Republic whose writings are re-by Kuomintang circles in both and Nanking as the gospel of the "revolution, published a series of he had delivered in Canton under title "San Min Chu I," or "The Three Principles of the People." At the time the lectures were delivered Chinese nationalism was in somewhat of a backwater, and its supporters—suffering so keenly from ritment over the outcome of the Versailles Peace Conference and the Wash-Conference that there was a tendency p swing over to Soviet Russia, then actively a the doctrine of world communism.
therefore frequently recurred in Dr.
lectures indictments of the "im-Powers, among which he mend Great Britain, the United States, France and Italy. The then recently ed Germany was not included, as. it been were Dr. Sun ive today. For Dr. Sun identified imperialism with aggression. "What is imperialism?"
wrote. "It is the policy of aggression other countries by means of political in the Chinese phrase, long-range In short, exactly the policy d by the Nazi government since the of Austria, the rape of Czechoslovakia, invasions of Poland, Norway, Holland, work Dr. Sun made an un-prophecy of what is happening in the world today, It was not made in reference to the resufgehté of Teuton barbarism,. but nevertheless applies sô accurately that it is worth quoting. He said: "As I study the forces in history and foresee the tendencies of the future, I am convinced that there will be more international con-fiots. But these will not arise between two different races; the wars will be within races. The white races will divide and the yellow races will divide into a class war of the oppressed against the tyrants, of Right against Might." And in another place.... "Throughout the world the white and yellow defenders of Right will unite against the white and yellow defenders of Might." He left no doubt as to which side he wished China to be. "The Chinese mind," he wrote, "has never regarded acquisition by war as right; it considers aggressive warfare barbara ous." He warned the Chinese people to take only what was best out of western civilization, and he reminded them that China was even then far ahead of the western nations in political philosophy.
He showed that European thinkers have evolved no moral political principles to compare with those of the ancient Chinese, which were: Loyalty and Filial Devotion; Kindness and Love; Faithfulness and Justice; Harmony and Peace. In the light of what the Nazis are now doing in Europe, it is interesting to recall some of Dr. Sun's definitions of these virtues. "When we undertake a task we should not falter from first to last until the task is done; if we do not succeed, we should not begrudge our very lives as sacrifice—this is loyalty." As regards Faithfulness, Dr. Sun emphasized the importance of the observance of treaties. "Ancient China," he said, "always spoke of Faithfulness in dealing with neighbouring countries and in intercourse with friends."
The long record of criminal violations of treaties which the Nazis have piled up shows that they at any rate do not practise the virtue of Faithfulness. Germany "is fat from eating her own words," to quote Dr. Sun's condemnation of another nation in the same connection. Referring to Justice, Dr. Sun stated: "China in her mightiest days never utterly destroyed another state." That is China's conception of political justice.
At about the same time that Dr. Sun Yat-sen was preparing the lectures from which these quotations have been taken, the Apostle of Aggression, Adolf Hitler, was publishing his complete guide to the slaughter of Freedom, "Mein Kampf." In this work Hitler denied the force of political morality. He recognized no Loyalty except that to the Leader. He scorned Filial Devotion, urging the breaking-up of families so that the young could be taught his pernicious doctrines, rather than learn of goodness and light at their mother's knee. Kindness and Love he dismissed as silly sentimentality. Faithfulness was praiseworthy only so long as the Nazis should get something out of it. He scorned Justice, and openly advocated the complete destruction of many European states. Harmony never occurred to him, unless it was in the music of Wagner, of which he is inordinately fond. And Peace was foreign to his policy, which preached war as means of national rejuvenation. There could hardly be a greater contrast than that between the political philosophy of Dr. Sun and of Adolf Hitler. Let readers remember Dr. Sun's peroration. He said: "Let us today, before China's development begins, pledge ourselves to lift up the fallen and aid the weak; then when we become strong and look back on our own sufferings under the political and economic domination of the Powers and see weaker and smaller peoples undergoing similar treatment we will rise and smite that imperialism ('long-range aggression')." To Hitler, to be weak is to invite aggression; to Dr. Sun to be weak is to invite assistance. That is the difference.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.