Sun Yat-SEN

Sun Yat-SEN (孫中山, Sun Zhongshan in Mandarin, November 12th 1866 - March 12th 1925) was a revolutionary leader and a statesman Chinese which is regarded as “the father of modern China”. He had a significant influence in the inversion of the Dynastie Qing (whose last representative was Pu Yi) and the emergence of the République of China. Sun Yat-SEN, one of the founders of the Guomindang, was the first president of the Republic of China in 1912 and its leader of 1923 with 1925. It developed a political philosophy known under the name of the Three principles of the people (Nationalisme, Démocratie and wellbeing of the people).

Biography

Childhood and years of study

Sun Yat-SEN was born in an easy family from the village from Cuiheng (翠亨村), located in the district of Xiangshan, become from the town of Zhongshan (in Chinese 中山市), in the province of the Guangdong (广东), in the south of China.

After having been at the school of its village, Sun Yat-SEN, at the thirteen years age, will live with an older brother, who had emigrated with Honolulu (Hawaii), and which became a prosperous merchant there. He thus studies with the college of Iolani (1879 - 1882), with the college Diocesan Boys (1883) and with the Queen' S University (1884 - 1882) with HongKong. He obtains finally a diploma of medicine at the university of medicine for the Chinese of HongKong, of which he was one of the first two graduates. He then practices briefly medicine in HongKong in 1893. He marries at twenty years Lu Muzhen (卢慕贞), which comes from the same village as him. It gives him a son, Sun Ke and two girls, Sun Yan and Sun Wan. They will carry out separated lives quickly, Lu Muzhen not being able to follow it in its tribulations, because inter alia its bandaged Pieds. Sun Yat-SEN will have thereafter another partner who will assist it in her political activities, Chen Cuifang (陳粹芬 1873-1954). Regarded with its agreement as a concubine by the Sun family, it is buried in the family cemetery. In 1915, he will marry Song Qingling, girl of one of his partisans, the rich person contractor Charles Song, after having this time divorced Lu Muzhen because Song is Méthodiste S. It is her which will be known internationally like “Mrs Sun Yat-SEN”.

Its years of study in Hawaii pushed it to develop a strong interest for the American economic system , of which it becomes one of burning defenders the. It attaches an importance very particular to the ideas of Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln. Besides the sentence of this last “the government of the people, by the people, for the people” inspires his “three principles of the people to him”.

Political career

Sun marks also its strong opposition to the Qing government of China, and begins its political career while trying to organize groups of reform of the Chinese exiled in HongKong. In October 1894 it founds the Xingzhonghui (literally “company for the rectification of the China”) to present its ideas for prosperity of China and like platform of its future revolutionary activities.

In 1895, a coup d'etat which it foments fails and it must be exiled for sixteen years in Europe, with the the United States, the Canada, then with the Japan, joining together money for its revolutionary party. In Japan, it joined other Chinese revolutionary groups and founds with them the Tongmenghui, league of union of which it is elected president, and of which it expresses the program thus: “To drive out the foreigners, to restore China, to found a republic and to redistribute the grounds equitably”.

The creation of the Republic of China

The October 10th 1911, a revolt with Wuchang, on which Sun Yat-SEN is not dependant, causes the fall of the imperial system of China, old man two millenium old. The December 14th a provisional republican government is proclaimed and all get along on the call to Sun Yat-SEN to be about it a president, fascinating speed Yuan Shikai. Sun Yat-SEN, in the United States after its expulsion of Japan, is surprised by the revolution which he learns by the press, but he does not hasten to return. He unloads with Shanghai only the December 25th 1911. The December 29th, it is elected provisional president and proclaims with Nankin the République of China at the beginning of 1912.

The official story of the Guomindang strongly accentuates the role of Sun like the first provisional president, but a great number of historians call in question the role of Sun in the revolution of 1911 and indicate that it did not have any direct role in the revolt of Wuchang and that it was then out of the country. In this interpretation, its nomination as a first provisional president is due to his position of respected personality but relatively not very important, which made of him a candidate of compromise between the camps revolutionist and conservative.

Sun Yat-SEN organizes the Republic of China then, while causing in each province of the elections intended to establish the National Assembly of the Republic of China. This assembly votes the objectives and the provisional law of the Republic.

The takeover by Yuan Shikai

However, the provisional government is quickly in position of weakness. The provinces of the south of China declared their independence of the Qing dynasty, but it is not the case of the majority of those of North. Moreover, the provisional government does not have aucunes clean military forces, its control of the mutineers of the New Army is limited and most of the military forces did not decide against Qing.

The assumption of an intervention of the western powers in China to support the empire worries sufficiently the government of Nankin so that is found a compromise with powerful the Armée with Beiyang of Yuan Shikai. At the time of the revolt of the Taiping the British army had been pushed to support Qing to defend its concessions. A similar intervention in 1911 could have been fatal with the movement. To prevent that the history is not repeated, a compromise is found with Yuan Shikai. This one, principal support for the empire negotiates the rendering of young the four years old emperor, Pu Yi. N the other hand of what he asks his nomination the position of president of the republic. To its treason towards the emperor is added quickly another, that towards the revolutionists.

He indeed makes assassinate in 1913 the representative of Guomindang with Beijing, the leader Song Jiaoren. Then, the elections giving gaining the revolutionists, Yuan the hunting of the Parliament, makes dissolve the Room and continues the nationalists. Sun flees in Japan. Begin the dictatorship of Yuan, during which in 1915 it seeks to be made appoint emperor.

The return in China and the fight for the unit of the country

Sun turns over to China in 1917 and is elected president of the car-proclaimed national government with Canton in 1921. In 1923, it makes a speech during which it proclaims the “three principles of the people” like principles of foundation of the country and the constitution of the five capacities (or yuan : the Executive power, the Legislative power, the judicial Power, capacity of examination and capacity of Censure) as the base of the political system and the Administration.

To develop the military capacity necessary to the inversion of the government of the lords of the war of Beijing, it creates the Military academy of Huangpu close to Canton, with the head of which it names Tchang Kaï-chek.

At the beginning of the Years 1920, it receives from the assistance of the Komintern to reorganize Guomindang like a nationalist party anti-impérialiste and anti-feudal. Guomindang will cooperate then with all the Chinese Communist parties. Sun is then convinced that the realization of unified China passes by the military conquest on the basis of its base in the South, followed by one transitional period which would be completed in a passage to the Démocratie.

The November 10th 1924, Sun Yat-SEN travels in North and gives a new speech to suggest the idea of a conference for the Chinese people and the abolition of the whole of the unequal Traités with the Western countries. Two days later, it is again travels from there for Beijing to discuss the future of the country, in spite of the deterioration of its health condition and the civil war caused by the lords of the war. Its objective is to hold of the peace talks with the regional leaders in connection with the unification of China. He dies of a Cancer the March 12th 1925 at the fifty-nine years age, on the road of Beijing. Its death day before, it makes write, probably by Wang Jingwei, a message addressed to the central Executive committee of the Soviets. This message expresses the wish that the Communists and Guomindang continue to collaborate narrowly. The continuation of the events was to show that this wish would not be carried out and the rupture between the two revolutionary parties was to occur less than two years later.

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