Dr. Sun Yat-sen was leader of the revolution of 1911 against the Ching dynasty. He founded the Republic of China on the basis of the Three People's Principles which he formulated by blending Chinese traditional culture with the experiences of modern European and American democracies. He said:
"What China needs to learn from the West is science and not political philosophy; for in the matter of political philosophy, the West should learn from China." Dr. Sun's thinking united the East with the West and the old with the new, so what he said was basically sound.
The modern French and American revolutions and the Chinese revolution of 1911 made great contributions to the world's democratic government. The spirit and principles activating them were interrelated and generally agreed with the doctrines enunciated by Confucius two thousand five hundred years ago, as may be witnessed from the following table:
French Thought American Thought
Liberty Of the people
Equality By the people
Fraternity For the people
Chinese Thought Confucius Thought
Principle of Nationalism Education without discrimination
Principle of Democracy Election of the virtuous and capable
Principle of Livelihood Justice to all the world
Thus, though expressed in different terms, the political thoughts of the three countries contain all three-liberty, equality and fraternity. As a matter of fact, they are all the same; the thoughts of anyone of the countries include those of the other two. In short, they all aim at the satisfactory working of democracy, as may be seen from the following analysis.
I. LIBERTY
In the early days of the United States, President Jefferson said that the true meaning of democracy is that, except as provided by law, no one should have any prerogative, especially no prerogative from his birth. Lincoln said a government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. Up to this date such ideals have not been realized even in the United States. This is evidenced by the difficulty encountered in the integration of schools in the South of the United States. In first advocating teaching without discrimination, Confucius stressed education without discrimination against races and stations. Contemporaneous with Confucius was the Greek civilization, which is generally recognized as the origin of Western democracy. In effect, democracy as was practiced in Athens was enjoyed only by free men. Slaves were prohibited from participating in the government. This then was a state of half free and half slave. In comparing the East with the West, we realize that the Confucian doctrines are glorious and great, which is the reason why that as early as two thousand years ago China had already abolished castes. All the people were regarded as equals, and there existed a society where true liberty and equality prevailed.
II. EQUALITY
Before the law all are equal. Each citizen has his rights and duties. As long ago as the Han dynasty, the son of the prime minister had to walk to the frontiers to do garrison duty. This means that even the sons of the prime minister had to be subjected to draft. There was a saying in the Han dynasty to the effect that a common man might become prime minister. This means that an ordinary citizen might become prime minister by virtue of his knowledge, ability and efforts. The examination system was firmly established during the Tang dynasty. Regardless of their places of birth and financial status, all the talented and learned people were given an examination on an equal footing. Those who had passed the examination were given suitable positions in the government. This put into practice the Confucian doctrine of election of the virtuous and capable. In ancient times, examination was regarded as a form of election. In his "Fundamentals of National Reconstruction," Dr. Sun Yat-sen said: "Candidates of the central government or of local government should take an examination given by the central government to decide whether or not he is qualified for the office if elected." What he had in mind was to integrate a system of examination in elections for the purpose of achieving true equality and avoiding the influences of money and power. It is difficult indeed to find the like of such farsightedness in other modern democracies.
III. FRATERNITY
In our national anthem we sing: "To form a democracy and to attain Ta Tung." Dr. Sun Yat-sen said the Three People's Principles are in effect the doctrine of Ta Tung (great unity). The two characters Ta Tung originate from the Book of Rites. They are the essence of Confucianism and agree with the latest of political thinking in the world today. The gist of Ta Tung run's in part as follows: "The aged arc enabled to have a happy end. The able-bodied are fully employed. The young are reared. The widows, widowers, orphans. those bereaved of offspring, invalids and the sic k are given support." This means that the people, whether they are men or women, young or old, should each have his or her proper place and live comfortably and work peacefully.
Ta Tung also requires: "Men are enabled to discharge their duties; women to have their homes. Though it is objectionable to discard goods on the ground, they should not be hoarded by oneself. Though it is objectionable not to make an effort, it should not be made for one's own sake alone." The first remark shows that Confucianism agrees with Western Christianity-to start with the family as the core. From the last two remarks we see that kind people love others, that if everyone would exert himself to make contributions to the welfare of the community and share his wealth and happiness with other people, then there would be no unfairness and there would be no lack of peace. The doctrine of Ta Tung gives a full exposition of China's civilization based on jen (benevolence) and charity and gives expression to the Chinese political philosophy.
The Chinese stress practicability. In order to put into practice their democratic ideals, they resort to the rule of law. What was known in ancient China as Li or Kang Chi (institution or constitution) is today's constitutional government. Jen is no different from charity; democracy and constitutional government are one and the same thing. Monarchy ruled over ancient China, but there was little despotism. In this respect China was not unlike England. Up to the present, England has preserved its monarchy, but it is one of the world's leading democratic countries. It is called the "Mother of Parliament."
Except the three hundred years under the Ching dynasty when the true Chinese spirit was suppressed, Chinese history is filled with democratic ideals and anecdote's of continuous struggles for progress. After the adoption of the examination system, the ancient Chinese government became in effect a popularly elected government. The power of the prime minister rivaled that of the emperor. Edicts not countersigned by the prime minister was invalid. The historical Chinese government was organized in three ways which gave rise to the Three People's Principles and which form the basic concepts of the modern constitutional form of government. They are as follows:
A. Division of Powers in the Central Government
The five-power constitution inaugurated by Dr. Sun Yat-sen which provides for the division of powers and cooperation among the five Yuan is more closely knit than the three-power constitution generally used in the West. This is based on traditional Chinese culture which emphasizes the powers of examination and control. This is in sharp contrast to the totalitarianism practiced in Communist countries.
B. Equalization of Powers between the Central and Local Governments
The constitution of the Republic of China provides for the equalization of powers between the Central and local governments. It inclines toward neither concentration in the Central government nor decentralization in the local governments but takes a balance between the two and promotes cooperation between them to form a united, strong, lively organism. This is also based on China's traditional political thinking and system.
C. Hsien as the Basis of Democracy
Confucius said: "When I looked at the countryside, I knew how easy is the king's way." This shows that local self-government was practiced in Confucius' time. In the last two thousand years, hsien (county) has been the basic political unit. Throughout the various dynasties, the demarcation of administrative areas has undergone many changes, but hsien as a basic unit has never been changed.
There are twenty-five articles in Dr. Sun Yat-sen's "Fundamentals of National Reconstruction." Of these, eleven concern hsien self-government. This emphasis on local self-government is typical of the Chinese national spirit. Because of the existence of the examination system and because of practice of avoiding to be the magistrate of one's birth place, provincialism has been eliminated and patriotism and nationalism have taken its place. Then as a result of the interchange of capable men among the different localities, culture has developed evenly throughout the country, and people's living has remained generally satisfactory. This explains why, with an area larger than Europe, China could remain as a unified country throughout the ages. Even to this day when the majority of our people are shut behind the Iron Curtain, nationalism and anti-Communist and resist Russia feelings grow rampant among the people. All the Chinese people at home and abroad are united in showing their loyalty to the government of the Republic of China and are fighting for its independence and for the recovery of the mainland. All this is due to the excellence of the Chinese civilization, of which we should rightly be proud.
*See Chang Chi-yun: "Contribution of Confucianism to Modern Democracy" (The Essence of Chinese Culture pp. 155-164, 1957, Taipei.)