The Provisional Government of the Republic of China () was a

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

established during 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 ...

by the revolutionaries in 1912. After the success of the

Wuchang uprising The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang (now Wuchang District of Wuhan), Hubei, China on 10 October 1911, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthrew China's last ...

, revolutionary provincial assembly representatives held a conference in the district of

Wuchang Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ri ...

, China, which framed the organizational outline of the Provisional Government.

Planning

In November 1911 the revolutionary group in the Wuchang District of Wuhan, China, led by

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 ...

came together with the revolutionary group in Shanghai led by

Chen Qimei Chen Qimei (; 17 January 1878 – 18 May 1916), courtesy name Yingshi (英世) was a Chinese revolutionary activist and key figure of Green Gang, close political ally of Sun Yat-sen, and early mentor of Chiang Kai-shek. He was as one of the found ...

and Cheng Dequan (程德全) to prepare for the establishment of a new central government. The districts of Wuhan would unify in 1927.Pomerantz-Zhang, Linda.

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as fa ...

(1992). Wu Tingfang (1842-1922): reform and modernization in modern Chinese history. Hong Kong University Press. , 9789622092877. pg 207- 209. The group in Wuchang wanted to establish a government in Wuchang, while the group in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

wanted a government in Shanghai. By November 20 the two groups compromised and recognized Hubei as the central government and proposed everyone go to Wuchang. By November 28, Hankou and

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), ...

had fallen back to the Qing, so for safety the revolutionaries convened their first conference at the British concession in Hankou on November 30.K. S. Liew.

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...

(1971). Struggle for democracy: Sung Chiao-jen and the 1911 Chinese revolution. University of California Press. , . pg 131-136. Tan Renfeng (譚人鳳) was the chairman of the session. Twenty-three representatives from the 11 provinces participated. The representatives decided to frame the organizational outline of the Provisional Government, and they elected Lei Fen (雷奮),

Ma Junwu Ma Junwu 馬君武 (1881 in Guilin – 1940 in Guilin) was a celebrated scientist and educator in China and first president of Guangxi University. Biography Ma Junwu was born in Guilin in 1881 and enlisted in one of the new schools for higher ed ...

, and Wang Zhengting (王正廷) to prepare the draft.張耀杰. 010(2010). 懸案百年——宋教仁案與國民黨. 秀威資訊科技股份有限公司 publishing. , . pg xviii Because on December 2 the revolutionary forces were able to capture Nanking in the uprising, the revolutionaries decided to make it the site of the new provisional government. The conference passed the outline the very next day, which consisted three chapters and twenty-one clauses. It also confirmed that the new government would be a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. It was announced that the provincial representatives would meet in Nanking in seven days to elect a provisional government.

President selection

Instead of attending Nanking's assembly,

Song Jiaoren Song Jiaoren (, ; Given name at birth: Liàn 鍊; Courtesy name: Dùnchū 鈍初) (5 April 1882 – 22 March 1913) was a Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the Kuomintang (KMT). Song Jiaoren led the KMT to elec ...

and Chen Qimei gathered the provincial representatives in Shanghai and held an assembly on December 4. On December 25,

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 ...

, accompanied by general

Homer Lea Homer Lea (November 17, 1876 – November 1, 1912) was an American adventurer, author and geopolitical strategist. He is today best known for his involvement with Chinese reform and revolutionary movements in the early twentieth century and as ...

, his closest foreign adviser, returned to Shanghai. On December 29, the presidential election was held in Nanking. According to the first article of the "Provisional Government Organization Outline", the Provisional President was to be elected by representatives from the provinces of China; the candidate who received more than 2/3 of the votes would be elected. Each province was entitled to one vote only. 45 representatives from seventeen provinces participated in this election, and Sun Yat-sen received 16 valid votes out of 17.

Establishment of government

On 1 January 1912,

announced the establishment of the Republic of China in

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, and he was inaugurated as the Provisional President of the Republic. General

was made Provisional

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

. Under the Provisional Government, there were ten ministries: *

Huang Xing Huang Xing or Huang Hsing (; 25 October 1874 – 31 October 1916) was a Chinese revolutionary leader and politician, and the first commander-in-chief of the Republic of China. As one of the founders of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Republic o ...

was appointed both as the Minister of the Army and as Chief of Staff * Huang Zhongying as the Minister of the Navy *

Wang Chonghui Wang Ch'ung-hui (; 1881–1958) was a prominent Chinese jurist, diplomat and politician who served the Republic of China from its foundation in 1912 until his death in 1958. He was a close associate of the republic's founding father, Sun Yat-se ...

as the Minister of Foreign Affairs *

Wu Tingfang Wu Ting-fang (; 30 July 184223 June 1922) was a diplomat and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and briefly as Acting Premier during the early years of the Republic of China. He was also known as Ng Choy or Ng Achoy (). Ed ...

as the Minister of the Judiciary * Chen Jingtao as the Minister of Finance * Cheng Dequan as the Minister of Internal Affairs *

Cai Yuanpei Cai Yuanpei (; 1868–1940) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education. He made contributions to education reform with his own education ideology. He was the president of Pek ...

as the Minister of Education * Zhang Jian as the Minister of Commerce * Tang Soqian as the Minister of Communications. There were additional appointments, such as

Hu Hanmin Hu Hanmin (; born in Panyu, Guangdong, Qing dynasty, China, 9 December 1879 – Kwangtung, Republic of China, 12 May 1936) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was one of the early conservative right factional leaders in the Kuomintang ...

as the Secretary of the President,

as the Director-general of Law-making, and Huang Fusheng as the Director-general of Printing. The speaker of the Provisional Senate was

Lin Sen Lin Sen (; 16 March 1868 – 1 August 1943), courtesy name Tze-chao (子超), sobriquet Chang-jen (長仁), was a Chinese politician who served as Chairman of the National Government of the Republic of China from 1931 until his death. Early l ...

Northern transition

Dong'anmen Gate incident

The revolutionaries were trying to lure Yuan Shikai to the south. By making Yuan the president of the southern Nanking-based provisional government, he would have to give up his military power base in the north.Wang, Jun. 010(2010). Beijing record: a physical and political history of planning modern Beijing. World Scientific publishing. , . pg 73. In February 1912, troops were looting shops and stealing from rich commercial areas. They then burned down the Dong'anmen gate (東安門) on the wall surrounding the

Imperial City In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

. Thousands of people were killed.Haw, Stephen G. 007(2007). Beijing a Concise History. Routledge. . pg 100. This mutiny was actually ordered by Yuan and

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 ...

. Yuan intimidated the revolutionaries and made it clear that the new government would have to go to him in Peking, he was not going to the south. This was an excuse to move the capital of the new republic from Nanking back to Peking.

End of provisional government

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 ...

, the Premier of the

Qing government 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-speaki ...

, negotiated with the revolutionaries in exchange of the post of the president. Avoiding a civil war, the revolutionaries agreed to Yuan's plan of the unified China under Yuan's government. On 8 March 1912 the Provisional Senate passed the

Provisional Constitution A provisional constitution, interim constitution or transitional constitution is a constitution intended to serve during a transitional period until a permanent constitution is adopted. The following countries currently have,had in the past,such a c ...

to limit Yuan's power in the future. On March 10, the Senate elected Yuan as the second Provisional President of the Republic.Fu, Zhengyuan.

993 Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian ...

(1993). Autocratic tradition and Chinese politics: Zhengyuan Fu. Cambridge University Press. , . p. 154. The power of the Nanking Government and the Provisional Senate hence transitioned to 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 ...

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, which signified the dissolution of the Provisional Government. The transition to the north in the next few years would be challenging with factions, warlords, constitutional movements and many other issues.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912) 1911 Revolution 1912 in China