YPSILANTI 



6402 



YUCATAN 



YPSILANTI, ipsilan'ti. MKH.. the seat of 

 the Michigan State Normal College, the oldest 

 normal school west of New York, is a city in 

 Washtenaw County, in the southeastern part of 

 the state. It is situated on the Huron River, 

 thirty miles southwest of Detroit and eight 

 miles southeast of Ann Arbor, and is connected 

 with both cities by interurban lines. It is also 

 by the Michigan Central railroad. The 

 city has public parks, a Federal building, a 

 public library and a public hospital. In the 

 vicinity are mineral springs. The industrial es- 

 tablishments include manufactories of paper, 

 knit underwear, 'flour-mill machinery and lum- 

 ber. Ypsilanti was settled in 1825, and was 

 named in honor of a Greek patriot, Demetrius 

 Ypsifanti. The place was incorporated as a vil- 

 lage in 1832 and became a city in 1858. Popu- 

 lation in 1910, 6,230. H.F.S. 



YUAN SHI-KAI, yooahn' she ki' (1860- 

 1916), a statesman of China and the first presi- 

 dent of the republic established in 1912. He 

 was born in the province of Honan, of the Chi- 

 nese rather than the dominant Manchu race, 

 received a thor- 

 ough education, 

 according to Chi- 

 nese standards, 

 and in 1882 went 

 to Korea ; there 

 he remained as 

 resident -commis- 

 sioner until the 

 Chinese -Japanese 

 War of 1894-1895 

 forced him to 

 withdraw. He 

 had a large part 

 in the reorganiza- 

 tion of the Chinese army and navy, and dur- 

 ing the Boxer troubles of 1899-1901 appeared 

 most favorably in the eyes of the Western na- 

 tions, by reason of his attempts to protect the 

 foreign legations. 



His Part in the Revolution. Succeeding Li 

 Hung Chang in 1901 as governor of Chi-li, he 

 acquired great power, largely owing to the fa- 

 vor of the dowager empress, but in 1909 a series 

 of intrigues against him forced his resignation. 

 When the revolution against the Manchu rul- 

 ers broke out in October, 1911, he was made 

 head of the imperial forces, and a few weeks 

 later became Prime Minister. The revolution- 

 ary movement assumed such proportions that it 

 became necessary to allow the people to decide 

 what form of government should exist in China, 



YUAN SHI-KAI 



and when a republic \vas demanded Yuan Shi- 

 Kai conducted the negotiations which led to 

 the abdication of the emperor and the estab- 

 lishment of the new government. From Feb- 

 ruary, 1912, to October, 1913, Yuan Shi-Kai 

 was Provisional President, and at the latter date 

 was regularly elected to the Presidency of the 

 republic for a five-year term. 



As President. A tremendous task then con- 

 fronted him. There were 400,000,000 people in 

 the republic, not half of whom had ever heard 

 that the Manchu rulers had been deposed. He 

 began to consolidate the power of the gov- 

 ernment; he put the army on a better basis, 

 and he borrowed $125,000,000 in Europe and 

 America as working capital. Several attempts 

 to unseat him failed. In order that old tradi- 

 tions of his land might not be destroyed he or- 

 dered the restoration of the old religion, the 

 worship of Heaven and Confucius. This act 

 gave rise to the belief that he proposed to re- 

 turn to a monarchial form of government, with 

 himself as emperor. Japan took advantage of 

 the chaotic state by demanding and receiving 

 extremely valuable commercial concessions. 



The Chinese were alarmed at these inroads, 

 and it was felt that the republic would not be 

 strong enough to resist further aggressions 

 that a monarchy was needed. Yuan Shi-Kai 

 was offered the throne, but at first declined, as 

 official etiquette demanded. When it was of- 

 fered the second time, as etiquette also de- 

 manded, his acceptance followed, and he pro- 

 posed to serve as a republican President only 

 until the coronation could be arranged. Euro- 

 pean powers objected to a return to the 

 monarchy, but the leaders did not heed them. 

 However, insurrections continually taxed the 

 government, and three different times the coro- 

 nation ceremonies were postponed. In March, 

 1916, it was definitely announced that the em- 

 pire would not be proclaimed, and that China 

 would remain a republic. 



Then ensued a strong effort to wrest all 

 power from Yuan. He was able to circumvent 

 all plots in the army, but he died suddenly, 

 in June, from the announced cause of stomach 

 trouble. There is widespread belief that he was 

 a victim of poison. E.D.F. 



Consult Thomson's China Revolutionized; 

 Eland's Recent Events and Present Politics in 

 China. 



YUCATAN , yoo kah tahri , a peninsula which 

 occupies the extreme southeastern part of 

 Mexico, between the Gulf of Mexico and the 

 Caribbean Sea. It comprises tho low, flat 



