REVOLUTION OF 1911- CAUSES

The Revolution of 1911 marked the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty with
which the autocractic monarchy in the country had come to an end and a
republic was established for the first time in the country. As far as the causes
for this upheaval are considered, one should analyse the developments that
had taken place in the decade prior to its outbreak. This was the period when
a number of new currents had emerged in the Chinese society, which
combined together to overthrow the Manchu government. The prominent
among these trends was an increasing feeling of nationalism, which was
governed by two aspects- anti-Manchuism and anti-Imperialism; and the rise
of new social groups that too played a significant role in the overthrow of the
Manchus.

The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century had
witnessed the growth of Chinese nationalism. This nationalism, according to
Mary C. Wright, had two dimensions- anti-Manchuism and anti-Imperialism.
The nationalist feelings that overtook the people in 1911 were different from
those that had existed in the 19th century in that this time they sought to
establish a centralised nation state, push back the imperialists, pull the
country out of its backwardness and to completely overthrow the Manchu
regime and replace it with a new modern state system.

Anti-Manchu sentiments had existed ever since the inception of the dynasty.
Manchus were looked upon as foreigners by the Han race and their attempts
to strengthen their position by ruling autocratically and at times at the cost of
Han interest had made them extremely unpopular. According to IY Hsu, anti-
Machu sentiments had been evident in case of the various popular uprisings
that had taken place throughout its history. The most prominent of these were
the Taiping rebellion, the various movements launched by secret societies and
the Boxer rebellion. All these movements had wanted an overthrow of the
Manchu rule and its replacement by a more favourable system of governance.
Such sentiments had come down to the 20th century as well and found voice in
the decade leading up to the 1911 revolution in the agitations of various social
groups. Moreover, nationalism was also interpreted in the racist sense by
certain secret societies, who were loyal to the Ming dynasty. Thus, the age-old
slogan of “overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming” was revived once again.

(Mention the part on 1911 being democractic movement as mentioned under

the previous tut.) Sun Yat Sen believed that it was the dynastic cycle that had
become instrumental in oppressing the people and causing a great deal of
harm to them. Thus, he believed that it was only by overthrowing the
monarchy and establishing a true republic that would uphold the rights and
dignity of the people.

The Manchu rule had also become increasingly unpopular and weak with the
cutting of the Chinese melon almost complete by the end of the 19 th century
and the enforcement of the ‘boxer protocol’ in September 1901 upon china’s
imperial authority by foreign powers. This was an unequal treaty that
demanded disarmament, taking down of forts, opening of ports, a huge
indemnity, the execution of members of the imperial household along with the
extermination of the boxers. These and many more clauses infringed heavily
upon China’s sovereignty. Also the cutting of the Chinese melon meant that
the foreign powers had carved their own spheres of influence on the Chinese
mainland. Due to these developments anti Manchu and anti imperialist
sentiments continued to grow and now the Manchu were blamed for the that
was wrong in China especially humiliating treatment by the foreigners and the
establishment of foreign enclaves in China. (mention more from the previous
tut).

Mention the existence of “rights recovery programme” and the efforts to do

away with Opium as indicative of the rising tide of sentiments against the
imperial powers.

It was this rising tide of nationalism that compelled the government to

introduce a series of reforms. These were meant to show that the government
was fully able to deal with existing problems and challenges and to do away
with the predominant anti- Manchu sentiment in the new nationalism of 1911.
The key areas in which reforms were initiated included- education, the army
and administration and institutional organisation. However, since these
reforms were conservative in nature, they proved to be counter-productive
and hence instead of being a way of salvation the reforms became
instrumental in the downfall of the Manchu dynasty.

One of the most important reform measure was announced in January 1901,
which was the reformation of the education system. Since the 19 th century,
there had been an increasing realisation that the traditional system of
education had to be done away with if China was to create a modern state
system. Thus, efforts were made to do away with the education system as well
as the curriculum. The traditional eight-legged essay was abolished and in its
place the students were expected to study the history of China, World history,
geography, science and mathematics. New schools were set up and by the end
of the decade more than a 100 such modern schools had been created. In
1905, the examination system was also abolished by which the government
changed both the methods of recruiting the country’s elite and the education
system through which most of the country was socialised. As a result of this
measure, the number of people, who could accrue to this education had
increased manifold.

The reforms in the education sector had remarkable impact on the rise of
nationalist sentiments. These schools were flooded with textbooks of these
modern subjects. As the authors of these textbooks were the active
westernisers, who had already adopted western ideologies that gave them a
sense of the requirements of a modern nation state, the students were
exposed to these modern ideas. Patriotism and nationalism were major
themes within these textbooks, which also spoke about the perils of foreign
encroachment. While, the state wanted the idea of nationalism to be centered
around loyalty to the Emperor, these textbooks seldom mentioned such ideas,
wherein loyalty to the king was secondary to the loyalty to the nation.
Moreover, the new education system also promoted ideas of civic
responsibility. Thus, students were encouraged to be concerned with the
affairs of the country and to try to work for it. Thus, in this way the new
education system was promoting a political consciousness among the
students that would later threatened the existing political system. Finally,
these educational institutions had also become centers of political activity and
were used as staging grounds for launching all kinds of demonstrations and
protests against the Manchu government led by the students.

A ‘New Army’ was created that was trained to handle new equipment and
whose soldiers were markedly different from the traditional soldiers. The
traditional system of recruiting soldiers was also abolished and the Banner
system that had provided the military support base to the Manchus was also
abolished. Moreover, military academies based on western ideals were
established and efforts were made to ensure that the recruited soldiers were
from respectable families with a decent level of education. Soldiers were also
sent abroad for this purpose. Thus, products of this new military education
system began to take up positions within the army, thereby, giving rise to a
powerful modern institution that was not fully integrated in the traditional
structure of China. Moreover, the nationalist ideals of many of its officers and
men further intensified this problem. The system of military education and
the ideas of militarism that had flooded China from the west also gradually
conferred a respectable opinion upon the soldiers. This along with the
military education being shorter, less expensive and guaranteeing
employment had made the army a highly popular institution. Thus, more and
more people joined the army, which in turn popularised the idea of ‘military
citizenship’ and transformed the social attitudes towards the relation between
the individual and the state. According to H. Harrison, many of the young men,
who joined the army were either already motivated by nationalist sentiments
that were further intensified upon joining the army or imbibed such
sentiments when they joined this institute. He also goes on to say that by 1911
a large number of the soldiers had become members of the revolutionary
societies and in this way an important support base had been lost for the
Manchus.

The Manchu regime also finally conceded to the granting of constitutional

reforms. Elected Assemblies were created at a national and provincial level
along with organs of local self-government. However, there was a difference in
opinion regarding the nature of these changes. As far as the Manchus were
concerned these changes were not meant to reduce the power or authority of
the Manchus in anyway. These reforms were aimed at promoting greater
centralization of the power and influence of the Manchus. This was a direct
threat to the autonomy that the provincial governors enjoyed and thus the
Manchus began to be resented by their once loyal allies. The provincial gentry
had believed that these reforms meant a genuine transfer of power to the local
or provincial level. This contest for power between the governors and the
Manchus played out many times in 1911. There were other problems with
these reforms as well. These assemblies were considered to be elitist. The
franchise was limited and indirect and there were property and education
qualifications because of which very few people got an opportunity to vote.
Moreover, only people, who had an income of over 5,000 taels or had a degree
from one of the new schools could contest elections. Thus, these provincial
assemblies came to be dominated by the upper gentry. Despite the limited
nature of suffrage the provincial assemblies become the centres of anti
Manchu and anti imperialist propaganda since they acted as platforms for
expression by disgruntled members of the bourgeois and gentry.

Chesneaux believes that the reason that the Manchu reforms failed was
because of two reaons. Firstly, in case of the administrative reforms the aim of
the reforms was highly conservative and thus, they were unable to win over
the progressive forces. But at the same time, they were revolutionary to an
extent and hence, in that way were able to endanger their own interests as
they gave rise to new currents and succeeded in intensifying further the
nationalist sentiments.

This was also the period that witnessed the growth of several forces of
opposition within the Manchu Empire. As already seen above students and
“New Military Men” had emerged with intense nationalist feelings that were
directed against both the foreigners and the Manchus. It was even the older
social groups that were strengthened and antagonised against the Manchus.
The prominent among these were the gentry. The Gentry had been a powerful
class in the Manchu empire providing the necessary local support base to the
Empire. According to Philip Kuhn, it was the Gentry that was able to prevent
the overthrow of the Manchus during the various popular uprisings against
the monarchy.
However, by the beginning of the 20th century, their prominence had begun to
decrease. The abolition of the examination system that was used to recruit the
elite in the country was one such instance. Moreover, the rise of the
bourgeoisie had made it possible for them to buy official titles and posts,
thereby, entering the elitist class. Thus, the gentry were gradually losing their
privileged position in the society. Finally, the attempts of the Manchus to
strengthen their control over the provinces also did not go down well with the
provincial gentry as they wanted greater autonomy over their locality. Thus,
as a result of all these factors the alliance of the imperial court with the gentry
was slowly getting eroded.

Bergere has also argued that it was this period, which witnessed the rise of a
new social group in China- the commercial bourgeoisie. (features from the
nature tut). The bourgeoisie that had come up mainly in the port towns of
China like Canton, Shanghai etc were the worst affected by the foreign
intrusion into China. Their own interests were often in conflict with that of
the foreign interests. It is for this reason that nationalist sentiments among
the bourgeoisie were demonstrated strongly throughout this period in the
form of strikes and boycott of foreign goods. Two such great boycott
movements had come in 1905 and 1907. Their anti-imperialist sentiments
were quickly turned into active hostility against the Manchu state for its
failure to protect the Chinese and their business interests. It was the
disaffection of the gentry and the bourgeoisie and the blurring of the
distinction between the two groups that brought them into an alliance with
each other. (mention more facts from the previous tut). This class sought to
protect its economic interests from the western powers and its political
interests from the central authority. Moreover, the alliance of these groups
had threatened the rigid and almost fixed social hierarchy that had existed in
China.

The petty bourgeoisie was also becoming disenchanted with the Manchu rule
as the influx of foreign goods had a disastrous affect on the indigenous
industries. Moreover, the inability of the Chinese government to impose tariffs
on the imported good had led to their free and cheap circulation within the
Chinese markets. (issues with the working class also).
The role of the peasantry. Some scholars have argued that the revolutionary
period i.e. from 1901 to 1911 was characterised by features of a dynasty in
decline especially in the countryside. Thus, the increased taxation leading to
the oppression of the peasantry, natural calamities, decreasing productivity
and scarcity of land that had characterised the Chinese countryside and the
life of the peasantry continued to exist even during this period. It is for this
reason that the countryside was characterised by a great deal of rural
disturbances during this period. This was further intensified by the foreign
encroachment. It had led to a great of dislocation of the peasantry and as the
traditional industries were destroyed it prevented the peasants from being
able to get alternative employment opportunities.

Thus, it can be seen that by the 20th century the increasing foreign
encroachment and the inability of the Manchus to tackle this foreign threat
had given rise to a great deal of opposition and resentment within China in the
form of the rise of new social groups and antaonisation of the older groups,
which created a major problem for the Manchus.

In fact, it was the announcement of the nationalization of the railways by the

Manchu government on 9 may, 1911 provided the immediate spark for the
outbreak of the revolution of 1911. This decision had irked the sentiments of
all the social classes in some way or the other. The gentry saw this step as a
move by the by the central government to be able to concentrate more power
in its hands so as to be able to extend greater privileges to the foreign powers
in return for the loans taken on 4 may, 1911. The Manchu’s on 19 May 1911
announced that the gentry would be compensated for investment in the
shares of railway construction. Ironically the Manchu’s offered only half the
actual amount invested. This decision irked both the gentry and commoners
who has invested in the railways. The bourgeoisie also saw this as yet another
attempt by the Manchus to give more privileges to the foreign powers and
thus, another means through which the national sentiments of the Chinese
had been betrayed. This had led to popular outcry culminating in the
outbreak of revolution on 10 October 1911(hence also referred to as double-
ten revolution) in the Wuchang province and spread to other provinces,
resulting in Manchu abdication on 12 February 1912 and the establishment of
a republic with Sun-Yat-Sen as its first provisional president.

Rise of intellectual currents. Start with the students and impact of modern
education but other than that this was the period, which saw the growth of the
intelligentsia and intellectual ideas. Wright called it a break from the past.
Growth of “Radicalism” as stated by Gasster etc etc… mention briefly the role
played by Sun-Yat Sen. According to IY Hsu, modern and western ideas like
human rights, democracy, equality, independence, freedom etc had swept the
minds of young Chinese. Nationalism, democracy and republicanism had
become the motivating forces for revolutionary change in China. Moreover,
the success of national unification movements of Italy and Germany in 1870
served as shining examples for forward looking Chinese prompting them to
take similar actions.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS

 Introduction- What the Revolution of 1911 was about. Why had it come
up and a little bit about the consequences. (1 para)
The Revolution of 1911 has been a subject of great debate and controversy as
far as the consequences and implications of the event are concerned as well.
While, a number of scholars have seen it as a revolutionary movement that
brought about the end of an almost 300 year old regime and challenged the
Confucian order that had prevailed in China for an even longer period, others
have stated that its achievements should not be over-emphasised as it was
unable to drastic alter the existing socio-political realities in China and this
alteration came only in 1948. Thus, it is essential to analyse the Revolution of
1911 before we can draw conclusions regarding its nature and achievements.

A significant feature of the 1911 revolution was what it represented. As a

result of the influence of western ideas, a number of scholars have tried to
draw comparisons between Revolution of 1911 and the French Revolution or
the English Revolution. Wright believes that the emergence of nationalism, the
growing radicalism and political activism of the intellectuals marked a
complete break from the past. It was a period of political progressivism as
ideas of constitutionalism, republicanism and talk of people’s rights had been
popularized due to this movement. This has been attested to by IY Hsu as well
( as seen above). Thus, this was for the first time that such ideas had entered
the domain of Chinese politics and were used so vehemently to challenge the
existing order of society. Sun Yat-Sen’s three principles represented the goals
that the revolutionaries were fighting for.

In fact, it was these ideas that had given rise to a number of new social groups
in society, who challenged the Manchu dominance of China. Talk about the
intellectual ferment and the role played by Chinese students and new military
men. Rise in the opinion about the army men. Wright has also spoken about
the role played by women during this movement. It was as a result of the
reform measures about the Manchus that women came to play a significant
role in the Chinese political sphere. This, according to her, was the real social
revolution. “Internalisation” of the issue- with the role of the overseas
Chinese. Role of the Bourgeoisie. Thus, one of the strengths of the Revolution
of 1911 lay in the fact that it had been able to arouse all sections of society
against the Manchus and the foreign encroachment. Thus, there were
traditional elements of opposition in the form of rural disturbances but at the
same time new forces of opposition in the form of these new social groups had
also arisen to challenge the existing order.

Talk about the role of the gentry. This was for the first time that the gentry or
the privileged sections of society had risen up in opposition to the Manchus.

What is significant is that the revolution took away one of the most important
elements of the traditional system i.e. the emperor, who was regarded as the
son of heaven. This change was a permanent and fundamental one. According
to Chesneux, the revolution marked an end for the dynastic cycle and the
mandate of heaven.- Even Yuan Shi-Kai though had succeeded in disbanding
the parliament, declaring the revolutionary party illegal and eliminating all
forces of opposition and especially so after the failed revolution of 1913
against the growing authoritarianism of Yuan-Shi-kai, however when he
committed the fatal mistake of trying to install himself as the emperor he
failed and there was stiff resistance. This reflects not just the end of a
traditional political system in China but also signals the rise of a new political
consciousness in China. Another important achievement of the 1911
revolution was the establishment of a republic in China for the first time. Even
though the republic was not a successful one what is significant is that the
revolution had been able to introduce “republican vocabulary even in the
absence of republican practice”, opines Chesneaux.

Mention the lines by Wright regarding the foundation that it had created for
the growth of further revolutionary movements in China.

On the economic front the period that followed the 1911 revolution was one,
which is called the golden age of industry and trade. However this prosperity
had more to do with the prevailing world situation rather than the release of
productive forces due to the revolution. The withdrawal of foreign
competition due to outbreak of the First World War had enabled Chinese
industry in this period to grow. Also the period that followed 1911 also
witnessed a transformation of traditional Chinese economic thinking, for the
focus of debate in China shifted from the question of whether or not to
modernize production processes or as to how far modernization should go to
the issue of how to ensure rapid economic development.
However, at the same time people believe that the achievements and
significance of the 1911 revolution has been overemphasized. Mention the
importance given to the intellectual current and how it did not in fact play a
significant role in bringing about the revolution. This is true even with the role
of the masses and the bourgeoisie. Thus, as Ichiko Chuzo has argued the
revolution was essentially an elitist revolution that was aimed at their own
self-preservation. Thus, it was yet another dynastic revolution that did not
bring about any major changes in the Chinese society or polity. Some scholars
have also spoken about the inconsistencies that existed within the
revolutionary mould vis-à -vis the foreigners.

Scholars like Bergere believe that the 1911 revolution should be interpreted
as a typical 20th century revolution with marked similarities to contemporary
revolutionary movements in Africa and other parts of Asia. She states that the
movement made use of ideas borrowed from abroad but these ideas were
often so ill-adapted to the realities of the situation that movements of
traditional, conservative or reactionary forces were able to take cover under
the new revolutionary slogans. Thus, she believes that the Revolution of 1911
did not mark any break from the past and was in fact within the age-old
tradition of rebellions that took place periodically in China.

While the uprisings were successful in overthrowing the Manchu’s yet a

significant drawback was the absence of a strong leadership. Thus, it became
easy for Yuan-Shi-kai to eclipse the revolutionary leadership and take
complete charge. This development was very ironical, for although the
revolution overthrew the Manchu’s, power passed into the hands of the
traditional military elite and gentry, represented by Yuan and his
subordinates. Infact this led Chuzo Ichiko to comment that the 1911
revolution was merely another ‘dynastic revolution’ for the old ruling class
maintained itself.

While one cannot deny that the revolution failed to produce any significant
leadership resulting in power slipping into the hands of local notables who
weren’t revolutionaries. But as Marry C.Wright points out that this has to be
seen in context of the lack of a significant body of revolutionary tradition in
China and the paucity of time. For it was feared that prolonged disorder would
lead to foreign intervention and hence Yuan-Shi-kai was seen as “ the only one
who could achieve the dynasty’s abdication and at the same time retain
national unity and keep the foreign powers at bay.”

Thus the conditions in China at that point of time weren’t conducive to allow
for the emergence of a class articulate and well formed to replace the old elite.
Hence power devolved onto an amalgam of gentry that had lost the old basis
of an elite status and a section of the bourgeoisie class and military
adventurers.

The period after 1911 also saw a considerable weakening of central authority,
which made it very difficult to maintain national unity and protect China’s
economic interests and the rights recovery movement went for a toss. China
lost control of territories like Tibet and Outer Mongolia. The foreign powers
became increasingly aggressive in wake of a weak central power to obtain
privileges that encroached upon Chinese sovereignty. Customs revenues,
which had been paid directly to Chinese authorities, were now paid to foreign
banks, which then transferred it to Peking government. Customs were a major
source of revenue for the government and this arrangement was the perfect
tool in the hands of foreign powers to exert pressure on the government.
However it is in face of this renewed foreign aggression after the 1911
revolution that we see the rise of the idea of a nation-state gaining a foothold
in Chinese political thought, thereby paving way for a confrontation between
modern nationalism on the one hand and foreign imperialism on the other.

This weakening of central authority and the failure to establish any strong
republican political institutions and as was envisaged and lack of a strong
leadership was also responsible to contributing to China’s move towards a
period of anarchy that followed the death of Yuan-Shi-Kai when China was
controlled by warlords, often viewed as one of the darkest periods in Chinese
history. (mention about the rise of warlordism).

The Communists historians of China argue that this was a revolution only in
name and form, but in essence and content. For them, it was a “fake
revolution” because the imperial government was succeeded by a
conservative reactionary republican government under the control of a
former imperial official and as such was no different from the earlier dynastic
changes. (mention from above how the political structure remained the same).
Liew also concluded saying that the failure of the establishment of a
parliamentary democracy shows that China was not at all ready for
democracy to take place and only an autocratic rule could thrive in the
country. Thus, succeeding generations of scholars have argued that the real
revolution in China took place only in 1948 and 1911 was only a trivial
episode as it failed to bring about any significant change.

The goals envisaged by Sun could not be implemented. Only the overthrow of
the Manchus was achieved. The other two objectives were completely ignored.

The revolution of 1911 represents a stage in a struggle rather than its

culminating point. The revolution of 1911 despite its several shortcomings did
mark an important chapter in the history of New China, it undermined the old
order in China and gave birth to new ideas and currents that were to sow the
seeds of future stages of revolution that china was to witness in the future.