Examine the main currents within the revolution of 1911.

Would you agreethat the

1911 revolution represents the first phase of the China’srevolutionary
struggle?Introduction-
The Revolution of 1911 holds a significant place in the history ofChina as the
Manchu dynasty was overthrown during this revolution and republicwas
established for the first time.The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the
20th century had witnessedthe growth of Chinese nationalism. According to Mary
C. Wright, the emergentChinese nationalism had two dimensions i.e. anti-
Manchuism and anti-Imperialism. Anti-Manchu sentiments had existed ever since
the inception of thedynasty as Manchus were looked upon as foreigners by the Han
race and theirattempts to strengthen their position by ruling autocratically had
made themextremely unpopular. According to I.Y. Hsu, anti-Machu sentiments
had beenevident in case of the various popular uprisings whose main motive was
tooverthrow the Manchu rule and replace it with a more favorable system
ofgovernance.As the tide of nationalism was rising, the government introduced a
series ofreforms in 1898 in the field of education, army, administration and
institutionalorganization to promote greater centralization which was a direct threat
to theautonomy of the provincial governors. Chesneaux states that it was these
veryreforms which hastened the revolution against Manchus as they gave rise to
newrevolutionary currents and intensified the nationalist sentiments.The old
system of competitive examination was abolished and the new educationsystem
was promoting a political consciousness among the students.
Educationalinstitutions became centers of political activity and were used as
staging groundsfor launching all kinds of demonstrations and protests against the
Manchugovernment led by the students.The announcement of nationalizing
railways became the immediate cause for theoutbreak of the revolution of 1911. In
the spring of 1911, imperial government haddecided to nationalize the railway
system of China which was in private hand withthe help of loans from England,
France, Germany and USA. This nationalizationwas met with opposition especially
in the provinces like Hunan and Hupei. The

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reason for this opposition was that the central government was taking charge of
theconstruction of the Hankow-Canton and the Hankow-Chungking-Chentgu
lineswhich had been started by private companies who had taken loans
from the provinces concerned.The gentry saw this step of government as step to
concentrate more power in itshands and bourgeoisie also saw this as another
attempt by the Manchus to givemore privileges to the foreign powers and thus,
another means through which thenational sentiments of the Chinese had been
betrayed. This had led to popularoutcry culminating in the outbreak of revolution
on 10 October 1911 in Wuchang,often called the Wuchang uprising. From
Wuchang, the revolution spread to other provinces, resulting in Manchu abdication
on 12 February 1912 and theestablishment of a republic with Sun-Yat-Sen as its
first provisional president.
Participants of the 1911 revolution-
The new groups that had emerged duringthis period including students and
intellectuals, women, new military men,overseas Chinese and the working class,
along with the older social groups like thegentry, the bourgeoisie and the masses
played an important role in the 1911Revolution.
Role of gentry and bourgeoisie-
M.C. Bergere has argued that the rise of a new social group in China i.e.
thecommercial bourgeoisie was an important phenomenon. These were worst
affected by the foreign intrusion into China in port towns of China like Canton,
Shanghaietc as their interests were in conflict with that of foreign interests. The
petty bourgeoisie was also becoming disenchanted with the Manchu rule as the
influx offoreign goods had a disastrous affect on the indigenous industries.
Moreover, theinability of the Chinese government to impose tariffs on
the imported goods hadled to their free and cheap circulation within the Chinese
markets. Owing to thesereasons, their anti-imperialist sentiments quickly
turned into active hostility againstthe Manchu state and these nationalist sentiments
were demonstrated stronglythroughout this period in the form of strikes and
boycott of foreign goods.Wolfgang Franke points out that the Gentry, who were
earlier the allies ofManchus, now unified with bourgeoisie because of their
discontentment with theManchus. Thus, it can be seen that by the 20th century the
increasing foreign

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encroachment and the inability of the Manchus to tackle this foreign threat
hadgiven rise to a great deal of opposition and resentment within China.Bergere
has pointed out that the “bourgeoisie ideology” was colored bynationalism and
constitutionalism and they came to play an important role in the boycott of foreign
goods, the agitation for parliamentary governments and played akey role in
mobilizing a new kind of public opinion. It is for this reason that somescholars like
Edward Rhoads have described the Revolution to be a bourgeoisierevolution in
which bourgeoisie was quite independent and extraordinarily activein the
nationalist agitations.However, Bergere contradicts these scholars and argues that
when the revolutioncame, the bourgeoisie proved too weak to be able to play a
leading role as they hadnot yet developed a distinct class identity. Even Esherick
has argued that most ofthe Bourgeoisie demonstrations had taken place under
gentry leadership and eventheir Self-Government society was actually headed by a
member of the gentry.Thus, he believed that the distinction between the gentry and
bourgeoisie was notyet definite enough for the latter to play the leading role. In
contrast to the viewsheld by Bergere, scholars like Ichiko Chuzo, David Buck and
Robert Kapp heldthat the gentry was motivated only by the desire of self-
preservation and not byany higher ideal of improving China. They argue that their
role should not beoveremphasized, a point which even Joseph Esherick makes.
Students and intellectuals-
According to I.Y. Hsu, modern and western ideas likehuman rights, democracy,
equality, independence, freedom etc were gainingimportance in China in this
period. Nationalism, democracy and republicanism had become the
motivating forces for revolutionary change in China. Wolfgang Frankestates that
the most important element in the revolutionary movement was theyoung
intellectuals and students who helped in preparing the ground for therevolution.
According to Franz Micheal, it was the students, who had studied inJapan, USA
and Europe that the first modern Chinese intellectuals had emerged.This group
realized the weakness of the Manchu Government and the dangerfacing the
country and the only way out according to them was revolution.
Peasantry-
The traditional view dismissed the role played by the peasant class ongrounds of it
being a passive, conservative and traditional class that was

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disinterested in revolution as it was tied to the land. However, now historians

arguethat the peasantry was deeply stirred by increasing foreign intrusion and
byincreasing missionary activity. In 1909, there were 113 well-documented
outburstsof rebellion and in 1910, the number rose to 285. According to John Lust,
who has provided the strongest argument for the significance of “movements from
below”,during this period it was this constant agitation that had completely
undermined theauthority and confidence of the existing establishment. Though the
causes for theuprisings were essentially traditional in character i.e. floods, famine,
agrariandiscontent, unemployment as argued by Chesneaux, what was unique
about theseuprisings was that they were specifically political in character i.e.
overthrow theManchu government and the imperial system. However, Escherick
has argued thatwhile scholars, who have worked on the role of the peasantry have
been able tochallenge the elitist interpretation of the revolution, they have gone
overboard indescribing the direct role that the peasantry may have played.
Role of Sun-Yat Sen-
K.T.S. Sarao has argued that he was not only the promoter but also the inspirer of
the revolution. Historians of orthodox school havehighlighted the heroic role
played by Sun-Yat who ushered the era ofrepublicanism into China. He founded
Chinese revolutionary league in 1905 whosemain aim were repulsion of
the Manchus, restoration of China, establishment of aRepublic and equal land
ownership. Recognizing the existence of social forcescapable of bringing about a
revolution, he called for the unification of allrevolutionary organizations under one
head and formed the Chinese United Leagueof Tung-Meng Hui

in 1905. The Tung-Meng Hui because of its multi-provincialand multiclass

character provided a unified central organization which served as arallying point
for all revolutionary and progressive forces in the country. Thus,some scholars
argue that he deserves credit for bringing into the mainstream therevolutionary
movement. He succeeded in bringing secret societies to the forefront.He also
played an important role in garnering the support of the overseas Chinesefor the
cause of the revolution. Sun Yat’s ideas had considerable influence on
thedevelopment of the revolutionary movement. He formulated the three
people’s principles: People’s National Consciousness or Nationalism; People’s
Rights orDemocracy and People’s livelihood or Socialism.However, some scholars
have questioned the role played by Sun in the Revolutionof 1911 and to his
commitment to the ideas of Republicanism. For instance-
on of the provinces’ rather than a ‘unitary organization composed ofindividuals’.
Harold Schiffrin throws light on some weaknesses of Sun Yat Senand termed him
as remarkably vague and self-contradictory. Mary Wright says thatSun Yat was not
the leader needed as he had little idea of what a transfer of powerwould mean and
he was equally vague on the subject of China’s relation to theWest.
Conclusion-
Wolfgang Franke argues that even though Sun Yat Sen and hisfollowers
succeeded in giving a severe blow to the tottering Confucian state, theydid not
really provide any conclusive program to replace the old order and it wasthe reason
for the failure of the revolution. Communist historians have attributedthe failure of
the 1911 revolution to the weak nature of the bourgeoisie. Chen TuHsiu states that
the bourgeoisie was highly divided, lacked a class consciousnessand therefore not
successful as a united force.Wu Yu-Chang points out the reason for the failure of
1911 revolution. He arguesthat it was the lack the lack of preparation and errors in
leadership with regard tothe fundamental problems of revolutionary theory,
revolutionary organization, therevolutionary armed forces and the revolutionary
provisional government. MaryWright also holds that the cause of the failure of the
revolution was the limitedvision of the revolutionary leaders and their ability to
effectively organize at bothtop and local level. However, we must not forget that it
was because of the lack oftime as it was felt that prolonged disorder would invite
foreign intervention and partition of the country. Thus, the leadership was handed
over to Yan Shih Kai.Yuan Shikai’s formal assumption of the office of Presidency
in Beijing signaledthe failure of the revolution.Although the revolution of 1911
failed to wipe out feudalism completely, it didsucceed in giving it a fatal blow.
It overthrew the Manchu dynasty and herein liesthe greatest significance of this
revolution. Mary Wright states that in a way, therevolution of 1911 had laid a base
for the second phase of the Chinese Revolution