Contrary to both Nationalist and Communist propaganda, the Republican revolution of 1911 wasn't a romantic, glorious uprising of patriotic Chinese against a decadent and corrupt Qing Dynasty. It was all an accident.
It started in the Russian district of Wuchang when a bomb set by one of many feuding rebel groups (see The Life of Brian) exploded before schedule, forcing them to rebel. At around 7 pm that evening, with the city under martial law, the garrison's commander entered the barracks to find them empty, with the sentry dozing off at the door.
The commander yelled, "What the hell are you doing here, rebelling?"
The sentry replied "Yes, we're rebelling. So what?"
The two brawled on the floor until the commander was somehow shot by the sentry's rifle. That became famous as the Accidental First Shot.
The sentry then miraculously killed all the loyal officers sent to subdue him.