Early career

Cen was born in 1861 during the late Qing dynasty in Xilin, Guangxi. His father, Cen Yuying (岑毓英; 1829–1889), served as the Viceroy of Yunnan and Guizhou. He was very ill-behaved in his youth and was one of the "Three Notorious Youngsters in the Capital" (京城三惡少) alongside Ruicheng and Lao Ziqiao (勞子喬). In 1879, he first entered the civil service as a zhushi (主事). In 1885, he obtained the position of a juren (舉人) in the imperial examination and was appointed as a houren langzhong (候任郎中). When Cen Yuying died in 1889, the government took into consideration his service to the Qing Empire and decided to appoint Cen Chunxuan as a shaoqing (少卿; a fourth-grade official position) in the Taipusi (太僕寺), a government agency in charge of the imperial transport system.

In 1898, the Guangxu Emperor personally interviewed and tested Cen and was so impressed with his response that he made an exception by promoting Cen to the position of a buzhengshi (布政使; a second-grade official position) in Guangdong. While serving in Guangdong, Cen got into conflict with his superior, Tan Zhonglin, the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi, hence he was reassigned to be a anchashi (按察使) in Gansu.

In 1900, when the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance attacked Beijing to suppress the Boxer Rebellion, the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi fled from the capital and headed towards Xi'an. Cen led military forces from Gansu to Xi'an to protect the emperor and empress dowager, and was awarded the Imperial Yellow Jacket and earned the favour of the Empress Dowager. He was promoted to the position of xunfu of Shaanxi but was later reassigned to be the xunfu of Shanxi. While in office, he set up the precursor of Shanxi University with the aid of the Welsh missionary Timothy Richard. In 1902, he was reassigned to be the xunfu of Guangdong. However, before he could assume office, he was ordered to go to Sichuan instead to replace Kuijun (奎俊) as the acting-Viceroy of Sichuan after the latter was dismissed from office for his failure to defeat Boxer rebels in Sichuan. While he was in Sichuan, he tightened and enforced government regulations strictly, set up a police force, and accused over 40 officials of corruption. He was nicknamed "Butcher of Officials" (官屠) – one of the "Three Butchers of the Late Qing Dynasty" (清末三屠) alongside "Butcher of Money" Zhang Zhidong and "Butcher of Scholars" Yuan Shikai.

As the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi

In 1903, Cen was appointed as the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi. In the following two years, he wrote memorials to the Qing imperial court urging the Guangxu Emperor to establish a constitutional monarchy and abolish the imperial examination system. In 1906, he supported Zhang Jian and others in establishing a Shanghai-based society that advocated for the Qing Empire to be converted to a constitutional monarchy. He also sent his subordinate Zheng Xiaoxu to serve as the president of the society and became a prominent leader in the Constitutional Monarchy Movement (立憲運動).

As Cen had strong backing from Empress Dowager Cixi, he was direct in confronting corrupt officials and even wrote memorials to the imperial court to accuse them of corruption. There were two officials whom he dealt with that attracted particular attention: Pei Jingfu (裴景福) and Zhou Rongyao (周榮曜). In cracking down on corrupt officials, he offended Prince Qing, who supported the corrupt officials. He was also drawn into a political struggle when he allied with Qu Hongji, a Grand Councillor, against Prince Qing and Yuan Shikai.

Political struggle of Dingwei

In 1906, using a rebellion in Pianma (片馬; in present-day Lushui County), Yunnan as an excuse, Prince Qing had Cen removed from his position as Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi and transferred to that of Viceroy of Yunnan and Guizhou. Cen refused to travel to Yunnan to assume his appointment, claimed that he was ill and needed to recuperate, and remained in Shanghai, where he continued to observe the situation quietly.

In early 1907, upon noticing that the odds were turning against Yuan Shikai, Cen seized the opportunity to travel to Beijing to meet Empress Dowager Cixi, who appointed him as the Minister of Posts and Communications and allowed him to remain in the capital. The balance of power thus shifted in favour of Cen and Qu Hongji. However, Prince Qing plotted against Cen and accused him of supporting Liang Qichao and trying to revive the Hundred Days' Reform, which was terminated by Empress Dowager Cixi and her faction. Cen fell out of the empress dowager's favour and was sent out of Beijing to be the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi again. When he passed by Shanghai on his journey to Guangdong, he tried to delay assuming his appointment again by claiming that he was ill and needed to rest. However, Empress Dowager Cixi issued an order that dismissed Cen from office. The political struggle between Cen against Prince Qing and Yuan Shikai thus ended with a defeat for Cen.

The political struggle is known as the "political struggle of dingwei" (丁未黨爭) because it took place in the dingwei (丁未) year according to the Chinese calendar.

Xinhai Revolution

On 15 September 1911, the imperial court sent an urgent order to Cen, who had been spending the past four years in Shanghai since his dismissal from office, ordering him to immediately leave Shanghai and join Zhao Erfeng in suppressing the anti-Qing rebellions. However, Cen sent a telegraph to the imperial court, suggesting that the Qing government take responsibility for its failure and become a constitutional monarchy to appease the rebels and preserve its existence. The imperial court was shocked and angered by Cen's suggestion. When Cen arrived in Wuchang, Hubei in late September, he met Ruicheng, discussed with him about the rebellion, and decided to resign from office upon learning that the Qing Empire was heading in a direction contrary to his personal ideals. The imperial court approved his resignation in early October. On the night of 9 October, when the Wuchang Uprising broke out, the rebels did not disturb Cen at all when they went around attacking Qing forces in Wuchang. On the morning of 10 October, Cen left Wuchang and travelled to Shanghai. On the way, he learnt that Li Yuanhong had been named the military leader of the rebels and the Xinhai Revolution was over.

Life under the Republic of China

In 1913, when the Second Revolution broke out, Cen sent a telegraph from Shanghai to Yuan Shikai in Beijing, requesting that Yuan resolve his conflict with Sun Yat-sen and the revolutionaries in a peaceful manner, but Yuan ignored him. On 17 July 1913, the revolutionaries nominated Cen to be their grand marshal and issued a proclamation appointing him as the President of the Republic of China. After the failure of the Second Revolution, Cen became a fugitive when Yuan placed a price on his head, and was forced to flee from China to Southeast Asia.

The National Protection War broke out in 1915 when Yuan Shikai declared himself emperor and attempted to establish an Empire of China. Li Genyuan (李根源) sent a representative to Southeast Asia to invite Cen back to China to join the revolutionaries in their war against Yuan Shikai. On 4 January 1916, Cen returned to Shanghai, met Liang Qichao, and discussed with him how to deal with Yuan Shikai. He wrote letters to his former subordinates Lu Rongting and Long Jiguang, who were in control of Guangxi and Guangdong respectively, to declare independence from Yuan Shikai's regime. On 19 April 1916, Cen, along with Liang Qichao and Lu Rongting, met in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, where they established a National Protection Military Government. Cen was nominated to be commander-in-chief of the National Protection Army, with Liang Qichao as his chief of staff. Cen declared war against Yuan Shikai and proclaimed, "(...) If Yuan Shikai lives, I die; if Yuan Shikai dies, I live!"

In 1918, Cen became the leader of a military government in Guangzhou. Two years later, the military government was disbanded and was replaced by Sun's Nationalist government. Consequently, Cen announced his resignation in a telegraph and spent the rest of his life in retirement in Shanghai. He died in Shanghai on 27 April 1933.

Relatives

• Tang Shaoyi: Tang's daughter is married to Cen's son, Cen Deguang.

• Cen Chunmin (1868 – 1944): Cen's younger brother.

• Yu Liqun: Cen's granddaughter. Chinese author, Guo Moruo's third wife.

生平

發跡

岑春煊出身官宦世家，其父岑毓英曾任雲貴總督。少年遊俠，放蕩不羈，與瑞澄、勞子喬並稱「京城三惡少」。光緒五年（1879年），捐官主事，光緒十一年（1885年）中舉人，候任郎中。父死後，蔭賞太僕寺少卿。光緒二十四年（1898年），岑春煊對策稱旨，被光緒親自破格提升為正二品的廣東布政使，但岑歷官不及三月，便與兩廣總督譚鐘麟發生矛盾，改任甘肅按察使。

光緒二十六年（1900年），八國聯軍攻占北京，慈禧與光緒出逃，岑春煊首先率部勤王，因此獲得慈禧的好感，因功授陝西巡撫，後調任山西巡撫，期間與李提摩太等人籌建山西大學堂。光緒二十八年（1902年），調任廣東，未及上任，四川總督奎俊因鎮壓四川義和團不力而去職，岑春煊遂赴川署理總督。在任期間，他嚴肅吏制，建立警察制度，一舉彈劾四十餘名官員，人送綽號「官屠」，與「錢屠」張之洞、「士屠」袁世凱並稱「清末三屠」。

兩廣總督

光緒二十九年（1903年），岑調任兩廣總督。次年上書請求立憲。光緒三十一年（1905年），又同袁世凱、張之洞等人上書請求廢科舉。光緒三十二年（1906年），他又支持張謇等人在上海組織預備立憲公會，並派幕僚鄭孝胥出任會長，一時儼然成為立憲運動的領袖。

岑因有慈禧支持，在各地為官期間不懼權貴，彈劾並處罰了一大批買官而來的官員，尤其是逼令葡萄牙引渡裴景福和查辦廣州海關書辦、駐比利時公使周榮曜兩案尤其引人注目，但也因此開罪了這些官員的後台慶親王奕劻，自此岑便聯合軍機大臣瞿鴻禨與慶親王及其黨袁世凱展開黨爭。

丁未黨爭

光緒三十二年（1906年），奕劻以雲南片馬民亂需要處理為由，將岑調任雲貴總督，驅離權力中樞。岑遂稱病拒不就任，停留上海，觀望政局。不久，袁世凱在朝政傾軋中失利，自請開去本職以外一應兼差。岑認為時機已到，不再稱病，於光緒三十三年5月3日(農曆三月廿一)，突然從漢口上京晉見慈禧，獲授郵傳部尚書，得以留京。一時岑、瞿聲勢大盛，隱然有獨攬朝政之意。但旋即奕劻策劃陷害岑，密使人偽造岑與梁啓超等人的合影，稱其意圖為戊戌變法翻案。形勢自此一轉即下，岑于四月二次被放為兩廣總督。途經上海時，岑重施故伎，稱病不就職，不料慈禧旋即下旨，將其開缺。至此，黨爭以奕劻、袁世凱完全勝利告終。

辛亥革命

1911年9月15日，清廷發布緊急上諭，以「開缺兩廣總督」在滬上蟄居了四年的岑春煊「會同趙爾豐辦理剿撫事宜」，「著由上海乘輪，即刻起程，毋稍遲延」。岑致電內閣，敦請朝廷下「罪己詔」，岑稱，「總之不短少路股一錢，不妄戮無辜一人，必須雙方並進，並于諭旨中稍加引咎之語，則群議自平；而給還全股，出自朝廷特恩，各路人民，必歡欣鼓舞」。岑議一出，朝野轟動，清廷中「剿撫」兩派都大為震怒。這完全與在野的立憲派黨人立場一致。9月下旬，岑春煊抵達武昌，與瑞澂言川事，知朝中大臣與之意見全然相左，遂向清廷電請辭職。10月初朝廷下旨同意。10月10日，岑春煊還在武昌夜宿。是夜武昌起義，城中槍聲大作，岑春煊「安臥如故」。次日晨，岑春煊遣人買舟渡江，再乘輪返回上海，「沿途閱報，知民軍已舉黎元洪出任都督，革命由此告成矣」。

民國時期

1913年「二次革命」初起， 岑春煊在上海聯名致電袁世凱，要求「和平解決南北衝突」，為袁所拒絕。7月17日，他被革命黨人推為大元帥。「二次革命」失敗後，遭袁通緝，逃亡南洋。

1915年，袁世凱稱帝，護國戰爭開始。革命黨人李根源派代表去南洋請岑春煊回國。

1916年1月4日，回上海，與梁啓超共同商議如何反袁。寫信勸舊部陸榮廷宣布廣西獨立，也勸舊部龍濟光宣布廣東獨立。4月19日到廣東肇慶，與梁啓超、陸榮廷等人參與護國軍政府之成立。護國軍都司令部成立，被推為都司令，梁啓超為都參謀。岑在就職宣言中說：「天下之督責，不負兩廣之委託者，惟有兩言：袁世凱生，我必死；袁世凱死，我則生耳！」

1918年任廣東護法軍政府七總裁之主席總裁。1920年軍政府解散，通電辭職，隱居上海。

1933年4月27日逝世。著有《樂齋漫筆》。

親屬

• 與唐紹儀是兒女親家，其子岑德廣娶唐的女兒為妻。

• 弟岑春蓂（1868－1944），歷任湖北按察使、貴州巡撫。1909年調任湖南巡撫，次年長沙搶米風潮後被革職。

• 外孫女于立忱、于立群分別是郭沫若的情人和妻子。

評價

岑春煊為廣西人，又曾任兩廣總督，被認為是民國桂系的根基人物。

岑春煊喜好彈劾官吏，人稱「官屠」。張之洞喜好建設，動輒用盡官府積蓄，被指為浪費銀兩，且又向當地門閥富豪募款，人稱「財屠」。袁世凱喜好打仗，殺人無數，人稱「人屠」、並戲稱為「清末三屠」。