Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai ( Wade - Giles spelling : Yuan Shih - kai ; ; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916 ) was an important Chinese general and politician , famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty , his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China , his autocratic rule as the first official President of the Republic of China , and his short - lived attempt to restore monarchy in China , with himself as the Hongxian Emperor ( ) , the " Great Emperor of China . " Early life . Yuan Shikai was born in the village of Zhangying ( 張營村 ) , Xiangcheng County , Chenzhou Prefecture , Henan , though the clan later moved 16 kilometers southeast of Xiangcheng to a hilly area that was easier to defend . There the Yuans had built a fortified village , Yuanzhaicun ( ) . Yuan ' s family was affluent enough to provide Yuan with a traditional Confucian education . As a young man he enjoyed riding , boxing , and entertainment with friends . Though hoping to pursue a career in the civil service , he failed the Imperial examinations twice , leading him to decide on an entry into politics through the Huai Army , where many of his relatives served . His career began with the purchase of a minor official title in 1880 , which was a common method of official promotion in the late Qing . Using his father ' s connections , Yuan travelled to Tengzhou , Shandong , and sought a post in the Qing Brigade . Yuan ' s first marriage was in 1876 to a woman of the Yu family who bore him a first son , Keding , in 1878 . Yuan Shikai married nine further concubines throughout the course of his life . Years in Joseon Dynasty Korea . Joseon Dynasty Korea in the early 1870s was in the midst of a struggle between isolationists under the King Gojong ' s father ( Heungseon Daewongun ) , and progressives , led by the queen ( Empress Myeongseong ) , who wanted to open trade . After the Meiji Restoration , Japan had adopted an aggressive foreign policy , contesting Chinese domination of the peninsula . Under the unequal Treaty of Ganghwa , which the Koreans signed with reluctance in 1876 , Japan was allowed to send diplomatic missions to Hanseong , and opened trading posts in Incheon and Wonsan . Amidst an internal power struggle which resulted in the queen ' s exile , the Viceroy of Zhili , Li Hongzhang , sent the 3 , 000 strong Qing Brigade into Korea to impose Chinese will on the country . The regent , Heungseon Daewongun , was then escorted to Tianjin where he was effectively kept prisoner . Though effectively a Chinese puppet - state , Korea ' s weakness was becoming increasingly apparent , and the Treaty of Jemulpo of 1882 gave the Japanese further right to station troops in Seoul in order to protect their legation . China could no longer shield Korea against a rapidly industrialising Japanese military , and it was obvious Korea ' s army could not deal with its internal crises without serious assistance . The Korean king proposed training 500 troops in the art of modern warfare , and Yuan Shikai was appointed to lead this task in Korea . Li Hongzhang also recommended Yuan ' s promotion , with Yuan given the rank of " sub - prefect " . In 1885 , Yuan was appointed Imperial Resident of Seoul . On the surface the position equalled that of ambassador but in practice , as head official from the suzerain , Yuan had become the supreme adviser on all Korean government policies . Seeing China ' s increasing control of the Korean government , Japan sought more influence through co - suzerainty with China . A series of documents were released to Yuan Shikai , claiming the Korean government had changed its stance towards Chinese protection and was interested in Russia n protection . Yuan was outraged yet skeptical , and asked Li Hongzhang for advice . In a treaty signed between Japan and Qing , the two parties agreed only to send troops into Korea after notifying the other . Although the Korean government was now stable , it was still a protectorate of Qing . Koreans emerged advocating modernization . Another more radicalised group , the Donghak Society , promoting an early nationalist doctrine based partly upon Confucian principles , rose in rebellion against the government . Yuan and Li Hongzhang sent troops into Korea to protect Seoul and Qing ' s interests , and Japan did the same under the pretext of protecting Japanese trading posts . Tensions boiled over between Japan and China when Japan refused to withdraw its forces and placed a blockade at the 38th Parallel . Li Hongzhang wanted at all costs to avoid a war with Japan , and attempted this by asking for international pressure for a Japanese withdrawal . Japan refused , and war broke out . Yuan , having been put in an ineffective position , was recalled to Tianjin in July 1894 , before the official outbreak of the First Sino - Japanese War ( 甲午戰爭 ) . Late Qing Dynasty . Yuan ' s rise to fame began with his nominal participation in the First Sino - Japanese War as commander of the Chinese garrison forces in Korea . Unlike other officers , however , he avoided the humiliation of Chinese defeat by having been recalled to Beijing several days before the outbreak of conflict . As an ally of Li Hongzhang , Yuan was appointed the commander of the first New army in 1895 . As the officer most directly responsible for training China ' s first modernized army , Yuan gained significant political influence and the loyalty of a nucleus of young officers : by 1901 , five of China ' s seven divisional commanders and most other senior military officers in China were his protégés . The Qing court relied heavily on his army due to the proximity of its garrison to the capital and their effectiveness . Of the new armies that were part of the Self - Strengthening Movement , Yuan ' s was the best trained and most effective . The Qing Court at the time was divided between progressives under the leadership of the Guangxu Emperor , and conservatives under the Empress Dowager Cixi , who had temporarily retreated to the Summer Palace as a place of " retirement " . After the Guangxu Emperor ' s Hundred Days ' Reform in 1898 , however , Cixi decided that the reforms were too drastic , and plotted to restore her own regency through a coup d ' état . Plans of the coup spread early , and the Emperor was very aware of the plot . He asked reform advocates Kang Youwei , Tan Sitong and others to develop a plan to save him . Yuan ' s involvement in the coup continues to be a large topic of historical debate . Tan Sitong reportedly had a talk with Yuan several days before the coup , asking Yuan to assist the Emperor against Cixi . Yuan refused a direct answer , but insisted he was loyal to the Emperor . Meanwhile Manchu General Ronglu was planning manoeuvres for his army to stage the coup . According to sources , including the diary of Liang Qichao and contemporary Chinese news sources , Yuan Shikai arrived in Tianjin on 20 September 1898 by train . It was certain that by the evening , Yuan had talked to Ronglu , but what was revealed to him remains ambiguous . Most historians suggest that Yuan had told Ronglu of all details of the Reformers ' plans , and asked him to take immediate action . The plot being exposed , Ronglu ' s troops entered the Forbidden City at dawn on 21 September , forcing the Emperor into seclusion in a lake palace . Making a political alliance with the Empress Dowager , and becoming a lasting enemy of the Guangxu Emperor , Yuan left the capital in 1899 for his new appointment as Governor of Shandong . During his three - year tenure while the Boxer Rebellion erupted , he ensured the suppression of Boxers in the province , though his troops took no active part outside Shandong itself . Yuan took the side of the pro foreign faction in the Imperial Court , along with Prince Qing , Li Hongzhang and Ronglu , he refused to side with the Boxers and attack the Eight Nation Alliance forces , joining with other Chinese governors who commanded substantial modernized armies like Zhang Zhidong not participating in the Boxer Rebellion . He and Zhang ignored Empress Dowager Cixi ' s declaration of war against the foreign powers and continued to suppress the Boxers . In addition to taking not fighting the Eight Nation Alliance and suppressing the Boxers in Shandong , Yuan and his army ( the Right Division ) also helped the Eight Nation Alliance massacre tens of thousands of people in their anti Boxer campaign in Zhili after the Alliance captured Beijing . Yuan operated out of Baoding during the campaign , which ended in 1902 . He also founded a provincial junior college ( Shandong College , the forerunner of Shandong University ) in Jinan , which adopted western ideas of education . In June 1902 he was promoted to Viceroy of Zhili , the lucrative Commissioner for North China Trade , and Minister of Beiyang ( 北洋通商大臣 ) , comprising the modern regions of Liaoning , Hebei , and Shandong . Having gained the regard of foreigners after helping crush the Boxer Rebellion , he successfully obtained numerous loans to expand his Beiyang Army into the most powerful army in China . He created a 1 , 000 - strong police force to keep order in Tianjin , the first of its kind in Chinese history , as a result of the Boxer Protocol having forbidden troops to be staged close to Tianjin . Yuan was also involved in the transfer of railway control from Sheng Xuanhuai , leading railways and their construction to became a large source of his revenue . Yuan played an active role in late - Qing political reforms , including the creation of the Ministry of Education ( 學部 ) and Ministry of Police ( 巡警部 ) . He further advocated for ethnic equality between Manchus and Han Chinese . Retreat and return . The Empress Dowager and the Guangxu Emperor died within a day of each other in November 1908 . and sources indicate that the will of the Emperor specifically ordered Yuan be executed . Nonetheless avoiding a death sentence , in January 1909 Yuan Shikai was relieved of all his posts by the regent , Prince Chun . The public reason for Yuan ' s resignation was that he was returning to his home in the village of Huanshang ( 洹上村 ) , now the prefecture - level city of Anyang , due to a foot disease . During his three years of effective exile , Yuan kept contact with his close allies , including Duan Qirui , who reported to him regularly about army proceedings . The loyalty of the Beiyang Army was still undoubtedly behind him . Having this strategic military support , Yuan held the balance of power between various revolutionaries ( like Sun Yat - sen ) and the Qing Court . Both wanted Yuan on their side . The Wuchang Uprising and the Republic . The Wuchang Uprising took place on 10 October 1911 in Hubei province . The southern provinces subsequently declared their independence from the Qing Court , but neither the northern provinces nor the Beiyang Army had a clear stance for or against the rebellion . Both the Qing court and Yuan were fully aware that the Beiyang Army was the only Qing force powerful enough to quell the revolutionaries . The court requested Yuan ' s return on 27 October , but he repeatedly declined offers from the Qing Court for his return , first as the Viceroy of Huguang , and then as Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet . Time was on Yuan ' s side , and Yuan waited , using his " foot ailment " as a pretext to his continual refusal . After further pleas by the Qing Court , Yuan agreed and eventually left his village for Beijing on 30 October , becoming Prime Minister on 1 November 1911 . Immediately after that he asked Prince Chun , the Regent , to abstain from politics . Zaifeng , forced to resign his regency , made way for Yuan to compose a newly created , predominantly Han Chinese Cabinet of confidants , consisting of only one Manchu , who held the position of Minister of Suzerainty . To further reward Yuan ' s loyalty to the court , the Empress Dowager Longyu offered Yuan the noble title Marquis of the First Rank ( 一等侯 ) , an honour only previously given to 19th century General Zeng Guofan for his raising of the Xiang Army to suppress the Taiping Rebellion . Meanwhile , in the Battle of Yangxia , his forces recaptured Hankou and Hanyang from the revolutionaries . Yuan knew that complete suppression of the revolution would end his usefulness to the Qing regime . Instead of attacking Wuchang , he began to negotiate with the revolutionaries . Abdication of the child emperor . The revolutionaries had elected Sun Yat - Sen as the first Provisional President of the Republic of China , but they were in a weak position militarily , so they negotiated with the Qing , using Yuan as an intermediary . Yuan arranged for the abdication of the child emperor Puyi ( or Xuantong Emperor ) in return for being granted the position of President . Yuan would not be present when the Abdication edict was issued by Empress Dowager Longyu on 12 February 1912 . Sun agreed to Yuan ' s presidency after some internal bickering , but asked that the capital be situated in Nanjing . Yuan , however , wanted the geographic advantage of having the nation ' s capital close to his base of military power . Cao Kun , one of his trusted subordinate Beiyang military commanders , fabricated a coup d ' état in Beijing and Tianjin , apparently under Yuan ' s orders , to provide an excuse for Yuan not to leave his sphere of influence in Zhili ( present - day Hebei province ) . The revolutionaries compromised again , and the capital of the new republic was established in Beijing . Yuan Shikai was elected Provisional President of the Republic of China by the Nanjing Provisional Senate on 14 February 1912 , and sworn in on 10 March of that year . Democratic elections . In February 1913 , democratic elections were held for the National Assembly in which the Chinese Nationalist Party ( Kuomintang or KMT ) scored a significant victory . Song Jiaoren of the KMT zealously supported a cabinet system and was widely regarded as a candidate for Prime Minister . One of Song ' s main political goals was to ensure that the powers and independence of China ' s Parliament be properly protected from the influence of the office of the President . Song ' s goals in curtailing the office of the President conflicted with the interests of Yuan , who , by mid - 1912 , clearly dominated the provisional cabinet and was showing signs of a desire to hold overwhelming executive power . During Song ' s travels through China in 1912 , he had openly and vehemently expressed the desire to limit the powers of the President in terms that often appeared openly critical of Yuan ' s ambitions . When the results of the 1913 elections indicated a clear victory for the KMT it appeared that Song would be in a position to exercise a dominant role in selecting the premier and cabinet , and the party could have proceeded to push for the election of a future president in a parliamentary setting . On 20 March 1913 , while travelling with a group of friends to Peking , Song Jiaoren was shot twice at close range by a lone gunman , Ying Kuicheng , at a Shanghai railway station . He died two days later in hospital . The trail of evidence led to the secretary of the cabinet and the provisional premier of Yuan Shikai ' s government . Although Yuan was considered by contemporary Chinese media sources as the man most likely behind the assassination , the main conspirators investigated by authorities were either themselves assassinated or disappeared mysteriously . Because of the lack of evidence , Yuan was never officially implicated . Becoming Emperor . Tensions between the Kuomintang and Yuan continued to intensify . After arriving in Peking , the elected Parliament attempted to gain control over Yuan , to develop a permanent constitution , and to hold a legitimate , open presidential election . Because he had authorized $ 100 million of " reorganization loans " from a variety of foreign banks , the KMT in particular were highly critical of Yuan ' s handling of the national budget . Yuan ' s crackdown on the Kuomintang began in 1913 , with the suppression and bribery of KMT members in the two legislative chambers . Anti - Yuan revolutionaries also claimed Yuan orchestrated the collapse of the KMT internally and dismissed governors interpreted as being pro - Kuomintang . Second Revolution . Seeing the situation for his party worsen , Sun Yat - sen fled to Japan in November 1913 , and called for a Second Revolution , this time against Yuan Shikai . Subsequently , Yuan gradually took over the government , using the military as the base of his power . He dissolved the national and provincial assemblies , and the House of Representatives and Senate were replaced by the newly formed " Council of State " , with Duan Qirui , his trusted Beiyang lieutenant , as Prime Minister . He relied on the American educated Tsai Ting Kan for English translation and connections with western powers . Finally , Yuan had himself elected president to a five - year term , publicly labelled the Kuomintang a seditious organization , ordered the Kuomintang ' s dissolution , and evicted all members from Parliament . The Kuomintang ' s " Second Revolution " ended in failure as Yuan ' s troops achieved complete victory over revolutionary uprisings . Provincial governors with KMT loyalties who remained willingly submitted to Yuan . Because those commanders not loyal to Yuan were effectively removed from power , the Second Revolution cemented Yuan ' s power . In January 1914 , China ' s Parliament was formally dissolved . To give his government a semblance of legitimacy , Yuan convened a body of 66 men from his cabinet who , on 1 May 1914 , produced a " constitutional compact " that effectively replaced China ' s provisional constitution . The new legal status quo gave Yuan , as president , practically unlimited powers over China ' s military , finances , foreign policy , and the rights of China ' s citizens . Yuan justified these reforms by stating that representative democracy had been proven inefficient by political infighting . After his victory , Yuan reorganized the provincial governments . Each province was now supported by a Military Governor ( 都督 ) as well as a civil authority , giving each governor control of their own army . Although granting Yuan and provincial authorities a decentralised administration , it helped lay the foundations for the warlord ism that crippled China over the next two decades . Immediately after the beginning of his presidency , Yuan had silver dollars with his portrait minted . These coins were the first Chinese standard Dollar issue and became immensely popular , so that restrikes were continued into the 1950s . These Dollars were also extensively forged . Japan ' s Twenty - one Demands . In January 1915 , having captured the German colony at Qingdao , Japan sent a secret ultimatum , known as the Twenty - one Demands , to Beijing . In these demands , Japan demanded an extension of extraterritoriality , the sale of businesses in debt to Japan , and the turning over of Qingdao to Japan as a concession . When these demands were made public , hostility within China was expressed in nationwide anti - Japanese demonstrations and an effective national boycott of Japanese goods . Yuan ' s eventual decision to agree to nearly all of the demands led to a decline in the popularity of Yuan ' s government among contemporary Chinese , although many of the requests were mere extensions of Qing treaties . Western pressure later forced Japan to water down some of its demands . Revival of the monarchy . To build up his own authority , Yuan began to re - institute elements of state Confucianism . As the main proponent of reviving Qing state religious observances , Yuan effectively participated as emperor in rituals held at the Qing Temple of Heaven . In late 1915 , rumors were floated of a popular consensus that the monarchy should be revived . With his power secure , many of Yuan ' s supporters , notably monarchist Yang Du , advocated for a revival of the monarchy , asking Yuan to take on the title of Emperor . Yang reasoned that the Chinese masses had long been used to autocratic rule , and that the Republic had only been effective as a transitional phase to end Manchu rule . He reasoned that China ' s political situation demanded the stability that only a monarchy could ensure . The American political scientist Frank Johnson Goodnow suggested a similar idea . Negotiators representing the government of Japan had also offered to support Yuan ' s ambitions as one of the rewards for Yuan ' s support of the Twenty - One Demands . In 20 November 1915 , Yuan held a specially convened " Representative Assembly " which voted unanimously in favor of having Yuan become emperor . On 12 December 1915 , Yuan agreed to become the next emperor and proclaimed himself Emperor of the Chinese Empire ( ) under the era name of Hongxian ( ; i . e . " Constitutional Abundance " ) . The new Empire of China was to formally begin on 1 January 1916 , when Yuan intended to conduct the accession rites . Soon after becoming emperor , Yuan placed an order with the former imperial potters for a 40 , 000 - piece porcelain set costing 1 . 4 million yuan , a large jade seal , and two imperial robes costing 400 , 000 yuan each . Public and international reactions to the monarchy ' s revival . Yuan expected widespread domestic and international support for his reign . However , he and his supporters had badly miscalculated . Many of Yuan ' s closest supporters abandoned him , and the solidarity of Yuan ' s Beiyang clique of military protégés dissolved . There were open protests throughout China denouncing Yuan . International governments , including Japan , proved suddenly indifferent or openly hostile to him , not giving him the recognition anticipated . Sun Yat - sen , who had fled to Tokyo and set up a base there , actively organized efforts to overthrow Yuan . Yuan ' s sons publicly fought over the title of " Crown Prince " , and his former loyal subordinates like Duan Qirui and Xu Shichang left him to create their own factions . Abandonment of the monarchy and death . Faced with widespread opposition , Yuan repeatedly delayed the accession rites in order to appease his foes , but his prestige was irreparably damaged and province after province continued to voice disapproval . On 25 December 1915 , Yunnan ' s military governor , Cai E , rebelled , launching the National Protection War . The governor of Guizhou followed in January 1916 , and Guangxi declared independence in March . Funding for Yuan ' s accession ceremony was cut on 1 March , and he formally abandoned the empire on 22 March after 83 days . This was not enough for his enemies , who called for his resignation as president . More provinces rebelled until Yuan died from uremia on 5 June 1916 , at the age of fifty - six . His death was announced the following day . His remains were moved to his home province and placed in a large mausoleum . In 1928 , the tomb was looted by Feng Yuxiang ' s Guominjun soldiers during the Northern Expedition . He had three sons : Prince Yuan Keding , who was handicapped and deemed an " idiot " by his father ; Prince Yuan Kewen , who was said by his father to be a ' fake scholar ' , and Prince Yuan Keliang , whom Yuan Shikai called a " bandit " . Evaluation and legacy . The major effects of Yuan ' s rule on China are mostly considered negative . Although he trained and organized one of China ' s first modern armies and introduced far - ranging modernisations in law and social areas , the loyalty Yuan had fostered among his armed forces split into warlords after his death , undermining the authority of the central government . Yuan did little to improve civilian economic or technological development , and financed his regime through large foreign loans . He is criticized for weakening Chinese morale and international prestige , and for allowing the Japanese to gain broad concessions over his government . After Yuan ' s death , there was an effort by Li Yuanhong to revive the Republic by recalling the legislators who had been ejected in 1913 , but this effort was confused and ineffective in asserting central control . Li lacked any support from the military . There was a short - lived effort in 1917 to revive the Qing dynasty led by the loyalist general Zhang Xun , but his forces were defeated by rival warlords later that year . After the collapse of Zhang ' s movement , all pretense of strength from the central government collapsed , and China descended into a period of warlordism . Over the next several decades , the offices of both the president and Parliament became the tools of militarists , and the politicians in Peking became dependent on regional governors for their support and political survival . After Yuan ' s death , China was left without any generally recognized central authority , and the nation ' s army quickly fragmented into forces of competing warlord s . For this reason he is sometimes called " the Father of the Warlords " . However , it is not accurate to attribute China ' s subsequent age of warlordism as a personal preference , since in his career as a military reformer he had attempted to forge a modern army based on the Japanese model . Throughout his lifetime , he demonstrated an understanding of staffing , military education , and regular transfers of officer personnel , combining these skills to create China ' s first modern military organisation . After his return to power in 1911 , however , he seemed willing to sacrifice his legacy of military reform for imperial ambitions , and instead ruled by a combination of violence and bribery that destroyed the idealism of the early Republican movement . In the CCTV Production " Towards the Republic " , Yuan is portrayed through most of his early years as an able administrator , although a very skilled manipulator of political situations . His self - proclamation as Emperor is largely depicted as being influenced by external forces , especially that of his son , prince Yuan Keding . A " bixi " ( stone tortoise ) with a stele in honor of Yuan Shikai , which was installed in Anyang ' s Huanyuan Park soon after his death , was ( partly ) restored in 1993 . Pseudonyms . Like many Chinese men before 1949 , Yuan used and was referred to by many different names . His courtesy name was " Weiting " ( Wade - Giles spelling : Wei - ting ; ) , and he used the pseudonym " Rong ' an " ( Wade - Giles spelling : Jung - an ; ) . He was sometimes referred to by the name of his birthplace , " Xiangcheng " ( ) , or by a title for tutors of the crown prince , " Kung - pao " ( ) . External links . Add references : Stephen R . MacKinnon , Power and Politics in Late Imperial China : Yuan Shikai in Beijing and Tianjin , 1901 - 08 . . . and Ernest Young , Yuan Shikai Presidency