110 Xinhai Revolution
Welcome to listen to Chinese history, but that's it. The author and the podcaster discuss how the Xinhai Revolution unfolded on the day before the death of Emperor Guangxu. Empress Dowager Cixi summoned the military ministers to the Zhongnanhai to discuss the selection of the heir to the throne. Eventually, they chose the three-year-old Aisin Gioro Puyi and appointed his biological father, Prince Chun, as regent. The political situation of the Qing Dynasty was precarious with the nation on the brink. Patriots from all walks of life united to form revolutionary organizations. In 1905, Sun Yat-sen established the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, whose principles can be summarized as the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy, and socialism. Under the leadership of the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, the bourgeois revolution in China took a new leap forward. In Wuhan, revolutionary organizations like the Literary Society and the Youth Party were formed, and they planned to launch an armed uprising on October 6, 1911. However, unexpected events led to delays, and the uprising was eventually moved to October 10. Despite setbacks and unexpected incidents, the revolutionaries in Wuhan finally launched the uprising on the night of October 10, 1911. By morning, the whole city of Wuhan was under their control. The subsequent events and uprisings in other cities led to the establishment of the Hubei Military Government and the declaration of the Republic of China. This Xinhai Revolution successfully overthrew the corrupt rule of the late Qing Dynasty and paved the way for a new era of democracy and republicanism in China. On January 1, 1912, the temporary government of the Republic of China was established in Nanjing, with Sun Yat-sen elected as the provisional president. On February 12, 1912, the last Qing emperor, Puyi, abdicated, bringing an end to the 268-year-old Qing Dynasty and over 2000 years of feudal imperial rule in China.