1911 · Xinhai— The Birth of the Republic of China

 

 1911年10月10日，辛亥革命倉促起事；隔年元旦，中華民國臨時政府正式成立。中華民國是中華文明在長期追求政治現代化的過程中，受到晚明思潮及十八、十九世紀歐美新興思潮的啟發，中西混合而誕生；這個意外到來的早產國體可謂早早受孕卻遲遲出世的劃時代的大事，它告別了兩千多年的中國帝制傳統。中華民國內涵的豐饒以及她現實命運的坎坷構成了百多年來東亞地區政治活動的一條線索，對臺海兩岸的影響尤為重大。本單元展品包括中國各地方在革命成功之際發出的電報與公告，君主立憲派人物、創立民國的革命派黨人、以及反民國的滿清宗社黨人的墨跡。

 

 On October 10, 1911, the Xinhai Revolution erupted in Wuchang. On New Year’s Day of the following year, the provisional government of the newly established Republic of China was formally inaugurated. Emerging from China’s long pursuit of political modernization, the Republic was shaped by both late Ming intellectual currents and the political ideas of 18th- and 19th-century Europe and America. Born from the intersection of Chinese and Western thought, it marked a historic break with more than 2,000 years of imperial rule.

 The rich ideals embodied by the Republic, together with the complexities of its historical fate, became a defining thread in the political transformations of East Asia over the past century, exerting profound influence on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

 This section presents telegrams, public announcements, calligraphy, and manuscripts produced by constitutional monarchists, republican revolutionaries, and Qing loyalists during the revolutionary period, revealing the competing political visions surrounding the founding of the Republic.

 

2-1 新共和的誕生

The Birth of a New Republic

 

 19世紀末以來，甲午戰敗與列強侵逼使清朝統治危機日益加深。庚子事變後，朝廷推行新政並試圖以立憲改革挽救政局，但改革遲緩與鐵路國有化等政策反而激化各地不滿。1911年10月，武昌起義爆發，各省革命黨人聯合立憲派相繼宣布獨立，清廷統治迅速瓦解。革命期間，各地政治人物透過書信與通電協商政局，討論成立臨時政府、推舉臨時大總統與建立新的政治制度。本櫃所展文書，即呈現辛亥革命爆發之際，各省響應獨立並積極籌組中華民國臨時政府的歷史情境。

 

 Since the late 19th century, the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War and mounting pressure from the imperial powers deepened the crisis of Qing rule. Following the Boxer Uprising, the Qing court launched the New Policies in an attempt to preserve the dynasty by moving toward constitutional monarchy. Yet the slow pace of change, together with measures such as railway nationalization, further intensified discontent across the empire.

 In October 1911, the Wuchang Uprising erupted, and revolutionary groups in various provinces joined with constitutionalists in declaring independence from the Qing government. During the revolution, provincial leaders, revolutionaries, and constitutionalists exchanged letters and telegrams as they negotiated the formation of a provisional government, the selection of a provisional president, and the political structure of the new Republic. The documents reflect the political negotiations and provincial responses that shaped the transition.

2-2 動盪時局的抉擇

Decisions in a Turbulent Era

 

 革命前後，中國由帝制邁向共和，不同背景的人物在動盪局勢中作出各自的選擇。盛宣懷作為晚清洋務與實業體系的領袖，其推動的鐵路國有政策意外引發保路運動；張謇代表地方菁英與立憲派力量，在革命期間積極參與新政府的籌建與財政支援；袁世凱掌握北洋軍政實權，周旋於清廷與革命勢力之間，最終促成清帝退位，並出任中華民國臨時大總統；章太炎由維新轉向革命，倡言排滿與共和，透過論述建構新國家理念；嚴復則傾向君主立憲、支持漸進改革，反映知識界對國家改革道路的不同想像。這些人物立場與角色各異，映現辛亥革命不僅是政權更替，更是關於國家方向與權力歸屬的多重角力。

 

 Before and after the revolution, China transitioned from imperial rule to republican government, as individuals from different backgrounds responded to the political upheavals of the era in different ways.

 Sheng Xuan-huai, a leading figure in the Self-Strengthening Movement and modern enterprise, became closely associated with the railway nationalization policy that sparked the Railway Protection Movement. Zhang Jian represented the constitutionalist and local elite forces that helped establish the new republic.

 Yuan Shi-kai, who controlled the Beiyang Army, maneuvered between the Qing court and the revolutionary forces, ultimately facilitating the abdication of the Qing emperor before assuming the presidency of the newly founded Republic of China.

 Zhang Tai-yan shifted from constitutional reform to revolution, advocating anti-Manchu nationalism and republicanism while articulating new political visions for the nation. Yan Fu, meanwhile, favored constitutional monarchy and gradual reform, reflecting alternative intellectual responses to China’s transformation.

 Though their political positions and roles differed, these figures reveal that the Xinhai Revolution was not merely a change of regime, but also a complex struggle over the future direction of the nation and the locus of political power.

2-3 告別舊體制

Casting Off the Imperial Past

 

 辛亥革命後，中華民國誕生，是新時代的開始。

 民國成立，是革命夥伴們的勝利。展出文物，有率領同一年黃花崗起義的黃興，他是與孫文共同籌劃重要革命行動且出生入死的行動者。而革命者冒險潛藏時有外國友人如犬養毅的庇護。各地剪辮風氣呼應去舊迎新的新潮流，也抱著「中國正在現代化」的憧憬。民國初始，新舊各方勢力激盪與理想的衝突，長期帶來社會紛擾不安。

 

 n the wake of the 1911 Revolution, the Republic of China was born, marking the beginning of a new era.

 The founding of the Republic was a triumph for those who had fought together for the revolutionary cause. Among the objects on display are materials associated with Huang Xing, who led the Huanghuagang Uprising earlier that same year. A close comrade of Sun Yat-sen, Huang helped plan major actions and repeatedly risked his life in their pursuit. As revolutionaries operated in secrecy and faced constant danger, foreign friends such as Inukai Tsuyoshi at times provided them with protection. Across China, the widespread cutting of queues came to symbolize the new spirit of casting off the old and embracing the new, as well as the hope that China was entering an age of modernization. Yet in the early years of the Republic, competing old and new forces and conflicting ideals generated prolonged social and political turmoil.