scmp.com: Elections, presidents and China’s messy years as a fledgling republic, from Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shikai to Chiang Kai-shek
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Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai was a Chinese general and statesman. As leader of the Beiyang Army, he played a decisive role in securing the abdication of the Qing court. He served as the second provisional president and the first formal president of the Republic of China, with his administration known as the Beiyang government. He declared himself Emperor of the Chinese Empire in December 1915 but was forced to abd…
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politics · First president of the Republic of China (1859–1916) · politician · military personnel · military leader · also Yuan Shikai, Yangshoutang, Rongan, Huanshangdiaotu, Xiazhulou, Huanshangyuren
Born 16 September 1859 · Died 6 June 1916 · Q210329
29 published statements · 0 followers
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2023· 1 entry
1934· 1 entry
Yuan Kejian (袁克堅), married a daughter of Lu Jianzhang (陸建章)
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1928· 1 entry
The tomb was looted by Feng Yuxiang and his soldiers during the Northern Expedition
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1917· 2 entries
Contains a detailed account of Yuan Shikai, his rise and fall
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To revive the Qing dynasty led by the loyalist general Zhang Xun, but his forces were defeated by rival warlords later that year
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1916· 3 entries
Died 1916-06-06.
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Rebels against Yuan bombed the presidential palace from the air
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Career landmark: Great President of the Republic of China (1916–1916).
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1915· 1 entry
Career landmark: Emperor of China (1915–1916).
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1914· 1 entry
Japan captured the German colony at Qingdao
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1913· 2 entries
But this effort was confused and ineffective in asserting central control
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Yuan's alleged involvement in the assassination of Song Jiaoren and the reorganisation loan affair provoked Sun Yat-sen's Second Revolution, which was decisively crushed
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1912· 2 entries
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
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Career landmark: Great President of the Republic of China (1912–1915).
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1911· 2 entries
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
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Career landmark: Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet (1911–1912).
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1905· 1 entry
Acting on Yuan's advice, Dowager Empress Cixi issued a decree ending the traditional Confucian examination system that was formalized in 1906
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1904· 1 entry
Yuan used the Russo-Japanese War to convince Cixi to authorize the creation of more divisions
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1902· 1 entry
Yuan expanded the Beiyang Army into the best trained and most effective military force in China
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1901· 1 entry
Career landmark: Viceroy of Zhili (1901–1908).
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1896· 1 entry
Yuan's troops received praise from Ronglu, and in July 1897 Yuan was made provincial chief justice of Zhili
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1894· 1 entry
And tasked with training of the New Army the next year, which laid the foundation for his Beiyang Army
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1882· 1 entry
Which resulted in the queen's exile, the Viceroy of Zhili, Li Hongzhang, sent 3,000 men of the Huai Army under Wu Changqing into Korea to restore stability, which became Yuan's first military deployment
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1880· 1 entry
Which was a common method of official promotion in the late Qing
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1876· 3 entries
Japan was allowed to send diplomatic missions to Hanseong, and opened trading posts in Incheon and Wonsan
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To a woman of the Yu family who bore him a first son, Keding, in 1878
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And 1879, leading him to decide on an entry into politics through the Huai Army, where many of his relatives served
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1866· 1 entry
Was adopted by his father's younger brother, until he died in 1873
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1859· 1 entry
Born 1859-09-16.
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