Taiwan Today

Little known in the world today is the role that Japan played in the life of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and the events that led to the Chinese National Revolution and the overthrow of the Ch’ing dynasty in 1911. The Meiji Restoration already had led Japan out of feudalism and into the modern world of industry. Japanese had defeated China in 1895 and Russia in 1905 to become a world power. Chinese students flocking to Japan included many revolutionaries and Sun Yat-sen became a frequent visitor. In the summer of 1905, Dr. Sun established the Tung Meng Hui (United League) in Tokyo. This revolutionary society grew to a membership of nearly 5,000. Those joining pledged themselves to the “termination of foreign domination, restoration of sovereign power to the Chinese people, establishment of a democratic government and equalization of land rights.” The Japanese government looked the other way most of the time, although the revolutionaries could be in danger when the Manchus made demands for their suppression. Dr. Sun said, “The revolutionary should seek anonymity,” and cited the American Revolution in which “only Washington was known”.

Revolutionaries of the Tung Meng Hui began publication of a newspaper, the Min Pao (top left) at Tokyo on October 20, 1905. Copies were circulated among the Chinese students in Japan and surreptitiously sent to China. Pressure of the Ch’ing government led to the paper’s suspension after 26 issues. Miss Chiu Chin (top right) was one of the first students to join the Tung Meng Hui in Japan. Returning to China for revolutionary activities, she was arrested by the Manchus at Shaohsing in Chekiang province and executed in July of 1907 at the age of 29. Huang Hsing (bottom) was a close friend of Dr. Sun and one of the student leaders in Japan. On March 29, 1911, he led a revolutionary attack on the Manchu viceroy’s headquarters in Canton. Seventy-two were killed and are buried at Yellow Flower Mound. The wounded Huang fled to Hongkong.

Most Chinese going to Japan early in the 19th century went by way of Kyushu, southernmost of the main islands and the closest to the mainland. The usual port of entry was Nagasaki, which was to go down in history as the target of the second of two atomic bomb attacks that ended World War II. Kyushu also had a role in the Chinese Revolution. Sun Yat-sen became known to many Japanese through the offices of Toten Miyazaki, a native of Arao in Kumamoto prefecture of central Kyushu. In 1898, the Manchus outlawed Dr. Sun and placed a price on his head. The father of the Chinese Revolution hid out in the Miyazaki home at Arao for more than four months. Toten Miyazaki was not only a friend of Dr. Sun but an ardent supporter of the Revolution. He accompanied Sun Yat-sen in several revolutionary visits to the mainland.

Clipping on the opposite page is from the Yang Hua Chiao Pao, an overseas Chinese weekly published in Yokohama. The nine Chi nese characters over the picture read: “The cradle of Chinese Revolution-Arao.” The monument is dedicated to, Dr. Sun and Toten Miyazaki. At right is the Chungshan Pavilion (Chungshan is the courtesy name of Sun Yat-sen). Both monument and pavilion were built by the people of Arao in 1965. Calligraphy (bottom left) identifies the Chung Shan T’ing (Chungshan Pavilion) and was written by Foreign Minister Wei Tao-ming, who was then Chinese ambassador to Japan. The characters in the background are Po Ai (Fraternity) and are based on the calligraphy of Dr. Sun. The monument inscription (bottom right) sets forth the deeds of Sun Yat-sen and Toten Miyazaki in the cause of freedom and democracy for China and the world. The flags of Japan and the Republic of China fly side by side at this shrine to their friendly relations.

Dr. Sun’s calligraphy (Fraternity and Benevolence) was presented to Minzo Miyazaki, the elder brother of Toten, who was an early advocate of the equalization of land rights. This also was a goal dear to the heart of Sun Yat-sen. The work of calligraphy now hangs in the room where Dr. Sun stayed for four months in 1898. After becoming Provisional President of the Republic of China in 1912, Sun Yat-sen made a trip abroad. On the way home, he called on the Miyazakis at Arao to express appreciation for their friendship and help.

These pictures are of the home and gardens of the Miyazaki home in Arao where Sun Yat-sen found a safe haven from the long hand of the Manchus. The people of Arao have made this a “cultural property” that is open to the public. Both Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek were deeply interested in Japan’s emergence from medievalism during the Meiji period. They were convinced that China had to travel a similar path. Foreign travel and education made Dr. Sun an ideal leader of the Revolution. Much of his early education was in Hawaii and he then earned a doctorate of medicine in Hongkong. In the late 1890s and early 1900s he made frequent visits to the United States and Europe as well as to Japan. Another friend, this time an Englishman, was to save Dr. Sun from almost certain execution in 1896. The Manchus kidnapped Sun Yat-sen in London and imprisoned him in the Chinese Legation, planning to ship him back to China. Dr. James Cantile, who had taught Sun Yat-sen medicine, learned of the plot and exposed it. The British Foreign Office intervened and Dr. Sun was set free after an imprisonment of 11 days.