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Sun served briefly as the republic's first president before resigning in favor of Yuan. His faction merged with several other groups to form the Nationalist Party, or KMT. This party gained a majority in the 1913 parliamentary elections. Backed by the army, Yuan assassinated parliamentary leader Song Jiaoren, dissolved the Nationalist Party, and ruled as a dictator. Japan's Twenty-One demands aroused much public opposition. After negotiation, Yuan accepted 13 of these demands. Yuan proclaimed himself emperor in 1915, but later renounced his imperial pretensions in the face of nearly unanimous opposition.

Sun served briefly as the republic's first president before resigning in favor of Yuan. His faction merged with several other groups to form the Nationalist Party, or KMT. This party gained a majority in the 1913 parliamentary elections. Backed by the army, Yuan assassinated parliamentary leader Song Jiaoren, dissolved the Nationalist Party, and ruled as a dictator. Japan's Twenty-One demands aroused much public opposition. After negotiation, Yuan accepted 13 of these demands. Yuan proclaimed himself emperor in 1915, but later renounced his imperial pretensions in the face of nearly unanimous opposition.

After Yuan died in 1916, central government weakened. By 1919, the army leadership had devolved into three rival factions: Anhui, Zhili, and Fengtian. The Japanese backed the reactionary warlord Zhang Zuolin in Manchuria, leader of the Fengtian clique. He gained control of Beijing in 1926. The economy of the Manchuria, overtaxed to support Zhang’s adventurism, collapsed in 1927–28. The Russians under Stalin backed the Nationalist Party, which was allied with the Communists. The Nationalists established a rival national government in Guangzhou in 1925.

After Yuan died in 1916, central government weakened. By 1919, the army leadership had devolved into three rival factions: Anhui, Zhili, and Fengtian. The Japanese backed the reactionary warlord Zhang Zuolin in Manchuria, leader of the Fengtian clique. He gained control of Beijing and the national government in 1926. The economy of the Manchuria, overtaxed to support Zhang’s adventurism, collapsed in 1927–28. The Russians under Stalin backed the Nationalist Party, which was allied with the Communists. The Nationalists established a rival national government in Guangzhou in 1925.

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