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
The dual orientation of Sun Yat-sen’s anti-imperialist programs has
already been made partly evident in the examination of this belief in a
class war of the nations. A much more nearly complete exposition of this
doctrine, although with the emphasis on its racial rather than on its
economic aspects, is to be found in the third sub-principle of the
nationalist program: the race-national aspect of the national revolution.
Each of the three principles was to contribute to this implementation of
nationalism. _Min shêng_ was to provide the foundation for economic
nationalism. Democracy was to follow and reinforce political nationalism,
which would clear away the political imperialism and let the Chinese,
inculcated with state-allegiance, really rule themselves.
At the end of his life, even after he had delivered the sixteen lectures
on the three principles, Sun Yat-sen issued another call for the
fulfillment in action of his principle of nationalism. This, too, praised
Russia and stressed the significance of the defection of Russia from the
band of the white oppressing powers; but it is important as showing the
wider implications of Sun Yat-sen’s race-national doctrines. During the
greater part of his life, Sun spoke of the Chinese race-nation alone. His
racial theory led him into no wider implications, such as the political
reality of race kinship. In this last pronouncement, he recognized the
wide sweep of consequences to which his premises of race-reality had led
him. This call was issued in his celebrated Pan-Asiatic Speech of November
28, 1924, given in Kobe, Japan.(261)
The content of the speech is narrower than the configuration of auxiliary
doctrines which may be discussed in connection with it. These are: the
race orientation of the Chinese race-nation; the possibility of Pan-Asia;
and the necessary function of the future Chinese society as the protector
and teacher of Asia, and of the whole world. These points in his
theoretical program were still far in the future when he spoke of them,
and consequently did not receive much attention. In the light of the
developments of the last several years, and the continued references to
Sun’s Pan-Asia which Japanese officials and propagandists have been
making, this part of his program requires new attention.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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