Thus the first period of the Republic, until 1927, was marked by incessant attempts by individual generals to make themselves independent.  The Government could not depend on its soldiers, and so was impotent.  The first risings of military units began at the outset of 1912.  The governors and generals who wanted to make themselves independent sabotaged every decree of the central government; especially they sent it no money from the provinces and also refused to give their assent to foreign loans.  The province of Canton, the actual birthplace of the republican movement and the focus of radicalism, declared itself in 1912 an independent republic.

Within the Peking government matters soon came to a climax.  Yuean Shih-k’ai and his supporters represented the conservative view, with the unexpressed but obvious aim of setting up a new imperial house and continuing the old gentry system.  Most of the members of the parliament came, however, from the middle class and were opposed to any reaction of this sort.  One of their leaders was murdered, and the blame was thrown upon Yuean Shih-k’ai; there then came, in the middle of 1912, a new revolution, in which the radicals made themselves independent and tried to gain control of South China.  But Yuean Shih-k’ai commanded better troops and won the day.  At the end of October 1912 he was elected, against the opposition, as president of China, and the new state was recognized by foreign countries.

China’s internal difficulties reacted on the border states, in which the European powers were keenly interested.  The powers considered that the time had come to begin the definitive partition of China.  Thus there were long negotiations and also hostilities between China and Tibet, which was supported by Great Britain.  The British demanded the complete separation of Tibet from China, but the Chinese rejected this (1912); the rejection was supported by a boycott of British goods.  In the end the Tibet question was left undecided.  Tibet remained until recent years a Chinese dependency with a good deal of internal freedom.  The Second World War and the Chinese retreat into the interior brought many Chinese settlers into Eastern Tibet which was then separated from Tibet proper and made a Chinese province (Hsi-k’ang) in which the native Khamba will soon be a minority.  The communist regime soon after its establishment conquered Tibet (1950) and has tried to change the character of its society and its system of government which lead to the unsuccessful attempt of the Tibetans to throw off Chinese rule (1959) and the flight of the Dalai Lama to India.  The construction of highways, air and missile bases and military occupation have thus tied Tibet closer to China than ever since early Manchu times.