AHC: British Empire controls all non-European territory

[RogueTraderEnthusiast]

There is a basic distinction made between 私 si, 'private' or 'unofficial,' and 公 gong, 'public' or 'official.' In late imperial political theory it was not considered desirable that si elements should be overly powerful (note that si also means 'selfish'), which goes against the idea of representative Parliamentary democracy. On the other hand, there are similar concepts in work in Europe (e.g. in 1821 a British writer argued that universal suffrage led to "violent opinions and servile dependence"), while the City Council in Chinese Shanghai in the final decade of the Qing (dominated by gentry and gentry-merchants) and the role of the gentry as representatives of local opinion throughout late imperial China show that some form of popular representation was not impossible in a Confucian setting. But if there is a Parliament, it will have to be a Parliament made for and by the gentry.

Which brings us to the composition of the Chinese gentry. The Chinese gentry was not generally hereditary (few things were hereditary in China compared to Early Modern Europe). Rather, you could not claim to be a true gentryman without having passed at least the lowest level of civil service examinations, even if you were the richest man in town. Conversely, there were many impoverished gentrymen who were, nevertheless, part of the gentry because they had passed the examinations. So if the British want a Parliament and if they want Chinese support, they will have to continue the civil service examinations (or create another way of qualifying members of the gentry, but why would they bother?) But if the examinations are being run anyways, why not just follow Chinese precedent and use their graduates to staff the Chinese government? Why have a Parliament, which will just make exploitation harder and bring little tangible benefits?

As much as it might seem.... unusual compared to the Westminister Parliament - you could have a "Parliament" that is only made of those who have taken the exam, and totally un-elected. Add in a Governor-General that has to have taken the exams to a moderate level, with Veto power as a representative of the crown, and some of the roles as Speaker of the House, and then Parliament convenes not to vote - but instead as a open floor to petition the Prime Minister (and by extension the GG and Emperor) - to emphasize chén" and lián (for those who aren't glued to wikipedia, Honesty, and "Honesty and Cleanness") - The Prime Minister can then use the voting mechanism in Parliament rarely - when he doesn't want to take sides. So I suppose rather than a "Representative Democracy", it would a "Democracy of the Representatives".

Nah, they'll (probably rightfully) blame incompetent/malevolent individuals and/or the English rulers. Said principles did capably support the world's oldest civilization for more than two millenniums, and what ideology has nothing going wrong when it is applied?

Well, I meant more that would be a basic pattern for Propaganda. I fully expect there would be British Democrats, who outraged with the system I have described above, who would try and push for a true Parliament in China, the more successful trying to use Confucian Principles against the members of Parliament. If it succeeded, I'd expect to see a slow and steady move to local election of an examined official (of sufficient tier), to the increased importance of the voting mechanism, to the eventual rise of Party system. But I can't see it being a rapid shift, or it being unopposed by the Crown and Chinese Parliament.