Dr. Sun-Yat-Sen: First Provisional President of the Republic of China (1911-1912)
Years as De Facto Ruler (1923-1925)
Dr.Sun-Yat-Sen was born to an extremely poor family of farmers in the South China village known as Xiangshan on November 12, 1866. There, he completed his basic education and afterward moved to Honolulu to live with his older brother Sun Mei, who had become a very wealthy merchant. Soon, Sun-Yat-Sen became fascinated with the ideals of Abraham Lincoln, more specifically his philosophy of having a government "of the people, by the people and for the people". Fueled by this ideology, Sun began to further his education, concentrating mainly on his fluency in English. After gaining his American citizenship and graduating from Oahu college, he began working on revolutionary ideals for China (inspired by Abraham Lincoln's). The three main components of this revolution were: nationalism, sovereignty, and socialism.
After the Qing dynasty implemented an extremely conservative law concerning education policy, Sun-Yat-Sen made it his mission to rebuild China as a Republic. In 1895 he tried to organize a coup d'etat (or surprise overthrow of the government) against the Chinese government with his Kuomintang political party, which not only failed but forced Sun-Yat-Sen into a nineteen year exile. During this period, he traveled the world raising money and support for his revolutionary efforts. After a military rebellion took down the Chinese monarchy in 1911, Sun-Yat-Sen returned to China and was elected the first provisional president of the Republic of China. While Sun-Yat-Sen was in power, he implemented many changes such as the election of new senators in all provinces of China, and the extensive planning of another coup d'etat against the head of the Beiyang Army. Although this attempt failed (and the head of the Beiyang Army - Yuan - became the new emperor of China) Yuan was forced to step down from his position due to his many corrupt policies and inability to rule China as a dictator.
Yuan stepping down left China to be led by various military leaders without a centralized government. This infuriated Sun-Yat-Sen, and caused him to establish a military government in Southern China in an attempt to unify China once more. He acted as both the President and General of this military government. Under his rule, he established the "Three Principals of the People" (democracy, nationalism, and the livelihood of the people) which illustrated his Kuomintang ideals and acted as the foundation for the foundation of the Chinese government.
After stepping down from his position in 1925, Sun-Yat-Sen actively gave speeches and seminars about the future of the Chinese government. He also initiated a talk with the northern leaders of China about the unification of the country. However, Sun-Yat-Sen never got to see China unified because he died on March 12, 1925 - at the age of 58 - from lung cancer. Because of his revolutionary policies, Sun-Yat-Sen is known as the National Father of Modern China and the forerunner of the Chinese revolution. His philosophies are still well-respected in China, and a line from one of his most famous speeches is incorporated in the present day Chinese national anthem to memorialize him forever.
Dr.Sun-Yat-Sen if your first coup d'état failed why try again to be forced down from your position. When in power you should have taken that time to secure your position and then plan another coup d'état. Establishing a military government was well planned although you should have used that against the current president to overthrow him and take it for yourself.
ReplyDeleteHello Dr. Sun-Yat-Sen, it is Mohammad Khatami. I see you are fluent in English. I am trying to strengthen ties with the country, but there is a cultural barrier and mistrust. Do you think you would be able to teach me what you know?
ReplyDeleteHello, Dr. Sun-Yat-Sen. I am Pancho Villa!
ReplyDeleteI too am a man of revolution, and I feel as though I could have been a great help to you in your efforts. I too sought for my country to become stronger, and was willing to do what it took to help it get to that point. I respect that you were able to become the president of your country and make the changes you saw fit, but you also risked putting your country in jepoardy with a second attempt at a coup d'etat. I feel as though with my help as a revolutionary leader, you could have more efficiently performed a government takeover without being removed from power. Viva Mexico!
Hey Sun Yat-Sen, I now see that I have made a mistake not joining your revolutionary party, I was just not ready to accept nationalism at the time. Now that I see Joseph Stalins tyrant ways with communism, I am more open to your ideas.
ReplyDelete