1911 Fires
The 1911 Revolution effected Wuhan in several respects including the Wuchang Uprising of October 10, 1911 and the Battle of Yangxi. In the beginning of 1911 Revolution, revolutionary groups cooperated with mutineers from New Army. Hankou and Hanyang fall on October 12. On October 11 new military government founded which declared the founding of the Republic of China. Li Yuanhong, the senior commanding officer of the New Army in Hubei, was supposedly forced by revolutionaries to become their “commander” as a figurehead. Following the Wuchang uprising and the capture of Hankou and Hanyang, Qing officials ordered Yinchang and Feng Guozhang to lead the Beiyang army (originally organized and commanded by Yuan Shikai), to repress the rebellion. Intense fighting along the railway to the North of Hankou led to significant losses for the Qing, and Yuan Shikai was recalled to command the Beiyang army. During late October the Qing managed to take Hankou, and, in retaliation for residents assisting the rebels, the city was ordered to be burned. By late November the Qing forces under Yuan had taken Hanyang as well, with the rebels holding onto the well-fortified Wuchang. As more provinces had joined the revolution at this point, along with the Qing navy, Yuan negotiated a ceasefire with Li Yuanhong on Dec. 1 which, upon Sun Yat-Sen’s return to Shanghai on December 25, was solidified as the military conflict transitioned into a political one.
The following photographs provide various views of the 1911 fires. This burning was a punishment but the city continued on, it was not erased from the map.
