When the Qing Dynasty finally fell in 1911, the collapse was sudden and uneventful. Sun, traveling in America at the time, learned of the fall of the Qing from his morning paper. Sun returned to China at the invitation of the successful revolutionaries to be sworn in as China’s first president in 1912. China was in chaos, with rival factions carving out territory from the Qing’s empire. Sun’s most powerful rival was Yuan Shikai, who had built a strong base of power in northern China in his role as a top Qing military leader.

Sun’s presidency lasted only 45 days. When Yuan began to flex his muscles, Sun decided it would be politically prudent to abdicate in his favor. Sun turned his attention to forming the Guomindang (国民党), or Nationalist Party.

A man having his Manchu queue cut in Beijing in 1911