Chapter 2 crumbling empire

On the evening of October 10, 1911, a shot was fired in a military camp in Wuchang, Hubei.It was not only the Qing Dynasty that fell with the sound of gunfire, but also the imperial system that had existed for 2,132 years. The uprising was staged hastily.We don't even know right now who fired the first shot.However, the impact and significance of this gun is extremely far-reaching.In the words of the anonymous "A Brief History of the Revolution of the Eleventh Battalion of Suzhong", that is, "as soon as the sound is heard, the autocracy falls." On October 12, all three towns in Wuhan fell into the hands of the revolutionary army.Ten days later, on October 22, Hunan declared its independence, and Shaanxi, Jiangxi and other provinces followed suit.By the beginning of December, as many as fourteen provinces had declared independence across the country, accounting for about two-thirds of the twenty-two provinces at that time (excluding Taiwan Province, which was occupied by Japan). On December 29, representatives from the seventeen provinces of Fengtian, Zhili, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Yunnan held a meeting in Nanjing , elected Sun Wen as the interim president of the government of the Republic of China.One and a half months later, on February 12, 1912, Empress Dowager Longyu issued the edict of Emperor Xuantong's abdication, and the Qing Dynasty and the imperial system withdrew from the stage of history.From the first uprising in Wuchang to the abdication of the Qing emperor, it took only half a year, which is the so-called destruction.

Interested historians can continue to research and debate who fired the first shot in the Wuchang Shouyi.Is it Xiong Bingkun, or Luo Jinyu, Jin Zhaolong, Cai Jimin? Is it in the engineering camp or the supply camp? But I don't think it is very important.Because sooner or later the shot will be fired.If it is not fired in Wuchang, it will be fired elsewhere; if Xiong Bingkun or Luo Jinyu does not shoot, someone else will shoot.To use a cliché, they are simply "doing justice for the heavens."In other words, they are doing what history requires them to do, and fulfilling the mission that history has entrusted to them.Therefore, it is better not to know who fired the first shot, because this kind of uncertainty and inconclusiveness just proves that both the Qing Dynasty and the imperial system are terminally ill and dying. With a light push, the whole line collapses, collapses suddenly, and once it overturns, it will be difficult to recover.

Why is the empire so fragile? So I thought of the Great Qin Dynasty, the founder of the imperial system.Indeed, the demise of the two dynasties has striking similarities, that is, both started from accidental events, and both were first launched by junior officers and soldiers.They "cut trees to form soldiers, raised poles to form flags", and as a result, "the whole world gathered to respond, and the scenery (shadow) followed after winning food", and finally various political forces rushed to overthrow the dynasty.In other words, Jia Yi's description in "On the Passing of Qin" can be borrowed for the fall of the Qing Dynasty, but it is not "Shandong Haojun merged and died of the Qin family", but "Partymen and warlords rose together And perish in the Great Qing."Qin was the first dynasty in the imperial era, and Qing was the last.The demise of the two dynasties were all about to collapse at the touch of a button, both of which were "one man made trouble and seven temples were destroyed (destroyed)". Is this the will of God? The will of the people?

On the surface, it is both the will of God and the will of the people. The Qin Dynasty was undoubtedly destroyed by itself, because it was too violent.Just re-read "Chen She's Family" in "Historical Records", it is not difficult to understand what it means to force the people to rebel, what it means to be desperate, and what it means to take risks.That was a forced and helpless choice.In Chen Sheng's words, anyway, he is dead (waiting to die), so why not rise up?" "The princes and generals have kindness," Yunyun, and it's second.If a dynasty pushes its own people to the point of death, or the point where only a rebellion can survive, then it is not too far away from its own death.That's why Du Mu's "A Fang Gong Fu" said that Qin, like the Six Kingdoms, dug their own graves because they didn't know how to love their people.The conclusion is very simple-"Those who destroy the six countries, the six countries are not Qin Ye; those who belong to Qin, Qin Ye is not the world".

So, can we follow suit and say, "The one who destroys the Qing is the Great Qing, not the leader of Wuchang"? Maybe, maybe not. There is evidence that the Qing Dynasty was not the worst dynasty in Chinese history.Jin is probably the worst, and Qing is at least passable.In fact, in the Qing Dynasty, there were no eunuchs arbitrating power (such as the Ming Dynasty), no foreign relatives chaotic government (such as the Han Dynasty), no broken mountains and rivers (such as the Jin Dynasty), no separatist regimes (such as the Tang Dynasty), no kings and gangsters (such as the Sui Dynasty), and no The people did not have a living (such as Qin), and there was no large area of ​​land loss (such as Song).There were also disasters and chaos in the Qing Dynasty, but most of them were border quarrels and did not shake the foundation of the country.Ethnic relations and people's livelihood are still under control, at least not like racial discrimination and ethnic vendettas like the Yuan Dynasty, or years of famine and people competing for food like the Han Dynasty.Qing, of course, has disadvantages, problems, and unpopularity, but it may not be as bad as people imagine, and it deserves death.More on this point in Chapter Six of this book.However, when the Wuchang uprising, the independence of Hunan Province, the whole country was in turmoil, and the Qing royal family was at a loss, but almost no one was willing to stand up and give the court a hand.Not only is Yuan Shikai, who is most likely to "recover Wuchang and rejuvenate the dynasty", "taking the bandit's self-respect" and taking the opportunity to ask for a price; life and death.Less than two months after the Wuchang Uprising, fourteen provinces declared independence.It can be seen that the military, civilian, officials and gentry in these provinces have regarded the Qing Dynasty as a sunken ship. Only people abandoned the ship to escape, and even "take advantage of the fire to rob", but no one rescued them.As a result, a single spark can start a prairie fire, and the difficulty of one man becomes a catastrophe.There is one detail that may be very telling.On the evening of the first uprising in Wuchang, Luo Ziqing, the team officer of the engineering battalion, had a conversation with Xiong Bingkun.Luo Ziqing said that the wind outside today was very bad, and asked Xiong if he knew.Xiong replied, "I heard that Thirty Biao is going to riot tonight."Luo Ziqing asked if the person who caused the incident was the "Sun Party" (revolutionary party), and Xiong Bingkun replied: "Now all the political parties are convinced of Sun Wen, and they are convinced that he is the Sun Party." Moreover, Xiong Bingkun also told Luo Ziqing that people's wisdom is becoming more and more popular, and everyone hates it. Despotism, support the republic.This time the eight towns come together, and the provinces will respond, so it will definitely succeed.After hearing this, Luo Ziqing said: "Bingkun, I have something to do tonight, so I'm not in the camp, so please take care of it." After finishing speaking, he ran away, actually handing over the military power automatically.

This confirms the statement of Huguang Governor Ruicheng.Not long after the uprising broke out, this person fled to the Chuyu military ship with his family, and sent a secret telegram to the cabinet and Wang ministers late that night, saying: "The army has two hearts. Heresy, refuse to fight." Originally, as a border minister who fled the battle, Ruiyu naturally wanted to try his best to shirk responsibility, but these words may not be all false, at most they are slightly exaggerated. Therefore, some historians asserted that the Qing Dynasty had "lost the hearts of the people".

In the abstract, this can also be true.The question is, why did the Qing Dynasty "lost the hearts of the people"? Why did it lose, where did it lose, and when did it lose it? It cannot be said that the Qing Dynasty lost the hearts of the people long ago, nor can it be said that its "national calamity" never There is no one to save them, let alone this kind of reluctance to save them is only due to the ethnic hatred and gloating between the Man and Han. In July 1851, the "God Worship Association" led by Hong Xiuquan revolted in Jintian, Guangxi. Two months later, Yong'an was conquered, the "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" was established, and the kings were registered.In the following year, he broke through the siege and went north, captured Wuchang in early 1853, and occupied Nanjing in March of the same year.The Jiangnan area also fell for the second time. As the saying goes, "If one man is in trouble, a spark can start a prairie fire", and the Qing Dynasty was hit hard.From 1851 to 1864, during the thirteen years, the ground was agitated, the flames of war were everywhere, and Shenzhou was turbulent.The Taiping army fought north and south, conquering cities and territories, and was invincible. The war spread to 16 provinces and 600 cities, and they approached Tianjin.At this critical time of life and death, the military, civilian, officials and gentry from all over the country did not sit idly by, let alone take advantage of the chaos to carve up the world.As a Han Chinese, Zeng Guofan rose up as a "King of Diligence" with a humble position, and built a powerful army (the Hunan Army) by relying on the "regimental training" of the militiamen and bravery. Bring back the defeat for the Qing Empire.In fact, all the "famous generals of Zhongxing" who rose up in this war were Han scholar-bureaucrats who adhered to the principles of Confucius and Mencius, such as Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, and Hu Linyi.The Han people did not regard the Qing Dynasty as their own dynasty.

So, this time, why is no one doing Zeng Guofan? Yuan Shikai had his own reasons for not being Zeng Guofan - being the president of the "Republic of China" was certainly more attractive than being a famous minister of the "Great Qing Empire".There are other reasons for other people not to be Zeng Guofan, and sympathy for the revolution is one of them.After the Uprising in Wuchang, the imperial court intended to send the 20th Town of the New Army to the south to fight against it, but Zhang Shaozeng, the commander (division commander) of the town, convened a meeting and said: "The change in Hubei is to eradicate autocracy and realize a republic. They belong to compatriots, and they will all support them." If you rush to suppress, it will be "victory, self-mutilation, defeat, death without name".As a result, instead of fighting the revolutionaries, the general of the Qing army launched a military remonstrance in Luanzhou on October 29, proposing 12 political platforms to force the Qing court to make concessions.The sentiment of the people at that time can be seen from this.This is really a time and a time.Although the 1911 of the Wuchang Shouyi and the 1851 of the Jintian Uprising were both Xinhai years, the two "Xinhai" cannot be "same day".This Xinhai is not that Xinhai, and Sun Yat-sen is not Hong Xiuquan.Sun Yat-sen and the Revolution of 1911 represented a republican ideal that could give hope to the Chinese people, but Hong Xiuquan did not.Therefore, if those insightful people who worry about the country and the people are asked to choose, the conclusion is self-evident: between the Qing Empire and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, they would rather choose the former; between the Qing Empire and the Republic of China, they would choose It may choose the latter.

In fact, the lack of public opinion in the Qing Dynasty lies in this, that is, it is not lost in politics but in institutions.The dissemination of republican ideas made Chinese people know for the first time that there is another system in the world, and we can also have another choice.This is a republic, a constitutional government, and a democracy.It was democracy, constitutionalism, and republic that enabled the "Minor Island barbarians" like Britain and Japan to defeat our "great country of heaven".Therefore, if you want to "enrich the country and strengthen the species", you must "eradicate autocracy and realize a republic".Since the Qing Dynasty was associated with the autocratic system, its demise is not a pity.If the Qing Dynasty had self-knowledge, could reflect on itself, quickly reorganize the system, and implement reforms, that would be fine. However, it was slow to respond, blindly procrastinating, backtracking, lacking in sincerity, and repeatedly breaking trust with the people.So, who else is willing to help this "Liu Adou who can't be helped"?

There is no doubt that the above understanding of the republic now seems too superficial.But at that time, it was enough to subvert the inherent imperial power and monarchy concepts in the minds of Chinese people.In those years at the beginning of the 20th century, many people felt enlightened.They feel that they have seen through everything—both the Qing Dynasty and the autocracy.The conclusion is: as an autocratic regime, the Qing Dynasty will never voluntarily give up its absolute power.The only option is revolution.Obviously, without republican thought, there would be no Wuchang First Uprising; without Wuchang First Uprising, there would be no death of the Qing Dynasty.In this way, the death of the Qing Dynasty was not caused by the system?

In fact, the death of Qing is also different from the death of Qin.The death of Qin was the death of a dynasty, but Qing was not.As a dynasty, it was not at the end of its rope.The state of people's livelihood is neither "officials forcing the people to rebel", nor is the Empress Dowager Cixi who is actually in power "a king of subjugation".The death of Qin was due to tyranny, and neither was Qing.Of course, as an autocratic dynasty, the Qing Dynasty naturally had some violence (such as the literary inquisition), but it was not necessarily violent in other dynasties (for example, the punishment of beheading was abolished by the Qing people, and Lingchi was abolished in the 31st year of Guangxu).Within the framework of the imperial system, the Qing people have already done a good job.However, after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, the system it created did not disappear with it. On the contrary, it lasted for more than two thousand years, so that "a hundred generations practiced Qin politics", but the Qing Dynasty took this system into the grave.Therefore, Qing and Qin are not the same.Qin, although dead still exists, it died tragically; Qing, powerless to return to heaven, it died uselessly. Perhaps, only the death of Yin and the death of Zhou can be compared with it.The downfall of Yin was the downfall of culture, that is, human culture defeated ghost culture; the downfall of Zhou was the downfall of system, that is, the imperial system replaced the state system; the downfall of Qing was a combination of both, which was the downfall of culture. , is also the death of the system.The question is, why did the imperial system die? In a sense, the empire killed itself.In fact, since the day of its establishment, the imperial system has left hidden dangers for itself, planted fetal poison, and planted the root of disaster.Only because of the self-healing function of dynastic change, and because of the lack of a radically reformed external environment, it has lasted for more than two thousand years.However, on the eve of the Revolution of 1911, the Qing Dynasty was in trouble both at home and abroad, and many shortcomings had accumulated.Facing the new culture and system, it has neither the power to parry nor the power to fight back, and there is no way to save itself.So the first shot of the Wuchang Shouyi became the last straw that broke the camel's back.However, is the imperial system really useless? If it is really useless, why was it created, recognized by our nation, lasted for such a long time, and would not have come to an end without Western learning? Of course the system is important Yes, but the system does not determine everything, because it is also determined by other factors.There must be many reasons for the birth of a system and its effectiveness; and for a new system to replace the old system and succeed, it also needs economic, social, cultural, and historical prerequisites and conditions.This is proved by the fact that after the abolition of the imperial system, our nation did not immediately move towards a republic, but went through a difficult and tortuous road and paid a heavy price for it. The experience of history is worth noting, and rational reflection has always been necessary.It’s just that here, what we have to reflect on is not only the Qin Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, but the entire imperial system, the logic and destiny of the empire. Of course, things have to start with the establishment of the Great Qin Empire.