Wuchang Uprising | |||||||||||||||
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Part of the 1911 Revolution | |||||||||||||||
Establishment of the Republic of China | |||||||||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||||||||
Qing dynasty | Tongmenghui Hubei Military Government | ||||||||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||||||||
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Strength | |||||||||||||||
10,000 troops | 2,000 troops | ||||||||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||||||||
~4,000 killed | ~1,000 killed | ||||||||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 武昌起義 | ||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 武昌起义 | ||||||||||||||
Hanyu Pinyin | Wǔchāng qǐyì | ||||||||||||||
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The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang (now Wuchang District of Wuhan) in the Chinese province of Hubei on 10 October 1911, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthrew China's last imperial dynasty. It was led by elements of the New Army, influenced by revolutionary ideas from Tongmenghui. [1] The uprising and the eventual revolution directly led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty with almost three centuries of imperial rule, and the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC), which commemorates the anniversary of the uprising's outbreak on 10 October as the National Day of the Republic of China.
The uprising originated from popular unrest about a railway crisis, and the planning process took advantage of the situation. [2] On 10 October 1911, the New Army stationed in Wuchang launched an assault on the residence of the Viceroy of Huguang. The viceroy Ruicheng quickly fled from the residence, and the revolutionaries soon took control of the entire city. [3]
In 1895, China was decisively defeated by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War. [4] Intellectuals in China were divided into several factions. Constitutional monarchist reformers led by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao took control initially, and orchestrated the Hundred Days' Reform in the Qing government. The reforms failed due to the Wuxu Coup by Empress Dowager Cixi. Disillusioned with the monarchy and the Qing government, many revolutionary groups began emerging across the country. In 1905, revolutionary leaders such as Sun Yat-sen and Song Jiaoren met in Tokyo to discuss a merger between different revolutionary groups. A new group known as Tongmenghui was formed after this meeting. [5]
After the Boxer Rebellion, many Western powers saw railway investments as part of the consolidation in their spheres of influence over China. Railway constructions took place across Shandong, Yangtze Valley, Kunming and Manchuria. [6] Provincial governments, with permission from the Qing court, also began to construct their own railways. The Canton-Hankou Railway and Sichuan-Hankou Railway were under the oversight of Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan. [7] Faced with ongoing financial struggles, partly due to ongoing indemnity payments from the Boxer Protocol, the Qing court turned to Sheng Xuanhuai in 1910, a "classic bureaucratic capitalist", and adhered to his policy of securing foreign loans through the nationalization of all railway lines. [8] This policy was met with stiff resistance, particularly in Sichuan, and the resistance quickly turned into a movement known as the Sichuan Railway Protection Movement. In response, the Qing court suppressed the unrest by force, contributing to the declining popularity of its government. [2] By August 11 there were massive strikes and rallies in Chengdu. On 7 September the Viceroy of Sichuan, Zhao Erfeng, was asked to "intervene vigorously", and he ordered the arrest of key leaders in the Railway Protection League, then ordered troops to open fire on the protesters. [9] Subsequent fighting around Chengdu prompted the diversion of troops to Sichuan from central China, which later became an important factor in the Wuchang Uprising's success. [10] : 287
Meanwhile, inaction toward nationalization of railway lines in both Hunan and Hubei were criticized by the local press. Confidence in the Qing government among the populace continued to deteriorate in response to the escalation of the railway crisis. [11]
There were two revolutionary groups in the Wuhan area, the Literary Society (文學社) and the Progressive Association (共進會). These groups, led by Jiang Yiwu (蔣翊武) and Sun Wu (孫武) respectively, worked closely together as commander and chief of staff of the revolutionary efforts in Wuhan. [12] Beginning in September, 1911, these two groups began negotiating with the Tongmenghui (同盟會) for possible collaboration in the next uprising. The date was originally set for 6 October, on the Mid-Autumn festival. The date was later postponed, due to inadequate preparations. [13] On 9 October, while Sun Wu was supervising the making of explosive devices in the Russian concession in Hankou, one of the devices exploded unexpectedly, inflicting serious injuries on Sun. When he was hospitalized, the hospital staff discovered his identity and alerted the Qing authorities. [14]
With their identities revealed, the revolutionaries in the New Army stationed in Wuchang were facing imminent arrest by the Qing authorities. The decision was made by Jiang Yiwu of the Literary Society to immediately launch the uprising, but the plot was leaked to the Viceroy of Huguang, and he ordered a crackdown of the revolutionaries, arresting and executing several prominent members. [14]
On the evening of 10 October, Wu Zhaolin (吴兆麟) as provisional commander led the revolutionary elements of the New Army staged a mutiny against the Qing garrison in Huguang, capturing the residence of the Viceroy in the process along with securing strategic points in the city after intense fighting. [14] As the Viceroy escaped, the Qing garrison fell into disarray. Between the night of 10 October and noon of 11th, "more than 500 Manchu soldiers were killed" with "over 300 captured". [15]
On 11 October, the mutineers established a military government representing the Hubei province, and persuaded one of the high-ranking officers in the New Army, Li Yuanhong, to be the temporary leader. [14] [16] Li was initially resistant to the idea, but he was eventually convinced by the mutineers after they approached him. [15] The newly established military government were able to confirm that foreign powers would not intervene in the uprising, and they went on to raise the "iron blood 18-star flag" while signaling for the other provinces to follow their suit. [17] On 12 October, the revolutionaries marched toward the rest of the province, capturing Hankou and Hanyang in the process. [16]
In response to the uprising, the Qing government called for the help of Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang Army to march toward Wuchang. For the revolutionaries, Huang Xing would arrive at Wuhan in early November to take over the command. Positions of revolutionary forces in Wuhan were subsequently attacked by the Beiyang Army, and the imperial troops were soon able to recapture Hankou on 1 November and Hanyang on 27 November. The offensive was halted after the capture of these two positions, as Yuan Shikai began to secretly negotiate with the revolutionaries. [17] [18]
The Wuchang Uprising took many revolutionary leaders by surprise; Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren were unable to reach Wuchang in time. [16] Sun Yat-sen was traveling in the United States speaking to overseas Chinese to appeal for financial support when the uprising took place. [19] Although Sun received a telegram from Huang Xing, he was unable to decipher it, and found out about the uprising the next morning in the newspaper. [19] After the successful uprising in Wuchang, the revolutionaries sent telegraphs to other provinces and asked them to follow in their suit, upon which eighteen provinces in Southern and Central China agreed to secede from the Qing government by the end of December, 1911. [20]
As part of the resolution of the uprising, the Qing government agreed to a general amnesty for political prisoners. [21] : 44 Wang Jingwei was among those released. [21] : 44
In the same month, Sun returned to China to participate in the provisional presidential election and was elected. [22] Representatives from the seceding provinces met on 1 January 1912, and declared the founding of the Chinese Republic as Sun was sworn in as the first president. [23] The new republic then negotiated with Yuan Shikai to pressure the Qing government to surrender, offering the presidency in the process. On 12 February 1912, Empress Dowager Longyu, on behalf of Aisin Gioro Puyi, the Xuantong emperor, announced the abdication of the Qing throne, marking the end of the dynasty. [24]
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the ninth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine national central cities.
Wuchang is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the right (southeastern) bank of the Yangtze River, opposite the mouth of the Han River. The two other cities, Hanyang and Hankou, were on the left (northwestern) bank, separated from each other by the Han River.
The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a decade of agitation, revolts, and uprisings. Its success marked the collapse of the Chinese monarchy, the end of over two millennia of imperial rule in China and the 200-year reign of the Qing, and the beginning of China's early republican era.
Huang Xing or Huang Hsing was a Chinese revolutionary leader and politician, and the first commander-in-chief of the Republic of China. As one of the founders of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Republic of China, his position was second only to Sun Yat-sen. Together they were known as Sun-Huang during the Xinhai Revolution. He was also known as the "Eight Fingered General" because of wounds sustained during war. His tomb is on Mount Yuelu, in Changsha, Hunan, China.
The Beiyang Army, named after the Beiyang region, was a combined large army, Western-style Imperial Chinese Army established by the Qing dynasty government in the late 19th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of Qing China's military system. The Beiyang Army played a major role in Chinese politics for at least three decades and arguably right up to 1949. It made the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 possible, and, by dividing into warlord factions known as the Beiyang Clique, ushered in a period of regional division.
Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow, was one of the three towns merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers where the Han flows into the Yangtze. Hankou is connected by bridges to its triplet sister towns Hanyang and Wuchang.
Zhao Erxun, courtesy name Cishan, art name Wubu, was a Chinese political and military officeholder who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He served in numerous high-ranking positions under the Qing government, including Viceroy of Sichuan, Viceroy of Huguang, and Viceroy of the Three Northeast Provinces. After the fall of the Qing dynasty, he became a historian and was the lead editor of the Draft History of Qing.
The Viceroy of Huguang, fully in Chinese as the Governor-General of Hubei, Hunan and Other Local Areas, in Charge of Military Affairs, Food and Wages and Governor Affairs, was one of eight regional Viceroys during the Qing dynasty. The Viceroy of Huguang had jurisdiction of military, civil, and political affairs over then Hubei Province and then Hunan Province.
The 1911 Revolution spread from China proper to Xinjiang, where fighting occurred between Qing loyalists and the Anti-Qing Revolutionary Party (反清革命党人). Fighting took place mainly in Yili.
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The Provisional Government of the Republic of China was a provisional government established during the Xinhai Revolution by the revolutionaries in 1912. After the success of the Wuchang Uprising, revolutionary provincial assembly representatives held a conference in the district of Wuchang, China, which framed the organizational outline of the Provisional Government.
The Battle of Yangxia, also known as the Defense of Yangxia, was the largest military engagement of the Xinhai Revolution and was fought from October 18 to November 27, 1911, between the revolutionaries of the Wuchang Uprising and the loyalist armies of the Qing dynasty. The battle 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 arms, the revolutionaries fought valiantly in defense of Hankou and Hanyang. After heavy and bloody fighting, the stronger loyalist forces eventually prevailed by taking over both cities, but 41 days of determined resistance by the Revolutionary Army allowed the revolution to strengthen elsewhere as other provinces defied the Qing dynasty. The fighting ended after the commander-in-chief of the Qing forces, Gen. Yuan Shikai, agreed to a cease-fire and sent envoys 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.
The Railway Protection Movement, also known as the "Railway Rights Protection Movement", was a political protest movement that erupted in 1911 in late Qing China against the Qing government's plan to nationalize local railway development projects and transfer control to foreign banks. The movement, centered in Sichuan province, expressed mass discontent with Qing rule, galvanized anti-Qing groups and contributed to the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution. The mobilization of imperial troops from neighboring Hubei Province to suppress the Railway Protection Movement created the opportunity for revolutionaries in Wuhan to launch the Wuchang Uprising, which triggered the revolution that overthrew the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China.
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Events from the year 1905 in China.
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