Sun Yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen^{[lower-alpha 1]} (/ˈsʌn ˌjætˈsɛn/, traditional Chinese: 孫逸仙; simplified Chinese: 孙逸仙; pinyin: Sūn Yìxiān, 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925),^[1][2][3] better known in China as Sun Zhongshan^{[lower-alpha 2]} (traditional Chinese: 孫中山; simplified Chinese: 孙中山), was a Chinese revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who served as the first provisional president of the Republic of China and the first leader of the Kuomintang. He is called the "Father of the Nation" in the present-day Republic of China (Taiwan) and the "Forerunner of the Revolution" in the People's Republic of China for his instrumental role in the overthrowing of the Qing dynasty during the 1911 Revolution. Sun is unique among 20th-century Chinese leaders for being widely revered by both the Communist Party in mainland China and the Kuomintang in Taiwan.^[4]

Quick Facts Provisional President of the Republic of China, Vice President ...

Sun Yat-sen
孫中山
Sun in the 1910s
Provisional President of the Republic of China
In office 1 January 1912 – 10 March 1912
Vice President	Li Yuanhong
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Yuan Shikai
Premier of the Kuomintang
In office 10 October 1919 – 12 March 1925
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Zhang Renjie (as Chairman)
Personal details
Born	Sun Te-ming (孫德明) (1866-11-12)12 November 1866 Cuiheng Village, Hsiangshan County, Kwangtung Province, Qing Empire
Died	12 March 1925(1925-03-12) (aged 58) Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, Republic of China
Resting place	Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
Political party	Kuomintang
Other political affiliations	Chinese Revolutionary Party Chinese United League Revive China Society
Spouses	Lu Muzhen ​ ​ (m. 1885; div. 1915)​ Kaoru Otsuki ​ ​ (m. 1905; a. 1906)​ Soong Ching-ling ​ (m. 1915)​ Chen Cuifen (concubine, 1892–1925) Haru Asada (concubine, 1897–1902)
Children	4, including Sun Fo
Parents	Sun Da-cheng (孫達成) (father) Madame Yang (mother)
Education	University of Hong Kong (MD)
Occupation	Politician, writer, physician
Signature (Chinese)
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	Republic of China Army
Years of service	1917–1925
Rank	Grand marshal
Battles/wars	Xinhai Revolution Second Revolution Constitutional Protection Movement Guangdong–Guangxi War Warlord Era
Sun Yat-sen's voice On the Three Principles of the People Recorded in Guangzhou on 30 May 1924
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	孫中山
Simplified Chinese	孙中山
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sūn Zhōngshān Bopomofo ㄙㄨㄣ ㄓㄨㄥ ㄕㄢ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Sun Jongshan Wade–Giles Sun1 Chung1-shan1 Tongyong Pinyin Sun Jhong-shan IPA [swə́n ʈʂʊ́ŋ.ʂán] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Syūn Jūng sāan Jyutping syun1 zung1 saan1 IPA [syn˥ tsʊŋ˥ san˥] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Sun Tiong-san
Sun Jih-hsin
Traditional Chinese	孫日新
Simplified Chinese	孙日新
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sūn Rìxīn Bopomofo ㄙㄨㄣ ㄖˋ ㄒㄧㄣ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Sun Jihhshin Wade–Giles Sun1 Jih4-hsin1 Tongyong Pinyin Sun Rìh-sin IPA [swə́n ɻɻ̩̂.ɕín] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Syūn Yaht-sīn Jyutping syun1 jat6 san1 Hong Kong Romanisation Suen Yat-sun IPA [syn˥ jɐt̚˨ sɐn˥] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Sun E̍k-sin
Sun Yat-sen
Traditional Chinese	孫逸仙
Simplified Chinese	孙逸仙
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sūn Yìxiān Bopomofo ㄙㄨㄣ ㄧˋ ㄒㄧㄢ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Sun Yihshian Wade–Giles Sun1 Yi4-hsien1 Tongyong Pinyin Sun Yì-sian IPA [swə́n î.ɕjɛ́n] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Syūn Yaht-sīn Jyutping syun1 jat6 sin1 Hong Kong Romanisation Suen Yat-sin IPA [syn˥ jɐt̚˨ sin˥] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Sun E̍k-sian
Sun Wen
Traditional Chinese	孫文
Simplified Chinese	孙文
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sūn Wén Bopomofo ㄙㄨㄣ ㄨㄣˊ Wade–Giles Sun1 Wen2 Tongyong Pinyin Sun Wún IPA [swə́n wə̌n] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Syūn Màhn Jyutping syun1 man4 IPA [syn˥ mɐn˩]
Sun Tsai-chih (courtesy name)
Traditional Chinese	孫載之
Simplified Chinese	孙载之
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sūn Zàizhī Bopomofo ㄙㄨㄣ ㄗㄞˋ ㄓ Wade–Giles Sun1 Tsai4-chih1 Tongyong Pinyin Sun Zài-jhih IPA [swə́n tsâɪ.ʈʂɻ̩́] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Syūn Joi-jī Jyutping syun1 zoi3 zi1 IPA [syn˥ tsɔj˧ tsi˥]
Sun Te-ming
Traditional Chinese	孫德明
Simplified Chinese	孙德明
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sūn Démíng Bopomofo ㄙㄨㄣ ㄉㄜˊ ㄇㄧㄥˊ Wade–Giles Sun1 Te2-ming2 Tongyong Pinyin Sun Dé-míng IPA [swə́n tɤ̌.mǐŋ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Syūn Dāk-mìng Jyutping syun1 dak1 ming4 IPA [syn˥ tɐk̚˥ mɪŋ˩]
Japanese name
Kanji	孫文
Hiragana	そんぶん
Katakana	ソンブン
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn sonbun Kunrei-shiki sonbun

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Educated overseas, Sun is considered to be one of the greatest and most important leaders of modern China, but his political life was one of constant struggle and frequent exile. After the success of the revolution in 1911, he quickly resigned as president of the newly founded Republic of China and relinquished the position to Yuan Shikai. He soon went to exile in Japan for safety but returned to form and found a revolutionary government in Southern China, as a challenge to the warlords who controlled much of the nation. In 1923, he invited representatives of the Communist International to Canton (Guangzhou) to reorganize his party and formed a brittle alliance with the Chinese Communist Party. He did not live to see his party unify the country under his successor, Chiang Kai-shek, in the Northern Expedition. He died in Beijing of gallbladder cancer in 1925.^[5]

Sun's chief legacy is his political philosophy known as the Three Principles of the People: Mínzú (民族主義; Mínzúzhǔyì) or nationalism (independence from foreign domination), Mínquán (民權主義; Mínquánzhǔyì) or "rights of the people" (also translated as "democracy"), and Mínshēng (民生主義; Mínshēngzhǔyì) or people's livelihood (sometimes translated as "communitarianism" or "welfarism").^[6][7][8]