he got back to the Kremlin, he said it was so quick!

play06:18

Then the next day

play06:19

He made another trip to the Kremlin

play06:21

When he went there he saw this Yeltsin with some of his buddies

play06:24

drinking whiskey in that room, with a special pleasure

play06:28

Gorbachev says, this scoundrel

play06:30

Gorbachev he thinks Yeltsin stole his power

play06:35

how to evaluate Gorbachev as a person?

play06:38

Personally, I think Gorbachev was the most successful loser

play06:43

Why he is the most successful loser

play06:45

First of all, success

play06:46

That's because he succeeded in ending the hostility between the two camps

play06:51

The Iron Curtain has ended

play06:52

What is Iron Curtain

play06:53

It was the year when the society

play06:55

The world is divided into the socialist camp and the capitalist camp

play06:58

These two camps are the relationship between Death and Life

play07:01

Ideologically, they are incompatible

play07:04

You want to destroy me, I want to destroy you

play07:06

This is no possibility of peaceful coexistence

play07:09

Only this war when to fight, do not know

play07:12

So both sides are engaged in an arms race

play07:14

pulled a bunch of their own country and started messing

play07:17

On the Soviet side, the socialist camp is the Soviet Union headed by

play07:22

People who did not live in that era may find it difficult to appreciate

play07:25

The shadow of that era for every ordinary person

play07:28

It's because at that time everyone knew

play07:30

World War III will have to be fought sooner or later

play07:32

And if we're going to fight, we'll probably still have nuclear weapons at the core

play07:36

Then you need to know

play07:37

The nuclear weapons of the United States and the Soviet Union at the time

play07:39

Can destroy the world dozens of times

play07:41

Then think about if there is a world war

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Every ordinary person that fate can be imagined

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So no one knows how this iron curtain ends when

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Gorbachev appeared

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This Gorbachev on the one hand to the internal

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He began to deny the planned economic system of the past

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Externally he began to reconcile with the West

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Then include the socialist camp

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He used to control the internal affairs of all these countries

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Any country do not obey, he'll just send troops over

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Arrest your leaders and shoot them

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But then we all know

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Gorbachev did not intervene when the Berlin Wall came down

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He announced the recognition of the reunification of the two Germanies

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Honestly, he could have intervened

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If he said that sending Soviet troops to East Germany

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suppression of that action in East Germany at that time

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In fact, there is no problem, the two Germans have not yet been able to unify

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But Gorbachev at a critical time

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gave up on him to intervene in the process of German unification

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It should be said that the Germans are very grateful to Gorbachev

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Also includes many countries in Eastern Europe

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thanks a lot to Gorbachev

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He made such a move at a critical time in history

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The historical status is very high

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But on the other hand, why is he a loser?

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He was the one who ended the Iron Curtain, including the collapse of the Soviet Union

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Not in the intended target of his reform

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After he stepped down

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I remember it was around '05 or '12

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Because he has given many media interviews since he stepped down

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The media reporters then asked him

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Say your goal of reform, your goal of that new thinking

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Is it going to end the Soviet Union?

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Because until today

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In fact, in the territory of Russia

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Also includes the territory of some countries of the former Soviet Union

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Many people still hold a grudge over the collapse of the Soviet Union

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That's why many Russians think

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Gorbachev is a sinner of Russia

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Gorbachev himself thought he said no

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His own words

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He said the purpose of my reform was simply to

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Give localities some more power

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And do not want to honestly start to dismantle the Soviet Union

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That means he admitted it himself

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the collapse of the Soviet Union that was not the goal of his reforms

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Then that includes losing power himself

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(became)Soviet President for about a year

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He'll be finished, the Soviet Union will be gone

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And he's out of a job, right?

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I don't think these are within the scope of his intended goals

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So I think he's a loser.

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is a failed successor

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Then the next question

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We then want to discuss the reforms in the former Soviet Union

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That's why Gorbachev's reforms failed

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In fact, if you look at many of Gorbachev's reforms

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A lot of it is true from an ideological point of view

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In the case of many third parties, for example, he engages in publicity

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communists engage in publicity

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In the past you were all about small circle politics

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You don't let people see it in your decision making process either, do you?

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Democratize and open up the party ban

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He declared before his first election as President of the Soviet Union

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The whole society is free to form political parties and associations

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Then began to deny the planned economy

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These are very sound policies

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Why did it ultimately lead to his own loss of power?

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Why it led to the collapse of the entire Soviet Union

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So I think this is an issue that deserves special consideration

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My point is an authoritarian society

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In the process of transition to an open society

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It is the most dangerous time in this society

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see North Korea today

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This North Korean Kim family dynasty has actually been in business for 70 to 80 years

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Very stable, if there are no outside factors

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Let's say there's another war in Korea

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Or a U.S. military strike against it

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this society can actually always be maintained

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There are three generations of Kim, there may be eight generations of Kim, ten generations of Kim are no problem

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it is stable enough

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Because it is the stabilization system in the middle of that system

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Because no one else within it can challenge its rights

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So when is the danger

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That is, if North Korea is reforming and opening up

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Let's say it starts to open up

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People in North Korea can hear South Korea-South Korea radio stations

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Watch Korean TV

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Knowing that in the world

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They do not live as happy as they used to think

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That's dangerous

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Why do we say that?

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because in the process of authoritarian societies transition to open societies

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Means denial of oneself

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Why do you want to reform

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Reform is because you're not doing it right

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Then you are in the process of denying yourself

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Can still maintain the stability of this society

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In fact, it is a technical work, the difficulty is very high

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In my opinion, the collapse of the Soviet Union was also Gorbachev's reform

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In large part because of this reason

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It is because his reforms eventually hurt his own legitimacy

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I can also give you an example from China

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It is the last 10 years of the late Qing Dynasty

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In fact, if you look at it from a post-apocalyptic perspective, the reform is very serious

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Many measures done very well

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There are even many initiatives

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From the perspective of China today, it is still considered to be very good

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We all know that the Qing Dynasty

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Since 1840, after the Opium War with the British

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The first time it was beaten by the British, it was actually not touched by anything

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Later, after the British and French allied forces burned down the Yuanmingyuan

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Start of the foreign affairs movement

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The foreign affairs movement has been engaged in 30 years

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"Chinese essence and Western utility"

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This has been done for 30 years

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Finally, because of a naval battle in the Sino-Japanese War, the Beiyang Navy was wiped out

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Eventually, the nation's intellectuals

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The two sides of the court and the opposition have jointly formed a perception

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It's just not possible to make technical level changes

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The system of this country must be touched

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So after the Sino-Japanese War

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At that time the Qing dynasty sent five ministers to the Western countries to study

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The first stop at that time was in Japan

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Liang Qichao was in exile in Japan

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He was the most wanted man of the Qing Dynasty

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Then Liang Qichao wrote a memo to the five ministers

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Help them write their memorials and introduce them to the Japanese constitutional system

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Quite an interesting part of the story

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After the five ministers returned from their visit

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The Qing dynasty then began to promote constitutional reform in the true sense of the word

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Constitutional reforms such as the abolition of the imperial examination system in the education system

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Began construction of a modern, new-style school

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You learned well after the new-style school

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The government can also award you officers directly

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Secondly, the army has abolished the Green Standard Army of the past

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That so-called professional soldiers hereditary soldiers, to start training the new army

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Training the new army according to the modern military system

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Then the official system follows the entire modern hierarchical system

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Formation of a new official system

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Abolition of the past six ministries

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This was at the time of the 1905 meeting of the Bing Wu Guan Zhi government reform

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In the place where we have the back lake of Peking University today

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Then the formation of the Council was started immediately afterwards.

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The Council is the predecessor of the Parliament

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To prepare for the transition to a parliamentary system

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Then form a cabinet

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This series of reforms from a later date

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I think it's really well done and very serious

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Very well done indeed

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But why did the Qing dynasty still end up

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died when it was most serious about reform

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And because of an extremely fortuitous factor

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Several low-ranking soldiers mutinied and the Wuchang Uprising

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And it's finished

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I studied constitutional reform in the late Qing Dynasty as part of my master's degree

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And my conclusion was

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The Qing dynasty lost its reigning legitimacy

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When a ruler has a crisis of reigning legitimacy

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It doesn’t matter anymore, even if he did an excellent job of ruling the country.

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Think about the slogan proposed by Sun Yat-sen at the time

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It was “Expel the Tartars and restore China.”

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Because he believed the ruling of Manchu over Han Chinese

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was the reason for the series of failures and humiliation in modern Chinese history.

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It is an extremely ridiculous slogan from a historical point of view,

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While it was pretty inflammatory at the time.

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A simple slogan like this one usually works better to reach people and unite them together.

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At the same time, the Qing Dynasty lost its opportunities to reform before the first Sino-Japanese War (1894-95)

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Therefore, people from various levels of the society,

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from Han Chinese intellectuals to low-level soldiers and oversea students in Japan

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all believed that overthrowing Qing Dynasty would bring prosperity to China.

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It was just this simple.

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Sometimes, revolution doesn’t need sense but sensibility.

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In my opinion, the most challenging problem for a government,

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especially an authoritarian government,

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during its reform is how to deal with the relationship between

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the self-denied reform policy and reigning legitimacy.

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It requires the best political strategy.

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I would like to elaborate on this point.

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The demise of the Soviet Union had a great impact on China

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As we know, the Communist Party of China was shocked

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by the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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The CPC concluded that the result of the political reform

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of the Soviet Union was the collapse itself.

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The communist party of the Soviet Union didn’t even exist anymore.

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The campaign of Opposing Peaceful Evolution around the time

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was the result of CPC’s reflection on the Soviet Union.

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The CPC was shocked again when the Nationalist Party

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lost the democratic election in Taiwan in 2000.

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It indicated that the democratic process would lead to the loss of power.

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These two incidents significantly impacted the choice of strategy for reform in China.

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The CPC chose to carry on economic reform.

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This is a difference between China and the Soviet Union in the choice of the reform strategy.

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I think it is one of the mistakes of the Soviet Union.

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They chose to start political reform before economic reform,

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which means the country and its people experienced the turbulence of political reform

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before benefiting from the economic reform.

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In retrospect, it is not a good strategy for sure.

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Secondly, the reform of the Soviet Union was too radical

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They chose to take a sudden approach rather than an incremental one.

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While the CPC had a more stable approach, which was to reform the economy first.

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And almost everyone from every level of society benefited from it.

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We must admit that the whole society benefited from the oping-up and reform of China.

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Some people may get more; some people may get less,

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But everybody shared the interest.

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And at the same time

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You should be aware that the CPC put a lot of effort into proving its reigning legitimacy.

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For Examples, the so-called Early Stages of Socialism,

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the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Three Represents

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To put it bluntly, there are all attempts to recreate the reigning legitimacy of CPC

play18:29

after abandoning the communist ideology.

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The CPC is much wiser than the CPSU on this.

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Furthermore, the CPC realized that political reform should be taken very carefully.

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The CPSU and the Nationalist Party had set an example.

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As a result, the CPC has been pushing forward economic reform

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while the space for political reform has become tighter and tighter.

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At last, Gorbachev became a historical figure after he passed away.

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People may have different opinions about him.

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My evaluation of him is what I said today; he is the most successful loser.

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Ok, this is it for today

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Thank you for watching.

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English subtitles: Zecheng and 大海

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