National Assembly (Beiyang government)

[1] The National Assembly was first founded in 1913, following the overthrow of the previous Qing dynasty, as the first free democratic legislature in Chinese history.

The election results gave a clear plurality for the Kuomintang, which won 392 of the 870 seats, but there was confusion as many candidates were members in several parties concurrently.

After Yuan died, the National Assembly reconvened on 1 August 1916 under the pretext that its three-year term had been suspended and had not expired, but President Li Yuanhong was forced to disband it due to the Manchu Restoration on 1 June 1917.

[2] 130 members (mostly Kuomintang) moved to Guangzhou where they held an "extraordinary session" on 25 August under a rival government led by Sun Yat-sen, and another 120 quickly followed.

After the Old Guangxi clique became disruptive, the assembly temporarily moved to Kunming and later Chongqing under Tang Jiyao's protection until Guangzhou was liberated.

In 1922, Li Yuanhong was brought back to the Beijing presidency, and he recalled the 1913 assembly without the 1919 "extraordinary" additions, under the same pretext that its three years are not finished.

Because Sun's Guangzhou regime was in disarray due to Chen Jiongming's rebellion, most members returned to Beijing for its August 1 session.

This assembly's three-year term was spread out over eleven years and was marked by corruption, factionalism, absences, and endless debate.

Timeline of National Assembly terms The meeting place of the House of Representative is located in today's Xicheng District of Beijing.