Sun Yat-sen (12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)
[1] was a Chinese
revolutionary and president. As the foremost pioneer of
Nationalist China, Sun is referred to as the "
Father of the Nation" in the
Republic of China (ROC), and the "forerunner of democratic revolution" in the People's Republic of China. Sun played an instrumental role in the overthrow of the
Qing dynasty during the
Xinhai Revolution. Sun was the first provisional
president when the Republic of China was founded in 1912 and later co-founded the
Kuomintang (KMT) which he served as its first leader.
[2] Sun was a uniting figure in
post-Imperial China, and remains unique among
20th century Chinese politicians for being widely revered amongst the people from both sides of the
Taiwan Strait.
Although Sun is considered one of the greatest leaders of modern China, his political life was one of constant struggle and frequent
exile. After the success of the revolution, he quickly fell out of power in the newly founded Republic of China, and led successive revolutionary governments as a challenge to the
warlords who controlled much of the nation. Sun did not live to see his party consolidate its power over the country during the
Northern Expedition. His party, which formed a fragile alliance with the
Communists, split into two factions after his death. Sun's chief legacy resides in his developing of the
political philosophy known as the
Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy, and the people's livelihood.
[3]
The original name of Sun Yat-sen was Sun Wen (孫文) and his genealogical name was Sun Deming (孫德明).
[1][4] As a child, his "milk name" was Dixiang (帝象).
[1] The
courtesy name of Sun Yat-sen was Zaizhi (載之), and his baptized name was Rixin (日新).
[5] While at school in Hong Kong he got the name Yat Sen (逸仙; Hanyu pinyin: Yìxiān).
[6] Sun Zhongshan (孫中山), the most popular of his Chinese names, came from
Nakayama (中山樵), a form of the
Japanese name given to him by
Miyazaki Touten.
[1]
[edit] Early years
Sun Yat-sen (back row, fifth from left) and his family.
[edit] Farm life
Sun Yat-sen was born on 12 November 1866 to a
Cantonese Hakka family
[7] in the village of
Cuiheng,
Xiangshan (later
Zhongshan county),
Guangzhou prefecture,
Guangdong province in Qing China.
[1] He was the third son born in a family of farmers, and herded cows along with other farming duties at age 6.
[1]
[edit] Education years
At age 10, Sun Yat-sen began seeking schooling.
[1] It is also at this point where he met childhood friend
Lu Hao-tung.
[1] By age 13 in 1878 after receiving a few years of local schooling, Sun went to live with his elder brother,
Sun Mei (孫眉) in
Honolulu.
[1]
Sun Yat-sen then studied at the
ʻIolani School where he learned English,
UK history, mathematics, science and Christianity.
[1] Originally unable to speak the English language, Sun Yat-sen picked up the language so quickly that he received a prize for outstanding achievement from
King David Kalākaua.
[8] Sun enrolled in
Oahu College (now
Punahou School) for further studies for one semester.
[1][9] In 1883 he was soon sent home to China as his brother was becoming afraid that Sun Yat-sen would embrace Christianity.
[1]
When he returned home in 1883 at age 17, Sun met up with his childhood friend
Lu Hao-tung at Beijidian (北極殿), a temple in Cuiheng Village.
[1] They saw many villagers worshipping the Beiji (literally
North Pole) Emperor-God in the temple, and were dissatisfied with their ancient healing methods.
[1] They broke the statue, incurring the wrath of fellow villagers, and escaped to Hong Kong.
[1][10][11] While in HK in 1883 he studied at the
Diocesan Boys' School and from 1884 to 1886 he was at
the government Central school.
[12]
In 1886 Sun studied medicine at the
Guangzhou Boji Hospital under the Christian missionary
John G. Kerr.
[1] Ultimately, he earned the license of Christian practice as a
medical doctor from the
Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (the forerunner of
The University of Hong Kong) in 1892.
[1][6] Notably, of his class of 12 students, only two graduated; Sun was one of them.
[13][14][15]
[edit] Christian baptism
Sun was later baptized in Hong Kong by an American missionary of the Congregational Church of the United States, to his brother's disdain. The minister would also develop a friendship with Sun.
[16][17] Sun pictured a revolution as similar to the salvation mission of the
Christian church. His conversion to Christianity was related to his revolutionary ideals and push for advancement.
[17] Sun later became the godfather of
Paul Linebarger, a science-fiction writer.
[18]
[edit] Transformation into a revolutionary
Photograph of Sun Yat-sen (seated, second from left) and his revolutionary friends, the
Four Bandits, including
Yeung Hok-ling (left),
Chan Siu-bak (seated, second from right),
Yau Lit (right), and Guan Jingliang (關景良) (standing).
[edit] Four Bandits
During and after the
Qing Dynasty rebellion around 1888 Sun was in Hong Kong with a group of revolutionary thinkers that were nicknamed the
Four Bandits at the
Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese.
[19] Sun, who had grown
increasingly frustrated by the conservative Qing government and its refusal to adopt knowledge from the more technologically advanced Western nations, quit his medical practice in order to devote his time to transforming China.
[edit] Furen and Revive China Society
In 1891 Sun met revolutionary friends in Hong Kong including
Yeung Kui-wan who was the leader and founder of the
Furen Literary Society.
[20] The group was spreading the idea of overthrowing the Qing. In 1894, Sun wrote an 8,000 character
petition to Qing
Viceroy Li Hongzhang presenting his ideas for modernizing China.
[21][22][23] He traveled to
Tianjin and to personally present the petition to Li but was not granted an audience.
[24] After this experience, Sun turned irrevocably toward revolution. He left China for Hawaii and founded the
Revive China Society, which was committed to revolution to restore China’s prosperity. Members were drawn mainly from Chinese expatriates, especially 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.
[20] Sun became the secretary of the newly merged Revive China society, which Yeung Kui-wan headed as president.
[25] They disguised their activities in Hong Kong under the running of a "Qianheng Company" (乾亨行).
[26]
[edit] First Sino-Japanese War
In 1895 China suffered a serious defeat during the
First Sino-Japanese War. There were two types of response. One group of intellectuals contended that the
Manchu Qing government could restore its legitimacy by successfully modernizing.
[27] They stressed that overthrowing the Manchu would result in chaos leading to China being carved up by imperialists. So intellectuals like
Kang Youwei and
Liang Qichao support responding with something like the
Hundred Days' Reform.
[27] In another faction, Sun Yat-sen and others like
Zou Rong wanted a revolution to replace the dynastic system with a modern nation-state in the form of a republic.
[27] The Hundred Day's reform turned out to be a failure by 1898.
[28]
[edit] From uprising to exile
Plaque in London marking the site of a house where Sun Yat-sen lived while in exile
Letter from Sun Yat-sen to
James Cantlie announcing to him that he has assumed the Presidency of the Provisional Republican Government of China. Dated 21 January 1912.
[edit] First Guangzhou uprising
In the second year of the establishment of the Revive China society on October 26, 1895, the group planned and launched the
First Guangzhou uprising against the Qing in
Guangzhou.
[22] Yeung Kui-wan directed the uprising starting from Hong Kong.
[25] However, plans were leaked out and more than 70 members, including
Lu Hao-tung, were captured by the Qing government. The uprising was a failure.
[edit] Exile in Japan
Sun Yat-sen spent time living in Japan while in exile. He befriended and was financially aided by a democratic revolutionary named
Miyazaki Toten. Most Japanese who actively worked with Sun were motivated by a
pan-Asian fear of encroaching
Western imperialism.
[29] While in Japan, Sun also met and befriended
Mariano Ponce, then a diplomat of the
First Philippine Republic.
[30]
[edit] Huizhou uprising
On October 22, 1900 Sun launched the
Huizhou uprising to attack
Huizhou and provincial authorities in Guangdong.
[31] This came five years after the failed Guangzhou uprising. This time Sun appealed to the triads for help.
[32] This uprising was also a failure. Miyazaki who participated in the revolt with Sun wrote an account of this revolutionary effort under the title "33-year dream" (三十三年之夢) in 1902.
[33][34]
[edit] Further exile
Sun was an exile not only in Japan, but in Europe, the United States, and Canada. He raised money for his revolutionary party and to support uprisings in China. In 1896 he was detained at the
Chinese Legation in London, where the Chinese Imperial secret service planned to kill him. He was released after 12 days through the efforts of
James Cantlie,
The Times and the
Foreign Office, leaving Sun a hero in Britain.
[35] James Cantlie, Sun's former teacher at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, maintained a lifelong friendship with Sun and would later write an early biography of Sun.
[36]
[edit] Heaven and earth society, overseas travel
A "Heaven and Earth Society" sect known as
Tiandihui has been around for a long time.
[37] The group has also been referred to as the "three cooperating organizations" as well as the
triads.
[37] Sun Yat-sen mainly used this group to leverage his overseas travels to gain further financial and resource support for his revolution.
[37]
According to Lee Yun-ping, chairman of the Chinese historical society, Sun needed a certificate to enter the United States at a time when the
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 would have otherwise blocked him.
[38] But on Sun's first attempt to enter the US, he was still arrested.
[38] He was later bailed out after 17 days.
[38] In March 1904, Sun Yat-sen obtained a Certificate of Hawaiian Birth,
[39] issued by the
Territory of Hawaii, stating he was born on November 24, 1870 in
Kula,
Maui.
[40] 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.
[41]
[edit] Revolution
A letter with Sun's seal commencing the Tongmenghui in HK
[edit] Tongmenghui
Main article:
TongmenghuiIn 1904 Sun Yat-sen came about with the goal "to expel the
Tatar barbarians, to revive
Zhonghua, to establish a Republic, and to distribute land equally among the people." (驅除韃虜, 恢復中華, 創立民國, 平均地權).
[42] One of Sun's major legacies was the creation of his political philosophy of the
Three Principles of the People. These Principles included the principle of nationalism (minzu, 民族), of democracy (minquan, 民權), and of welfare (minsheng, 民生).
[42]
On August 20, 1905 Sun joined forces with revolutionary Chinese students studying in Tokyo, Japan to form the unified group
Tongmenghui (United League), which sponsored uprisings in China.
[42][43] By 1906 the number of Tongmenghui members reached 963 people.
[42]
[edit] Malaya support
Sun's notability and popularity extends beyond the
Greater China region, particularly to
Nanyang (Southeast Asia) where a large concentration of
overseas Chinese reside in
Malaya (
Malaysia and
Singapore). While in Singapore he met 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 April 6, 1906.
[44] Though some records claim the founding date to be end of 1905.
[44] The
villa used by Sun was known as
Wan Qing Yuan.
[44][45] At this point Singapore was the headquarter of the Tongmenghui.
[44]
[edit] Zhennanguan uprising
On December 1, 1907 Sun led the
Zhennanguan uprising against the Qing at
Friendship Pass, which is the border between
Guangxi and
Vietnam.
[46] The uprising failed after seven days of fighting.
[46][47] In 1907 there were a total of four uprisings that failed including
Huanggang uprising,
Huizhou seven women lake uprising and
Qinzhou uprising.
[44] In 1908 two more uprisings failed one after another including
Qin-lian uprising and
Hekou uprising.
[44]
[edit] Anti-Sun movements
Because of these failures Sun's leadership was beginning to be challenged by elements from within the Tongmenghui who wished to remove him as leader. In Tokyo 1907–1908 members from the recently merged
Restoration society raised doubts about Sun's credentials.
[44] Tao Chengzhang (陶成章) and
Zhang Binglin publicly denounced Sun with an open leaflet called "A declaration of Sun Yat-sen's criminal acts by the revolutionaries in Southeast Asia".
[44] This was printed and distributed in reformist newspapers like Nanyang Zonghui Bao.
[44][48] Their goal was to target Sun as a leader leading a revolt for
profiteering gains.
[44]
The revolutionaries were polarized and split between pro-Sun and anti-Sun camps.
[44] Sun publicly fought off comments about how he had something to gain financially from the revolution.
[44] In 1910 Sun took the time to establish the United Chinese Library in Singapore.
[49] But by July 19, 1910 the Tongmenghui headquarter had to relocate from Singapore to
Penang to reduce the anti-Sun activities.
[44] It is also in Penang that Sun and his supporters would launch the first Chinese "daily" newspaper, the
Kwong Wah Yit Poh on December 1910.
[46]
Soldiers of the Wuchang uprising
[edit] 1911 revolution
To sponsor more uprisings, Sun made a personal plea for financial aid at the
Penang conference held on November 13, 1910 in
Malaya.
[50] The leaders launched a major drive for donations across the
Malay Peninsula.
[50] They raised
HK$187,000.
[50]
On April 27, 1911 revolutionary
Huang Xing led a second Guangzhou uprising known as the
Yellow Flower Mound revolt against the Qing. The revolt failed and ended in disaster; only the bodies of 72 revolutionaries were found.
[51] The revolutionaries are remembered as
martyrs.
[51]
On October 10, 1911 a military
uprising at Wuchang took place led again by
Huang Xing. At the time Sun had no direct involvement as he was still in exile. Huang was in charge of the revolution that ended over 2000 years of imperial rule in China. When Sun learned of the successful rebellion against the
Qing emperor from press reports, he immediately returned to China from the United States accompanied by General
Homer Lea on December 21, 1911.
[52] The uprising expanded to the
Xinhai Revolution also known as the "Chinese Revolution" to overthrow the last Emperor
Puyi. After this event October 10 became known as the commemoration of
Double Ten Day.
[53]
[edit] Republic of China with many governments
[edit] Provisional government
On December 29, 1911 a meeting of representatives from provinces in
Nanking elected Sun Yat-sen as the "
provisional president" (臨時大總統).
[54] January 1, 1912 was set as the
first day of the First Year of the Republic.
[55] Li Yuanhong was made provisional vice-president and
Huang Xing became the minister of the army. The new
Provisional Government of the Republic of China was created along with the
Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China. Sun is credited for the funding of the revolutions and for keeping the spirit of revolution alive, even after a series of failed uprisings. His successful merger of minor revolutionary groups to a single larger party provided a better base for all those who shared the same ideals. A number of things were introduced such as the
republic calendar system and new fashion like
Zhongshan suits.
[edit] Beiyang government
Yuan Shikai was in charge of the
Beiyang Army, the military of northern China. He was promised the position of President of the Republic of China if he could get the Qing court to
abdicate.
[56] On February 12, 1912 Emperor Puyi did abdicate the throne.
[55] Sun Yat-sen stepped down as President, and Yuan became the new provisional president in Beijing on March 10, 1912.
[56] 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 there were still significant forces which still had not declared against the Qing.
Sun Yat-sen sent
telegrams to the leaders of all provinces, requesting them to elect and to establish the
National Assembly of the Republic of China in 1912.
[57] In May 1912 the legislative assembly moved from Nanjing to Beijing with its 120 members divided between members of
Tongmenghui and a Republican party that supported Yuan Shikai.
[58] Many revolutionary members were already alarmed by Yuan's ambitions and the northern based
Beiyang government.
[edit] KMT and Second Revolution
Tongmenghui member
Song Jiaoren quickly tried to control the parliament. He mobilized the old Tungmenghui at the core with the merger of a number of new small parties to form a new political party called the
Kuomintang (KMT) on August 25, 1912 at
Huguang Guild Hall Beijing.
[58] The
1912–1913 National assembly election was considered a huge success for the KMT winning 269 of the 596 seats in the lower house and 123 of the 274 senate seats.
[56][58] The
Second Revolution took place where Sun and KMT military forces tried to overthrow Yuan's forces of about 80,000 men in an armed conflict in July 1913.
[59] The revolt against Yuan was unsuccessful. Sun was forced to seek asylum in Japan. In retaliation KMT party leader Song Jiaoren was assassinated under the secret order of Yuan Shikai on March 20, 1913.
[56]
[edit] Political chaos
In 1915 Yuan Shikai proclaimed the
Empire of China (1915–1916) with himself as
Emperor of China. Sun took part in the
Anti-Monarchy war of the
Constitutional Protection Movement, while also supporting bandit leaders like
Bai Lang during the
Bai Lang Rebellion. This marked the beginning of the
Warlord Era. In 1915 Sun wrote to the
Second International, an organisation of socialist based in Paris, asking it to send a team of specialists to help China set up the world's first socialist republic.
[60] At the time there were
many theories and proposals of what China could be. In the political mess, even when Sun Yat-sen was announced as President,
Xu Shichang was also announced as President of the Republic of China.
[61]
[edit] Path to Northern Expedition
[edit] Guangzhou militarist government
China had become divided between different military leaders without a proper central government. Sun saw the danger of this and returned to China in 1917 to advocate
Chinese reunification. In 1921 he started a self-proclaimed military government in
Guangzhou and was elected
Grand Marshal.
[62] Between 1912 and 1927 three governments had been set up in South China: the
Provisional government in Nanjing (1912), the Military government in Guangzhou (1921–1925), and the National government in Guangzhou and later
Wuhan (1925–1927).
[63] The southern separatist government in the South was established to rival the Beiyang government in the north.
[62] Yuan Shikai had banned the KMT. The short lived
Chinese Revolutionary Party was a temporary replacement for the KMT. On October 10, 1919 Sun resurrected the KMT with the new name
Chung-kuo Kuomintang, basically "Chinese Nationalist party".
[58]
[edit] KMT CPC cooperation
By this time Sun had become 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 political tutelage that would culminate in the transition to democracy. In order to hasten the conquest of China, he began a policy of active cooperation with the
Communist Party of China (CPC). Sun and the
Soviet Union's
Adolph Joffe signed the
Sun-Joffe Manifesto in January 1923.
[64] Sun received help from the
Comintern for his acceptance of communist members into his KMT. Revolutionary and socialist leader
Vladimir Lenin praised Sun and the KMT for their ideology and principles. Lenin praised Sun and his attempts at social reformation, and also congratulated him for fighting foreign Imperialism.
[65][66][67] Sun also returned the praise, calling him a "great man", and sent his congratulations on the
revolution in Russia.
[68]
With the Soviet's help, Sun was able to develop the military power needed for the
Northern Expedition against the military at the north. He established the
Whampoa Military Academy near Guangzhou with
Chiang Kai-shek as the
commandant of the
National Revolutionary Army (NRA).
[69] Other Whampoa leaders include
Wang Jingwei and
Hu Hanmin as political instructors. This full collaboration was called the
First United Front.
[edit] Finance concerns
In 1924 Sun appointed
TV Soong to set up the first Chinese Central bank called the
Canton Central Bank.
[70] To establish national capitalism and a banking system was a major objective for the KMT.
[71] However Sun was not without some opposition as there was the
Canton volunteers corps uprising against him.
Sun (seated, right) and his wife Soong Ching-ling (宋慶齡) (seated, center) in Kobe, Japan in 1924
[edit] Final speeches
In February 1923 Sun made a presentation to the
Students' Union in
Hong Kong University and declared that it was the corruption of China and the
peace, order and good government of Hong Kong that turned him into a revolutionary.
[72][73] This same year, he delivered a speech in which he proclaimed his
Three Principles of the People 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.
On November 10, 1924, Sun traveled north to
Tianjin and delivered a speech to suggest a gathering for a "National conference" for the Chinese people. It called for the end of warlord rules and the abolition of all
unequal treaties with the Western powers.
[74] 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. On November 28, 1924 Sun traveled to Japan and gave a
speech on Pan-Asianism at
Kobe, Japan.
[75]
Sun died of
liver cancer on March 12, 1925 at the age of 58 at the
Rockefeller Hospital in Beijing.
[76][77] In keeping with common Chinese practice, his remains were placed in the
Temple of Azure Clouds, a Buddhist shrine in the Western Hills a few miles outside of Beijing.
[78][79]
[edit] Legacy
[edit] Power struggle
After Sun's death, a power struggle between his young protégé
Chiang Kai-shek and his old revolutionary comrade
Wang Jingwei split the KMT. At stake in this struggle was the right to lay claim to Sun's ambiguous legacy. In 1927 Chiang Kai-shek married
Soong May-ling, a sister of Sun's widow
Soong Ching-ling, and subsequently he could claim to be a brother-in-law of Sun. When the
Communists and the Kuomintang split in 1927, marking the start of the
Chinese Civil War, each group claimed to be his true heirs, a conflict that continued through World War II. His widow,
Soong Ching-ling, sided with the Communists during the Chinese Civil War and 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.
[edit] Cult of Personality
A
personality cult in the Republic of China was centered on Sun and his successor,
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Chinese Muslim Generals and Imams participated in this cult of personality and
one party state, with Muslim General
Ma Bufang making people bow to Sun's portrait and listen to the national anthem during a
Tibetan and
Mongol religious ceremony for the
Qinghai Lake God.
[80] Quotes from the
Quran and
Hadith were used by Muslims to justify Chiang Kai-shek's rule over China.
[81]
Statue in the Mausoleum,
Kuomintang flag on the ceiling
[edit] Father of the Nation
Sun Yat-sen remains unique among
20th century Chinese leaders for having a high reputation both in
mainland China and in
Taiwan. In Taiwan, he is seen as the Father of the
Republic of China, and is known by the
posthumous name Father of the Nation, Mr. Sun Zhongshan (Chinese:
國父 孫中山先生, where the one-character space is a traditional homage symbol).
[4] His likeness is still almost always found in ceremonial locations such as in front of legislatures and classrooms of public
schools, from elementary to senior high school, and he continues to appear in new
coinage and currency.
[edit] Forerunner of the revolution
On the
mainland, Sun is also seen as a Chinese nationalist and proto-socialist, and is highly regarded as the
Forerunner of the Revolution (革命先行者).
[64] He is even mentioned by name in the
preamble to the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China. In recent years, the leadership of the
Communist Party of China has increasingly invoked Sun, partly as a way of bolstering
Chinese nationalism in light of
Chinese economic reform and partly to increase connections with supporters of the Kuomintang on Taiwan which the
PRC sees as allies against
Taiwan independence.
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.
[82] A massive portrait of Sun continues to appear in
Tiananmen Square for May Day and
National Day.
[edit] Family
Lu Muzhen (1867–1952), Sun's first wife from 1885 to 1915
Sun Yat-sen was born to father Sun Da-cheng (孫達成) and mother lady Yang (楊氏) on November 12, 1866.
[83] At the time his father was age 53, while his mother was 38 years old. By the time he was born, he already had an older brother Sun De-zhang (孫德彰), an older sister Sun Jin-xing (孫金星) who died at the early age of 4. Another older brother Sun Dak-you (孫德祐) also died at the age of 6. He had two other sisters Sun Miao-xi (孫妙茜), who was older and Sun Qiu-qi (孫秋綺) who was younger.
[14]
Sun had an
arranged marriage with fellow villager
Lu Muzhen at the age of 20. She bore him a son
Sun Fo and two daughters, Sun Jin-yuan (孫金媛) and Sun Jin-wan (孫金婉).
[14] Sun subsequently married
Soong Ching-ling, one of the
Soong sisters.
[14] They were married in Japan on October 25, 1915, though he did not divorce his first wife, Lu Muzhen, due to opposition from the Chinese community.
[84] The relation with the sisters' father
Charles Soong would play a role in political affairs. Among Sun's descendants was
Leland Sun, who spent 37 years working in Hollywood as an actor and stuntman.
[85]
[edit] Cultural references
[edit] Memorials and structures in Asia
In most major
Chinese cities one of the main streets is named
Zhongshan Lu (
中山路) to celebrate his memory. There are also numerous parks, schools, and geographical features named after him. Xiangshan, Sun's hometown in Guangdong, was re-named
Zhongshan in his honor, and there is a hall dedicated to his memory at the
Temple of Azure Clouds in Beijing. There are also a series of
Sun Yat-sen stamps.
Other reference to Sun include the
Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou and
National Sun Yat-sen University in
Kaohsiung. Other structures include
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum,
Sun Yat-sen subway station,
Sun Yat-sen house in Nanjing,
Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum in Hong Kong,
Chung-Shan Building in the
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in
Taipei.
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
Chinese cruiser Yat Sen. The old Chinatown in
Calcutta (now known as
Kolkata),
India has a prominent street by the name of Sun Yat-sen street. In
Penang, Malaysia, the Penang Philomatic Union had its premises at 120 Armenian Street during the time when Sun spent more than four months in Penang; this house which has been preserved as the Sun Yat Sen Penang Base museum was visited by President designate Hu Jintao in 2002. The Penang Philomatic Union subsequently moved to a bungalow at 65 Macalister Road which has been also preserved as another Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Museum in Penang.
As dedication, the 1966
Chinese Cultural Renaissance was launched on Sun's birthday on November 12.
[86]
The
Nanyang Wan Qing Yuan have since been preserved and renamed as the
Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall.
[45] A Sun Yat-sen heritage trail was also launched in November 20, 2010 in Penang.
[87]
Sun's US citizen Hawaii birth certificate that show he was not born in the ROC, but instead born in the US was on public display at the
American Institute in Taiwan on
US Independence day July 4, 2011.
[88]
[edit] Memorials and structures outside of Asia
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is located in
Vancouver, the largest classical Chinese gardens outside of Asia. There is the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park in
Chinatown, Honolulu.
[89] In
Sacramento, California there is a bronze statue of Sun in front of the Chinese Benevolent Association of Sacramento. Another statue of Sun Yat-sen can be found at
Riverdale Park in Toronto, Canada. There is also the
Moscow Sun Yat-sen University. In
Chinatown, San Francisco, there is a 12-foot statue of him on St. Mary's Square.
[90]
In 1993
Lily Sun, one of Sun Yat-sen's granddaughters, donated books, photographs, artwork and other memorabilia to the
Kapi`olani library as part of the "Sun Yat-sen Asian collection".
[91] During October and November every year the entire collection is shown.
[91] In 1997 the "Dr Sun Yat-sen Hawaii foundation" was formed online as a virtual library.
[91] In 2006 the
NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit labeled one of the hills explored "Zhongsan".
[92]
[edit] In popular culture
[edit] TV series, films
The life of Sun is portrayed in various films, mainly
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 TV series
Towards the Republic features Ma Shaohua as Sun Yat-sen. In the 100th anniversary tribute of the film
1911,
Winston Chao played Sun.
[93]
[edit] Performances
In 2010 a theatrical play
"Yellow Flower on slopes" (斜路黃花) was made.
[94] In 2011 there is also a
mandopop group called "Zhongsan road 100" (中山路100號) known for singing the song "Our father of the nation" (我們國父).
[95] In 2011 a three-act
"Dr Sun Yat-sen opera" was announced by the Hong Kong
Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
[96]
The 1992 fictional novel
China Mountain Zhang has a
protagonist named Zhongsan of Chinese and
Puerto Rican ancestry in a world dominated by the Communist party.
[edit] Controversy
[edit] New Three Principles of the People
At one time CPC General secretary and PRC president
Jiang Zemin claimed Sun Yat-sen had a "New Three Principles of the People" (新三民主義) which consisted of "working with the soviets, working with the communists and helping the farmers" (聯俄, 聯共, 扶助工農).
[97][98] Lily Sun said the CPC was distorting Sun's legacy in 2001. She then voiced her displeasure in 2002 in a private letter to Jiang about the distortion of history.
[97] In 2008 Jiang Zemin was willing to offer US$10 million to sponsor a Xinhai Revolution anniversary celebration event. According to
Ming Pao she could not take the money because she would no longer have the freedom to communicate the revolution.
[97] This concept is still currently available on
Baike Baidu.
[edit] KMT emblem disappearance case
In 1981 Lily Sun took a trip to Sun Yat-sen mausoleum in Nanjing, People's Republic of China. The emblem of the KMT had disappeared from the top of his tomb. On another visit in May 2011, she was surprised to find the four characters "General Rules of Meetings" (會議通則), a document that Sun wrote in reference to
Robert's Rules of Order had disappeared from a stone carving.
[97]
[edit] Father of Independent Taiwan issue
In November 2004 the
Taiwan Ministry of Education proposed that Sun Yat-sen was not the father of their independent country, Taiwan. Instead Sun was a foreigner from China.
[99] Taiwanese Education minister
Tu Cheng-sheng and
Examination Yuan member Lin Yu-ti (林玉体) were then attacked with eggs.
[100] At a Sun Yat-sen statue in
Kaohsiung, a 70 year old ROC retired soldier slit his own throat to commit suicide as a way to protest the ministry proposal on the anniversary of Sun's birthday November 12.
[99 
