Sun Yat-Sen's chief legacy is his development of a political philosophy known as the "Three Principles of the People." In his own words, this Chinese statesman and revolutionary leader chronicles his fight to establish a republic of China based upon those three principles: nationalism, democracy, and socialism. Originally published in 1918, seven years after the founding of the Chinese Republic, this memoir stresses the necessity of positive action in building the young nation.
The author examines the causes of China's stagnation, expounds his theory that "Action is easy; knowledge is difficult," and outlines a program for national reconstruction. This work is an important tool in understanding the course of events in China in the late twentieth century.
Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader. His leadership and teachings were a driving force in the development of the Chinese Republic and he is frequently referred to as the Father of the Nation.
Memoirs of a Chinese Revolutionary by Sun Yat Sen
Excerpt from Memoirs of a Chinese Revolutionary:
"If painting, which pleases the eyes, and music, which pleases the ears, can be considered arts, then such un¬doubtedly can also be considered delicacies which please the palate. Therefore the preparation of food in its way is all art. The French are considered the best cooks in West¬ern Countries, and it is in France that we find the highest civilisation. Hence we learn that good methods of pre¬paring food are produced by civilisation: and this is natural. A people untouched for a long time by civilisation is in¬capable of distinguishing the most delicate flavours, and if there is no fine distinction of flavours, there will be no skilful cookery. The skilful preparation of food by the Chinese will be a sufficient indication of the astounding progress of Chinese civilisation.
In times when there was no commerce between China and Western countries, the Western peoples knew that France was famous for the best cookery in the world. But when they learned of Chinese cookery, they began to ad¬mire the Chinese. The first Western person who travelled in our interior provinces was the Portuguese Matthew Ricci. During the reign of our Emperor Tao-Kuang, of the Ching dynasty, he travelled through many provinces on his way to Tibet. In his reminiscences of his journey he more than once extolled Chinese civilisation, writing with particular enthusiasm about our cooking.
In recent years, when Chinese appeared abroad, Chinese cookery became, in some sort, fashionable. In New York alone the number of Chinese restaurants reaches some hundreds. There is no American town without a Chinese restaurant. The Americans seek after Chinese cookery like madmen, so much so that the professional American cooks envy Chinese very much. They spread various rumours to the effect that the bean sauce used by Chinese contains poisons which are destructive of human health. Convinced by this invention, one municipal coun¬cil issued an order that Chinese were on no account to make bean sauce. Later on, medical researches established that bean sauce not only contains no poisons, but contains many nutritive ingredients, similar to those in meat juice. They not only inflict no harm upon the body, but on the con¬trary are very beneficial. The prohibition was withdrawn.
Chinese cooking is widespread not only throughout America, but also in Europe, where there are now many Chinese restaurants in the large towns. Since the reforms in Japan, the Japanese copy Western civilisation in every¬thing; nevertheless, so far as cooking is concerned, they still prefer the Chinese methods. To-day there are many Chinese restaurants in Tokyo. Not only are their many dishes invented by the Chinese, and the skilful preparation of food generally, which cannot be surpassed by other countries, but Chinese taste also, unconsciously coinciding with the rules under¬lying the modern principles of science and hygiene, is above all praise. In China the common people drink aristocratic green tea, while their food is a rice dish with vegetables and bean jelly. This kind of food, so hygienists tell us, is the most valuable for the health. This is confirmed by the fact that people living in remote districts, without wine and meat, reach an advanced age. The fact that the Chinese survive plague and other diseases is partly attributable to the fact that the Chinese food unconsciously con¬forms to the rules of hygiene. Therefore the Chinese can undertake the serious study of the science of hygiene, and try to master it. This will certainly strengthen the Chinese people even further in comparison with its present position.
Food can be divided into two categories-the first, as a kind of fuel: this is the distinguishing feature of vegetables; the second as reconstructing materials: these abound in meat. If there is an excess of these reconstructing materials, they can be used up as fuel: but, on the other hand, if there is an excess of fuel, it cannot be turned into reconstructing material. Therefore an insufficiency of such materials cannot be permitted, as it would mean the destruction of the intestines and stomach. If men know these elementary truths, the preservation of health and the prolongation of life will gain greatly."
Memoirs of a Chinese Revolutionary by Sun Yat Sen
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