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STEPHEN UHALLEY, JR.
that the pseudo-historical background is merely intended to highlight the logical existence and desirability of this final political form. Again, this is not an acutely reasoned historical-theoretical construct.
Sun's indifferent use of history, his inaccuracies, his unquestioned acceptance of a heavily and simplistically idealized vision of the past and his limited ability for historical theorization was an aspect of his behavior that can be largely abstracted; it was a disposition apart from his nationalistic or emotional impulses. For Sun Yat-sen was never interested in history. He was a man completely the revolutionary; his entire being concentrated upon changing the present. And like other Chinese revolutionaries of his day, confronted with awesome tasks and frustrated at every turn, history, China's vast arsenal of history, stood at hand as a ready source of ammunition to be used as necessary, for the only all-important struggle. Not unlike Li Ta-chao, who even as Professor of History at Peita, was less interested in discovering the actual way history developed as its psychological usage for the present.13 Sun also used his little understood history for practical revolutionary purposes. This pragmatic political concern largely set the limits of Sun's interest in history and determined his usage of it.
This is all by way of saying that nationalism alone is not to be held accountable for Sun's distortions of history. Nationalism, to be sure, is inextricably a part of Sun's make-up, but Sun is so unique a Chinese type for his period, and is so much the revolutionary that nationalism manifests itself in a rather special way through him. It is almost a managed attitude in his hands, so that his use of it is as great as its influence on his use of history.
Once again, I would not underestimate Sun's dedication to China, nor his earnest life-long efforts to resolve China's difficulties, to see his country free and strong, and constituting a progressive force in the comity of nations. Sun cannot and should not be faulted on these grounds. I am only saying that Sun helped to evolve the feeling and the concept of nationalism in China, and he did this while being a rather atypical Chinese on the whole. Sun's Western education and experience abroad, rather than his having had traditional Chinese training in depth in China, set him apart from the overwhelming majority of Chinese. Likewise, his social background distinguished him from most intellectuals of the