The Prince Qing Cabinet () was the first

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

of 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 ...

and of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, formed as part of the Qing state's reforms to create a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

in the early 20th century. It was active from 8 May to 1 November 1911, led by the

Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet The Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet was a position created on 8 May 1911 during the late Qing dynasty, as part of the imperial government's unsuccessful attempts at creating a constitutional monarchy in China. History In the early 190 ...

, Yikuang (

Prince Qing Prince Qing of the First Rank (Manchu: ; ''hošoi fengšen cin wang''), or simply Prince Qing, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1636–1912). It was also one of the 12 "iron-cap" princely pe ...

). It initially consisted of thirteen members, of which nine were

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) an ...

s (seven of whom were from the imperial clan) while only four were

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

. As a result, it remained unpopular among the people and was nicknamed the "Princes' Cabinet" or "Imperial Family Cabinet"() by its critics.

History

The Imperial Cabinet was formed as a result of the constitutional reforms, the New Policies, being enacted in China in the early 20th century. It replaced the Grand Council, although it was unpopular and was described as "the old Grand Council under the name of a cabinet, autocracy under the name of constitutionalism." Members of the provisional assemblies, which were formed in 1908–09, protested against the formation of this cabinet. On 12 May, the Federation of Provincial Assemblies declared that imperial princes should not serve as premiers and that the Princes' Cabinet is not compatible with a constitutional monarchy. On 5 July, over 40 legislators submitted a petition to form a new cabinet. The imperial court responded with an edict which stated that assemblymen should not interfere with the appointment and dismissal of officials. The Princes' Cabinet was dissolved in November 1911 when Prince Qing resigned and his ally, general

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 ...

, was appointed prime minister in his place, establishing the Yuan Cabinet.

Composition

The following is the list of cabinet ministers. Unless otherwise noted, their term began on 8 May and ended on 1 November when the cabinet was dismissed.

History

Composition

References

Further reading