On the Formation of Decentralization in the Late Qing Dynasty and Its Influence on the Early Republic of China

At the end of Qing Dynasty,under the situation of civil turbulence and foreign aggression,the Qing government had to transfer the central power to lower levels.As two representatives of decentralization,the power of provincial and local gentry began to increase.From Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement to the end of Qing Dynasty,the local decentralist power began to be strengthened.Till the time of Republic of China,this did not disappear.In stead,it became a kind of tide for a time.And it is quite different from the centralist concept boasted by YUAN Shi-kai.Therefore,the struggles between the two seldom stopped.And this finally led to the breakout of the Second Revolution.