Editing Second Sino-Japanese War (section)

===Warlords in the Republic of China===
{{Main|1911 Revolution|Warlord Era}}

In 1911, factions of the Qing Army uprose against the government, staging a [[1911 Revolution|revolution]] that swept across China's southern provinces.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Liew |first1=Kit Siong |title=Struggle for democracy: Sung Chiao-jen and the 1911 Chinese revolution |last2=Sung Chiao-jen |date=1971 |publisher=Univ. of California Pr |isbn=978-0-520-01760-3 |location=Berkeley [usw.]}}</ref> The Qing responded by appointing [[Yuan Shikai]], commander of the loyalist [[Beiyang Army]], as temporary prime minister in order to subdue the revolution.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nihart |first1=F. B. |last2=Powell |first2=Ralph L. |date=1955 |title=The Rise of Military Power in Modern China, 1895–1912. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1983349 |journal=Military Affairs |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=105 |doi=10.2307/1983349 |jstor=1983349 |issn=0026-3931}}</ref> Yuan, wanting to remain in power, compromised with the revolutionaries, and agreed to abolish the monarchy and establish a new republican government, under the condition he be appointed president of China. The new [[Beiyang government]] of China was proclaimed in March 1912, after which Yuan Shikai began to amass power for himself. In 1913, the parliamentary political leader [[Song Jiaoren|Song Jiaoren was assassinated]]; it is generally believed Yuan Shikai ordered the assassination.<ref>{{Cite web |title=谁是刺杀宋教仁的幕后元凶?_资讯_凤凰网 |url=https://news.ifeng.com/history/zl/xz/jinmanlou/200903/0330_5763_1083398.shtml |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=news.ifeng.com}}</ref> Yuan Shikai then forced the parliament to pass a bill to strengthen the power of the president and sought to [[Empire of China (1915–1916)|restore the imperial system]], becoming the new emperor of China.

However, there was little support for an imperial restoration among the general population, and protests and demonstrations soon broke out across the country. Yuan's attempts at restoring the monarchy triggered the [[National Protection War]], and Yuan Shikai was overthrown after only a few months. In the aftermath of Shikai's death in June 1916, control of China fell into the hands of the Beiyang Army leadership. The Beiyang government was a civilian government in name, but in practice it was a [[military dictatorship]]<ref>《时局未宁之内阁问题》, 《满洲报》1922年7月27日, "论说"</ref> with a different warlord controlling each province of the country. China was reduced to a fractured state. As a result, China's prosperity began to wither and its economy declined. This instability presented an opportunity for nationalistic politicians in Japan to press for territorial expansion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shehui.pku.edu.cn/upload/editor/file/20191007/20191007171957_7532.pdf|title=北洋军阀时期中华民族共同体的构建路径与效应分析|website=shehui.pku.edu.cn|language=zh}}</ref>