Founding of the Republic of China

After the Wuchang Uprising succeeded, provinces declared independence one after another, and the revolution needed a unified central government. In December 1911 Sun Yat-sen returned to Shanghai from abroad. On 29 December, delegates of seventeen provinces met in Nanjing and elected Sun provisional president. On 1 January 1912 Sun was sworn in at Nanjing, proclaiming the founding of the Republic of China, with Nanjing as its capital, the Gregorian calendar adopted, and 1912 as Year 1 of the Republic. In his inaugural declaration he stated that the lands of the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui and Tibetan peoples were united as one country, and those peoples as one: the “Five Races Under One Union”. The Nanjing Provisional Government headed by Sun was then formed, with a Provisional Senate as its legislature. It issued a series of decrees to sweep away the old and bring in the new. Politically, it guaranteed democratic rights, abolished titles such as “Your Excellency” and “Master”, and banned the trade in people. Economically, it encouraged industry and protected private property. In social customs, it ordered queues cut and banned foot-binding, gambling and opium smoking. In education, it abolished the study of the classics and promoted modern schooling. These measures favored capitalist development and changed social attitudes. The founding of the Republic established the first bourgeois republic in Chinese history and planted the idea of democratic republicanism in people's minds. But the Nanjing Provisional Government lasted only briefly: facing pressure from imperialist powers and financial difficulties, Sun was forced to compromise with Yuan Shikai, and just three months later the provisional government moved to Beijing.