中華文明向來敬老尊賢，晚清的變局，卻使「少年」一舉而為新興國醫的希望所繫，並成為頡抗老大、新民強國的憑藉。此一轉折，不只深達地影響了爾後新文化與新文學運動，也成為諸多政治實踐的內在驅力。它所涉及現代性、啟窺論述與國族想像間的複雜關系，更是近現代文化思想史上不容德視的重要課題。然而，此一少╱啟蒙論述的形成經過及內蘊的矛盾與複雜性，卻向來乏人深究。本論文則以梁啟超〈少年中國說〉為起點，進而擴及〈新中國未來記〉和梁同一時期其它相關論述，就此進關論析。全文冠凡四節：一、「西」風一夜催人老：老大帝國？抑是少年中國？二、發現少年：從啟蒙論述到國族想像；三、想像中國：〈新中國未來記與「少年一啟蒙一新中國」；四、餘論：少年餘──從少年中國到少年臺灣。文中首先辨析「少年中國」與「老大帝國」間的牽纏糾葛，指出「發現少年」與「想像中國」實為晚清新文化文學運動中的重要關目。進而詳勘晚清少年論述、國族想像與日本青少年論述冒的淵源，再以〈新中國未來記〉與〈少年中國說〉互參，指出此一論述本文內蘊的矛盾與駁雜性格，及其後續的影響。

　　　　　Respect for one's elders has long been a pillar of Chinese culture. During the turbulent times of the late Qing however, hopes for a revitalization of the nation and the people came to be pinned on the "youth, "who in turn became a base of support for both recalcitrant powers-that-be and forces for modernization and renewal. This development not only deeply influenced the new cultural and literary movements that were to ensue, but also provided an internal stimulus for many political developments. When dealing with China's modern cultural and intellectual history, the complicated relationships involved in this development between modernity, enlightenment discourse and national imagination are issues that cannot be ignored. Yet, to date few people have taken a close look at the process by which this youth/enlightenment discourse came into being and the contradictions and complexities inherent to it. For discussion purposes, this paper will take Liang Qicao's "The Yough of China" as its starting point and move on to discuss his "Records of the Future of a New China" and other related works by Liang'a contemporaries. This paper will be divided into four sections, as follows: (1)A "Western" wind ages one overnight: An age-old empire or the youth of China? (2)Discovering youth: From enlightenment discourse to national imagination (3)Imagining China: "Records of the Future of a New China" and "Youth-Enlightement-New China" (4)Afterword: Reverberations-Form the youth of China to the youth of Taiwan This paper will first discuss the complex dynamics between "youth of China" and "age-old empire" in order to show that "discovering youth" and "imagining China" were in fact important elements in the new cultural and literary movements of the late Qing. Next, discussion will move to the question of whether youth discourse and national imagination during the late Qing was the source of youth discourse in Japan or vice versa. From there, based on "Records of the Future of a New China" and "The Youth of China, " we will discuss contradictions and complexities inherent to this type of discourse and its later day influence.