何为“现代国家”?此等“现代国家”之建设在中国又是如何成就的?为何“走向共和”之路上时时凸显着中央集权的导向?更进一步说,经辛亥革命到建国革命的38年历程而实现的中央集权制和社会主义的人民共和国是否具有历史的必然性?这是否意味着所谓的“威权”体制在中国漫长的政治演进中承载着某种自洽的内在延续性?在很大程度上,所有这些皆是当代著名中国史学家孔飞力先生《中国现代国家的起源》一书要着重讨论或留下追问空间的中心问题。本文便是对孔飞力先生讲述的这一复线发展方向故事的简要评说,并针对此书建基于演讲稿的行文特点而对他在其间有意留白的问题或未尽之思给予进一步的理论补充与初步梳理。 What is the “modern state”? How are these “modern state” achievements in China? Why “the road toward republicanism” always highlights the direction of centralization? Furthermore, Whether the centralization of power and the socialist people’s republic realized through the 38 years from the revolution to the founding of a nation have the historical necessity and whether this means that the so-called “authoritarian” regime carries some kind of self-control in China’s long political evolution To a large extent, all these are the questions of Mr. Kong Fei Li, famous contemporary Chinese historian, “The Origin of China’s Modern State,” which focuses on or leaves the central issue of space for inquiry. This article is a brief commentary on the story of the direction of the development of the double track described by Mr. Kong Fei Li, and gives further theoretical supplement to the problem that he has intentionally left blank in the meantime in light of the characteristics of this book based on the speech of the speech Initial carding.