Sun Yat-sen

Chinese politician, physician, and revolutionary (1866–1925)

Fame80.8
Momentum10.6
China rank#7

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Fame80.8
Momentum10.6
China rank#7
Politicians rank#94
Wikipedia132.5K

Lived 1866–1925, aged 59China

China PoliticiansPolitician

Wikipedia
132 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in China
#7
Politicians
Era
1866–1925
Aged 59
Known for
A Page of History
1941

Summary

Updated 2026-09-01

He overthrew a dynasty that had ruled for centuries, founded the Republic of China, and died before he could finish the job. Both Chiang Kai-shek's Taiwan and Mao's mainland claim him — the rare figure revered on opposite sides of a civil war.

Biography

About

Born to a poor peasant family in Guangdong in 1866, Sun studied medicine in Hawaii and Hong Kong, graduating in 1892. When his 1894 petition to reform the Qing government was rejected, he went into exile and built revolutionary networks overseas, founding the Revive China Society and the Tongmenghui. The 1911 Revolution toppled the Qing, and Sun became the first president of the Provisional Government — then stepped aside for warlord Yuan Shikai to secure the dynasty's abdication. After Yuan had rival Song Jiaoren assassinated in 1913, Sun led a failed uprising, fled to Japan, and spent years…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Sun Yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen

said1924

China is now suffering from poverty, not from unequal distribution of wealth.

— Capital and the State (1924)

Sun Yat-sen

said1918

It is only after mature deliberation and thorough preparation that I have decided upon the Program of Revolution and defined the procedure of the revolution in three stages.

— The Three Phases of National Reconstruction (1918)

Sun Yat-sen

said1727