# Great Han Sichuan Military Government

The Great Han Sichuan Military Government (Mandarin Chinese: 大漢四川軍政府), sometimes called the Dahan Sichuan Military Government or the Szechwan Military Government, was a former country and military government located in modern-day Sichuan, that was formed during the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. It lasted for 142 days, and ended after its absorption and dissolution by the Republic of China.

## History
### Prelude

In 1904, a revolutionary organization called Gongqianghui was established in Sichuan, with the goal of overthrowing the Qing dynasty and re-establishing the Han-led government. In late summer of 1911, multiple units of the Hubei New Army were ordered to Sichuan from the neighboring province of Guangdong, to quell riots caused by the Railway Protection Movement. The movement hoped to stop the Qing government's nationalization of local railway projects. Officers of the Eight Banners, including railroad superintendent Duanfang and Qing official Zhao Erfeng, led the Hubei New Army against the Railway Protection Movement. The riots were crushed, and an uneasy peace was established in the region.

#### 1911 Revolution

On October 10, 1911, the city of Wuchang was launched into revolt by Republican, anti-Qing revolutionaries led by Xiong Bingkun. The city was captured by the next morning, where they established a headquarters and declared the Military Government of Hubei as part of the Republic of China.
The success of the uprising soon stirred uprisings in other neighboring provinces, the Sichuan province among them. On November 21, revolutionaries in Guang'an organized the Great Han-Shu Northern Military Government. This was followed by an uprising the next day, when Chengdu declared independence from the Qing dynasty. By November 27, the Great Han Sichuan Military Government had been established, led by revolutionary Pu Dianjun. The Qing official Duanfang was killed in this uprising.
The Declaration of Independence of the Great Han Sichuan Military Government read as follows:
   The Sichuan people fought against the government for the road, and they fought fiercely and did not care about death. In less than two or three months, the world collapsed. The provinces successively declared independence, and the brilliant and glorious Great Han Independent Military Government of Sichuan was also established today. The purpose of the Great Han Sichuan Military Government is based on the world's justice, humanitarian organization and republican constitution, in order to consolidate the empire of our Great Han Federation and be boundless in the world. We should protect it together with the 70 million people of Sichuan and their descendants.
Pu declared himself Military Governor, and appointed Zhu Qinglan to serve as Deputy Military Governor. Reportedly, the reason Zhu was chosen for the position was due to the negative attitude he took regarding the use of force to suppress the Railway Protection Movement. Pu also appointed another revolutionary, Yin Changheng, to the position of Director of War.
The flag of the Great Han Sichuan Military Government, called the "Dahan banner," was described as a white field with the Chinese ideogram "Han" inside a ring, surrounded by 18 smaller rings. The exact color of the large central ring is debated, with some sources claiming it was red; while others claim it was black.

### Sichuan soldiers mutiny

On December 8, Sichuan soldiers mutinied in Chengdu, dissatisfied with the delay regarding their military pay. Pu and Zhu both resigned and fled, leaving Yin in charge to stop the mutiny. Yin managed to stop the mutineers, and led his troops to attack the Governor's Gate where they captured Zhao Erfeng, executing him on the grounds of him leading the "counter-revolutionary conspiracy". Yin had so much public support that he arose to become the military governor due to his bravery. As military governor, he promoted the reorganization of the military government, finally managing to stabilize the situation in Sichuan.

### Government merger

Two major governments existed in the Sichuan region: The Great Han Sichuan Military Government and the Shu Military Government. The latter had been established in November 1911, and was led by Zhang Peijue. Yin planned to unify them by force, and invited the army of the Yunnan clique to aid in unification. Yin gave up on forceful reunification after mediation, and the Yunnan Army left Sichuan. Both governments sent representatives to Chongqing to make an agreement in January 1912. The sides eventually came to an agreement on March 21: Chengdu would serve as the political center and would house the Sichuan Governor's Office, with the governors of Great Han Sichuan and Shu respectively serving as chief and deputy governors. Chongqing would be an important town, and a pacification office established there. The two governments officially merged on April 27, officially bringing both the Great Han Sichuan Military Government and the Shu Military Government to their ends. The new government was simply named the Sichuan Military Government.
Yin was appointed as the military governor of the Sichuan Governor's Office, Zhang was appointed as the deputy governor, and Xia Zhishi was appointed as the chief pacification chief of the Chongqing Pacification Office.

### Absorption by the Republic of China

The new Sichuan Military Government existed in a region with over ten other military governments. To the west, the rapidly-expanding Republic of China soon reached the Sichuan region. Sichuan was soon absorbed as a province of the Republic, putting an end to all of the military governments in the region, including the Sichuan Military Government.