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Yuan shikai previous offices

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Yuan Shih‑kai accepts Chinese throne

With war raging in Europe, conflict also reigns in the Far East between two traditional enemies, Japan and an internally divided China. On December 11, 1915, the first president of the new Chinese republic, Yuan Shih-kai, who had come to power in the wake of revolution in 1911 and the fall of the Manchu Dynasty in 1912, accepts the title of emperor of China.

Japan had declared war on Germany in August 1914, capturing the most important German overseas naval base at Tsingtao, on China’s Shantung peninsula, by amphibious assault. In January 1915, Japan’s imperialist-minded foreign minister, Kato Takaaki, presented China with the so-called 21 Demands, which included the extension of direct Japanese control over more of Shantung, southern Manchuria, and eastern Inner Mongolia and the seizure of more territory, including islands in the South Pacific controlled by Germany.

If accepted in their entirety, the 21 Demands would have essentially reduced China to a Japanese protectorate. Though Yuan, a former general and China’s president since Februa

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Yuan Shikai

First president of the Republic of China

In this Chinese name, the family name is Yuan.

General

Yuan Shikai

Yuan in 1915

Reign
12 December 1915 – 22 March 1916
Prime MinisterLu Zhengxiang
Preceded byHimself, as President
Succeeded byHimself, as President
In office
10 March 1912 – 12 December 1915
Premier
Vice PresidentLi Yuanhong
Preceded bySun Yat-sen
Succeeded byHimself as Emperor of China
In office
22 March 1916 – 6 June 1916
Premier
Vice PresidentLi Yuanhong
Preceded byHimself as Emperor of China
Succeeded byLi Yuanhong
Born(1859-09-16)16 September 1859
Xiangcheng, Henan, Qing Empire
Died6 June 1916(1916-06-06) (aged 56)
Beijing, Republic of China
Political party
Spouses
  • Yu Yishang
  • Lady Shen, concubine
  • Lady Lee, concubine
  • Lady Kim, concubine
  • Lady O, concubine
  • Lady Yang, concubine
  • Lady Ye, concubine
  • Lady Zhang, concubine
  • Lady Guo, concubine
  • Lady Liu, concubine
Children
OccupationGeneral, polit
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Yuan Shikai

Statesman or warlord? Yuan Shikai (1859–1916) has been both hailed as China’s George Washington for his role in the country’s transition from empire to republic and condemned as a counter-revolutionary. In any list of significant modern Chinese figures, he stands in the first rank.

Yet Yuan Shikai: A Reappraisal sheds new light on the controversial history of this talented administrator, fearsome general, and enthusiastic modernizer. After toppling the last emperor of China, Yuan endeavoured to build dictatorial power and establish his own dynasty while serving as the first president of the new republic, eventually declaring himself emperor. Due to his death during the civil war his actions provoked, much Chinese historiography portrays Yuan as a traitor, a usurper, and a villain. Patrick Fuliang Shan offers a wide-ranging analysis of the man’s complex part in shaping modern China. He develops a fresh account of Yuan’s life and career that introduces unique insights and challenges long-held stereotypes.

Just a single biography of Yuan has been published in Engli

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