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This paper is an inquiry into the role played by translation in the reception in China of Western constitutionalism in the late Qing Dynasty. Since legal transplants are mainly achieved between legal systems which operate in different languages, we believe that translation affects the reception of law and its future development. The fact is that studies on translation as an indispensible medium in legal transplantation across borders and cultures are few and limited to translation techniques and historical descriptions. The present study intends to fill this gap. The translation of Western constitutionalism into Chinese society is addressed in three phases in connection with the reception process in the late Qing Dynasty. The basic thesis of this paper is that translation is an historical process in which legal concepts are transplanted, adapted and nurtured in the recipient social and cultural context. The findings of this study hopefully will uncover the origin of Chinese constitutionalism and provide guidance to future translation in legal transplants.