Xinhai Revolution

The Xinhai Revolution (or Hsinhai Revolution, Chinese: 辛亥革命; pinyin: Xīnhài Gémìng), named for the Chinese year of Xinhai (1911), was the overthrow (October 10, 1911-February 12, 1912) of China's ruling Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China.

The revolution began with the armed Wuchang Uprising and the spread of republican insurrection through the southern provinces, and culminated in the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor after lengthy negotiations between rival Imperial and Republican regimes based in Beijing and Nanjing respectively.

The Revolution inaugurated a period of struggle over China's eventual constututional form, which saw two brief monarchical restorations and successive periods of political fragmentation before the Republic's final establishment.

See also: History of the Republic of China