A poster commemorating the founding of the Republic of China, featuring its two primary heroes – Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shikai. The two would fall into conflict soon after Shikai took power as the president. Source: Public Domain
The emblem of the Kuomintang (KMT), a political party that formed soon after the founding of the Republic of China and sought to check the growing power of president Yuan Shikai. Source: Public Domain
A photograph of the official swearing-in ceremony of President Yuan Shikai (third from left in the very front row). Source: Public Domain
A 1913 photograph of President Yuan Shikai (third from left in the front row) surrounded by foreign diplomats and dignitaries. This was taken toward the end of the Second Revolution, when he crushed domestic resistance to his governance. Source: Public Domain
A photograph of President Yuan Shikai in his imperial garments during the time when he was trying to found a new dynasty to rule China as an emperor. Source: Public Domain
The official imperial emblem of the dynasty which Yuan Shikai hoped to found but which was never made firmly official. Source: Public Domain
A photograph of President Yuan Shikai’s imperial regalia in full color. Source: Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D., CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
An official photograph of Yuan Shikai from 1915, after he had consolidated power throughout the Republic of China as an absolute ruler. Source: Public Domain
