The Impact of the Three Principles of the People on China and Taiwan
“We shall establish a united Chinese Republic in order that all the peoples—Manchus, Mongols, Tibetans, Tartars and Chinese—should constitute a single powerful nation.… Such a nationalism is possible, and we must pursue it.”- Sun Yat-sen, Three Principles of the People.
Countless nationalists across the world seek for the rights Dr. Sun Yat-sen stated in his Principles. Sun Yat-sen was born in Cuiheng, a small village in Guangzhou Province, during the Qing Dynasty in 1866. At this time, the Qing was slowly declining. The Taiping Rebellion, an unsuccessful, large-scale revolt against the Qing dynasty led by Hong Xiuquan, threatened the survival of the empire, the Confucian system. The ascension of the two-year old Emperor Puyi also made the empire extremely vulnerable to internal and external issues. When Sun was thirteen, his elder brother took him to live in Honolulu, where he was taught English and studied medicine (Goldston 197-202). He later returned to China. He gradually became interested in politics and became extremely upset with the corruption of the Chinese government and the government’s inability to defend its borders from neighboring countries (Zhao). During his time in the West, Sun was influenced by the political ideas of Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln and began to dress as a Westerner. After leading several unsuccessful uprisings against the government, Sun was exiled in Europe, North America, and Japan for sixteen years (ABC-CLIO “Sun Yat-sen”). During his time exiled, he recognized that his career consisted of numerous failures and unorganized plots. However, with the success of the Wuchang Rebellion, the successful uprising that overthrew the Qing, Sun returned back to China and was declared president of the temporary government in Nanking. On January 1, 1912, Sun and his supporters founded the Republic of China, with his philosophical doctrine, Three Principles of the People, as a guide for establishing numerous policies (Goldston
Countless nationalists across the world seek for the rights Dr. Sun Yat-sen stated in his Principles. Sun Yat-sen was born in Cuiheng, a small village in Guangzhou Province, during the Qing Dynasty in 1866. At this time, the Qing was slowly declining. The Taiping Rebellion, an unsuccessful, large-scale revolt against the Qing dynasty led by Hong Xiuquan, threatened the survival of the empire, the Confucian system. The ascension of the two-year old Emperor Puyi also made the empire extremely vulnerable to internal and external issues. When Sun was thirteen, his elder brother took him to live in Honolulu, where he was taught English and studied medicine (Goldston 197-202). He later returned to China. He gradually became interested in politics and became extremely upset with the corruption of the Chinese government and the government’s inability to defend its borders from neighboring countries (Zhao). During his time in the West, Sun was influenced by the political ideas of Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln and began to dress as a Westerner. After leading several unsuccessful uprisings against the government, Sun was exiled in Europe, North America, and Japan for sixteen years (ABC-CLIO “Sun Yat-sen”). During his time exiled, he recognized that his career consisted of numerous failures and unorganized plots. However, with the success of the Wuchang Rebellion, the successful uprising that overthrew the Qing, Sun returned back to China and was declared president of the temporary government in Nanking. On January 1, 1912, Sun and his supporters founded the Republic of China, with his philosophical doctrine, Three Principles of the People, as a guide for establishing numerous policies (Goldston
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