Revolution of 1912 in China - Research Paper Example

13 April Revolution of 1912 in China: 1912 is known to be that historical year whenreal history of the Republic of China began following the end of China’s last imperial dynasty, the Qing Dynasty. The 1912 Revolution is also known as the Xinhai Revolution and holds monumental importance in the history as it laid foundation for the Republic of China and also because it really ensured a dead end to China’s imperial ruling system which was active for over 2000 years. With 1912 Chinese Revolution did the Republican era begin as a consequence of myriad revolts and much pandemonium that China got subjected to 1911.

Much of the pandemonium and chaos resulted due to ineffective and failed attempted of the Qing Dynasty to modernize China in terms of female participation in politics and fulfilling the requirements of the Railway Protection Movement which concerned those Chinese people who were against the decision of the Qing government to nationalize railway development projects and transfer their control to foreign banks. Also, the decision made by the Qing government to mobilize imperial troops in an effort to oppress the people who were behind the Railway Protection Movement and the Movement for females political participation finally culminated in overthrowing the imperial rule, backfired on the Qing Dynasty itself because this action stimulated many other revolutionaries too who went ahead with their aim and never looked back (Reynolds 164).

This much is clear from the historical accounts that the 1912 Chinese Revolution began as a consequence of a large number of internal systematic disorders which rapidly got out of hand due to which a great number of revolutionaries got murdered by the imperial troops but still a great many other revolutionaries went on to ensure the death of the imperial ruling system. Actually, the revolutionaries were of this mental approach that the imperial government was doing nothing potent or significant to modernize China in accordance with the international standards rather it was keeping China from progressing rapidly into a powerful economy giant on the world map.

It was with this intention of modernizing China that the revolutionaries became fearless to openly oppose the Qing government and stand up against various atrocities committed by the imperial troops with the result that 1912 became the birth year of the Republican era. The Qing government headed by the last imperial ruler Puyi mobilized imperial troops against revolutionaries because people in large number in different states began disregarding Puyi and looking up to him as their national leader.

It is worth mentioning here that the foundation of Qing Dynasty was laid by the ethnic minority of the Manchus and in addition to the resentment people had for the government because it succumbed to the challenges set up by foreign powers, it was the ethnic resentment also towards the ethnic minority of the Manchus which played a major role in compelling many anti-Qing groups which were undercover before to mingle with the revolutionaries and aggressively overthrow the imperial government system led by Puyi.

Three circles are identified by Fairbank and Feuerwerker in which tensions developed between political leaders and revolutionaries which are the extra-bureaucratic or gentry circles, lower levels of the metropolitan bureaucracy, and the treaty ports (Fairbank and Feuerwerker 54). Works cited:Fairbank, John K and Feuerwerker, Albert. The Cambridge History of China: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986. Print. Fairbank and Feuerwerker focus on the history of the Republican Period in this second volume of the authoritative historical book.

They critically reflect on the causative factors which laid foundation of the Republican Period after overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, what chaos resulted consequently, and how those factors influenced the Chinese society back then. Both authors make a brilliant effort through this book containing historical data to describe exactly where the tensions, both social and political, formed between the political powers and public and what happened as a result. Reynolds, Douglas R. China, 1895-1912: State-Sponsored Reforms and Chinas Late-Qing Revolution : Selected Essays from Zhongguo Jindai Shi (Modern Chinese History, 1840-1919). NY: M.E.

Sharpe, 1995. Print. Reynolds throws light on late Qing revolution in China that finally resulted in beginning of the Republican era and maturely unfolds many reasons which laid the foundation for the Republican government. Many such reasons are discussed at length in this book like female rebellion which ignited as they were not given any political rights by the Qing government. In this collection of essays, the most important part is where after explaining the underlying tensions between revolutionaries and the government, the communist victory is discussed which reunified China and gave it a strong nationalist government.