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Yuan expected widespread domestic and international support for his reign. However, he and his supporters had badly miscalculated. Many of Yuan's closest supporters abandoned him, and the solidarity of Yuan's Beiyang clique of military protégés dissolved. There were open protests throughout China denouncing Yuan. International governments, including Japan, proved suddenly indifferent or openly hostile to him, not giving him the recognition anticipated.[18] Sun Yat-sen, who had fled to Tokyo and set up a base there, actively organized efforts to overthrow Yuan. Yuan'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, Yuan 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 Yuan's accession ceremony was cut on 1 March, and he 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 on 5 June 1916, at the age of fifty-six. His death was announced the following day.[9][18] His 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. He had three sons: 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. Although he trained and organized one of China's first modern armies and introduced far-ranging modernisations in law and social areas, the loyalty Yuan had fostered among his armed forces split into warlords after his death, undermining the authority of the central government. Yuan financed his regime through large foreign loans and he is criticized for weakening Chinese morale and international prestige, and for allowing the Japanese to gain broad concessions over his government.[19] 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." In order 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. [20] 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.[21] 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.[22] 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). Personal information 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 Sons Yuan Keding (袁克定) (1878–1958), courtesy name Yuntai (雲台) Yuan Kewen (袁克文) (1889–1931), courtesy name Baocen (豹岑) Yuan Keliang (袁克良), married a daughter of Zhang Baixi Yuan Keduan (袁克端), married He Shenji (何慎基) (daughter of He Zhongjing (何仲璟)) 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) Yuan Kehuan (袁克桓), married Chen Zheng (陳徵) (daughter of Chen Qitai (陳啟泰)) Yuan Keqi (袁克齊), married a daughter of Sun Baoqi Yuan Kezhen (袁克軫), married Zhou Ruizhu (周瑞珠) (daughter of Zhou Fu (周馥)) Yuan Kejiu (袁克玖), married Li Shaofang (黎紹芳) (29 December 1906 – 15 April 1945) (second daughter of Li Yuanhong) in 1934 Yuan Kejian (袁克堅), married a daughter of Lu Jianzhang (陸建章) Yuan Ke'an (袁克安), married Li Baohui (李寶慧) (daughter of Li Shiming (李士銘)) Yuan Kedu (袁克度), married a daughter of the wealthy Luo Yunzhang (羅雲章) 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) Yuan Kejie (袁克捷), married Lady Wang (王氏) Yuan Kehe (袁克和), married a daughter of Zhang Diaochen (張調宸) Yuan Kefan (袁克藩), died young Yuan Keyou (克友), married a daughter of Yu Yunpeng (於雲鵬) 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. |
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