Xinhai Revolution The Xinhai Revolution , or the Hsin - hai Revolution , also known as the Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution , was a revolution that overthrew China ' s last imperial dynasty , the Qing Dynasty , and established the Republic of China . The revolution was named Xinhai ( Hsin - hai ) because it occurred in 1911 , the year of the Xinhai stem - branch in the sexagenary cycle of the Chinese calendar . The revolution consisted of many revolts and uprisings . The turning point was the Wuchang Uprising on October 10 , 1911 , that was a result of the mishandling of the Railway Protection Movement . The revolution ended with the abdication of the " Last Emperor " Puyi on February 12 , 1912 , that marked the end of over 2 , 000 years of imperial rule and the beginning of China ' s republican era . The revolution arose mainly in response to the decline of the Qing state , which had proven ineffective in its efforts to modernize China and confront foreign aggression , and was exacerbated by ethnic resentment against the ruling Manchu minority . Many underground anti - Qing groups , with the support of Chinese revolutionaries in exile , tried to overthrow the Qing . The brief civil war that ensued was ended through a political compromise between Yuan Shikai , the late Qing military strongman , and Sun Yat - sen , the leader of the Tongmenghui ( United League ) . After the Qing court transferred power to the newly founded republic , a provisional coalition government was created along with the National Assembly . However , political power of the new national government in Beijing was soon thereafter monopolized by Yuan and led to decades of political division and warlordism , including several attempts at imperial restoration . Today , both the Republic of China in Taiwan and the People ' s Republic of China on the mainland consider themselves to be successors to the Xinhai Revolution and continue to pay homage to the ideals of the revolution including nationalism , republicanism , modernization of China and national unity . October 10 is commemorated in Taiwan as Double Ten Day , the National Day of the Republic of China . In mainland China , Hong Kong and Macau , the same day is usually celebrated as the Anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution . Many overseas Chinese also celebrate the anniversary in Chinatown s across the world . Background . After suffering its first defeat to the West in the First Opium War in 1842 , the Qing court struggled to contain foreign intrusions into China . Efforts to adjust and reform the traditional methods of governance were constrained by a deeply conservative court culture where ethnic Manchu rulers did not want to give too much authority to the Han Chinese majority . In the wars against the Taiping ( 1851 – 64 ) , Nien ( 1851 – 1868 ) , Muslims of Yunnan ( 1856 – 1868 ) and the Northwest ( 1862 – 1877 ) , the traditional Manchu armies proved themselves incompetent , and the court came to rely on local Han armies . Following defeat in the Second Opium War , the Qing tried to modernize by adopting certain Western technologies through the Self - Strengthening Movement from 1861 . In 1895 , China suffered a serious defeat during the First Sino - Japanese War . This demonstrated that traditional Chinese feudal society also needed to be modernized if the technological and commercial advancements were to succeed . In 1898 , Emperor Guangxu was guided by reformers like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao for a drastic reform in education , military and economy under the Hundred Days ' Reform . The reform was a failure , as it was ended prematurely by a conservative coup led by Empress Dowager Cixi . Emperor Guangxu , who had always been a puppet emperor dependent on Cixi , was put under house arrest in June 1898 . Reformers Kang and Liang would be exiled . While in Canada , in June 1899 , they tried to form the Emperor Protection Society in an attempt to restore the emperor . Empress Cixi mainly controlled the Qing dynasty from this point on . The Boxer Rebellion prompted another foreign invasion of Beijing in 1900 and the imposition of unequal treaty terms , which carved away territories , created extraterritorial concessions and gave away trade privileges . Under internal and external pressure , the Qing court began to adopt some of the reforms . The Qing managed to maintain its monopoly on political power by suppressing , often with great brutality , all domestic rebellions . Dissidents could operate only in secret societies and underground organizations , in foreign concessions or in exile overseas . Organization for revolution . Earliest groups . There were many revolutionaries and groups that wanted to overthrow the Qing government to re - establish a Han Chinese government . The earliest revolutionary organizations were founded outside of China , such as Yeung Ku - wan ' s Furen Literary Society , created in Hong Kong in 1890 . There were fifteen members , including Tse Tsan - tai , who did political satire such as " The Situation in the Far East " , one of the first ever Chinese manhua , and who later became one of the core founders of the " South China Morning Post " . Sun Yat - sen ' s Xingzhonghui ( Revive China Society ) was established in Honolulu in 1894 with the main purpose of raising funds for revolutions . The two organizations were merged in 1894 . Smaller groups . The Huaxinghui ( China Revival Society ) was founded in 1904 with notables like Huang Xing , Zhang Shizhao , Chen Tianhua and Song Jiaoren , along with 100 others . Their motto was " Take one province by force , and inspire the other provinces to rise up " . The Guangfuhui ( Restoration Society ) was also founded in 1904 , in Shanghai with Cai Yuanpei . Other notable members include Zhang Binglin and Tao Chengzhang . Despite professing the anti - Qing cause , the Guangfuhui was highly critical of Sun Yat - sen . One of the most famous female revolutionaries was Qiu Jin , who fought for women ' s rights and was also from Guangfuhui . There were also many other minor revolutionary organizations , such as Lizhi Xuehui ( 勵志學會 ) in Jiangsu , Gongchanghui ( 公強會 ) in Sichuan , Yiwenhui ( 益聞會 ) and Hanzhudulihui ( 漢族獨立會 ) in Fujian , Yizhihui ( 易知社 ) in Jiangxi , Yuewanghui ( 岳王會 ) in Anhui and Qunzhihui ( 群智會 / 群智社 ) in Guangzhou . There were also criminal organizations that were anti - Manchu , including the Green Gang and Hongmen Zhigongtang ( 致公堂 ) . Sun Yat - sen himself came in contact with the Hongmen , also known as Tiandihui ( Heaven and Earth society ) . Gelaohui ( Elder Brother society ) was another group , with Zhu De , Wu Yuzhang , Liu Zhidan ( 劉志丹 ) and Helong . This is the revolutionary group that would eventually develop a strong link with the later Communist Party . Tongmenghui . Sun Yat - sen successfully united the Revive China Society , Huaxingwui and Guangfuhui in the summer of 1905 , thereby establishing the unified Tongmenghui ( United League ) in August 1905 in Tokyo . While it started in Tokyo , it had loose organizations distributed across and outside the country . Sun Yat - sen was the leader of this unified group . Other revolutionaries who worked with the Tongmenghui include Wang Jingwei and Hu Hanmin . When the Tongmenhui was established , more than 90 % of the Tongmenhui members were between 17 and 26 years of age . Some of the work in the era includes manhua publications , such as the " Journal of Current Pictorial " . Later groups . In February 1906 , Rizhihui ( 日知會 ) also had many revolutionaries , including Sun Wu ( 孫武 ) , Zhang Nanxian ( 張難先 ) , He Jiwei and Feng Mumin . A nucleus of attendees of this conference evolved into the Tongmenhui ' s establishment in Hubei . In July 1907 , several members of Tongmenhui in Tokyo advocated a revolution in the area of the Yangtze River . Liu Quiyi ( 劉揆一 ) , Jiao Dafeng ( 焦達峰 ) , Zhang Boxiang ( 張伯祥 ) and Sun Wu ( 孫武 ) established Gongjinhui ( Progressive Association ) ( 共進會 ) . In January 1911 , the revolutionary group Zhengwu Xueshe ( 振武學社 ) was renamed as Wenxueshe ( Literary society ) ( 文學社 ) . Jiang Yiwu ( 蔣翊武 ) was chosen as the leader . These two organizations would play a big role in the Wuchang Uprising . Views . Many revolutionaries promoted anti - Qing / anti - Manchu sentiments and revived memories of conflict between the ethnic minority Manchu and the ethnic majority Han Chinese from the late Ming Dynasty . Leading intellectuals were influenced by books that had survived from the last years of the Ming Dynasty ( 1368 – 1644 ) , the last dynasty of Han Chinese . In 1904 , Sun Yat - sen announced that his organization ' s goal was " to expel the Tatar barbarians , to revive Zhonghua , to establish a Republic , and to distribute land equally among the people . " ( 驅除韃虜 , 恢復中華 , 創立民國 , 平均地權 ) . Many of the underground groups promoted the ideas of " Resist Qing and restore Ming " ( 反清復明 ) that had been around since the days of the Taiping Rebellion . Others , such as Zhang Binglin , supported straight - up lines like " slay the manchus " and concepts like " Anti - Manchuism " ( 興漢滅胡 / 排滿主義 ) . Strata and groups . The Xinhai Revolution was supported by many groups , including students and intellectuals who returned from abroad , as well as participants of the revolutionary organizations , overseas Chinese , soldiers of the new army , local gentry , farmers and others . Overseas Chinese . Assistance from overseas Chinese was important in the Xinhai Revolution . In 1894 , the first year of the Revive China Society , the first meeting ever held by the group was held in the home of Ho Fon , an overseas Chinese who was the leader of the first Chinese Church of Christ . Overseas Chinese supported and actively participated in the funding of revolutionary activities , especially the Southeast Asia Chinese of Malaya ( Singapore and Malaysia ) . Many of these groups were reorganized by Sun , who was referred to as the " mother of the Chinese revolution " . Newly emerged intellectuals . In 1906 , after the abolition of the imperial examinations , the Qing government established many new schools and encouraged students to study abroad . Many young people attended the new schools or went abroad to study in places like Japan . A new class of intellectuals emerged from those students , who contributed immensely to the Xinhai Revolution . Besides Sun Yat - sen , key figures in the revolution , such as Huang Xing , Song Jiaoren , Hu Hanmin , Liao Zhongkai , Zhu Zhixin and Wang Jingwei , were all Chinese students in Japan . Some were young students like Zou Rong , known for writing the book " Revolutionary Army " , in which he talked about the extermination of the Manchus for the 260 years of oppression , sorrow , cruelty and tyranny and turned the sons and grandsons of Yellow Emperor into George Washington s . Before 1908 , revolutionaries focused on coordinating these organizations in preparation for uprisings that these organizations would launch ; hence , these groups would provide most of the manpower needed for the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty . After the Xinhai Revolution , Sun Yat - sen recalled the days of recruiting support for the revolution and said , " The literati were deeply into the search for honors and profits , so they were regarded as having only secondary importance . By contrast , organizations like Sanhehui were able to sow widely the ideas of resisting the Qing and restoring the Ming . " Gentry and businessmen . The strength of the gentry in local politics had become apparent . From December 1908 , the Qing government created some apparatus to allow the gentry and businessmen to participate in politics . These middle - class people were originally supporters of constitutionalism . However , they became disenchanted when the Qing government created a cabinet with Prince Qing as prime minister . By early 1911 , an experimental cabinet had thirteen members , nine of whom were Manchus selected from the imperial family . Foreigners . Besides Chinese and overseas Chinese , some of the supporters and participants of the Xinhai Revolution were foreigners ; among them , the Japanese were the most active group . Some Japanese even became members of Tongmenghui . Miyazaki Touten was the closest Japanese supporter ; others included Heiyama Shu and Ryōhei Uchida . British soldier Rowland J . Mulkern also took part in the revolution . Some foreigners , such as English explorer Arthur de Carle Sowerby , led expeditions to rescue foreign missionaries in 1911 and 1912 . Soldiers of the new armies . The New Army was formed in 1901 after the defeat of the Qings in the First Sino - Japanese war . They were launched by a decree from eight provinces . New Army troops were by far the best trained and equipped . The recruits were of a higher quality than the old army and received regular promotions . Beginning in 1908 , the revolutionaries began to shift their call to the new armies . Sun Yat - sen and the revolutionaries infiltrated the New Army . Uprisings and incidents . The general focus of the uprisings were those that surrounded the Tongmenghui and Sun Yat - sen , including the smaller groups within . Some uprisings below involve groups that never merged with the Tongmenghui . Sun Yat - sen may have participated in 8 – 10 uprisings ; all uprisings prior to the Wuchang Uprising had failed . First Guangzhou Uprising . In the spring of 1895 , the Revive China Society , which was based in Hong Kong , planned the First Guangzhou Uprising ( 廣州起義 ) . Lu Haodong was tasked with designing the revolutionaries ' Blue Sky with a White Sun flag . On October 26 , 1895 , Yeung Ku - wan and Sun Yat - sen led Zhen Shiliang and Lu Haodong to Guangzhou , preparing to capture Guangzhou in one strike . However , the details of their plans were leaked to the Qing government . The government began to arrest revolutionaries , including Lu Haodong , who was later executed . The first Guangzhou uprising was a failure . Under pressure from the Qing government , the government of Hong Kong forbade these two men to enter the territory for five years . Sun Yat - sen went into exile , promoting the Chinese revolution and raising funds in Japan , the United States , Canada and Britain . In 1901 , following the Huizhou uprising , Yeung Ku - wan was assassinated by Qing agents in Hong Kong . After his death , his family protected his identity by not putting his name on his tomb , just a number : 6348 . Independence Army Uprising . In 1901 , after the Boxer Rebellion started , Tang Caichang ( 唐才常 ) and Tan Sitong of the previous Foot Emancipation Society organised the Independence Army . The Independence Army Uprising ( 自立軍起義 ) was planned to occur on August 23 , 1900 . Their goal was to overthrow Empress Dowager Cixi to establish a constitutional monarchy under Emperor Guangxu . Their plot was discovered by the governor general of Hunan and Hubei . About twenty conspirators were arrested and executed . Huizhou Uprising . On October 8 , 1900 , Sun Yat - sen ordered the launch of the Huizhou Uprising ( 惠州起義 ) . The revolutionary army was led by Zheng Shiliang and initially included 20 , 000 men , who fought for half a month . However , after the Japanese Prime Minister prohibited Sun Yat - sen from carrying out revolutionary activities on Taiwan , Zheng Shiliang had no choice but to order the army to disperse . This uprising therefore also failed . British soldier Rowland J . Mulkern participated in this uprising . Great Ming Uprising . A very short uprising occurred from January 25 to 28 , 1903 , to establish a " Great Ming Heavenly kingdom " ( 大明順天國 ) . This involved Tse Tsan - tai , Li Jitong ( 李紀堂 ) , Liang Muguang ( 梁慕光 ) and Hong Chunfu ( 洪全福 ) , who formerly took part in the Jintian Uprising during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom era . Ping - liu - li Uprising . Ma Fuyi ( 馬福益 ) and Huaxinghui was involved in an uprising in the three areas of Pingxiang , Liuyang and Liling , called " Ping - liu - li Uprising " , ( 萍瀏醴起義 ) in 1905 . The uprising recruited miners as early as 1903 to rise against the Qing ruling class . After the uprising failed , Ma Fuyi was executed . Beijing Zhengyangmen East Railway assassination attempt . Wu Yue ( 吳樾 ) of Guangfuhui carried out an assassination attempt at the Beijing Zhengyangmen East Railway station ( 正陽門車站 ) in an attack on five Qing officials on September 24 , 1905 . Huanggang Uprising . The Huanggang Uprising ( 黃岡起義 ) was launched on May 22 , 1907 , in Chaozhou . The Revolutionary party , along with Xu Xueqiu ( 許雪秋 ) , Chen Yongpo ( 陳湧波 ) and Yu Tongshi ( 余通實 ) , launched the uprising and captured Huanggang city . Other Japanese that followed include ( 萱野長知 ) and ( 池亨吉 ) . After the uprising began , the Qing government quickly and forcefully suppressed it . Around 200 revolutionaries were killed . Huizhou Seven Women Lake Uprising . In the same year , Sun Yat - sen sent more revolutionaries to Huizhou to launch the " Huizhou Seven Women Lake Uprising " ( 惠州七女湖起義 ) . On June 2 , Deng Zhiyu ( 鄧子瑜 ) and Chen Chuan ( 陳純 ) gathered some followers , and together , they seized Qing arms in the lake , from Huizhou . They killed several Qing soldiers and attacked Taiwei ( 泰尾 ) on the 5th . The Qing army fled in disorder , and the revolutionaries exploited the opportunity , capturing several towns . They defeated the Qing army once again in Bazhiyie . Many organizations voiced their support after the uprising , and the number of revolutionary forces increased to two hundred men at its height . The uprising , however , ultimately failed . Anqing Uprising . On July 6 , 1907 , Xu Xilin of Guangfuhui led an uprising in Anqing , Anhui , which became known as the Anqing Uprising ( 安慶起義 ) . Xu Xilin at the time was the police commissioner as well as the supervisor of the police academy . He led an uprising that was to assassinate the provincial governor of Anhui , En Ming ( 恩銘 ) . They were defeated after four hours of fighting . Xu was captured , and En Ming ' s bodyguards cut out his heart and liver and ate them . His cousin Qiu Jin was executed a few days later . Qinzhou Uprising . From August to September 1907 , the Qinzhou Uprising occurred ( 欽州防城起義 ) . , to protest against heavy taxation from the government . Sun Yat - sen sent Wang Heshun ( 王和順 ) there to assist the revolutionary army and captured the county in September . After that , they attempted to besiege and capture Qinzhou , but they were unsuccessful . They eventually retreated to the area of Shiwandashan , while Wang Heshun returned to Vietnam . Zhennanguan Uprising . On December 1 , 1907 , the Zhennanguan Uprising ( 鎮南關起事 ) took place at Zhennanguan , a pass on the Chinese - Vietnamese border . Sun Yat - sen sent Huang Mintang ( 黃明堂 ) to monitor the pass , which was guarded by a fort . With the assistance of supporters among the fort ' s defenders , the revolutionaries captured the cannon tower in Zhennanguan . Sun Yat - sen , Huang Xing and Hu Hanmin personally went to the tower to command the battle . The Qing government sent troops to counterattack , and the revolutionaries were forced to retreat into mountainous areas . After the failure of this uprising , Sun was forced to move to Singapore due to anti - Sun sentiments within the revolutionary groups . He would not return to the mainland until after the Wuchang Uprising . Qin - lian Uprising . On March 27 , 1908 , Huang Xing launched a raid , later known as the Qin - lian Uprising ( 欽廉上思起義 ) , from a base in Vietnam and attacked the cities of Qinzhou and Lianzhou in Guangdong . The struggle continued for fourteen days but was forced to terminate after the revolutionaries ran out of supplies . Hekou Uprising . In April 1908 , another uprising was launched in Yunnan , Hekou , called the Hekou Uprising ( 雲南河口起義 ) . Huang Mingtang ( 黃明堂 ) led two hundred men from Vietnam and attacked Hekou on April 30 . Other revolutionaries who participated include Wang Heshun ( 王和順 ) and Guan Renfu ( 關仁甫 ) . They were outnumbered and defeated by government troops , however , and the uprising failed . Mapaoying Uprising . On November 19 , 1908 , the Mapaiying Uprising ( 馬炮營起義 ) was launched by revolutionary group Yuewanghui ( 岳王會 ) member Xiong Chenggei ( 熊成基 ) at Anhui . Yuewanghui , at this time , was a subset of Tongmenghui . This uprising also failed . Gengxu New Army Uprising . In February 1910 , the Gengxu New Army Uprising ( 庚戌新軍起義 ) , also known as the Guangzhou New Army Uprising ( 廣州新軍起義 ) , took place . This involved a conflict between the citizens and local police against the New Army . After revolutionary leader Ni Yingdian was killed by Qing forces , the remaining revolutionaries were quickly defeated , causing the uprising to fail . Second Guangzhou Uprising . On April 27 , 1911 , an uprising occurred in Guangzhou , known as the Second Guangzhou Uprising ( 辛亥廣州起義 ) or Yellow Flower Mound Revolt ( 黃花岡之役 ) . It ended in disaster , as only 72 bodies were ever found . The 72 revolutionaries were remembered as martyrs . Revolutionary Lin Juemin ( 林覺民 ) was one of the 72 . On the eve of battle , he wrote the legendary " A Letter to My Wife " ( 與妻訣別書 ) , later to be considered as a masterpiece in Chinese literature . Wuchang Uprising . The Literary Society ( 文學社 ) and the Progressive Association ( 共進會 ) were revolutionary organizations involved in the uprising that mainly began with a Railway Protection Movement protest . In the late summer , some Hubei New Army units were ordered to neighboring Sichuan to quell the Railway Protection Movement , a mass protest against the Qing government ' s seizure and handover of local railway development ventures to foreign powers . Banner officers like Duanfang , the railroad superintendent , and Zhao Erfeng led the New Army against the Railway Protection Movement . The New Army units of Hubei had originally been the Hubei Army , which had been trained by Qing official Zhang Zhidong . On September 24 , the Literary Society and Progressive Association convened a conference in Wuchang , along with sixty representatives from local New Army units . During the conference , they established a headquarters for the uprising . The leaders of the two organizations , Jiang Yiwu ( 蔣翊武 ) and Sun Wu ( 孫武 ) , were elected as commander and chief of staff . Initially , the date of the uprising was to be October 6 , 1911 . It was postponed to a later date due to insufficient preparations . Revolutionaries intent on overthrowing the Qing dynasty had built bombs , and on October 9 , one accidentally exploded . Sun Yat - sen himself had no direct part in the uprising and was traveling in the United States at the time in an effort to recruit more support from among overseas Chinese . The Qing Viceroy of Huguang , Rui Cheng ( 瑞澂 ) , tried to track down and arrest the revolutionaries . Squad leader Xiong Bingkun ( 熊秉坤 ) and others decided not to delay the uprising any longer and launched the revolt on October 10 , 1911 , at 7 pm . The revolt was a success ; the entire city of Wuchang was captured by the revolutionaries on the morning of October 11 . That evening , they established a tactical headquarters and announced the establishment of the " Military Government of Hubei of Republic of China " . The conference chose Li Yuanhong as the governor of the temporary government . Qing officers like the bannermen Duanfang and Zhao Erfeng were killed by the revolutionary forces . Provincial Uprisings . After the success of the Wuchang Uprising , many other uprisings occurred in other cities and towns in other provinces . Many of the uprisings were followed up with restorations ( 光復 ) . Some uprisings were more of a revolt for independence , and some were protests or rebellions against local officials , but the outcome was that basically all provinces in the country renounced the Qing dynasty and joined the Republic of China . Changsha restoration . On October 22 , 1911 , the Hunan Tongmenghui were led by Jiao Dafeng ( 焦達嶧 ) and Chen Zuoxin ( 陳作新 ) . They headed an armed group , consisting partly of revolutionaries from Hongjiang and partly of defecting New Army units , in a campaign to extend the uprising into Changsha . They captured the city and killed the local Imperial general . Then they announced the establishment of the Hunan Military Government of the Republic of China and announced their opposition to the Qing Empire . Shaanxi Uprising . On the same day , Shaanxi ' s Tongmenghui , led by Jing Dingcheng ( 景定成 ) and Qian ding ( 錢鼎 ) as well as Jing Wumu ( 井勿幕 ) and others including Gelaohui , launched an uprising and captured Xi ' an after two days of struggle . The Muslim general Ma Anliang led more than twenty battalions of Hui Muslim troops to defend the Qings and attacked Shaanxi , held by revolutionary Zhang Fenghui ( 張鳳翽 ) . The attack was successful , but when news arrived that the Qing emperor Puyi was about to abdicate , Ma agreed to join the new Republic . The revolutionaries established the " Qinlong Fuhan Military Government " and elected Zhang Fenghui , a member of the Yuanrizhi Society ( 原日知會 ) , as new governor . Xi ' an Manchu city ( 滿城 ) finally fell on October 24 , after a massacre of its Manchu residents . Many of its Manchu defenders committed suicide , including Qing general Wenrui ( 文瑞 ) , who threw himself down a well . Jiujiang Uprising . On October 23 , Lin Sen , Jiang Qun ( 蔣群 ) , Cai Hui ( 蔡蕙 ) and other members of the Tongmenghui in the province of Jiangxi plotted a revolt of New Army units . After they achieved victory , they announced their independence . The Jiujiang Military Government was then established . Shanxi Taiyuan Uprising . On October 29 , Yan Xishan of the New Army led an uprising in Taiyuan , the capital city of the province of Shanxi , along with Yao Yijie ( 姚以價 ) , Huang Guoliang ( 黃國梁 ) , Wen Shouquan ( 溫壽泉 ) , Li Chenglin ( 李成林 ) , Zhang Shuzhi ( 張樹幟 ) and Qiao Xi ( 喬煦 ) . They managed to kill the Qing Governor of Shanxi , Lu Zhongqi ( 陸鍾琦 ) . They then announced the establishment of Shanxi Military Government with Yan Xishan as the military governor . Yan Xishan would later become one of the warlords that plagued China during what was known as " the warlord era " . Kunming Double Ninth Uprising . On October 30 , Li Genyuan ( 李根源 ) of the Tongmenghui in Yunnan province joined with Cai E , Luo Peijin ( 羅佩金 ) , Tang Jiyao , and other officers of the New Army to launch the Double Ninth Uprising ( 重九起義 ) . They captured Kunming the next day and established the Yunnan Military Government , electing Cai E as the military governor . Nanchang restoration . On October 31 , the Nanchang branch of the Tongmenghui led New Army units in a successful uprising . They established the Jiangxi Military Government . Li Liejun was elected as the military governor . Li declared Jiangxi as independent and launched an expedition against Qing official Yuan Shikai . Shanghai Armed Uprising . On November 3 , Shanghai ' s Tongmenghui , Guangfuhui and merchants led by Chen Qimei ( 陳其美 ) , Li Pingsu ( 李平書 ) , Zhang Chengyou ( 張承槱 ) , Li Yingshi ( 李英石 ) , Li Xiehe ( 李燮和 ) and Song Jiaoren organized an armed rebellion in Shanghai . They received the support of local police officers . The rebels captured the Jiangnan Workshop on the 4th and captured Shanghai soon after . On November 8 , they established the Shanghai Military Government and elected Chen Qimei as the military governor . He would eventually become one of the founders of the ROC four big families , along with some of the most well - known families of the era . Guizhou Uprising . On November 4 , Zhang Bailin ( 張百麟 ) of the revolutionary party in Guizhou led an uprising along with New Army units and students from the military academy . They immediately captured Guiyang and established the Great Han Guizhou Military Government , electing Yang Jincheng ( 楊藎誠 ) and Zhao Dequan ( 趙德全 ) as the chief and vice governor . Zhejiang Uprising . Also on November 4 , revolutionaries in Zhejiang urged the New Army units in Hangzhou to launch an uprising . Zhu Rui ( 朱瑞 ) , Wu Siyu ( 吳思豫 ) , Lu Gongwang ( 吕公望 ) and others of the New Army captured the military supplies workshop . Other units , led by Chiang Kai - shek and Yin Zhirei ( 尹銳志 ) , captured most of the government offices . Eventually , Hangzhou was under the control of the revolutionaries , and the constitutionist Tang Shouqian ( 湯壽潛 ) was elected as the military governor . Jiangsu restoration . On November 5 , Jiangsu constitutionists and gentry urged Qing governor Cheng Dequan ( 程德全 ) to announce independence and established the Jiangsu Revolutionary Military Government with Cheng himself as the governor . Unlike some of the other cities , anti - Manchu violence began after the restoration on November 7 in Zhenjiang . Qing general Zaimu ( 載穆 ) agreed to surrender , but because of a misunderstanding , the revolutionaries were unware that their safety was guaranteed . The Manchu quarters were ransacked , and an unknown number of Manchus were killed . Zaimu , feeling betrayed , committed suicide . This is regarded as the Zhenjiang Uprising ( 鎮江起義 ) . Anhui Uprising . Members of Anhui ' s Tongmenghui also launched an uprising on that day and laid siege to the provincial capital . The constitutionists persuaded Zhu Jiabao ( 朱家寶 ) , the Qing Governor of Anhui , to announce independence . Guangxi Uprising . On November 7 , the Guangxi politics department decided to secede from the Qing government , announcing Guangxi ' s independence . Qing Governor Shen Bingkun ( 沈秉堃 ) was allowed to remain governor , but Lu Rongting would soon become the new governor . Lu Rongting would later rise to prominence during the " warlord era " as one of the warlods , and his bandits controlled Guangxi for more than a decade . Fujian independence . In November , members of Fujian ' s branch of the Tongmenghui , along with Sun Daoren ( 孫道仁 ) of the New Army , launched an uprising against the Qing army . The Qing viceroy , Song Shou ( 松壽 ) , committed suicide . On November 11 , the entire Fujian province declared independence . The Fujian Military Government was established , and Sun Daoren was elected as the military governor . Guangdong independence . Near the end of October , Chen Jiongming , Deng Keng ( 鄧鏗 ) , Peng Reihai ( 彭瑞海 ) and other members of Guangdong ' s Tongmenghui organized local militias to launch the uprising in Huazhou , Nanhai , Sunde and Sanshui in Guangdong Province . On November 8 , after being persuaded by Hu Hanmin , General Li Zhun ( 李準 ) and Long Jiguang ( 龍濟光 ) of the Guangdong Navy agreed to support the revolution . The Qing viceroy of Liangguang , Zhang Mingqi ( 張鳴岐 ) , was forced to discuss with the local representatives a proposal for Guangdong ' s independence . They decided to announce it the next day . Chen Jiongming then captured Huizhou . On November 9 , Guangdong announced its independence and established a military government . They elected Hu Hanmin and Chen Jiongming as the chief and vice governor . Qiu Fengjia is known to have helped make the independence declaration more peaceful . Shandong independence . On November 13 , persuaded by revolutionary Din Weifen ( 丁惟汾 ) and several other officers of the New Army , the Qing governor of Shandong , Sun Baoqi , agreed to secede from the Qing government and announced Shandong ' s independence . Ningxia Uprising . On November 17 , Ningxia the Tongmenghui launched the Ningxia Uprising ( 寧夏會黨起義 ) . The revolutionaries sent Yu Youren to Zhangjiachuan to meet Dungan Sufi master Ma Yuanzhang to persuade him not to support the Qing . However , Ma did not want to endanger his relationship with the Qings . He sent the eastern Gansu Muslim militia under the command of one of his sons to help Ma Qi crush the Ningxia Gelaohui . The Ningxia Revolutionary Military Government was established on November 23 . Some of the revolutionaries involved included Huang Yue ( 黃鉞 ) and Xiang Shen ( 向燊 ) , who gathered New Army forces at Qinzhou ( 秦州 ) . Sichuan independence . On November 21 , Guang ' an organized the Great Han shu northern Military Government . On November 22 , Chengdu and Sichuan began to declare independence . By the 27th , the Great Han Sichuan Military Government was established , headed by revolutionary Pu Dianzun ( 蒲殿俊 ) . Qing official Duan Fang ( 端方 ) would also be killed . Nanking Uprising . On November 8 , supported by the Tongmenghui , Xu Shaozhen ( 徐紹楨 ) of the New Army announced an uprising in Molin Pass ( 秣陵關 ) , away from Nanking City . Xu Shaozhen , Chen Qimei and other generals decided to form a united army under Xu to strike Nanking together . On November 11 , the united army headquarters was established in Zhenjiang . Between November 24 and December 1 , under the command of Xu Shaozhen , the united army captured Wulongshan ( 烏龍山 ) , Mufushan ( 幕府山 ) , Yuhuatai ( 雨花臺 ) , Tianbao City ( 天保城 ) and many other strongholds of the Qing army . On December 2 , Nanking City was captured by the revolutionaries after the Battle of Nanking . On December 3 , revolutionary Su Liangbi led troops in a massacre of a large number of Manchus ( the exact number is not known ) . He was shortly afterward arrested , and his troops disbanded . Tibetan independence . In 1905 , the Qing sent Zhao Erfeng to Tibet to retaliate against rebellions . By 1908 , Zhao was appointed imperial resident in Lhasa . Zhao was beheaded in December 1911 by pro - Republican forces . The bulk of the area that was historically known as Kham was now the Xikang Administrative District , created by the Republican revolutionaries . By the end of 1912 , the last Manchu troops were escorted out of Tibet . Thubten Gyatso , the 13th Dalai Lama , returned to Tibet in January 1913 from Sikkim , where he had been residing . When the new ROC government apologised for the actions of the Qing and offered to restore the Dalai Lama to his former position , he replied that he was not interested in Chinese ranks , that Tibet had never been subordinated to China , that Tibet was an independent country , and that he was assuming the spiritual and political leadership of Tibet . Because of this , many have read this reply as a formal declaration of independence . The Chinese side ignored the response , and Tibet had thirty years free of interference from China . Mongolian independence . At the end of 1911 , the Mongols took action with an armed revolt against the Manchu authorities but was unsuccessful in the attempt . An independence movement took place that was not limited to just North ( outer ) Mongolia but was a pan - Mongolian phenomenon . On December 29 , 1911 , Bogd Khan became the leader of the Mongol empire . Inner Mongolia became a contested terrain between Khan and the Republic . In general , Russia supported the Independence of Outer Mongolia ( including Tannu Uriankhai ) during the time of the Xinhai Revolution . Tibet and Mongolia then recognized each other in a treaty . Dihua and Yili Uprising . In Xinjiang on December 28 , Liu Xianzun ( 劉先俊 ) and the revolutionaries started the Dihua Uprising ( 迪化起義 ) . This was led by more than 100 members of Geilaohui . This uprising failed . On January 7 , 1912 , the Yili Uprising ( 伊犁起義 ) with Feng Temin ( 馮特民 ) began . Qing governor Yuan Dahua ( 袁大化 ) fled and handed over his resignation to Yang Zengxin , because he could not handle fighting the revolutionaries . In the morning of January 8 , a new Yili government was established for the revolutionaries , but the revolutionaries would be defeated at Jinghe in January and February . Eventually because of the abdication to come , Yuan Shikai recognized Yang Zengxin ' s rule , appointed him Governor of Xinjiang and had the province join the Republic . Eleven more former Qing officials would be assassinated in Zhenxi , Karashahr , Aksu , Kucha , Luntai and Kashgar in April and May 1912 . Taiwan Uprising . In 1911 as part of the Xinhai Revolution , Tongmenghui sent Luo Fu - xing ( 羅福星 ) to Taiwan island to free it from being occupied by the Japanese . The goal was to bring Taiwan island back to the Chinese Republic by having the Taiwan Uprising ( 台灣起義 ) . Luo was caught and killed on March 3 , 1914 . What was left was known as the " Miaoli incident " , ( 苗栗事件 ) where more than 1 , 000 Taiwanese were executed by the Japanese police . Luo ' s sacrifice is commemorated in Miaoli . Change of government . North : Qing court last transformation attempt . On November 1 , 1911 , the Qing government appointed Yuan Shikai as the prime minister of the imperial cabinet , replacing Prince Qing . On November 3 , the Qing court passed the Nineteen Articles ( 憲法重大信條十九條 ) , which turned the Qing from an autocratic system with the emperor having unlimited power to a constitutional monarchy . On November 9 , Huang Xing even cabled Yuan Shikai and invited him to join the Republic . The court changes were too late , and the emperor was about to have to step down . South : Government in Nanking . On November 28 , 1911 , Wuchang and Hanyang had fallen back to the Qing army . So for safety , the revolutionaries convened their first conference at the British concession in Hankou on November 30 . By December 2 , the revolutionary forces were able to capture Nanking in the uprising ; the revolutionaries decided to make it the site of the new provisional government . At the time , Beijing was still the Qing capital . North - South Conference . On December 18 , the North - South Conference ( 南北議和 ) was held in Shanghai to discuss the north and south issues . Yuan Shikai selected Tang Shaoyi as his representative . Tang left Beijing for Wuhan to negotiate with the revolutionaries . The revolutionaries chose Wu Tingfang . With the intervention of six foreign powers , the UK , the US , Germany , Russia , Japan , and France , Tang Shaoyi and Wu Tingfang began to negotiate a settlement at the British concession . Foreign businessman Edward Selby Little ( 李德立 ) acted as the negotiator and facilitated the peace agreement . They agreed that Yuan Shikai would force the Qing Emperor to abdicate in exchange for the southern provinces ' support of Yuan as the president of the Republic . After considering the possibility that the new republic might be defeated in a civil war or by foreign invasion , Sun Yat - sen agreed to Yuan ' s proposal to unify China under Yuan Shikai ' s Beijing government . Further decisions were made to let the emperor rule over his little court in the New Summer Palace . He would be treated as a ruler of a separate country and have expenses of several million taels in silver . Establishment of the Republic . Republic of China declared and national flag issue . On December 29 , 1911 , Sun Yat - sen was elected as the first provisional president . January 1 , 1912 , was set as the first day of the First Year of the Republic of China . On January 3 , the representatives recommended Li Yuanhong as the provisional vice president . During and after the Xinhai Revolution , many groups that participated wanted their own pennant as the national flag . During the Wuchang Uprising , the military units of Wuchang wanted the nine - star flag with Taijitu . Others in competition included Lu Hao - tung ' s Blue Sky and White Sun flag . Huang Xing favored a flag bearing the mythical " well - field " system of village agriculture . In the end , the assembly compromised : the national flag would be the banner of Five Races Under One Union . The Five Races Under One Union flag with horizontal stripes represented the five major nationalities of the republic . The red represented Han , the yellow represented Manchus , the blue for Mongols , the white for Tibetans , and the black for Muslim s . Despite the general target of the uprisings to be the Manchus , Sun Yat - sen , Song Jiaoren and Huang Xing unanimously advocated racial integration to be carried out from the mainland to the frontiers . Donghuamen incident . On January 16 , while returning to his residence , Yuan Shikai was ambushed in a bomb attack organized by the Tongmenghui in Donghuamen ( 東華門 ) , Tientsin , Beijing . A total of eighteen revolutionaries were involved . About ten of the guards died , but Yuan himself was not seriously injured . He sent a message to the revolutionaries the next day pledging his loyalty and asking them not to organize any more assassination attempts against him . Abdication of the emperor . On January 20 , Wu Tingfang of the Nanking Provisional Government officially delivered the imperial edict of abdication to Yuan Shikai the terms for the abdication of Qing Emperor Xuantong Puyi . It was drafted by Zhang Jian , and was approved by the Provisional senate . On January 22 , Sun Yat - sen announced that if Yuan Shikai supported the emperor ' s abdication , he ( Sun Yat - sen ) would resign the presidency in favor of Yuan Shikai . After Yuan received this promise , he sped up the process . He threatened Empress Longyu that if the revolutionaries come to Beijing , the lives of the royal family would not be spared , but if they agree to abdicate , the terms for their abdication would be honored . On February 3 , Empress Longyu gave Yuan Shikai full permission to negotiate the terms for the abdication of the Qing Emperor . Yuan then drew up his own version and forwarded it back to the revolutionaries on February 3 . His version consisted of three sections instead of two . On February 12 , 1912 , after being persuaded and pressured by Yuan Shikai and other ministers , Puyi ( age six ) and Empress Longyu accepted the terms for the imperial family ' s abdication . Debate over the capital . As a condition for ceding leadership to Yuan Shikai , Sun Yat - sen insisted that the provisional government remain in Nanjing . On February 14 , the Provisional Senate initially voted 20 - 5 in favor of making Beijing the capital over Nanjing , with two votes going for Wuhan and one for Tianjin . The Senate majority wanted to secure the peace agreement by taking power in Beijing . Zhang Jian and others reasoned that having the capital in Beijing would check against Manchu restoration and Mongol secession . But Sun and Huang Xing argued in favor of Nanjing to balance against Yuan ' s power base in the north . Li Yuanhong presented Wuhan as a compromise . The next day , the Provisional Senate voted again , this time , 19 - 6 in favor of Nanjing with two votes for Wuhan . Sun sent a delegation led by Cai Yuanpei and Wang Jingwei to persuade Yuan to move to Nanjing . Yuan welcomed the delegation and agreed to accompany the delegates back to the south . Then on the evening of February 29 , riots and fires broke out in all over the city . They were allegedly started by disobedient troops of Cao Kun , a loyal officer of Yuan . The disorder gave Yuan the pretext to stay in the north to guard against unrest . On March 10 , Yuan was inaugurated in Beijing as the provisional president of the Republic of China . On April 5 , the Provisional Senate in Nanjing voted to make Beijing the capital of the Republic and convened in Beijing at the end of the month . Republican government in Beijing . On March 10 , 1912 , Yuan Shikai was sworn as the second Provisional President of the Republic of China in Beijing . The government based in Beijing , called the Beiyang Government , was internationally recognized as the legitimate government of the Republic of China until 1928 , so the period from 1912 until 1928 was known simply as the " Beiyang Period " . The first National Assembly election took place according to the Provisional Constitution . While in Beijing , the Kuomintang ( KMT ) was formed on August 25 , 1912 . The KMT won the majority seats after the election . Song Jiaoren was elected as premier . However , Song was assassinated in Shanghai on March 20 , 1913 , under the secret order of Yuan Shikai . Legacy . Social influence . After the revolution , there was a huge outpouring of anti - Manchu literature . One example is Wang Xiuchu ' s graphical account of the ten - day Chinese massacre in Yangzhou . Others are " A Short History of Slaves " ( 奴才小史 ) and " The Biographies of Avaricious Officials and Corrupt Personnel " ( 貪官污吏傳 ) by Laoli ( 老吏 ) . Many other books were written about the era . During the abdication of the last emperor , Empress Longyu , Yuan Shikai and Sun Yat - sen both tried to adopt the concept of " Manchu and Han as one family " ( 滿漢一家 ) . People started exploring and debating with themselves on the root cause of their national weakness . This new search of identity was the New Culture Movement . Manchu culture and language , on the contrary , has become virtually extinct by 2007 . Unlike revolutions in the West , the Xinhai Revolution did not restructure society . The participants of the Xinhai Revolution were mostly military personnel , old - type bureaucrats , and local gentries . These people still held regional power after the Xinhai Revolution . Some became warlords . There were no major improvements in the standard of living . Writer Lu Xun commented in 1921 during the publishing of " The True Story of Ah Q " , ten years after the Xinhai Revolution , that basically nothing changed except " the Manchus have left the kitchen " . The economic problems were not addressed until the governance of Chiang Ching - kuo in Taiwan and Deng Xiaoping on the mainland . The Xinhai Revolution mainly got rid of feudalism ( fengjian ) from Late Imperial China . In the usual view of historians , there are two restorations of feudal power after the revolution : the first was Yuan Shikai ; the second was Zhang Xun . Both were unsuccessful , but the " feudal remnants " returned to China with the Cultural Revolution in a concept called guanxi , where people relied not on feudal relationships , but personal relationships , for survival . While guanxi is helpful in Taiwan , on the mainland , guanxi is necessary to get anything done . Historical significance . The Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing government and two thousand years of monarchy . Throughout Chinese history , old dynasties had always been replaced by new dynasties . The Xinhai Revolution , however , was the first to overthrow a monarchy completely and attempt to establish a republic to spread democratic ideas throughout China . Though in 1911 at the provisional government welcome ceremony , Sun Yat - sen said , " The revolution is not yet successful , the comrade s still need to strive for the future . " ( 革命尚未成功 ， 同志仍需努力 ) . Since the 1920s , the two dominant parties – the KMT and CPC – see the Xinhai Revolution quite differently . Both sides recognize Sun Yat - sen as the Father of the Nation , but in Taiwan , they mean " Father of the Republic of China " . The father of New China is seen as Mao Zedong . On the mainland , Sun Yat - sen was seen as the man who helped bring down the Qing , a pre - condition for the Communist state founded in 1949 . The PRC views Sun ' s work as the first step towards the real revolution in 1949 , when the communists set up a truly independent state that expelled foreigners and built a military and industrial power . In 1954 , Liu Shaoqi was quoted as saying that the " Xinhai Revolution inserted the concept of a republic into common people " . Zhou Enlai pointed out that the " Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing rule , ended 2000 years of monarchy , and liberated the mind of people to a great extent , and opened up the path for the development of future revolution . This is a great victory . " Modern evaluation . A change in the belief that the revolution had been a generally positive change began in late 1980s and 1990s , but Zhang Shizhao was quoted as arguing that " When talking about the Xinhai Revolution , the theorist these days tends to overemphasize . The word ' success ' was way overused . " The success of the democracy gained from the revolution can vary depending on one ' s view . Even after the death of Sun Yat - sen in 1925 , for sixty years , the KMT controlled all five branches of the government ; none were independent . Yan Jiaqi , founder of the Federation for a Democratic China , has said that Sun Yat - sen is to be credited as founding China ' s first republic in 1912 , and the second republic is the people of Taiwan and the political parties there now democratizing the region . Meanwhile , the ideals of democracy are far from realised on the mainland . For example , the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao once said in a speech that without real democracy , there is no guarantee of economic and political rights ; but he led a 2011 crackdown against the peaceful Chinese jasmine protests . Liu Xiaobo , a pro - democracy activist who received the global 2010 Nobel Peace Prize , is in prison . Others , such as Qin Yongmin ( 秦永敏 ) of the Democracy Party of China , who was only released from prison after twelve years , do not praise the Xinhai Revolution . Qin Yogmin said the revolution only replaced one dictator with another , that Mao Zedong was not an emperor , but he is worse than the emperor .