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period. This produced for him an identity problem of sorts, and may explain the hiring of the Chinese tutor, but it also produced a rather cosmopolitan man. This familiarity with the real political world made Sun personally aware of China's relative position in the world, as a nation among nations. He was unencumbered by the traditional culturalism that inhibited a clearer-cut and timely appreciation of nationalism on the part of many of his peers. And Sun, as pragmatic revolutionary, early recognized the mobilizing efficacy of nationalism. His problem was that of finding the way of "turning-on" the Chinese people by means of it.
Yet the "nationalism" that Sun articulated is a difficult concept to pin down, as Lyon Sharmon's excellent analysis has shown.14 Min-ts'u, Sun's term for nationalism, means the people's clan. Prior to 1912 it had meant Chinese solidarity against the Manchus, but afterwards was re-interpreted to mean the unity of all races in China, including the Manchus, on an equal basis. Almost until the end of his life this concept of nationalism was interpreted in moderate terms. As late as 1923 it carried two connotations, or aspects. The first was the internal one of unity of races within China; the second, external, aspired for an equal place of respect for China among the nations of the world.
However, in 1924 the San Min Chu I lectures muddied the issue considerably. Suddenly, there was evinced in Sun a bitterness against imperialism that was uncharacteristic of the man, but probably explainable in terms of accumulated disappointments at the lack of Western support and, at the same time, of increasing Russian influence. This sudden antipathy toward imperialism was contradictory, incidentally, to Sun's own erstwhile plans to solicit incredibly large amounts of foreign economic assistance for China. Unfortunately too, this final form of nationalism had again a strong racist connotation. Sun expressed in alarmist fashion the fear that the Chinese people, because their population was allegedly static at a time when the West's was increasing, would be absorbed by the racially alien foreigners. Sun made race then, and fear, a part of his nationalism. He also was at pains to demonstrate now how it was that China's nationalistic spirit had declined historically. This he laid directly to the Manchus whose superior techniques of denationalization allegedly robbed China of her "precious jewel."15 This is not exactly persuasive, and one is left to wonder further at his concept of nationalism when he
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SUN YAT-SEN AND CHINESE HISTORY
115
period. This produced for him an identity problem of sorts, and may explain the hiring of the Chinese tutor, but it also produced a rather cosmopolitan man. This familiarity with the real poli- tical world made Sun personally aware of China's relative position in the world, as a nation among nations. He was unencumbered by the traditional culturalism that inhibited a clearer-cut and time- ly appreciation of nationalism on the part of many of his peers. And Sun, as pragmatic revolutionary, early recognized the mobi- lizing efficacy of nationalism. His problem was that of finding the way of "turning-on" the Chinese people by means of it.
Yet the "nationalism" that Sun articulated is a difficult con- cept to pin down, as Lyon Sharmon's excellent analysis has shown.14 Min-ts'u, Sun's term for nationalism, means the people's clan. Prior to 1912 it had meant Chinese solidarity against the Manchus, but afterwards was re-interpreted to mean the unity of all races in China, including the Manchus, on an equal basis. Almost until the end of his life this concept of nationalism was interpreted in moderate terms. As late as 1923 it carried two connotations, or aspects. The first was the internal one of unity of races within China; the second, external, aspired for an equal place of respect for China among the nations of the world.
However, in 1924 the San Min Chu I lectures muddied the issue considerably. Suddenly, there was evinced in Sun a bitterness against imperialism that was uncharacteristic of the man, but probably explainable in terms of accumulated disappointments at the lack of Western support and, at the same time, of increasing Russian influence. This sudden antipathy toward imperialism was contradictory, incidentally, to Sun's own erstwhile plans to solicit incredibly large amounts of foreign economic assistance for China. Unfortunately too, this final form of nationalism had again a strong racist connotation. Sun expressed in alarmist fashion the fear that the Chinese people, because their population was alle- gedly static at a time when the West's was increasing, would be absorbed by the racially alien foreigners. Sun made race then, and fear, a part of his nationalism. He also was at pains to de- monstrate now how it was that China's nationalistic spirit had de- clined historically. This he laid directly to the Manchus whose superior techniques of denationalization allegedly robbed China of her "precious jewel."15 This is not exactly persuasive, and one is left to wonder further at his concept of nationalism when he
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