1911–1912Reputable sourceWell documented
The 1911 Revolution and the Fall of the Empire
On the timeline · around 1911–1912 · The Qing Empire
What happened
A mutiny at Wuchang in October 1911 set off risings across China against the Qing. Revolutionaries proclaimed a Republic of China with Sun Yat-sen as provisional president, and in February 1912 the child emperor Puyi abdicated.
Why it matters
The Xinhai Revolution ended more than two thousand years of imperial rule in China and opened a turbulent republican era of warlords, revolution, and civil war.