The Time of Qing Dynasty Elders in Qingdao

Author: Lu Yong / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Zhang Xun was an openly declared restorationist, and his queue served as his trademark. Before Yuan Shikai's death, Feng Guozhang, the Jiangsu Military Governor, called for a meeting in Nanjing, attempting to establish a third faction. Yuan Shikai, upon receiving secret reports, played dirty by appointing Zhang Xun to oversee military affairs in Jiangsu and Anhui. Soon after, Yuan Shikai died, and Zhang Xun transformed Feng Guozhang's Nanjing meeting into a Xuzhou conference, attended by representatives from seven provinces: Fengtian, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Zhili, Henan, Shanxi, and Anhui. Zhang Xun delivered a speech discussing the "profound benevolence and kindness of the Great Qing Dynasty." Liu Tingschen traveled to Xuzhou again. Sheng Yun, meanwhile, sought German support by contacting German officials. Liu Tingschen, however, warned that if the Japanese learned of German support, they would oppose the restoration, making Zhang Xun view him as a trusted confidant and secretly plotting the steps for the restoration. Zhang Xun once again publicly declared, "The Republic is inferior to the Qing Dynasty, and the republican system is inferior to the monarchical system."
After Yuan Shikai's death, the Beiyang government lacked such a strong-willed figure, giving Zhang Xun an opportunity. In March 1917, Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui had a severe disagreement, known as the "Fuyuan vs. Yuanlin Conflict," or the conflict between President Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui. Under the guise of mediating the conflict, Zhang Xun led Liu Tingschen and others, along with his queue army, by train from Xuzhou to Tianjin via the Tianjin-Pukou Railway. When they arrived in Tianjin, they heard that the Japanese would not support the restoration. Despite being just a stone's throw away from the capital, Zhang Xun refused to enter Beijing. Liu Tingschen grew extremely anxious, urging Zhang Xun to seize the opportunity and sending urgent telegrams to Qing and Shanghai elders, asking them to come to Tianjin or contact Zhang Xun to "support the great cause of restoring the Qing Dynasty."
Finally, Zhang Xun led his army into Beijing, and his troops occupied key positions. Most people still believed that Zhang Xun was merely seizing political capital and in the Republic of China government. But on the late night of June 30, Zhang Xun and Liu Tingschen entered the Forbidden City, met the young Xuantong Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and proposed the "restoration of the Xuantong Emperor."
Thanks to the "Treaty of Favorable Treatment for the Qing Imperial Family," the Xuantong Emperor and his family retained most of the Forbidden City's palaces, along with eunuchs, palace maids, imperial officials, and substantial "annual subsidies." Though they had no real power, they still lived like emperors and empresses. Without real authority or military strength, they dared not attempt a restoration, but Zhang Xun and Liu Tingschen insisted on doing so and decided to restore the Qing Dynasty.
At dawn on July 1, Zhang Xun's queue army seized Beijing's train stations and telegraph office, guarded the Presidential Palace, and declared the restoration of the Qing Dynasty and the Xuantong Emperor's return to power. By then, it was the sixth year of the Republic of China, and Beijing had already adopted a republican style. On this day, orders were given to hang the "dragon flag," but few people still had them, so some had to be hastily made. Officials were ordered to wear flowered hats and red silk hats, as well as court robes and court boots, but finding these items in a short time proved difficult. Some second-hand clothing stores profited, selling old stock that had been stored away. The common people, unaware of the situation, watched the sudden changes as if watching a play.
That year, Aisin Gioro Puyi was only 12 years old. Though six years older than when he issued the "Imperial Edict of Abdication" at the age of six, he was still a child with no opinions on political matters and certainly no authority to issue "imperial decrees." It was all orchestrated by Zhang Xun and Liu Tingschen, who were known as the "one literate (Liu Tingschen) and one martial (Zhang Xun)."
At nine a.m., Zhang Xun, in the Forbidden City, stamped an "imperial seal" and issued an "imperial decree." Since it was not issued by Puyi, it was later called the "false edict." It read: "Unfortunately, I inherited the great cause at the age of four. The Xinhai Revolution broke out, and my Empress Dowager Jingti (Longyu) showed profound benevolence and kindness, unwilling to let the people suffer, and relinquished power, making it known to the world. Now, the factional disputes have escalated into armed conflict, and the country is in turmoil, with no end in sight. The people long for stability, so as requested, I will ascend the throne on the 13th day of the fifth month of the ninth year of the Xuantong era (old calendar) to hear cases and renew the nation."
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