Lesson 10: The Founding of the Republic of China

The Establishment of the Republic of China

After the victory of the Wuchang Uprising, the provinces became independent and the revolutionary situation demanded a unified central government. In December 1911, representatives of the provinces gathered in Nanjing and elected Sun Yat-sen as the provisional president.

On January 1, 1912, Sun Yat-sen took the oath of office in Nanjing and proclaimed the establishment of the provisional government of the Republic of China, with 1912 as the first year of the Republic of China, using the Gregorian calendar instead. Subsequently, he elected Li Yuanhong as Vice President and established the Provisional Senate, with representatives of the provincial assemblies as senators. The establishment of the Provisional Government of Nanjing was an important achievement of the bourgeois democratic revolution led by Sun Yat-sen.

Yuan Shikai stole the fruits of the revolution

After the success of the Wuchang Uprising, the Hubei Military Government negotiated with Yuan Shikai, the Premier of the Qing Dynasty Cabinet, in an attempt to achieve a republic through peaceful means at an early date. After the establishment of the Provisional Government in Nanjing, Sun Yat-sen also said that he would resign if the Qing Emperor abdicated and Yuan Shikai declared himself in favor of the republic, and elected Yuan Shikai to succeed him as the Provisional President. on February 12, 1912, under Yuan Shikai's coercion, the Xuan Tong Emperor abdicated by imperial decree. The reign of the Qing Dynasty, which had lasted for more than 260 years, came to an end.

On February 13, Sun Yat-sen submitted his resignation to the Provisional Senate and recommended Yuan Shikai to succeed him as the Provisional President. On February 15, the Provisional Senate elected Yuan Shikai as the Provisional President after Yuan Shikai declared his support for the republic by telegram. In order to limit Yuan's power, Sun proposed that the provisional government should be located in Nanking and the new president should take office in Nanking.

In March, Yuan Shikai was inaugurated as the Provisional President of the Republic of China in Beijing, and in April, Sun Yat-sen formally dismissed him as the Provisional President. The Provisional Government moved to Beijing. The fruits of victory of the Xinhai Revolution were stolen by Yuan Shikai.

The Provisional Treaty of the Republic of China

On March 11, 1912, Sun Yat-sen, in the name of the Provisional President, promulgated the Provisional Treaty Law of the Republic of China, which was formulated by the Senate. The Treaty Law stipulated that: the sovereignty of the Republic of China belonged to all the people; all the people were equal regardless of race, class and religion; the people had the freedom and rights of person, residence, speech, publication, assembly, association, religion, petition, examination, election and participation in politics; the Senate exercised the legislative power, the members assisted the Provisional President in exercising the executive power and were responsible for it, and the judiciary was independent.

The Provisional Treaty of the Republic of China is the first important document of constitutional nature of the bourgeois republic in the history of China. It affirms the bourgeois democratic republican system and the principle of democratic freedom, and is an important achievement of the Xinhai Revolution.（541words）