Two Men, Two Destinies

The late 19th century was a crucible of transformation for China, where the fading Qing dynasty grappled with internal rebellions and foreign incursions. Against this backdrop emerged two starkly contrasting figures: Yuan Shikai, the shrewd political operator from an elite Henan family, and Liu Yongfu, the scrappy guerrilla leader born to vagrant parents in the southwestern frontier. Their divergent trajectories—one ascending through imperial favor, the other forged in exile and battle—mirrored China’s fractured response to colonialism and modernization.

Roots of Rebellion: Origins of a Divide

Yuan Shikai’s rise defied tradition. Though he failed the imperial examinations, his family’s connections and his own tactical brilliance propelled him into diplomatic roles abroad. By contrast, Liu Yongfu’s path was one of survival. A member of the anti-Qing Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society), he joined the Taiping Rebellion but fled to Vietnam after its collapse, branded an outlaw.

Vietnam’s Nguyễn dynasty, then a Qing tributary state, saw opportunity in Liu’s ragtag forces. Tasked with quelling bandits in the lawless Bảo Thắng region (near today’s Lao Cai), Liu’s victories earned him a Vietnamese military title—an ironic twist for a man hunted by Qing authorities.

The Black Flag Army and the Fight Against France

Liu’s Black Flag Army became legendary. In 1873, they ambushed French forces near Hanoi, killing Commander Francis Garnier. A decade later, at the Battle of Paper Bridge (1883), they annihilated another French contingent, slaying Lieutenant Colonel Henri Rivière. These triumphs made Liu a Vietnamese general and a Qing paradox: an exiled rebel turned indispensable ally.

Yet geopolitics shifted. France’s navy seized Huế, forcing the Treaty of Huế (1883), which made Vietnam a French protectorate. The Qing, despite Liu’s victories, conceded in the 1885 Treaty of Tientsin, abandoning centuries of suzerainty. Liu’s forces, once vital, were absorbed into the Qing military as Beijing sought to neutralize his influence.

The Bitter Prize: Co-option and Decline

Liu’s acceptance of a Qing generalship revealed the era’s contradictions. The former rebel, now Provincial Military Commander of Fujian, disbanded his Black Flag Army, trading autonomy for legitimacy. His ally Tang Jingsong, a scholar-official, had persuaded him with promises of honor—a Faustian bargain that left Liu powerless by the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95).

Meanwhile, Yuan Shikai consolidated power in Korea, outmaneuvering pro-Japanese reformers like Kim Ok-gyun. Where Liu symbolized grassroots resistance, Yuan embodied realpolitik, aligning with Empress Dowager Cixi to suppress reformists.

Cultural Echoes: Heroes and Compromises

Liu’s legacy split perceptions: to some, a patriot resisting colonialism; to others, a cautionary tale of co-option. His Black Flag Army inspired later revolutionaries, yet his capitulation to Qing ranks underscored the seduction of traditional legitimacy.

Yuan, meanwhile, became a byword for authoritarianism—his 1915 imperial bid doomed the republic. Both men reflected China’s struggle to reconcile tradition with survival in an age of imperialism.

Modern Reverberations

Today, Liu is celebrated in Vietnam and southern China as a folk hero, while Yuan remains controversial. Their stories encapsulate a recurring theme: whether to resist foreign powers through defiance (Liu) or adaptation (Yuan)—a debate still echoing in China’s rise.

From the jungles of Tonkin to the corridors of Beijing, their lives framed a pivotal question: Could a crumbling empire reinvent itself, or was revolution the only path? The answers they embodied still haunt China’s historical imagination.