Yuan Shikai (Yuan Shih-kai) was one to the most significant Chinese political figures in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (see Picture 2). He was a high military official of the Qing Dynasty who turned against it, succeeded Sun Yatsen as the first president of the Chinese Republic and then attempted to found a new imperial dynasty by signing the so-called “21 Demands” with Japan. Coincidentally, his rival Sun Yatsen claimed Yuan Shikai proposed these demands to Japan, not the other way around. When his attempt to become emperor failed, Yuan Shikai died soon afterwards under mysterious circumstances.

Although retired from the Qing Army, when the Double Ten (October 10th) Revolution began in 1911, the Qing dynasty summoned General Yuan Shikai back to duty. Yuan was appointed to command an army to suppress the rebellion. However, Yuan was in no rush and declined to accept the appointment, saying a foot injury still troubled him. Yuan was finally persuaded to take up the command of the army in return for the office of prime minister. Yuan then entered into negotiations with the rebels and he played the Qing court off the politically naive revolutionary leader Sun Yatsen. By March 1912, the Manchus had abdicated and Yuan was named first president of the Republic of China (ROC).

Over the next two years, Yuan Shikai engaged in political intrigue subverting the democratic government. After destroying the revolutionaries’ political and military authority, Yuan moved to consolidate his power. He dissolved the National Assembly, replacing it with a political council composed of his own cronies. This body created a constitutional council to draft a new governing document. But this new “constitution” in fact granted unlimited powers to the president.

The outbreak of World War I presented Yuan with new difficulties. As Western interest shifted away from East Asia, the Japanese were given a relatively free hand. As an ally of Great Britain, Japan seized the German territorial concessions in Qingdao, Shandong. During January 1915, the Japanese presented Yuan's government with their infamous 21 Demands, including full Japanese control over China's finances, police and many other government affairs.