Sun Zhongshan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and
political philosopher Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from de ...
who founded 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 ...
(ROC) and its first political party, 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 ...
(KMT). As the paramount leader of the
1911 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 ...
, Sun is credited with overthrowing the Qing imperial dynasty and served as the first president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912) and as the inaugural leader of the Kuomintang. Born to a peasant family 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 ...
, Sun was educated overseas in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
and returned to China to graduate from medical school in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. He led underground anti-Qing revolutionaries in
South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
as one of the Four Bandits and rose to prominence as the founder of multiple
resistance movements A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through e ...
, including the
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 The Tongmenghui of China was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed ...
. He is considered one of the most important figures of modern China, and his political life campaigning against
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 ...
rule in favor of a Chinese republic featured constant struggles and frequent periods of exile. After the success of the 1911 Revolution, Sun proclaimed the establishment of the Republic of China but had to relinquish the presidency to general
Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...
who controlled the powerful
Beiyang Army The Beiyang Army (), named after the Beiyang region, was a Western-style Imperial Chinese Army established by the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of the Qing military system in the wake ...
, ultimately going into exile in Japan. He later returned to launch a revolutionary government in
southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...
to challenge the
warlords Warlords are individuals who exercise military, economic, and political control over a region, often one without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over local armed forces. Warlords have existed throug ...
who controlled much of the country following Yuan's death in 1916. In 1923, Sun invited representatives of the
Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...
to
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
to reorganize the KMT and formed the
First United Front The First United Front , also known as the KMT–CCP Alliance, of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was formed in 1924 as an alliance to end Warlord Era, warlordism in China. Together they formed the National Revolution ...
with the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP). He did not live to see his party unify the country under his successor, Chiang Kai-shek, in the
Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...
. While residing in
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 ...
, Sun died of gallbladder cancer in 1925. Uniquely among 20th-century Chinese leaders, Sun is revered in both Taiwan (where he is officially the "
Father of the Nation The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. Pater Patriae was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", bestowed by th ...
") and in the
People's Republic of 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 ...
(where he is officially the "Forerunner of the Revolution") for his instrumental role in ending Qing rule and overseeing the conclusion of the Chinese dynastic system. His political philosophy, known as 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 ...
, sought to modernise China by advocating for
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
,
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
, and the livelihood of the people in an ethnically harmonious union (''
Zhonghua minzu ''Zhonghua minzu'' () is a political term in modern Chinese nationalism related to the concepts of nation-building, ethnicity, and race in the Chinese nationality. Collectively, the term refers to the 56 ethnic groups of China, but being ...
''). The philosophy is commemorated as the
National Anthem of the Republic of China The "National Anthem of the Republic of China", also known by its incipit "Three Principles of the People", is the national anthem of the Republic of China, commonly called Taiwan, as well as the party anthem of the Kuomintang. It was adop ...
, which Sun composed.


Names

Sun's genealogical name was Sun Deming (
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
: ; ). Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . As a child, his milk name was Tai Tseung (; ). In school, a teacher gave him the name Sun Wen (; ), which was used by Sun for most of his life. Sun's
courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...
was Zaizhi (; ), and his baptized name was Rixin (; ). While at school in
British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...
, he got the
art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...
Yat-sen (). Sun Zhongshan (; , also romanized ''Chung Shan''), the most popular of his Chinese names in China, is derived from his
Japanese name in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adoptin ...
''Kikori Nakayama'' (; ), the pseudonym given to him by Tōten Miyazaki when he was in hiding in Japan. His birthplace city was renamed
Zhongshan Zhongshan ( zh, c=中山 ), alternately romanized via Cantonese as Chungshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is n ...
in his honour likely shortly after his death in 1925. Zhongshan is one of the few cities named after people in China and has remained the official name of the city during Communist rule.


Early years


Birthplace and early life

Sun Deming was born on 12 November 1866 to Sun Dacheng and Madame Yang. His birthplace was the village of Cuiheng, Xiangshan County (now
Zhongshan Zhongshan ( zh, c=中山 ), alternately romanized via Cantonese as Chungshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is n ...
City), Canton Province (now
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 ...
). He was of
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
and
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
descent. His father owned very little land and worked as a tailor in
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
and as a journeyman and a porter. After finishing primary education and meeting childhood friend
Lu Haodong Lu Zhonggui (30 September 1868 – 7 November 1895), courtesy name Xianxiang, better known by his art name Lu Haodong, was a Chinese revolutionary who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for designing the Blue Sky with a White Sun ...
, he moved to
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
in the
Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...
, where he lived a comfortable life of modest wealth supported by his elder brother Sun Mei.


Education

During his stay in Honolulu, Sun began his education at the age of 10, attending secondary school in Hawaii. In 1878, after receiving a few years of local schooling, a 13-year-old Sun went to live with his elder brother Sun Mei, who would later make major contributions to overthrowing the
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 ...
, and who financed Sun's attendance of the
ʻIolani School Iolani School is a private coeducational K-12 college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. It serves over 2,200 students with a boarding program for grades 9 - 12 as well as a summer boarding program for middle school grades. Founded in 18 ...
. There, he studied English,
British history The history of the British Isles began with its sporadic human habitation during the Palaeolithic from around 900,000 years ago. The British Isles has been continually occupied since the early Holocene, the current geological epoch, which star ...
, mathematics, science, and Christianity. Sun was initially unable to speak English, but quickly acquired it, received a prize for academic achievement from King
Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...
, and graduated in 1882. He then attended Oahu College (now known as
Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...
) for one semester. By 1883, Sun's interest in Christianity had become deeply worrisome for his brother—who, seeing his conversion as inevitable, sent Sun back to China. Upon returning to China, a 17-year-old Sun met with his childhood friend Lu Haodong at the Beiji Temple () in Cuiheng, where villagers engaged in traditional folk healing and worshipped an
effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...
of the North Star God. Feeling contemptuous of these practices, Sun and Lu incurred the wrath of their fellow villagers by breaking the wooden idol; as a result, Sun's parents felt compelled to dispatch him to Hong Kong. In November 1883, Sun began attending the Diocesan Home and Orphanage on Eastern Street (now the
Diocesan Boys' School The Diocesan Boys' School (DBS) is a day and boarding Anglican boys' school in Hong Kong, located at 131 Argyle Street, Hong Kong, Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon. The school's mission is "to provide a liberal education based on Christianity ...
), and from 15 April 1884 he attended The Government Central School on Gough Street (now Queen's College), until graduating in 1886. In 1886, Sun studied medicine at the Guangzhou Boji Hospital under the Christian missionary John Glasgow Kerr. According to his book "Kidnapped in London", in 1887 Sun heard of the opening of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (the forerunner of the
University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...
). He immediately sought to attend, and went on to obtain a license to practice medicine from the institution in 1892; out of a class of twelve students, Sun was one of two who graduated.'' Singtao Daily''. 28 February 2011. 特別策劃 section A10. "Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition".''South China Morning Post. "Birth of Sun heralds dawn of revolutionary era for China". 11 November 1999.


Religious views and Christian baptism

In the early 1880s, Sun Mei had sent his brother to ʻIolani School, which was under the supervision of the Church of Hawaii and directed by an
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
prelate, Alfred Willis, with the language of instruction being English. At the school, the young Sun first came in contact with Christianity. Sun was later
baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...
in Hong Kong on 4 May 1884 by Rev. Charles Robert Hager, an American missionary of the Congregational Church of the United States (
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian mission, Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the l ...
), to his brother's disdain. The minister would also develop a friendship with Sun.Soong, (1997) p. 151–178 Sun attended To Tsai Church (), founded by the
London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...
in 1888, while he studied medicine in Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese. Sun pictured a revolution as similar to the salvation mission of the
Christian church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...
. His conversion to Christianity was related to his revolutionary ideals and push for advancement.


Becoming a revolutionary


Four Bandits

During the Qing-dynasty rebellion around 1888, Sun was in Hong Kong with a group of revolutionary thinkers, nicknamed the Four Bandits, at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese.Bard, Solomon. ''Voices from the past: Hong Kong, 1842–1918''. (2002). HK University Press. . p. 183.


From Furen Literary Society to Revive China Society

In 1891, Sun met revolutionary friends in Hong Kong including Yeung Ku-wan who was the leader and founder of the Furen Literary Society.Curthoys, Ann; Lake, Marilyn (2005). ''Connected worlds: history in transnational perspective''. ANU publishing. . p. 101. The group was spreading the idea of overthrowing the Qing. In 1894, Sun wrote an 8,000-character petition to Qing
Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in importan ...
presenting his ideas for modernizing China.Wei, Julie Lee. Myers Ramon Hawley. Gillin, Donald G. (1994). ''Prescriptions for saving China: selected writings of Sun Yat-sen''. Hoover press. . He traveled to
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 ...
to personally present the petition to Li but was not granted an audience. After that experience, Sun turned irrevocably toward revolution. He left China for Hawaii and founded the
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 ...
, which was committed to revolutionizing China's prosperity. It was the first Chinese nationalist revolutionary society. Members were drawn mainly from Chinese expatriates, especially from the lower social classes. The same month in 1894, the Furen Literary Society was merged with the Hong Kong chapter of the Revive China Society. Thereafter, Sun became the secretary of the newly merged Revive China Society, which Yeung Ku-wan headed as president.(Chinese) Yang, Bayun; Yang, Xing'an (2010). ''Yeung Ku-wan – A Biography Written by a Family Member''. Bookoola. p. 17. They disguised their activities in Hong Kong under the running of a business under the name "Kuen Hang Club" ().


Heaven and Earth Society and overseas travels to seek financial support

A "Heaven and Earth Society" sect known as
Tiandihui 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 ...
had been around for a long time.João de Pina-Cabral. (2002). ''Between China and Europe: person, culture and emotion in Macao''. Berg publishing. . p. 209. The group has also been referred to as the "three cooperating organizations", as well as the triads. Sun mainly used the group to leverage his overseas travels to gain further financial and resource support for his revolution.


First Sino-Japanese War

In 1895, China suffered a serious defeat during the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
. There were two types of responses. One group of intellectuals contended that 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 ...
Qing government could restore its legitimacy by successfully modernizing.Bevir, Mark (2010). ''Encyclopedia of Political Theory''. Sage publishing. . p 168. Stressing that overthrowing the Manchu would result in chaos and would lead to China being carved up by imperialists, intellectuals like
Kang Youwei Kang Youwei (; Cantonese: ''Hōng Yáuh-wàih''; 19March 185831March 1927) was a political thinker and reformer in China of the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor sparked confli ...
and
Liang Qichao Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超; Wade–Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu''; ) (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political activist, jour ...
supported responding with initiatives like the
Hundred Days' Reform The Hundred Days' Reform or Wuxu Reform () was a failed 103-day national, cultural, political, and educational reform movement that occurred from 11 June to 22 September 1898 during the late Qing dynasty. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu Emp ...
. In another faction, Sun Yat-sen and others like Zou Rong wanted a revolution to replace the dynastic system with a modern
nation-state A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly or ideally) con ...
in the form of a
republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
. The Hundred Days' reform turned out to be a failure by 1898.


First uprising and exile


First Guangzhou Uprising

In the second year of the establishment of the Revive China Society, on 26 October 1895, the group planned and launched the First Guangzhou uprising against the Qing in
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
. Yeung Ku-wan directed the uprising starting from Hong Kong. However, plans were leaked out, and more than 70 members, including
Lu Haodong Lu Zhonggui (30 September 1868 – 7 November 1895), courtesy name Xianxiang, better known by his art name Lu Haodong, was a Chinese revolutionary who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for designing the Blue Sky with a White Sun ...
, were captured by the Qing government. The uprising was a failure. Sun received financial support mostly from his brother, who sold most of his 12,000 acres of ranch and cattle in Hawaii. Additionally, members of his family and relatives of Sun would take refuge at the home of his brother Sun Mei at Kamaole in Kula,
Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
.


Exile in the United Kingdom

While in exile in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1896, Sun raised money for his revolutionary party and to support uprisings in China. While the events leading up to it are unclear, Sun Yat-sen was detained at the Chinese Legation in London, where the Chinese secret service planned to smuggle him back to China to execute him for his revolutionary actions. He was released after 12 days by the efforts of James Cantlie, '' The Globe'', ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', and the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...
, which left Sun a hero in the United Kingdom. James Cantlie, Sun's former teacher at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, maintained a lifelong friendship with Sun and later wrote an early biography of him Sun wrote a book in 1897 about his detention, "Kidnapped in London." The bronze plaque of Sun is currently mounted on an outside wall of the building of "City Junior School" at 4 Gray's Inn Place.


Exile in Japan

Sun traveled by way of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
to
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
to begin his exile there. He arrived in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
on 16 August 1897 and met with the Japanese politician Tōten Miyazaki. Most Japanese who actively worked with Sun were motivated by a
pan-Asian Satellite photograph of Asia in orthographic projection. Pan-Asianism (also known as Asianism or Greater Asianism) is an ideology aimed at creating a political and economic unity among Asian peoples. Various theories and movements of Pan-Asiani ...
opposition to
Western imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power ( diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism foc ...
. In Japan, Sun also met
Mariano Ponce Mariano Ponce y Collantes (; March 22, 1863 – May 23, 1918) commonly known as just Mariano Ponce was a Filipino physician, writer, statesman, and active member of the Propaganda Movement. In Spain, he was among the founders of ''La Solidarid ...
, a diplomat of the
First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic (), now officially remembered as the First Philippine Republic and also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was a state established in Malolos, Bulacan, during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish ...
. During the
Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...
and the
Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...
, Sun helped Ponce procure weapons that had been salvaged from the
Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
and ship the weapons to the Philippines. By helping the Philippine Republic, Sun hoped that the Filipinos would retain their independence so that he could be sheltered in the country in staging another Chinese revolution. However, as the war ended in July 1902, the United States emerged victorious from a bitter three-year war against the Republic. Therefore, Sun did not have the opportunity to ally with the Philippines in his revolution in China. In 1897, through an introduction by Miyazaki Toten, Sun Yat-sen met
Tōyama Mitsuru was a Japanese far right and ultra nationalist politician who founded secret societies called Genyosha ('' Black Ocean Society'') and Kokuryukai (''Black Dragon Society''). Tōyama was an Anti Communist and a strong proponent of Pan Asianism ...
of the political organization Genyosha. Through Tōyama, he received financial support for his activities and living expenses in Tokyo from . Additionally, his residence, a 2,000-square-meter mansion in Waseda-Tsurumaki-cho, was arranged by
Inukai Tsuyoshi Inukai Tsuyoshi (, 4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was a Japanese statesman who was Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. At the age of 76, Inukai was Japan's second oldest serving prime minister, ...
. In 1899, the
Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...
occurred. The following year, Sun Yat-sen attempted another uprising in Huizhou, but it ended in failure. In 1902, despite already having a wife in China, he married the Japanese teenage girl Kaoru Otsuki. Furthermore, he kept as a mistress and frequently had her accompany him.


From failed uprisings to revolution


Huizhou Uprising

On 22 October 1900, Sun ordered the launch of the Huizhou Uprising to attack
Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...
and provincial authorities in Guangdong. That came five years after the failed Guangzhou Uprising. This time, Sun appealed to the triads for help. The uprising was another failure. Miyazaki, who participated in the revolt with Sun, wrote an account of the revolutionary effort under the title "33-Year Dream" () in 1902.


Getting support from Siamese Chinese

In 1903, Sun made a secret trip to
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
in which he sought funds for his cause in Southeast Asia. His loyal followers published newspapers, providing invaluable support to the dissemination of his revolutionary principles and ideals among Siamese Chinese in
Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. In Bangkok, Sun visited
Yaowarat Road Yaowarat Road (, , ; ) in Samphanthawong District is the main artery of Bangkok's Chinatown. Modern Chinatown now covers a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road. It has been the main centre for trading by the Chinese community si ...
, in the city's
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
. On that street, Sun gave a speech claiming that
Overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...
were "the Mother of the Revolution." He also met the local Chinese merchant Seow Houtseng, who sent financial support to him. Sun's speech on Yaowarat Road was commemorated by the street later being named "Sun Yat Sen Street" or "Soi Sun Yat Sen" () in his honour.


Getting support from American Chinese

According to Lee Yun-ping, chairman of the Chinese historical society, Sun needed a certificate to enter the United States since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 would have otherwise blocked him. In March 1904, while residing in Kula,
Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
, Sun Yat-sen obtained a Certificate of Hawaiian Birth, issued by the
Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...
, stating that "he was born in the
Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...
on the 24th day of November, A.D. 1870." He renounced it after it served its purpose to circumvent the Chinese Exclusion Act.Smyser, A.A. (2000)
''Sun Yat-sen's strong links to Hawaii''
Honolulu Star Bulletin. "Sun renounced it in due course. It did, however, help him circumvent the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which became applicable when Hawaii was annexed to the United States in 1898."
Official files of the United States show that Sun had United States nationality, moved to China with his family at age 4, and returned to Hawaii 10 years later. Note that one immigration official recorded that Sun was born in Kula, a district of
Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
, Hawaii.
On 6 April 1904, on his first attempt to enter the United States, Sun Yat-sen landed in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. He was detained and faced with possible deportation. Sun, represented by the law firm of Ralston & Siddons, based in
Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, filed an appeal with the Commissioner-General of Immigration on 26 April 1904. On 28 April 1904, the acting secretary of the
Department of Commerce and Labor The United States Department of Commerce and Labor was a short-lived United States Cabinet, Cabinet department of the United States Government of the United States, government, which was concerned with fostering and supervising big business. It ...
in a four-page decision contained in the case file, set aside the order of deportation and ordered the Commissioner of Immigration in San Francisco to "permit the said Sun Yat-sen to land." Sun was then freed to embark on his fundraising tour in the United States.


Returned to exile in Japan

In 1900, Sun Yat-sen temporarily
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
d himself to Japan again. During his stay in Japan, he expressed his thoughts to
Inukai Tsuyoshi Inukai Tsuyoshi (, 4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was a Japanese statesman who was Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. At the age of 76, Inukai was Japan's second oldest serving prime minister, ...
, saying, "The
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
is the first step of the Chinese revolution, and the Chinese revolution is the second step of the Meiji Restoration." Around this time, Sun married
Soong Ching-ling Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 1893 – 29 May 1981), Christian name Rosamonde or Rosamond, was a Chinese political figure. She was the wife of Sun Yat-sen, therefore known by Madame Sun Yat-sen and the "''Father of the Nation, Mother of Mode ...
, the second daughter of Soong Jiashu, who was also a Hakka like him. There are various theories about the year of their marriage, but it is generally believed to have taken place between
1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...
and
1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...
while Sun was exiled in Japan. The arrangement of their marriage was supported by Umeya Shokichi, a Japanese supporter who provided financial aid.2007年2月25日NHK BS1 『世界から見たニッポン~大正編』 At that time, Fusanosuke Kuhara, a prominent figure in Japan's political and business circles, invited Sun to his villa, the Nihonkan, located where the current restaurant "Kochuan" in Shirokane Happo-en stands. Kuhara offered Sun the newly built "Orchid Room" to encourage and support his friend living in a foreign land. The Orchid Room was equipped with a secret escape route known as "Sun Yat-sen's Escape Passage." This precautionary measure included a hidden door behind the fireplace, which led to an underground tunnel, providing an escape route in case of emergencies.


Unifying forces of Tongmenghui in Tokyo

In 1904, Sun Yat-sen came about with the goal "to expel the Tatar barbarians (specifically, the Manchu), to revive Zhonghua, to establish a Republic, and to distribute land equally among the people" ().計秋楓, 朱慶葆. (2001). 中國近代史, Volume 1. Chinese University Press. . p. 468. One of Sun's major legacies was the creation of his political philosophy of 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 ...
. These Principles included the principle of nationalism (minzu, ), of democracy (minquan, ), and of welfare (minsheng, ). On 20 August 1905, Sun joined forces with revolutionary Chinese students studying in Tokyo to form the unified group
Tongmenghui The Tongmenghui of China was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed ...
(United League), which sponsored uprisings in China. By 1906 the number of Tongmenghui members reached 963.


Getting support from Malayan Chinese

Sun's notability and popularity extended beyond the
Greater China In ethnogeography, "Greater China" is a loosely-defined term that refers to the region sharing cultural and economic ties with the Chinese people, often used by international enterprises or organisations in unofficial usage. The notion contains ...
region, particularly to Nanyang (Southeast Asia), where a large concentration of
overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...
resided in Malaya (
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
and Singapore). In Singapore, he met the local Chinese merchants Teo Eng Hock (), Tan Chor Nam () and Lim Nee Soon (), which mark the commencement of direct support from the Nanyang Chinese. The Singapore chapter of the Tongmenghui was established on 6 April 1906,Yan, Qinghuang. (2008). ''The Chinese in Southeast Asia and beyond: socioeconomic and political dimensions''. World Scientific publishing.. pp. 182–187. but some records claim the founding date to be end of 1905. The
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...
used by Sun was known as Wan Qing Yuan. Singapore then was the headquarters of the Tongmenghui. After founding the Tongmenghui, Sun advocated the establishment of the '' Chong Shing Yit Pao'' as the alliance's mouthpiece to promote revolutionary ideas. Later, he initiated the establishment of reading clubs across Singapore and Malaysia to disseminate revolutionary ideas by the lower class through public readings of newspaper stories. The United Chinese Library, founded on 8 August 1910, was one such reading club, first set up at leased property on the second floor of the Wan He Salt Traders in North Boat Quay. The first actual United Chinese Library building was built between 1908 and 1911 below Fort Canning, on 51 Armenian Street, and commenced operations in 1912. The library was set up as a part of the 50 reading rooms by the Chinese republicans to serve as an information station and liaison point for the revolutionaries. In 1987, the library was moved to its present site at Cantonment Road.


Uprisings

On 1 December 1907, Sun led the Zhennanguan Uprising against the Qing at
Friendship Pass Friendship Pass (), also commonly known by its older name Ải Nam Quan (), is a pass near the China-Vietnam border, between China's Guangxi and Vietnam's Lạng Sơn province. The pass itself lies just inside the Chinese side of the border ...
, which is the border between
Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
.Khoo, Salma Nasution. (2008). ''Sun Yat Sen in Penang''. Areca publishing. . The uprising failed after seven days of fighting. In 1907, there were a total of four failed uprisings, including Huanggang uprising, Huizhou seven women lake uprising and Qinzhou uprising. In 1908, two more uprisings failed: the Qin-lian Uprising and Hekou Uprising.


Anti-Sun factionalism

Because of the failures, Sun's leadership was challenged by elements from within the Tongmenghui who wished to remove him as leader. In Tokyo, members from the recently merged Restoration society raised doubts about Sun's credentials. Tao Chengzhang and
Zhang Binglin Zhang Binglin (January 12, 1869 – June 14, 1936), also known by his art name Zhang Taiyan, was a Chinese philologist, textual critic, philosopher, and revolutionary. His philological works include ''Wen Shi'' (文始 "The Origin of Writing"), ...
publicly denounced Sun in an open leaflet, "A declaration of Sun Yat-sen's Criminal Acts by the Revolutionaries in Southeast Asia", which was printed and distributed in reformist newspapers like ''Nanyang Zonghui Bao''. The goal was to target Sun as a leader leading a revolt only for
profiteering Profiteering is a pejorative term for the act of making a profit by methods considered unethical. Overview Business owners may be accused of profiteering when they raise prices during an emergency ( especially a war). The term is also applied to ...
. The revolutionaries were polarized and split between pro-Sun and anti-Sun camps. Sun publicly fought off comments about how he had something to gain financially from the revolution. However, by 19 July 1910, the Tongmenghui headquarters had to relocate from Singapore to Penang to reduce the anti-Sun activities. It was also in Penang that Sun and his supporters would launch the first Chinese "daily" newspaper, the ''
Kwong Wah Yit Poh ''Kwong Wah Yit Poh'' or ''Kwong Wah Daily'' () is a Malaysian Chinese daily that was founded in 1910 by Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen. It is the oldest surviving Chinese-language newspaper in Southeast Asia. History Background During ...
'', in December 1910.


1911 revolution

To sponsor more uprisings, Sun made a personal plea for financial aid at the Penang conference, held on 13 November 1910 in Malaya. Bergère: 188 The high-powered preparatory meeting of Sun's supporters was subsequently held in Ipoh, Singapore, at the villa of Teh Lay Seng, the chairman of the Tungmenghui, to raise funds for the Huanghuagang Uprising, also known as the Yellow Flower Mound Uprising. 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 ...
and raised HK$187,000. On 27 April 1911, the revolutionary
Huang Xing Huang Xing or Huang Hsing (; 25 October 1874 – 31 October 1916) was a Chinese revolutionary leader and politician, and the first commander-in-chief of the Republic of China. As one of the founders of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Republic of ...
led the Yellow Flower Mound Uprising against the Qing. The revolt failed and ended in disaster. The bodies of only 72 revolutionaries were identified of the 86 that were found.王恆偉. (2005) (2006) 中國歷史講堂 No. 5 清. 中華書局. . pp. 195–198. The revolutionaries are remembered as
martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
. Despite the failure of this uprising, which was due to a leak, it was successful in triggering off the trend of nation-wide revolts. On 10 October 1911, the military
Wuchang Uprising The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang (now Wuchang District of Wuhan) in the Chinese province of Hubei on 10 October 1911, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthr ...
took place and was led again by Huang Xing. The uprising expanded 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 ...
, also known as the "Chinese Revolution", to overthrow the last emperor,
Puyi Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...
. Sun had no direct involvement in it, as he was in
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, and had spent much of the year in the United States in search of support from
Chinese Americans Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...
. That put Huang in charge of the revolution that ended over 2000 years of imperial rule in China. On 12 October, when Sun learned of the successful rebellion against the Qing emperor from press reports, he returned to China from the United States and was accompanied by his closest foreign advisor, the American "General" Homer Lea, an adventurer whom Sun had met in London when they attempted to arrange British financing for the future Chinese republic. Both sailed for China, arriving there on 21 December 1911.


Republic of China with multiple governments


Provisional government

On 29 December 1911, a meeting of representatives from provinces in Nanjing elected Sun as the provisional president. 1 January 1912 was set as the
epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...
of the new republican calendar.Welland, Sasah Su-ling. (2007). ''A Thousand Miles of Dreams: The Journeys of Two Chinese Sisters''. Rowman Littlefield Publishing. . p. 87.
Li Yuanhong Li Yuanhong (; courtesy name ; October 19, 1864 – June 3, 1928) was a prominent Chinese military and political leader during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. He was the Provisional Vice President of the Republic of China from 191 ...
was made provisional vice-president, and Huang Xing became the minister of the army. It was argued Sun was a 'compromise candidate' to end an impasse and power struggle between Li Yuanhong and Huang Xing over the role of the Generalissimo. A new
provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
for the Republic of China was created, along with a provisional constitution. Sun is credited for funding the revolutions and for keeping revolutionary spirit alive, even after a series of false starts. His successful merger of smaller revolutionary groups into a single coherent party provided a better base for those who shared revolutionary ideals. Under Sun's provisional government, several innovations were introduced, such as the aforementioned calendar system, and fashionable Zhongshan suits.


Beiyang government

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...
, who was in control of the
Beiyang Army The Beiyang Army (), named after the Beiyang region, was a Western-style Imperial Chinese Army established by the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of the Qing military system in the wake ...
, had been promised the position of president of the Republic of China if he could get the Qing court to abdicate. On 12 February 1912, the Emperor did abdicate the throne. Sun stepped down as president, and Yuan became the new provisional president in Beijing on 10 March 1912. The provisional government did not have any military forces of its own. Its control over elements of the new army that had mutinied was limited, and significant forces still had not declared against the Qing. Sun Yat-sen sent telegrams to the leaders of all provinces to request them to elect and to establish the National Assembly in 1912. In May 1912, the legislative assembly moved from Nanjing to Beijing, with its 120 members divided between members of the Tongmenghui and a republican party that supported Yuan Shikai.Ch'ien Tuan-sheng. ''The Government and Politics of China 1912–1949''. Harvard University Press, 1950; rpr. Stanford University Press. . pp. 83–91. Many revolutionary members were already alarmed by Yuan's ambitions and the northern-based
Beiyang government The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name. B ...
.


New Nationalist party in 1912, failed Second Revolution and new exile

The Tongmenghui member
Song Jiaoren Song Jiaoren (, ; Chinese name, Given name at birth: Liàn 鍊; Courtesy name: Dùnchū 鈍初; 5 April 1882 – 22 March 1913) was a Republic of China (1912–1949), Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the Kuom ...
quickly tried to control the assembly. He mobilized the old Tongmenghui at the core with the mergers of a number of new small parties to form a new political party, 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 ...
(Chinese Nationalist Party, commonly abbreviated as "KMT") on 25 August 1912 at
Huguang Guild Hall The Huguang Guild Hall () in Beijing is one of Beijing's most renowned Peking opera theaters. History Built in 1807, and at the height of its glory, the Huguang Guild Hall, along with the Zhengyici Peking Opera Theater was known as one of the ...
, Beijing. The 1912–1913 National assembly election was considered a huge success for the KMT, which won 269 of the 596 seats in the lower house and 123 of the 274 seats in the upper house.Fu, Zhengyuan. (1993). ''Autocratic tradition and Chinese politics''(Cambridge University Press. ). pp. 153–154. In retaliation, the KMT leader
Song Jiaoren Song Jiaoren (, ; Chinese name, Given name at birth: Liàn 鍊; Courtesy name: Dùnchū 鈍初; 5 April 1882 – 22 March 1913) was a Republic of China (1912–1949), Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the Kuom ...
was assassinated, almost certainly by a secret order of Yuan, on 20 March 1913. The Second Revolution took place by Sun and KMT military forces trying to overthrow Yuan's forces of about 80,000 men in an armed conflict in July 1913. The revolt against Yuan was unsuccessful. In August 1913, Sun fled to Japan, where he later enlisted financial aid by the politician and industrialist Fusanosuke Kuhara.


Warlords chaos

In 1915, Yuan proclaimed the Empire of China with himself as
Emperor of China Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" () was the superlative title held by the monarchs of imperial China's various dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine mandat ...
. Sun took part in the
National Protection War The National Protection War ( zh, t=護國戰爭, s=护国战争, p=Hù guó zhànzhēng), also known as the Anti-Monarchy War, was a civil war that took place in China between 1915 and 1916. Following the overthrow of the Qing dynasty three yea ...
of the
Constitutional Protection Movement The Constitutional Protection Movement () was a series of movements led by Sun Yat-sen to resist the Beiyang government between 1917 and 1922, in which Sun established another government in Guangzhou as a result. It was known as the Fourth Revolut ...
and also supported bandit leaders like Bai Lang during the Bai Lang Rebellion, which marked the beginning of the
Warlord Era The Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1928, when control of the country was divided between rival Warlord, military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions. It began after the de ...
. In 1915, Sun wrote to the
Second International The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...
, a
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 ...
-based organization in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and asked it to send a team of specialists to help China set up the world's first socialist republic. The same year, Sun received the
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n communist M.N. Roy as a guest. There were then many theories and proposals of what China could be. In the political mess, both Sun Yat-sen and
Xu Shichang Xu Shichang (Hsu Shih-chang; ; courtesy name: Juren (Chu-jen; 菊人); October 20, 1855 – June 5, 1939) was a Chinese politician who served as the President of the Republic of China, in Beijing, from 10 October 1918 to 2 June 1922. The only p ...
were announced as president of the Republic of China.


Alliance with Communist Party and Northern Expedition


Guangzhou militarist government

China had become divided among regional military leaders. Sun saw the danger and returned to China in 1916 to advocate Chinese reunification. In 1921, he started a self-proclaimed military government in
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
and was elected Grand Marshal. Bergère & Lloyd: 273 According to historian William C. Kirby, between 1912 and 1927, three governments were set up in South China: the Provisional government in Nanjing (1912), the Military government in Guangzhou (1923–1925), and the National government in Guangzhou and later Wuhan (1925–1927). The governments in the south were established to rival the Beiyang government in the north. Yuan Shikai had banned the KMT. The short-lived Chinese Revolutionary Party was a temporary replacement for the KMT. On 10 October 1919, Sun resurrected the KMT with the new name Chung-kuo
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 ...
, or "Nationalist Party of China."


First United Front

Sun was now convinced that the only hope for a unified China lay in a military conquest from his base in the south, followed by a period of , which would culminate in the transition to democracy. To hasten the conquest of China, he began a policy of active co-operation with the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP). Sun and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
's
Adolph Joffe Adolph Abramovich Joffe (; alternatively transliterated as Adolf Ioffe or Yoffe; 10 October 1883 – 16 November 1927) was a Russian revolutionary, Bolshevik politician and Soviet diplomat of Karaite descent. Biography Revolutionary career ...
signed the Sun-Joffe Manifesto in January 1923.Tung, William L. (1968). ''The political institutions of modern China''. Springer publishing. . pp. 92, 106. Sun received help from the
Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...
for his acceptance of communist members into his KMT. Sun received assistance from Soviet advisor
Mikhail Borodin Mikhail Markovich Gruzenberg, known by the alias Borodin (9 July 1884 – 29 May 1951), was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Communist International (Comintern) agent. He was an advisor to Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang (KMT) in China during the ...
, whom Sun described as his " Lafayette". The Russian revolutionary and socialist leader
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
praised Sun and his KMT for its ideology, principles, attempts at social reformation, and fight against foreign imperialism. Sun also returned the praise by calling Lenin a "great man" and indicated that he wished to follow the same path as Lenin. In 1923, after having been in contact with Lenin and other Moscow communists, Sun sent representatives to study the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
, and in turn, the Soviets sent representatives to help reorganize the KMT at Sun's request. With the Soviets' help, Sun was able to develop the military power needed for the
Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...
against the military at the north. He established the
Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy ( zh, t=中華民國陸軍軍官學校, p=Zhōnghúa Mīngúo Lùjūn Jūnguān Xúexiào, poj=Tiong-hôa Bîn-kok Lio̍k-kun Kun-koaⁿ Ha̍k-hāu), also known as the Chinese Military Academy (CMA), is ...
near Guangzhou with Chiang Kai-shek as the
commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...
of the
National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; zh, labels=no, t=國民革命軍) served as the military arm of the Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) from 1924 until 1947. From 1928, it functioned as the regular army, de facto ...
(NRA). Other Whampoa leaders include
Wang Jingwei Wang Zhaoming (4 May 188310 November 1944), widely known by his pen name Wang Jingwei, was a Chinese politician who was president of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state of the Empire of Japan. He was in ...
and
Hu Hanmin Hu Hanmin (; 9 December 1879 – 12 May 1936) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was one of the early conservative right-wing faction leaders in the Kuomintang (KMT) during revolutionary China. Biography Hu was of Hakka descent fro ...
as political instructors. This full collaboration was called the
First United Front The First United Front , also known as the KMT–CCP Alliance, of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was formed in 1924 as an alliance to end Warlord Era, warlordism in China. Together they formed the National Revolution ...
.


Financial concerns

In 1924 Sun appointed his brother-in-law T. V. Soong to set up the first Chinese central bank, the Canton Central Bank. To establish national capitalism and a banking system was a major objective for the KMT. However, Sun met opposition by the Canton Merchant Volunteers Corps Uprising against him.


Final years


Final speeches

In February 1923, Sun made a presentation to the
Students' Union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizat ...
in
Hong Kong University The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...
and declared that the corruption of China and the peace, order, and good government of Hong Kong had turned him into a revolutionary. The same year, he delivered a speech in which he proclaimed his
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 ...
as the foundation of the country and the Five-Yuan Constitution as the guideline for the political system and bureaucracy. Part of the speech was made into the
National Anthem of the Republic of China The "National Anthem of the Republic of China", also known by its incipit "Three Principles of the People", is the national anthem of the Republic of China, commonly called Taiwan, as well as the party anthem of the Kuomintang. It was adop ...
. On 10 November 1924, Sun traveled north to
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 ...
and delivered a speech to suggest a gathering for a "national conference" for the Chinese people. He called for the end of warlord rules and the abolition of all
unequal treaties The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between Asian countries—most notably Qing China, Tokugawa Japan and Joseon Korea—and Western countries—most notably the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Unit ...
with the Western powers. Two days later, he traveled to Beijing to discuss the future of the country despite his deteriorating health and the ongoing civil war of the warlords. Among the people whom he met was the Muslim warlord General
Ma Fuxiang Ma Fuxiang (, Xiao'erjing: , French romanization: Ma-Fou-hiang or Ma Fou-siang; 4 February 1876 – 19 August 1932) was a Chinese Muslim scholar and military and political figure, spanning from the Qing Dynasty through the early Republic of ...
, who informed Sun that he would welcome Sun's leadership. On 28 November 1924 Sun traveled to Japan and gave a speech on Pan-Asianism at
Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...
, Japan.


Illness and death

For many years, it was popularly believed that Sun died of
liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...
. On 26 January 1925, Sun underwent an
exploratory laparotomy An exploratory laparotomy is a general surgical operation where the abdomen is opened and the abdominal organs are examined for injury or disease. It is the standard of care in various blunt and penetrating trauma situations in which there may b ...
at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) to investigate a long-term illness. It was performed by the head of the Department of Surgery, Adrian S. Taylor, who stated that the procedure "revealed extensive involvement of the liver by
carcinoma Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesoder ...
" and that Sun had only about ten days to live. Sun was hospitalized, and his condition was treated with
radium Radium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in alkaline earth metal, group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, ...
. Sun survived the initial ten-day period, and on 18 February, against the advice of doctors, he was transferred to the KMT headquarters and treated with
traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...
. That was also unsuccessful, and he died on 12 March, at the age of 58. Contemporary reports in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'', and the Chinese newspaper ''Qun Qiang Bao'' all reported the cause of death as liver cancer, based on Taylor's observation. He also left a short political will (), penned by
Wang Jingwei Wang Zhaoming (4 May 188310 November 1944), widely known by his pen name Wang Jingwei, was a Chinese politician who was president of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state of the Empire of Japan. He was in ...
, which had a widespread influence in the subsequent development 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 ...
and
Taiwan 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 ...
. His body then was preserved in
mineral oil Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils. The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...
and taken to the
Temple of Azure Clouds The Temple of Azure Clouds (), or Biyun Temple, is a Buddhism in China, Buddhist temple located in the eastern part of the Western Hills, just outside the north gate of Fragrant Hills, Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan) Park, in Haidian District, Beijin ...
, a
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
shrine in the
Western Hills The Western Hills () are the hills and mountains in the western part of Beijing. Geography Being an extension of the Taihang mountain range from the Hebei Province, the Western Hills cover approximately 17% of the Beijing municipality, incl ...
a few miles outside Beijing. A glass-covered steel coffin was sent by the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall at Temple of Azure Clouds as a permanent repository for the body but was ultimately declined by the family as unsuitable. The body was embalmed for preservation by
Peking Union Medical College Peking Union Medical College, also as Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, is a national public medical sciences research institution in Dongcheng, Beijing, Dongcheng, Beijing, China. Originally founded in 1906, it is affiliated with the Nationa ...
who reportedly guaranteed its preservation for 150 years. In 1926, construction began on a majestic mausoleum at the foot of Purple Mountain in Nanjing, which was completed in the spring of 1929. On 1 June 1929, Sun's remains were moved from Beijing and interred in the
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum ( zh, t=中山陵, p=Zhōngshān Líng) is situated at the foot of the second peak of Purple Mountain (Nanjing), Purple Mountain in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Construction of the tomb started in January 1926, and was fin ...
. By pure chance, in May 2016, an American pathologist, Rolf F. Barth, was visiting the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
when he noticed a faded copy of the original autopsy report on display. The autopsy was performed immediately after Sun's death by James Cash, a pathologist at PUMCH. Based on a tissue sample, Cash concluded that the cause of death was an
adenocarcinoma Adenocarcinoma (; plural adenocarcinomas or adenocarcinomata ; AC) is a type of cancerous tumor that can occur in several parts of the body. It is defined as neoplasia of epithelial tissue that has glandular origin, glandular characteristics, or ...
in the
gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow Organ (anatomy), organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath t ...
that had metastasized to the liver. In modern China, liver cancer is far more common than
gallbladder cancer Gallbladder cancer is a relatively uncommon cancer, with an incidence of fewer than 2 cases per 100,000 people per year in the United States. It is particularly common in central and South America, central and eastern Europe, Japan and northern Ind ...
. Although the incidence rates for either one in 1925 are not known, if one assumes that they were similar to modern rates, the original diagnosis by Taylor was a reasonable conclusion. From the time of Sun's death to the appearance of Barth's report in the '' Chinese Journal of Cancer'' in September 2016, Sun's true cause of death was not reported in any English-language publication. Even in Chinese-language sources, it appeared in only one non-medical online report in 2013.


Legacy


Power struggle

After Sun's death, a power struggle between his young protégé Chiang Kai-shek and his old revolutionary comrade
Wang Jingwei Wang Zhaoming (4 May 188310 November 1944), widely known by his pen name Wang Jingwei, was a Chinese politician who was president of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state of the Empire of Japan. He was in ...
split the KMT. At stake in the struggle was the right to lay claim to Sun's ambiguous legacy. In 1927, Chiang married
Soong Mei-ling Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling; March 4, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang (), was a Chinese political figure and socialite. The youngest of the Soong sisters, she married Chiang Kai-shek and played a prom ...
, a sister of Sun's widow
Soong Ching-ling Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 1893 – 29 May 1981), Christian name Rosamonde or Rosamond, was a Chinese political figure. She was the wife of Sun Yat-sen, therefore known by Madame Sun Yat-sen and the "''Father of the Nation, Mother of Mode ...
, and he could now claim to be a brother-in-law of Sun. When the Communists and the Kuomintang split in 1927, which marked the start of the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
, each group claimed to be his true heirs, and the conflict that continued until
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Sun's widow,
Soong Ching-ling Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 1893 – 29 May 1981), Christian name Rosamonde or Rosamond, was a Chinese political figure. She was the wife of Sun Yat-sen, therefore known by Madame Sun Yat-sen and the "''Father of the Nation, Mother of Mode ...
, sided with the Communists during the Chinese Civil War and was critical of Chiang's regime since the
Shanghai massacre The Shanghai massacre of 12 April 1927, the April 12 Purge or the April 12 Incident as it is commonly known in China, was the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations and leftist elements in Shanghai by forces support ...
in 1927. She served from 1949 to 1981 as vice-president (or vice-chairwoman) of the People's Republic of China and as honorary president shortly before her death in 1981.


Personality cult

A
personality cult A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an ideali ...
in the Republic of China was centered on Sun and his successor,
Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ), also generalissimus, is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative ...
Chiang Kai-shek. The cult was created after Sun Yat-sen died. Chinese Muslim generals and imams participated in the personality cult and the
one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
, with Muslim General
Ma Bufang Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Chinese Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republican era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was lieutenant-general. Life Ma Bufang and his older brother ...
making people bow to Sun's portrait and listen to the national anthem during a Tibetan and
Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
religious ceremony for the
Qinghai Lake Qinghai Lake is the list of lakes by area, largest lakes of China, lake in China. Located in an endorheic basin in Qinghai Province, to which it gave its name, Qinghai Lake is classified as an alkaline lake, alkaline saline lake, salt lake. The ...
god. Quotes from the
Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
and the
Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
were used by Hui Muslims to justify Chiang's rule over China. The Kuomintang's constitution designated Sun as the party president. After his death, the Kuomintang opted to keep that language in its constitution to honor his memory forever. The party has since been headed by a director-general (1927–1975) and a chairman (since 1975), who discharge the functions of the president. Though he took a stance against
idolatry Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic ...
in life, Sun sometimes became worshiped as a god among people. For example, a KMT committee member Hsieh Kun-hong controversially referred to Sun as having " become immortal" after death under the posthumous name of "Great Merciful True Monarch" ( zh, 偉慈真君) in 2021. Sun is already worshipped in the syncretic Vietnamese religion of
Caodaism Caodaism (; ; ; ) or Cao Đài is a Vietnamese Monotheism, monotheistic Religious syncretism, syncretic religion that retains many elements from Vietnamese folk religion such as Veneration of the dead, ancestor worship, as well as "ethical prec ...
.


Father of the Nation

Sun Yat-sen remains unique among 20th-century Chinese leaders for having a high reputation in both
Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
and
Taiwan 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 ...
. In Taiwan, he is seen as the Father 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 ...
and is known by the
posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...
''
Father of the Nation The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. Pater Patriae was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", bestowed by th ...
, Mr. Sun Zhongshan'' ( zh, t=國父 孫中山先生, links=no, and the one-character space is a traditional homage symbol).


Forerunner of revolution

In Mainland China, Sun is seen as a Chinese nationalist, a proto-socialist, and the first president of a Republican China and is highly regarded as the Forerunner of the Revolution (). He is even mentioned by name in the
preamble A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...
to the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the supreme law of the People's Republic of China (PRC). In September 1949, the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference adopted the Common Progr ...
. In recent years, the leadership of the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
has increasingly invoked Sun, partly as a way of bolstering
Chinese nationalism Chinese nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all Chinese people. According to Sun Yat-sen's philosophy in the Three Principles of the People, Chin ...
in light of the
Chinese economic reform Reform and opening-up ( zh, s=改革开放, p=Gǎigé kāifàng), also known as the Chinese economic reform or Chinese economic miracle, refers to a variety of economic reforms termed socialism with Chinese characteristics and socialist marke ...
and partly to increase connections with supporters of the Kuomintang on Taiwan, which the
People's Republic of 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 ...
sees as allies against
Taiwan independence Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of Chi ...
. Sun's tomb was one of the first stops made by the leaders of both the Kuomintang and the People First Party on their pan-blue visit to mainland China in 2005. A massive portrait of Sun continues to appear in
Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...
for May Day and National Day. In 1956,
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
said, "Let us pay tribute to our great revolutionary forerunner, Dr. Sun Yat-sen!... he bequeathed to us much that is useful in the sphere of political thought."
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
incorporates Sun's legacy into his discourse on national rejuvenation. Xi describes Sun as the first person to propose a method for Chinese revival, including adopting the first blueprint for China's modernization.


New Three Principles of the People

Sun's Three Principles of the People has been reinterpreted by the Chinese Communist Party to argue that communism is a necessary conclusion of them and thus provide legitimacy for the government. This reinterpretation of the Three Principles of the People is commonly referred to as the New Three Principles of the People (, also translated as "neo-tridemism"), a word coined by Mao's 1940 essay '' On New Democracy'' in which he argued that the Communist Party is a better enforcer of the Three Principles of the People compared to the bourgeois Kuomintang and that the new three principles are about allying with the communists and the Russians (Soviets) and supporting the peasants and the workers. Proponents of the New Three Principles of the People claim that Sun's book Three Principles of the People acknowledges that the principles of welfare is inherently socialistic and communistic. During the 90th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution in 2001, former CCP General Secretary
Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Mil ...
claimed that Sun supposedly advocated for the "New Three Principles of the People." In 2001, Sun's granddaughter Lily Sun said that the Chinese Communists were distorting Sun's legacy. She again voiced her displeasure in 2002 in a private letter to Jiang about the distortion of history. In 2008 Jiang Zemin was willing to offer US$10 million to sponsor a Xinhai Revolution anniversary celebration event. According to ''
Ming Pao ''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and coll ...
'', she did not take the money because then she would not "have the freedom to properly communicate the Revolution."


KMT emblem removal case

In 1981, Lily Sun took a trip to Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing. The emblem of the KMT had been removed from the top of his sacrificial hall at the time of her visit but was later restored. On another visit in May 2011, she was surprised to find the four-character "General Rules of Meetings" (), a document that Sun wrote in reference to
Robert's Rules of Order ''Robert's Rules of Order'', often simply referred to as ''Robert's Rules'', is a manual of parliamentary procedure by U.S. Army officer Henry Martyn Robert (1837–1923). "The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish the ...
had been removed from a stone carving.


Founding father of the nation debate

In 1940, the Republic of China (ROC) government had bestowed the title of "father of the nation" on Sun. However, after 1949, as a result of the Chiang regime's arrival in Taiwan, his "father of the nation" designation continued only in Taiwan. Sun visited Taiwan briefly on only three occasions (in 1900, 1913, and 1918) or four by counting 1924, when his boat had stopped in Keelung Harbor, but he did not disembark. In November 2004, the Taiwanese Ministry of Education proposed that Sun was not the father of Taiwan. Instead, Sun was a foreigner from mainland China. Taiwanese Education Minister Tu Cheng-sheng and the
Examination Yuan The Examination Yuan is the civil service commission branch in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members, all o ...
member , both of whom supported the proposal, had their portraits pelted with eggs in protest. At a Sun Yat-sen statue in
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...
, a 70-year-old retired soldier of the Republic of China committed suicide on Sun's birthday, 12 November, to protest the ministry's proposal.


Views


Western culture

As a lifelong Christian who never left Christianity, Sun Yat-sen was a loyal follower of Western modernity and Christianity and saw it as the best way to develop the Chinese nation. He went on foreign trips to gather support and resources of Western and Christian nations. He was highly critical of anything from ancient Chinese which did not conform to Western standards and ideals. This led him and his group to break idols and denounce Chinese medicine amongst other things.


Economic development

Sun Yat-sen spent years in Hawaii as a student in the late 1870s and early 1880s and was highly impressed with the economic development that he saw there. He used the Kingdom of Hawaii as a model to develop his vision of a technologically modern, politically independent, actively
anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influenc ...
China. Sun, an important pioneer of international development, proposed in the 1920s international institutions of the sort that appeared after World War II. He focused on China, with its vast potential and weak base of mostly local entrepreneurs. His key proposal was socialism. He proposed: :The State will take over all the large enterprises; we shall encourage and protect enterprises which may reasonably be entrusted to the people; the nation will possess equality with other nations; every Chinese will be equal to every other Chinese both politically and in his opportunities of economic advancement. He also proposed, "If we use existing foreign capital to build up a future communist society in China, half the work will bring double the results." He also said, "It is my idea to make capitalism create socialism in China." Sun promoted the ideas of the economist
Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist, Social philosophy, social philosopher and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of ...
and was influenced by
Georgist Georgism, in modern times also called Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that people should own the value that they produce themselves, while the economic rent derived from land—includ ...
ideas on land ownership and a
land value tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land (economics), land without regard to buildings, personal property and other land improvement, improvements upon it. Some economists favor LVT, arguing it does not cause economic efficiency, ec ...
.


Culture

Sun supported
natalism Natalism (also called pronatalism or the pro-birth position) is a policy paradigm or personal value that promotes the reproduction of human life as an important objective of humanity and therefore advocates a high birthrate. Cf.: According to t ...
and had
eugenic Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the ferti ...
ideals. He favored premarital health examinations, sterilization of those perceived as unfit, and other programs for socially engineering China's population. In Sun's view, China had only endured Western invasions and colonial rule because of its large population. Those views led him to oppose the use of
birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
.


Pan-Asianism

Sun was a proponent of
Pan-Asianism file:Asia satellite orthographic.jpg , Satellite photograph of Asia in orthographic projection. Pan-Asianism (also known as Asianism or Greater Asianism) is an ideology aimed at creating a political and economic unity among Asian people, Asian peo ...
. He said that Asia was the "cradle of the world's oldest civilisation" and that "even the ancient civilisations of the West, of Greece and Rome, had their origins on Asiatic soil." He thought that it was only in recent times that Asians "gradually degenerated and become weak." For Sun, "Pan-Asianism is based on the principle of the Rule of Right, and justifies the avenging of wrongs done to others." He advocated overthrowing the Western "Rule of Might" and "seeking a civilisation of peace and equality and the emancipation of all races."


Relationship with Japan


Meiji Restoration and Sun Yat-sen's Revolutionary Views

According to , one of the reasons why figures like Miyazaki Toten, , and supported Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary movement was because the ideals of the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
or the
Freedom and People's Rights Movement The Freedom and People's Rights Movement (自由民権運動, ''Jiyū Minken Undō'') was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy during the Meiji era, Meiji period. It pursued the formation of an elected legislature, revision of the ...
could not be realized in Japan, and they sought to compensate for that failure. However, Sun Yat-sen himself stated the following in
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...
: :The Chinese Nationalist Party is, after all, the revolutionaries of Japan from 50 years ago. Japan, a weak country in the East, was fortunate to have revolutionaries from the Meiji Restoration, who, for the first time, rallied and transformed Japan from a weak country to a strong one. Our revolutionaries also followed the path of Japan's revolutionaries, seeking to transform China. In
1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...
, he also said: :Japan's Meiji Restoration was the cause of the Chinese revolution, and the Chinese revolution was the result of Japan's Meiji Restoration. Both are originally connected and work together to achieve the revival of East Asia. Based on his empathy for the Meiji Restoration, Sun Yat-sen sought collaboration between Japan and China. For him, Japan's Twenty-One Demands on China represented a betrayal of the "revolutionary aspirations" of the Meiji patriots and advanced Japan's policy of aggression against China.


Relationship with the Japanese

During his lifetime, Sun Yat-sen had a wide range of relationships with Japanese people. Through the mediation of
Inukai Tsuyoshi Inukai Tsuyoshi (, 4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was a Japanese statesman who was Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. At the age of 76, Inukai was Japan's second oldest serving prime minister, ...
, he became acquainted with Miyazaki Toten,
Tōyama Mitsuru was a Japanese far right and ultra nationalist politician who founded secret societies called Genyosha ('' Black Ocean Society'') and Kokuryukai (''Black Dragon Society''). Tōyama was an Anti Communist and a strong proponent of Pan Asianism ...
, and Uchida Ryōhei, with whom he also had ideological exchanges and received financial support. In addition, he received financial aid from businessmen such as Matsukata Kōjirō, , stock trader , and Umeya Shōkichi. One of his supporters during his stay in Japan was also the great-grandfather of manga artist . Additionally, Sasaki Tōichi of the Imperial Japanese Army served as a military advisor to Sun. He also became friends with Minakata Kumagusu, and their friendship deepened after they met while Sun was in exile in London.


Great Asianism Lecture

The Great Asianism Lecture refers to the speech given by Sun Yat-sen on November 29, 1924, the day after his meeting with
Tōyama Mitsuru was a Japanese far right and ultra nationalist politician who founded secret societies called Genyosha ('' Black Ocean Society'') and Kokuryukai (''Black Dragon Society''). Tōyama was an Anti Communist and a strong proponent of Pan Asianism ...
in Kobe. It was delivered at the auditorium of the Kobe Prefectural Girls' High School, located where the current Hyogo Prefectural Government Office is, to five organizations, including the Kobe Chamber of Commerce. This speech distinguished between the "kingly way" of the East and the "hegemonic way" of the West, praising the kingly way of the East, and condemning Japan's tilt towards hegemonic ways due to excess, while also praising Japan's modernization as a leader in this regard. :You Japanese people have adopted the hegemonic cultural ways of the West, while also possessing the essence of the kingly way of Asian culture. However, as you look toward the future of world culture, the question remains: will you ultimately become the tools of the Western hegemonic ways, or will you stand as a barrier to the Eastern kingly way? This depends on your careful consideration and deliberate choices. This speech criticized Western
colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...
while praising Japan's modernization and civilization. It also criticized Japan for becoming a follower of Western colonialism and advocated for cooperation among Asians.


Family

Sun Yat-sen was born to Sun Dacheng () and his wife, Lady Yang () on 12 November 1866. At the time, his father was 53, and his mother was 38 years old. He had an older brother, Sun Dezhang (), and an older sister, Sun Jinxing (), who died at the early age of 4. Another older brother, Sun Deyou (), died at the age of 6. He also had an older sister, Sun Miaoqian (), and a younger sister, Sun Qiuqi (). At age 20, Sun had an
arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...
with the fellow villager
Lu Muzhen Lu Muzhen (30 July 18677 September 1952) was the first wife of Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen. A traditional Chinese housewife, she had two daughters, Wan and Yan, and one son, Sun Fo, Fo, with her husband. Sun divorced with her after 30 year ...
. She bore a son, Sun Fo, and two daughters, Sun Jinyuan () and Sun Jinwan (). Sun Fo was the grandfather of Leland Sun, who spent 37 years working in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
as an actor and
stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
. Sun Yat-sen was also the godfather of Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger, an American author and poet who wrote under the name Cordwainer Smith. Sun's first
concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...
, the Hong Kong–born Chen Cuifen, lived in
Taiping, Perak Taiping () is a town located in Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. It is located approximately northwest of Ipoh, the capital of Perak, and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town, Penang. With a population of 245,18 ...
(now in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
) for 17 years. The couple adopted a local girl as their daughter. Cuifen subsequently relocated to China, where she died. During Sun's exile in Japan, he had relationships with two Japanese women: the 15-year-old Haru Asada, whom he took as a concubine up to her death in 1902, and another 15-year-old schoolgirl, Kaoru Otsuki, whom Sun married in 1905 and abandoned the next year while she was pregnant. Otsuki later had their daughter, Fumiko, adopted by the Miyagawa family in Yokohama, who did not discover her parentage until 1951, 26 years after Sun's death. On 25 October 1915 in Japan, Sun married
Soong Ching-ling Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 1893 – 29 May 1981), Christian name Rosamonde or Rosamond, was a Chinese political figure. She was the wife of Sun Yat-sen, therefore known by Madame Sun Yat-sen and the "''Father of the Nation, Mother of Mode ...
, one of the Soong sisters. Soong Ching-ling's father was the American-educated
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
minister Charles Soong, who made a fortune in banking and in printing of Bibles. Although Charles had been a personal friend of Sun, he was enraged by Sun announcing his intention to marry Ching-ling because while Sun was a Christian, he kept two wives: Lu Muzhen and Kaoru Otsuki. Soong viewed Sun's actions as running directly against their shared religion. Soong Ching-Ling's sister,
Soong Mei-ling Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling; March 4, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang (), was a Chinese political figure and socialite. The youngest of the Soong sisters, she married Chiang Kai-shek and played a prom ...
, later married Chiang Kai-shek.


Cultural references


Memorials and structures in Asia

In most major Chinese cities, one of the main streets is Zhongshan Lu () to celebrate Sun's memory. There are also numerous parks, schools, and geographical features named after him. Xiangshan, Sun's hometown in Guangdong, was renamed
Zhongshan Zhongshan ( zh, c=中山 ), alternately romanized via Cantonese as Chungshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is n ...
in his honor, and there is a hall dedicated to his memory at the
Temple of Azure Clouds The Temple of Azure Clouds (), or Biyun Temple, is a Buddhism in China, Buddhist temple located in the eastern part of the Western Hills, just outside the north gate of Fragrant Hills, Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan) Park, in Haidian District, Beijin ...
in Beijing. There are also a series of Sun Yat-sen stamps. Other references to Sun include the
Sun Yat-sen University Sun Yat-sen University (; SYSU) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education, SASTIND, and Guangdong Provincial Government. The university is p ...
in Guangzhou and National Sun Yat-sen University in
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...
. Other structures include
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum ( zh, t=中山陵, p=Zhōngshān Líng) is situated at the foot of the second peak of Purple Mountain (Nanjing), Purple Mountain in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Construction of the tomb started in January 1926, and was fin ...
, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall subway station, Sun Yat-sen house in Nanjing, Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum in Hong Kong,
Chung-Shan Building The Chung-Shan Building () is part of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall complex. Completed in 1966, the building is located in the Yangmingshan National Park in Taipei, Taiwan. The building is placed on the reverse of the 100 New Taiwan Dollar bi ...
, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in
Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
and
Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall The Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, also known as Wan Qing Yuan, and formerly as the Sun Yat Sen Villa, is a two-story colonial style villa in Balestier Road, Balestier, Singapore. The villa is now a museum commemorating Sun Yat-sen, Sun ...
in Singapore. Zhongshan Memorial Middle School has also been a name used by many schools. Zhongshan Park is also a common name used for a number of places named after him. The first highway in Taiwan is called the Sun Yat-sen expressway. Two ships are also named after him; the Chinese gunboat Chung Shan and the Chinese cruiser Yat Sen. The old Chinatown in
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
(now known as
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
), India, has the prominent Sun Yat-sen Street. In Russia, a village in Mikhaylovsky District of
Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...
was named Sunyatsenskoe in honor of him. There are streets named after him in
Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...
, Ufa and Aldan. There was a street that was named after Sun in the Russian city of
Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...
until 2005, when it was renamed in honor of the recipient of the title Hero of Soviet Union Mikhail Ivanovich Leonov. In George Town, Penang,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, the Penang Philomatic Union had its premises at 120 Armenian Street in 1910, while Sun spent more than four months in
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 ...
and convened the historic "Penang Conference" to launch the fundraising campaign for the Huanghuagang Uprising and founded the ''Kwong Wah Yit Poh''. The house, which has been preserved as the Sun Yat-sen Museum (formerly called the Sun Yat Sen Penang Base), was visited by President-designate
Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Comm ...
in 2002. The Penang Philomatic Union subsequently moved to a bungalow at 65 Macalister Road, which has been preserved as the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Centre Penang. As a dedication, the 1966
Chinese Cultural Renaissance The Chinese Cultural Renaissance or the Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement () was a movement promoted in Taiwan in opposition to the cultural destruction caused by the Chinese Communist Party during the Cultural Revolution.Alan M. Wachman , W ...
was launched on Sun's birthday on 12 November. The Nanyang Wan Qing Yuan in Singapore have since been preserved and renamed as the
Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall The Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, also known as Wan Qing Yuan, and formerly as the Sun Yat Sen Villa, is a two-story colonial style villa in Balestier Road, Balestier, Singapore. The villa is now a museum commemorating Sun Yat-sen, Sun ...
. A Sun Yat-sen heritage trail was also launched on 20 November 2010 in Penang. Sun's Hawaiian birth certificate, which claimed that he was not born in China but in the United States, was on public display at the American Institute in Taiwan on US Independence Day on 4 July 2011. A street in
Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, is named "Jalan Sun Yat-Sen" in honor of him. A street named "Tôn Dật Tiên" (the Sino-Vietnamese name for Sun Yat-Sen) is located in Phú Mỹ Hưng Urban Area,
Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. The "Trail of Dr. Sun Yat Sen and His Comrades in Ipoh" was established in 2019, based on the book "Road to Revolution: Dr. Sun Yat Sen and His Comrades in Ipoh."


Gallery

File:sun yatse mausoleum.jpg, Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen,
Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...
. File:Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Guangzhou.jpg, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall,
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
. File:Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.jpg, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall,
Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
. File:Sun Yat-sen Centre.JPG, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Centre, George Town, Penang, Malaysia. File:HK Central Gage Street Pak Tsz Lane Sun Yat Sen Historical Trail 2.JPG, A marker on the Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail on Hong Kong Island. File:Bys szsjnt.jpg, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall at
Temple of Azure Clouds The Temple of Azure Clouds (), or Biyun Temple, is a Buddhism in China, Buddhist temple located in the eastern part of the Western Hills, just outside the north gate of Fragrant Hills, Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan) Park, in Haidian District, Beijin ...
in
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 ...
, China. File:Bys szsjnt1.jpg, Coffin (unused) for Sun Yat-sen, gifted by the СССР, in
Temple of Azure Clouds The Temple of Azure Clouds (), or Biyun Temple, is a Buddhism in China, Buddhist temple located in the eastern part of the Western Hills, just outside the north gate of Fragrant Hills, Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan) Park, in Haidian District, Beijin ...
. File:Sun Yat-sen University statue.jpg, Bronze statue in the Kang Le Yuan Garden at the South Guangzhou Campus of
Sun Yat-sen University Sun Yat-sen University (; SYSU) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education, SASTIND, and Guangdong Provincial Government. The university is p ...
. Originally presented by Umeya Shokichi at
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
National Sun Yat-sen University Shipai Campus, which is now home to the South China University of Technology. File:Memorial Museum of Sun Yat-sen, Zhongshan.jpg, The Museum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen in Cuiheng


Memorials and structures outside Asia

St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University, in New York City, has a facility built in 1973, the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, which built to resemble a traditional Chinese building in honor of Sun. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, located in Vancouver, is the largest classical Chinese gardens outside Asia. The Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park is in Chinatown, Honolulu. On the island of
Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
, the little Sun Yat-sen Park at Kamaole is near where his older brother had a ranch on the slopes of Haleakala in the Kula region. In Chinatown, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, there is a seated statue of him in Central Plaza. In Sacramento, California, there is a bronze statue of Sun in front of the Chinese Benevolent Association of Sacramento. Another statue of Sun, by Joe Rosenthal (sculptor), Joe Rosenthal, can be found at Riverdale Park (Toronto), Riverdale Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and there is another statue in Toronto's downtown Chinatown, Toronto, Chinatown. There is also the Moscow Sun Yat-sen University. In Chinatown, San Francisco is a 12-foot statue of Sun Yat-sen (San Francisco), statue of Sun on Saint Mary's Square. In late 2011, the Chinese Youth Society of Melbourne, in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Republic of China, 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China, unveiled in a lion dance blessing ceremony a Statue of Sun Yat-sen (Melbourne), memorial statue of Sun outside the Chinese Museum, Melbourne, Chinese Museum in the Chinatown, Melbourne, city's Chinatown on the spot that its traditional Chinese New Year lion dance always ends. In 1993, family tree of Sun Yat-sen, Lily Sun, one of Sun Yat-sen's granddaughters, donated books, photographs, artwork and other memorabilia to the Kapiʻolani Community College library as part of the Sun Yat-sen Asian Collection. During October and November every year the entire collection is shown. In 1997, the Dr Sun Yat-sen Hawaii Foundation was formed online as a virtual library. In 2006, the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit Rover, Spirit called one of the hills that was explored "Zhongshan." In 2019, a Statue of Sun Yat-sen (New York City), statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen by Lu Chun-Hsiung and Michael Kang was permanently installed in the northern plaza of Manhattan's Columbus Park (Manhattan), Columbus Park.


In popular culture


Opera

''Dr. Sun Yat-sen (opera), Dr. Sun Yat-sen'' ( zh, c=中山逸仙, p=ZhōngShān yì xiān, labels=no) is a 2011 Chinese-language western-style opera in three acts by the New York-based American composer Huang Ruo, who was born in China and is a graduate of Oberlin College's Conservatory as well as the Juilliard School. The libretto was written by Candace Chong Mui Ngam, Candace Mui-ngam Chong, a recent collaborator with playwright David Henry Hwang. It was performed in Hong Kong in October 2011 and was given its North America premiere on 26 July 2014 at the Santa Fe Opera.


Television series and films

Sun Yat-sen's life is portrayed in various films, mainly ''The Soong Sisters (film), The Soong Sisters'' and ''Road to Dawn''. A fictionalized assassination attempt on his life was featured in ''Bodyguards and Assassins''. He is also portrayed during his struggle to overthrow the Qing dynasty in ''Once Upon a Time in China II''. The television series ''Towards the Republic'' features Ma Shaohua as Sun. In ''1911 (film), 1911'', a film commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, Winston Chao played Sun. In Space: Above and Beyond, one of the starships of the China Navy is named the ''Sun Yat-sen''.


Performances

In 2010, the theatrical play ''Yellow Flower on Slopes'' () was created and performed. In 2011, the Mandopop group Zhongsan Road 100 () was known for singing the song "Our Father of the Nation" ().


Works

* ''Kidnapped in London'' (1897) * ''The Outline of National Reconstruction/Chien Kuo Ta Kang'' (1918) * ''The Fundamentals of National Reconstruction/Jianguo fanglue'' (1924) * ''The Principle of Nationalism'' (1953)


See also

* Chiang Kai-shek * Chiang Ching-kuo * History of the Republic of China * Politics of the Republic of China * Sun Yat-sen Museum Penang * United States Constitution and worldwide influence * Zhongshan suit *
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 ...
*
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 ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* * Pearl S. Buck, Buck, Pearl S., ''The Man Who Changed China: The Story of Sun Yat-sen'' (1953
online
* Chen, Stephen, and Robert Payne (author), Robert Payne. ''Sun Yat Sen: A Portrait'' (1946
online
* Cheng, Chu-yuan ed. ''Sun Yat-sen's Doctrine In The Modern World'' (1989) * D'Elia, Paschal M. ''Sun Yat-sen. His Life and Its Meaning, a Critical Biography'' (1936) * Du, Yue. "Sun Yat-sen as Guofu: Competition over Nationalist Party Orthodoxy in the Second Sino-Japanese War." ''Modern China'' 45.2 (2019): 201–235. * Jansen, Marius B. ''The Japanese and Sun Yat-sen'' (1967
online
* Kayloe, Tjio. ''The Unfinished Revolution: Sun Yat-Sen and the Struggle for Modern China'' (2017)
excerpt
* Khoo, Salma Nasution. ''Sun Yat Sen in Penang'' (Areca Books, 2008). * * Linebarger, Paul M. A. ''Political Doctrines Of Sun Yat-sen'' (1937
online free
* Martin, Bernard. ''Sun Yat-sen's vision for China'' (1966) * Restarick, Henry B., ''Sun Yat-sen, Liberator of China.'' (Yale UP, 1931) * Harold Zvi Schiffrin, Schiffrin, Harold Z. "The Enigma of Sun Yat-sen" in Mary Wright, ed., ''China in Revolution: The First Phase 1900-1913'' (1968) pp 443–476. * Schiffrin, Harold Z. ''Sun Yat-sen: Reluctant Revolutionary'' (1980) * Schiffrin, Harold Z. ''Sun Yat-sen and the origins of the Chinese revolution'' (1968). * Shen, Stephen and Robert Payne. ''Sun Yat-Sen: A Portrait'' (1946
online free
* Soong, Irma Tam. "Sun Yat-sen's Christian Schooling in Hawai'i." ''The Hawaiian Journal of History,'' vol. 31 (1997
online
* C. Martin Wilbur, Wilbur, Clarence Martin. ''Sun Yat-sen, frustrated patriot'' (Columbia University Press, 1976), a major scholarly biograph
online
* Yu, George T. "The 1911 Revolution: Past, Present, and Future", ''Asian Survey'', 31#10 (1991), pp. 895–904
online
historiography


External links

* * *
National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen, Three Principles of the People, * 1866 births Cantonese people 1925 deaths 20th-century Chinese heads of government Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Anti-imperialists Asian Christian socialists Chinese Christians Burials in Nanjing Cao Dai saints Chinese Congregationalists Chinese expatriates in Hong Kong Chinese expatriates in Japan Chinese expatriates in the Hawaiian Kingdom Chinese Nationalist heads of state Chinese political philosophers Chinese revolutionaries Chinese nationalists Chinese social democrats Chinese socialists Chinese Zionists Congregationalist socialists Progressivism in China Converts to Christianity Deaths from cancer in China Hakka people Deaths from liver cancer Asian democratic socialists Flag designers Foreign supporters of Korean independence Generalissimos ʻIolani School alumni Marshals of China Natalists National anthem writers Pan-Asianists People educated at Diocesan Boys' School People from Kula, Hawaii People from Oahu People of the 1911 Revolution Philosophers from Guangdong Physicians from Guangdong Political party founders Politicians from Zhongshan Presidents of the Republic of China Alumni of Queen's College, Hong Kong Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Family of Sun Yat-sen Tongmenghui members Kuomintang presidential nominees