# Xinhai Revolution The **Xinhai Revolution** of 1911–1912 overthrew the Qing dynasty, ending more than two thousand years of imperial rule and the classical order legitimated by the Mandate of Heaven. Sparked by the Wuchang Uprising in October 1911, it led to the abdication of the last emperor in February 1912 and the founding of the Republic of China, with [[Sun Yat-sen]] as its first provisional president. The revolution's promise of constitutional government quickly collapsed into the warlord era, setting up the long [[Chinese Civil War]] between the [[Kuomintang]] and the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. It is the opening node of the modern spine in the [[Chinese History Hub]] — the hinge between Ancient China and the contested twentieth century. > [!note] Stub > Phase 1 spine stub. Expand: the Tongmenghui, the New Army defections, Yuan Shikai's bargain, the failure of the early republic.