addition to the English which had been an
important item in the curriculum of the Naval School, and which he
understands moderately well. In 1903 he was promoted Brigadier-General,
being subsequently gazetted as the Commander of the 2nd Division of
Regulars (_Chang Pei Chun_) of Hupeh. He also constantly held various
subsidiary posts, in addition to his substantive appointment, connected
with educational and administrative work of various kinds, and has
therefore a sound grasp of provincial government. He was
Commander-in-Chief of the 8th Division during the famous military
manoeuvres of 1906 at Changtehfu in Honan province, which are said to
have given birth to the idea of a universal revolt against the Manchus
by using the army as the chief instrument.

On the memorable day of October 11, 1911, when the standard of revolt
was raised at Wuchang, somewhat against his will as he was a loyal
officer, he was elected military Governor, thus becoming the first real
leader of the Republic. Within the space of ten days his leadership had
secured the adhesion of fourteen provinces to the Republican cause; and
though confronted by grave difficulties owing to insufficiency of
equipment and military supplies, he fought the Northern soldiery for two
months around Wuchang with varying success. He it was, when the Republic
had been formally established and the Manchu regime made a thing of the
past, who worked earnestly to bring about better relations between the
armies of North and South China which had been arrayed against one
another during many bitter weeks. It was he, also, who was the first to
advocate the complete separation of the civil and military
administration--the administrative powers in the early days of the
Republic being entirely in the hands of the military governors of the
provinces who recruited soldiery in total disregard to the wishes of the
Central Government. Although this reform has even to-day only been
partially successful, there is no reason to doubt that before the
Republic is many years older the idea of the military dictating the
policy and administration of the country will pass away. The so-called
Second Revolution of 1913 awakened no sympathy in General Li Yuan-hung,
because he was opposed to internal strife and held that all Chinese
should work for unity and concerted reform rather than indulge in
fruitless dissensions. His disapproval of the monarchy movement had been
equally emphatic in the face