Chances of a surviving Chinese monarchy

[mspence]

The last Chinese emperor abdicated the throne in 1912, but WI a compromise between conservatives and reformers had been reached; what might a surviving Chinese monarch had looked like in the 1920s and 30s?

[miletus12]

Apr 23, 2023 8:22:19 GMT mspence said:

The last Chinese emperor abdicated the throne in 1912, but WI a compromise between conservatives and reformers had been reached; what might a surviving Chinese monarch had looked like in the 1920s and 30s?

I can actually answer that for you:

[TheRomanSlayer]

If Manchukuo had pulled a Romania in the last minute, they might have. Alternatively, have Pu Yi end up in the British Embassy, rather than the Japanese Embassy, and you'd have an Allied backed monarchist restoration.

[stevep]

Apr 23, 2023 22:11:28 GMT TheRomanSlayer said:

If Manchukuo had pulled a Romania in the last minute, they might have. Alternatively, have Pu Yi end up in the British Embassy, rather than the Japanese Embassy, and you'd have an Allied backed monarchist restoration.

  I don't know about that.  Britain wanted a stable China for trade purposes and also general stability in the region.  However given the demands that would be involved in restoring an unpopular Manchu dynasty to the Chinese throne I suspect even if the revolution overthrowing it had been a decade earlier - when the Conservatives were in government and there could well have been a common concern among the various nations with interest in China. especially with the recent issue of the Boxer Rebellion - would have been difficult and probably a decision made not to support such.

  With the revolution occurring in 1912 by that time the Liberals were in power and overwhelmingly concerned with affairs at home and also in Europe with the growth of the threat from Germany.  There would have been a desire I suspect that a child shouldn't be handed over to the rebels in case he was simply killed but no strong interest in Britain or any other powers - except possibly Russia or Germany for the restoration of the dynasty.

[michelvan]

There is alternative
Yuan Shikai One of former General of Qing dynasty
He try In 1915 he attempted to restore the hereditary monarchy in China, with himself as the Hongxian Emperor.
OTL he failed and let to Chaos of 1930s

[stevep]

Apr 25, 2023 21:10:11 GMT michelvan said:

There is alternative
Yuan Shikai One of former General of Qing dynasty
He try In 1915 he attempted to restore the hereditary monarchy in China, with himself as the Hongxian Emperor.
OTL he failed and let to Chaos of 1930s

  Good point.  OTL he failed pretty quickly but possibly something could have changed that.  Although the idea of empire was somewhat unpopular after the failure of the Qing dynasty and also with a significant republican movement.  Plus with WWI fully under way western influence was at a low level and Japan was the most influential foreign power and I suspect that they would have preferred a relatively weak republic than an empire.  Hence I suspect it would be a difficult task for Yuan to secure himself as emperor and establish a new dynasty but not impossible.

[miletus12]

Apr 25, 2023 21:10:11 GMT michelvan said:

Yuan Shikai

The man was too much of a conniver who drew a snake on two legs, (He had China's best chance at a modern liberal bureaucratic state, Song Jaoren, assassinated.), so I would suggest his chances at establishing a strong man rule were like those two famous Americans, a Minnesota state senator who was a poltroon and a Georgia federal senator who was a populist demagog; which were "Little" and "Nunn" respectively.

[Max Sinister]

Do you know the Superpower China Empire TL by Hendryk?