On November 15, 1908, Empress Dowager Cixi, who had been in charge of the Manchu Qing Dynasty for nearly 50 years, died. A day before that, the Guangxu Emperor also died. After that, Puyi succeeded to the throne at the age of three. Puyi's biological father, the brother of the Guangxu Emperor and the Prince of Alcohol, Zaifeng, served as regent and held great power.
In the years before Empress Dowager Cixi's death, the rule of the Qing Dynasty, although in crisis, was at least superficially sustainable. After the Eight-Power Alliance's invasion of China in 1900, the Qing Dynasty as a whole did not have a particularly large crisis, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty had a relatively stable life for several years. Although the League and other anti-Qing revolutionary organizations continued to launch uprisings, they were all smaller in scale and were easily suppressed. It seems that Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionaries are not worried. But why did Zaifeng reign for only three years before the Qing Dynasty collapsed?
In my opinion, the rapid demise of the Qing Dynasty was not only due to the revolt of the revolutionaries, but more importantly, to a series of erroneous policies during the Zaifeng administration. In particular, he did not manage his relations with the Han bureaucracy.
Since the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Han bureaucratic landlords have become the mainstay of the Qing Dynasty. Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, and others helped the Qing Dynasty suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and later, they led a series of reforms such as the Foreign Affairs Movement. Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong, Yuan Shikai, and other Han ministers all held high positions and held important positions, playing an important role in the political situation of the late Qing Dynasty. But after Zaifeng came to power, he changed this situation. Zaifeng only trusted the Manchu nobles, not the Han ministers.
The first major thing Zaifeng did after coming to power was to remove Yuan Shikai from his post. After Li Hongzhang's death, Yuan Shikai had gradually become one of the most powerful Han bureaucrats and an important leader of the Han bureaucracy. Zaifeng and others were not wise to depose Yuan Shikai because of a personal vendetta (they even tried to kill Yuan Shikai to avenge Guangxu). This practice not only offended Yuan Shikai and his Beiyang clan, but also caused uneasiness among the entire Han bureaucracy.
Of course, Yuan Shikai's authority is too heavy, and it is necessary to restrict it. Compared with Zaifeng, Empress Dowager Cixi's approach was obviously more sophisticated. Empress Dowager Cixi transferred Yuan Shikai to the central government and served as minister of military aircraft and shangshu of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (previously Yuan served as the governor of direct subordination and minister of Beiyang). This move made Yuan Shikai leave his territory and army to deal with foreign affairs that he was not good at. This is undoubtedly a more secure approach. However, Zaifeng and others simply and rudely deposed Yuan Shikai, and even wanted to kill Yuan.
In addition to Yuan Shikai, Han courtiers like Zhang Zhidong were not trusted by Zaifeng. In October 1909, Zhang Zhidong fell ill and died of anxiety about state affairs.
After dealing with and squeezing out Yuan Shikai and other Han ministers, Zaifeng also arranged a large number of Manchu imperial relatives and state relatives to important posts. By August 1910, there was only one Han minister in the Military Aircraft Department, and three Manchus.
In terms of military power, Zaifeng only trusted the Manchu nobles. Zaifeng himself served as the Grand Marshal of the National Navy and Army on behalf of the Emperor, his younger brother Zaixun served as the Minister of the Admiralty, another younger brother Zaitao served as the Minister of Military Affairs and commanded the Janissaries, Manchu Mengchang served as the Minister of The Army, and Zaizawa was responsible for training the new army. Zaifeng tried to firmly hold the military and political power of the whole country in his own hands and in the hands of the Manchu Qing nobles.
Zaifeng's eagerness to strengthen the centralization of power is understandable. However, the Manchu Qing nobles at that time lacked talents to command the new army and handle the new policy. These people hold important positions and do not win the hearts and minds of the people. For example, after the Wuchang Uprising, Zaifeng sent the Minister of War Meng Chang to lead the Beiyang New Army to suppress the uprising. However, Meng Chang was unable to command the new army established by Yuan Shikai.
Zaifeng also wanted to regain the military power in the hands of the local governors, but this was resisted by them. Local governors also had the responsibility of suppressing the anti-Qing uprising, and Zaifeng did not dare to force it too fiercely. In the end, Zaifeng did not grasp the military power at all, but seriously offended the feudal officials in various places.
In the final analysis, Zaifeng did not recognize the situation. He also thought that the Manchu Qing were as invincible as the Emperor Taiji, Kangxi, and Yongzheng periods, and fantasized that the Manchu nobles could monopolize power. But times have changed, and the Eight Flags are already overwhelmed. The Manchu Qing Dynasty had neither talent nor an army, and it was even more unpopular. For the Manchu court to survive, it had to delegate power to Han bureaucrats. Zaifeng, however, wanted to strengthen the centralization of power and exclude Han ministers, which was a dead end for himself.
As for the constitutionalists, Zaifeng did not appease them. Most of the constitutionalists were locally prestigious and wealthy gentry. They still had hopes for the Qing Dynasty, and the constitutionalists demanded certain political reforms, the implementation of a constitutional monarchy, and the opportunity to participate in political affairs. For a Han bureaucrat like Yuan Shikai, who has military power, Zaifeng and others are unwilling to share power, so how can they share power with these unarmed constitutionalists? In the end, Zaifeng and others created a "royal cabinet", of the thirteen cabinet ministers, there were only 5 Han ministers, 8 Manchus, and 5 of the 8 Manchu ministers were members of the imperial family. This practice undoubtedly seriously violated the ideal of "constitutional monarchy" pursued by the constitutionalists, and made them intolerable and gradually abandoned the Qing government. After the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising, many constitutionalist figures joined the anti-Qing camp.
Zaifeng and others squeezed out and attacked Yuan Shikai and other high-level Han bureaucrats, and lost the support of the local gentry of the Han nationality, leaving the Manchu ruling clique in an unprecedented isolation situation, and the demise of the Qing Dynasty was inevitable.
If Zaifeng had adhered to the line of Empress Dowager Cixi, shared power with Han ministers, stabilized Han bureaucratic leaders such as Yuan Shikai, and reformed appropriately to appease the local constitutional gentry, the Manchu Qing would have lasted more time. The final outcome of the Manchu Qing Dynasty will also be better, maybe it can be mixed with the result of a "constitutional monarchy".
Author: He He