politic

The Porcelain of Hung-Hsien

In 1913, Yuan Shih-k’ai (Yuan Shikai, 1859-1916) became the first president of the Republic of China after he helped Sun Yan-sen overthrow the last Qing emperor in 1911. In 1915, Yuan proclaimed himself the Hung-Hsien (Hongxian) Emperor but ruled for only 83 days before being forced to back down from his claim. During his very short imperial reign, Yuan ordered Guo Baochang to re-start the manufacturing of imperial porcelain at Jingdezhen which had ceased production with the fall of the last Qing emperor.