The dragon flags disappeared on the 12th of July as suddenly as they had appeared on the 2nd. The city quickly resumed its ordinary life.
The swift failure of Chang Hsun's enterprise was due to no inherent weakness of monarchical sentiment in north China. In fact, monarchist leanings among the northern military party are quite well known. It had been assumed that such a movement would be launched, and, if it had been more prudently planned and prepared, it might easily have succeeded, at least for a time. Its total failure was due to the fact that Chang Hsun, counting on monarchist tendencies among the northern military men, neglected to make those preparatory negotiations which would have turned the potential support into real strength. While this is true, there can be no doubt that Chang Hsun's failure gave an enormous setback to the cause of monarchism in China. After two failures to reëstablish the empire, ambitious men will think many times before embarking on such a venture again. Which is to say that the efforts to restore the Empire actually served to entrench more deeply the republican form of government.
WAR WITH GERMANY: READJUSTMENTS
"It has been decided by the Chinese Government to declare war; on this very day the decision has been formally adopted by the cabinet."
Thus General Tuan Chi-jui, then Premier, conveyed to me on the 2nd of August the news of China's further entrance into world politics. I had known about this from other sources. General Tuan had announced it as his policy when I visited him on the 14th of July. He had then stated that Vice-President Feng Kuo-cheng would assume the functions of President, which President Li would relinquish, and that it would be a war government.
The American Government had held to its view that China should not be pressed to declare war. It believed that the breaking off of diplomatic relations, for the time being, was sufficient contribution to our cause in the war. But the Japanese, aided especially by the French, had strongly urged the Chinese Government to join them. Not until much later did the Chinese learn of secret treaties made between France, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan, giving assurance to the Japanese that no effective resistance would be offered by those powers to anything which Japan might desire in China at the end of the war.
In their ignorance of these secret arrangements, the Chinese thought that association with the war powers would put them on the footing of an ally. Also, doubtless, the militarist party surrounding Tuan hoped to increase its power through war activities. For my part, I allowed the Chinese to feel that the American Government, desiring them to decide this question according to their own best judgment, hoped that a way might be found to bring the war situation into harmony with justice to China.