# The First Chinese Constitutionalist: Huang Zongxi

**URL:** <https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/portraits-of-liberty/the-first-chinese-constitutionalist-huang-zongxi>

**By** Paul Meany

**Published:** May 6, 2021

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Huang Zongxi living in the chaos of 17th-century China was one of the first Chinese thinkers to argue for constitutionalism as a method of limiting state power.

## Summary:

After the death of his father and the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Huang Zongxi began to contemplate how things had collapsed. He began to think that governments were the problem. Those in power only served themselves. Huang proposed his solution to the chaos in his book Waiting for the Dawn, where he argued for a government that served the people and protected property. The government's power would be limited and kept in check to prevent tyranny from arising.

### Mentions:

Guzheng City by Kevin MacLeod  
Link: [https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7523-guzheng-city](https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7523-guzheng-city)  
License: [https://filmmusic.io/standard-license](https://filmmusic.io/standard-license)  
  
Senbazuru by Kevin MacLeod  
Link: [https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4334-senbazuru](https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4334-senbazuru)  
License: [https://filmmusic.io/standard-license](https://filmmusic.io/standard-license)  
  
Division by Kevin MacLeod  
Link: [https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3665-division](https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3665-division)  
License: [https://filmmusic.io/standard-license](https://filmmusic.io/standard-license)  
  
Kalimba Relaxation Music by Kevin MacLeod  
Link: [https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5711-kalimba-relaxation-music](https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5711-kalimba-relaxation-music)  
License: [https://filmmusic.io/standard-license](https://filmmusic.io/standard-license)  
  
Heart of Nowhere by Kevin MacLeod  
Link: [https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3861-heart-of-nowhere](https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3861-heart-of-nowhere)  
License: [https://filmmusic.io/standard-license](https://filmmusic.io/standard-license)  
  
Ripples by Kevin MacLeod  
Link: [https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4287-ripples](https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4287-ripples)  
License: [https://filmmusic.io/standard-license](https://filmmusic.io/standard-license)  
  
Long Road Ahead B by Kevin MacLeod  
Link: [https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3995-long-road-ahead-b](https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3995-long-road-ahead-b)  
License: [https://filmmusic.io/standard-license](https://filmmusic.io/standard-license)