Topic 3 Lesson 1 The Warlord Period
Chaos and Collapse
With the fall of the dynasty the country was in crisis with little money in the treasury
or the provinces, national disasters, and hidden loyalists.
Mao Tse Tung was born in 1893 and was involved in some of the fighting but at this
stage was cautious wanting a government with Sun Yat-sen as President and Kang
Youwei as Premier.
Chiang Kai Shek was born in 1887 and trained in Japan and then fought in the capture
of Huangchou. Later he assassinated a Revolutionary Alliance member who opposed
Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai Shek’s mentor Chen Qimei.
Yuan Shikai had the government formed in Peking and Sun Yat-sen came there and
drew up a plan to transform China’s railways system. Huang Hsing was also pacified
after a visit to Peking.
The country had a National Assembly in Peking created by the Qing, and a National
Council in Nanjing of republicans.
Yuan Shikai had been born in 1859 and had served in various minor positions until
the Japanese war. He was then involved in training modern officers and helped the
empress dowager overthrow Emperor Guangxu and to suppress the Boxer Rebellion
in Shandung. He was then governor-general of the Hebei region and trained the
Beiyang army into China’s finest fighting force modernizing Hebei and introducing
local self-government, education, and a police force.
A new draft of the constitution was promulgated by the National Council equality
before the law, freedom of worship and assembly, and stipulated that a full parliament
be convened within 10 months. There was to be a Senate of 274 members and a
House of Representatives of 596 members, one per 800,000 people. 279
The Revolutionary Alliance renamed itself the National People’s Party – the
Guomindang. Sun’s ally Song Jiaoren tried to limit presidential power but Yuan
Shikai completed dominated the cabinet. There was also a Republican Party and a
Progressive Party. 279
Local authorities gained more power than under the Qing but this problem was
ignored.
In the new election Chinese men over 21 with $500 in property and held an
elementary-school graduation certificate could vote – 10% of the population. Women
were not allowed to vote nor were illiterates, opium smokers, bankrupts or those of
unsound mind. 280
Women had tried to insert a statement of equality into the meeting of the national
council in Nanjing but they were thrown out.
The Guomindang won the election, with 269 out of 596 seats in the House of
Representatives and 123 out of 274 in the Senate.
Song Jiaoren met the incoming members at Peking Railway station and was tipped to
be premier but he was shot twice at close range as he was about to board a train. It
was believed that Yuan Shikai was behind the assassination “But the main
conspirators were either themselves assassinated or else disappeared mysteriously,
and Yuan was never officially implicated.” 281
The Guomindang members were determined to bring Yuan Shikai under control and
attacked him for not addressing tax collection and instead borrowing more money off
foreign banks – the reorganization loan of over $100 million. Yuan Shikai struck
back dismissing Guomindang governors. Guomindang troops were routed and
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Nanjing was captured. In October Yuan Shikai forced the members of Parliament to
elect him for a 5 year term and shortly afterwards the Guomindang was declared a
seditious organization and its members forced from Parliament. Sun Yat-sen had to
flee China for Japan, his republican dream in ruins. 281
The foreign powers realized the Qing were doomed and had a policy of strict
neutrality in 1911 and 1912. Their main priority was to protect their own investments
which totalled $1.6 billion in 1914. They would support any government that created
a favourable economic climate. Japan and Britain were the main investors in China.
America was more favourable to Yuan Shikai than Japan and the European powers.
Yuan Shikai played to Christian sentiments in America and was hailed as a hero.
America cancelled some debts and in May 1913 recognised Yuan Shikai’s
government. 283
Britain recognised Yuan Shikai after he recognised Tibetan independence while Japan
wanted more large scale railway concessions and Russia wanted China to
acknowledge the independence of Outer Mongolia as the price for recognition of his
government.
The Guomindang members tried to pass a law for cabinet government but Yuan
Shikai closed the parliament.
Guomindang affiliate members were hounded out of Parliament which now lacked a
quorum and in January 1914 Parliament was dissolved while in February provisional
assemblies and local organizations were also dissolved.
A new constitutional compact was signed with Yuan Shikai giving him unlimited
power over war, finance, foreign policy, and the rights of citizens. The president was
elected for 10 years and could name his own successor. “
In explaining his destruction of the Parliament Yuan Shikai observed: “Parliament
was an unworkable body. 800 men! 200 were good, 200 were passive, 400 were
useless. What have they done? They have not even agreed on procedure.” 285
It was a sad end to Chinese democracy.
With this constitution Yuan was assured of the lifelong tenure as well as the right to
pass it on to his offspring. For all intents and purposes he had become an emperor,
without the title. Yet he was still unsatisfied. He wanted to be a de facto as well as a
de jure monarch.” 580 Hsu
The government was in a poor situation. By 1913 only 2 million or less was coming
in provincial land taxes and the government was running a deficit of 13 million Yuan
a month. Tariffs were under foreign supervision to pay the interest of foreign loans
as was the salt tax.
He worked on creating an independent judiciary to end the system of
extraterritoriality. New prisons were built. And education was expanded with the
aim being to educate all Chinese males. The primary schools taught new skills and
Confucius.
Agriculture was promoted and a national bank and currency created. Opium smoking
was suppressed.
Yuan Shikai was lucky that the First World War broke out in Europe distracting
Russia, Britain, Germany and France from making more demands on China. But
Japan did. The Japanese attacked the Germany concession at Shandung.
In January 1915 Japan presented China with the 21 demands. They demanded more
rights for Japanese in Inner Mongolia and Manchuria, joint management of the HanYe-Ping coal and iron works in Central China, nonalienation of any Chinese ports or
islands to foreign powers, the stationing of Japanese police and economic advisors in
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Northern China, and extensive new commercial rights in Fujian Province. This led to
national protests rallies and a boycott of Japanese goods, greater than the antiAmerican boycott of 1905. “Still, Yuan Shikai felt he had to yield, although he did
modify slightly some of Japan’s conditions.” 286
Yuan’s popularity sagged but most of the opposition was underground. As President
Yuan now conducted the important rituals at the Qing Temple of Heaven.
America, Japan and Britain all said they supported a constitutional monarchy.
In late 1915 Yuan floated rumours that people wanted him to become Emperor. In
November a specially convened National Assembly voted 1993 to none to make him
Emperor and on January 1st 1916 Yuan Shikai was declared emperor. A 40,000 piece
porcelain set was ordered for 1.4 million Yuan and two imperial robes for 400,000
each. 286
“Like many dictators before and after him, Yuan was overtaken by megalomania, too
confident to know when to stop. He did not seem to see that in spite of all the
uncertainties of the early republican period, one thing was definite: the imperial
system would never return. His betrayal of the republic, and his shameless drive for
the emperorship went beyond the pale of tolerance of his countrymen – not only his
critics but even his own followers.” 583
Yuan believed the Chinese wanted an emperor but instead were national protests and
the unity of his clique of supporters in Peking was shattered. Yunnan declared
independence in December 1915 and organised a national protection army to fight
Yuan. Yuan’s two leading generals refused to lead troops to fight them. They were
followed by Guizhou and Guangxi. Japan then said it was neutral in a fight between
North and South.
In March Yuan declared that he would cancel the monarchy but his prestige was
shattered and province after province declared its independence. On June 6th of 1916
Yuan Shikai died of uremia compounded by anger and humiliation.
Li Yuanhong was now President and he tried to recall the members of parliament and
to reaffirm the provisional constitution of 1912 as the constitution of the country but
both moves were strongly opposed. Once this was done the rebels in the South agreed
to abolish their Military Affairs Council and serve the government. 584 Hsu
In 1917 General Zhang Xun seized power. A fanatical Manchu who had seized
Nanjing for Yuan Shikai he led his army into Peking in mid-June 1917 and declared
Puyi to be emperor. Kang Youwei hurried to Peking to serve the new dynasty. But
the restoration was short-lived and in mid-July the troops of rival generals stormed
Peking and defeated Zhang Xun. Puyi was not punished but the new president
ordered that he be given a Western education.
“With the collapse of General Zhang’s insurrection at the hands of a group of other,
rival generals, all pretence of strength in the central government was gone. From now
on both the presidency and the Parliament became the plaything of the militarists; and
although able, intelligent men continued willing to serve in the government, they rose
and fell at the behest of these outside forces. Democracy had vanished, and the era of
“warlordism” had begun. 288
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