Cen Chunxuan (1861 – 27 April 1933), courtesy name Yunjie, was a Zhuang Chinese politician who lived in the late Qing dynasty and Republic of China.

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 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.

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.

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.

When Cen arrived in Wuchang, Hubei in late September, he met Ruicheng[clarification needed], 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.

[4] 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.

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.

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.