The Xinhai Revolution was a nationwide revolution that took place from 1911 to early 1912 and aimed at overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and establishing a republican form of government.
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Chinese nation was faced with an unprecedentedly serious crisis. Since the Opium War in 1840, with the further deepening of the aggression of the imperialist countries, the Qing Dynasty has completely become a tool for the great powers to rule China, and the reactionary nature has been increasingly exposed.
At this time, the national bourgeoisie was gradually growing and entering the stage of history. The political and economic interests and demands of the bourgeoisie reflect the common aspirations of the Chinese people for national independence and democratic rights.
At the beginning of the 20 th century, the bourgeois democratic revolution spread rapidly, shaking China's ideological circles, and many revolutionary groups appeared in China, promoting the arrival of the democratic revolutionary movement.
On September 14, 1911, Sun Wu, Liu Fuji, Liu Gong, Jiang Yiwu, Wang Xianxian, Ju Zheng and other leaders of the two most influential revolutionary organizations in Hubei, the Communist Association and the Literary Society, gathered at Liu's apartment at No. 10 Xiongchulou, preparing to launch an armed uprising when the main force of the Hubei New Army was transferred away and the Wuchang garrison was empty.
On September 23, 1911, the Communist Advancement Association and the Literary Society announced their merger, and they were all collectively referred to as the "Wuchang Revolutionaries". The uprising was scheduled for 6 October, but was postponed to 16 October due to lack of preparation.
On the evening of October 8, 1911, Jiang Yiwu** jumped out of the wall of the patrol police station and fled. On October 9, Sun Wu was injured in an accident while secretly making a bomb at No. 14 Baoshanli, in the Russian Concession of Hankou. **The patrol came to search, Sun Wu and the others escaped, but the documents, flags, etc. of the uprising were searched. When the governor of Huguang heard about this, Rui Cheng, ordered martial law throughout the city to arrest the revolutionaries. Compelled by the form, the revolutionaries had no choice but to act in advance.
According to the plan, they were to start their army in the barracks first. On the night of the 10th, Cheng Zhengying, a member of the Communist Party, shot at the sentry commander Tao Qisheng, and then shot at the team officer Huang Kunrong, the secretary Zhang Wentao, and the battalion owner Ruan Rongfa, firing the "first righteous gunshot". The rebel soldiers first attacked and captured the Chuwangtai armory, and the revolutionaries stationed outside Wuchang also launched an uprising and gathered at Chuwangtai. At 10:30 p.m., the rebels attacked the governor's office and the adjacent Eighth Town Headquarters in three directions. He also ordered the 8th Artillery Standard, which had entered the city, to occupy firing positions at Zhonghe Gate and Snake Mountain, and bombard the Superintendent's Office. The governor of Huguang, Ruihan, broke the back wall of the governor's office and fled by boat from the Yangtze River, and Zhang Biao, the commander of the eighth town, still resisted stubbornly at the headquarters. After repeated attacks, the rebels finally captured the Governor's Office and the town headquarters before dawn. After the rebel army captured Wuchang, it was forcibly elected as Li Yuanhong as the governor of Hubei.
On October 14, the Qing court issued an edict to restore Yuan Shikai and suppress the revolutionaries. Beginning on October 18, the revolutionary army and the Qing army launched the "Battle for Hankou" in Hankou for more than 10 days. On the 27th, Hanyang fell, and the Hubei revolutionaries transferred to the stage of guarding Wuchang. On November 1, Yuan Shikai arrived in Xiaojiagang, Hubei Province from Anyang and officially left the mountain. On November, Guang'an and Chongqing successively established the Northern Han Shu Army and the Shu Army, and 57 prefectures and counties in southeastern Sichuan announced their response to the Wuchang Uprising.
On December 2, 1911, the rebel army captured the city of Nanjing in one fell swoop. At this point, all the south of the Yangtze River was owned by the revolutionary army, and representatives of various provinces moved from Wuhan to Nanjing. On the same day, through the mediation of the British consul in Hankow, Graham Ford, the Wuhan Revolutionary Army and the Qing Army reached an armistice agreement. On December 25, China **Nanjing Temporary** was established. On December 28, Nanjing began peace talks with Qing Nan.
On January 1, 1912, Sun Yat-sen officially took office as the Provisional Congress of China. The next day, Sun Yat-sen issued a statement saying that as long as Yuan Shikai was in favor of the abdication of the Qing emperor, he would immediately resign and give way to Yuan Shikai. After Yuan Shikai got this assurance, he stepped up the process of forcing the palace.
Under the intimidation and persecution of Yuan Shikai, on February 2, 1912, the Qing court held a pre-imperial meeting, at which it was decided to abdicate in order to obtain preferential conditions for the revolutionaries. On February 12, the Empress Dowager Longyu and the six-year-old emperor held the last court meeting ceremony in the Yangxin Hall and issued the edict of abdication. The Qing Dynasty officially fell. The next day, Sun Yat-sen submitted his resignation and recommended Yuan Shikai to the provisional Senate to take over. On February 15, the provisional Senate elected Yuan Shikai as the provisional president. The fruits of the revolution were stolen by Yuan Shikai in this way.
The Xinhai Revolution overthrew the monarchy that had ruled China for thousands of years, established a republican form of government, and put an end to the monarchy. It has disseminated the concept of democracy and republic, greatly promoted the ideological emancipation of the Chinese nation, and promoted China's social reform with great shock and influence.
At the same time, it also reflected the weakness of the Chinese bourgeoisie at that time. After the victory of the revolution, it was not further strengthened, but handed over to others, which eventually led to the defeat of the revolution.