Abstract: In the early years of Republic of China during the transformation from a traditional national system to a modern one,there was an influential controversy on whether federal system was suitable in China.When most newspapers and magazines supported federal thought,The Great Chung Hwa Magazine,chiefly edited by Liang Qichao,gave a different view that federal system was not good to remain national unity,and that the civil-elected provincial governors would do more harm than good.Meanwhile,it opposed the assertion of “canceling provinces for centralization”,calling for a new political system that was neither a federal nor a central one.

Key words: national system, Great Chung Hwa Magazine, federal system