Overview

Although the emperor had abdicated and a new republic had been proclaimed, there was little sense in China of a decisive political or intellectual shift in public consciousness or will. Though there were some genuine republican enthusiasts, such as Sun Yat-sen, they were hardly representative of the political classes, far less of the country as a whole. This was not an ideological revolution, but a substitution of one group of officials with another – a change of personnel rather than a change of belief systems. Though the new leaders temporarily paid lip service to the forms of republican government, many still adhered to the tenets of traditional, authoritarian government; though the ideas of Confucianism had been challenged in recent years, they were still a cornerstone of belief for the new officials who were to assume power. We can relate the history and the fluctuating fortunes of the Chinese republic through its first five years in terms of individuals – not because of their outstanding charisma, but rather because the political movements, parties and beliefs were so weak and insubstantial. After the pretence of a republic fizzled out in 1916, China descended into chaos, torn apart by rival warlords. The attempt to establish a central republican government had failed through lack of political will and the provinces resumed their dominance. The abolition of the monarchy and the imperial court was akin to cutting the head off a chicken and watching the decapitated body run in circles until it collapsed in extremis. There were no committed, powerful republicans to fill the vacuum at the top and the result was a conflicted country ruled by disparate, warring groups only interested in their own personal advancement. Until the late 1920s central government was impotent and incoherent.

This is a familiar tale in Chinese history: central government is unable to exert control over such a vast nation, and there is a descent into local strife. The two main political forces, the Guomindang (GMD) or Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at first worked together in the United Front to try and achieve concerted governmental and social reform, but their ideological differences and ambitions soon separated them.