1911 Revolution

After suffering its first defeat by the West in the First Opium War in 1842, a conservative court culture constrained efforts to reform and did not want to cede authority to local officials. After its defeat in the Second Opium War in 1860, the Qing began efforts to modernize by adopting Western technologies through the Self-Strengthening Movement. In the wars against the Taiping (1851–1864), Nian (1851–1868), Yunnan (1856–1873) and Dungan (1862–1877), the court came to rely on armies raised by local officials. After a generation of relative success in importing Western naval and weapons technology, the Chinese defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 was all the more humiliating and convinced many of the need for institutional change. The court established the New Army under Yuan Shikai, and many concluded that Chinese society also needed to be modernized if technological and commercial advancements were to succeed. In 1898, the Guangxu Emperor turned to reformers like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, who offered a program that was inspired in large part by the reforms in Japan. They proposed basic reform in education, military, and economy in the so-called Hundred Days' Reform. The Emperor was put under house arrest in June 1898, where he remained until his death in 1908. The reformers Kang and Liang exiled themselves to avoid being executed. The Empress Dowager controlled policy until her death in 1908, with support from officials such as Yuan. Attacks on foreigners and Chinese Christians in the Boxer Rebellion, which was encouraged by the Empress Dowager, prompted another foreign invasion of Beijing in 1900. After the Allies imposed a punitive settlement, the Qing court carried out basic fiscal and administrative reforms, including local and provincial elections. The moves did not secure trust or wide support among political activists. Many of them like Zou Rong felt strong anti-Manchu prejudice and blamed the Qing for China's troubles. Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao formed the Emperor Protection Society in an attempt to restore the emperor, but others, such as Sun Yat-sen organized revolutionary groups to overthrow the dynasty, rather than reform it. They could operate only in secret societies and underground organizations, in foreign concessions, or exile overseas but created a following among overseas Chinese in North America and Southeast Asia and within China, even in the new armies. The Chinese famine of 1906–1907 was also a major contributor to the revolution. Following the death of the Guangxu Emperor and Cixi in 1908, the throne was inherited by the two-year-old Xuantong Emperor, with Prince Chun as a regent. The prince continued the reform path of Cixi, but conservative Manchu elements in the court opposed it, which caused further support for revolutionaries. == Organization ==

Earliest groups Many revolutionaries and groups wanted to overthrow the Qing government to re-establish the Han-led government. The earliest revolutionary organizations were founded outside of China, such as Yeung Ku-wan's Furen Literary Society, which was created in Hong Kong in 1890. There were 15 members, including Tse Tsan-tai, who made political satire such as "The Situation in the Far East", one of the first manhua, and who later became one of the core founders of the South China Morning Post. Sun Yat-sen's Revive China Society was established in Honolulu in 1894, the main purpose being raising funds for revolutions. The two organizations merged in 1894. Smaller groups The Huaxinghui (China Revival Society) was founded in 1904 by the notables Huang Xing, Zhang Shizhao, Chen Tianhua, Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and 100 others. Its motto was "Take one province by force, and inspire the other provinces to rise." The Guangfuhui (Restoration Society) was also founded in 1904 in Shanghai, by Cai Yuanpei. Other notable members included Zhang Binglin and Tao Chengzhang. Despite professing the anti-Qing cause, the Guangfuhui was highly critical of Sun Yat-sen. One of the most famous female revolutionaries was Qiu Jin, who fought for women's rights and was also from the Guangfuhui. The Gelaohui (Elder Brother Society) was another group, with Zhu De, Wu Yuzhang, Liu Zhidan () and He Long. The revolutionary group would eventually develop a strong link with the later Chinese Communist Party. Tongmenghui Sun Yat-sen successfully united the Revive China Society, the Huaxinghui, and the Guangfuhui and established the unified Tongmenghui (United League) in August 1905 in Tokyo. Some of the work in the era includes manhua publications such as the Journal of Current Pictorial. Later groups In February 1906, Rizhihui () also had many revolutionaries, including Sun Wu (), Zhang Nanxian (), He Jiwei and Feng Mumin. A nucleus of attendees at the conference evolved into the Tongmenghui's establishment in Hubei. In July 1907, several members of the Tongmenghui in Tokyo advocated a revolution in the area of the Yangtze. Liu Quiyi (), Jiao Dafeng (), Zhang Boxiang () and Sun Wu () established the Gongjinhui (). In January 1911, the revolutionary group Zhengwu Xueshe (振武學社) was renamed as Wenxueshe (Literary Society) (). Jiang Yiwu () was chosen as the leader. Both organizations would play a major role during the Wuchang Uprising. Many young revolutionaries supported anarchism in China. In Tokyo, Liu Shipei proposed to overthrow the Manchus and return to Chinese classical values. In Paris, well-connected young intellectuals, Li Shizhen, Wu Zhihui and Zhang Renjie, agreed with Sun's revolutionary program and joined the Tongmenghui but argued that simply replacing one government with another would not be progress. They believed that fundamental cultural change and a revolution in family, gender, and social values would remove the need for government and coercion. Zhang Ji and Wang Jingwei were among the anarchists, who defended assassination and terrorism as means to awaken the people to revolution, but others insisted that education was the only justifiable strategy. Important anarchists included Cai Yuanpei. Zhang Renjie gave Sun major financial help. Many of the anarchists would later assume high positions in the Kuomintang. Views Many revolutionaries promoted anti-Qing and anti-Manchu sentiments and revived memories of conflict between the minority Manchu and the majority Han Chinese from the late Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Leading intellectuals were influenced by books that had survived from the final years of the Ming dynasty, the last Han Chinese dynasty. In 1904, Sun Yat-sen announced that his organization's goal was "to expel the Tatar barbarians, to revive Zhonghua, establish a republic, and distribute land equally among the people." (). Many underground groups promoted the ideas of "resist Qing and restore the Ming" (反清復明), which had been around since the days of the Taiping Rebellion. Others, such as Zhang Binglin, spread calls to "slay the Manchus" () and the concept of "Anti-Manchuism" (). == Society and class ==

Many groups supported the 1911 Revolution, including students and intellectuals returning from abroad, participants of revolutionary organizations, overseas Chinese, soldiers of the new army, local gentry, and farmers. Overseas Chinese Assistance from the overseas Chinese was important in the 1911 Revolution. In 1894, the first year of the Revive China Society, the first meeting ever held by the group was held in the home of Ho Fon, an overseas Chinese who was the leader of the first Chinese Church of Christ. The overseas Chinese supported and actively participated in funding revolutionary activities, especially the Southeast Asian Chinese of British Malaya. Many of those groups were reorganized by Sun, who was referred to as the "father of the Chinese revolution". Emerging intellectual class The Qing government established new schools and encouraged students to study abroad as part of the Self-Strengthening movement. Many young people attended the new schools or went abroad to study in places like Japan. A new progressive class of intellectuals emerged from those students and contributed immensely to the 1911 Revolution. Besides Sun, key figures in the revolution, such as Huang Xing, Song Jiaoren, Hu Hanmin, Liao Zhongkai, Zhu Zhixin, and Wang Jingwei were all Chinese students in Japan. Some were young students like Zou Rong, known for writing Revolutionary Army, a book in which he supported the extermination of the Manchus for the 260 years of oppression, sorrow, cruelty, and tyranny and creating new revolutionary Han figures. Before 1908, revolutionaries focused on coordinating those organizations in preparation for uprisings they would launch; the groups would provide most of the manpower needed to overthrow the Qing dynasty. After the 1911 Revolution, Sun recalled the days of recruiting support for the revolution and said, "The literati were deeply into the search for honors and profits, so they were regarded as having only secondary importance. By contrast, organizations like Sanhehui were able to sow widely the ideas of resisting the Qing and restoring the Ming." Gentry and businessmen with royal cabinet members The gentry's strength in local politics became apparent. From December 1908, the Qing government created some apparatus to allow the gentry and businessmen to participate in politics. Those middle-class people were originally supporters of constitutionalism. However, they became disenchanted when the Qing government created a cabinet with Prince Qing as prime minister. By early 1911, an experimental cabinet had thirteen members, nine of whom were Manchus selected from the imperial family. Foreign supporters Besides Chinese and overseas Chinese, some supporters and participants of the 1911 Revolution were foreigners, and the Japanese were the most active group. Some Japanese even became members of the Tongmenghui. Miyazaki Touten was the closest Japanese supporter; others included Heiyama Shu and Ryōhei Uchida. Homer Lea, an American, who became Sun Yat-sen's closest foreign advisor in 1910, supported his military ambitions. British soldier Rowland J. Mulkern also took part in the revolution. Some foreigners, such as the English explorer Arthur de Carle Sowerby, led expeditions to rescue foreign missionaries in 1911 and 1912. The far right-wing Japanese ultra-nationalist Black Dragon Society supported Sun Yat-sen's activities against the Manchus and believed that overthrowing the Qing would help the Japanese take over the Manchu homeland and that Han Chinese would not oppose the takeover. Toyama believed that the Japanese could easily take over Manchuria and that Sun Yat-sen and other anti-Qing revolutionaries would not resist and help the Japanese take over and enlarge the opium trade in China, while the Qing was trying to destroy the opium trade. The Japanese Black Dragons supported Sun Yat-sen and anti-Manchu revolutionaries until the Qing collapsed. The far right-wing Japanese ultranationalist Gen'yōsha leader Tōyama Mitsuru supported anti-Manchu and anti-Qing revolutionary activities, including those organized by Sun and supported Japanese taking over Manchuria. The anti-Qing Tongmenghui was founded and based in exile in Japan, where many anti-Qing revolutionaries gathered. The Japanese had been trying to unite anti-Manchu groups made out of Han people to take down the Qing. The Japanese helped Sun Yat-sen unite all anti-Qing, anti-Manchu revolutionary groups together, and there were Japanese like Tōten Miyazaki in of the anti-Manchu Tongmenghui revolutionary alliance. The Black Dragon Society hosted the Tongmenghui in its first meeting. The Black Dragon Society had very intimate, long term and influential relations with Sun Yat-sen, who sometimes passed himself off as Japanese. According to an American military historian, Japanese military officers were part of the Black Dragon Society. The Yakuza and Black Dragon Society helped arrange in Tokyo for Sun Yat-sen to hold the first Kuomintang meetings, and were hoping to flood China with opium and overthrow the Qing and deceive the Chinese into overthrowing the Qing to Japan's benefit. After the revolution was successful, the Japanese Black Dragons started infiltrating China and spreading opium. In 1932, the Black Dragons pushed for the takeover of Manchuria by Japan. Sun Yat-sen was married to a Japanese woman, Kaoru Otsuki. Soldiers of the New Armies The New Army was formed in 1901, after the Qing defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, and was launched by a decree from eight provinces. The New Army troops were by far the best trained and equipped. Recruits were of a higher quality than the old army and received regular promotions. In 1908, the revolutionaries began to shift their call to the new armies. Sun Yat-sen and the revolutionaries infiltrated the New Army. == Prelude ==

Most of the central foci of the uprisings were connected with the Tongmenghui and Sun Yat-sen, including subgroups. Some uprisings involved groups that never merged with the Tongmenghui. Sun Yat-sen may have participated in 8–10 uprisings; all uprisings failed before the Wuchang Uprising. First Guangzhou uprising In the spring of 1895, the Revive China Society, based in Hong Kong, planned the . Lu Haodong was tasked with designing the revolutionaries' Blue Sky with a White Sun flag. On 26 October 1895, Yeung Ku-wan and Sun Yat-sen led Zheng Shiliang and Lu Haodong to Guangzhou, preparing to capture Guangzhou in one strike. However, the details of their plans were leaked to the Qing government. The government began to arrest revolutionaries, including Lu Haodong, who was later executed. The First Guangzhou Uprising was a failure. Under pressure from the Qing government, the government of Hong Kong banned the two men from the territory for five years. Sun went into exile; promoted revolution; and raised funds in Japan, the United States, Canada, and Britain. In 1901, following the Huizhou Uprising, Yeung Ku-wan was assassinated by Qing agents in Hong Kong. After his death, his family protected his identity by not putting his name on his tomb, just the number "6348". Independence Army uprising In 1900, after the Boxer Rebellion started, Tang Caichang () and Tan Sitong of the previous Foot Emancipation Society organized the Independence Army. The Independence Army Uprising () was planned to occur on 23 August 1900. Their goal was to overthrow Empress Dowager Cixi to establish a constitutional monarchy under the Guangxu Emperor. Their plot was discovered by the governors-general of Hunan and Hubei. About twenty conspirators were arrested and executed. Huizhou uprising On 8 October 1900, Sun ordered the launch of the Huizhou uprising (). The revolutionary army was led by Zheng Shiliang and initially included 20,000 men, who fought for half a month. However, after Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito prohibited Sun Yat-sen from carrying out revolutionary activities in Taiwan, Zheng Shiliang had no choice but to order the army to disperse. Accordingly, the uprising also failed. The British soldier Rowland J. Mulkern participated in the uprising. It involved Tse Tsan-tai, Li Jitang (), Liang Muguang (), and Hong Quanfu (), who had taken part in the Jintian uprising during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom era. Ping-liu-li uprising Ma Fuyi () and Huaxinghui was involved in an uprising in the areas of Pingxiang, Liuyang, and Liling () in 1905. The Ping-liu-li Uprising had recruited miners as early as 1903 to rise against the Qing ruling class. After the uprising failed, Ma Fuyi was executed. Beijing assassination attempt Wu Yue ( of the Guangfuhui carried out an assassination attempt at the Beijing Zhengyangmen East Railway station () in an attack on five Qing officials on 24 September 1905. Huanggang uprising The Huanggang uprising () was launched on 22 May 1907, in Chaozhou. The revolutionary party, along with Xu Xueqiu (), Chen Yongpo (), and Yu Tongshi (), launched the uprising and captured the city of Huanggang. Huizhou Qinühu uprising, Huizhou In the same year, Sun sent more revolutionaries to Huizhou to launch the "Huizhou Qinühu uprising" (). On 2 June, Deng Zhiyu () and Chen Chuan () gathered some followers, and together they seized Qing arms in the lake, from Huizhou. They killed several Qing soldiers and attacked Taiwei () on 5 June. They were defeated after four hours of fighting. Xu was captured, and En Ming's bodyguards cut out his heart and liver and ate them. against heavy taxation by the government. Sun sent Wang Heshun () there to assist the revolutionary army and captured the county in September. They attempted to besiege and capture Qinzhou but eventually had retreat to the area of Shiwandashan. Wang Heshun returned to Vietnam. Zhennanguan uprising On 1 December 1907, the Zhennanguan uprising () took place at Zhennanguan along the Chinese-Vietnamese border. Sun Yat-sen sent Huang Mintang () to monitor the pass, which was guarded by a fort. The Qing government sent troops led by Long Jiguang and Lu Rongting to counterattack, and the revolutionaries were forced to retreat into the mountainous areas. After the uprising's failure, Sun was forced to move to Singapore due to anti-Sun sentiments within the revolutionary groups. He returned to the mainland only after the Wuchang Uprising. Qin-Lian uprising On 27 March 1908, Huang Xing launched a raid, later known as the Qin-Lian uprising (), from a base in Vietnam and attacked the cities of Qinzhou and Lianzhou, in Guangdong. The rebels continued for fourteen days but were forced to end after the revolutionaries ran out of supplies. Hekou uprising, Yunnan In April 1908, another uprising was launched in Yunnan, Hekou, called the Hekou uprising (). Huang Mingtang () led two hundred men from Vietnam and attacked Hekou on 30 April. Other participating revolutionaries included Wang Heshun () and Guan Renfu (). They were outnumbered and defeated by government troops, however, and the uprising failed. Mapaoying Uprising, Anhui On 19 November 1908, the Mapaoying Uprising () was launched by the revolutionary group Yuewanghui (), led by Xiong Chenggei ( in Anhui. The Yuewanghui joined Tongmenghui. The uprising also failed. Guangzhou In February 1910, the Gengxu New Army Uprising (), also known as the Guangzhou New Army Uprising (), took place. That involved a conflict between the citizens and local police against the New Army. After the revolutionary leader Ni Yingdian was killed by Qing forces, the remaining revolutionaries were quickly defeated, and the uprising failed. On 27 April 1911, an uprising occurred in Guangzhou, known as the Second Guangzhou Uprising () or Yellow Flower Mound Revolt (). It ended in disaster, as 86 bodies were found (only 72 could be identified). The 72 revolutionaries were remembered as martyrs. == Wuchang Uprising ==

The Literary Society () and the Progressive Association () were revolutionary organizations that involved in the uprising that began mainly by a Railway Protection Movement. In the late summer, some Hubei New Army units were ordered to neighboring Sichuan to quell the Railway Protection Movement, a mass protest against the Qing government's seizure and handover of local railway development ventures to foreign powers. Banner officers like Duanfang, the railway superintendent, and Zhao Erfeng led the New Army against the Railway Protection Movement. The New Army units of Hubei had originally been the Hubei Army, which had been trained by Qing official Zhang Zhidong. It was postponed because of insufficient preparations. Revolutionaries intent on overthrowing the Qing dynasty had built bombs, and on 9 October, one of them accidentally exploded. The squad leader Xiong Bingkun () and others decided not to delay the uprising any longer and launched the revolt on 10 October 1911, at 7:00 p.m. Revolutionaries killed 2 Germans and wounded 2 other Germans at the battle of Hanyang, including a former colonel. == Provincial uprisings ==

After the success of the Wuchang Uprising, many other protests occurred throughout the country for various reasons. Some uprisings declared restoration (光復) of Han Chinese rule. Other uprisings were a step toward independence, and some were protests or rebellions against the local authorities. Regardless of the reason for the uprising, the outcome was that all of the provinces renounced the Qing dynasty and joined the republicans. Changsha On 22 October 1911, the Hunan Tongmenghui were led by Jiao Dafeng () and Chen Zuoxin (). They headed an armed group, consisting partly of revolutionaries from Hongjiang and defecting New Army units, in a campaign to extend the uprising into Changsha. The Hui Muslim community was divided in its support for the revolution. The Hui Muslims of Shaanxi supported the revolutionaries, and the Hui Muslims of Gansu supported the Qing. The native Hui of Xi'an joined the Han Chinese revolutionaries in slaughtering the Manchus. The native Hui Muslims of Gansu province led by general Ma Anliang led more than twenty battalions of Hui troops to defend the Qing imperials and attacked Shaanxi, held by revolutionary Zhang Fenghui (). The revolutionaries established the "Qinlong Fuhan Military Government" and elected Zhang Fenghui, a member of the Yuanrizhi Society (), as new governor. The Hui General Ma Anliang abandoned the Qing cause upon the Qing abdication in the Xinhai Revolution, and the Manchu governor general Shengyun was enraged at the revolution. Pro-revolution Hui Muslims like Shaanxi Governor Ma Yugui and Beijing Imam Wang Kuan persuaded Qing Hui General Ma Anliang to stop fighting by telling him that Muslims should not kill one another for the sake of the Qing monarchists but side with the republican revolutionaries. Ma Anliang then agreed to abandon the Qing under the combination of Yuan Shikai's actions and those messages from other Hui. A year before the massacre of Manchus in October 1911, an oath against them had been sworn at the Great Goose Pagoda in Xi'an by the Gelaohui in 1911. Manchu banner garrisons were slaughtered in Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Taiyuan, Xi'an, Fuzhou and Wuchang The Manchu quarter was located in the northeastern part of Xi'an and walled off, and the Hui Muslim quarter was located in the northwestern part of Xi'an but did not have walls separating it from the Han parts. The southern part of Xi'an was entirely Han. Xi'an had the biggest Manchu banner garrison quarter by area before its destruction. On 22 October 1911, the revolutionaries were led by students of the military academy who overcame the guards at the gates of Xi'an and shut them. They secured the arsenal, slaughtered all Manchus at their temple, and then stormed and slaughtered the Manchus in the Manchu banner quarter of the city. The Manchu quarter was set on fire, burning many Manchus alive. Many Manchus had stored gunpowder in their houses, which exploded from the fire and caused even more deaths. For three days, Manchu men, women and children alike were slaughtered. Only after that were Manchu women and girls spared, while Manchu men and boys continued to be slaughtered. Many Manchus committed suicide by overdosing on opium and throwing themselves into wells. It was estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 Manchus were slaughtered. Ma Anliang was ordered to attack the revolutionaries in Shaanxi by the baoyi bondservant Chang Geng and Manchu Shengyun. Eastern soldiers of the new republic were mobilized by Yuan Shikai when the attack against Shaanxi began by Ma Anliang, but news of the abdication of the Qing Emperor reached Ma Anliang before he attacked Xi'an. That made Ma end all military operations and change his allegiance to the Republic of China. All pro-Qing military activity in the northwest was then put to an end. Yuan Shikai managed to induce Ma not to attack Shaanxi after the Gelaohui took over the province and to accept the Republic of China under his presidency in 1912. During the National Protection War in 1916 between republicans and Yuan's monarchy, Ma readied his soldiers and informed the republicans that he and the Muslims would stick to Yuan until the end. Yuan Shikai ordered Ma Anliang to block Bai Lang (White Wolf) from going into Sichuan and Gansu by blocking Hanzhong and Fengxiangfu. The Protestant Shensi mission operated a hospital in Xian. Some American missionaries were reported killed in Xi'an. A report claimed Manchus massacred missionaries in the suburbs of Xi'an. Missionaries were reported killed in Xi'an and Taiyuan. Shaanxi joined the revolution on October 24. Sheng Yun was governor of Shaanxi in 1905. Some Gansu Hui, led by Ma Fuxiang, joined the republicans. General Ma Fuxiang did not participate with Ma Anliang in the battles with Shaanxi revolutionaries and refused to join the Qing Manchu Shengyun and Changgeng in their attempts to defend the Qing before their abdication, but the independence of Gansu from Qing control was jointly declared by non-Muslim gentry with Hui Muslim Ma Fuxiang. Jiujiang On 23 October, Lin Sen, Jiang Qun (), Cai Hui (), and other members of the Tongmenghui in the province of Jiangxi plotted a revolt of New Army units. A Qing naval fleet also revolted against the state, which solidified victory in the Wuchang Uprising. After they achieved victory, they announced their independence. The Jiujiang Military Government was then established. The rebels in Taiyuan bombarded the streets where Banner people resided and killed all the Manchu. They managed to kill the Qing Governor of Shanxi, Lu Zhongqi (). They then announced the establishment of Shanxi Military Government with Yan Xishan as the military governor. They captured Kunming the next day, established the Yunnan Military Government, and chose Cai E as the military governor. Guizhou On 4 November, Zhang Bailin () of the revolutionary party in Guizhou led an uprising, along with New Army units and students from the military academy. They immediately captured Guiyang, established the Great Han Guizhou Military Government, and chose Yang Jincheng () and Zhao Dequan () as respectively the chief and vice governor. Zhejiang Also on 4 November, revolutionaries in Zhejiang urged the New Army units in Hangzhou to launch an uprising. Unlike some other cities, anti-Manchu violence began after the restoration on 7 November in Zhenjiang. Qing General Zaimu () agreed to surrender, but because of a misunderstanding, the revolutionaries were unaware that their safety was guaranteed. The Manchu quarters were ransacked, and an unknown number of Manchus were killed. Zaimu, feeling betrayed, committed suicide. This is regarded as the Zhenjiang Uprising (). Anhui Members of the Anhui Tongmenghui also launched an uprising on that day and laid siege to the provincial capital. The constitutionalists persuaded Zhu Jiabao, the Qing governor of Anhui, to declare independence. Guangxi On 7 November, the Guangxi political department decided to secede from the Qing government and declared Guangxi's independence. Qing Governor Shen Bingkun () was allowed to remain, but Lu Rongting soon became the new governor. Under leadership of Huang Shaohong, the Muslim law student Bai Chongxi was enlisted into a Dare to Die unit to fight as a revolutionary. Fujian in Lianjiang County, Fujian In November, members of Fujian's branch of the Tongmenghui, along with Sun Daoren () of the New Army, launched an uprising against the Qing army. The Qing viceroy, Song Shou (), committed suicide. On 11 November, the entire Fujian province declared independence. On 8 November, after being persuaded by Hu Hanmin, General Li Zhun () and Long Jiguang () of the Guangdong Navy agreed to support the revolution. They elected Hu Hanmin and Chen Jiongming as Chief and Vice-Governor. Qiu Fengjia is known to have helped make the declaration of independence more peaceful. On November 13, under the persuasion of the Shandong revolutionary Ding Weifen (丁惟汾) and coercion from some officers, including acting commander Jia Binqing of the Fifth New Army Division, the Governor of Shandong Sun Baoqi agreed to declare Shandong's independence and was elected military governor. On November 24, however, Sun Baoqi again rescinded the declaration of independence under pressure from the Fifth New Army Division. Ningxia On 17 November, the Ningxia Tongmenghui launched the Ningxia uprising (). The revolutionaries sent Yu Youren to Zhangjiachuan to meet the Dungan Sufi master Ma Yuanzhang to persuade him not to support the Qing. However, Ma did not want to endanger his relationship with the Qings. He sent the eastern Gansu Muslim militia under the command of one of his sons to help Ma Qi fight the Ningxia Gelaohui. Ma Anliang, Changgeng, and Shengyun failed to capture Shaanxi from the revolutionaries. In Ningxia, Qing forces were attacked by both Hui Muslim Gelaohui and Han Gelaohui members, and Hui General Ma Qi and Ma Yuanzhang were in the Qing forces fighting against them, Hoverver, Ma Yuanzhang defected to the republicans after Ma Anliang had given up on the Qing. However, the Ningxia Revolutionary Military Government was established on 23 November. Sichuan On 21 November, Guang'an organized the Great Han Shu Northern Military Government. On 22 November, Chengdu and Sichuan declared independence. By the 27th, the Great Han Sichuan Military Government had been established, headed by revolutionary Pu Dianzun (). This was led by more than 100 members of Gelaohui. This uprising failed. On 7 January 1912, the Yili Uprising () with began. On 8 January, a new Yili government was established for the revolutionaries. Some Chinese historians now believe that contributed to the Qing dynasty's fall because it prevented the Qing's plan to flee to the west. Eventually, the abdication to come would make Yuan Shikai recognize Yang Zengxin's rule and appoint him Governor of Xinjiang, and the province join the republicans. == Territorial uprisings ==

Tibet The Qing sent Zhao Erfeng to Tibet to fight the 1905 Tibetan Rebellion. By 1908, Zhao was appointed imperial resident in Lhasa. The bulk of the area historically known as Kham was now claimed to be the Xikang Administrative District, created by the republican revolutionaries. By the end of 1912, the last Qing troops had been forced out of Tibet through India. Thubten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama, returned to Tibet in January 1913 from Sikkim, where he had been residing. When the new Chinese government apologized for the actions of the Qing and offered to restore the Dalai Lama to his former position, he replied that he was not interested in Chinese ranks, Tibet had never been subordinated to China, Tibet was an independent country, and he was assuming the spiritual and political leadership of Tibet. That has many read the reply as a formal declaration of independence. The Chinese side ignored the response, and Tibet was free of interference from China until 1951. Tibet is still ruled by China. Outer Mongolia At the end of 1911, Outer Mongolian took action with an armed revolt against Qing authorities but was unsuccessful. The independence movement that took place was not limited to Outer Mongolia but was a pan-Mongolian phenomenon. On 29 December 1911, Bogd Khan became the ruler of the Bogd Khanate. Inner Mongolia became a contested terrain between the Bogd Khanate and China. In general, Russia supported the independence of Outer Mongolia (including Tannu Uriankhai) during the 1911 Revolution. Tibet and Outer Mongolia then recognized each other in a treaty. In 1919, the Republic of China regained Outer Mongolia but lost it again in 1921. China, a member of the United Nations, has officially recognized the independence of Outer Mongolia since 1949. Taiwan opened a cultural representative office and economy as part of its recognition of Mongolia in 2002. Tannu Uriankhai secession ==Change of government==

North: Qing Court final transformation attempt On 1 November 1911, the Qing government appointed Yuan Shikai as Prime Minister of the imperial cabinet, replacing Prince Qing. On 3 November, after a proposition by Cen Chunxuan from the , the Qing court passed the Nineteen Articles, which turned the Qing from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. On 9 November, Huang Xing even cabled Yuan Shikai and invited him to join the Republic. The changes were too late, and the Emperor was about to be forced to abdicate. South: Provisional Government in Nanking On 28 November 1911, Wuchang and Hanyang had fallen back to the Qing army. For their safety, the revolutionaries convened their first conference at the British Concession in Hankou on 30 November. By 2 December, the revolutionary forces were able to capture Nanking in the uprising; and the revolutionaries decided to make it the site of the new provisional government. At the time, Beijing was still the Qing capital. North–South Conference (left), Edward Selby Little (middle), and Wu Tingfang (right) On 18 December, the was held in Shanghai to discuss issues in the north and the south. The reluctance of foreign financiers to give financial support to the Qing government or the revolutionaries contributed to both sides agreeing to start negotiations. Yuan Shikai selected Tang Shaoyi as his representative. The foreign businessman Edward Selby Little (李德立) acted as the negotiator and facilitated the peace agreement. They agreed that Yuan Shikai would force the Qing emperor to abdicate in exchange for the southern provinces' support of him as President of the Republic. After considering the possibility that the new republic might be defeated in a civil war or by foreign invasion, Sun agreed to Yuan's proposal to unify China under Yuan Shikai's Beijing government. Further decisions were made to let the Emperor rule over his small court in the New Summer Palace. He would be treated as a ruler of a separate country and have expenses of several million taels in silver. ==Establishment of the Republic==

visited the mausoleum of the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty, 15 February 1912 flags flying over Nanjing Road in Shanghai Republic of China declared and national flag issued On 29 December 1911, Sun Yat-sen was elected as the first provisional president, and 1 January 1912 was set as the first day of the First Year of the Republic of China. On 3 January, the representatives recommended Li Yuanhong as the Provisional Vice-president. During and after the 1911 Revolution, many groups that participated wanted their own pennant as the national flag. During the Wuchang Uprising, the military units of Wuchang wanted the nine-star flag with a taijitu. Others in competition included Lu Haodong's Blue Sky with a White Sun flag. Huang Xing preferred a flag bearing the mythical "well-field" system of village agriculture. In the end, the assembly compromised: the national flag would be the banner of Five Races Under One Union. The red represented Han, the yellow represented Manchus, the blue for Mongols, the white for Muslims, and the black for Tibetans. Donghuamen Incident On 16 January, while returning to his residence, Yuan was ambushed in a bomb attack that was organized by the Tongmenghui in , Beijing. Eighteen revolutionaries were involved. About ten guards died, but Yuan himself was not seriously injured. Yuan then pressured Empress Dowager Longyu and threatened that the imperial family would be killed if the abdication did not come before the revolutionaries reached Beijing, but he stated that if the Emperor agreed to abdicate, the provisional government would honor the terms proposed by the imperial family. On 3 February, Longyu gave Yuan full permission to negotiate the abdication terms of the Qing emperor. Yuan then drew up his own version and forwarded it to the revolutionaries on 3 February. His version had three, instead of two, sections. On 12 February, after they were pressured by Yuan and other ministers, the six-year-old Puyi and Empress Dowager Longyu accepted Yuan's terms of abdication. ==Republican government in Beijing==

On 10 March 1912, Yuan Shikai was sworn as the second Provisional President of the Republic of China in Beijing. The first National Assembly election took place according to the Provisional Constitution. While in Beijing, the Kuomintang was formed on 25 August 1912. The Nationalists held the majority of seats after the election. Song Jiaoren was elected as premier. However, Song was assassinated in Shanghai on 20 March 1913 under a secret order by Yuan. ==Proposed Han monarchy==

Some advocated that an ethnic Han be installed as Emperor of China, either a descendant of Confucius who held the noble title of the Duke of Yansheng or a descendant of the Ming imperial family who had the title of the Marquis of Extended Grace. The Duke of Yansheng was proposed as a candidate for emperorship by Liang Qichao. The Han hereditary aristocratic nobility, like the Duke of Yansheng, was retained by the new Republic of China, and the title's holders continued to receive their pensions. A plan backed by foreign bankers was reportedly in place to declare the Duke of Yansheng as Emperor of China if the revolutionaries' republican cause had failed. == Legacy ==

Social influence After the revolution, there was a huge outpouring of anti-Manchu sentiment through China, particularly in Beijing, where thousands died in anti-Manchu violence. Imperial restrictions on Han residency and behavior within the city crumbled with the Manchu's imperial power. Anti-Manchu sentiment is recorded in books like A Short History of Slaves () and The Biographies of Avaricious Officials and Corrupt Personnel () by Laoli (). During the abdication of the last Emperor, Yuan Shikai and Sun Yat-sen tried to adopt the concept of "Manchu and Han as one family" (. People started exploring and debating with themselves on the root cause of their national weakness. The new search of identity was the New Culture Movement. Manchu culture and language, on the contrary, became virtually extinct by 2007. Unlike revolutions in the West, the 1911 Revolution did not restructure society. Most participants in the 1911 Revolution were military personnel, traditional bureaucrats, and local gentries and kept their regional power afterward. Some became warlords. There were no major improvements in the standard of living. The writer Lu Xun commented in 1921 during the publishing of The True Story of Ah Q, ten years after the 1911 Revolution, that basically nothing had changed except "the Manchus have left the kitchen." Economic problems were not addressed until the governance of Chiang Ching-kuo in Taiwan and Mao Zedong in Mainland China. The 1911 Revolution mainly got rid of feudalism (fengjian) from the late imperial period. The usual view of historians has two restorations of feudal power after the revolution: Yuan Shikai, followed by Zhang Xun. The effects of anti-Manchu sentiment after the revolution caused the Manchus of the Metropolitan Banners to be driven into deep poverty. Manchu men were too impoverished to marry, Han men married Manchu women, and the Manchus stopped dressing in Manchu clothing and practicing Manchu traditions. Historical significance The 1911 Revolution overthrew the Qing government and four thousand years of monarchy. Since the 1950s, both Chinas have seen the 1911 Revolution quite differently. Both recognize Sun Yat-sen as the Father of the Nation, but in Taiwan, "Father of the Republic of China" is meant. In Mainland China, Sun Yat-sen was seen as the man who helped bring down the Qing, a precondition for the communist state that was founded in 1949. It views Sun's work as the first step toward the real revolution in 1949, when the communists set up a truly-independent state, which expelled foreigners and built a military and industrial power. The father of Communist China is seen as Mao Zedong. Zhou Enlai pointed out that the "1911 Revolution overthrew the Qing rule, ended 4,000 years of monarchy, and liberated the mind of people to a great extent, and opened up the path for the development of future revolution. This is a great victory." Modern evaluation A change in the belief that the revolution had been a generally positive began in the late 1980s and 1990s, but Zhang Shizhao was quoted as arguing, "When talking about the 1911 Revolution, the theorist these days tends to overemphasize. The word 'success' was way overused." The degree of success of democracy gained by the revolution can vary depending on one's view. Even after Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, the Nationalists controlled for sixty years all five branches of the government in Taiwan, and none was independent. Yan Jiaqi, the founder of the Federation for a Democratic China, has said that Sun Yat-sen is to be credited as founding China's first republic in 1912, and the second republic is the people of Taiwan and the political parties, which now democratize the region. Others, such as Qin Yongmin of the Democracy Party of China, who was imprisoned for twelve years, do not praise the 1911 Revolution. Qin said that the revolution only replaced one dictator with another and that Mao is not an emperor but worse than the emperor. Media One of Japan's earliest film companies (M. Pathe, owned by Sun supporter Shōkichi Umeya) documented the success of the revolution from the Wuchang uprising and to Sun's inauguration and produced three documentary films that covered the revolution. ==See also==