ABSTRACT
When the Manchus' world ended with the emperor's abdication in early 1912, it was after a decade-long bang of activity rather than the whimper of those who, resigned to the forces of history, did nothing. In the context of increasingly persistent political interests and demands on the part of the assemblies, the Throne looked totally politically inept when in May 1911 it announced the formation of a cabinet of thirteen comprised of eight Manchus, one Mongol bannerman, and only four Chinese. While the Manchus were undertaking revolutionary reforms, anti-Manchu sentiment had grown both in China and abroad among Chinese who believed that the day for reform, particularly Manchu reform, had passed and that revolution was the only way to save China. The Manchu governor-general and the commanders of the Eighth Division and the cavalry battalion began an intensive effort to halt any possible revolt by arresting and imprisoning the people on the lists.
