The Articles of Favourable Treatment of the Great Qing Emperor after His Abdication (), also known simply as the Articles of Favourable Treatment (), was an agreement drawn up by the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

government and the Provisional Government of the Republic of China on the relevant protection measures after the

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

of the Qing imperial family and the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a d ...

. The document is dated 26 December, 1914.

Background

In October 1911, the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

launched the Wuchang Uprising. In November of that same year, the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...

led the

Beiyang Army The Beiyang Army (), named after the Beiyang region,Hong Zhang (2019)"Yuan Shikai and the Significance of his Troop Training at Xiaozhan, Tianjin, 1895–1899" ''The Chinese Historical Review'' 26(1) was a large, Western-style Imperial Chinese Ar ...

to defeat the uprising in

Hanyang Hanyang may refer to: China *Hanyang District (漢陽區, 汉阳区, ''Hànyáng Qū''), Wuhan, Hubei :*Hanyang Arsenal (漢陽兵工廠), founded in 1891 as one of the oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history :*Hanyang 88 (漢陽八八式步槍), ...

. In December, following the encouragement of the British envoy John Jordan, Yuan began negotiations with the Kuomintang to negotiate peace between the North and the South. The party and the

reached an agreement, establishing the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, with Yuan as its first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. The ''Articles'' were produced on January 20th. During this time, both the

and the

wanted the Qing Dynasty to abdicate, but were strongly opposed by Prince Gong Pu Wei, Fu Guo Gong Zia Zee, and Jude Luo Liang Bi. On January 26th, 1912, Duan Qirui led more than 40 generals of the

to issue a telegram requesting the clearance to abdicate jointly. On February 2nd of the same year, Qirui and eight other generals issued the "Second Telegram Requesting a Republic", claiming that:

I will lead the whole army into Beijing to explain things.

This threatened the lives of the capital and the prince and finally forced

Empress Dowager Longyu Jingfen (; 28 January 1868 – 22 February 1913), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Yehe Nara clan, was the wife and empress consort of Zaitian, the Guangxu Emperor. She was Empress consort of Qing from 1889 until her husband's death in 19 ...

to accept the terms. After consultations between the parties, the Provisional Government of the Republic of China sent a letter to the Qing government on February 9th, 1912, regarding amendments to the preferential conditions for the abdication of the Qing emperor. It was announced by Empress Dowager Longyu on the 12th. Puyi, the last Qing emperor, soon learned that the real reasons for the Articles of Favorable Settlement was that President

was planning on restoring the monarchy with himself as the emperor of a new dynasty, and wanted to have Puyi as a sort of custodian of the Forbidden City until he could move in and marry him with his daughter.Behr p. 84-85Behr p. 84 Although the conditions outlined in this document were very favorable, the Republic of China government had not complied with the document. For example, it had been in arrears of four million tales of silver since the second year. This preferential treatment was torn up by Feng Yixian in the

Beijing coup The Beijing Coup () refers to the October 1924 ''coup d'état'' by Feng Yuxiang against Chinese President Cao Kun, leader of the Zhili warlord faction. Feng called it the Capital Revolution (). The coup occurred at a crucial moment in the Second ...

in the Summer of 1924. The Beijing government, controlled by Yuxiang, issued the "Amendment of Preferential Treatment Conditions," after which Puyi was stripped of the title of emperor.

Content

The document sets out several protections for the emperor after his abdication, including: * Continued use of the imperial title * An annual subsidy of four million taels ($4,000,000 after currency reform) * Permission to reside in the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...

temporarily before moving to the Summer Palace * Maintenance, in perpetuity, of the imperial family's temples and mausoleums * Continued employment of all servants previously employed Some privileges extended to the imperial family more generally, such as exemption from military service.

Later amendments

When Feng Yuxiang expelled the imperial family on November 5, 1924, at the will of Emperor Xun he issued the "Amendment to the Special Treatment Conditions for the Qing Dynasty" and preserved the original "Special Treatment Conditions for the Qing Dynasty". The conditions of the "little imperial court" were abolished. Feng, the latest of the warlords to take Beijing, was seeking legitimacy and decided that abolishing the unpopular Articles of Favorable Settlement was an easy way to win the crowd's approval.Behr 1987 p.129 The amendments stipulated that going forward, the emperor would enjoy legal rights equal to those of any citizen of the ROC. It also entrusted the private property of the dynasty to the ex-royal family, but granted ownership of its public property to the government of the ROC. Feng unilaterally revised the "Articles of Favourable Treatment" on November 5, 1924, abolishing Puyi's imperial title and privileges and reducing him to a private citizen of the Republic of China.

References

{{Authority control History of China Law in Qing dynasty Provisional governments Republic of China (1912–1949)