How Can Sun Yixian Be Considered The Father Of The Chinese Revolution

To what extent can Sun Yixian be considered the father of the Chinese Revolution?

Sun Yixian can be considered the father of the Chinese Revolution as he is contemporarily titled both officially and unofficially in different areas of China as "Forerunner of the Revolution" and National Father, Mr. Sun Chungshan (Yixian). Sun was also the first president of the Chinese Provisional Government, funded the revolutions, kept the spirit of revolution alive, successfully merged minor revolutionary groups to a single larger party, providing a better base for all those who shared the same ideals, founded the National Party and devised a logical philosophy called Three Principles of the People which became the basis of the new society and still heavily
influences Chinese government today. However Sun Yixian was not very involved in the Revolution of 1911, and was in fact out of the country at the time, as well as only being president for a very short period of time and was a Christian who was educated by and received aid from foreign powers which goes against some of the nationalistic reasons for the revolution.

Sun Yixian must be considered the father of the Chinese Revolution to an extent, considering that the range of his contemporary titles and personal tributes suggest this very position. In Taiwan, Sun Yixian is seen as the Father of the Republic of China, and is known by the posthumous name National Father, Mr. Sun Chungshan (Yixian) or š •ƒ@‘·'†ŽRæ¶ in Chinese, where the one-character space is a traditional homage symbol . In 1940, the National party officially titled Sun eGuofuf, meaning "National Father". It also unofficially refers to Sun Yixian in the People's Republic of China on mainland China, and the title "Forerunner of the Revolution" is sometimes used instead. Sun's legacy is remembered in Nanyang at Wan Qing Yuan, which has since been renamed as the Sun Yixian Nanyang Memorial Hall, and was recognised as a national monument of Singapore on 28 October 1994. Sun is mentioned by name in the preamble to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. In most major Chinese cities one of the main streets is named "Zhongshanh to memorialise him and there are also numerous parks, schools, and geographical features named after him. His picture is still almost always found in ceremonial locations such as in front of legislatures and classrooms of public schools, and he continues to appear in new coinage and currency. Furthermore, a massive picture of Sun continues to appear in Tiananmen Square for May Day while pictures of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin no longer appear. Thus it can be concluded that officially Sun Yixian is considered the father of the Chinese Revolution through his monuments and titles.

Sun Yixian can be considered the father of the Chinese Revolution as he was the first president of the Chinese Provisional Government and came up with an ideology that still heavily influences Chinese government today among various other acts that have rendered him this title.
Sun is credited for the funding of the revolutions and for keeping the spirit of revolution alive, even after series of failed uprisings. He also founded the National Party and then successfully merged minor revolutionary groups to a single larger party, providing a better base for all those who shared the same ideals and formed a political alliance with the Chinese Communist Party. After the Wuchang Uprising, on December 29, a meeting of representatives from provinces in Nanjing elected Sun as the provisional President of the Republic of China. The Three Principles of the People was a philosophy developed by Sun Yixian in August 1905, as part of a program to make China a free, prosperous, and powerful nation. These three principles were nationalism, democracy and peoplefs livelihood.Various aspects of Sun's thoughts were adopted by the Nationalists after their rise to power in 1928 and still heavily influence Chinese government today. Through these various events it is clear why Sun Yixian is considered the father of the Chinese Revolution, and to an extent he can fairly claim this
title.

However it is difficult to consider Sun Yixian as the father of the Chinese Revolution to a large extent as he was not very involved in the actual 1911 revolution.
Sun had no direct role in the Wuchang uprising and was in fact out of the country at the time. It is suggested by historians that eHis naming as the first provisional President was precisely because he was a respected but rather unimportant figuref . More over Sun Yixian was a Christian who was educated by and received aid from foreign powers which goes against some of the nationalistic reasons for the revolution in the first place. He was educated in Hawaii and British Hong Kong, converted to Christianity and in the early 1920s Sun received help from the Russian Comintern. Sun Yixian was also the first president for only a very short period of time before he promised Yuan Shikai the presidency of the new Republic in order for him to side with the revolution and force the emperor to abdicate, allowing China to be controlled under Yuanfs dictatorial methods. Sun never even lived to see his party bring about consolidation of power over the country. Hence Sun Yixian can only be considered as the father of the Chinese Revolution to a small
extent.

Through ideas and events in both his lifetime and after his death, such as his presidency, his Three Principles of the People, his funding of revolutionary activity and his title of National Father, Mr. Sun Chungshan in the Republic of China, it is evident that Sun Yixian holds a just claim to being considered father of the Chinese Revolution. However he can only be considered this position to an extent because of his questionable involvement in the revolution, his short term as president and his ideologically inconsistent religion and involvement with foreign powers.