Sun Wen

Lore & Background

Sun Wen was born to a poor peasant family in Guangdong. He was educated in Hawaii, graduating from ʻIolani School in 1882 and attending Oahu College for one semester. He later graduated from the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese in 1892. In 1894, his petition to reform the Qing government was rejected, leading him to exile and the founding of the Revive China Society, the Tongmenghui, and the People's News. He was baptized as a Christian in Hong Kong on 4 May 1884.

After the 1911 Revolution, Sun proclaimed the Republic of China but relinquished the presidency to Yuan Shikai in exchange for the Qing abdication. Following the assassination of Song Jiaoren in 1913, Sun led a failed Second Revolution against Yuan and fled to Japan. In 1917, he established a Constitutional Protection junta in Guangzhou, but was forced to resign due to infighting. He assumed the junta leadership in 1921, survived Chen Jiongming's revolt, and collaborated with the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist Party to form the First United Front.

Sun traveled north in late 1924 to call for a national assembly and the abolition of unequal treaties, continuing his struggle against warlords Duan Qirui and Zhang Zuolin. He died in Beijing in 1925. His birthplace, Xiangshan, was renamed Zhongshan in his honor shortly after his death.

Reader's Guide

Sun Wen is revered by both the Republic of China, which designates him 'Father of the Nation,' and the People's Republic of China, which honors him as the 'Forerunner of the Revolution.' His flagship ideology, the Three Principles of the People—nationalism, democracy, and the people's livelihood—sought to modernize China within an ethnically harmonious conception of the Chinese nation. His schooling in Hawaii exposed him to American history and political ideas, including admiration for Abraham Lincoln and Alexander Hamilton, which shaped his vision for a democratic China. Despite disputes over the sincerity of his Christian faith, Sun used Christian education and the Bible as means to promote just laws in China. His revolutionary career involved founding multiple societies, leading uprisings, and forming alliances with the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist Party. His legacy remains central to both Chinese states, though his life was marked by exile, failed revolts, and political compromises.

Did You Know?

• Sun Wen's genealogical name was Sun Deming; his milk name was Tai Tseung.
• He was baptized as a Christian on 4 May 1884 by Rev. Charles Robert Hager in Hong Kong.
• His best-known name in the Chinese-speaking world, Sun Zhongshan, derives from a Japanese pseudonym given by Tōten Miyazaki.
• He studied American history and political ideas in Hawaii, admiring Abraham Lincoln and Alexander Hamilton.