Republic of China

 

The Wuchang Uprising was the Chinese uprising that served as the catalyst to the Xinhai Revolution, ending the Qing Dynasty -- and two millennia of imperial rule -- and ushering in the Republic of China (ROC). It began with the dissatisfaction of the handling of a railway crisis. The crisis then escalated to an uprising where the revolutionaries went up against Qing government officials. The uprising was then assisted by the New Army in a coup against their own authorities in the city of Wuchang, Hubei province on October 10, 1911. The Battle of Yangxia led by Huang Xing would be the major engagement in the uprising.
The Battle of Yangxia  also known as the Defense of Yangxia  was fought from October 18 to December 1, 1911 between the revolutionaries of the Wuchang Uprising and the loyalist armies of the Qing Dynasty. The battle was the largest military engagement of the Xinhai Revolution and was waged in Hankou and Hanyang, which along with Wuchang collectively form the tri-cities of Wuhan in central China. Though outnumbered by the Qing armies and possessing inferior weaponry, the revolutionaries fought valiantly in defense of Hankou and Hanyang. After heavy and bloody fighting, the stronger loyalist forces eventually prevailed in taking both Hankou and Hanyang, but the 41 days of resistance by the Revolutionary Army gave time for the revolution's political movement to form and other provinces to join the revolution against the Qing Dynasty. Hostilities ceased on December 1, after the commander-in-chief of the Qing forces, Yuan Shikai, agreed to a ceasefire and sent envoy to peace talks with the revolutionaries. Political negotiations eventually led to the abdication of the Last Emperor, the end of the Qing Dynasty and the formation of a unity government for the newly-established Republic of China.

A republic was formally established on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which itself began with the Wuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911, replacing the Qing Dynasty and ending over two thousand years of imperial rule in China. 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 the Chinese 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 single-party state.At the end of World War II in 1945, the Empire of Japan surrendered control of Taiwan and its island groups to the Allied Forces, and Taiwan was placed under the Republic of China's administrative control. The legitimacy of this transfer is disputed and is another aspect of the disputed political status of Taiwan.
The communist takeover of mainland China in the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and later Hainan, Tachen and other outlying islands in the early 1950s left the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) with control over only Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. With the 1949 loss of mainland China in the civil war, the ROC government retreated to Taiwan and the KMT declared Taipei the provisional capital. The Communist Party of China took over all of mainland Chinaand founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing, which claimed to be the successor of the Republic of China and the sole legitimate government of all of "China" – a claim also nominally made by the Republic of China government which still rules from Taipei to this day, although it no longer actively challenges PRC's rule of mainland China.

Recapitulation of History of China

History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2100–1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BCE
Zhou Dynasty 1045–256 BCE
Western Zhou
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn period
Warring States period
IMPERIAL
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE–206 BCE
Han Dynasty 206 BCE–220 CE
Western Han
Xin Dynasty
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220–280
Wei, Shu and Wu
Jin Dynasty 265–420
Western Jin	16 Kingdoms 304–439
Eastern Jin
Southern and Northern Dynasties 420–589
Sui Dynasty 581–618
Tang Dynasty 618–907
(Second Zhou 690–705)
5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms 907–960	Liao Dynasty 907–1125
Song Dynasty 960–1279
Northern Song		W. Xia
Southern Song	Jin
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368
Ming Dynasty 1368–1644
Qing Dynasty 1644–1911

Sun Yat-sen (contd-3)

Sun was in exile not only in Japan, but also in Europe, the United States, and Canada. He raised 

money for his revolutionary party and to support uprisings in China. In 1896 he was detained at the 

Chinese Legation in London, where the Chinese Imperial secret service planned to kill him. He was released after 12 days through the efforts of James Cantlie, The Times, and the Foreign Office, leaving Sun a hero in Britain. James Cantlie, Sun's former teacher at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, maintained a lifelong friendship with Sun and would later write an early biography of Sun.A "Heaven and Earth Society" sect known as Tiandihui has been around for a long time. The group has also been referred to as the "three cooperating organizations" as well as the triads. Sun Yat-sen mainly used this group to leverage his overseas travels to gain further financial and resource support for his revolution.

According to Lee Yun-ping, chairman of the Chinese historical society, Sun needed a certificate to enter the United States at a time when the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 would have otherwise blocked him.However, on Sun's first attempt to enter the US, he was still arrested He was later bailed out after 17 days. In March 1904, while residing in Kula, Maui, Sun Yat-sen obtained a Certificate of Hawaiian Birth, issued by the Territory of Hawaii, stating that "he was born in the Hawaiian Islands on the 24th day of November, A.D. 1870." He renounced it after it served its purpose to circumvent the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Official files of the United States show that Sun had United States nationality, moved to China with his family at age 4, and returned to Hawaii 10 years later.

In 1904 Sun Yat-sen came about with the goal "to expel the Tatar barbarians, to revive Zhonghua, to establish a Republic, and to distribute land equally among the people." ). One of Sun's major legacies was the creation of his political philosophy of the Three Principles of the People. These Principles included the principle of 1.nationalism (minzu,), 2. of democracy (minquan,), and 3. of welfare (minsheng,).

On 20 August 1905 Sun joined forces with revolutionary Chinese students studying in Tokyo, Japan to form the unified group Tongmenghui (United League), which sponsored uprisings in China. By 1906 the number of Tongmenghui members reached 963 people..

Sun's notability and popularity extends beyond the Greater China region, particularly toNanyang (Southeast Asia) where a large concentration of overseas Chinese reside in Malaya(Malaysia and Singapore). While in Singapore he met local Chinese merchants Teo Eng Hock, Tan Chor Nam and Lim Nee Soon, which mark the commencement of direct support from the Nanyang Chinese. The Singapore chapter of the Tongmenghui was established on 6 April 1906. Though some records claim the founding date to be end of 1905. The villaused by Sun was known as Wan Qing Yuan. At this point Singapore was the headquarter of the Tongmenghui.

On 1 December 1907 Sun led the Zhennanguan uprising against the Qing at Friendship Pass, which is the border between Guangxi and Vietnam. The uprising failed after seven days of fighting. In 1907 there were a total of four uprisings that failed including Huanggang uprising, Huizhou seven women lake uprising and Qinzhou uprising. In 1908 two more uprisings failed one after another including Qin-lian uprising and Hekou uprising.

To sponsor more uprisings, Sun made a personal plea for financial aid at the Penang conference held on 13 November 1910 in Malaya. The leaders launched a major drive for donations across the Malay Peninsula. They raised HK$187,000.

On 27 April 1911 revolutionary Huang Xing led a second Guangzhou uprising known as the Yellow Flower Mound revolt against the Qing. The revolt failed and ended in disaster; only the bodies of 72 revolutionaries were found. The revolutionaries are remembered as martyrs.

On 10 October 1911 a military uprising at Wuchang took place led again by Huang Xing. At the time Sun had no direct involvement as he was still in exile. Huang was in charge of the revolution that ended over 2000 years of imperial rule in China. When Sun learned of the successful rebellion against the Qing emperor from press reports, he immediately returned to China from the United States accompanied by General Homer Lea on 21 December 1911. The uprising expanded to the Xinhai Revolution also known as the "Chinese Revolution" to overthrow the last Emperor Puyi. After this event 10 October became known as the commemoration of Double Ten Day
.
Anti-Sun movements

Because of these failures Sun's leadership was beginning to be challenged by elements from within the Tongmenghui who wished to remove him as leader. In Tokyo 1907–1908 members from the recently merged Restoration society raised doubts about Sun's credentials. Tao Chengzhang  and Zhang Binglin publicly denounced Sun with an open leaflet called "A declaration of Sun Yat-sen's criminal acts by the revolutionaries in Southeast Asia". This was printed and distributed in reformist newspapers like Nanyang Zonghui Bao. Their goal was to target Sun as a leader leading a revolt for profiteering gains.

The revolutionaries were polarized and split between pro-Sun and anti-Sun camps. Sun publicly fought off comments about how he had something to gain financially from the revolution. In 1910 Sun took the time to establish the United Chinese Library in Singapore. But by 19 July 1910 the Tongmenghui headquarter had to relocate from Singapore to Penang to reduce the anti-Sun activities. It is also in Penang that Sun and his supporters would launch the first Chinese "daily" newspaper, the Kwong Wah Yit Poh on December 1910.

To sponsor more uprisings, Sun made a personal plea for financial aid at the Penang conference held on 13 November 1910 in Malaya. The leaders launched a major drive for donations across the Malay Peninsula. They raised HK$187,000.

On 27 April 1911 revolutionary Huang Xing led a second Guangzhou uprising known as the Yellow Flower Mound revolt against the Qing. The revolt failed and ended in disaster; only the bodies of 72 revolutionaries were found. The revolutionaries are remembered as martyrs.

On 10 October 1911 a military uprising at Wuchang took place led again by Huang Xing. At the time Sun had no direct involvement as he was still in exile. Huang was in charge of the revolution that ended over 2000 years of imperial rule in China. When Sun learned of the successful rebellion against the Qing emperor from press reports, he immediately returned to China from the United States accompanied by General Homer Lea on 21 December 1911. The uprising expanded to the Xinhai Revolution also known as the "Chinese Revolution" to overthrow the last Emperor Puyi. After this event 10 October became known as the commemoration of Double Ten Day.

Provisional President of the Republic of China
In office 1 January 1912 – 10 March 1912
Vice President	Li Yuanhong
Succeeded by	Yuan Shikai
Premier of the Kuomintang of China
In office 10 October 1919 – 12 March 1925
Preceded by	Himself (as Premier of Chinese Revolutionary Party)
Succeeded by	Zhang Renjie (as chairman)
Personal details
Born	(1866-11-12)12 November 1866 Xiangshan, Guangdong, China
Died	12 March 1925(1925-03-12) (aged 58) Beijing
Resting place	Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
Nationality	Chinese
Political party	Kuomintang
Other political affiliations	Chinese Revolutionary Party
Spouse(s)	Lu Muzhen (1885–1915) Kaoru Otsuki (1903–1906) Soong Ching-ling (1915–1925) Chen Cui-fen (1892-1925)
Children	Sun Fo Sun Yan Sun Wan Fumiko Miyagawa (b. 1906）
Alma mater	Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese
Occupation	Physician Politician Revolutionary Writer
Religion	Congregationalist
Signature

Sun Yat-sen (contd-2)

Although not trained for a political career in the traditional style, Sun was nevertheless ambitious and was troubled by the way China, which had clung to its traditional ways under the conservative Qing dynasty, suffered humiliation at the hands of more technologically advanced nations. Forsaking his medical practice in Guangzhou, he went north in 1894 to seek political fortunes. In a long letter to Li Hongzhang, governor-general of Zhili (Chihli, now Hebei) province, he set forth his ideas of how China could gain strength, but all he received from Li was a perfunctory endorsement of his scheme for an agricultural-sericultural association. With this scant reference, Sun went to Hawaii in October 1894 and founded an organization called the Revive China Society (Xingzhonghui), which became the forerunner of the secret revolutionary groups Sun later headed. As far as it can be determined, the membership was drawn entirely from natives of Guangdong and from lower social classes, such as clerks, peasants, and artisans.
In 1895 China suffered a serious defeat during the First Sino-Japanese War. There were two types of response. One group of intellectuals contended that the Manchu Qing government could restore its legitimacy by successfully modernizing. Stressing that overthrowing the Manchu would result in chaos and would lead to China being carved up by imperialists, intellectuals like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao supported responding with initiatives like the Hundred Days' Reform. In another faction, Sun Yat-sen and others like Zou Rong wanted a revolution to replace the dynastic system with a modern nation-state in the form of a republic. The Hundred Day's reform turned out to be a failure by 1898
Taking advantage of China’s defeat in the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) and the ensuing crisis, Sun went to Hong Kong in 1895 and plotted for an uprising in Guangzhou (Canton), the capital of his native province.
In the second year of the establishment of the Revive China society on 26 October 1895, the group planned and launched the First Guangzhou uprising against the Qing in Guangzhou. Yeung Kui-wan directed the uprising starting from Hong Kong. However, plans were leaked out and more than 70 members, including Lu Hao-tung, were captured by the Qing government. The uprising was a failure.When the scheme failed, he began a 16-year exile abroad.
Sun Yat-sen spent time living in Japan while in exile. He befriended and was financially aided by a democratic revolutionary named Miyazaki Toten. Most Japanese who actively worked with Sun were motivated by a pan-Asian fear of encroaching Western imperialism. While in Japan, Sun also met and befriended Mariano Ponce, then a diplomat of the First Philippine Republic. During the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War, Sun helped Ponce procure weapons salvaged from the Imperial Japanese Army and ship the weapons to the Philippines. By helping the Philippine Republic, Sun hoped that the Filipinos would win their independence so that he could use the archipelago as a staging point of another revolution. However, as the war ended in July 1902, America emerged victorious from a bitter 3-year war against the Republic. Therefore, the Filipino dream of independence vanished with Sun's hopes of collaborating with the Philippines in his revolution in China
Second Uprising by Sun Yat-sen: On 22 October 1900 Sun launched the Huizhou uprising to attack Huizhou and provincial authorities in Guangdong. This came five years after the failed Guangzhou uprising. This time Sun appealed to the triads for help. This uprising was also a failure. Miyazaki who participated in the revolt with Sun wrote an account of this revolutionary effort under the title "33-year dream" in 1902.
Sun was in exile not only in Japan, but also in Europe, the United States, and Canada. He raised money for his revolutionary party and to support uprisings in China. In 1896 he was detained at the Chinese Legation in London, where the Chinese Imperial secret service planned to kill him. He was released after 12 days through the efforts of James Cantlie, The Times, and the Foreign Office, leaving Sun a hero in Britain.James Cantlie, Sun's former teacher at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, maintained a lifelong friendship with Sun and would later write an early biography of Sun.

First Sino_Japanese Wars (1894-1895)

The First Sino–Japanese War (1 August 1894 – 17 April 1895) was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea. After more than six months of continuous successes by the Japanese army and naval forces, as well as the loss of the Chinese port of Weihai, the Qing leadership sued for peace in February 1895.
The war was a clear indication of the failure of the Qing dynasty's attempts to modernize its military and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially compared with Japan's successful post-Meiji restoration.(The Meiji Restoration 

 also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution,Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868 underEmperor Meiji. The goals of the restored government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath.)
First Sino-Japanese War, (1894–95), conflict between Japan and China that marked the emergence of Japan as a major world power and demonstrated the weakness of the Chinese empire. The war grew out of conflict between the two countries for supremacy in Korea. Korea had long been China’s most important client state, but its strategic location opposite the Japanese islands and its natural resources of coal and iron attracted Japan’s interest. In 1875 Japan, which had begun to adopt Western technology, forced Korea to open itself to foreign, especially Japanese, trade and to declare itself independent from China in its foreign relations.Japan soon became identified with the more radical modernizing forces within the Korean government, while China continued to sponsor the conservative officials gathered around the royal family. In 1884 a group of pro-Japanese reformers attempted to overthrow the Korean government, but Chinese troops under Gen. Yuan Shikai rescued the King, killing several Japanese legation guards in the process. War was avoided between Japan and China by the signing of the Li-Itō Convention, in which both nations agreed to withdraw troops from Korea.
In 1894, however, Japan, flushed with national pride in the wake of its successful modernization program and its growing influence upon young Koreans, was not so ready to compromise. In that year, Kim Ok-kyun, the pro-Japanese Korean leader of the 1884 coup, was lured to Shanghai and assassinated, probably by agents of Yuan Shikai. His body was then put aboard a Chinese warship and sent back to Korea, where it was quartered and displayed as a warning to other rebels. The Japanese government took this as a direct affront, and the Japanese public was outraged. The situation was made more tense later in the year when the Tonghak rebellion broke out in Korea, and the Chinese government, at the request of the Korean king, sent troops to aid in dispersing the rebels. The Japanese considered this a violation of the Li-Itō Convention, and they sent 8,000 troops to Korea. When the Chinese tried to reinforce their own forces, the Japanese sank the British steamer Kowshing, which was carrying the reinforcements, further inflaming the situation.
War was finally declared on Aug. 1, 1894. Although foreign observers had predicted an easy victory for the more massive Chinese forces, the Japanese had done a more successful job of modernizing, and they were better equipped and prepared. Japanese troops scored quick and overwhelming victories on both land and sea. By March 1895 the Japanese had successfully invaded Shandong province and Manchuria and had fortified posts that commanded the sea approaches to Beijing. The Chinese sued for peace.
In the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which ended the conflict, China recognized the independence of Korea and ceded Taiwan, the adjoining Pescadores, and the Liaodong Peninsula in Manchuria.

China also agreed to pay a large indemnity and to give Japan trading privileges on Chinese territory. This treaty was later somewhat modified by Russian fears of Japanese expansion, and the combined intercession of Russia, France, and Germany forced Japan to return the Liaodong Peninsula to China.
China’s defeat encouraged the Western powers to make further demands of the Chinese government. In China itself, the war triggered a reform movement that attempted to renovate the government; it also resulted in the beginnings of revolutionary activity against the Qing dynasty rulers of China.

Sun Yat-Sen (contd-1)

Sun Yat-sen (back row, fifth from left) and his family
 
At age 10, Sun Yat-sen began seeking schooling. It is also at this point where he met childhood friend Lu Hao-tung. By age 13 in 1878 after receiving aSun Mei  in Honolulu.

few years of local schooling, Sun went to live with his elder brother,
Sun Yat-sen then studied at ʻIolani School where he learned English, British history, mathematics, science, and Christianity. Originally unable to speak the English language, Sun Yat-sen picked up the language so quickly that he received a prize for outstanding achievement from King David Kalākaua. Sun graduated from Iolani in 1882. Then attended Oahu College (now known as Punahou School), for one semester. In 1883 he was soon sent home to China as his brother was becoming afraid that Sun Yat-sen would embrace Christianity.
When he returned home in 1883 at age 17, Sun met up with his childhood friend Lu Hao-tung at Beijidian , a temple in Cuiheng Village. They saw many villagers worshipping the Beiji (literally North Pole) Emperor-God in the temple, and were dissatisfied with their ancient healing methods. They broke the statue, incurring the wrath of fellow villagers, and escaped to Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong in 1883 he studied at the Diocesan Boys' School and from 1884 to 1886 he was at the government Central school.. Meanwhile Sun  married Lu Muzhen (1867–1952), who was chosen for him by his parents. Out of this marriage a son and two daughters were born.
In 1886 Sun studied medicine at the Guangzhou Boji Hospital under the Christian missionary John G. Kerr. Ultimately, he earned the license of Christian practice as a medical doctor from the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (the forerunner of The University of Hong Kong) in 1892. Notably, of his class of 12 students, Sun was one of only two who graduated.

 

( Description of the pictures ; from top: 2nd-punahou school, 3rdPunahou_School_Bingham_Hall-4th-Punahou_School_Round_Top_2, 5th-PunahouSchool-presidents-house, 6th-Sun_Yat-sen_as_A_School_Boy_In_Hawaii,_age_13.) 7th-School badge

Sun Yat-Sen, father of modern China - 1911

The original name of 1. Sun Yatsen was 2. Sun Wen  and his family name was 3. Sun Demin. As a child, his "milk name" was 4. Dixiang .The courtesy name of Sun Yat-sen was 5. Zaizhi , and his baptized name was 6. Rixin . While at school in Hong Kong he got the name 7. Yat Sen ; Hanyu pinyin: Yìxiān). Sun Zhongshan , the most popular of his Chinese names, came from the "Nakayama"  of 8. Japanese name given to him by Miyazaki Touten.

Sun Yat-sen was born on 12 November 1866.                                            

His birth place was the village Cuiheng , Xiangshan County Sun Yat-sen was born on 12 November 1866.^[2] His birthplace was the village of Cuiheng, Xiangshan County, (later Zhongshan County) Guangdong Province.^[2] He had a cultural background of Hakka^[9] and Cantonese. After finishing primary education, he moved to Honolulu, where he lived a comfortable life of modest wealth supported by his elder brother Sun MeiZhongshan. Province-Guangdong 

 He had a cultural background Hakka Cantonese. After finishing primary education, he moved to Honolulu, where he lived a comfortable life of modest wealth supported by his elder brother Sun Mei

End of dynasties and Beginning of Modern China (cond-1)

Forbidden City, Beijing

Before Qing's establishment, there was a regime called 'Latter Jin' that had been set up by Nurhachu, leader of the

Man Ethnic Minority. Actually, Man people were the offspring of the Nuzhen people who had always been living in Northeast China. After reunifying all the Nuzhen tribes, Nurhachu proclaimed himself emperor in 1616. Thus a new regime called Latter Jin was founded in Hetu Ala (in current Liaoning Province) during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644).

In 1636, Huang Taiji, son of Nurhachu moved the capital to Shenyang (currently the capital city of Liaoning Province) and changed the regime title into 'Qing'. In 1644 when peasant's uprising leader Li Zicheng ended Ming and set up a new regime in Beijing, the Qing army seduced a general named Wu Sangui to rebel against Li Zicheng.  With Wu's help, the Qing army successfully captured Beijing and rooted their regime there.

Old Summer Palace was destroyed  by British and French troop in 1860

At the beginning, the Qing court carried out a series of policies to revive the social economy and alleviate the class contradiction. In politics, following Ming's ruling pattern, the imperial rulers continued to strengthen the centralized system. Meanwhile, the court resumed the 'Sheng' administrative system that established by Yuan(1271 - 1368). Especially, in the frontiers like Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongol and Taiwan Island, the court set out to enhance the power of the imperial ruling.

By the middle of the 18th century, the feudal economy of the Qing Dynasty reached a zenith, spanning the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong. So that period was usually called 'the golden age of three emperors'. In that period, both culture and science were much more prosperous than any other periods. The notable book, The Imperial Collection of Four, was edited in that period. Also, a group of scholars and artists such as Cao Xueqin (writer of A Dream of Red Mansions), Wu Jingzi (writer of The Scholars) and Kong Shangren (writer of The Peach Blossom Fan) gradually appeared. In the field of science, the achievements in architecture were outstanding.

Summer Palace, Beijing

After the middle period, all kinds of social contradictions increasingly surfaced and Qing began to decline. Under the corrupt ruling of the later rulers, various rebellions and uprisings broke out. In 1840 when the Opium War broke out, the Qing court was faced with troubles at home and aggression from abroad. During that period, measures were adopted by imperial rulers and some radical peasants to bolster their power. The Westernization Movement, the Reform Movement of 1898 and the Taiping Rebellion were the most influential ones, but none of them had ever succeeded in saving the dying Qing Dynasty.

Finally, the Revolution of 1911 led by Sun Yat-sen broke out and overthrew the Empire of Qing, bringing two thousand years of Chinese feudal monarchy to an end.