Brother Nations: Sun Yat-sen's Plea for Japanese Support to China, 1914-1924
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2012
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Bi-College (Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges). Department of East Asian Studies
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
Chinese revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) actively sought Japanese support for Chinese revolutionary activity throughout much of his revolutionary career, even as Japan became increasingly aggressive toward China. This thesis is concerned with how Sun framed his argument for Japanese aid to China, and how the way that he framed this argument changed over the ten year period between 1914 and 1924, just before Sun's death. This study presents a close analysis of three letters, two speeches and two interviews of Sun's that advocated for Japanese support to China and were directed at a Japanese audience between 1914 and 1924. Four themes are traced across these sources: a) comparisons of Japan to Western powers, b) the portrayal of the Kuomintang, c) benefits that Japan would see by aiding China, and d) the presentation of the Sino- Japanese relationship. The sources and themes are analyzed within historical context. This thesis finds that the way in which these themes are addressed between 1914 and 1924 changes with the times and Sun's political situation. At the time of the 1914-1915 letters, Sun was living in exile and desperate for foreign, particularly Japanese, support. As such, he was more willing to compare positively Japan with Western powers and offer political and economic benefits to Japan. He plays up the importance of the Kuomintang as an ally to Japan, as it is the Kuomintang that so desperately needed support at this time. At the time of the 1919 letter, Sun, like many of his compatriots, was reeling from the decision after World War I to grant Japan all of Germany's former rights in Shandong province. Sun does not compare Japan favorably to Western powers in 1919, nor does he offer political and economic benefits to Japan. He compares the Kuomintang to Japanese Meiji reformers in an attempt to play up the similarities between the two countries. At the time of the 1922 interview, Sun was more concerned with obtaining Russian support and potentially convincing Japan to ally with Russia than with Japanese support. His frustration with the lack of Japanese support and his hope for Russian support comes through in the way that he addresses the themes--he attacks Western powers, does not offer Japan benefits, and does not bring up the Kuomintang, instead arguing that Japan should support "Asia" in general. At the time of the 1924 speeches, Sun stopped in Japan on his way to negotiate China's unity with a warlord in northern China. In an effort to gain public support, Sun utilizes popular Pan-Asianist themes and attacks Western powers and civilization as inferior to "Oriental" civilization. He does not offer specific political and economic benefits, and he does not bring up the Kuomintang by name, again, opting instead to make the case for Japan to take the side of "Asia" in general. Finally, with one exception, Sun emphasizes the closeness of the Sino- Japanese relationship throughout.