Understanding Yuan Shikai

Yuan Shikai Started his Rise to Power in China by serving the Qing in Korea

Sun Yat-sen handed the Presidency of the new Republic of China over to Yuan Shikai.  He hoped that Yuan would be China’s George Washington.  He wasn’t.  In fact, shortly before Yuan died, he tried to launch a new dynasty with himself as emperor.  It was deeply unpopular and triggered resistance like China’s revolution in 1911.

For decades after that, Yuan Shikai has been considered a Chinese villain.  An assassin.  A wannabe emperor.  A warlord. 

But why was he given so much power by the early republican leadership?  Why was he considered the best President for the new republic?  Why did he have so much support when he assumed the presidency of China and how did he lose it? 

Now is the time to consider this fascinating character from the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.  We’ve met him before.  He was Chinese commissioner in Korea in the years before Japan’s invasion.  He chose loyalty to the Empress Dowager Cixi over the Guangxu Emperor and helped her survive the attempt to remove her by Kang Youwei and the reformers.  And Yuan helped put the final nails in the Qing Dynasty coffin.

Who was the real Yuan Shikai?  Was he a villain?  Was he a hero?  Is he misunderstood?

(Intro music)

Yuan Shikai was born into a leading family in a poor part of Henan province, close to where Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces all meet.  Being between the Huai and Yellow rivers, this area experienced frequent floods, droughts and rebellions.  He was born in 1859, during the Nian rebellion, which coincided with the Taiping Rebellion to the south.

The Yuan family had not always been prosperous.  Originally, they were ordinary farmers.  But Shikai’s great grandfather was the first family member to obtain a degree through the imperial examination system.  The family then climbed the social and financial ladder in the Qing empire.

Shikai’s great grandfather passed the first examination and he married a well educated lady from a wealthy family.  They had four sons and one daughter.  Even though their father died at age 40, Lady Guo, their mother, ensured they devoted themselves to their studies and all the sons passed the first degree and one of them passed all three examination levels and achieved the highest degree.

In the next generation, two of them reached the highest degree, two more reached the second-degree level and many passed the first level examinations.  More than 20 Yuans obtained government positions.  They benefited from the imperial system and supported it.

The clan also continued to accumulate land and wealth.  The clan had 50,000 mu of land, which is over 8000 acres.  A mortgage firm, which lent money secured by mortgages on land was another family business, as were local stores and retail locations in Kaifeng and in Beijing.

Within a few generations, this family of farmers had become a leading clan in the area.  Shikai inherited wealth, land, social prestige and connections.  He would benefit from his relatives in government and other officials already known to the family.

But the male Yuans also inherited a tendency to die young.  It has been called the Yuan curse.  Shikai’s father died aged 40.  No previous male Yuan seems to have lived past his late 50s.  And Shikai followed a family tradition by taking concubines.  Shikai would end up taking 10 wives and fathering 32 children. 

Shikai himself was born to a concubine.  He had two older brothers born to his father’s principal wife, one of whom survived and therefore was the elder brother.  Later in life when Shikai was Governor General of Zhili province, his mother died. He wanted her buried next to her husband.  But the elder brother forbad it since she was a concubine.  Shikai had considerable imperial power then.  But as the younger brother, he had to find another spot to bury his mother.

On the day Shikai was born, his great uncle, won a decisive battle against the Nian rebels.  The great uncle held the highest degree, was a special commissioner and then governor tasked with suppressing the Nian rebellion.  Zeng Guofan, who you may recall helped defeat the Taiping rebellion with his provincial army, praised him as a solid man of talent.  Hearing of the news of the victory, Shikai’s father named the baby Shi Kai.  Kai meaning victory and shi being a character common to all his brothers and cousins and which means the world.

From his very birth, Shikai was associated with imperial strength and victory over rebels. 

He grew up in a fortified village.  At that time of rebellion, there were about 200 people living within the walls, including 50 Yuans.  It was a combination of military defence and settlement.  That’s not unlike medieval castles...but of course this was shortly after his birth in 1859.

When Shikai was 5 years old, his uncle, who only had daughters, asked Shikai’s father, who had 6 sons, if he could adopt Shikai.  Shikai was already close with that family since Shikai’s mother had not produced breast milk and his aunt had already fed him as an infant.  Now Shikai went from being the younger brother, to the only son surrounded by three mothers and five sisters.  He was doted on and spoiled by them.

He remained a devoted son to both his birth mother and his adopted family.  As already mentioned, he looked after his birth mother’s burial years later.  His letters home show that he inquired about both families.

In 1866, aged 7, Shikai followed his adopted father to live in Shandong province.  Qing policy required officials to work outside of their home province.  A degree holder was hired as a tutor to teach Shikai the classics and prepare him for his eventual examinations.  Yuan also toured historic sites and enjoyed watching plays.  He was moved by the tragic story of a loyal official who supported the emperor to his death, but whose family was then punished when that emperor was replaced by the Ming Dynasty.  Shikai enjoyed learning but was a pest to his tutor and after one trick on him, his tutor resigned.  Then his adoptive mother took charge of his education for a while.

Then in 1868, the family was posted to Nanjing, which was beginning to recover after the Taiping rebellion.  His foster father became Salt Superintendent.  Shikai’s tutor taught him both literature and martial arts.  By aged twelve Shikai knew boxing, swordsmanship and could ride wild horses.  His poems from this time were not graceful but did show Shikai’s ambitions.  He dreamed of swallowing a barbarian king in one mouthful and being a bird and flying over the earth to rescue the entire world.

While the family was in Nanjing, the governor general and benefactor of the Yuan family was assassinated. It may have related to a power struggle between Zeng Guofan’s Hunan army and Earl Li Hongzhang’s Anhui army.  Shikai’s father was busy travelling on business and Shikai, aged 10, led the family fearlessly and competently and ensured their safety during this stressful time.

One of Shikai’s tutors during this time was Shen Tianyi.  Years later, in 1909, Shen died.  Shikai paid for his reburial with his own funds and asked an official in Nanjing to assist the family.  Shikai could have strong feelings, attachment and respect for his good tutors.

As for Shikai’s behaviour during this time?  Years later, his daughter summarized it as follows.  “He was extremely smart but did not like to focus on learning.  He often played around, boxing, horse-riding, playing chess and gambling...He developed a conduct which could be called “negligence of rightful duties.”

At aged 14, his foster father died, and the memorial service was presided over by a leading statesman and a general.  At this young age, Shikai took over management of family affairs.  He hired farmers to till the land.  He rented land out and built add-ons to existing houses and coordinated family members.

From age 15-19, his focus was to pass the Civil Service Examinations.  His uncles hired famous scholars to tutor him.  He appears to have had a superb memory.  But his calligraphy skills were weak.  He did read the classics and spent much time in his studies.  His uncles were worried that he spent too much time studying and that this would impact his health.

He failed examinations at 17 and 20 years old.  It’s not clear which exams he failed.  It is possible that they were the second level examinations.  It was legal to purchase the first degree at that time and Shikai might have done so.  But try as he might, he could not pass the examinations that he did sit for.  As mentioned in the episode on the Qing Examination System, all the exams had extremely low pass rates.  Shikai seems to have been hyperactive.  That was mentioned by many of his elders during his childhood.

But he was also known to read other books.  He read broadly, including military books.  That did not help him with the examinations but would prove useful later in his life.

He also founded and funded two literary associations at that time.  They invited distinguished scholars for lectures and group discussions.  He also assisted his uncle who had been appointed by the Qing court to manage drought relief efforts in Henan province.  He rode out on horseback in freezing weather on ice and snow to investigate. His uncle died, but he continued his duties under the leadership of the provincial governor.  He pursued relief and helped identify embezzlers for punishment by the governor.  He was offered a salary but refused it since his uncle had provided funds for the same purpose and to receive payment from the governor would tarnish his late uncle’s legacy, he said.  But he did later accept the scholarly title “Secretary of the Secretariat” which was equivalent to a second level official.  So, he accepted an award that gave him rank equivalent to those who passed the second level of examinations.

During this time, he networked and met many leading men, including one future president of the Republic of China.  He impressed these officials, who praised him.

He also observed the people’s sufferings and noticed that during the drought some people would kill and sell the flesh of their relatives.  Bandits roamed everywhere.  But when official troops arrived, it was the people who suffered.  He was sensitive to what the people went through.

When he failed the examination for the second time, he was deeply embarrassed.  He felt shamed.  He decided that a great man should devote himself to the country and fight on the battlefield, rather than with a brush. 

In 1881, he joined Wu Changqing’s army, which was stationed in Shandong province.  Wu was the sworn brother of Shikai’s late adoptive father.  Shikai was treated like his son.  Wu hired two tutors for Shikai and paid him the highest salary among his soldiers.  Wu admitted he did so to return what he felt he owed to Shikai’s foster father.

While Yuan continued his studies for the examinations, he never got a chance to write it a third time.  In 1882, he followed Wu as he was transferred to Korea.  Yuan Shikai would end up staying in Korea for twelve years and building his name there.

As you may recall from the episode about Japan Growing in the East, there was considerable tension in Korea at this time, especially between China and Japan, but also with Russia.  The arrival of western traders changed Japan, China and Korea too.  Yuan Shikai was there as part of China’s efforts to keep its important role in Korea.

Traditionally, Korea was autonomous but gave tribute to China and formally acknowledged the Chinese emperor as overlord.  In practice, China rarely interfered. Now in 1882, China changed its position and became more hands-on in Korea, which was becoming a complex situation a few hundred kilometres east of China’s capital.

At this time, Korea had two main cliques.  There was a conservative and isolationist group, as well as a second group orientated around Queen Min that was more aligned with Japan and interested in modernization.

In 1882, the Imo Mutiny saw a conservative coup murder some of Queen Min’s entourage and burn the Japanese legation.  Japanese sailors arrived in Korea and China swiftly sent the army commanded by Wu, which included Yuan Shikai among the three thousand soldiers.  They only had 7 days to depart and Yuan showed himself to be an able administrator.  He arranged logistics, considered marching routes, and handled discipline.  A Korean official met Yuan before the departure and noted two things.  Yuan’s hair was prematurely graying, and Yuan astonished him with his familiarity with Korea and his profound insights into it.  Given that Yuan had little notice about the new assignment, that means that Shikai had already read up and given thought to Korea.  His extra curricular reading was already paying off.

The Chinese soldiers arrived by sea and Wu wanted the army to land at night and by surprise.  One subordinate begged for a delay because the troops were sick and tired from the journey.  He was dismissed and replaced by Yuan.  Yuan and some soldiers then inspected the coast carefully and found the best place to land. Yuan cut his feet on sharp stones as part of the reconnaissance but carried on.  One of his colleagues joked “How could a noble boy like you bear such hardship?”  Time and again, Shikai was willing to do the hands-on work.  He had ridden on horseback through ice and snow during the drought relief work, now he was doing dangerous reconnaissance work in Korea.  There would be other examples in the future too.

The troops did land successfully and suppressed the mutiny. But they had also not been active in combat since the Taiping Rebellion almost two decades earlier. They were undisciplined.  They harassed the locals, raped Korean women and seized valuables.  Shikai told Wu and warned him that this would disgrace the empire.  Wu authorized Yuan to impose discipline.  Yuan selected a few of the soldiers for public execution and made sure the Koreans knew of it.  His quick investigations and punishments garnered him praise among the Chinese and Koreans.  But some of the soldiers resented it and called him, “the executioner”. 

This too seems to be a theme in Yuan Shikai’s life.  He rigorously punished bad behaviour among officials.  Later as President, he ousted corrupt officials from their posts and replaced them with staff who would get the job done properly.

The Korean King’s father, the former regent, was at the centre of the mutiny, so China took him as a captive back to China.  Yuan played a key role.  Wu invited the man for a meeting.  Yuan then prevented his bodyguards from entering the room, saying that the conversation was top secret.  Then the former regent was detained and put on board a battleship and transported first to Tianjin and then to the military base at Baoding. 

Yuan was then involved in tracking down and capturing the mutinous troops.  It was raining heavily and Yuan got so wet that he could not sleep.  He got sick and had a high fever.  His bravery and doggedness won him attention.

Both Wu, his commander, and Earl Li, Wu’s superior, praised Yuan and he was promoted.

Qing troops remained in Korea.  Yuan appreciated Korea’s strategic importance and called it the “front gate of China”.  He believed Korea should have a strong army and he was appointed to train that army. China supplied the weapons.  Yuan selected one thousand men, wrote the training manual and then helped ensure its further growth thereafter.

Then Yuan became commander of one Qing battalion in Korea and later three battalions.  He also began to receive criticism for his overly fast promotions, his private socializing with chief minister Earl Li, for his calls for army reorganization and for showing off his talent.  Was this jealousy?

Yuan was laser focused on the situation in Korea.  The pro Japanese faction was growing, and they launched a coup in 1884.  Japan already had troops stationed in Korea because of the previous Imo Mutiny.  The faction was talking about reforms and modernization, but secretly planning on achieving it through murder of conservative leaders and seizing power by force.  Yuan caught on and ordered his troops “not to untie their uniforms and not to take off their shoes during the nighttime as if during wartime.”  He ordered the collection of intelligence to watch the other side.

When the coup came, it was sudden and violent.  A fire was deliberately set to cause disruption.  The coup leaders rushed to the royal palace and forced the king to call his conservative ministers, who were then murdered one by one as they entered.  Virtually all the conservative leadership was eliminated.  A new government was declared and it started issuing new policies. 

Yuan investigated, learned what had happened and met with the other Qing battalion commanders. They wrote to Earl Li by urgent telegraph to request more troops and to request instructions.   Without waiting for a response, Yuan wanted to intervene. The other commanders hesitated.  Only when Yuan promised to assume responsibility did they follow him.  Yuan led troops himself into the royal palace.  Even when fired upon by Japanese soldiers, he continued to advance and challenged his soldiers.  He saw Korean soldiers he had trained and urged them to join his side. Hundreds did and surrendered to the Chinese.  The Japanese fled and Yuan protected the Korean king.  The pro Japanese coup had lasted three days and ended in failure.

Japan was furious at Yuan and a Japanese Minister asked Earl Li to punish Yuan.  He did not.

The Korean King was grateful and invited Yuan to live in the royal palace.  They talked regularly and Yuan became a confidant.

The other two Battalion commanders criticized Yuan for abusing his authority in responding during the coup.  They also accused him of embezzlement because Yuan had used funds to compensate the families of Korean soldiers who had been killed.  An investigation was called and Yuan was cleared.  In fact, the investigators praised him.

In 1885, Yuan was promoted again, this time named Imperial Commissioner to Korea.  He encouraged the King to keep its strong ties with China and to be wary of Russian intentions.  He told the King that the best way to preserve Korean independence was to be close to China which had been Korea’s neighbour for centuries without endangering its independence.

He was sensitive to developments in Korea.  For example, when Korea’s Empress Dowager Cho was dying, he cabled Earl Li to dispatch a mourning envoy.  He insisted that to preserve the traditional convention, a high-ranking Manchu noble needed to attend the funeral and that the Korean king needed to receive him in the capital.  Although the Korean court wanted to abolish the practice, two Manchu nobles did come and asked for nothing and bestowed gifts.  The Koreans were pleased and the traditions continued.

When Korea introduced the telegraph, Yuan immediately noticed that the envelopes and receipts used the term Great Korea.  Yuan formally protested and Great was removed, to reinforce the status quo that Korea was a tributary of China.  Similarly, when a Great Korea coin was minted in 1893, Yuan was able to persuade the Korean Foreign Office to intervene and the coins then only referred to Korea after that.  Yuan also ensured that the Korean customs office was officially subordinate to Robert Hart, who controlled the Chinese customs office.  Korea needed funds and Yuan ensured that China offered low-interest loans to Korea.  It loaned money for construction of telegraphs and offered help with administration.  This allowed China to keep an eye on important communication in Korea.  He also encouraged Chinese merchants to move to Korea to build up trade. A shipping line with Shanghai was started. 

At the time of Yuan’s appointment as Imperial Commissioner to Korea, Japan exported three times as much to Korea as China.  Five years later, China was exporting more to Korea than Japan.

In ways like that, Yuan was able to preserve and enhance Imperial China’s rights and position with Korea. 

But Yuan also misjudged the threat coming from Japan.  In his telegraphs to Earl Li, he referred to the Japanese as “the dwarfs”.  He believed Japanese troops were weak at land battles and that China could annihilate them without any trouble.  He did not know about Japan’s war plans and believed they would not dare provoke hostilities.

He was wrong.  And as a result, Yuan contributed to China being unprepared for the first Sino-Japanese war that began in 1894 over Korea.  When the Korean revolt broke out that year, he thought Japan was only sending troops to save face and to preserve commercial ties. A Japanese Minister told Yuan that the Japanese troops would withdraw, and Yuan believed him.  It was only when he pressed the Japanese on withdrawal and got no response that he woke up to the threat. Only in late June 1894 did Yuan ask Earl Li to send more Chinese troops to Korea.  That was already too late.  Earl Li delayed further and Yuan should not be the only one blamed for China’s poor showing against Japan.  But Shikai’s overconfidence with respect to Japan was a factor in the coming defeat.

In July 1894, Yuan requested a transfer back to China.  He was feeling ill.  He was dizzy and had a fever. It seems like he internalized the danger posed to China.  He returned to China about two weeks before the declaration of war between Japan and China. 

Whatever gains Yuan had made for China in Korea were lost in the war. Japan emerged as the dominant East Asian power.  But it is also possible that if Yuan had not bravely intervened in 1884 during the pro Japanese coup that Japan might have controlled Korea ten years earlier.  Yuan might have single headedly given China ten more years of influence in Korea, even if Yuan did help lead to China’s catastrophic loss to Japan in the Sino-Japanese war.

Next episode, we’ll see what lessons Yuan Shikai learned from the Sino-Japanese war and how he became a force in modernizing China’s military.  As the father of China’s New Army, Yuan Shikai’s career would rise further.