Sung Chiao-Jen and the republican revolution of China

Abstract

Of all the revolutionary leaders in the early Republican period of China, Sung Chiao-jen (1882-1913) was probably the most consistent in his political ideas. Lean, intense, and with a brilliant incisive mind, Sung was among the ablest and most influential Chinese advocates of Western parliamentarianism in the first two years of the Republic. He was sincere and idealistic in his desire to establish a constitutional democracy in China. He campaigned for a "responsible cabinet" system when Yuan Shih-k'ai was the provisional president in Peking in 1912-13, but earlier he also argued fervently for the same system when Sun Yat-sen was organizing a provisional government in Nanking at the end of 1911. Sun Yat-sen felt strongly about, and in fact insisted on, the presidential system when he was to be the provisional president, but once he stepped down from that office he voiced no objection to the cabinet system, because the "responsible cabinet" system was considered as a means of curbing Yuan's power as president.