Лян Цичао
Liang Qichao had translated the term as 德谟格拉时 "Démógélāshí". There were arguments circa the early 20th century that Chinese did not have the proper word for democracy, so some writers used transliterations like Liang Qichao's, 得谟克拉西 "Démókèlā​xī", or 德先生 "Dé-xiānsheng" (Mr. De).