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 rôle played by the old Chinese morality in the ideology of Sun Yat-sen
is, it is apparent, an important one. First, Sun Yat-sen believed that
Chinese nationalism and the regeneration of the Chinese people had to be
based on the old morality of China, which was superior to any other
morality that the world had known, and which was among the treasures of
the Chinese people. Second, he believed that, in practical politics as
well as national ideology, the application of the old virtues would be
fruitful in bringing about the development of a strong China. Third, he
derived the idea of _wang tao_, the right, the royal, the natural way,
from antiquity. He pointed out that violence to the established order—of
race, as in the case of the British Empire, of economics, as in the case
of the political methods of imperialism—was directly antithetical to the
natural, peaceful way of doing things that had led to the supreme
greatness of China in past ages. Fourth, he employed the doctrine of
_jên_, of social-consciousness, which had already been used, by the
Confucians, and formed the cornerstone of their teaching, as the key to
his interpretation. In regard to the individual, this was, as we have
seen, consciousness of social orientation; with regard to the group, it
was the development of strength and harmony. It has also been translated
_humanity_, which broadly and ethically, carries the value scheme with
which _jên_ is connected.
Even this heavy indebtedness to Chinese antiquity in adopting and adapting
the morality of the ancients for the salvation of their children in the
modern world, was not the total of Sun Yat-sen’s political traditionalism.
He also wished to renew the ancient Chinese knowledge, especially in the
fields of social and political science. Only after these did he desire
that Western technics be introduced.
The Return to the Ancient Knowledge.
Sun Yat-sen’s doctrine of the return to the ancient Chinese knowledge may
be divided into three parts. First, he praised the ancient Chinese
superiority in the field of social science, but distinctly stressed the
necessity of Western knowledge in the field of the physical and applied
sciences alone.(83) Second, he pointed out the many practical
accomplishments of the ancient Chinese knowledge, and the excellence and
versatility of Chinese invention.(84) Third, his emphasis upon the
development of talents in the material sciences hints at, although it does
not state, a theory of national wealth based upon labor capacity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account