The history of the military and cultural events that lead to the overthrew of the last Qing emperor, set up the era of warlords and finally pitted Communists again nationalists during the first two decades of the 20^th century.

A republic was formally established on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which itself began with the Wuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911, successfully overthrowing the Qing dynasty and ending over two thousand years of imperial rule in China.[8] From its founding until 1949 it was based on mainland China. Central authority waxed and waned in response to warlordism(1915–28), Japanese invasion (1937–45), and a full-scale civil war (1927–49), with central authority strongest during the Nanjing Decade (1927–37), when most of China came under the control of the Kuomintang (KMT) under an authoritarian one-party military dictatorship.[9]

In 1912, after over two thousand years of imperial rule, a republic was established to replace the monarchy.[8] The Qing dynastythat preceded the republic experienced a century of instability throughout the 19th century, suffered from both internal rebellion and foreign imperialism.[13] The ongoing instability eventually led to the outburst of Boxer Rebellion in 1900, whose attacks on foreigners led to the invasion by the Eight Nation Alliance. China signed the Boxer Protocol and paid a large indemnity to the foreign powers: 450 million taels of fine silver (around $333 million or £67 million at the then current exchange rates).[14] A program of institutional reform proved too little and too late. Only the lack of an alternative regime prolonged its existence until 1912.[15][16]

The establishment of the Chinese Republic developed out of the Wuchang Uprising against the Qing government on 10 October 1911. That date is now celebrated annually as the ROC's national day, also known as the "Double Ten Day". On 29 December 1911, Sun Yat-sen was elected president by the Nanjing assembly with representatives from seventeen provinces. On 1 January 1912, he was officially inaugurated and pledged "to overthrow the despotic government led by the Manchu, consolidate the Republic of China and plan for the welfare of the people".[17]

An attempt at a democratic election in 1912 ended with the assassination of the elected candidate by a man recruited by Yuan. Ultimately, Yuan declared himself Emperor of China in 1915.[19] The new ruler of China tried to increase centralization by abolishing the provincial system; however, this move angered the gentry along with the provincial governors, usually military men. Many provinces declared independence and became warlord states. Increasingly unpopular and deserted by his supporters, Yuan gave up being Emperor in 1916 and died of natural causes shortly after.[20][21]

China declined into a period of warlordism. Sun, forced into exile, returned to Guangdong province in the south with the help of warlords in 1917 and 1922, and set up successive rival governments to the Beiyang government in Beijing; he re-established the KMT in October 1919. Sun's dream was to unify China by launching an expedition to the north. However, he lacked military support and funding to make it a reality.[22]

Meanwhile, the Beiyang government struggled to hold on to power, and an open and wide-ranging debate evolved regarding how China should confront the West. In 1919, a student protest against the government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, considered unfair by Chinese intellectuals, led to the May Fourth movement. These demonstrations were aimed at spreading Western influence to replace Chinese culture. It is also in this intellectual climate that the influence of Marxism spread and became more popular. It eventually led to the founding of the Communist Party of China in 1921.[23]

The Warlord Era in China

The Zhili-Anhui War

Beiyang Government

The abdication of Pu-Yi, last Emperor of China

Chinese Labor Corps

The Xinhai Revolution

Song Jiaoren

Honmenghui

Koumintang

Zhang Zongchang

The Tongmenghui (or T'ung-meng Hui, variously translated Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance, United Allegiance Society, 中國同盟會) was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Japan, on 20 August 1905.[1][2] It was formed from the merger of many Chinese revolutionary groups in the late Qing dynasty. 

Revolutionary era

Credential of Tongmenghui

The Tongmenghui was created through the unification of Sun Yat-sen's Xingzhonghui (Revive China Society), the Guangfuhui (Restoration Society) and many other Chinese revolutionary groups. Among the Tongmenghui's members were Huang Xing, Li Zongren, Zhang Binglin, Chen Tianhua, Wang Jingwei, Hu Hanmin, Tao Chengzhang, Cai Yuanpei, Li Shizeng, Zhang Renjie, and Qiu Jin. 

In 1906, a branch of the Tongmenghui was formed in Singapore, following Sun's visit there; this was called the Nanyang branch and served as headquarters of the organization for Southeast Asia. The members of the branch included Wong Hong-kui (黃康衢; Huang Kangqu),[3] Tan Chor Lam (陳楚楠; Chen Chu'nan; 1884-1971)[4] and Teo Eng Hock (張永福; Zhang Yongfu; originally a rubber shoe manufacturer).[5] Tan Chor Lam, Teo Eng Hock and Chan Po-yin (陳步賢; Chen Buxian; 1883-1965) started the revolution-related Chong Shing Chinese Daily Newspaper (中興日報, 中興 meaning China revival),[6] with the inaugural issue on 20 August 1907 and a daily distribution of 1,000 copies. The newspaper ended in 1910, presumably due to the Xinhai Revolution in 1911. Working with other Cantonese people, Tan, Teo and Chan opened the revolution-related Kai Ming Bookstore (開明書報社, 開明 meaning open wisdom)[7] in Singapore. For the revolution, Chan Po-yin raised over 30,000 yuan for the purchase and shipment (from Singapore to China) of military equipment and for the support of the expenses of people travelling from Singapore to China for revolutionary work.[8][9]

In 1909, the headquarters of the Nanyang Tongmenghui was transferred to Penang. Sun Yat-Sen himself was based in Penang from July to December 1910. During this time, the 1910 Penang Conference was held to plan the Second Guangzhou Uprising. The Tongmenghui also started a newspaper, the Kwong Wah Jit Poh, with the first issue published in December 1910 from 120 Armenian Street, Penang. 

In Henan, some Chinese Muslims were members of the Tongmenghui.[10]

Republican era

After Shanghai was occupied by the revolutionaries in November 1911, the Tongmenghui moved its headquarters to Shanghai. After the Nanjing Provisional Government was established, the headquarters was moved to Nanjing. A general meeting was held in Nanking on 20 January 1912, with thousands of members attending. Hu Hanmin, who represented the Provisional President Sun Yat-sen, moved that the Tongmenghui oath be changed to "overthrow the Manchu government, consolidate the Republic of China, and implement the Min Sheng Chu I". Wang Jingwei was elected as Chairman, succeeding Sun. Wang resigned the following month, and Sun resumed the chairmanship.[11]

After the establishment of the Republic of China, the Tongmenghui transformed itself into a political party on 3 March 1912, in preparation for participation in constitutional and parliamentary activities. It issued a Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China, which consisted of 34 articles, meaning it had 10 more than the constitutional proposal made when the Tongmenghui was a secret society. The leadership election was held on the same day, with Sun Yat-sen elected as Chairman, Huang Xing and Li Yuanhung as Vice-Chairmen. In May 1912, the Tongmenghui moved its headquarters to Beijing. At that time, the Tongmenghui was the largest party in China, with branches in Guangdong, Szechuan, Wuhan, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Anqing, Fuzhou and Tianjin. It had a membership of about 550 thousand.[11] In August 1912, the Tongmenghui formed the nucleus of the Kuomintang, the governing political party of the republic. 

Slogan and motto

In 1904, by combining republican, nationalist, and socialist objectives, the Tongmenghui came up with their political goal: to expel the Manchu people, to revive Zhonghua, to establish a Republic, and to distribute land equally among the people. (驅除韃虜, 恢復中華, 創立民國, 平均地權 Qūchú dálǔ, huīfù Zhōnghuá, chuànglì mínguó, píngjūn dì quán).[2] The Three Principles of the People were created around the time of the merging of Revive China Society and the Tongmenghui.[12][13]

See also

• Revive China Society
• Gelaohui
• Kuomintang
• History of the Republic of China
• Huaxinghui

References

1. "The Manchu Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Internal Threats". Countries Quest. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
2. 計秋楓; 朱慶葆 (2001).  中國近代史. Volume 1. Chinese University Press. p. 468. ISBN 9789622019874.
3. 尤列事略补述一. ifeng.com (in Chinese). Phoenix New Media.
4. 陈楚楠 [Chen Chu'nan]. Baidu Baike (in Chinese). 3 December 2011.
5. 张永福 [Zhang Yongfu]. Baidu Baike (in Chinese). Baidu. 6 May 2012.
6. 中兴日报 [ZTE Daily]. Baidu Baike (in Chinese). Baidu. 8 December 2011.
7. 张冬冬 (21 October 2011). （辛亥百年）探寻同德书报社百年坚守的"秘诀"[Xinhai Century: exploring the Tongmenhui publisher's hundred-year secret]. China News (in Chinese). Singapore. China News Service.
8. Chan Chung, Rebecca; Chung, Deborah; Ng Wong, Cecilia (2012). Piloted to Serve.
9. "Piloted to Serve". Facebook.
10. Allès, Elisabeth (September–October 2003). "Notes on some joking relationships between Hui and Han villages in Henan". China Perspectives (49).
11. Zhang, Yufa (1985).  民國初年的政黨 [Minguo chu nian de zheng dang]. Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica.
12. Sharman, Lyon (1968). Sun Yat-sen: His life and its meaning, a critical biography. Stanford: Stanford University Press. pp. 94, 271.
13. Li Chien-Nung; Li Jiannong; Teng, Ssu-yu; Ingalls, Jeremy (1956). The political history of China, 1840-1928. Stanford University Press. pp. 203–206. ISBN 9780804706025.

External links

• Tongmenhui activities in the US

Wu Peifu[1] or Wu P'ei-fu[2] (simplified Chinese: 吴佩孚; traditional Chinese: 吳佩孚; pinyin: Wú Pèifú; IPA: ; April 22, 1874 – December 4, 1939), was a major figure in the struggles between the warlords who dominated Republican China from 1916-27.