- Museum at the former Residence of Dr Sun Yat-sen
- Dr Sun Yat-sen
Backing onto Fuxing Park – the one where we came across a man meditating whilst lying on a chain – is the former residence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the first president and founding father of the Republic of China, and a museum devoted to his life.
- The ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture
- Books on political theory
One of the first things that hits you about the exhibition is the number and range of books that he read in his attempts to understand the direction in which he wanted to take China and on many other topics besides. Originally from Guangzhou (Canton) he had some of his education in Hawaii where he learnt English, before returning to Hong Kong to learn medicine and it was there he became a Christian.
- Books on Town Planning & Medicine
- Books on the Soviet System
- Dr Suns French Curves
It's not just the books that demonstrate the workings of his mind - how many revolutionaries have owned some French curves (used for drawing circles and ellipses) ? Che Guevara, the Cuban revolutionary may have done, for he was a doctor too. I wonder, does having revolutionary tendencies make you a doctor or do you become a revolutionary because of what you see as a doctor?
It was in Hong Kong that Sun Yat-sen became involved in a society that was interested in modernising China and overthrowing the Qing Dynasty. It was there that he developed the political philosophy known as the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy and the people’s livelihood and from there that he started a number of failed uprisings.
Dr Sun spent much of his life in exile in various countries where his efforts were focused on raising money for his cause, but militarily he was an unsuccessful leader. Like Che Guevara in Cuba, Dr Sun Yat-sen of the nationalist Kuomintang, needed an ally to help him complete his revolution. For Che this ally was Fidel Castro (who was a lawyer). For Dr. Sun Yat-sen this finally happened after his death in the form of Chiang Kai-shek (a ruthless militarist and Sun Yat-sen's brother-in-law) for the Nationalists, and Mao Zedong, who was completely ruthless, for the communists who were joined by Wang Jingwei (a politician) and Mrs. Sun who sided with the Communists when the Kuomintang split in two. Both sides claim Dr. Sun Yat-sen as the founding father of their respective republics.
- The Zhongshan Suit
The Zhongshan suit known in the west as a Mao-suit is a western misnomer. It was in fact introduced into China by Sun Yat-sen (based on a Japanese cadet uniform - he was in exile in Japan for a time) as a form of modern national dress, unlike western suits, and it was named after him and not Mao, Sūn Zhōngshān (孫中山) being the most popular of Dr. Sun's many Chinese names.
- Dr and Mrs Sun Yat-sen and other members of the Kuomintang
On display, too, were various photos and paintings taken in his house in Shanghai where he settled down with his second wife Soong Ching-Ling who was from Shanghai and whose sister married Chiang Kai-shek. He lived here for the seven years before his death from liver cancer in 1925, entertaining many political figures, both Kuomintang and Communist.
- Garden Dr Sun Yat-sen's House
Photography is not allowed in his house, which is next door to the museum. It is 1930s in style and full of much dark wood, which makes it all rather oppressive. But the garden is pretty, like many in the Old French Concession in Shanghai.
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