The concept of nation-state constitutes a basic vocabulary to build a modern political system. Since the mid-19th century, the Chinese nation, under the dual impact of Western military and cultural forces, embarked on a historical trajectory of learning from the West. During this period, the notion of “nation” evolved from a spontaneous consciousness to a consciously articulated concept. Liang Qichao, as a representative figure of the concept of nation, established his fundamental strategy for national salvation—constitutional monarchy—based on this very idea. Through textual analysis of Liang Qichao and Bluntchli Johann Caspar, this paper tries to clarify Liang Qichao’s reception and occasional misreading of Bluntchli’s theoretical framework, and reproduce Liang Qichao’s use and development of the logic of Bluntchli’s Theory of the State. With the help of Bluntchli Johann Caspar, Liang Qichao developed a conception of the people as free, patriotic and collectively conscious. Similarly, with the help of Bluntchli Johann Caspar, Liang Qichao established the concept of sovereignty and crystallized his constitutional monarchist approach to national salvation. By disentangling the interplay between Liang Qichao’s and Bluntchli’s doctrines, this paper tries to clarify the development of Liang Qichao’s whole ideological system.