The Kuomintang won a majority of seats and Song became de facto parliamentary leader. Song Jiaoren led the Kuomintang’s national campaign and elections were held over the course of two months from December 1912 to January 1913. Although Sun was elected as party chairman, he became aloof from politics and instead spent his time promoting national development. On Augthe Kuomintang was officially founded in Beijing. Sun and his allies now worked to transform the revolutionary Tongmenghui into a national political party that could stand in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Yuan was sworn in as president in Beijing on March 10th, marking the beginning of the Beiyang Republic. Sun agreed to cede the presidency to Yuan once the Qing government had formally abdicated and the country stabilized. On December 29th Sun was elected provisional president, and three later on January 1st, 1912 he declared the establishment of the Republic of China.Īlthough the Tongmenghui had been a major force in the success of the Xinhai Revolution, it was widely agreed that the defection of ex-Qing general Yuan Shikai was the decisive factor. The Tongmenghui led the way in organizing a provisional government, first in Shanghai and later in Nanjing. When the provincial army in Wuchang mutinied against the Qing authorities, beginning the Xinhai Revolution, it quickly aligned itself with the broader revolutionary movement. Nonetheless, Manchu control over China was fading rapidly. Though initially successful, it was put down by Qing soldiers with great bloodshed. After months of preparation in Malaysia, the Tongmenghui staged a second major uprising in Guangzhou on April 27, 1911. The group published its own newspaper and established chapter among the overseas Chinese.Ī number of smaller uprisings were attempted without success. The Tongmenghui eventually included many future leaders of the KMT such as Song Jiaoren, Huang Xing, Hu Hanmin, and Wang Jingwei. On August 20th 1905, a meeting of revolutionaries in Tokyo resulted in the merger of the Revive China Society with several other organizations to form the Tongmenghui (Chinese United League). Sun’s travels in Europe and Japan put him in contact with members of the foreign-educated Chinese intelligentsia. In 1900, another attempt at revolt in Huizhou failed, and Yeung was assassinated by the Qing the following year. Sun traveled across the United States and to Europe where he gained more exposure to Western ideas. The revolutionaries spent their time traveling to overseas Chinese communities in Japan, Hawaii, North America, and Southeast Asia, founding new chapters and raising funds for more uprisings. Under pressure from the Qing government, Britain expelled the Society’s leadership from Hong Kong. In October of 1895, Sun and Yeung plotted for an uprising to take place in Guangzhou, but the plot was discovered by authorities and foiled.
The Revive China Society’s principal aim was to overthrow Manchu rule and promote Chinese modernization. He returned to Hong Kong the next year to merge his fledgling group with Yeung Ku-wan’s Furen Literary Society. Sun had participated in revolutionary circles in Hong Kong and traveled abroad to seek financial support from the Chinese diaspora. The Kuomintang can trace its heritage back to the Revive China Society, founded in Honolulu, Hawaii on Novemby Dr.