The Father of Modern China
The Teachings of Sun Vat-Sen. Compiled by Professor N. Gangulee. (Sylvan Press. 10s. 6d.)
SUN YAT-SEN is the Father of the Chinese Republic. At the end of the nineteenth century when China, after a long period of decay, seemed as if she might founder in a welter of misgovernment, rebellion and foreign war, he launched the Nationalist movement, crystallised the discontents and aspirations of the Chinese people in a programme which held out the promise of national revival, and, by the magic of his personality, inspired a whole nation with faith in his ideals. He stirred up no fewer than eleven risings before the Manchu dynasty was overthrown, and during the troubled years that followed the establishment of the republic, though often forced to seek safety under foreign flags, he was the only Chinese leader who neither amassed wealth nor raised a private army. His whole life was devoted to winning support for principles which he believed to be essential for the salvation of his country. He cap- tured the imagination of the Chinese people by his courage, integrity and eloquence ; he led them to within sight of the promised land, and on his death in 1925 he was raised to the level of the sages and legendary heroes of the past. Every word he ever wrote or uttered is endowed with scriptural authority.
The teachings of Sun-Yat-Sen are therefore a matter of supreme importance. The book contains a useful selection from his speeches and writings, but the extracts by themselves do not convey an adequate idea of the scope and character of his thought. The compiler's attempt to supply the necessary historical background is unfortunately a dismal failure. The glossary is poor, footnotes are conspicuous by their absence, and the " Biographical Sketch" is largely a rehash of Kuomintang propaganda. There is nothing quite so unprofitable as propaganda that has gone stale with repeti- tion, but the variations supplied by Professor Gangaulee are some- times naive and sometimes disingenuous. He is entitled to believe that the abdication of the Manchus turned China into a free and independent country, but there is no excuse for abstaining from all mention of the Communists or for declaring that all political parties give their wholehearted support to the leadership of the Kuomintang under the Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek.
Western students have been puzzled by Sun Yat-Sen's disregard for truth and by the strange amalgam in his teachings of profound wisdom with what sounds like sheer nonsense. The secret of his influence, however, is that he appealed to the vanity and prejudices of the Chinese as well as to their ancient morality and traditional learning. He combined the roles of philosopher, conspirator and propagandist. In order to convince his people that China must adapt her civilisation to its new environment of sovereign states he preached the un-Confucian doctrine of nationalism and boldly claimed that China's failure in the modem world was due, not to her own defects, but to the misdeeds of Manchu rulers and foreign imperialists. He had little knowledge of economics, and, like other great philosophers, lacked the practical ability to devise political machinery by which his ideas could actually be carried into execu- tion. A certain vagueness for which he has been criticised has been found, however, in practice to be advantageous. Political and economic developments in modern China must conform strictly to • the "bequeathed teachings" of Sun Yat-Sen, and vagueness affords scope for interpretation—an exercise for which Chinese politicians show much aptitude. Sun's influence in China will continue to increase. It is a pity, therefore, that no competent historian has yet made a study of his career. Something more than sympathy with China is needed to do justice to the theme.
JOHN T. PRATT.
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