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The Empire of China () was a short-lived attempt by statesman and general Yuan Shikai from late 1915 to early 1916 to reinstate monarchy in China. The attempt was ultimately a failure, but it set back the Republican cause by many years and fractured China into a hodgepodge of squabbling warlord factions.

Preparations for formation

After Yuan Shikai was installed as the second Provisional Great President of the Republic of China, he took various steps to consolidate his power and remove opposition leaders from office. To secure his own power he collaborated with various European powers as well as Japan. Around August 1915, he instructed Yang Du (楊度) et al to canvass support for a return of a monarchy. On 11 December 1915, a rubber-stamp National Assembly unaminously elected him as Emperor. Yuan ceremonially declined, but "relented" and immediately agreed when the National Assembly petitioned again that day.Kuo T'ing-i et al. Historical Annals of the ROC (1911-1949). Vol 1. pp 207-241 On 12 December, Yuan, supported by his son Yuan Keding, declared the Empire of China, becoming the Great Emperor of China (中華帝國大皇帝), taking the era name Hongxian (洪憲). However, Yuan did not formally conduct the ascession rites. Soon after, Yuan started handing out titles of peerage to his closest relatives and friends, as well as those who he thought he could buy with titles.

The Aisin Gioro family, then living within the Forbidden Palace but as foreign monarchs rather than Chinese ones, "approved" of Yuan's accession, and even proposed a "royal marriage" of Yuan's daughter to Puyi.

Backlash

1916 was to be Hongxian Year 1 (洪憲元年) rather than Republic Year 5 (民國五年), but Yuan was opposed by not only the revolutionaries, but far more importantly by his subordinate military commanders, who believed that Yuan's assumption of the monarchy would allow him to rule without depending on the support of the military. Province after province rebelled after his inauguration, starting with Yunnan, led by Yuan's governor Cai E and general Tang Jiyao (唐繼堯) and Jiangxi, led by governor Li Liejun (李烈鈞). The revolters formed the National Protection Army (護國軍) and thus began the National Protection War (護國戰爭). This was followed by other provinces declaring independence from the Empire. Yuan's Beiyang generals, whose soldiers had not received pay once from the imperial government, did not put up an aggressive campaign against the National Protection Army and the Beiyang Army suffered numerous defeats despite being better trained and equipped than the National Protection Army. Seeing Yuan's weakness and unpopularity, foreign powers withdrew their support (but did not choose sides in the war). Japan first threatened to invade, then committed to overthrowing Yuan Shikai and recognised both sides of the conflict to be "in a state of war" and allowed Japanese citizens to help the Republicans. Faced with universal opposition, Yuan repeatedly delayed the accession rites to appease his foes. Funding for the ceremony was cut on 1 March. Yuan deliberated abandoning the monarchy with Liang Shiyi (梁士詒) on 17 March and abandoned it on 22 March. The "Hongxian" year was abolished on 23 March and the "Republic" calendrical system restored. Yuan reigned a total of 83 days.

After Yuan's death on 5 June Vice President Li Yuanhong assumed presidency, appointed Beiyang general Duan Qirui as his Premier and restored the National Assembly and the provisional Constitution. However, the central authority of the Beijing government was significantly weakened and the demise of Yuan's Empire plunged China into a period of warlordism.

List of people given peerage by Yuan

National symbols

Although the name of the country in Chinese was changed to the "Empire of China" (and "Hongxian" for state matters), Yuan continued to use "Republic of China" as the English name.

Yuan set up the Ritual Regulations Office (禮制館), which issued the new official anthem "China heroically stands in the Universe" (中國雄立宇宙間) on June 1915. Its lyrics was written by Yin Chang (廕昌) and music by Wang Lu (王露). This anthem continued to be used during Yuan's imperial reign.

廓八埏﹐
華冑來從崑崙巔﹐
江河浩盪山綿連﹐
共和五族開堯天﹐
億萬年。 Extends to the Eight Corners,
The famous descendant from Kunlun Peak.
The rivers turn greatly, the mountains continuous.
Five nationalities open up the sky of Yao,
For millions of myriads of years.
Chinese lyrics English translation
中國雄立宇宙間﹐
 China heroically stands in Universe,

The national flag was changed from the original Flag of the Republic of China 1912-1928.svg to one (with the symmetrical cross, pictured above) that emphasised Han (red) administration over the Manchu, Mongolian, Uighur and Tibetan minorities of the country. However, the flag with a saltire was the version commonly used.

References

See also

History of the Republic of China | Short-lived states | 1915 establishments | 1916 disestablishments

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Empire of China (1915-1916)".

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