Main Characters and Supporting Cast: The Front and Back Stages of the Great Transformation in Modern China

Author: Fu Guoyong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: History is a grand stage where the stage, script, and characters are inseparable. Main characters, supporting characters, and the masses depend on, constrain, and shift among each other. This book observes the most typical and influential figures during the second major transformation of modern Chinese society before and after the Xinhai Revolution from a new perspective of "role awareness." Through numerous details behind and in front of the curtain, it presents vivid historical scenes and evolutionary trajectories. Due to the author's innovative perspective, extensive research, and rich illustrations, the struggle between the reformists and revolutionaries in the late Qing and early Republican era, as well as the revolutionary "orthodoxy" debate between the Revive China Society and the Tongmenghui, are revealed more authentically. The portrayal of Yuan Shikai, a traditional protagonist, is vivid; Liang Qichao's awkward role between retreat and advancement is skillfully depicted; Huang Xing and Sun Yat-sen as the ideal supporting and main characters, Song Jiaoren as an outstanding representative of a healthy sense of role awareness, and Cai E as a sunny figure who competes for character rather than power are all presented vividly, evoking endless sighs, reflections, and admiration.
Meanwhile, Sun Yat-sen replied to Zhang Ji in a letter, rejecting the proposal to resign or retreat:
"1. Retire to the mountains. This is a time of decline for the revolution, not a time of success and prosperity. It is an era for me to face difficulties and hardships to advance, not a time for retirement.
2. Announce to the world that I am resigning as the General Secretary of the Tongmenghui. When I was elected as General Secretary, I did not accept it until I announced it to the world. Similarly, resignation must not involve announcing it to the world. My resignation as General Secretary already occurred when I demanded the Tongmenghui and Zhang Taiyan to admit their mistakes. The Tongmenghui and Taiyan have not admitted their mistakes to this day, so I have long ceased to be their General Secretary."
Although Wu Zhihui and others defended Sun Yat-sen, for example, Wu published an article in the 115th issue of the New Century on November 13, stating, "Recently, I saw a notice from the Tokyo Tongmenghui accusing Sun Wen of crimes. What is written there is not only not a crime of Sun Wen, but it also clearly shows his influence of the pro-monarchist party." "Therefore, the first accusation against Sun Wen is hiding a large sum of money, 200,000 yuan. He was unaware that Sun Wen's travel expenses were borrowed from the academic community." However, it is understandable that Sun Yat-sen was under great pressure at the time. If Huang Xing had not strongly resisted, Sun Yat-sen's position in the Tongmenghui would have been precarious. On November 11, 11, and 29, 1909, Tao Chengzhang and others published a public letter in the Nanyang Zonghui Xinbao, which had ties to the pro-monarchist party, sparking the biggest crisis in the Tongmenghui's four years of establishment.
Previously, on July 18, 1909, Tao Chengzhang wrote to Li Xiehe, saying, "The previous incident of Sun Wen was actually giving him the knife handle." He wanted to draft a new constitution, "in which Sun Wen would not be recognized as a member, and I believe it can be done. Recently, I have been focusing on assassination (if it is done, it must be stated that it has nothing to do with Sun Wen to avoid being used by others)." On September 24, he wrote to Wang Ruoyu, expressing great dissatisfaction with Huang Xing "who was solely mediating for Sun Zhongshan," stating, "I and you have long been at odds with Sun Zhongshan." On October 22, Sun Yat-sen wrote to Wang Zikang, a member of the Tongmenghui in Brussels: "Tao [Chengzhang] came to Nanyang last year, demanding that I raise 500,000 yuan for him and return to Zhejiang to handle affairs. I refused, citing the economic crisis in Nanyang and my inability to help. Disappointed, he returned and now attacks me fiercely. Some in the Tokyo student circles are also pushing the wave. From the outside, our party has become a state of internal chaos. Such is the heart of people, truly a great misfortune for the future of the revolution." "This has greatly hindered our efforts to connect with overseas Chinese."
The Investigation Notice of the False Min Newspaper 1909 was truly a troubled year for Sun Yat-sen. One crisis had not subsided when another arose. After Tao Chengzhang and others published their opinion letter, Zhang Taiyan launched an attack, which was the famous Investigation Notice of the False Min Newspaper. The incident stemmed from the Japanese authorities sealing the Min Newspaper and imposing a fine of 150 yuan, with failure to pay resulting in hard labor for Zhang Taiyan. The Tongmenghui did not provide aid, and it was later resolved by Zhang Taiyan's disciples, including Lu Xun, who raised money. This caused great indignation among Zhang Taiyan, Lu Xun, and others [as described by Zhang Jinglu]. Afterward, Wang Jingwei and others secretly published two issues of the Min Newspaper without consulting Zhang Taiyan, naturally exacerbating the situation. Enraged, Zhang Taiyan published this flyer under the name of the former Min Newspaper president, mainly accusing Sun Yat-sen: "Sun Wen was originally a young rascal, who only rose to prominence due to the Huizhou uprising, an early event. Therefore, scholars were happy to support and promote him as the Alliance leader. Sun Wen was petty and easily inflated, and he used this to enrich himself. In Tokyo, he claimed to have ten thousand followers in Nanyang; in Nanyang, he claimed that all students were under his command, and all heroes in the interior were at his mercy. Relying on the Min Newspaper to spread propaganda and the support of comrades, he took advantage of the time to accumulate wealth."
The so-called "accumulation of wealth" refers to the donations Sun Yat-sen accepted when he left Japan and the military expenses for several uprisings. He further accused Sun Yat-sen of "abandoning his roots and forgetting his beginnings, unable to rise to the occasion," stating that when the Min Newspaper was on the brink of collapse, "he repeatedly wrote to Nanyang, asking Sun Wen to provide aid, and sent Hu Hanmin or Wang Jingwei to cross the sea several times, sending letters five or six times and telegrams three or four times, with no reply or saying that Nanyang was exhausted and had no money. Sometimes he also used empty words to delay, saying he would bring five or six thousand yuan to help in the east, but when the time came, he used other excuses, and the total sent was only three hundred yuan."
"Sun Wen carried a huge sum of money, but the amount used for public affairs was less than one percent. The Min Newspaper sought no more than three or four thousand yuan in aid, yet he did not even plan to raise it. The extent of his embezzlement is clear. Last autumn, a man named Li came from Singapore, saying that the Min Newspaper could raise funds in Nanyang. He printed hundreds of shares of stock and entrusted his friend Tao Huanqing (Tao Chengzhang) to deliver them to Sun Wen, but Sun sat by and watched the poverty, suppressing and delaying the issuance."
Especially when the Min Newspaper was, Zhang Taiyan was almost sentenced to hard labor because he could not pay the fine, while Sun Wen, who was wealthy and had concubines, shamefully served as the Alliance leader without even a single coin of help. He did not feel guilty and even dared to slander others. This was something even a jackal would not eat, and something a northern tiger would not accept."
It is a fact that Sun Yat-sen did not extend a helping hand when the Min Newspaper was in crisis, but saying that he "was wealthy and had concubines" was just speculation and imagination. There were reasons why Sun Yat-sen ignored the Min Newspaper. First, the "Sun Wen reversal" wave in 1907 had already wounded his heart. Additionally, he was deeply dissatisfied with Zhang Taiyan's high-flown discussions of Buddhism and national essence in the Min Newspaper, which gradually deviated from the Three Principles of the People. Moreover, Zhang Taiyan also accused Sun Yat-sen of betraying the country and friends: "Yunnan is Chinese territory, yet he wanted to give it to the French"; "Look at Huang Xing, was he not someone who shared life and death with Sun Wen? Yet he harbored resentment over power struggles and suspected others internally; Wang Jingwei's speech even compared him to Yang Xiuqing. Guan Renfu, was he not someone who died for Sun Wen and achieved merits? Yet after his failure, he fled and even secretly reported to British officials, accusing them of being thieves. His ingratitude was like this." He advised overseas Chinese not to donate to Sun Yat-sen and Wang Jingwei's "private" Min Newspaper. He later said, "Looking at Sun Wen's actions, was he really trying to speak for the people and uphold justice in the world? He only caused chaos!"