The Tongmenghui of China was a
secret society
A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...
and
underground resistance movement founded by
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...
,
Song Jiaoren, and others in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
's
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
.
It was formed from the merger of multiple late-Qing dynasty Chinese revolutionary groups.
History
Revolutionary era
The Tongmenghui was created through the unification of Sun Yat-sen's
Xingzhonghui (Revive China Society), the
Guangfuhui (Restoration Society) and many other Chinese revolutionary groups. Among the Tongmenghui's members were
Huang Xing,
Li Zongren
Li Zongren ( zh, c=李宗仁, p=Lǐ Zōngrén; 13 August 1890 – 30 January 1969), also known as Li Tsung-jen, courtesy name Delin (Te-lin; zh, p=Délín), was a Chinese warlord, military commander and politician. He was vice-president an ...
,
Zhang Binglin,
Chen Tianhua,
Wang Jingwei,
Hu Hanmin,
Tao Chengzhang,
Cai Yuanpei,
Li Shizeng,
Zhang Renjie, and
Qiu Jin.
In 1906, a branch of the Tongmenghui was formed in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, following Sun's visit there; this was called the
Nanyang branch and served as headquarters of the organization for
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. The members of the branch included
Wong Hong-kui (),
Tan Chor Lam (; 1884–1971) and
Teo Eng Hock (; originally a rubber shoe manufacturer). Tan Chor Lam, Teo Eng Hock, and
Chan Po-yin (; 1883–1965) started the revolution-related ''Chong Shing Chinese Daily Newspaper'' (), with the inaugural issue on 20 August 1907 and a daily distribution of 1,000 copies. The newspaper ended in 1910, presumably due to the
Xinhai Revolution
The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...
in 1911. Working with other Cantonese people, Tan, Teo, and Chan opened the revolution-related Kai Ming Bookstore () in Singapore. For the revolution, Chan Po-yin raised over 30,000
yuan for the purchase and shipment (from Singapore to China) of military equipment and for the support of the expenses of people travelling from Singapore to China for revolutionary work.
From December 1906 to April 1908, seven Tongmenghui-led uprisings were defeated by the Qing government.
Numerous Tongmenghui members fled to southeast Asia.
There was an increase in discontent by the membership against Tongmenghui leadership.
In 1909, the headquarters of the Nanyang Tongmenghui was transferred to
Penang
Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
. Sun Yat-Sen himself was based in Penang from July to December 1910. During this time, the
1910 Penang Conference was held to plan the
Second Guangzhou Uprising. The high-powered Preparatory Meeting of Dr. Sun Yat Sen's supporters was subsequently held in Ipoh - at the villa of Teh Lay Seng, chairman of Tungmenghui Ipoh at Jalan Sungai Pari - to raise funds. The Ipoh leaders were Teh Lay Seng, Wong I Ek, Lee Guan Swee and Lee Hau Cheong. The leaders launched a major drive for donations across the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...
. An amount of $47,683
Straits Settlement dollars was raised. The Tongmenghui also started a newspaper, the
''Kwong Wah Jit Poh'', with the first issue published in December 1910 from 120 Armenian Street, Penang.
In
Henan
Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...
, some
Chinese Muslims were members of the Tongmenghui.
Republican era

After
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
was occupied by the revolutionaries in November 1911, the Tongmenghui moved its headquarters to Shanghai. After the
Nanjing Provisional Government was established, the headquarters was moved to Nanjing. A general meeting was held in Nanjing on 20 January 1912, with thousands of members attending.
Hu Hanmin, who represented the Provisional President Sun Yat-sen, moved that the Tongmenghui oath be changed to "overthrow the Manchu government, consolidate the Republic of China, and implement the ''
Min Sheng Chu I''.
Wang Jingwei was elected as Chairman, succeeding Sun. Wang resigned the following month, and Sun resumed the chairmanship.
After the establishment of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, the Tongmenghui transformed itself into a political party on 3 March 1912, in preparation for participation in constitutional and parliamentary activities. It issued a
Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China, which consisted of 34 articles, meaning it had 10 more than the constitutional proposal made when the Tongmenghui was a secret society. The leadership election was held on the same day, with Sun Yat-sen elected as Chairman, Huang Xing and Li Yuanhung as Vice-Chairmen. In May 1912, the Tongmenghui moved its headquarters to
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. At that time, the Tongmenghui was the largest party in China, with branches in
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
,
Wuhan
Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
,
Hangzhou
Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
,
Suzhou
Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce.
Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...
,
Anqing
Anqing ( zh, s=, t=安慶, p=Ānqìng, l=, also Yicheng, Nganking and formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province of China, province, China, People's Republic of China. Its popu ...
,
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
and
Tianjin
Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...
. It had a membership of about 550,000.
In August 1912, the Tongmenghui formed the nucleus of the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
, the governing political party of the republic.
Slogan and motto
In 1904, by combining
republican,
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
, and
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
objectives, the Tongmenghui came up with their political goal: to expel the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...
rulers, to revive
''Zhonghua'', to establish a Republic, and to distribute land equally among the people. ( zh, t=驅除韃虜, 恢復中華, 創立民國, 平均地權, p=Qūchú dálǔ, huīfù Zhōnghuá, chuànglì mínguó, píngjūn dì quán, labels=no).
The
Three Principles of the People
The Three Principles of the People (), also known as the Three People's Principles, San-min Doctrine, San Min Chu-i, or Tridemism is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to improve China during the Republi ...
were created around the time of the merging of
Revive China Society
The Revive China Society (), also known as the Society for Regenerating China or the Proper China Society was founded by Sun Yat-sen on 24 November 1894 to forward the goal of establishing prosperity for China and as a platform for future 19 ...
and the Tongmenghui.
See also
*
Revive China Society
The Revive China Society (), also known as the Society for Regenerating China or the Proper China Society was founded by Sun Yat-sen on 24 November 1894 to forward the goal of establishing prosperity for China and as a platform for future 19 ...
*
Hongmen
The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihu ...
*
Gelaohui
*
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
*
History of the Republic of China
The history of the Republic of China began in 1912 with the end of the Qing dynasty, when the 1911 Revolution, Xinhai Revolution and the formation of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China put an end to 2,000 years of imperial ...
*
Huaxinghui
Notes
References
External links
Tongmenhui activities in the USFrom The Stacks Episode 15 – 𝘕𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤
{{Authority control
1905 establishments in Japan
Chinese secret societies