Abstract: On February 12,1912,the Qing emperor issued a series of imperial edicts to arrange his abdication, to confer the transfer of sovereignty from the emperorship to the new republic, and to grant Yuan Shikai the full power to organize a provisional republican government. These imperial edicts demonstrated that Republic of China inherited the whole territory of the Qing empire and they played a significant role in constructing a multi-national“Chinese nationality.” But these edicts and the following unification of the North and the South failed to build a solid foundation for republican politics and even caused controversy over legitimacy in the early Republic period. Thus, it can hardly be successful to find a constitutionalism tradition in China like the one originated from the British“glorious revolution”

摘要： 1912年2月12日,清帝发布逊位诏书,确认统治权完整地从皇帝转移到民国,建立"五族共和",并委任袁世凯"全权组织临时共和政府"。本文认为,这一系列诏书确认了民国对于清朝全部疆域的完整继承,对于建构由多民族构成的"中华民族"具有重要意义。但这一系列诏书与接下来的南北融合并没有为新生的共和政治奠定坚实基础,却为民初"正统性"争论埋下了伏笔。试图说明一个中国式"光荣革命"宪政传统做法并不能取得成功。