THE AMBIGUOUS LEGACY OF THE REVOLUTION 209 ent glorification of the politicians of the period.This first wave of nation- alism,after all,came nowhere near attaining its essential objective of a strong and independent Chinese state.More thoroughgoing attempts were required before China's sovereignty was recovered.And meanwhile, warlordism and its special oppressions intervened. THE AMBIGUOUS LEGACY OF THE REVOLUTION Whichever approach is preferred,the ambiguity of the Revolution of 1911 must be acknowledged,hovering as it did between success and fail- ure,with the unresolved tensions in the polity being passed on to the early republic.Our account of the period begins by noting these am- biguities or tensions and discussing their various sources. The ambiguity of the revolutionary aftermath began with the negotiated settlement of the revolution itself.The first talks between imperial officials and representatives of the revolutionary forces took place in November I911,about one month after the first republican successes. Formal negotiations began in December.The main issues were worked out during January 1912,and the abdication of the Ch'ing monarch was decreed on I2 February.Within three more months the institutions of a new national government were functioning in Peking.Who had won? Judging from the eruption of armed attacks on the government in 1913 and 1916(sometimes called the Second and Third Revolutions),we can conclude that the settlement of I9Iz was an unstable compromise. On the one hand,the settlement consolidated an enormous revolu- tionary victory.The Ch'ing dynasty was overthrown,a feat that had eluded numerous previous attempts,including the massive Taiping Rebellion of the mid nineteenth century.Moreover,the Ch'ing was replaced by a new form of government;the imperial order,which had supported an immeasurable accumulation of attitudes and political habits,was abolished.Both these accomplishments proved to be irrev- ocable,despite attempts to rescind one or both of them in 1915-16 and 1917.The two irreducible aims of the republican revolutionaries had been permanently achieved:the overthrow of the Manchus and the establishment of a republic. On the other hand,the new arrangements were far from ideal for those who had served the revolution the longest.Perhaps the generous set- tlement accorded the abdicating child emperor and his large household, including promise of a substantial stipend,was a harmless concession (though his survival allowed the Japanese to use him in the 193os when establishing a subservient Manchu kingdom in the north-east).Revolu- Cambridge Histories Online Cambridge University Press,2008THE AMBIGUOUS LEGACY OF THE REVOLUTION 209 ent glorification of the politicians of the period. This first wave of nation￾alism, after all, came nowhere near attaining its essential objective of a strong and independent Chinese state. More thoroughgoing attempts were required before China's sovereignty was recovered. And meanwhile, warlordism and its special oppressions intervened. THE AMBIGUOUS LEGACY OF THE REVOLUTION Whichever approach is preferred, the ambiguity of the Revolution of 1911 must be acknowledged, hovering as it did between success and fail￾ure, with the unresolved tensions in the polity being passed on to the early republic. Our account of the period begins by noting these am￾biguities or tensions and discussing their various sources. The ambiguity of the revolutionary aftermath began with the negotiated settlement of the revolution itself. The first talks between imperial officials and representatives of the revolutionary forces took place in November 1911, about one month after the first republican successes. Formal negotiations began in December. The main issues were worked out during January 1912, and the abdication of the Ch'ing monarch was decreed on 12 February. Within three more months the institutions of a new national government were functioning in Peking. Who had won ? Judging from the eruption of armed attacks on the government in 1913 and 1916 (sometimes called the Second and Third Revolutions), we can conclude that the settlement of 1912 was an unstable compromise. On the one hand, the settlement consolidated an enormous revolu￾tionary victory. The Ch'ing dynasty was overthrown, a feat that had eluded numerous previous attempts, including the massive Taiping Rebellion of the mid nineteenth century. Moreover, the Ch'ing was replaced by a new form of government; the imperial order, which had supported an immeasurable accumulation of attitudes and political habits, was abolished. Both these accomplishments proved to be irrev￾ocable, despite attempts to rescind one or both of them in 1915-16 and 1917. The two irreducible aims of the republican revolutionaries had been permanently achieved: the overthrow of the Manchus and the establishment of a republic. On the other hand, the new arrangements were far from ideal for those who had served the revolution the longest. Perhaps the generous set￾tlement accorded the abdicating child emperor and his large household, including promise of a substantial stipend, was a harmless concession (though his survival allowed the Japanese to use him in the 1930s when establishing a subservient Manchu kingdom in the north-east). Revolu￾Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008