viⅷAcknowledgments chives,Washington,D.C.;Library of Congress,Washington,D.C.;Public Record Office,London;and Toyo Bunko,Tokyo.For guiding me to li- braries and archives in their countries and for their generous hospitality,I wish to thank Professors Banno Masataka,Chang Peng-yuan,Ichiko Chuzo,Ikei Masaru,Kato Yozo,and Nakamura Tadashi. The extensive traveling and the research leaves,without which this study could not have been completed,were sustained by grants from the Contents Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan,the East Asian Research Center at Harvard University,the U.S.Office of Education,and the Social Science Research Council. I am grateful to Penny Greene and Eva Chan for their patience and per- severance in typing the manuscript.The work of Elnor Parker and her staff at the University of Michigan Press has been careful and creative,as they Introduction 1 have wrestled with the special problems of scholarly publishing on China. Chapter 1. China in the Early Twentieth Century 5 To Chang Ch'un-shu,friend and colleague,I owe a special debt for his calligraphic contribution to the design of the book jacket. Chapter 2.The Birth of the Republic 27 Finally,I should note that I follow the customary adaptations of the Chapter 3. The Presidential Team 50 Wade-Giles system of transliterating Chinese.I am perhaps more sparing Chapter 4.The Liberal Republic 76 than most with the umlaut,which I reserve for circumstances where it is phonemically necessary.Hence,Li Lieh-chun,but Yuan Shih-k'ai. Chapter 5.Yuan's Confrontation with Liberal Government and the Provinces 105 Chapter 6. Establishing the Dictatorship 138 Chapter 7.Yuan's Programs 177 Chapter 8.The Monarchical Attempt 210 Chapter 9.The Presidency in History 241 Abbreviations 255 Notes 257 Glossary 319 Works Cited 323 Index 339 Illustrations (following page 146)