Wk. 12 Sun Yat-sen, Fundamentals of National Reconstruction, 1923

Question 1

Sun Yat-sen, Fundamentals of National Reconstruction, 1923

Answer 1

Sun Yat-sen, Fundamentals of National Reconstruction, 1923 – Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese nationalist and revolutionary. For most of his adult life, he was an opponent of the ruling Manchu dynasty and consequently spent a great deal of time in exile in Europe and the United States. When this document was published in 1923, Sun was president of the Chinese Republic and founder of the Nationalist Party.

• “To sum up, my revolutionary principles in a nutshell consist in the Three Principles of the People and the Five Power Constitution.”

What influence did his time in Europe and America have on Sun?

• He saw western democracy as a foundation for a Revolutionary Plan for freedom that based itself upon a democratic government founded upon an Executive, Legislative, and Judicial (Boards or Yuan) with the additional boards of Consensus (that carried out impeachments and amendments to the constitution) and Examination (determines the qualifications of the 5 Yuan).
  
  • “The principles which I have held in promoting the Chinese revolution were in some cases copied from our traditional ideals, in other cases modeled on European theory and experience and in still others formulated according to original and self-developed theories.”

How did he reconcile Western ideas and his experiences there with China and China’s history?

• He saw the ideals of Democracy in the history and sayings of Chinese culture, but for the actual mechanisms of democracy, he needed to look to the Western nations.
• He then took what he perceived to be the best parts of Western democracy and added the Chinese ideas of the Census and Examination boards for oversight, so that there was a “Five Power Constitution” (5 branches of government that provide checks and balances to the other branches).

What was the significance of the three principles of revolution?

• “I have therefore decided to enforce the principle of the people’s livelihood simultaneously with the principles of nationalism and democracy, with the hope to achieve our political objective and nip economic unrest in the bud.”
• Principle of Nationalism – What determines a nation
  
  • Nationalism came from ancestors, not from Europe.
    
    • “Nationalistic ideas in China did not come from a foreign source; they were inherited from our remote forefathers.”
  • Unlike the Manchus, the Chinese would be inclusive.
    
    • “No vengeance has been inflicted on the Manchus and we have endeavored to live side by side with them on an equal footing. This is our nationalistic policy toward races within our national boundaries”
  • The revolutionary and nationalistic spirit has always shown through in the Chinese ability to reassert control throughout history.
    
    • “During the periods when their political and military prowess declined, they could not escape for the time from the fate of a conquered nation, but they could eventually vigorously reassert themselves.”
• Principle of Democracy – the power of self-government
  
  • The ideals of democracy are inherent in Chinese history, but it required a look at the governments of Europe and the United States in order to gain actual mechanisms for democracy.
    
    • “Preserved in our books are such sayings as “Heaven sees as the people see; Heaven hears as the people hear.” “We have heard of a person named Zhou having been slain, we have not heard of a monarch having been murdered.” “The people are most important, while the king is of the least importance.” All these sayings ring with democratic sentiments.”
    • ”s. Since we have had only ideas about popular rights, and no democratic system has been evolved, we have to go to Europe and America for a republican form of government.”
  • There are three reasons why China must be a republic:
    
    1. The need for equality rules out a monarchy
    2. Monarchy under the Manchu failed the Chinese people in the past.
    3. Even when monarchs were overthrown, the victors fought amongst each other.
    • “There are three reasons. First, […] there is no ground for preserving a monarchical form of government since it is widely recognized that the people constitute the foundation of a nation and they are all equal in their own country. In the second place, under Manchu occupation, the Chinese were forced into the position of the vanquished and suffered oppression […] A third reason […] That in China prolonged periods of disorder usually followed a revolution was due to the desire of every insurgent to be a king and to his subsequent contention for the throne.”
  • Combining the best of Chinese and western governments was key to the new plan. It should be noted that the foundation of this new plan was based on western governments and their premise of executive, legislative, and judicial powers.
    
    • “My second decision is that a constitution must be adopted to ensure good government. […] The threefold separation of the legislative, judicial, and executive powers […] was accepted in every constitutional country in Europe. […] In the past China had two significant systems of examination and censoring and they can be of avail where the Western system of government and law falls short. I, therefore, advocate that the examinative and censorial powers should be placed on the same level with legislative, judicial and executive, thereby resulting in the five-fold separation of powers.”
• Principle of Livelihood – which he equated to “state ownership” (Socialism)
  
  • Industrialization creates a wealth gap that was not favorable to Sun Yat-sen.
    
    • “With the invention of modern machines, the phenomenon of uneven distribution of wealth in the West has become all the more marked.”
  • This wealth gap also existed in China but not to the extent that it did in the west.
    
    • “I felt that, although the disparity of wealth under our economic organization is not so great as in the West, the difference is only in degree, not in character. The situation will become more acute when the West extends its economic influence to China. We must form plans beforehand in order to cope with the situation.”
    • And his ‘solution’ to “cope with the situation” was to bring socialism to China.“After comparing various schools of economic thought, I have come to the realization that the principle of state ownership is most profound, reliable, and practical.”

Was he, as he claimed, committed to democracy?

• He seemed to be. It was the primary solution he saw to autocracy, and the endgame for revolution – to install democracy as a tool to ensure enduring government self-rule.

Revolutionary Program for Success

• There must be a “revolutionary program“ to ensure that revolutionaries have the people behind them.
  
  • “Those who worked for the welfare of the people and were willing to sacrifice themselves for the success of revolution not only did not receive assistance from the people but were also ridiculed and disparaged.”
• The three-stage revolution plan:
  
  1. Military to “break down“
  2. Temporary government to “transition”
  3. Establish democracy and self-government to “reform vicious customs”
  • “According to my plan, the progress of our revolution should be regulated and divided into three stages: First, military rule; second, political tutelage; third, constitutional government. The first stage is a period of destruction, during which military rule is installed. The revolutionary army is to break down […] despotism, sweep away official corruptions, and reform vicious customs. The second stage is a transitional period, during which a provisional constitution (not the present one) will be promulgated. Its object is to build a local self-government system for the development of democracy. […] It will be in force for three years, at the end of which period the people will choose their district magistrates.”
  • The 3 requisites of the early adoption of democracy are telling of his ideals.
    
    • “Even before the expiration of the period, the people in a district may be empowered to choose their own magistrate and become a complete self-governing body on the following conditions: That the self-government bureau of the said district has already cleaned the district of its longstanding corruptions; that it has succeeded in getting more than half of its population to understand the Three Principles of the People and devote themselves to the republic; that it has fulfilled the minimum requirements of the provisional constitution”
    • And then finally a 6-year period to representative democracy.“Six years after the whole nation is restored to peace and order, each district which has attained complete self-government may elect one delegate, and these delegates will form the People’s Congress to adopt the five-power constitution.”
• The “Five Power Constitution” provides exceptional checks and balances to power to ensure the long-run self-rule by the people.
  
  • “The central government will have five yuan or boards. The five yuan will be (1) The Executive Yuan, (2) The Legislative Yuan, (3) The Judicial Yuan, (4) The Examination Yuan, and (5) The Censor Yuan.”
• Impeachment, included in the constitution, is a massive redistribution of power to the people.
  
  • “All the five yuan will be responsible to the People’s Congress. Members of a yuan, in case of failure to discharge their duties, may be impeached”
• Congress always and specifically works on behalf of the people.
  
  • “The duty of the Congress is solely to attend to the amendment of the constitution and the punishment of public servants.”
• If the plan can be followed safeguards will be implemented to ensure that the power remains with the people.
  
  • “If we can proceed according to the revolutionary fundamentals […] we can also strengthen and safeguard the constructive power of the people against the manipulations of politicians and the unscrupulousness of militarists.”

POWERPOINT:

Sun, Fundamentals of National Reconstruction

• Three Principles of Revolution
  
  • Nationalism
  • Democracy
  • Livelihood (economic prosperity)
• Where did these principles come from?
  
  • These ideas come from European and Western models
  • They also are based on Chinese traditions
  • He’s presenting these principles as ideas that work, no matter their source
  • He’s blending Western and Chinese influences to make the ideas exciting and palatable
• Principle of Nationalism
  
  • Uniting the country (reconstructing a unified country)
  • China wants to get along with other countries and work together
  • China should not be ruled by other countries (we should be independent)
    
    • Not by Mongols (13th C), not by the Manchu (until 1911)
    • Not by the British and other Europeans (anti-imperialism)
• Principle of Democracy
  
  • China should not be a monarchy; it should be a republic
  • Popular sovereignty (the people are in charge)
    
    • Elections
    • Equality
  • Constitution with separation of powers with 5 branches of government
• Principle of Livelihood
  
  • Based on the problems of industrial society in the West (capitalism)
    
    • Instability (post-WWI Depression and crashes/overproduction)
    • Inequality of wealth
  • The solution to these problems is state ownership (socialism)
• Part II: what’s the plan for putting these principles into practice?
  
  • There’s a three-stage process for doing this
    
    • The final stage is “constitutional government:” the three principles are in effect
    • The first stage is “military rule:” defeating the warlords and free the people
• The second stage is transitional
• In the transitional period, several things happen
  
  • The people have to be prepared to self-government
  • At least 3 years of a “provisional constitution”
    
    • At the end of which, people will elect local leaders
  • Before people are allowed to vote, a lot of things have to happen
    
    • Incl: get a majority of people to agree with what Sun wants
  • After at least 6 years, they can “adopt” Sun’s constitution

China after Sun’s Death

• Sun’s Nationalist Party included socialists and Communists
  
  • Recall his Principle of Livelihood and state ownership
  • Nationalists and Communists wanted to modernize China (more industrial)
• Sun Yat-sen died in 1925
  
  • The alliance between Nationalists and Communists started to fray
• 1928: Republic regained control of the provinces
  
  • End of the “military rule” phase in the Fundamentals
  • But a civil war between Communists and Nationalists was beginning