Empire of China ( 1915 – 16 ) The Empire of China ( ) was a short - lived attempt by statesman and general Yuan Shikai from late 1915 to early 1916 to reinstate monarchy in China , with himself as the Hongxian Emperor ( ) . The attempt was ultimately a failure , but it set back the Chinese republican cause by many years and fractured China into a period of conflict between various local warlords . Preparations for formation . After Yuan Shikai was installed as the second Provisional Great President of the Republic of China , he took various steps to consolidate his power and remove opposition leaders from office . To secure his own power he collaborated with various European powers as well as Japan . Around August 1915 , he instructed Yang Du ( 楊度 ) " et al . " to canvass support for a return of a monarchy . On 11 December 1915 , an assembly unanimously elected him as Emperor . Yuan ceremonially declined , but " relented " and immediately agreed when the National Assembly petitioned again that day . On 12 December , Yuan , supported by his son Yuan Keding , declared the Empire of China with himself as the Great Emperor of China ( ) , taking the era name Hongxian ( , " Constitutional Abundance " ) . However , Yuan delayed the accession rites until 1 January 1916 . A dress rehearsal was sabotaged by his Korean concubine . Soon after , Yuan started handing out titles of peerage to his closest relatives and friends , as well as those whom he thought he could buy with titles . The Aisin Gioro family , then living within the Forbidden City but as foreign monarchs rather than Chinese ones , " approved " of Yuan ' s accession , and even proposed a " royal marriage " of Yuan ' s daughter to Puyi . Backlash . 1916 was to be " Hongxian Year 1 " ( 洪憲元年 ) rather than " Republic Year 5 " ( 民國五年 ) , but Yuan was opposed by not only the revolutionaries , but far more importantly by his subordinate military commanders , who believed that Yuan ' s assumption of the monarchy would allow him to rule without depending on the support of the military . Province after province rebelled after his inauguration , starting with Yunnan , led by Yuan ' s governor Cai E and general Tang Jiyao and Jiangxi , led by governor Li Liejun ( 李烈鈞 ) . The revolters formed the National Protection Army ( 護國軍 ) and thus began the National Protection War . This was followed by other provinces declaring independence from the Empire . Yuan ' s Beiyang generals , whose soldiers had not received pay once from the imperial government , did not put up an aggressive campaign against the National Protection Army and the Beiyang Army suffered numerous defeats despite being better trained and equipped than the National Protection Army . Seeing Yuan ' s weakness and unpopularity , foreign powers withdrew their support ( but did not choose sides in the war ) . The Empire of Japan first threatened to invade , then committed to overthrowing Yuan Shikai and recognised both sides of the conflict to be " in a state of war " and allowed Japanese citizens to help the Republicans . Faced with universal opposition , Yuan repeatedly delayed the accession rites to appease his foes . Funding for the ceremony was cut on 1 March . Yuan deliberated abandoning the monarchy with Liang Shiyi on 17 March and abandoned it on 22 March . The " Hongxian " year was abolished on 23 March and the " Republic " calendrical system restored . Yuan reigned a total of 83 days . After Yuan ' s death on 5 June Vice President Li Yuanhong assumed the presidency , and appointed Beiyang general Duan Qirui as his Premier and restored the National Assembly and the provisional Constitution . However , the central authority of the Beijing government was significantly weakened and the demise of Yuan ' s Empire plunged China into a period of warlordism . National symbols . Although the name of the country in Chinese was changed to the " Empire of China " ( and " Hongxian " for state matters ) , Yuan continued to use " Republic of China " as the English name . Yuan set up the Ritual Regulations Office ( 禮制館 ) , which issued the new official anthem for the Republic of China " " China heroically stands in the Universe " " ( ) on June 1915 . Its lyrics were written by Yin Chang ( 廕昌 ) and music by Wang Lu ( 王露 ) . The lyrics was slightly modified on December 1915 , with 共和五族 ( Five Races Under One Union ) replaced by 勳華揖讓 ( Shanrang , the ancient system of Chinese emperor relinquishing seats to others in Yao and Shun ' s era . ) to be used during Yuan ' s imperial reign . Yao was a legendary Chinese ruler . The era of " Yao " and " Shun " ( 堯天舜日 ) is a Four - character idiom which means times of peace and prosperity . The national flag was changed from the original to one ( with the symmetrical cross , pictured above ) that emphasised Han ( red ) administration over the Manchu , Mongolian , Uighur and Tibetan minorities of the country . However , the flag with a saltire was the version commonly used . The national emblem was remained as the national emblem of the Republic of China ( 1913 - 1928 ) , National emblem of Twelve Symbols of Sovereignty ( 十二章國徽 ) .