Wuchang Uprising: China's Last Dynasty Crumbles
Revolutionary plotters in Wuchang were building bombs in a safe house on October 9, 1911, when one accidentally detonated, alerting Qing authorities. Police began arresting suspects and seized membership lists. The conspirators had no choice but to act immediately. That night, soldiers who had been recruited into the revolutionary movement seized the Wuchang arsenal and its 18,000 rifles. They persuaded a reluctant Qing military officer, Li Yuanhong, to lead them at gunpoint. Within six weeks, fifteen of China's eighteen provinces declared independence from the Qing dynasty. The Manchu court that had ruled China for 268 years crumbled in weeks. Sun Yat-sen, who had been fundraising in Denver when the uprising began, returned to China and was inaugurated as provisional president of the Republic on January 1, 1912.
October 10, 1911
115 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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