Underlying causes of the 1911 Revolution

• Incompetent government:

  • Qing administrative had shown itself to be incompetent.
  • As Guangxu was weak-minded, the real political power rested on the hands of Cixi.
  • Firstly, she did not fully support the Self-Strengthening Movement, and crushed the later Hundred Days' Reform.
  • The repeated failure of the reforms drove many people to believe that revolution was the only way to save China.
• Incompetent government:

  • On the other hand, Cixi was very anti-foreign that she supported the killings of foreigners by the Boxers, which resulted in the Eight-Power Expedition.
  • This brought more suffering to the people, leading more people to support the revolutionary movements.
• Incompetent government:

  • After the deaths of Guangxu and Cixi in 1908, Prince Chun, father of the child Emperor Puyi, became regent.
  • However, he was incapable of ruling the country.
  • In the late Qing, official corruption became rampant.
  • The people were disappointed with the government and supported the revolutionary movements, contributing to the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution.
• Worsening of natural disasters:

  • Although the population in China continued to rise, farmland was insufficient.
  • People's livelihood became worse when China was hit by natural disasters.
  • There were frequent droughts and floodings, such as the Jiangsu-Anhui flood of 1911.
  • The government failed to provide adequate relief.
• Worsening of natural disasters:

  • It even levied heavy taxes amid crop failure, which further ravaged people's lives.
  • A wave of peasant riots swept across China.
  • Many starving people went to support the anti-Qing movement, accelerating the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution.
• Foreign military and economic aggressions:

  • Since the First Opium War, the Qing government had suffered quite a number of defeats in foreign wars.
  • The Qing government was forced to sign a series of unequal treaties, which obliged her to surrender territory.
  • For example, China and Britain signed the Treaty of Nanjing, under which China ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain.
• Foreign military and economic aggressions:

  • The unequal treaties also placed heavy indemnities on China.
  • For example, the Boxer Protocol required an indemnity of 450 million taels.
• Foreign military and economic aggressions:

  • Foreign powers carved out spheres of influence and established concessions in China.
  • For example, Germany claimed the province of Shandong as its sphere.
• Foreign military and economic aggressions:

  • It was clear that the Qing government was incapable of protecting China's sovereignty and economy.
  • Therefore, more people went to support the revolutionary movement, accelerating the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution.
• Late Qing Reform:

  • Political reforms
  • Education reforms
  • Military reforms
• Contributions of the revolutionaries:

  -> Establishing revolutionary bodies (Founder of revolutionary bodies)

  • Sun organized a number of revolutionary bodies to engineer to overthrowing of the Qing Dynasty.
  • In 1894, Sun founded the first anti-Qing revolutionary body in China, Xingzhonghui in Honolulu.
  • He later set up headquarters in Hong Kong as the base for organizing revolutionary movements.
  • Xingzhonghui staged two anti-Qing uprisings: one in Guangzhou in 1895 and the other one in Huizhou in 1900.
• Contribution of the revolutionaries:

  -> Establishing revolutionary bodies (Role: Founde of revolutionary bodies)

  • In 1905, Sun merged Xingzhonghui and two other revolutionary bodies, namely Huaxinghui and Guangfuhui, into Tongmenghui to strengthen the revolutionary power.
  • Since the founding of Tongmenghui, the revolutionaries repeatedly staged anti-Qing uprisings.
  • This laid a solid foundation for the 1911 Revolution.
• Contribution of the revolutionaries:

  -> Developing revolutionary principles (Role: Proposer of revolutionary principles)

  • Sun developed the 'Three People's Principles' as the principal ideology for the revolutionary movement.
  • Nationalism (national consciousness): to overthrow the Manchu rule and to rid the nation of foreign imperialism.
  • Democracy (people's rights): to set up a republic; people should enjoy political rights.
  • Socialism (people's livelihood): to equalize land ownership.
• Contribution of the revolutionaries:

  -> Enlisting public support (Role: Promoter of revolutionary thoughts)

  • Sun raised funds in Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe and the US for the revolutionary movement, and won the support of the overseas Chinese.
  • Many of them joined Tongmenghui and became revolutionaries.
  • Sun also founded newspapers in Japan, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and distributed them widely.
  • They helped spread revolutionary ideas.
• Contribution of the revolutionaries:

  -> Organizing anti-Qing uprisings (Organizer of anti-Qing uprisings)

  • Before the Wuchang Uprising in 1911, Xingzhonghui and Tongmenghui organized ten armed uprisings between 1895 and 1911 to overthrow the Qing government, such as the Yellow Flower Mound Uprising in 1911.
  • Although they were not successful, they laid a solid foundation for the 1911 Revolution.