Milestones: 1899–1913 - Office of the Historian
Milestones: 1899–1913
The Chinese Revolution of 1911
In October of 1911, a group of revolutionaries in southern China led a successful                     revolt against the Qing Dynasty, establishing in its place the Republic of China                     and ending the imperial system.
Photograph of Revolutionaries in Shanghai
In the Nineteenth Century, the Qing Empire faced a number of challenges to its                     rule, including a number of foreign incursions into Chinese territory. The two                     Opium Wars against Western powers led by Great Britain resulted in the loss of                     Hong Kong, forced opening of “treaty ports” for international trade, and large                     foreign “concessions” in major cities privileged with extraterritorial rule.                     After its loss in the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), Imperial China was forced to                     relinquish control over still more of its territory, losing Taiwan and parts of                     Manchuria and ending its suzerainty over Korea. The Russo-Japanese War                     (1904–05) firmly established Japanese claims to the Northeast and further                     weakened Qing rule. The combination of increasing imperialist demands (from both                     Japan and the West), frustration with the foreign Manchu Government embodied by                     the Qing court, and the desire to see a unified China less parochial in outlook                     fed a growing nationalism that spurred on revolutionary ideas.
As Qing rule fell into decline, it made a few last-ditch efforts at                     constitutional reform. In 1905, the court abolished the examination system,                     which had limited political power to elites who passed elaborate exams on                     Chinese classics. Faced with increasing foreign challenges, it worked to                     modernize its military. With its central power weakening, the court also                     attempted a limited decentralization of power, creating elected assemblies and                     increasing provincial self-government.
Qing Soldiers
Although the Qing court maintained a degree of control within China in these                     years, millions of Chinese living overseas, especially in Southeast Asia and the                     Americas, began pressing for either widespread reform or outright revolution.                     Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao emerged as leaders of those proposing the creation                     of a constitutional monarchy. Sun Yat-sen led the amalgam of groups that                     together formed the Revolutionary Alliance or Tongmenghui. The Revolutionary                     Alliance advocated replacing Qing rule with a republican government; Sun himself                     was a nationalist with some socialist tendencies.
Both the revolutionary leaders and the overseas Chinese bankrolling their efforts                     had their roots in southern China. The Revolutionary Alliance attempted seven or                     more different revolts against the Qing in the years leading up to the                     revolution, most of which originated in south China and all of which were                     ultimately stopped by the Qing army.
Finally, in the autumn of 1911, the right set of conditions turned an uprising in                     Wuchang into a nationalist revolt. As its losses mounted, the Qing court                     responded positively to a set of demands intended to transform authoritarian                     imperial rule into a Constitutional monarchy. They named Yuan Shikai the new                     premier of China, but before he was able to retake the captured areas from the                     revolutionaries, the provinces started to declare their allegiance to the                     Revolutionary Alliance. Dr. Sun was in the United States on a fundraising tour                     at the time of the initial revolt; he hastened first to London and Paris to                     ensure that neither country would give financial or military support to the Qing                     government in its struggle. By the time he returned to China, the                     revolutionaries had taken Nanjing, a former capital under the Ming Dynasty, and                     representatives from the provinces began to arrive for the first national                     assembly. Together, they elected Dr. Sun the provisional president of the newly                     declared Republic of China.
Sun Yat-Sen
Sun Yat-sen telegrammed Yuan Shikai to promise that, should Yuan agree to the                     formation of a republic, the position of president would be his. With the                     military position of the Qing weakening and provisions made for the maintenance                     of the royal family at court, the emperor and the royal family abdicated the                     throne in February of 1912.
The 1911 revolution was only the first steps in a process that would require the 1949 revolution to                     complete. Though the new government created the Republic of China and                     established the seat of government in Nanjing, it failed to unify the country                     under its control. The Qing withdrawal led to a power vacuum in certain regions,                     resulting in the rise of warlords. These warlords often controlled their                     territories without acknowledging the nationalist government. Additionally, the                     reforms set in place by the new government were not nearly as sweeping as the                     revolutionary rhetoric had intended; unifying the country took precedent over                     fundamental changes.
International reaction to the revolution was guarded. Foreign nations with                     investments in China remained neutral throughout the upheaval, though they were                     anxious to protect the treaty rights they gained from the Qing through the first                     and second opium wars. Still, the United States was largely supportive of the                     republican project, and in 1913, the United States was among the first countries                     to establish full diplomatic relations with the new Republic. Britain, Japan,                     and Russia soon followed.