Deciphering Towards the Republic – We Begin at the End

When did the long history of empire in China finally end? Usually, people name the year 1912 when Puyi first abdicated to the Republic of China. Some people may bring up Yuan Shikai‘s short-lived and not-at-all legitimate Empire of China (1915-1916). Others may bring up the Manchukuo puppet state propped up by Japan prior to and during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The most cynical may say it has not yet ended.

Scarcely anyone, I think, would care to mention Zhang Xun‘s attempted reinstatement of Puyi in 1917, which lasted barely a week and went unrecognized by anyone outside the Forbidden City.

All things in history happen twice, first as tragedy, and then as farce. This quote, attributed to G.W.F. Hegel, is best known in both China and the West due to Karl Marx‘s The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. Personally I don’t put much stock in Marx’s historiography. Indeed I find even his original application of the quote to Napoleon III a tad unfair. But on endeavors to restore the Chinese empire, this aphorism is singularly apt, with each next attempt more farcical than the last.

So why does Towards the Republic decide to close on this moment of the 1917 Manchu Restoration, an event of little ultimate significance? Why not conclude at a more pivotal moment, such as Yuan Shikai’s death, or give us some more concrete details about the Warlord Era to follow? Ending it this early is actually quite awkward, since we don’t see any true resurgence of Sun Yat-sen. As one of the show’s central characters and a household name, one should expect Sun’s arc to take us at least to the point where the KMT was re-established in October 1919. As it is, the plot has him accomplishing very little since failing in the Second Revolution.

Obviously no definitive answers can be found except from the showmakers’ mouths, but my own belief is that they simply pushed it as far as they could possibly get away this.

You see, what is being omitted by the show is the global perspective. The show ends in the year 1917 when Europe is embroiled in World War I. Part of the disagreement between Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui was actually about whether to join the war on the side of the Triple Entente. After dismantling Zhang Xun’s efforts to restore the Qing Empire, Duan Qirui took power and then got his way and China committed 140,000 laborers to the Western Front. This earned China a seat at the Treaty of Versailles, which in turn led to the May Fourth Movement, a large scale student and worker protest against the unfair treatment of China by the Allies, who transferred interests of Shandong from Germany to Japan despite China also helping to win the war.

The May Fourth Movement is a much, much bigger deal than the Manchu Restoration, and would be impossible for the show to omit if it were to make it to 1919. So is it okay to portray the movement? Well, on the one hand, it is certainly deemed part of the good and proper narrative of the people’s struggle for self-determination, and is still taught in the regular curriculum as an example of popular movements against the Beiyang government. On the other hand, as a student demonstration for democratic principles (among other things), it is a potentially sensitive topic, which if told badly could easily draw uncomfortable comparisons to protests in which the targeted regime was the People’s Republic, in particular the June Fourth Incident. For that reason, I can certainly understand why the show, which already danced on the edge of what was acceptable, chose to end it there rather than play with fire even further.

This leads to a common question posed about Towards the Republic: was this show ever banned by the CCP? Despite what is common asserted on the internet, the truth leans mostly to a soft no. The show originally saw broadcast on CCTV Channel 1, literally the most prestigious place it could have aired. There were small cuts to many sections of the show, most notably in the last episode where large chunks of Sun Yat-sen’s final speech were cut out, and then this text crawl was added:

March 12, 1925
Mr Sun Zhongshan passed away
His last words were:
“The revolution has not yet succeeded. My comrades must persevere”

Responsibility for forging the republic
Historically and inevitably fell upon
The shoulders of the Chinese Communist Party

The great and adamant Chinese Communists
In order to fulfill our ethnic dream
Conducted the Land Reform Movement
Surviving the Second Sino-Japanese War
And the War of Liberation
They finally led the Chinese people to create
A truly democratic People’s Republic

Despite the censored segments, the show was deemed very contentious for its portrayal of some historical figures. This was then the pretext given for the show never being re-aired in Mainland China, which is quite unusual for a show of its caliber, popularity, and budget (over 40 million RMB).

However, the show was never prevented from being distributed by VCD, DVD, or streaming services. It is still easily accessible in China for those seeking it out, though the domestic versions keep the same censorship ommitted from the international versions. This makes sense since as a large-scale domestic production with politically sensitive content, the show is considered heavily vetted, with every line in the script having been approved by party officials. To ban it outright would be to slap one’s own face.

What I do personally believe is that what was considered merely toeing the line twenty years ago is now strictly in the territory of crossing it. By observing the degree of censorship that takes place today, I can say with some confidence that this show could be produced in 2003 but not in 2023, and they would probably happily go back and ban it if not for the aforementioned reason, and the new attention it would immediately draw.

Indeed, there are just too many quotes in the the show that could come off as subtle pokes of the current regime, especially in the later half during the republican era. This in spite of the fact that the storytelling is already being hamstrung for that period, with a lot more ommissions and unapproachable subjects than the preceding Qing dynasty. Some of these lines would feel particularly stinging today.

It takes some nerve to call yourself emperor in a republic

Thus, I do not begrudge the show for stopping rather abruptly where it does. Rather, I consider it another signal, perhaps even a silent protest, from the showmakers for voicing their true message. Some of the boldest statements made by the show can only be found in what’s left unsaid.

Towards the Republic. English Captions and Annotations. Episode 68

(1) This is the first time the show uses the name Beiping (北平) to mean Beijing (北京). Beijing is a city that went through many names. The name Beiping was first created by Zhu Yuanzhang after taking this capital from the Yuan dynasty, which they called Khanbaliq or Dadu (大都). The Republic of China renamed the city to Beiping in 1928. That means it is quite anachronistic for the name to be used in this scene, but I think the show invokes it because it’s a familiar name emblematic of the chaos of the Warlord Era, the origin of which can be traced back to the death of Yuan Shikai. In truth after 1918 the Beiyang government officially recognized the city as Jingdu (京都), which incidentally are the same characters used in Japanese for Kyoto.

(2) The original text, from the Analects, is “Hui does not benefit me. He questions nothing that I say” (回也非助我者也，于吾言无所不说). Here Hui refers to Yan Hui, who is often considered Confucius‘ best and favorite disciple. Yet in this particular quote, Confucius seemed to lament Yan Hui’s inability to disagree with his teacher.

(3) Empress Dowager Longyu, who was empress to Emperor Guangxu, died in 1913. Thereafter, the palace was ruled by the dowager consorts, former concubines to Guangxu. During the Manchu Restoration of 1917, the Last Emperor was 11. It would be another 2 years before he came under the tutelage of Sir Reginald Johnston.

(4) The ill-fated Manchu Restoration lasted all of 12 days. After it failed, Puyi was not evicted from the Forbidden City, nor were the Articles of Favorable Treatment immediately abolished. Both of these things would happen in 1924 when the warlord Feng Yuxiang took the capital. However, it is impossible to say that Qing acquiscence to Zhang Xun didn’t have some effect in this.

(5) It is weird to get into it in the very last episode, but Sun Wen also went by many names. In English he is best known as Sun Yat-sen, where Yat-sen transliterates the Cantonese pronunication of his art name 逸仙. In Mandarin Chinese, he is best known as Sun Zhongshan, where Zhongshan (中山) is the Chinese pronunication for the characters of Nakayama, which is the alias he adopted in Japan. The Zhongshan suit is thereby named for that. Perplexingly, while it is still commonly called Zhongshan suit in Chinese, in English the common name is Mao suit, even though it’s considered political formal wear on both sides of the strait.

Towards the Republic. English Captions and Annotations. Episode 67

(1) Hungarian poet Sándor Petőfi wrote a poem on life, love, and liberty. The common English translation goes something like:

“Liberty and love
These two I must have.
For my love I’ll sacrifice
My life.
For liberty I’ll sacrifice
My love.”

This was translated (somewhat loosely) by Yin Fu into the standard Chinese version

生命诚可贵，爱情价更高。若为自由故，两者皆可抛。

“Life is indeed precious,

And love is priced yet higher

But were it for liberty’s sake

I’d sacrifice both the prior.”

This verse is so popular that I’d wager by sheer number more Chinese than Hungarians today know the poem, though many may not know its origin.

Here in the show Sun Wen quotes and then riffs on Yin Fu’s version, which is an anachronism since it cannot have emerged earlier than the 1920s.

Towards the Republic. English Captions and Annotations. Episode 66

(1) This false display of humility, characterized by multiple (often three) refusals before accepting power, traces all the way back to antiquity. It can also be found in the tales of all manner of usurpers, including for example Wang Mang, Cao Pi, Sima Yan, and Yang Jian. However, the normal process is not this blatantly bogus. There’s usually some delay between each attempt, and the throne is not offered to increasingly ridiculous candidates.

So this scene is not authentic, but it does combine some historical facts and legends. It is said Yuan Shikai planned to make a show of refusing the advisory council’s petition until the third time, but did not go through with it. Later on, as emperor, Yuan Shikai did honor as prince the living descendant of Confucius. This was in keeping with the tradition of past dynasties.

(2) Yuan Shikai’s two most prominent sons were Yuan Keding and Yuan Kewen. As the eldest son, Keding was fervently in favor of crowning his father. Kewen, on the other hand, was against it. As someone uninvolved in politics, Kewen had long resided in the circles of poets and writers. He eventually fled to Shanghai to escape association with his father’s empire.

(3) It is generally accepted that Yuan Shikai was deluded by his own closest kin and advisors into believing there was more general support for the Empire of China than there really was. This then extends into the tale of the forged newspapers by Yuan Keding, which is itself a popular urban legend. I do not put much stock in this. But if Yuan Shikai really could be so easily and crassly deceived, it can only mean he was truly desperate to be emperor.

Towards the Republic. English Captions and Annotations. Episode 65

(1) The beauty in the golden house (金屋藏娇) is an idiom about Emperor Wu of Han and his empress Chen Jiao. As a child, the emperor had promised to build a golden house for Chen, thus securing the betrothal and giving birth to this widely sung tale. In truth, the relationship between the two was far from amicable after their marriage.

(2) This is the first time the show drops the name of the Promote Stability Society (筹安会), composed of Yang Du, Sun Yuyun, Yan Fu, Liu Shipei, Li Xiehe, and Hu Ying. All were prominent public figures and political activists of the time, and they all supported Yuan Shikai‘s bid for constitutional monarchy despite being certainly against any kind of return to autocracy. Lest it be said Yuan Shikai did what he did with no public approval whatsoever.

(3) The Chinese script used Xiangqi instead of international chess, with chariot, cavalry, and cannon for the respective pieces. Cannon and bishop both seem like suitable metaphors for the foreign influence in this picture.

(4) The regency of the Duke of Zhou took place immediately after the Zhou dynasty established itself. He acted as loyal regent for his young nephew King Cheng of Zhou, securing for all history his legacy as the loyal and capable official and exemplar for all future chancellors. There remains some dispute about whether the duke styled himself “king” during the regency.

(5) The Qing dynasty normally handed out diminishing peerage. That is to say, they could only be inherited at a lower grade, for instance from prince to duke. The rare privilege of having a fully-inheritable princehood was colloquially referred to as “iron-hat prince” (铁帽子王). There were only twelve such princehoods. Most were granted in the earliest days of the dynasty to those who contributed to establishing it. The most recent was granted by Empress Dowager Cixi to Yikuang for the title of Prince Qing.

(6) Annual rites dedicated to Heaven and Earth, conducted for example at the Temple of Heaven, were among the most important ceremonial duties of the Chinese emperor. This is also analogous to almost every other monarchy, where invariably the monarch carries out certain duties of a religious authority, which is one facet of monarchical power. It is rather odd than Yuan Shikai, as a president, would conduct such a rite in 1914. Many read this as a sure sign of his imperial ambitions.

(7) I would say a fair number of Qing emperors had good ends, but Yuan Shikai in the show is probably just referring to the most recent ones to pass. Among them, Emperor Daoguang died partially due to the stress of losing the First Opium War, Emperor Xianfeng died in retreat while the capital was occupied in the Second Opium War, Emperor Tongzhi died young due to some mysterious illness, said to be smallpox or syphilis. And of course, Emperor Guangxu died one day before Empress Dowager Cixi probably due to arsenic poisoning.

(8) The British monarch was at least at this point Emperor of India, among their other titles.

(9) The London Times and the Shuntian Times were the two prominent papers in China at the time which were under British and Japanese ownership, respectively.

Towards the Republic. English Captions and Annotations. Episode 64

(1) While I like the scene a lot, this is not really how it panned out in history. By forming the Chinese Revolutionary Party under such strict regimens, Sun Wen alienated a large amount of former allies. The end result is not that he consolidated all power, but rather many factions moved on without him. This only changed when he resurrected the Nationalist Party in 1919. Even then, the Nationalists were only one of the competing blocs of warlords until their dominance was asserted through the Northern Expedition in 1926. Sun Wen had already passed away the year before. Afterwards, there was much effort to build up the myth of Sun Wen as the founder of the republic and the Nationalists (KMT) both. Thus his time from 1914 to 1919 outside of the KMT became diluted in his legacy.

In the annotations of the previous episode, I was very critical of Sun Wen’s movement to recreate the party entirely around himself, basically agreeing with Huang Xing in the show. I should note this is not necessarily the only interpretation. A party is, after all, different from a state. I do not know the showmaker’s true opinion on the subject, but certainly their public stance is that espoused by Sun Wen in the last scene. That is also the canonical interpretation that is officially accepted. It must be, for the show to have aired. Just see the Chinese Communist Party Admission Oath.

(2) For those wondering where Xu Shichang had been since the fall of the Qing Empire, he had deliberately not taken office in the early republic in order to observe and recuse himself from politics (in part, out of lingering loyalty to the old regime). This, despite Yuan Shikai‘s numerous attempts to recruit him into government earlier. Out of all of Yuan Shikai’s Beiyang clique, Xu was always the most able to assert his own presence outside of Yuan. Note for example how he remained a central figure in the Qing court even after Yuan was dismissed by Prince Zaifeng. This of course made him pivotal to Yuan’s resurgence and eventual usurpation, but it also meant he was perfectly able to get by without Yuan.

Towards the Republic. English Captions and Annotations. Episode 63

(1) The full quote, by Mencius, is “He who labors with the heart masters men. He who labors with the body is mastered by men” (劳心者治人，劳力者治于人). Much like in the west, the heart was considered to be the source of mind and will in the ancient times.

(2) There is some understanding in Chinese culture that being overly respectful and paying someone dues they don’t deserve will cause them ill health and luck. There is even a specific term for this: Zhe Sha (折杀 or 折煞). I’ve only ever seen this deployed as a rhetorical device to demonstrate humility, not as something anyone seriously believes. To this day, Chinese social conduct frequently involves overly gratuitous gestures of respect paid to one’s teachers, elders, and superiors.

Along that same vein, letting one’s children do the demonstration of fealty is also a common tactic, This way one manages to indicate some level of sincerity without degrading oneself directly.

(3) The Constitutional Convention occurred in 1787. George Washington’s first term started in 1789. There are a lot of caveats here, such as Washington’s leadership role being pivotal (but also quite subtle) in that convention, or the fact that full ratification did not take place until 1790. Still, it seems to me the show’s Liang Qichao is simply in the wrong here about the timeline.

(4) Despite going somewhat easy last episode on Sun Wen for starting the Second Revolution, the show at least doesn’t shy away from depicting this darkest chapter in Sun’s legacy. In Sun’s defense, cults of personality are attractive because they work, as this era of history will continue to demonstrate.

(5) Actually it was his chopsticks that he dropped. But the parallel was still obvious between the previous scene and the one from Romance of Three Kingdoms, where Cao Cao calls Liu Bei the other hero of the age, and Liu Bei reacts with extreme trepidation. It is also a cute comparison. Certainly, Li Yuanhong could not hope to contest Yuan Shikai directly, much like Liu Bei at the time. This would also make SUN Wen into SUN Quan, currently somewhere remote across the water.

(6) Celebrity prostitutes, or “courtesans,” were commonplace for the era. Xiao Fengxian is most famous for the story of how she helped Cai E escape the capital and Yuan Shikai’s clutches, which is one of the great romantic tales of the republic. But this is all more legend and myth than history.

Towards the Republic. English Captions and Annotations. Episode 62

(1) Despite what is suggested by again an irresponsibly incomplete Wikipedia article, there is no good evidence Zhao Bingjun died of poison. The official story is that he suffered a stroke. But even if it was poison, this death happened in 1914 while he was acting as viceroy of Zhili (something alluded to in the previous episode).

For all the show’s liberties with historical accuracy, I think moving Zhao Bingjun’s death forward by a year feels the most deliberate. It seems to be a blatant attempt to try to lend some justification to Sun Wen for starting his Second Revolution, a move that seems inopportune and lacking in forethought.

(2) As said, this is supposed to be 1913 and Zhao Bingjun was very much alive, so this rationale is utterly unfounded. Historically speaking, it’s not clear Huang Xing ever supported the Second Revolution, though he did eventually take a leadership role in the fighting. Many revolutionaries held out hope that Song Jiaoren‘s murder could be resolved through legal means (a hope that hadn’t completely faded when Sun Wen suddenly declared war). Other revolutionaries did not think peace was possible, but also didn’t think (rightfully) that it was possible to defeat Yuan Shikai in conventional battle, and advocated instead for other means such as assassination.

(3) Though the term Blitzkrieg was not invented until World War 2, Duan Qirui here uses a common Chinese idiom about “the thunder cracking before one can cover the ear” (迅雷不及掩耳), so the analogy has long been present in various cultures.

(4) In Chinese chess, the pawn is only able to advance forward, until they cross the “river” in the middle of board. After that, they gain the ability to move horizontally as well. Pawns in Chinese chess are generally considered more valuable pieces than in international chess.

(5) This whole business of formal and casual attire, extending from imperial times, was a part of Chinese culture. If an official visits another, who was both his superior and his friend, it would be standard for him to wear his court uniform as a sign of respect, while also telling his servants to bring a change of casual attire, with the expectation that the host will tell him to change as a sign of familiarity.

This was an extremely common occurence, and honestly doesn’t get brought up as much in this show (or any other show I know of) as it would have happened in real life. But in this scene, where the custom is given attention, the fact that Cai E didn’t bring casual clothes might indicate he did not think he shared much friendship with Yuan Shikai.

Towards the Republic. English Captions and Annotations. Episode 61

No annotations for this episode.

Towards the Republic. English Captions and Annotations. Episode 60

(1) In truth, the 1912 Chinese National Assembly election saw the KMT (Nationalist Party) not even gain a majority, but merely a plurality. This speaks to the sheer extent of political diversity during the very early republic. Note also that historically, a unified Progressive Party with Liang Qichao at the helm did not happen until after this election, in 1913.

(2) Song Jiaoren‘s final actions here, donating his books and addressing a letter to Yuan Shikai, follow the historical account exactly. The only thing omitted is him asking for his family to be taken care of.

(3) Who killed Song Jiaoren? Possibly no other question is more pertinent towards understanding why China failed in its first grand experiment with a functioning democracy. And it is a surprisingly contentious question.

Conventional view invariably blames Yuan Shikai’s faction. Either Yuan issued the order directly, or Zhao Bingjun did, he being the one directly threatened by Song replacing him as premier. You will not find the show deviating much from this tradition.

And this is where things get interesting. The one directly culpable is certainly Ying Guixin, the inspector general of Jiangsu. Ying was originally a street thug who had connections with both sides (Beiyang in the north and revolutionaries in the south), but his closest patron was Chen Qimei, the revolutionary leader in Shanghai, and someone well-versed in assassination. Ying later died under mysterious circumstances, as did pretty much everyone involved in Song’s murder.

What seems true is that Yuan Shikai cannot benefit from assassinating Song Jiaoren. His death doesn’t change the Nationalist Party’s dominance in the national assembly, and Song seemed like the Nationalist candidate he could work best with.

For similar reasons, Zhao Bingjun is also only a plausible culprit if you take him to be small-minded and incapable of understanding the true ramifications of his actions. In the show, he may come off as such, but as a general rule real historical politicians of note tend not to be idiots.

Meanwhile, why might revolutionaries want Song Jiaoren dead? Well, factional infighting is a tradition among them both before and after Song’s death. One uncharitable interpretation sees Song quickly positioning himself as the true leader of the Nationalists and therefore Chinese progressives as a whole, and his death gave way for Sun Wen to once again dominate that limelight. That Sun Wen seemed to have been getting sidelined can be seen by him choosing to visit Japan (for no reasons of particular consequence) at the moment of the Nationalists’ triumph in the election. Of course that is very far off from any actual evidence of Sun Wen’s culpability, and the aforementioned factionalism indicates many independent parties might instead be to blame.

The show definitely does not make any overt suggestion that revolutionary infighting led to Song’s murder. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t drop some easter eggs for those already in the know. Note for example Song’s bold proclamation that the revolutionaries are the true masters of assassination.

By the way, I find the Wikipedia article on Ying Guixin extremely biased and baseless in both the English and Chinese versions. The important thing to remember is that all purported evidence about Ying never came to light, because the case never made it to trial.

And for that, we have more than just Yuan Shikai to blame, as even the show will be forced to demonstrate. Frankly, the greatest tragedy of Song Jiaoren’s death might be the atrocious response to it by every side involved.

(4) Mt Liang appears in the classic novel Water Margin, which tells the story of a bunch of rebels, outlaws, and malcontents. Notably, the rebel leader in the novel is called Song Jiang, which is supposed to be an oblique reference to Song Jiaoren.

(5) Because he is so associated in the show with the fictional characters Tian Mo and Luo Wen, and because the whole situation is so ridiculous, it may surprise you to learn an antique dealer named Wang Afa really was implicated in the assassination of Song Jiaoren.