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Cen Chunxuan (1861 – 27 April 1933), courtesy name Yunjie, was a Zhuang people politician who lived in the late Qing dynasty and Republic of China. Eminent Chinese of the Chʻing period, 1644–1912, Volume 2, pp 742–745; Library of Congress, edited by Arthur W. Hummel; Washington : U.S. Govt. Print Off., 1943–1944. Tsen Chun-hsuan (Cen Chunxuan) and his brothers are mentioned in an article about their father Tsen Yu-ying (Cen Yuying), Governor-General of Yunnan-Guizhou, and their family history. Who's Who in China, Third Edition, pp 743–744; M.C. Powell, Editor; Published by The China Weekly Review, Shanghai, June 1, 1925, Tsen Chun-hsuan.
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 JacketThe Imperial Yellow Jacket is a symbol of the highest honour awarded for civil or military merit to the Manchu Qing dynasty. 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 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 Yikuang, 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.
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.
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.
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