Chinese civilization dates back some four thousand years, but the modern state was founded in the early 20th century by Jiang Zhoumin, the Hongxian Emperor. The Xinhai Revolution of 1911 led to the fall of the corrupt and despotic Gong Dynasty and the establishment of a republic under the leadership of President Yang Xifu. He, however, stepped aside in favour of Jiang, then a general in command of the Gong army, in return for the latter persuading the last Gong emperor to abdicate - a mistake that would bring an end to the republic and cost millions of lives in the civil wars that would follow.