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
To return to the consideration of the parts played by ideology and popular
government in social control: there was another point of great difference
between the old ideology and the new. The old was the creation, largely,
of a special class of scholars, who for that purpose ranked highest in the
social hierarchy of old China. Now even though the three natural classes
might continue to be recognized in China, the higher standard of living
and the increased literacy of the populace was to enlarge the number of
persons participating in the life of ideas. The people were to form the
ideology in part, and in part control the government under whose control
the revolutionary geniuses were to form the rest of the ideology, and
propagate it through a national educational program. In all respects the
eventual control was to rest with the people of the Chinese race-nation,
united, self-ruling, and determined to survive.
How, then, does the pattern of _min ch’üan_ fit into the larger scheme of
the continuation of Confucian civilization and ideological control? First,
the old was to continue undisturbed where it might. Second, those persons
completely lost to the discipline of the old ideology must be controlled
by the state. Third, those areas of behavior which were disturbed by the
Western impact required state guidance. Fourth, the machine state was to
control both these fields, of men, and of ideas, and within this limited
field was to be authoritarian (“an all-powerful state”) and yet democratic
(“nevertheless subject to the control of the people”). Fifth, the ideology
was to arise in part from the general body of the people. Sixth, the other
parts of it were to be developed by the intellectuals, assisted by the
government, which was to be also under the control of the people. Seventh,
since the world was generally in an unstable condition, and since many
wrongs remained to be righted, it was not immediately probable that the
Chinese would settle down to ideological serenity and certainty, and
consequently State policy would still remain as a governmental question,
to be decided by the will of the whole race-nation.
To recapitulate, then the people was to rule itself until the reappearance
of perfect tranquility—_ta t’ung_—or its nearest mundane equivalent. The
government was to serve as a canalization of the power of the Chinese
race-nation in fighting against the oppressor-nations of the world for
survival.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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