Yuan Shikai, King of China.

Yuan Shikai

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Yuan Shikai 袁世凱
Kaisar Kekaisaran Cina
Masa jabatan 22 Desember 1915 – 22 Maret 1916
Perdana Menteri	Lou Tseng-Tsiang
Didahului oleh	Tidak ada (judul dibuat)
Digantikan oleh	Tidak ada (judul dihapuskan)
Presiden Republik Tiongkok
Masa jabatan 10 Maret 1912 – 22 Desember 1915
Perdana Menteri	Tang Shaoyi Lou Tseng-Tsiang Zhao Bingjun Xiong Xiling Sun Baoqi Xu Shichang
Wakil Presiden	Li Yuanhong
Didahului oleh	Sun Yat-sen
Digantikan oleh	Tidak ada (monarki deklarasi)
Masa jabatan 22 Maret 1916 – 6 Juni 1916
Perdana Menteri	Xu Shichang Duan Qirui
Wakil Presiden	Li Yuanhong
Didahului oleh	Sun Yat-sen
Digantikan oleh	Li Yuanhong
Perdana Menteri Kabinet Imperial
Masa jabatan 2 November 1911 – 10 Maret 1912
Penguasa monarki	Kaisar Xuantong
Didahului oleh	Yikuang, Pangeran Qing
Digantikan oleh	Zhang Xun (1917)
Viceroy dari Zhili dan Menteri Beiyang
Masa jabatan 1901–1908
Didahului oleh	Li Hongzhang
Digantikan oleh	Yang Shixiang
Informasi pribadi
Lahir	16 September 1859 Xiangcheng, Henan, Kekaisaran Qing
Meninggal	6 Juni 1916 (umur 56) Beijing, Republic of China
Kebangsaan	China
Partai politik	Tentara Beiyang Partai Republik
Suami/istri	Yu Yishang Lady Shen, concubine Lady Lee, concubine Lady Kim, concubine Lady O, concubine Lady Yang, concubine Lady Ye, concubine Lady Zhang, concubine Lady Guo, concubine Lady Liu, concubine
Anak	Yuan Keding Yuan Kewen 15 anak laki-laki lain 15 anak perempuan
Pekerjaan	General, Politik
Tanda tangan
Dinas militer
Masa dinas	1881–1916
Perang	Imo Incident Gapsin Coup First Sino-Japanese War Boxer Rebellion

Yuan Shikai (Hanzi tradisional: 袁世凱; bahasa Tionghoa: 袁世凯; Pinyin: Yuán Shìkǎi; Wade-Giles: Yüan Shih-k'ai; Courtesy Weiting 慰亭; Pseudonym: Rong'an 容庵) (16 September 1859^[1] – 6 Juni 1916) adalah jendral Cina penting dan politikus yang terkenal selama era akhir Dinasti Qing.

Daftar isi

• 1 Kehidupan Awal
• 2 Tahun-tahun di Dinasti Joseon
• 3 Akhir Dinasti Qing
• 4 Pengunduran diri dan kembali lagi
• 5 Revolusi Wuchang dan Republik
  • 5.1 Penurunan takhta Kaisar Kecil
  • 5.2 Pemilihan umum demokratis
• 6 Menjadi Kaisar
  • 6.1 Revolusi Kedua
  • 6.2 Dua Puluh Satu Tawaran Jepang
  • 6.3 Kembalinya monarki
  • 6.4 Reaksi publik dan international terhadap kembalinya monarki
  • 6.5 Akhir monarki dan kematian
• 7 Peninggalan
• 8 Dasanama
• 9 Informasi pribadi
• 10 Pranala luar
• 11 Referensi

Kehidupan Awal

Yuan Shikai lahir di sebuah desa bernama Zhangying (張營村), County Xiangcheng, Prefektur Chenzhou, Henan, meskipun akhirnya seluruh klannya pindah menuju wilayah perbukitan yang terletak 16 kilometer tenggara Xiangcheng.Di daerah itu klannya membangun sebuah benteng pertahanan Yuanzhaicun (Tionghoa: 袁寨村; arti harafiah "the fortified village of the Yuan family").^{[butuh rujukan]}
Keluarga Yuan adalah keluarga kaya yang memberikan pendidikan Konfusianisme yang cukup bagi Yuan.^[2]Ia bercita-cita untuk bisa meniti karier di bidang pelayanan masyarakat, namun ia gagal dalam Ujian kekaisaran dua kali. Ia lalu memutuskan untuk memasuki ranah politik melalui Tentara Huai, dimana banyak saudaranya yang ternaung dalam lembaga militer tersebut.Kariernya dimulai dengan pelantikan gelar rendah resmi di tahun1880, dimana hal tersebut menjadi ciri khas sistem promosi pada masa akhir Dinasti Qing.^[3]Dengan mengandalkan koneksi ayahnya, Yuan pergi ke Tengzhou, Shandong, danmencari jabatan dalam Brigade Qing. Pernikahan pertama Yuan terjadi pada 1876 dengan wanita dari keluarga Yu. Pernikahan ini menghasilkan satu orang anak yakni, Yuan Keding yang lahir pada 1878. Yuan Shikai menikahi setidaknya sembilan wanita sepanjang hidupnya.^[4]

Tahun-tahun di Dinasti Joseon

Dinasti Joseon di Korea pada awal dekade 1870an berada dalam perselisihan antara pihak tertutup dibawahpimpinan ayah Raja Gojong, Heungseon Daewongun, dan pihak progresif pimpinanratu, Empress Myeongseong yang menginginkan keterbukaan perdagangan. Setelah Restorasi Meiji, Jepangmengadopsi kebijakan luar negeri yang bersifat agresif. Hal ini ditandai dengan program Jepang untuk mengurangi dominasi Tiongkok di semenanjung Korea. Dibawah Perjanjian Ganghwa, yang disetujui Korea dengan setengah hati pada1876, Jepangdiperbolehkan untuk mengirim misi diplomatik ke Hanseong (Seoul), danmembuka pos perdagangan di Incheon dan Wonsan. Ditengah perselisihan internal yang terjadi tersebut yang akhirnya berakhir dengan pembuangan sang ratu, Raja Muda Zhili, Li Hongzhang, mengirim 3,000 tentara Qing menuju ke Korea. Pemimpinnya, Heungseon Daewongun, kemudian dikawal menuju keTianjin dimana disana ia menjadi tawanan. Perjanjian Jemulpo di tahun1882 memberikan Jepang hak untuk mendirikan pangkalan militer di Seoul yang bertujuan untuk melindungi misi diplomatik mereka di Korea. Pihak Tiongkok berpotensi tidak sanggup mepertahankan Korea melawan persenjataan modern Jepang, ditambah dengan militer Korea sendiri yang sedang mengalami krisis dan tidak akan usai tanpa ada pihak lain yang menyelesaikan. Raja Korea berencana untuk melatih 500 pasukan untuk menggunakan persenjataan modern, dan Yuan Shikai ditunjuk untuk memimpin tugas ini di Korea. Li Hongzhang juga setuju dengan penujukan ini dengan menaikan pangkat Yuan menjadi sub-prefek.
Pada 1885, Yuan ditunjuk sebagaiResiden Kekaisaran di Seoul.^[5]Jabatan ini adalah jabatan yang disetarakan seperti duta besar, namun dalam kenyataanya, ia bertugas sebagai seorang suzerain (semacam Gubernur Jenderal), Yuan menjadi penasehat tertinggi di seluruh kebijakan pemerintah Korea. Melihat Tiongkok meningkatkan kendali atas pemerintah Korea, Jepangmencari pengaruh baru dengan menjadiko-suzerain dengan China. Beberapa dokumen diberikan pada Yuan Shikai, isinya mengklaim pemerintahan Korea telah mengubah sikap terhadap perlindungan Tiongkokdan tertarik kepada perlindungan Russia. Yuan merasa sakit hati dan meminta nasehat Li Hongzhang.
Dalam perjanjian yang ditandatangani oleh Jepangdan Qing, dua pihak ini setuju bahwa masing-masing pihak hanya mengirim pasukan ke Korea setelah memberitahu terlebih dahulu pada pihak yang lain.Meskipun pemerintah Korea kini telah stabil, statusnya masih merupakan protektorat dari Qing. Korea sendiri menginginkan penganjuran modernisasi di segala aspek kehidupan bangsa termasuk menginginkan ideologi yang lebih modern. Namun, di pihak lain, Komunitas Donghak, yang menginginkan agar doktrin lama nasional yang berdasar pada ajarandan prinsip-prinsip Konfusius, memberontak kepada pemerintah. Yuan dan Li Hongzhang mengirim pasukan ke Korea untuk melindungi Seoul dan kepentingan Qing. Jepang juga melakukan hal yang sama dalam rangka melindungi pos-pos dagang milik mereka. Ketegangan semakin tinggi antara Jepang dan Tiongkok saat Jepang menolak untuk menarik mundur pasukannya dan juga menaruh blockade di Paralel ke-38. Li Hongzhang berusaha menghindari perang dengan Jepang untuk menjaga agar ketersediaan dana bagi Tiongkok tidak terbuang untuk perang. Li malah mencoba untuk meminta bantuan internasional untuk mempengaruhi Jepang agar mau menarik pasukannya. Jepang menolak, dan kemudian perang pecah. Yuan, yang berada dalam posisi yang tidak menguntungkan, dipanggil kembali ke Tianjin pada Juli 1894, sebelum Perang Sino-Jepang Pertama (甲午戰爭).

Akhir Dinasti Qing

Popularitas Yuan semakin naik dengan partisipasi nominalnya dalam Perang Sino-Jepang Pertama sebagaikomandan garnisun Tiongkok di Korea. Tidak seperti komandan yang lain, ia menghindari rasa malu akibat kekalahan Tiongkok dengan kembali ke Beijing beberapa hari sebelum konflik pecah.
Sebagai sekutu Li Hongzhang, Yuan ditunjuk sebagai komandan Pasukan Baru pertama di tahun 1895. Sebagai komandan, ia sangat bertanggung jawab pada pelatihan terhadap pasukan modern pertama Tiongkok, Yuan memperoleh pengaruh politik yang besardankesetiaan dari para komandan muda pasukan barunya yang ditandai pada tahun 1901, lima dari tujuh komandan divisional Tiongkok odan sebagian besar komandan senior berada dalam kekuasaannya.^[3]Pengadilan Qing mempercayai secara penuh pasukannya itu. Dan dalam pasukan baru yang tergabung dalam Gerakan Penguatan Diri ini, Yuan adalah individu yang dianggap paling terlatih.
Pengadilan Qing saat itu terbagi menjadi dua menjadi pihak progresif yang dipimpin oleh Kaisar Guangxu, dan pihak konservatif yang dipimpin oleh Janda Kaisar Cixi, yang sebelumnya mundur dan pindah menuju ke Istana Musim Panas setelah Reformasi Seratus Hari pada 1898. Namun, Cixi menyatakan bahwa reformasi yang terjadi terlalu drastis, dan berencana untuk mengambil kembali kedudukannya melalui kudeta. Namun, rencana ini menyebar terlalu cepat, dan Kaisar menjadi lebih waspada terhadap rencana yang akan dijalankan ini. Ia memerintahkan para aktivis reformasi seperti Kang Youwei, Tan Sitong dan yang lain merancang rencana untuk menyelamatkannya. Keterlibatan Yuan dalam kudeta ini masih berlanjut sebagai perdebatan sejarah. Tan Sitong dilaporkan berbicara dengan Yuan beberapa hari sebelum kudeta, meminta Yuan untuk membantu Kaisar melawan Janda Kaisar Cixi. Yuan menolak untuk memberi jawaban langsung, namun ia mengisyaratkan bahwa kesetiannya adalah untuk Kaisar.Sementara itu Jendreal Manchu, Ronglu mengatur siasat untuk pasukannya untuk bergabung dalam gerakan kudeta.
Berdasarkan beberapa sumber, termasuk buku diari Liang Qichao dan beberapa sumber berita, Yuan Shikai tiba di Tianjin pada 20 September 1898 menaiki kereta api. Ha ini menandakan bahwa pada malam harinya Yuan berbicara pada Ronglu, namun apa yang dikatakan kepadanya masih simpang siur. Sebagian besar sejarawan meyakini bahwa Yuan menceritakan pada Ronglu semua rencana para Reforman dan memerintahkannya untuk mengambil tindakan segera. Rencana ini kemudian terungkap, pasukan Ronglu merangsek ke Kota Terlarang saat fajar pada 21 September, memaksa Kaisar turun menuju ke istana danau.

Yuan Shikai sebagai Gubernur Shandong

Membuat aliansi politik dengan Janda Kaisar, dan menjadi seteru abadi Kaisar Guanxu, Yuan meninggalkan ibukota pada tahun 1899 untuk penunjukkannya sebagai Gubernur Shandong. Selama tiga tahun masa kepemimpinannya, Pemberontakan Boxer pecah, ia memastikan penindasan Boxer di provinsi, meskipun pasukkannya tidak mengambil peran apa-apa diluar Shandong. Yuan memihak pihak pro-faksi luar negeri di pengadilan kekaisaran, bersama dengan Pangeran Qing, Li Hongzhang dan Ronglu, ia menolak untuk memihak pada kaum Boxer dan menyerang pasukan AliansiDelapan Bangsa, bergabung gubernur-gubernur Tiongkok yang lain yang mengomandoi pasukan modern seperti Zhang Zhidong yang tidak memihak Pemberontakan Boxer. Ia dan Zhang membiarkan Janda Kaisar Cixi mendeklarasikanperang melawan kekuatan luar negeri dan melanjutkan penindasan terhadap pemberontakan. Dalam rangka untuk menghindari pertempuran denganpasukan AliansiDelapan Bangsadan menindas Boxer di Shandong, Yuan dan pasukannya (Divisi Keadilan) juga membantupasukan AliansiDelapan Bangsamembantai sepuluh dari ribuan orang dalam kampanye anti Boxer di Zhili setelahpasukan Aliansimenguasai Beijing.^[6]
Ia juga mendirikan sebuah sekolah (Shandong College, cikal bakal Shandong University) di Jinan, yang dalam kurikulumnya mengadaptasi pemikiran barat.
Pada Juni 1902 ia dipromosikan menjadi Raja Muda Zhili, dan Komisioner untukUrusan Dagang Tiongkok Utara,^[7]dan Menteri Beiyang (北洋通商大臣), kekuasaannya mencakup wilayah yang saat ini disebut sebagai Liaoning, Hebei, dan Shandong. Ia memperoleh penghargaan dari khalayak luar negeri setelah membantu penumpasan Pemberontakan Boxer, ia dengan sukses memperoleh pinjaman besar untuk memperbesar Pasukan Beiyang miliknya menjadi pasukan yang paling kuat di Tiongkok. Ia membuat 2.000 pasukan polisi untuk menjaga ketenteraman di Tianjin, pembentukan polisi ini adalah yang pertama kalinya dalam sejarah Tiongkok, sebagai hasil dari Protokol Boxer yang melarang pasukan bersenjata mendekati Tianjin. Yuan juga terlibat dalampengambil alihankendali jaringan rel kereta api dari Sheng Xuanhuai. Ia lalu memimpin perusahaan perkeretaapiandan konstruksi-konstruksinya menjadi sumber yang besar untuk pajak. Yuan memainkan peran aktif dalam masa-masa akhir Dinsati Qing, termasuk membuat Kementerian Pendidikan (學部) dan Kementerian Polisi (巡警部). Ia lalu menganjurkan persamaan derajat etnis Manchu dan Han.
Di tahun 1905, berdasarkan masehat Yuan, Janda Kaisar Cixi mengeluarkan dekrit yang berisi tentang perintah untuk mengakhiri sistem ujian Konfusius pada tahun 1906 dan memerintahkan Kementerian Pendidikan untuk mengimplemetasikan sistem pendidikan yang berdasar pada kurikulum yang berjalan berdasarkan amanat pemerintah. Sistem ini diadopsi dari apa yang dilakukan Jepang pada Masa Meiji. Pada 27 Agustus 1908, Pengadilan Qing mengumumkan “Asas-Asas untukKonstitusi”, dimana disana Yuan membantu dalam membuat drafnya. Dokumen ini dikenal sebagai pemerintah konstitusional dengan monarki yang kuat, dirancang berdasarkan apa yang dilakukan oleh Meiji di Jepang dan Otto van Bismarck di Jerman dengan konstitusi yang dikeluarkan pada 1916 dan sebuah pembentukan parlemen pada tahun 1917. ^[8]

Pengunduran diri dan kembali lagi

Janda Kaisar dan Kaisar Guangxu meninggal pada November 1908.^[5]danberbagai sumber mengindikasikan bahwa keinginan Kaisar yang paling diinginkannya adalah ingin Yuan segera diesekusi. Meskipun demikian, untuk menghindari hukuman mati, di Januari 1909 Yuan Shikai melepas semua jabatannya kepada, Prince Chun. Yuan beralasan bahwa ia mengundurkan diri karena ingin kembali ke rumahnya di Desa Huanshang (洹上村), yang pada masa kini menjadi Kota prefektur Anyang, karena penyakit kaki.
Selama tiga tahun ia mengasingkan diri, Yuan tetap berhubungan dengan sekutu-sekutu dekatnya, termasuk Duan Qirui, yang melapor kepadanya secara rutin tentang pasukannya, karena kesetiaan Pasukan Beiyang masih untuknya.Memiliki dukungan militer yang strategis, membuat Yuan memegang kuasa yang seimbang pada pihak revolusioner (seperti Sun Yat-sen) dan pihak Pengadilan Qing. Kedua pihak tersebut menginginkan Yuan disisi mereka.

Revolusi Wuchang dan Republik

Revolusi Wuchang dimulai pada 10 Oktober 1911 di Provinsi Hubei. Provinsi-provinsi selatan Tiongkok mendeklarasikan kemerdekaannya dari Pengadilan Qing, namun provinsi-provinsi di utara bersikap melawan gerakan ini. Pengadilan Qing dan Yuan sepakat bahwa Tentara Beiyang adalah satu-satunya pasukan yang mampu menumpas revolusi ini. Pengadilan meminta Yuan untuk kembali pada27 Oktober, namun iaberulang kali menolak tawaran Pengadilan Qing agar ia kembali. Tawaran itu di antaranya adalah menjadi Raja Muda Huguang, dan Perdana Menteri Kabinet Kekaisaran. Waktu berada di pihak Yuan, sementara Yuan terus menunggudengan alasan "penyakit kaki"nya.
Setelah beberapa tawaran selanjutnya dari Pengadilan Qing, Yuan setuju dan segera meninggalkan desanya lalu menuju ke Beijing pada 30 Oktober. Ia lalu menjadi Perdana Menteri pada1 November 1911. Setelah itu ia memerintahkan Pangeran Chun untuk mundur dari segala jabatan politiknya.Pengunduran diri Zaifeng ini memberi jalan pada Yuan untuk membuat kabinet yang didominasi oleh orang dari etnis Tiongkok Han, yang hanya terdiri dari satu orang Manchu, yang memegang jabatan Menteri Jajahan. Selain itu, karena kesetiannya kepada pengadilan, Janda Kaisar Longyu memberi Yuan gelar bangsawan Marquis Peringkat Pertama (一等侯), sebuah gelar yang sebelumnya pernah diberikan kepada Jenderal Zeng Guofan bersama Tentara Xiangnya dalam menumpas Pemberontakan Taiping.
Sementara itu, dalam Pertempuran Yangxia, berhasil mengambil alih kembali Hankou dan Hanyang dari revolusioner. Yuan tahu bahwa penumpasan total terhadap revolusi akan mengakhiri kegunaannya dalam rezim Qing. Setelah menyerang Wuchang, ia mulai bernegosiasi dengan pihak revolusioner.

Penurunan takhta Kaisar Kecil

Yuan Shikai diambil sumpahnya menjadi Presiden Sementara Republik Tiongkok, di Beijing, 10 Maret 1912.

Kaum revolusioner telah memilih Sun Yat-Sen sebagai presiden sementara pertama, namun pemerintahan ini lemah dalam dukungan militernya, maka dari itu mereka mulai berunding dengan Qing, untuk menggunakan Yuan sebagai penengah. Yuan lalumenyusun keputusan untuk penurunan takhta Kaisar Kecil Puyi (atau Kaisar Xuantong) untuk bisa meraih jabatan Presiden.^[5] Yuan tidak hadir dalam dekrit penurunan takhta yang dikeluarkan oleh Janda Kaisar Longyu pada 12 Februari 1912.
Sun menyetujui kepresidenan Yuan setelah beberapa perselisihan selesai, namun ia juga meminta bahwa ibukota harus dipindahkan ke Nanjing. Yuan, di sisi lain, menginginkan keuntungan secara geografis untuk memiliki ibukota yang tidak jauh dari basis kekuatan militernya. Cao Kun, salah satu komandan Tentara Beiyang kepercayaannya, melakukan kudetadi Beijing dan Tianjin, berdasarkan perintah Yuan, untuk memberikan alasan untuk Yuan agar ia tidak meninggalkan lingkungan pengaruhnya di Zhili (saat ini provinsi Hebei). Kaum revolusioner akhirnya mengalah, dan ibukota republic baru ini tetap berada di Beijing. Yuan Shikai dipilih sebagai Presiden Sementara RepublikTiongkokoleh Senat Sementara Nanjingpada 14 Februari 1912, dan diambil sumpahnya pada 10 Maret pada tahun yang sama.^[9][10]

Pemilihan umum demokratis

Pada Februari 1913, pemilihan umum demokratis diadakan untuk memilih anggota Majelis Nasional dimana Partai Nasionalis Tiongkok (Kuomintang atau KMT) mendapat kemenangan telak. Song Jiaoren dari Partai KMT secara giat mendukung sistem kabinetdan menjadi kandidat kuat untuk menjadi Perdana Menteri.
Salah satu tujuan politik utama Song adalah memastikan bahwaindependensi Parlemen Tiongkok bisa terlindung dari pengaruh kepresidenan. Program Song untuk mengurangi kewenangan presiden bertentangan dengan sikap Yuan, yang pada pertengahan 1912, secara jelas mendominasi cabinet sementaradan mengisyaratkan adanya keinginan untuk memegang kuasa lebih. Song kemudian melakukan perjalanan ke seluruh Tiongkok pada 1912, ia amat bersemangat mengungkapkan keinginannya membatasi kekuasaan Presiden, ia senang mengambil contoh dengan mengkritikambisi Yuan. Saat hasil pemilihan umum pada 1913 mengindikasikan kemenangan Kuomintang, hal ini otomatis membuat Song akan berada dalam posisi yang akan memainkan peran penting dalam pemilihan perdana menteri dan kabinet, dan partai dapat mendesak pemilihan presiden demokratis dengan segera.^[11]
Pada 20 Maret 1913, saat bersama beberapa teman menuju ke Peking, Song Jiaoren ditembak dua kali oleh seorang bernama, Ying Kuicheng, saat berada di Stasiun kereta api Shanghai. Ia meninggal dua hari kemudian di rumah sakit. Bukti-bukti dari penyelidikan mengarah ke sekretaris cabinet dan perdana menteri sementara dalam pemerintahan Yuan Shikai. Meskipun Yuan dianggap sebagaiorang yang berkemungkinan besar berada di balik pembunuhan tersebut, namun para konspirator dan pihak-pihak penting yang berhubungan dan dicurigai dalam kasus ini terbunuh atau menghilang secara misterius. Karena kurangnya bukti, Yuan tidak pernah diusut.^[11]

Menjadi Kaisar

Yuan Shikai

Lihat pula: Kekaisaran Tiongkok

Bendera Yuan Shikai "Kaisar Agung Tiongkok"

Ketegangan antara Kuomintang dan Yuan semakin membesar. Setelah tiba di Peking, Parlemen terpilih mencoba mengendalikan kuasa berlebih Yuan, dan untuk mengembangkan konstitusi permanen, dan juga untuk menggelar pemilihan umum presiden. Yuan juga menguasai100 juta dolar dana yang merupakan pinjaman luar negeri. KMT kemudian terus mengkritik Yuan yang menguasai semua anggaran negara.^[12]
Yuan memulai tindakan terhadap Kuomintang pada tahun 1913, dengan cara menyogokanggota KMT menjadi parlemen dua kamar. Revolusioner Anti-Yuan juga mengklaim Yuan merancang penghancuran KMT dari dalam dan melengserkan pemerintahan yang disebuat sebagai pro-kuomintang.^[12][13][14]

Revolusi Kedua

Melihat situasi dalam partainya yang semakin memburuk, Sun Yat-sen pergi ke Jepang pada November 1913. Hal ini disebut Revolusi Kedua yang saat ini dalam rangka melawan Yuan Shikai. Di sisi lain, Yuan mengambil alih pemerintahan, menggunakan militer sebagai basis kekuatan. Ia membekukanmajelis nasional dan provinsi, sedangkan Dewan Perwakilan dan Senat diganti dengan "Dewan Negara", dengan Duan Qirui, letnan Beiyang kepercayaannya,sebagai Perdana Menteri. Ia mempercayakansarjana dari Amerika Serikat, Tsai Ting Kan untuk menjadi penerjemahnya dalam berhubungan dengan masyarakat luar negeri. Akhirnya, Yuan merekayasa diri sebagai presiden terpilih untuk masa jabatan lima tahun. Selain itu ia menyatakan bahwa Kuomintang adalah organisasi terlarang dan mencopot semua anggotanya dari Parlemen.
"Revolusi Kedua" Kuomintang ini berakhir dengan kegagalan setelah pasukan Yuan mendapat kemenangan atas gerakan revolusioner. Gubernur-gubernur dan beberapa loyalis KMT berbalik setia ke Yuan, beberapa komandan yang tidak memihak Yuan dicopot dari jabatannya, Revolusi Kedua ini resmi ditumpas oleh Yuan.^[15]
Pada Januari 1914, Parlemen China resmi dibekukan. Untuk membuat pemerintahan Yuan terlihat sah, Yuan mengumpulkan 66 orang dari kabinetnya pada 1 Mei 1914, menghasilkan "konstitusi rapi" yang digunakan untuk mengganti konstitusi sementara Tiongkok. Yuan, sebagai presiden, berhak atas kuasa tak terbatas pada militer, keuangan, kebijakan luar negeri, dan hak-hak dasar masyarakat Tiongkok. Yuan menyatakan bahwa revolusi yang menginginkan kehidupan berbangsa yang demokratis terbukti tidak efektif.^[16]
Setelah kemenangannya ini, Yuan kembali mengorganisasi pemerintahan provinsial. Masing-masing provinsi kini didukung oleh seorang Gubernur Militer (都督) yang memiliki kewenangan sipil danmemiliki kewenangan mandiri dalam mengelola pasukan di wilayah masing-masing. Meskipun kewenangan provinsial yang dicanangkan Yuan ini baik, namun hal ini ternyata menumbuhkan persaingan antar gubernur militer beserta pasukannya yang melumpuhkan Tiongkok selama dua dekade kedepan.
Segera setelah memulai masa presidensialnya, Yuan memiliki koin dolar perak yang bergambar potret dirinya. Koin ini adalah dolar standar Tiongkok yang pertama dikeluarkan dan menjadi sangat populer, ^[17]

Dua Puluh Satu Tawaran Jepang

Pada Januari 1915, setelah merebut koloni Jerman di Qingdao, Jepangmengirim ultimatum rahasia yang dikenal sebagai Dua Puluh Satu Tawaran, ke Beijing. Dalam tawaran ini, Jepang menawarkanperluasan wilayah menjadi sebuah bisnis untuk menyelesaikan hutang-hutang dengan Jepang, dan menjadikan Qingdao sebagai konsesi untuk Jepang. Ketika kabar mengenai tawaran ini muncul ke khalayak umum, demonstrasi anti-Jepang meletus disertai dengan pemboikotan secara nasional terhadap produk-produk Jepang. Yuan yang menyetujui sebagian besar dari tawaran tersebutmembuat popularitas pemerintahannya menurun, meskipun banyak dari permintaaan tersebut berhubungan dengan beberapa perjanjian Qing.^[18]Tekanan barat akhirnya membuat Jepang meniadakan beberapa dari banyak tawaran tersebut.

Kembalinya monarki

Untuk terus mengembangkan kekuasaannya, Yuan memulai membangun kembali elemen-elemendari negara Konfusianisme. Sebagai penganjur kembalinya sistem ketaatan Qing, Yuan lalu ingin menjadi kaisar dengan menjalani ritual di Kuil Surga Qing. Di akhir 1915, banyak rumor beredar agar monarki seharusnya dikembalikan. Dengan kekuasaannya, banyak dari pendukung Yuan, seperti Yang Du, menganjurkan pengembalian monarki dan meminta Yuan untuk mengambil gelar sebagai Kaisar. Yang beralasan bahwa khalayak di Tiongkok telah lama menggunakan kekuatan yang otokratis, dan Republik hanya satu cara efektif sebagai fase transisi untuk mengakhiri peraturan ala Manchu. Ia beralasan bahwa situasi politik Tiongkok dapat stabil jika dijalankan dengan sistem monarki. Ahli ilmu politik Amerika Serikat Frank Johnson Goodnow juga mengungkapkan hal yang sama.Pihak Jepang juga demikian, mereka mendukung Yuan dalam rangka rasa terima kasih atas dukungan Yuan terhadap Dua Puluh Satu Tawaran.^[19]
Pada 20 November 1915, Yuan mengadakan sebuah rapat untuk membentuk "Majelis Perwakilan" yang secara bulat mendukung Yuan menjadi kaisar. Pada 12 Desember 1915, Yuan setuju menjadi kaisar berikutnyadan mendeklarasikan dirinya menjadi Kaisar Kekaisaran Tiongkok (Hanzi Sederhana: 中华帝国大皇帝; Hanzi Tradisional: 中華帝國大皇帝; Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Dìguó Dà Huángdì) dengan nama era Hongxian (Hanzi Sederhana: 洪宪; Hanzi Tradisional: 洪憲; Pinyin: Hóngxiàn; i.e. Kemurahan Konstitusi). Kaisar baru Tiongkok ini resmi naik takhta pada 1 Januari 1916, saat Yuan menjalani sebuah ritual aksesi. Segera setelah menjadi kaisar, Yuan memesan 40.000-buah porselen kekaisaran senilai 1.4 juta yuan, sebuah lambing besar dari batu nefrit, dan dua jubah kekaisaran yang masing-masing senilai 400.000 yuan.^[3][9]

Reaksi publik dan international terhadap kembalinya monarki

Yuan mengharapkan dukungan dari dalam dan luar negeri untuk takhtanya ini. Namun, ia dan pendukungnya telah salah mengkalkulasi. Setelah berkuasa, banyak pendukung Yuan yang meninggalkannya, begitu juga dengan Jaringan Tentara Beiyang yang berada dalam perlindungannya. Setelah itu banyak protes terbuka yang memojokkan Yuan. Pemerintah internasional, termasuk Jepang, yang tadinya mendukung malah melakukan sebaliknya dengan tidak memberikan pengakuan terhadap kekuasaan Yuan.^[20] Sun Yat-sen, yang telah hijrah ke Tokyo dan merancang gerakan di sana, secara aktif mengorganisasi kembali gerakan untuk mematikan kekuasaan Yuan. Orang-orang kepercayaannya seperti Duan Qirui dan Xu Shichang meninggalkannya untuk mendirikan faksi mereka masing-masing.

Akhir monarki dan kematian

Prosesi pemakaman Yuan Shikai di Beijing

Dihadapkan dengan banyak pihak yang berusaha melawannya, Yuan menunda ritual aksesinya untuk menenangkan keadaan, namun pada saat ini harga dirinya sudah benar-benar hancur dan satu demi satu provinsi menyuarakan penolakan terhadap Yuan.Pada 25 Desember 1915, Gubernur militer Yunnan, Cai E, memberontak. Ia membentuk Perang Perlindungan Nasional. Gubernur Guizhou mengikuti langkah Cai pada Januari 1916, dan Guangxi menyatakan kemerdekaannya pada Maret. Pendanaan untuk upacara aksesi Yuan dipotong pada 1 Maret, dania secara resmimeninggalkan kekaisaran pada 22 Maretsetelah 83 hari. Hal ini belum cukup untuk para musuh-musuhnya, yang menginginkan pengunduran dirinya sebagai presiden. Banyak provinsi yang memberontak hingga akhirnya Yuan meninggalkarena uremia pada 5 Juni 1916, pada usia lima puluh enam tahun. Kematiannya ini diumumkan keesokan harinya.^[9][20] Jasadnya lalu dibawa ke kampung halamannya dan ditempatkan di mausoleum besar. Pada 1928, makamnya ini ditempati oleh jasad Feng Yuxiang, seorang Tentara Guominjun selama Ekspedisi Utara. Ia memiliki tiga putra: Pangeran Yuan Keding, yang cacat dan dipanggil "idiot" oleh ayahnya; Pangeran Yuan Kewen, yang dipanggil ayahnya sebagai 'sarjana palsu', dan Pangeran Yuan Keliang, yang dipanggil "bandit".^{[butuh rujukan]}

Peninggalan

Villa milik Yuan di Tianjin

Banyak dari kebijakan Yuan dinilai menyebabkan dampak negatif bagi kehidupan berbangsa di Tiongkok. Meskipun ia adalah orang yang telah melatih dan mengorganisasi salah satu pasukan modern Tiongkok dan memperkenalkan modernisasi dalam ranah hukum dan sosial, para loyalis Yuan yang sebelumnya diberi kekuasaan untuk mengurus pasukannya sendiri-sendiri bersaing dan melakukan pertempuran tak perlu setelah kematian Yuan. Yuan juga hanya melakukan sedikit perbaikan ekonomi dan perkembangan teknologi, dan ia membiayai rezimnya melalui pinjaman luar negeri yang sangat besar. Ia dikritik karena dianggap sebagai pihak yang membuat moral dan reputasi internasional Tiongkok merosot, hal ini juga berhubungan dengan kebijakannya yang memperbolehkan Jepang memperoleh konsesi dari pemerintahannya.^[21]
Setelah kematian Yuan, ada usaha untuk mengembalikan republik oleh Li Yuanhong dengan cara memanggil legislator yang diusir pada tahun 1913, namun usaha ini dirasa tidak efektif untuk memulihkan keadaan, karena Li tidak memiliki dukungan militer yang memadai. Selain itu ada percobaan untuk mengembalikan kembali Dinasti Qing oleh Jenderal Zhang Xun pada tahun 1917, namun pasukannya dikalahkan oleh komandan perang yang lain pada tahun yang sama. Setelah kegagalan gerakan Zhang, pemerintahan di tingkat pusat menjadi hancur, dan Tiongkok berada dalam masa komandan perang. Dalam beberapa dekade berikutnya, kantor kepresidenan dan parlemen hanya menjadi alat bagi kegiatan militer, dan politisi di Peking sangat bergantung pada para gubernur untuk alat dukungan dan mencari ketahanan politik.^[22]
Setelah kematian Yuan, Tiongkok menjadi negara tanpa pemerintah pusat yang diakui, dantentara nasional terpecah menjadi para komandan-komandan perang yang berkompetisi untuk memperebutkan pengaruh. Karena alasan ini Yuan disebut sebagai "Bapak Komandan Perang". Selama hidupnya, ia sangat mengerti persoalan pengelolaan pasukan, kemampuannya ini menjadikan ia mampu membentuk pasukan Tiongkok modern yang terorganisasi. Setelah ia kembali berkuasa pada 1911, ia mengandalkan kemampuan pasukan yang ia buat untuk ambisi kekaisaran serta untuk menghancurkan ide mengenai republik di sana.
Pada program CCTV berjudulTowards the Republic, Yuan digambarkan sebagai pengelola yang mumpuni, ia juga seorang manipulator situasi politik yang hebat. Deklarasi dirinya sebagai kaisar dipengaruhi oleh kekuatan luar serta putranya Yuan Keding.
Sebuah patung kura-kura bixi yang dibuat untuk penghormatan kepada Yuan Shikai, dibuat diTaman Huanyuan di Anyangsetelah kematiannya, patung ini lalu dipugar sebagian pada 1993.^[23]

Dasanama

Seperti banyak tokoh Tiongkok sebelum 1949, Yuan memiliki banyak nama yang berbeda. Nama penghormatannya adalah "Weiting" (ejaan Wade-Giles: Wei-ting; Tionghoa: 慰亭; Pinyin: Wèitíng; Wade–Giles: Wei⁴-t'ing²), ia juga memakai nama samaran "Rong'an" (ejaan Wade-Giles: Jung-an; Tionghoa: 容庵; Pinyin: Róng'ān; Wade–Giles: Jung²-an¹).Ia juga kadang-kadang menggunakan nama tempat lahirnya, "Xiangcheng" (Hanzi Sederhana: 项城; Hanzi Tradisional: 項城; Pinyin: Xiàngchéng; Wade–Giles: Hsiang⁴-ch'eng²), atau sebutan tutor pangeran mahkota, "Kung-pao" (Hanzi Sederhana: 宫保; Hanzi Tradisional: 宮保; Pinyin: Gōngbǎo; Wade–Giles: Kung¹-pao³).

Informasi pribadi

• Kakek (pihak ayah)
  • Yuan Shusan (袁澍三)
• Ayah
  • Yuan Baozhong (袁保中) (1823–1874), Nama penghormatan Shouchen (受臣)
• Paman
  • Yuan Baoqing (袁保慶) (1825–1873), Nama penghormatan: Duchen (篤臣), pseudonim: Yanzhi (延之),adik Yuan Baozhong
• Istri
  • Yu Yishang (于義上), putri Yu Ao (於鰲), saudagar kaya dari Shenqiu County, Henan; menikah dengan Yuan Shikai pada 1876; ibu Yuan Keding
• Selir
  • Lady Shen (沈氏), sebelumnya adalah seorang pelacur dari Suzhou
  • Lady Lee (李氏), dari Korea; ibu dari Yuan Bozhen, Yuan Kequan, Yuan Keqi, Yuan Kejian, dan Yuan Kedu
  • Lady Kim (金氏), dari Korea; ibu Yuan Kewen, Yuan Keliang, Yuan Shuzhen, Yuan Huanzhen, dan Yuan Sizhen
  • Lady O (吳氏), dari Korea; ibu Yuan Keduan, Yuan Zhongzhen, Yuan Cizhen, and Yuan Fuzhen
  • Lady Yang (楊氏), ibu Yuan Kehuan, Yuan Kezhen, Yuan Kejiu, Yuan Ke'an, Yuan Jizhen, dan Yuan Lingzhen
  • Lady Ye (葉氏), sebelumnya adalah pelacur Nanjing; ibu Yuan Kejie, Yuan Keyou, Yuan Fuzhen, Yuan Qizhen, and Yuan Ruizhen
  • Lady Zhang (張氏), originally from Henan
  • Lady Guo (郭氏), originally a prostitute from Suzhou; mother of Yuan Kexiang, Yuan Kehe, dan Yuan Huzhen
  • Lady Liu (劉氏), sebelumnya adalah pelayan selir kelima Yuan Shikai Lady Yang; ibu Yuan Kefan dan Yuan Yizhen
• Sons
  • Yuan Keding (袁克定) (1878–1958), Nama penghormatan: Yuntai (雲台)
  • Yuan Kewen (袁克文) (1889–1931), Nama penghormatan: Baocen (豹岑)
  • Yuan Keliang (袁克良), menikahi putri dari Zhang Baixi
  • Yuan Keduan (袁克端), menikahi He Shenji (何慎基) (anak dari He Zhongjing (何仲璟))
  • Yuan Kequan (袁克權) (1898–1941), Nama penghormatan: Gui'an (規庵), pseudonim: Baina (百衲), menikahi putri dari Toteke Duanfang (托忒克.端方)
  • Yuan Kehuan (袁克桓), menikah dengan Chen Zheng (陳徵) (anakdari Chen Qitai (陳啟泰))
  • Yuan Keqi (袁克齊), menikah dengan putri dari Sun Baoqi
  • Yuan Kezhen (袁克軫), menikahi Zhou Ruizhu (周瑞珠) (anakdari Zhou Fu (周馥))
  • Yuan Kejiu (袁克玖), menikahi Li Shaofang (黎紹芳) (29 Desember 1906 – 15 April 1945) (anak kedua Li Yuanhong) di tahun 1934
  • Yuan Kejian (袁克堅), menikah dengan anak dari Lu Jianzhang (陸建章)
  • Yuan Ke'an (袁克安), menikahi Li Baohui (李寶慧) (anak dari Li Shiming (李士銘))
  • Yuan Kedu (袁克度), menikah dengananak saudagar kaya Luo Yunzhang (羅雲章)
  • Yuan Kexiang (袁克相), menikah pertama kali dengan Zhang Shoufang (張壽芳) (cucu Na Tong (那桐)), menikah kedua kalinya dengan Chen Sixing (陳思行) (putri Chen Bingkun)
  • Yuan Kejie (袁克捷), menikah dengan Lady Wang (王氏)
  • Yuan Kehe (袁克和), menikah dengan putri dari Zhang Diaochen (張調宸)
  • Yuan Kefan (袁克藩), meninggal muda
  • Yuan Keyou (克友), menikah dengan Yu Yunpeng (於雲鵬)
• Cucu dan cicit terkenal
  • Luke Chia-Liu Yuan (1912-2003) fisikawan Tiongkok-Amerika Serikat (cucu)
  • Li-Young Lee (1957-), lahir diIndonesia, adalah sastrawan Tiongkok-Amerika Serikat. (cicit)
  
  
  
  

  Yuan Shikai

  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  Yuan Shikai
  袁世凱
  President of the Republic of China
  In office 10 March 1912 – 22 December 1915
  Premier	Tang Shaoyi Lou Tseng-Tsiang Zhao Bingjun Xiong Xiling Sun Baoqi Xu Shichang
  Vice President	Li Yuanhong
  Preceded by	Sun Yat-sen
  Succeeded by	Himself (as Emperor)
  In office 22 March 1916 – 6 June 1916
  Premier	Xu Shichang Duan Qirui
  Vice President	Li Yuanhong
  Preceded by	Himself (as Emperor)
  Succeeded by	Li Yuanhong
  Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet
  In office 2 November 1911 – 10 March 1912
  Monarch	Xuantong Emperor
  Preceded by	Yikuang, Prince Qing
  Succeeded by	Zhang Xun (1917)
  Viceroy of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang
  In office 1915–1916
  Preceded by	Li Hongzhang
  Succeeded by	Yang Shixiang
  Emperor of China Era name: Hongxian (洪憲)
  Prime Minister	Lou Tseng-Tsiang
  Preceded by	Himself (as President)
  Succeeded by	Himself (as President)
  Personal details
  Born	16 September 1859 Xiangcheng, Henan, Qing Dynasty
  Died	6 June 1916 (aged 56) Beijing, Republic of China
  Political party	Beiyang clique Republican Party
  Spouse(s)	Yu Yishang Lady Shen, concubine Lady Lee, concubine Lady Kim, concubine Lady O, concubine Lady Yang, concubine Lady Ye, concubine Lady Zhang, concubine Lady Guo, concubine Lady Liu, concubine
  Children	Yuan Keding Yuan Kewen 15 other sons 15 daughters
  Occupation	General, Politician
  Signature
  Military service
  Years of service	1881–1916
  Battles/wars	Imo Incident Gapsin Coup First Sino-Japanese War Boxer Rebellion

  This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yuan.

  Yuan Shikai
  Traditional Chinese	袁世凱
  Simplified Chinese	袁世凯
  [show]Transcriptions

  This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

  Yuan Shikai (16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese general, politician and Emperor, famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor, his autocratic rule as the first formal President of the Republic of China, and his short-lived attempt to restore monarchy in China, with himself as the Hongxian Emperor (Chinese: 洪憲皇帝).
  

  Contents

  • 1 Biography
    • 1.1 Early life
    • 1.2 Years in Joseon Dynasty Korea
    • 1.3 Late Qing Dynasty
    • 1.4 Retreat and return
    • 1.5 Wuchang Uprising and the Republic
      • 1.5.1 Abdication of the child emperor
      • 1.5.2 Democratic elections
    • 1.6 Becoming Emperor
      • 1.6.1 Second Revolution
      • 1.6.2 Japan's Twenty-one Demands
      • 1.6.3 Revival of the monarchy
      • 1.6.4 Public and international reactions to the monarchy's revival
      • 1.6.5 Abandonment of the monarchy and death
  • 2 Evaluation and legacy
  • 3 Pseudonyms
  • 4 Family
  • 5 See also
  • 6 References
    • 6.1 Citations
    • 6.2 Sources
  • 7 Further reading
  • 8 External links

  Biography

  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 (Chinese: 袁寨村; literally: "the fortified village of the Yuan family").^{[citation needed]}
  Yuan's family was affluent enough to provide Yuan with a traditional Confucian education.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3]
  

  Years in Joseon Dynasty Korea

  Joseon Dynasty Korea in the early 1870s was in the midst of a struggle between isolationists under 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. 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.^[4] 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 Russian 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.^[2] 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 formed 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 remains a matter of debate among historians. Tan Sitong reportedly spoke 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.
  
  
  Yuan Shikai as Governor of Shandong
  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 the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901) erupted; Yuan 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 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 suppress the Boxers after the Alliance captured Beijing in August 1900. Yuan Shikai's forces massacred tens of thousands of people in their anti-Boxer campaign in Zhili.^[5] Yuan operated out of Baoding during the campaign, which ended in 1902.^[6]
  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.^[7] 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 2,000-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 become 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 ethnic equality between Manchus and Han Chinese.
  In 1905, acting on Yuan's advice, Dowager-Empress Cixi issued a decree ending the traditional Confucian examination system in 1906. She and ordered the Ministry of Education to implement a system of primary and secondary schools and universities with state-mandated curriculum, modeled after the educational system of Meiji-period Japan. On August 27, 1908, the Qing court promulgated "Principles for a Constitution", which Yuan helped to draft. This document called for a constitutional government with a strong monarchy (modeled after Meiji Japan and Bismarck's Germany), with a constitution to be issued by 1916 and an elected parliament by 1917.^[8]
  
  In the hunting-park, three miles to the south of Peking, is quartered the Sixth Division, which supplies the Guards for the Imperial Palace, consisting of a battalion of infantry and a squadron of cavalry. With this Division Yuan Shi Kai retains twenty-six modified Krupp guns, which are the best of his artillery arm, and excel any guns possessed by the foreign legations in Peking.
  The Manchu Division moves with the Court, and is the pride of the modern army.
  By his strategic disposition Yuan Shi Kai completely controls all the approaches to the capital, and holds a force which he may utilize either to protect the Court from threatened attack or to crush the Emperor should he himself desire to assume Imperial power. Contrary to treaty stipulations made at the settlement of the Boxer trouble, the Chinese have been permitted to build a great tower over the Chien Men, or central southern gate, which commands the foreign legations and governs the Forbidden City. In the threatening condition of Chinese affairs it might be assumed that this structure had been undermined by the foreign community, but this has not been done, and if trouble again arise in Peking the fate of the legations will depend upon the success of the first assault which will be necessary to take it. The foreign legations are as much in the power of Yuan Shi Kai's troops in 1907 as they were at the mercy of the Chinese rabble in 1900.
  The ultimate purpose of the equipped and disciplined troops is locked in the breast of the Viceroy of Chihli. Yuan Shi Kai's yamen in Tientsin is connected by telegraph and telephone with the Imperial palaces and with the various barracks of his troops. In a field a couple of hundred yards away is the long pole of a wireless telegraph station, from which he can send the message that any day may set all China ablaze.
  

  To-morrow in the East, Douglas Story, pp. 224-226 ^[9]
  Yuan Shikai's Han-dominated New Army was primarily responsible for the defense of Beijing, as most of the modernized Eight Banner divisions were destroyed in the Boxer Rebellion and the new modernized Banner forces were token in nature.
  

  Retreat and return

  The Empress Dowager and the Guangxu Emperor died within a day of each other in November 1908.^[4] Sources indicate that the will of the Emperor specifically ordered Yuan's execution. But nonetheless he avoided death. 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.
  

  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 the Regent to withdraw from politics, which forced Zaifeng to resign as regent. This made way for Yuan to form a new, predominantly Han Chinese, cabinet of confidants, with only one Manchu as 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, Yuan's 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

  
  Yuan Shikai sworn in as Provisional President of the Republic of China, in Beijing, 10 March 1912.
  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 Pu Yi in return for being granted the position of President of the Republic of China.^[4] Yuan was not 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.^[10][11]
  

  Democratic elections

  In February 1913, democratic elections were held for the National Assembly in which the Kuomintang (KMT – "Chinese Nationalist Party") 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.^[12]
  On 20 March 1913, while traveling to Beijing, Song Jiaoren was shot by a lone gunman in Shanghai, and died two days later. The trail of evidence led to the secretary of the cabinet and the provisional premier of Yuan'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. For lack of evidence, Yuan was never officially implicated.^[12]
  

  Becoming Emperor

  
  Yuan Shikai as the Hongxian Emperor.
  
  The Yuan Shikai "dollar" (yuan in Chinese), issued for the first time in 1914, became a dominant coin type of the Republic of China.
  
  The Flag of Yuan Shikai's "Great Chinese Empire"
  See also: Empire of China (1915–16)
  Tensions between the KMT 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.^[13]
  Yuan's crackdown on the KMT 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-KMT.^[13]
  

  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 KMT a seditious organization, ordered the KMT's dissolution, and evicted all its members from Parliament.
  The KMT'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.^[14]
  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.^[15]
  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. This helped lay the foundations for the warlordism that crippled China over the next two decades.
  During Yuan's presidency, a silver "dollar" (yuan in Chinese) carrying his portrait was introduced. This coin type was the first "dollar" coin of the central authorities of the Republic of China to be minted in significant quantities. It became a staple silver coin type during the first half of the 20th century and was struck for the last time as late as the 1950s. These "dollars" were also extensively forged.^[16]
  

  Japan's Twenty-one Demands

  In 1914, Japan captured the German colony at Qingdao. Then in January 1915, Japan sent a secret ultimatum, known as the Twenty-one Demands, to Beijing. Japan demanded an extension of extraterritoriality, the sale of businesses in debt to Japan, and cession of Qingdao to Japan. 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.^[17] 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, the Republic had only been effective as a transitional phase to end Manchu rule, and 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 Japan had also offered to support Yuan's ambitions as one of the rewards for Yuan's support of the Twenty-One Demands.^[18]
  In 20 November 1915, Yuan held a specially convened "Representative Assembly" which voted unanimously to offer Yuan the throne. On 12 December 1915, Yuan "accepted" the invitation and proclaimed himself Emperor of the Chinese Empire (simplified Chinese: 中华帝国大皇帝; traditional Chinese: 中華帝國大皇帝; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Dìguó Dà Huángdì) under the era name of Hongxian (simplified Chinese: 洪宪; traditional Chinese: 洪憲; pinyin: Hóngxiàn; i.e. Constitutional Abundance). The new Empire of China was to formally begin on 1 January 1916, when Yuan, now the Hongxian Emperor, intended to conduct the accession rites. Soon after becoming emperor, the Hongxian Emperor 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.^[2][10]
  

  Public and international reactions to the monarchy's revival

  The Hongxian Emperor expected widespread domestic and international support for his reign. However, he and his supporters had badly miscalculated. Many of the emperor's closest supporters abandoned him, and the solidarity of the emperor's Beiyang clique of military protégés dissolved. There were open protests throughout China denouncing the Hongxian Emperor. International governments, including Japan, proved suddenly indifferent or openly hostile to him, not giving him the recognition anticipated.^[19] Sun Yat-sen, who had fled to Tokyo and set up a base there, actively organized efforts to overthrow the Hongxian Emperor. The emperor'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

  Funeral procession of Yuan Shikai in Beijing

  

  

  
  Faced with widespread opposition, the Hongxian Emperor 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 the Hongxian Emperor's accession ceremony was cut on 1 March, and Yuan 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 at 10 a.m. on 6 June 1916, at the age of fifty-six.^[10][19]
  Yuan's 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.
  Yuan had a wife and nine concubines, who bore him 17 sons, but only three were of any importance. These were: 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".^{[citation needed]}
  

  Evaluation and legacy

  
  The villa of Yuan in Tianjin
  Historians in China have considered Yuan's rule mostly negatively. He introduced far-ranging modernizations in law and social areas, and trained and organized one of China's first modern armies. But the loyalty Yuan had fostered in the armed forces dissolved after his death, undermining the authority of the central government. Yuan financed his regime through large foreign loans, and is criticized for weakening Chinese morale and international prestige, and for allowing the Japanese to gain broad concessions over China.^[20]
  Jonathan Spence, however, notes in his influential survey that Yuan was "ambitious, both for his country and for himself," and that "even as he subverted the constitution, paradoxically he sought to build on late-Qing attempts at reforms and to develop institutions that would bring strong and stable government to China." To gain foreign confidence and end the hated system of extraterritoriality, Yuan strengthened the court system and invited foreign advisers to reform the penal system.^[21]
  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.^[22]
  After Yuan's death, China was left without any generally recognized central authority, and the nation's army quickly fragmented into forces of competing warlords. 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.^[23]
  

  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; Chinese: 慰亭; pinyin: Wèitíng; Wade–Giles: Wei⁴-t'ing²), and he used the pseudonym "Rong'an" (Wade-Giles spelling: Jung-an; Chinese: 容庵; pinyin: Róng'ān; Wade–Giles: Jung²-an¹). He was sometimes referred to by the name of his birthplace, "Xiangcheng" (simplified Chinese: 项城; traditional Chinese: 項城; pinyin: Xiàngchéng; Wade–Giles: Hsiang⁴-ch'eng²), or by a title for tutors of the crown prince, "Kung-pao" (simplified Chinese: 宫保; traditional Chinese: 宮保; pinyin: Gōngbǎo; Wade–Giles: Kung¹-pao³).
  

  Family

  Paternal grandfather

• Yuan Shusan (袁澍三)

Father

• Yuan Baozhong (袁保中) (1823–1874), courtesy name Shouchen (受臣)

Uncle

• Yuan Baoqing (袁保慶) (1825–1873), courtesy name Duchen (篤臣), pseudonym Yanzhi (延之), Yuan Baozhong's younger brother

Wife

• Yu Yishang (于義上), daughter of Yu Ao (於鰲), a wealthy man from Shenqiu County, Henan; married Yuan Shikai in 1876; mother of Yuan Keding

Concubines

• Lady Shen (沈氏), previously a courtesan from Suzhou
• Lady Lee (李氏), of Korean origin; mother of Yuan Bozhen, Yuan Kequan, Yuan Keqi, Yuan Kejian, and Yuan Kedu
• Lady Kim (金氏), of Korean origin; mother of Yuan Kewen, Yuan Keliang, Yuan Shuzhen, Yuan Huanzhen, and Yuan Sizhen
• Lady O (吳氏), of Korean origin; mother of Yuan Keduan, Yuan Zhongzhen, Yuan Cizhen, and Yuan Fuzhen
• Lady Yang (楊氏), mother of Yuan Kehuan, Yuan Kezhen, Yuan Kejiu, Yuan Ke'an, Yuan Jizhen, and Yuan Lingzhen
• Lady Ye (葉氏), previously a prostitute in Nanjing; mother of Yuan Kejie, Yuan Keyou, Yuan Fuzhen, Yuan Qizhen, and Yuan Ruizhen
• Lady Zhang (張氏), originally from Henan
• Lady Guo (郭氏), originally a prostitute from Suzhou; mother of Yuan Kexiang, Yuan Kehe, and Yuan Huzhen
• Lady Liu (劉氏), originally a maid to Yuan Shikai's fifth concubine Lady Yang; mother of Yuan Kefan and Yuan Yizhen

17 sons

1. Yuan Keding (袁克定) (1878–1958), courtesy name Yuntai (雲台)
2. Yuan Kewen (袁克文) (1889–1931), courtesy name Baocen (豹岑)
3. Yuan Keliang (袁克良), married a daughter of Zhang Baixi
4. Yuan Keduan (袁克端), married He Shenji (何慎基, daughter of He Zhongjing (何仲璟))
5. Yuan Kequan (袁克權) (1898–1941), courtesy name Gui'an (規庵), pseudonym Baina (百衲), married a daughter of Toteke Duanfang (托忒克·端方)
6. Yuan Kehuan (袁克桓), married Chen Zheng (陳徵, daughter of Chen Qitai (陳啟泰))
7. Yuan Keqi (袁克齊), married a daughter of Sun Baoqi
8. Yuan Kezhen (袁克軫), married Zhou Ruizhu (周瑞珠, daughter of Zhou Fu (周馥))
9. Yuan Kejiu (袁克玖), married Li Shaofang (黎紹芳, 29 December 1906 – 15 April 1945, second daughter of Li Yuanhong) in 1934
10. Yuan Kejian (袁克堅), married a daughter of Lu Jianzhang (陸建章)
11. Yuan Ke'an (袁克安), married Li Baohui (李寶慧) (daughter of Li Shiming (李士銘))
12. Yuan Kedu (袁克度), married a daughter of the wealthy Luo Yunzhang (羅雲章)
13. Yuan Kexiang (袁克相), married firstly Zhang Shoufang (張壽芳, granddaughter of Na Tong (那桐)), married secondly Chen Sixing (陳思行, daughter of Chen Bingkun)
14. Yuan Kejie (袁克捷), married Lady Wang (王氏)
15. Yuan Kehe (袁克和), married a daughter of Zhang Diaochen (張調宸)
16. Yuan Kefan (袁克藩), died young
17. Yuan Keyou (袁克友), married a daughter of Yu Yunpeng (於雲鵬)

15 daughters

See also: List of people with the most children

Famous grandsons and great-grandsons

• Yuan's grandson, Luke Chia-Liu Yuan (1912–2003) was a Chinese-American physicist.
• Yuan's great-grandson, Li-Young Lee (1957–), is an Indonesian-born Chinese-American writer and poet.