Description
Book SynopsisArguing that the life and work of Sun Yat-sen have been distorted by both myth and demythification, the author provides a fresh overall evaluation of the man and the events that turned an adventurer into the founder of the Chinese Republic and the leader of a great nationalist movement.
Trade Review"By setting Sun Yat-sen in his proper historical context, this excellent biography not only resuscitates a major historical figure but constitutes one of the best histories we have of the late Qing and early Republican period."—Frederic Wakeman, University of California, Berkeley
"This is a most welcome book, one that everyone interested in modern China has wanted for a long while. It is a readable, balanced, and judicious study . . . the most thorough book about Sun in a Western language, and so minutely researched that it goes far beyond any existing study." —
American Historical Review"This study, by a leading historian of early-twentieth-century China, shows Sun's strengths as well as his weaknesses and helps explain his appeal. . . . Bergère provides enough context to make the biography accessible to general readers. Very highly recommended."—
ChoiceTable of ContentsNote to reader Maps Introduction Part I. The Adventurer of the Southern Seas, 1866-1905: 1. The formative years, 1866-1894 2. The symbolic creation of a revolutionary leader, 1894-1897 3. The symbolic creation of a revolutionary movement, 1897-1900 4. The awakening of Chinese nationalism and the founding of the revolutionary alliance, 1805 Part II. The Founding Father? 1905-1920: 5. Sun and the revolutionary alliance 6. The conspirator 7. The (adoptive) father of the Chinese republic 8. Crossing the desert, 1913-1920 Part III. Sun's Last Years: National Revolution and Revolutionary Nationalism, 1920-1925: 9. Sun Yat-sen, soviet advisers, and the Canton revolutionary base, 1920-1924 10. Sun Yat-sen's three principles of the people 11. Sun Yat-sen's death and transformation Biographical sketches Notes Bibliography Index.
