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2. On Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People: A Philosophy Approach
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
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28 2 ON SUN YAT-SEN’S THREE PRINCIPLES OF THE PEOPLE: A PHILOSOPHY APPROACH Tony See Sin Heng Introduction AlthoughmuchscholarshiphasbeendevotedtothestudyofSunYatsen ’s“threeprinciplesofthepeople”or“sanminzhuyi”(三民主义)from a more or less historical perspective, relatively little has been devoted toaninvestigationoftheseprinciplesfromaphilosophicalperspective. The historical approach to the study of Sun’s “three principles” is, of course,significantandindispensiblebecausetheyadddimensiontoour understandingofhispoliticalactivitiesinChina,buttheyareinadequate intermsofexaminingthetheoreticalconsistenciesandinconsistencies ofSun’spoliticalthought,andtheyalsodonotclarifythenatureofhis thoughtinthecontextofthehistoryofpoliticalideasinChina.Interms ofthehistoricalresearchonSun’spoliticalideas,HuangJianli’schapter (Chapter5ofthisbook)providesaclearandsuccinctcontextofthestate ofscholarshipsofar.Basedonestablishedresearchinthefield,especiallyon theparadigmsuggestedbyWinstonHsieh,HuanghighlightsthatChinese writingsonSunmaybedividedintotwocategories—thatwhichbelongs totheKuomintang(KMT,国民党)orthodoxy,andthatwhichbelongsto 02SunYatSen.indd28 8/24/112:17:48PM Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People 29 theChineseCommunistParty(CCP,中国共产党)neo-orthodoxy,andif weaddathirdwestern-languagewritingsthatarepublishedlargelyinthe Euro-Americanworld,wethushaveatripartitedivisioninSunYat-sen scholarship.1 Thefirsttwocategoriesarewellregardedasorthodoxieswith regardstoSunYat-senscholarshipwhilethethirdcategory,arisingmainly inthe1960sandwhichisalsoinclusiveofOverseasChineseresearch,offer newperspectivesandinterpretationswhichprovidesadiverseandmore pluralisticapproachtoSun’swork.2 Thehistoricalcontroversiesanddebates whichcameaboutfromtheseobviouslystemfromadifferenceinapproach andalackofsharedassumptionswithregardstoSun.Ontheonehand,we haveKMT-sympatheticscholarswhotendtoemphasizeSun’simportance androleinliberatingChina,andwhoarealsohighlycriticaloftheCCP’s involvementandinterpretationofevents.Ontheotherhand,wehave scholarswhoaresympathetictotheCCPandwho,whilstrecognizingthe significanceofSun’srevolutionaryactivities,neverthelessdownplayshis historicalimportancebecausehisrevolutionwasonlyseenasanecessary stagetotheonesledbytheCommunistthemselves.Althoughthereare manypointsofagreementanddisagreementbetweenthesetwocamps,they areatleastunitedintermsoftheirregardforhistoricalanalysis.Inaddition tothesetwomainstreaminterpretations,Huangpointedoutthatthere wasalsoathirdgroupofscholars,mainlywestern-trainedandappearing mainlyinthe1960s,whoweremoreindependentintheirresearchand whodidnotneedtotowanypartyline.3 Althoughthesestudieswerealso philosophicallyloadedandlessthanobjective,theyoffermorepluralistic andofferdiverseperspectiveswhenitcomestoSun.Tothesethreegroups, wemayactuallyaddafourthgroupofscholarlyworks.Theopeningup ofexchanges,theincreaseinacademicexchangesandresearchthroughout theworld,andespeciallyinTaiwanandChina,blurredthedistinctions between the works.4 Again, there are many points of difference and similaritiesbetweentheseworks,buttheytendtosharecertaincommonalities, thatis,theytendtoapproachSun’spoliticalideasfromamore-or-less historicalperspective,theytendnottotreathisthreeprinciplesfroma philosophicalperspectiveandtheytendtobemorecriticalandmuchless reverentofSun. AninstanceofthisistheFrenchscholarMarie-ClaireBèrgerewho producedaninternationallyrecognizedworkonSuninwhichsheargued thatSundoesnothavea“serious”politicalphilosophy.Thisismainlybecause hisideasweredevelopedinthemidstofhispoliticalstrugglesinChinaand theycontainedmanycontradictionsandinconsistencies.Shestatesthat 02SunYatSen.indd29 8/24/112:17:48PM [35.171.159.141] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 02:41 GMT) 30 Tony See Sin Heng “Dependingonone’smood,onemighteitherpronouncetheworktobe eclectic—orahybridhodgepodge.Chineseculturalprideismixedwith Leninistanti-imperialism,Montesquieu’sLawsrubshoulderswithLincoln...