Superpower Empire: China 1912 is a Chinese TL written by Hendryk in which the PoD takes place on February 24, 1912. On that day, provisional President Yuan Shikai dies of sudden kidney failure (a condition that actually killed him four years later) and, as a compromise between the Republican and Beiyang Army factions, Kang Youwei, former leader of the “Hundred Days” reform movement, is chosen as the new president.
Kang, with his politically savvy disciple Liang Qichao as prime minister, quickly subverts the republic's institutions and within a few months, has himself declared emperor of a new dynasty. With neither a warlord era nor a civil war to go through, China gradually begins to reverse its century-long decline, and over the course of the following decades rises again to major power status.
Three versions of the TL exist. Versions 1.0 and 2.0 are no longer considered canonical. As an experiment in thematic storytelling, Version 3.0 started out with a history of aviation in China from 1909 to 1945 - since February 2010, it has returned to a “classic” chronological format.
This TL earned the 2006 Turtledove Award for Best Early Twentieth Century TL.
Tales of the Superpower Empire is a spin-off series based on this TL that can be read in the Writer's Forum. The series has earned the 2006 and 2007 Turtledove Awards for Best Historical Fiction.
Jared's The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a spin-off TL taking place within the context of the Superpower Empire setting and canonical as far as the broader TL is concerned.