The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu ILinebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
History
The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu I
Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
Sun, Yat-sen, 1866-1925. San min zhu yi
As has been stated Sun Yat-sen used the anti-dynastic sentiment current in
the last years of the Manchus as an instrument by means of which he could
foster an anti-monarchical movement. The great significance of his
nationalism as a nationalism of Chinese _vis-à-vis_ their
Oriental-barbarian rulers quite overshadowed its importance as a teaching
designed to protect China against its Western-barbarian exploiters. The
triumph of the Republicans was so startling that, for a time, Sun Yat-sen
seems to have believed that nationalism could develop of itself, that the
Chinese, free from their Manchu overlords, would develop a strong
race-national consciousness without the necessity of any political or
party fostering of such an element in their ideology. Afire with all the
idealism of the false dawn of the first Republic, Sun Yat-sen dropped the
principle of nationalism from his program, and converted his fierce
conspiratorial league into a parliamentary party designed to enter into
amicable competition with the other parties of the new era.(242) This
pleasant possibility did not develop. The work of nationalism was by no
means done. The concept of state-allegiance had not entered into the
Chinese ideology as yet, and the usurper-President Yüan Shih-k’ai was able
to gather his henchmen about him and plan for a powerful modern Empire of
which he should be forced by apparently popular acclamation to assume
control.
The further necessity for nationalism appeared in several ways. First, the
Chinese had not become nationalistic enough in their attitude toward the
powers. Sun Yat-sen, with his reluctance to enter into violent
disagreement with the old ideology, was most unwilling that chauvinism
should be allowed in China.(243) He hoped that the Western powers, seeing
a fair bargain, would be willing to invest in China sufficient capital to
advance Chinese industrial conditions. Instead, he saw Japanese capital
pouring into Peking for illegitimate purposes, and accepted by a
prostituted government of politicians. With the continuation of the
unfavorable financial policy of the powers, and the continuing remoteness
of any really helpful loans, he began to think that the Chinese had to
rely on their own strength for their salvation.(244) Second, he realized
that the foreigners in China were not generally interested in a strong,
modern Chinese state if that state were to be developed by Chinese and not
by themselves. Sun had understood from the beginning that the great aim of
nationalism was to readjust the old world-society to nationhood in the
modern world; he had not, perhaps, realized that the appearance of this
nationhood was going to be opposed by foreigners.(245) When he came to
power in 1912, he thought that the immediate end of nationalism—liberation
of China from Manchu overlordship—had been achieved. He was preoccupied
with the domestic problems of democracy and _min shêng_. When, however,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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