Yuan Shikai's attempt at restoration ended in failure.
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The bì reading is classical, originally meaning 'monarch' or 'sovereign'. In modern Chinese it survives chiefly in 复辟, literally 'to restore the throne', used for a deposed ruler or old order seizing power again.
辛 depicts an ancient knife used to tattoo criminals and is the indexing radical. It anchors 辟 in the punishment family, the implement of legal judgement behind the 'penal law' and 'to refute' senses.
Top-left 尸 depicts a seated body, here standing for an authority figure in a punitive role. The upper-left corner of 辟 historically pictured a person presiding over judgement, the source of the classical 'penal law' sense.
口 sits below 尸 in the upper-left and depicts the mouth that pronounces a sentence or decree. Together they picture a ruler issuing a command, opening the way, which feeds the 'to open up' reading.
