The Cabinet of Prince Qing () was the first cabinet of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

and of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited 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 making decisions. ...

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 Yikuang (Manchu: ''I-kuwang''; 24 March 1838 – 28 January 1917), formally known as Prince Qing (or Prince Ch'ing), was a Manchu noble and politician of the Qing dynasty. He served as the first Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet, an ...

(

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 (1644–1912). It was also one of the 12 "iron-cap" princely pee ...

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

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

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

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

. 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 Late Qing reforms (), commonly known as New Policies of the late Qing dynasty (), or New Deal of the late Qing dynasty, simply referred to as New Policies, were a series of cultural, economic, educational, military, diplomatic, and political refo ...

, 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 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...

, 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