Canton Uprising of 1911

(in Russian, Huanghua Kang Uprising), an armed rebellion that took place on Apr. 27, 1911, in the city of Canton in Kwantung Province. Aimed at the overthrow of the Manchu Ch’ing Dynasty in China, the uprising was initiated by the leadership of the T’ung-meng Hui. Most of the participants came to Canton in secret from other parts of China and from abroad.

On April 27, led by Huang Hsing, more than 100 armed members of the T’ung-meng Hui attacked and captured the residence of the Manchu vicegerent of Kwantung and Kiangsi provinces. The T’ung-meng Hui’s leaders had counted on the support of units of the local Chinese garrison. The expected support, however, was not provided, and the insurgents were defeated by the government troops. Huang Hsing escaped to Hong Kong. The Russian name for the uprising derives from Huanghua Kang, a hill on which the 72 martyrs killed in the fighting were buried. Poorly organized, the Canton Uprising was merely a putsch.