Recently, the U.S. destroyer in the South China Sea met China's Liaoning ship, and from the pictures, the two sides kept a certain distance, but the Liaoning ship could still be clearly seen. And the American soldier was watching with his thighs crossed, as if nothing was wrong. Seeing this, this reminds us of the Qing Dynasty, when the United States first came to China to get benefits from here. In 1784, the American merchant ship "Queen of China" came to Guangzhou to trade, and Sino-American exchanges began. By 1844, China and the United States had signed the unequal Treaty of Wangxia, which was also the beginning of official exchanges between the two countries.
After the exchanges between China and the United States, the Qing Dynasty was always squeezed by the United States for profit. As the Qing Dynasty declined, the United States grew stronger. Among the many powers, the strength of the United States is already very high. Entering the beginning of the 20th century, the Qing Dynasty at this time was worried about internal and external troubles. By 1911, the Xinhai Revolution broke out, and the movement swept through china, and many provinces supported the Xinhai Revolution. Eventually, the Qing Dynasty collapsed and entered the Republic of China period. In the face of the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, why didn't the great powers intervene? In fact, these powers are on the sidelines, so they choose to be "neutral" and they will only trade with the winners. In the late Qing Dynasty and the revolutionary army, there was only one victor.
What is the attitude of the United States in this movement? As early as the eve of the Xinhai Revolution, the political situation in the Qing Dynasty had attracted great attention from the world, because there were their interests here. European countries fear a resurgence in China, a xenophobic movement like the Boxer Rebellion. But American diplomats in China held different opinions, and in 1910, the American chargé d'affaires in China, Felezi, believed that there would be no more such xenophobic insurrections in China. He summed it up: Apart from opposing foreigners' exploitation of China's resources, I have seen neither an increase in antipathy toward foreigners nor an impending riot.
But Ferrezzi was also worried because he saw that China was going through a crisis, a campaign against the imperial court. Because in 1905, Sun Yat-sen established the League, and a series of uprisings followed were all around the Qing government. This put the Qing government in danger of collapse. Although these uprisings failed, they exposed people's dissatisfaction with the Qing government, which also became Felezi's concern. However, in 1910, the rice rush and the emergence of slogans promoting the expulsion of foreigners once made American diplomats nervous. It was not until the incident subsided that the United States was relieved.
Before the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, the United States was very concerned about the political situation of the Qing Dynasty, because there were many factors that produced uncertainty. With the development of time, the United States had a premonition that a large-scale uprising would break out in the Qing Dynasty. In particular, Sun Yat-sen's overseas wanderings, he was trying to gain the support of the great powers, and he dissuaded the great powers from borrowing from the Qing government. The United States has learned that the Manchu Qing Dynasty has lost the hearts and minds of the people. All indications are that the United States has anticipated the outbreak of revolution in the Qing Dynasty, so it has sent more warships to the coast of China to make all-round preparations. But the United States did not expect that the Manchu Qing Dynasty would collapse, because the previous uprisings were suppressed by the Qing government.
On October 10, 1911, an uprising broke out in Wuchang, and the Xinhai Revolution began. Soon, the Qing government was overwhelmed, and on February 12, 1912, the Qing court abdicated, and the Qing Dynasty collapsed. On January 22, Britain, France, Russia, and Japan were in favor of the Qing court's abdication, while the United States chose not to interfere. In fact, the situation has been tilted in favor of Sun Yat-sen, and with the role of Yuan Shikai, these powers have made the right choice. Yuan Shikai's coercion and temptation made Empress Longyu finally choose to abdicate.
The attitude of the United States toward the Xinhai Revolution deviated, and he characterized the uprising as having the same nature as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Moreover, the United States refused to support and recognize the revolutionary army, and after the Wuchang Uprising, Sun Yat-sen wanted to win the support of the United States, but the United States refused. So far, during the Xinhai Revolution, the United States has always maintained a neutral state, and when Sun Yat-sen sought assistance from European countries, the United States also refused to provide assistance. In the eyes of the United States, the Qing government was a legitimate government, and it signed many treaties with the Qing Dynasty, and the United States was also worried that the new government would destroy the previous interests.
With the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, U.S. diplomats in China have different attitudes. Beijing's distrust and lack of authority, while those in Shanghai and Hong Kong support Sun Yat-sen. It was not until Yuan Shikai seized power that the United States attached importance to the leader of the Beiyang government. Throughout the Xinhai Revolution, the United States always remained neutral, although it foresaw that the Qing Dynasty would break out of the revolution, but did not anticipate the outcome, and the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the United States could only accept the reality and re-cooperate and communicate with the new government.