Early career ,
Changsha,
Hunan, China. Cai studied at the prestigious and progressive
Shiwu Xuetang (School of Current Affairs), where he was taught by reformer faction intellectual
Liang Qichao and
Tang Caichang. He went to
Japan in 1899. Cai returned to China in 1900, when he was only 18, and attempted to take part in an uprising against the
Qing Dynasty as part of the Self-Support Army, a revolutionary militia led by Tang Caichang. When the rebellion failed, Cai returned to Japan. During this second sojourn in Japan he received military training at the
Tokyo Shimbu Gakko, followed by the
Imperial Japanese Army Academy. He returned to
Guangxi Province, where he held several military posts and established a military training academy from 1904 to 1910. While in Guangxi he joined the
Tongmenghui, a Chinese revolutionary organization dedicated to the overthrow of the
Qing dynasty. In 1910 he was transferred to
Yunnan Province to command the 37th Brigade of the
New Army and teach at the Yunnan Military Academy in
Kunming. One of his pupils at the school was
Zhu De, who began studying there in 1909 and graduated in 1912. Shortly after the
Xinhai Revolution began on 10 October 1911, Cai, leading the 37th Brigade, successfully occupied Yunnan. After the revolution he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Military Government of Yunnan. Cai E was Governor of Yunnan from 1911 to 1913. After the revolution Cai gained a reputation as a strong supporter of democracy and of
Kuomintang politician
Song Jiaoren. Following Song's assassination by
Yuan Shikai, and Yuan's subsequent assumption of the presidency of the
Republic of China, Yuan had Cai removed from office and eventually held under house arrest in
Beijing.
Opposition to Yuan Shikai In 1915,
Yuan Shikai announced his plans to dissolve the
Republic and proclaim himself the emperor of a new dynasty. After hearing of his intentions, Cai escaped assassination on 11 November, first returning to Japan and then to
Yunnan. On 12 December, Yuan formally "accepted" a petition to become emperor, and protests spread throughout China. On 23 December Cai sent a telegram to Beijing threatening to declare independence if Yuan did not cancel his plans within two days. When Yuan did not respond favorably, Cai declared independence on 25 December and made plans to invade
Sichuan. The governor of
Guizhou joined Cai in rebellion, declaring independence on 27 December. Yuan had himself inaugurated as emperor on 1 January 1916, and Cai successfully occupied Sichuan later that month. Yuan sent two leading military commanders from northern China to attack Cai, but although the forces sent by Yuan outnumbered Cai's army, Yuan's commanders were either unwilling or unable to defeat him. When it became clear that Cai's rebellion would be successful, many other provinces joined him in resisting Yuan. Guangxi and Shandong declared independence in March, Guangdong and Zhejiang in April and Shaanxi, Sichuan and Hunan in May. With several provinces behind them, the revolutionaries successfully forced Yuan to abandon monarchism on 20 March 1916. After Yuan died on 6 June 1916, Cai held the positions of Governor-General and Governor of Sichuan. He left for Japan for medical treatment at
Kyushu Imperial University in
Fukuoka for
tuberculosis later in 1916, but died shortly after his arrival. He was accorded a
state funeral in China at
Yuelu Mountain in
Hunan on 12 April 1917. ==Legacy==