In 1903, Liang traveled the world, visiting Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Canada and most importantly, the United States. Liang criss-crossed the country, spoke to President Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan, and visited San Francisco and New York’s Chinatowns.

Liang’s trip led him to several important epiphanies about China’s struggles, concluding that Chinese people were not suited for the freedom of a Western political system.

We
 can
 only
 accept
 despotism
 and
 cannot
 enjoy
 freedom…
When
 I
 look
 at
 the
 societies 
of 
the 
world, 
none 
is 
so 
disorderly 
as 
the 
Chinese 
community 
in 
San 
Francisco. 
Why?
 The
 answer
 is
 freedom. 
The
 character
 of
 the 
Chinese 
in 
China 
is
 not
 superior
 to
 those
 of
 San
 Francisco,
 but
 at
 home
 they
 are
 governed
 by
 officials
 and
 restrained
 by
 fathers
 and
 elder
 brothers…Now,
 freedom,
 constitutionalism, 
and 
republicanism 
mean 
government 
by 
the 
majority,
 but
 the overwhelming
 majority
 of
 the
 Chinese
 people
 are 
like
 [those
 of
 San
 Francisco].
 If
 we
 were
 to
 adopt
 a
 democratic
 system
 of
 government
 now,
 it
 would
 be
 nothing
 less
 than committing
 national
 suicide.
…
To
 put 
it 
in 
a 
word,
 the 
Chinese 
people
 of
 today
 can
 only
 be
 governed
 autocratically.
…

More translated excerpts from Liang’s “Observations” on his American trip are available from Columbia University’s Asia for Educators project.

Liang’s political leanings lacked consistency, drifting from his brief flirtations with Sun Yat-sen’s Republicans, to musings on Democracy, to calls for “enlightened despotism.” His opportunity to put his theories to the test was finally approaching, however. With Cixi’s death in 1908 and the Qing Dynasty crumbling, Liang Qichao became eager to take the reins in China himself.

San Francisco Chinatown, 1898