...named for the year 1911 in the Chinese calendar, overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing, and established the Republic of China. It arose mainly in response to the decline of the Qing state, which had proven ineffective in its efforts to modernize China and confront foreign aggression, and was exacerbated by ethnic resentment against the ruling Manchu minority. The brief civil war that ensued was ended through a political compromise between Yuan Shikai, the Qing military strongman, and Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Tongmenghui (United League). After the Qing court transferred power to the newly founded republic, a provisional coalition government was created along with the National Assembly. However, political power of the new national government in Beijing was soon thereafter monopolized by Yuan and decades of political division and warlordism ensued, including several attempts at imperial restoration.
Today, October 10 is commemorated in Taiwan as Double Ten Day, the National Day of the Republic of China. Many overseas Chinese also celebrate the anniversary in Chinatowns across the world.
Wuchang Uprising
In the late summer of 1911, some Hubei New Army units were ordered to Hankou 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. Revolutionaries had made bombs, but on October 9, one went off prematurely at their headquarters in the Russian concession, and was investigated by the police who found a list of names of the conspirators. Revolutionary leader Xiong Bingkun decided not to delay the uprising any longer and launched the revolt on October 10, 1911. The entire city of Wuchang was captured by the revolutionaries by the morning of October 11. That evening, they announced the establishment of the "Military Government in Hubei of the Republic of China (ROC)." Qing requests for foreign assistance to put down the rebels were ignored, and cities and provinces began to declare their independence.
Qing Constitutional monarchy
During the Xinhai Rebellion, southern provinces declared their independence from the Qing Court, but neither the northern provinces nor the Beiyang Army had a clear stance for or against the rebellion. Both the Court and Yuan were fully aware that the Beiyang Army was the only Qing force powerful enough to quell the revolutionaries. The court requested Yuan's return on 27 October, but he repeatedly declined offers from the Qing Court, first to be Viceroy of Huguang, and then Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet. Time was on Yuan's side, and he waited, using his "foot ailment" as a pretext for his continual refusals.
After further pleas by the Qing Court, Yuan was finally persuaded to take up command of the army in return for the office of Prime Minister. He became Prime Minister on 1 November 1911. On November 3, the Qing court passed the Nineteen Articles, which turned the Qing into a constitutional monarchy. The Court changes were too late, however, and the emperor was about to have to step down.
In the Battle of Yangxia Oct 18-Dec 1, 1911, Yuan’s forces recaptured Hankou
from the rebels, but Yuan knew that complete suppression of the revolution would end his usefulness to the Qing regime, so instead of attacking Wuchang, he began to negotiate with the revolutionaries.
Abdication of the child emperor
The revolutionaries had elected Sun Yat-Sen as the first Provisional President of the Republic of China, but they were in a weak position militarily, so they negotiated with the Qing, using Yuan as an intermediary. Yuan arranged for the abdication of the child emperor Puyi (Xuantong) in return for being granted the position of President of the Republic. Sun agreed to Yuan's presidency in return for having the capital in Nanjing. Yuan, however, wanted the capital to be close to his base of military power, so he fabricated a coup d'état in Beijing and Tianjin (Donghuamen Incident) to provide an excuse not to leave his sphere of influence in Hebei province. The revolutionaries compromised again, and the capital of the new republic was established in Beijing. Yuan was elected Provisional President of the Republic of China by the Nanjing Senate on 14 February 1912, and sworn in on 10 March of that year.
Tibetan independence
By the end of 1912, the last Manchu troops were escorted out of Tibet. Thubten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama, returned to Tibet in January 1913 from Sikkim, where he had been residing. When the new ROC government apologised 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, that Tibet had never been subordinated to China, that Tibet was an independent country, and that he was resuming spiritual and political leadership of Tibet. Tibet enjoyed thirty years free of interference from China.
Republican government in Beijing
The government based in Beijing, called the Beiyang Government, was internationally recognized as the legitimate government of the Republic of China until 1928. The first National Assembly elections took place according to the Provisional Constitution. The Kuomintang (KMT – Nationalist Party) was formed on August 25, 1912 and won a majority of the seats in the election. Song Jiaoren, who had been openly critical of Yuan, was elected Premier. After arriving in Peking, the elected Parliament attempted to exert control over Yuan, develop a permanent constitution, and hold a legitimate presidential election. They were especially critical of Yuan's approval of $100 million in "reorganization loans" from a variety of foreign banks.
Yuan attempted to bribe KMT members in the two legislative chambers not to appear at the legislative session. Those who did not accept the offer were harassed and jailed. The Parliament was dissolved due to a lack of quorum and Yuan replaced them with a “Council of State” with Duan Qirui, his trusted Beiyang lieutenant, as Prime Minister. The KMT was further labeled an illegal party.
On 20 March 1913, while travelling with a group of friends to Peking, Song Jiaoren was shot by a lone gunman at a Shanghai railway station, and died two days later. The evidence led to the secretary of the cabinet of Yuan Shikai's government. However, the main conspirators investigated by authorities were either themselves assassinated or disappeared mysteriously, so, due to a lack of evidence, no one was ever officially charged.
In July 1913, the KMT instigated the Second Revolution as an attempt to overthrow Yuan Shikai. Seven southern provinces rebelled against Yuan. In September, Yuan took Nanchang and the KMT forces were broken. Yuan was elected president, and was recognized by foreign governments in exchange for autonomy for Mongolia (Russian sphere of influence) and Tibet (British sphere). Sun Yat-sen and the Soongs fled to Japan. A “constitutional compact” created by members of Yuan's cabinet gave Yuan unlimited powers. After his victory, Yuan reorganized the provincial governments by adding a military governor with control of his own provincial army. This decentralization laid the foundations for the warlordism that would cripple China over the next two decades.