👑 A weak dynasty
China had lost wars to Britain and Japan and had been forced to pay a huge indemnity (compensation) after the Boxer Uprising. Many people felt the Manchu rulers could not protect China from foreigners.
The Fall of the Qing, Warlordism and Chaos, 1900-34 » The 1911 Revolution
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 2 Section B, Breadth study B4, Key topic 1
- Why the Qing dynasty was in trouble by 1911
- How the Wuchang rising of 10 October 1911 became a revolution
- How the last emperor abdicated in 1912 and a republic began
- How Yuan Shikai took power from Sun Yat-sen
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Unlock This CourseWhy the Qing were in trouble
The Qing dynasty were Manchu emperors who had ruled China since 1644. By 1911 they had lost the trust of many Chinese people. There were four main reasons.
💰 Reforms that were not enough
The late Qing reforms, such as the New Army and new schools, cost a lot and raised taxes. The promised constitution was still only a promise, so many reformers lost patience.
👥 Anger at Manchu rule
Most Chinese were Han Chinese, but the ruling family were Manchus. In May 1911 the government named a new cabinet in which most ministers were Manchus, including several members of the imperial family. Reformers saw this as proof that the dynasty would not share power.
🔮 Revolutionary ideas
Revolutionaries such as Sun Yat-sen wanted to get rid of the Qing and set up a republic. Many were students who had been abroad, especially in Japan. Their secret groups plotted risings, but most of these failed.
Key terms:
- Revolution: a sudden, big change in who rules a country, usually by force.
- Republic: a country with no king or emperor, led by an elected president.
- Nationalise: to take something into government ownership.
- Abdicate: to give up the throne.
- Provisional: temporary, until a permanent arrangement is made.
The trigger: the railways
In May 1911 the Qing government announced that it would nationalise the main railways. These had been built by local companies and paid for by shares bought by local people, especially in Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong. The government planned to take them over and pay for new lines with loans from foreign banks. Shareholders were angry. They feared losing their money, and they hated the idea that foreigners would gain control of China's railways.
In Sichuan there were large protests. The government sent troops, many of them from New Army units based in Hubei, to keep order. That left fewer soldiers in the city of Wuhan.
The Wuchang rising, 10 October 1911
In Wuhan, secret revolutionary groups had been recruiting soldiers in the New Army. A bomb accident in Hankou on 9 October led to the discovery of lists of names, and the plotters feared arrest. On 10 October 1911 soldiers in Wuchang, one of the three cities of Wuhan, rose up and took the arsenal and the government offices. Because the plotters were mostly junior soldiers, they persuaded a senior officer, Li Yuanhong, to lead them as military governor.
The news spread by telegraph. Within weeks many provinces had declared independence from the Qing, and much of the army and many local leaders did not fight to save the dynasty. Sun Yat-sen was in the United States when the rising began, and the revolt was not planned by him. He returned to China in December 1911.
Delegates from the provinces chose Sun Yat-sen as provisional president, and on 1 January 1912 he took office in Nanjing and declared the Republic of China. This was a revolution: the Qing now had a rival government.
The abdication of the emperor, 1912
The Qing court needed an army it could trust. It turned to Yuan Shikai, who had trained and commanded the strongest modern army in the north, the Beiyang Army. Yuan was made prime minister. He bargained with both sides. He saw that the Qing could not win, and that he, not Sun Yat-sen, was the man who controlled the army.
After talks, the Empress Dowager Longyu, who acted for the six-year-old emperor Puyi, issued an edict on 12 February 1912. The last emperor abdicated. Puyi was allowed to keep his title and to go on living in the Forbidden City. More than 2,000 years of rule by emperors in China, and 268 years of Qing rule, had ended.
Yuan Shikai takes power
Sun Yat-sen had no army of his own and wanted to avoid a civil war. He offered to resign so that Yuan could become president, on the condition that Yuan supported the republic. On 10 March 1912 Yuan became provisional president in Beijing.
It soon became clear that Yuan wanted power for himself. By 1914 he had dissolved parliament and ruled as a dictator. A republic had been declared, but a strong, working republican government had not been built. The next lessons show how China then broke up under local military leaders.
Change and continuity
What changed and what stayed the same
Changed: China had no emperor, and the Qing dynasty was gone. A republic with a president and a parliament had been declared.
Stayed the same: real power still lay with whoever controlled the army. Yuan Shikai ruled from Beijing as a strongman, and most ordinary people, who were poor farmers, saw little change in their lives.
Impact: the revolution ended the old system, but it did not bring order. This is why China's story after 1911 is one of conflict and crisis.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes
- Saying Sun Yat-sen led the Wuchang rising. He was abroad and it was started by soldiers.
- Saying the Qing were overthrown by one battle. They fell as province after province broke away and Yuan Shikai chose to bargain rather than defend them.
- Saying the revolution made China a stable republic. Yuan Shikai soon ruled as a dictator.
- Giving one cause only in a "two causes" question. That can never score more than half marks.
Exam-style question
Explain TWO causes of the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912. [8 marks]
Model answer
One cause was the anger caused by the railway nationalisation. In May 1911 the government announced that it would take over the main railways, which had been built by local companies and paid for by local shareholders, and fund new lines with foreign loans. Shareholders in Sichuan and elsewhere lost faith in the Qing, and there were protests. Troops were sent to Sichuan from Hubei, which left fewer soldiers in Wuhan, so this helped to make the Wuchang rising possible on 10 October 1911.
A second cause was the loss of support in the army. The New Army had been created to save the dynasty, but it also trained young soldiers who met revolutionary ideas. In Wuchang, soldiers rose up and a senior officer, Li Yuanhong, joined them. Provinces then declared independence one after another, and the army commander Yuan Shikai chose to bargain rather than fight for the Qing. This left the court without an army to defend it, which is why the emperor abdicated on 12 February 1912.
What lifts this to the top level: two causes, each with precise facts such as dates and names and a clear link showing how the cause led to the fall of the dynasty.
Exam tip
For "Explain TWO causes", write two separate paragraphs. In each one name the cause, give a date or name as evidence, then say how it led to the outcome.