There are many figures in China's modern history who have been controversial, and Yuan Shikai is also one, and his honor and disgrace are extremely difficult to evaluate. Some people think that he made a certain contribution to China's modernization, and some people think that he is a great thief of the country, and the source of all this is mainly the restoration. Beiyang was founded by him, and it was because of this capital that he had the ability to overthrow the Qing government in the Xinhai Revolution. Previously, people thought that he stole the fruits of the Xinhai Revolution, but objectively speaking, if it were not for his impetus, the Qing Dynasty would not have collapsed so quickly.
At the very least, his attitude decided whether they could be unified, and many northern provinces at that time were controlled by the Qing government, and he held military power. If he does not agree, resistance is still possible, and if it is not done well, it will cause a divisive situation. He was a button between the Alliance and Qing, of course, because of his ambitions, and the position of president eventually fell into his hands. As for the case of Song Jiaoren, there is also a lot of controversy, whether it is Yuan Shikai's doing so far has no answer, but at that time it was generally believed that he was under the hand. And in the later twenty-one articles, he also used his greatest strength to safeguard the national interests, so that he did not become a second India.
Even Hu Shi commented: In our country's current representations with Japan, it can be said that we know ourselves and know each other, that we know both weight and can be indomitable, and that we can be soft and rigid, which has never been seen in the history of diplomacy. If he had stopped here, he would not have experienced such a big controversy later, but he did not. His ambitions, Yuan Keding's dream of being a prince, and Yang Du's instigation woven a beautiful dream for him, a fantasy of becoming an emperor. In December 1915, Yuan Shikai was proclaimed emperor, and the history was called the Hongxian Imperial System. As soon as this news came out, it was opposed by various forces, triggering a patriotic movement.
The 83-day emperor exchanged several years of infamy, and he became angry at that time, it is worth noting that it was not officially registered at that time, and the era name was only circulated internally. After the dream was shattered, he fell ill, but what caused Yuan Shikai to die suddenly should be a habit of life, according to the record that he died of uremia. Usually, Yuan Shikai ate the sea plug, making his body more and more bloated, which led to the onset of uremia. Judging from the memories and records of people close to him, his diet was extremely unbalanced, for example, he had to eat a bowl of deer antler velvet and a cup of ginseng in the morning.
In the afternoon, he also eats live Rhodan and fur seal ginseng, these big supplements are casual for him to eat and drink, and sometimes overeat. His secretary-general, Zhang Yilu, once said that Yuan Shikai once ate twenty eggs and a steamer cake for one breakfast, which was equivalent to his breakfast for ten days. In addition, his usual routine is not regular, and in his position, there are too many facts to worry about. So how can the body be good?
So his body is very bloated, walking like a penguin, and his face is often sick. On June 6, 1916, Yuan Shikai, who was only 57 years old, died of illness, and perhaps he had repented before his death. According to the regulations at that time, the people recommended by the previous president were candidates, and there could only be three candidates, and Yuan Shikai did not have Yuan Keding in the list left by Yuan Shikai. Not only that, he also ordered that there was no need to hold a state funeral, and the Yuan family would take care of it themselves.
In this way, Yuan Shikai ended his life with the controversy of the world. As the historian Fairbank put it, he had personal ambitions, but he was not yet an extreme egoist. He is ruthless and ruthless, but his personal work is cordial, why can't he realize that calling the emperor is useless, maybe ambition, maybe national conditions.
References: "Cambridge History of the Republic of China", "Yuan's Family Letter", "Yuan Shikai, the Great Thief of the Country"