Qing Dynasty Ends: Puyi Abdicates the Throne
Empress Dowager Longyu signed the Imperial Edict of Abdication on behalf of the six-year-old Emperor Puyi on February 12, 1912, ending 2,132 years of imperial rule in China. The deal was brokered by Yuan Shikai, a powerful general who played both sides, promising the Qing court favorable terms while positioning himself to take power in the new republic. Puyi was allowed to retain his title and live in the Forbidden City on an annual stipend of four million taels of silver, creating a surreal arrangement where a deposed emperor maintained a miniature court while a republic governed the country outside the walls. Sun Yat-sen, who had been provisional president of the Republic of China, stepped aside to let Yuan Shikai assume the presidency, a compromise that kept the country from civil war but handed power to an authoritarian who would later attempt to declare himself emperor.
February 12, 1912
114 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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