Mr. Qin, who confirmed that his book was pulled from stores, said by telephone from his home in Beijing, “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

In his book, Mr. Qin revisits a core question in Chinese history: Why did the mighty Qing dynasty decline so rapidly, then collapse in the face of Western aggression? And he asks why, after that collapse in 1911, a Western-style constitutional order did not take hold, despite the widespread admiration for such changes.

In his sinuously argued style, he dismisses the notion that Chinese people were culturally incapable of embracing constitutionalism:

“So-called ‘autocratic values’ imply not only that you advocate an imperial system, but that you do not allow others to advocate alternatives. If others oppose, you must get rid of them. But if this is the case, and others tremble in the presence of your might and declare that they accept your autocracy, does that count? Does the fact that Jews were enslaved at Auschwitz prove that the value system of the Jews was such that they were willing to be slaves and did not want freedom? “On the other hand, if you approve of autocracy but allow others to oppose it, then in fact you’re already a supporter of ‘constitutional values.’ In other words, constitutional values do not demand that you advocate constitutionalism. They only demand that you recognize the right of others to advocate constitutionalism.’’

Since the fall of the Qing, “democracy and a constitution have always been China’s ideal,” Mr. Qin insisted in an interview about the book published in Southern Weekend, a liberal newsweekly, on Nov. 30.

China’s biggest online bookseller, Dangdang.com, no longer offers the book and has deleted a webpage featuring it, as have other popular e-commerce sites, including JD.com and Taobao. On Amazon’s Chinese website, a page displaying the book says it is currently “out of stock.”

Image “Out of Imperialism,” by Qin Hui.

“I bought one last week at Amazon, but days later I can’t find it anywhere online,” reads one of the three comments on the book’s Amazon’s page. “I guess there might be two reasons, too many people have bought it or its content is spot on. Whichever the case, it shows it’s a good book.” All three comments give the book five stars.