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The End of the Empire （5）
The Revolution of 1911 |
| CCTV.COM 2002-08-01 10:08:48 |
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The smoke of gunpowder had dispersed. Wuhan was overwhelmed by joy.
The success of Wuchang Uprising shocked the Qing court, which quickly ordered Beiyang Army to press forward to Wuhan. This was the prelude to a real armed contest.
 On Oct. 18, the battle to protect Wuhan began. 10 days later, Huang Xing arrived at Wuhan to take command. Confronted with Beiyang Army and its fine training and equipment, Wuhan was under great pressure. Soon, Hankou and Hanyang fell into enemy hands.
Vigorous arguments over whether they should give up Wuchang arose among the revolutionaries and no agreement was reached. When the meeting ended, disappointed Huang Xing boarded a boat and left for Shanghai.
On Nov. 4, two days after Hankou was lost to the enemy, Shanghai was recovered. Representatives from independent provinces gathered there to prepare for the setting up of a provisional government of the Republic of China.
On Dec. 1, 1911, one Australian reporter dispatched the following news to the whole world: "A heated battle broke out early this morning between a city and a mountain." He indicated the city of Nanjing and the Purple Mountain.
Xu Shaozhen, commander－in－chief of Jiangsu－Zhejiang revolutionary army, started his attack on Nanjing in November. He took Tianbao City, the Terrace of Raining Flowers and then launched a general offensive at Nanjing from Purple Mountain.
Foreseeing his defeat, garrison general, Zhang Xun of Qing, fled without fighting back. 6 years later, this troop with only 2,000 men, still wearing pigtails, tried to restore the Qing court in Beijing.
When Nanjing was recovered, Zhang Qian, chairman of Jiangsu Consultative Assembly, sent men to show his appreciation of the Jiangsu－Zhejiang revolutionary army. The attitude of this important political figure had decisive influence. Conservative constitutionalists no longer cherished illusion over the Qing government. One after another they showed their support for the allied forces and the setting up of a republic. The citizens of Nanjing rejoiced. Finally, the Republic of China was about to choose its site.
Shanghai revolutionaries' proposal of making Nanjing the site of the provisional government won unanimous support. A meeting of provincial representatives was convened in Shanghai on Dec. 4.
 Li Yuanhong was elected generalissimo and Huang Xing his associate. Huang Xing didn't take office, for he got news that a man commanding public respect and support was returning to China. He was Sun Yat－sen. On Jan. 1, 1912, the Republic of China was established. Sun Yat－sen took office as provisional president, Li Yuanhong the vice－president, and Huang Xing, army chief－of－staff. With the birth of a republican political body, China entered into a new era.
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Editor: Liu Baoyin CCTV.com
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