The 1911 revolution has been labeled in PRC history textbooks as the "Bourgeois Revolution," a mere prelude to the more defining and transformative "Proletariat Revolution" of 1949. Contemporary historians focus on finding the seeds of destruction of the imperial order. What sealed its fate? How did the empire implode?
Like all the erstwhile state monopolies, the newly-privatized enterprises were hotbeds of corruption, the Qing court's handling of railway construction (jaw crusher and ball mill are necessary) was a basket case of greed and ineptitude(. In one case, an official embezzled the funds to speculate in usury in Shanghai and lost all. Rumors of such demoralizing scandals spread fast. Furious shareholders, big or small, took to the streets or brought their grievances to Beijing. The Qing court attempted to put the genie back into the bottle by putting princeling Duanfang in charge of nationalizing the railway. In Sichuan, one of the hot spots, his brutal crackdown further aggravated the crisis, costing not only his life (he was beheaded by the rioters) but also the dynasty.
Other than a vague idea of republicanism, the revolutionaries were disorganized and lacked mobilization skills. Ten attempts at revolution had failed and many believed that the Manchu dynasty could easily last for another 50 years. Then one day, they woke up and found the empire was no more.
Victory as something that fell unexpectedly on the laps of the revolutionaries and the defenders of the old order retreated from the stage in haste. A political science professor commented wryly that despite loud proclamations of loyalty to the emperor, martyrs were hard to find after the fall of the Qing dynasty. For many people in the countryside, China without an emperor had been unthinkable. But after 1911, life went on. The sky did not fall.
As then, a large part of the elite now realize the system is ineffective. Finding disturbing parallels 100 years ago only deepens their anxiety. History is not a feel-good business.
