Sun Yat-sen A short biography

Sun Yat-sen Born: November 12, 1866 Died: March 12, 1925 He came from a small rural/peasant village in Guangdong (Guangzhou) province.

Life before becoming political. He moved to Hawaii to live with an older brother. He studied at a missionary school where he learned to speak English. He earned a medical degree in Hong Kong

Not happy! After living in the West he became unhappy with China. In 1895 he travelled to the USA and England looking for support for his Revive China group based in Honolulu. He was arrested by the Chinese Embassy in London and charged as a revolutionary leader.

Not Happy (cont) He wrote a book called “Kidnapped in London” and this establishes him as a revolutionary leader amongst the Chinese people.

1895 coup failure His attempt at a coup failed and he had to spend 16 years in exile living in Europe, the United States and Japan. In 1898 he announced his three aims: Eliminate the Manchus, eliminate the monarchy: open the road to socialism. In Japan he became a leader of a group of Chinese dissidents, but he was expelled from Japan. He was invited into Tonkin (an area of Vietnam) by the French who tried to help him overthrow the government from 1900 to 1906. This failed and the French stopped providing support to him and his forces. He was in the USA when the news came that the Qing Dynasty was overthrown.

The Qing are out the door. In September 1911 a mutiny occurred in Wuhan known as the Wuchang rebellion. This was carried out by Tong Meng Hui “Sworn Chinese Brotherhood”. The rebellion quickly spread throughout central and southern China. By November the rebels had established a provisional capital in Nanjing in opposition to the Qing capital in Beijing. The Qing called on Yuan Shi-kai the former military commander of the northern army to crush the rebels. He does this and takes back Wuhan. Instead of punishing the rebels he makes a deal with them to bring down the Manchu’s as long as he becomes the leader of the new republic.

Sun becomes president (but not for long) Sun returned to China on December 24, 1911 and a week later was elected as President of ‘The United Provinces of China’ in Nanjing. There was a power struggle between Sun and Yuan Shi-kai. Sun had the support of the rebels, but Yuan had the army’s support. By February 12, 1912 Yuan, with military superiority, was able to “persuade” the government in Nanjing to vote for him as president. Sun resigned so as to avoid a civil war between both factions.

Sun finally becomes president. Sun goes back into exile after his defeat to Yuan. Sun was back in Guangzhou by 1917 (Yuan died in 1916) and his political party, known as the KMT or GMD (Nationalist Party), was in control of the southern province. Sun needed foreign support for his aims and was rejected by Britain and so turned to Communist USSR who was willing to help. With USSR’s support and the support of the newly created Chinese Communist Party Sun was able to raise to become the President again in 1923.

The Three Principles These were announced in 1924. His aim was to unite China under his leadership making the country a republic free of foreign interference.

Principle 1 National Freedom China had experienced a history of occupation even as far back as the Mongols who ruled from 1260 to 1333 and its “recent” history with the Manchu. Sun wanted to see China united and living side by side with all the people within its national borders. He believed that China should embrace its individuality in the world and spread its culture around the world, whilst accepting what is best from the rest of the world.

Principle 2 Democracy Sun looked at governments in Europe and the USA to create a form of government that would “suit” China. He had a choice of a Republic or a Constitutional Monarchy. He decided on a Republican model because of the history of problems associated with the monarchies. After touring Europe and the USA he decided and system of government that involved 5 administrative branches. These would be Legislative; Judicial; Executive + examinative and censorial powers should be given the same level as the first three. Sovereign power should be vested in the people.

Principle 3 People’s Livelihood This was in response to what Sun saw as a disparity between the rich and poor in the West. He proposed that the there be state ownership of property so as to stop any instability that could be caused by economic problems. He believed this realization of state ownership was the most profound, reliable and practical.