Great Han Sichuan Military Government
Great Han Sichuan Military Government 大漢四川軍政府 (Chinese) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911-1912 | |||||||||
 The "Dahan banner" | |||||||||
| Capital | Chengdu | ||||||||
| Recognised national languages | Mandarin Chinese | ||||||||
| Ethnic groups | Sichuanese people | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Sichuanese | ||||||||
| Government | Regional military government | ||||||||
• Military Governor | Pu Dianjun | ||||||||
• Deputy Governor | Zhu Qinglan | ||||||||
• Director of War (Later Military Governor) | Yin Changheng | ||||||||
| Domestic sovereignty | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established after rebellion in Sichuan, part of the 1911 Revolution | November 27, 1911 | ||||||||
• Merged with Shu Military Government to form Sichuan Military Government | April 27, 1912 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 485,000 km2 (187,000 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• Estimate | 70,000,000 (1911) | ||||||||
| Currency | Yuan | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Sichuan, China | ||||||||
The Great Han Sichuan Military Government (Mandarin Chinese: 大漢四川軍政府), sometimes called the Dahan Sichuan Military Government, was a former country located in modern-day Sichuan, that was formed during the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. It lasted for 142 days, and ended after its absorption and dissolution by the Republic of China.
History
[edit]Prelude
[edit]In 1904, a revolutionary organization called Gongqianghui was established in Sichuan, with the goal of overthrowing the Qing dynasty and re-establishing the Han-led government.[1] In late summer of 1911, multiple units of the Hubei New Army were ordered to Sichuan from the neighboring Guangdong, to quell riots caused by the new Railway Protection Movement, a movement seeking to stop the Qing government's nationalization of local railway projects. Officers of the Eight Banners, including railroad superintendent Duanfang and Zhao Erfeng, led the Hubei New Army against the Railway Protection Movement. The riots were crushed, and an uneasy peace was established in the region.[2]
1911 Revolution
[edit]On October 10, 1911, the city of Wuchang was launched into revolt by Republican, anti-Qing revolutionaries led by Xiong Bingkun. The city was captured by the next morning, where they established a headquarters and declared the Military Government of Hubei as part of the Republic of China.[3]
The success of the uprising soon stirred uprisings in other neighboring provinces, the Sichuan province among them.[4] On November 21, revolutionaries in Guang'an organized the Great Han-Shu Northern Military Government.[5][6] This was followed by an uprising the next day, when Chengdu declared independence from the Qing dynasty. By the 27th, the Great Han Sichuan Military Government had been established, led by revolutionary Pu Dianjun.[7][8][5] The Qing official Duanfang was killed in this uprising.[5]
The Declaration of Independence of the Great Han Sichuan Military Government read as follows:
The Sichuan people fought against the government for the road, and they fought fiercely and did not care about death. In less than two or three months, the world collapsed. The provinces successively declared independence, and the brilliant and glorious Great Han Independent Military Government of Sichuan was also established today. The purpose of the Great Han Sichuan Military Government is based on the world's justice, humanitarian organization and republican constitution, in order to consolidate the empire of our Great Han Federation and be boundless in the world. We should protect it together with the 70 million people of Sichuan and their descendants.
Pu declared himself Military Governor, and appointed Zhu Qinglan to serve as Deputy Military Governor. Reportedly, the reason Zhu was chosen for the position was due to the negative attitude he took regarding the use of force to suppress the Railway Protection Movement.[9] Pu also appointed another revolutionary, Yin Changheng, to the position of the Director of War.[10]
The flag of the Great Han Sichuan Military Government, called the "Dahan banner," was described as a white banner with the Chinese ideogram "Han" inside a ring, surrounded by 18 smaller rings. The exact color of the large central ring is debated, with some sources claiming it was red; while others claim it was black.[11]
Sichuan soldiers mutiny
[edit]
On December 8, Sichuan soldiers mutinied in Chengdu, dissatisfied with the delay regarding their military pay. Pu and Zhu both resigned and fled, leaving Yin in charge to stop the mutiny. Yin managed to stop the mutineers, and led his troops to attack the Governor's Gate where they captured Zhao Erfeng, executing him on the grounds of him leading the "counter-revolutionary conspiracy".[12][13] Yin had so much public support that he arose to become the military governor due to his bravery. As military governor, he promoted the reorganization of the military government, finally managing to stabilize the situation in Sichuan.[14][15][16]
Government merger
[edit]Two maor governments existed in the Sichuan region: The Great Han Sichuan Military Government and the Shu Military Government. The latter had been established in November 1911, and was led by Zhang Peijue. Yin planned to unify them by force, and invited the army of the Yunnan clique to aid in unification. Yin gave up on forceful reunification after mediation, and the Yunnan Army left Sichuan. Both governments sent representatives to Chongqing to make an agreement in January 1912. The sides eventually came to an agreement on March 21: Chengdu would serve as the political center with the Sichuan Governor's Office, with the governors of Great Han and Shu respectively serving as chief and deputy governors. Chongqing would be an important town, and a pacification office established there. The two governments officially merged on April 27, officially bringing both the Great Han Sichuan Military Government and the Shu Military Government to their ends. The new government was simply named the Sichuan Military Government.[17][18]
Yin was appointed as the military governor of the Sichuan Governor's Office, Zhang was appointed as the deputy governor, and Xia Zhishi was appointed as the chief pacification chief of the Chongqing Pacification Office.[19]
Absorption by the Republic of China
[edit]The new Sichuan Military Government existed in a region with over 10 other military governments. To the west, the rapidly-expanding Republic of China soon reached the Sichuan region. Sichuan was soon absorbed as a province of the Republic, putting an end to all of the military government in the region, including the Sichuan Military Government.[16][20]
Recognition
[edit]The Great Han Sichuan Military Government did not have any international recognition, partly due to its short lifespan. It did have recognition from fellow revolutionary governments in Qing China, including the aforementioned Shu Military Government and Yunnan clique.
References
[edit]- ^ 中国人民大学. 书报资料中心. [1982] (1982). 中国近代史, Issues 1–6. 中国人民大学书报资料社 publishing. University of California Press.
- ^ Robert H. Felsing (1979). The heritage of Han: the Gelaohui and the 1911 revolution in Sichuan. University of Iowa. p. 156. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
The railway company's chief officer at Yichang was no longer listening to company directives and had turned company accounts over to Duanfang, Superintendent of the Chuan Han and Yue Han railroads. The situation of the Sichuanese
- ^ 戴逸, 龔書鐸. [2002] (2003) 中國通史. 清. Intelligence Press. ISBN 962-8792-89-X. pp. 86–89.
- ^ Vu, Linh Dam (2017). "The Sovereignty of the War Dead: Martyrs, Memorials, and the Makings of Modern China, 1912-1949" (PDF). UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
- ^ a b c "武昌起義之後各省響應與國際調停 _新華網湖北頻道". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ 中國地圖出版社. [1991] (1991). 辛亥革命史地圖集. 中國地圖出版社 publishing.
- ^ Wang, Di (March 2012). "The Teahouse: Small Business, Everyday Culture, and Public Politics in Chengdu, 1900-1950". www.chinaheritagequarterly.org (29th ed.). Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- ^ "Photos Remember Times Past". China Daily. January 6, 2003. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- ^ Colville, Alex (2021-05-10). "'Zhu was first': The rise and fall of commander-in-chief Zhu De". The China Project. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ Xiaowei, Zheng (2018). "8. The End of Revolution: The Rise of Republicanism and the Failure of Constitutionalism". The Politics of Rights and the 1911 Revolution in China. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9781503601093.
- ^ Li, Miles (1 June 2015). "Chinese Republican Flags - 1911-12". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- ^ Xu (main ed.) (2007), p.243.
- ^ Chen (2000), pp.42-43.
- ^ "Beiyang People's History: Sichuan-Tibet Wind and Cloud (Yin Changheng) (3)". iNews. 2024-10-02. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
- ^ Chen (2000), pp.43-44.
- ^ a b Zheng, Xiaowei (2018-01-23), "8. The End of Revolution: The Rise of Republicanism and the Failure of Constitutionalism", 8. The End of Revolution: The Rise of Republicanism and the Failure of Constitutionalism, Stanford University Press, pp. 227–248, doi:10.1515/9781503601093-010/html?lang=de&srsltid=afmboopi2r5w8tawmz1n15cxfgn9n4baft4qyl91t4rohqo_euv1gmh1, ISBN 978-1-5036-0109-3, retrieved 2024-11-21
- ^ Black III, Edward Avery (2014). Weston, Dr. Timothy; Kim, Dr. Kwangmin (eds.). "The Chaotic Epoch: Southwestern Chinese Warlords and Modernity, 1910-1938."
- ^ "Sichuan - Han Dynasty, Three Kingdoms, Qing Dynasty | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ Chen (2000), pp.43-44.
- ^ "The Chinese Revolution of 1911". US Department of State. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
Footnotes
[edit]- Chen Zuwu (陈祖武), Yin Chanheng. Institute of Modern History, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2000). The Biographies of Republic People, Vol.10 (民国人物传 第10卷). Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 7-101-02114-X.
- Xu Youchun (徐友春) (main ed.) (2007). Unabridged Biographical Dictionary of the Republic, Revised and Enlarged Version (民国人物大辞典 增订版). Hebei People's Press (Hebei Renmin Chubanshe; 河北人民出版社). ISBN 978-7-202-03014-1.