"The guiding principles for monarch and subject"(君臣之纲),"civil right" and "parliament" are three core concepts of Zhang Zhidong s political thought embodying in the book " Quan Xue Pian "(劝学篇).

He not only appeal to government to rectify utterly decadent administration of local officials but also wish for draw parliament into china in order to reform an enclosed autocrati.

Through social practice for many years, he had a deep understanding on the abuse of the absolute monarchy and the roots of china s poverty and backward condition Also through the study of western political system and legal culture, he put forward a series of political reform idea, such as setting up congress and carrying out reformative idea of constitutional monarchy.