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After victory in 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 ...
, the Nanjing Provisional Government of 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 northeas ...
, led by
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
, framed the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China (, 1912), which was an outline of basic regulations with the qualities of a formal
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
. On 11 March 1912, the Provisional Constitution replaced the previous organizational outline of the government, and came into effect as the supreme law. It was later replaced by a constitutional compact instituted by
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 ...
on 1 May 1914. However, it was restored once again on 29 June 1916, by
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 ...
Li Yuanhong Li Yuanhong (; courtesy name Songqing 宋卿) (October 19, 1864 – June 3, 1928) was a Chinese politician during the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China. He was the president of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1917, and between 1922 ...
. The
Constitutional Protection Movement The Constitutional Protection Movement () was a series of movements led by Sun Yat-sen to resist the Beiyang government between 1917 and 1922, in which Sun established another government in Guangzhou as a result. It was known as the Third Revolut ...
launched by the Military Government of the Republic of China in
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...
on 10 September 1917, was intended to "protect" this provisional constitution. However, as the Warlord Era divided the country into warring factions, the provisional constitution was gradually superseded by the constitutions issued by each rival government. In the
Beiyang Government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking (Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally ...
, the provisional constitution was replaced by
Cao Kun General Cao Kun (; courtesy name: Zhongshan () (December 12, 1862 – May 15, 1938) was a Chinese warlord and politician, who served the President of the Republic of China from 1923 to 1924, as well as the military leader of the Zhili clique ...
's constitution on 10 October 1923. In the Nanjing Government, the provisional constitution was not replaced until 1 June 1931, when the Provisional Constitution of the Political Tutelage Period was announced, although the old constitution was already rarely discussed after the establishment of the Nationalist Government on 1 July 1925. From 1928 onwards, the Nationalists were operating under an
Organic Law An organic law is a law, or system of laws, that form the foundation of a government, corporation or any other organization's body of rules. A constitution is a particular form of organic law for a sovereign state. By country France Under Articl ...
that had an ambiguous relationship with the 1931 Provisional Constitution as it was not completely superseded. The
Constitution of the Republic of China The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the session on 25 December 1946, in Nanjing, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, ...
superseded it in 1946, ending the Period of Tutelage.


Outline of the constitution

#The government system was to imitate the
French cabinet The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...
: the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
at the time wanted to restrain Yuan Shikai's ambitions, and they changed the
presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separatio ...
to a
parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...
so that Yuan would be turned into a figurehead. #The general principles were to be outlined concisely, regulating the fundamental elements of the nation in principle. #The presidential election would still be held in the Senate according to the organizational outline of the provisional Government. #The
Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
system was completely independent, which matched the principle of
separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typi ...
: the provisional Constitution regulated that the provisional president and the Minister of the Judiciary would appoint judges separately. Trials were to be administered by judges independently without the intervention of the government.


References

*


Notes


External links


Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China
* {{citation, url = https://archive.org/details/jstor-2212590/page/n1 , title = Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China , journal = American Journal of International Law, year =1912, ref = none. English translation. Government of the Republic of China 1911 Revolution Defunct constitutions Constitution of China Provisional constitutions Constitution of the Republic of China