Chinese History
Document 10.1: An Appeal for Greater Openness and Innovation
Before the revolt of Sun Yat-sen, the future revolutionary wrote a letter to Li Hongzhang, detailing his grievances with the current, backward methods of Chinese administration and China's closed set of relations with the West. Sun Yat-sen was heavily influenced by his study of Western philosophy, which encouraged him to emphasize the value of self-empowerment and more democratic systems of government. Sun Yat-sen states this openly in his greeting, praising Chinese adaptation of Western inventions and diplomacy, as well as showing respect to his addressee.
Do not just make use of Western technologies; make use of Western ideas about the value of innovation and individual rights, suggests Sun Yat-sen. Open China to the West and to trade, and thus make better use of China's vast natural resources, scope of land, and numbers of hardworking and dedicated people. Sun Yat-sen points to the example of Japan as an ideal example of such perseverance. China, he suggests, must not let Japan exceed it in its economic scope. Sun Yat-sen commends the current commitment of the Empire to the education of Chinese individuals in Western languages and in technical crafts that have resulted in the improvement of the modern Chinese navy, but such education alone, with its still overly focused stress on the classics and Chinese inclusiveness is not enough to fully catapult China into the modern world.
Sun Yat-sen points to his unique ability to broach both Western and Chinese understanding, because of his education. His philosophy stresses the meshing the ideals of the modern Western sages with Chinese traditions to facilitate Chinese advancement. His advice seems reasonable to the modern ear. But all advice is reasonable in retrospect, of course, with the retrospective knowledge of Chinese history and the knowledge of the costs of Chinese intransigence and closure that eventually resulted in further conflicts with the West.
Works Cited
Spence, Jonathan and Michael Lestz. (Editors.) the Search for Modern China: A Documentary Collection. New York: Norton 1999.
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