關於「人民是否需要具備某些條件才能擁有自由」之議題，是中國與世界其他民主國家進入近代政治體制之後，不能迴避的現實難題。觀察晚清時期張君勱對此問題之探索，可以發現他於1907年從原本接受約翰．彌爾認為「人民程度」與自由的獲取（透過議會召開的方式）密切相關的主張， 轉而放棄此二者之關聯， 並改以陽明心學中「心即理」與「天人合一」的思想模式來強調政黨精英「振發、代表」人民反抗專制之心所能產生的作用。藉由闡述張君勱此一思想轉折，並與彌爾思想及其所從出之英國社會文化思想脈絡相較，本文指出，此時張君勱除了不再接受西方文明國家對於人類進化所設定的西方中心標準外，他並援用傳統心學中消減精英／一般人民之間界線的思想特徵，同時回應了彌爾的自由思想無法踐行於中國的情況，及當時中國追求議會政制改革所面臨的困難。此一轉變既有著傳統特徵，又極富現代意義，揭示了晚清中國知識分子在思考西學東漸、國家存亡問題時所展現的主體性與開放性。而陽明心學在張君勱的重釋下，有別於過往學者對其修身工夫之著重、對它可能導致集體主義後果之擔憂，顯示了心學內涵成為中國自由主義發展資源的可能性。

One of the central issues in modern politics is whether a people who have not attained a basic level of competency should have the right to political freedom. This paper examines how the philosopher and public intellectual Zhang Junmai (also known as Carson Chang) struggled with this question. It is found that in 1907 Zhang abandoned J. S. Mill’s idea of a positive correlation between people’s competence and their acquisition of freedom, and later on turned instead to the Neo-Confucian philosopher Wang Yang-ming for inspiration. Using Wang’s modes of thinking that “mind is principle” and that “heaven and man are a unity,” Zhang emphasized the effects resulting from party elites’ arousing and representing the people in their resistance to autocratic monarchy. By elaboration on changes in Zhang’s thinking, comparing his thought with that of Mill, and situating Zhang in the social, cultural, and intellectual context of his time, this paper points out that Zhang not only denied the standard for evolution of human culture set by Western civilized countries, he also appropriated traditional Chinese philosophy that stressed that there were no real boundaries between elites and commoners. Zhang’s ideas provided a response to the difficulties in setting up a parliamentary system and the inapplicability of Mill’s political theory in China. On the above issues, Zhang’s thoughts revealed the subjectivity and openness shown by Chinese intellectuals as well as how Western and Chinese, and traditional and modern ideas were applied in an attempt to solve the burning issues of the day. This paper also points to an aspect of Wang Yang-ming’s philosophy that is worth further exploration and may be employed in the development of liberalism in China.