地方自治 ( Local self- government)是宪政民主制度的基础性结构 ,也是政治发展的重要标志。在中国 ,现代意义上的地方自治 ,是随着西方思潮的东来和清政府的预备立宪活动 ,才得以在中国出现的。晚清的地方自治 ,在当时形成一股风潮 ,范围遍及全国 ,在中国宪政史上具有重要的 Local self-government is the basic structure of constitutional democracy and an important symbol of political development. In China, local autonomy in the modern sense only emerged in China with the eastward trend of Western thought and the preparatory constitutional activities of the Qing government. Local autonomy in late Qing Dynasty formed an upsurge at that time, covering a wide range of areas throughout the country and was of great importance in the history of constitutional government in China