Changes

==The warlord era: 1916-1930==

==The warlord era: 1916-1930==

After Yuan died in 1916, the officers of the Beiyang army divided into rival cliques. Puyi, the former Qing emperor, was briefly restored in 1917. It took eleven days for Premier Duan Qirui, leader of the pro-Japanese Anhui clique, to defeated the imperialists and reinstate the republic. In 1920, the Zhili clique defeated Anhui's forces and Duan was ousted. Zhili warlord Cao Kun gained the presidency in 1923 by paying out bribes of 5,000 silver dollars each to members of the National Assembly. Not reconciled to Zhili's ascendency, the Japanese backed the rival Fengtian clique led by Zhang Zuolin, the pro-Japanese warlord of Manchuria appointed by Yuan. In October 1924, a Zhili commander defected, marched into Beijing, and evicted Puyi from the Forbidden City. The Beijing coup soon collapsed, but Zhili had lost its advantage in the war with Fengtian. The fighting in 1924 was far more destructive than earlier disputes among the warlords. In November, the reactionary Duan was made president. This time around, Duan was no longer a clique leader, but rather a stalking horse for Zhang. His appointment pleased the Japanese, but did not go over well in southern or eastern China. Public opinion was fed up with the militarists, as the success of the KMT's May Thirtieth protests in 1925 demonstrates. As China's internationally recognized government, Beijing still received the revenue of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, which had international management. But Manchuria had long been massively overtaxed to support Zhang's adventurism, and the customs revenue was not enough to prevent an economic collapse in 1927–1928.

After Yuan died in 1916, the officers of the Beiyang army divided into rival cliques. Puyi, the former Qing emperor, was briefly restored in 1917. It took eleven days for Premier Duan Qirui, leader of the pro-Japanese Anhui clique, to defeated the imperialists and reinstate the republic. In 1920, the Zhili clique defeated Anhui's forces and Duan was ousted. Zhili warlord Cao Kun gained the presidency in 1923 by paying out bribes of 5,000 silver dollars each to members of the National Assembly. Not reconciled to Zhili's ascendency, the Japanese backed the rival Fengtian clique led by Zhang Zuolin, the pro-Japanese warlord of Manchuria appointed by Yuan. In October 1924, a Zhili commander defected, marched into Beijing, and evicted Puyi from the Forbidden City. The Beijing coup soon collapsed, but Zhili had lost its advantage in the war with Fengtian. The fighting in 1924 was far more destructive than earlier disputes among the warlords. In November, the reactionary Duan was named president. This time around, Duan was no longer a clique leader, but rather a stalking horse for Zhang. His appointment pleased the Japanese, but did not go over well in southern or eastern China. Public opinion was fed up with the militarists, as the success of the KMT's May Thirtieth protests in 1925 demonstrates. As China's internationally recognized government, Beijing still received the revenue of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, which had international management. But Manchuria had long been massively overtaxed to support Zhang's adventurism. The customs revenue was not enough to prevent an economic collapse in 1927–1928.

==Culture and fashion==

==Culture and fashion==