The Republican Party () was a short-lived political party in the Republican era of China from 1912 to 1913.

History

The party was formed on 9 May 1912 in Shanghai by political groups who opposed to the

Tongmenghui The Tongmenghui of China (or T'ung-meng Hui, variously translated as Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance, United Allegiance Society, ) was a secret society and underground resistance movement ...

, and later the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang). These included the People's Association (民社), formed by mostly

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

natives (including Li Yuanhung,

Tan Yankai Tan Yankai (; ; January 25, 1880 – September 22, 1930) was a Chinese politician. Biography Tan Yankai was born on 25 January 1880 in Hangzhou during the waning decades of the Qing dynasty. He was the son of the Qing minister Tan Zhonglin ...

and Wang Zhengting) in January 1912, the Unity Party, and the National Progressive Association (國民共進會) which had been organized by supporters of

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...

in March 1912. The party included many politicians who had formerly served as officials under the deposed

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. The party's most important figures were Li Yuanhung, Zhang Jian, and

Wu Tingfang Wu Ting-fang (; 30 July 184223 June 1922) was a diplomat and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and briefly as Acting Premier during the early years of the Republic of China. He was also known as Ng Choy or Ng Achoy (). Ed ...

. On the establishment day, Zhang Jian chaired as the provisional chairman. Li Yuanhung, Zhang Jian,

Zhang Binglin Zhang Binglin (January 12, 1869 – June 14, 1936), also known by his art name Zhang Taiyan, was a Chinese philologist, textual critic, philosopher, and revolutionary. His philological works include ''Wen Shi'' (文始 "The Origin of Writing"), ...

, Wu Tingfang, and Borjigit were elected the first directors (理事). After its headquarters was moved to Beijing, Li Yuanhung was elected chairman at the general meeting. As the Republican Party supported President Yuan Shikai, he aided it in gaining a substantial number of seats in the Beijing Provisional Government's first, unelected senate and the new provincial assemblies. This resulted in a stalemate between the Kuomintang and the Republican Party, weakening the provisional senate and strengthening President Yuan's own position. Following fierce debates between the parties and much stalling, the provisional senate finally passed a number of bills which allowed for the first National Assembly election to take place in December 1912. In this election, the Republicans became the second largest party in the National Assembly behind the Kuomintang, winning 120 seats in the house and 55 in the senate. The Republican,

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; ...

, and Democratic (formerly Constitutionalist) parties later merged into the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

under

Liang Qichao Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超 ; Wade-Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu'') (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political activist, journalist, and intellectual. His thou ...

in order to balance the dominance of the Kuomintang in the assembly.

Ideology

The party's ideology was based on

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

's '' The Social Contract'', and its aims were to "uphold the united, republican politics with progressivism in order to achieve well-beings of the countrymen." It thus advocated a strong central government with great powers to ensure the unity and future progress of China. The party also supported a peaceful foreign policy.

References

Works cited

* {{Authority control 1912 establishments in China 1913 disestablishments in China Chinese nationalist political parties Conservative parties in China Defunct political parties in China Political parties disestablished in 1913 Political parties established in 1912 Political parties in the Republic of China Republican parties

History

Ideology

See also

References

Works cited