How accurate is it to say that the spread of revolutionary beliefs was the main reason for the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 – 1912?

How accurate is it to say that the spread of revolutionary beliefs was the main reason for the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 – 1912?

It is fairly accurate to say that the spread of revolutionary beliefs was the main reason for the fall of the Qing Dynasty. However, it was a combination of both long term and short term effects that helped end the reign of the Qing Dynasty.
Revolutionary beliefs were a main factor in the destruction of the Qing Dynasty. Sun Yat-Sen’s nationalist party became preferable to what was seen as an old fashioned rule dominated by Confucian values. The GMD’s ‘three principles’ was sought after as they promoted democracy, peoples livelihood and nationalism which was lacking at the time. Another individual such as Yuan Shikai also helped bring about the downfall of the Qing Dynasty, using his humiliation as motivation he built up an army that would be able to crush the dynasty and be ruler of China himself. These two men helped increase opposition against the Qing which in turn led to their downfall.
Similarly, the reforms offered by the Qing between 1905 and 1909 were considered to be too little too late and also exposed the lack of unity within the Chinese community. For example, constitutional reforms in 1906 would take 9 years to implement, a cabinet of ministers was set up in 1909 gave 7 out of 13 places to Manchu gentlemen which showed how biased and corrupt the government was. Such reforms or lack thereof would have caused great frustration to the Chinese public as their desire for a modernised China was not being met and the old fashioned ideas were still being implemented.
Foreign influences such as China’s neighbour Japan brought humiliation to the Qing Dynasty. Japan’s modernisation and their defeats over China in numerous wars showed China and it’s civilians that China was falling behind. This caused growing resentment towards the Qing as they had nothing compared to Japan and they would never do anything to stop foreign humiliation as other countries such as Britain also helped destroy China’s idea of superiority. China lost the Opium Wars in which they had fought against Britain, as punishment they had to open ports to the British and they were forced into allowing British missionaries into China. Not only did this introduce Western Policies into China which many saw as an attractive alternative to the Qing’s policies, but it also destroyed China’s Sino-Centric way of thought. Due to the fact that the Qing was Manchu, Chinese people believed that they were being run by foreigners. Although these feelings of resentment didn’t directly lead to the downfall of the Qing, they did help build up resentment and anger within the Chinese public.
The nationalisation of the railways, the Wuhan uprising and the declaration of independence by numerous cities are all short term triggers that ultimately led to the downfall of the Qing Dynasty. Trigger factors such as the 1911 rebellion and the Boxer Rising became catalysts for the end of the dynasty. The fact that China also had to borrow money from the west to pay reparations and also debt created a sense of humiliation among the public. Western powers became increasingly used to put down rebellions and revolts. The Chinese public felt that once again they had been undermined by the Qing. The Wuhan uprising in 1911 caused even more anger after students had been executed for accidentally exploding a bomb. However it was the fact that cities south of China declared themselves independent from central government (and began raising their own money to build railways, which threatened the control of the central government) which was the final straw.
In conclusion, while the spread of revolutionary beliefs in China was a very important factor in the downfall of the Qing, it was not the only contributing factor. The lack of reforms only increased opposition to the Qing and support for the nationalists. The severe flooding in 1911 which led the belief that the Qing had lost its mandate of heaven only increased realisation that the GMD was what China needed to become powerful once again.