Show Notes
This episode looks at the early life of Yuan Shikai, future president of the Republic of China.
Born to a concubine in a leading gentry family in Henan province, Yuan was adopted by his uncle at age 5. He studied the Confucian classics, learned boxing, martial arts and horseback riding. He took over managing the family assets as a teenager and was already working for the empire. He never passed any of the imperial examinations, but rose quickly in the army.
A chance military assignment in Korea launched Shikai's meteoric ascent. He rescued the Korean king and became Imperial Commissioner to Korea. We was able to stop Japanese maneuvers there once, but failed to prevent the Sino-Japanese war in 1894. He left Korea for China two weeks before war was declared. Yuan's work for the Qing Empire was quickly undone as Japan shocked China with its strong military advance.
Image: "Yuan Shikai, 1859-1916, Militärgouverneur in Shantung" by Siegfried Weiß is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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