Eight Great Alleys Scandals and Secrets

Author: Gao Yang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: "The Eight Great Huts of Old Beijing: Scandals and Secrets"
Main Content: During the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, the significance of the "Eight Great Huts" in the traditional concepts of Old Beijing was overturned and transformed. In 1912, Yuan Shikai stole Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary achievements, but his eighty-three-day presidency ended in failure, and his time was up. Who could continue the unfinished dream of the great era? Inside the Eight Great Huts, a series of farces unfolded, where power and money clashed, and officials conspired together. Powerful ministers neglected governance, indulged in debauchery, and infamous pork barrel legislators, within the framework of democracy, destroyed the democratic system. To prolong the dream of the great era, they bribed and bartered, turning money and beauty into bargaining chips, and even used the seizure of the Republic of China's power as a means to compete for wealth and status. The Eight Great Huts became renowned far and wide for the vibrant farces within and the dark of power elites vying for fame and influence.