In a conversation with Zhang Taiyan in 1902, Sun Yat-sen had this emotion about the establishment of the capital: "If you want to seek headquarters, then Wuchang, if you want to conquer the vassal, then Xi'an, if you want to seek the continent, then Ili!"
Based on this sentence, many people believe that Wuchang was Sun Yat-sen's favorite city as the capital. Especially before the establishment of the provisional government, the Hubei Military Government acted as the central government's authority. This is strong evidence that Wuchang was the capital.
Because the Qing Dynasty army stationed troops northward, when Hanyang fell, the situation in Wuchang was tense, and Nanjing was able to become the first capital of the Republic of China during the crisis.
However, Sun Yat-sen once clearly said this: "If you want to become a superpower, Ili, Xinjiang is the first choice!" Unfortunately, in the face of facts, this sentence has been ignored for too many years. Until now, more and more people have discovered that Sun Yat-sen's desire to make Ili the capital is no joke, but the most real consideration in his heart.
You might as well take a look at the words "superpower" and "seeking a continent" in Sun Yat-sen's mouth. He had high hopes for Yili, but why was he ultimately unable to realize his vision? What vision did he have for the future of the Republic of China? Why was it so helpless to establish Nanjing as the capital? In this article, the author will reveal to you one by one the series of questions
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1. In Sun Yat-sen’s eyes, Xinjiang was “devastated”
In modern society, although Xinjiang has the advantages of a vast territory and rich resources, its economic life is very backward, and the people are always suffering from hunger and cold.
Since the Qing Dynasty, the Xinjiang region has been relying on subsidies from inland provinces to barely maintain military and political expenses. During the Qianlong period, the Qing government spent 600,000 taels per year on this. During the Guangxu period, this expenditure once reached 3 million taels, and was later gradually reduced to 2.4 million taels.
After the Revolution of 1911, the mainland's public funds were completely cut off. However, for Xinjiang, whose annual fiscal revenue is only one million taels, the degree of poverty can be imagined, and social life is basically in a state of survival.
In addition to its own weakness, Xinjiang is located in the northwest of my country. Since modern times, it has been repeatedly invaded by foreign enemies. Normal social life has been difficult to sustain, and national defense strength has been out of the question.
After the Opium War, Britain gradually approached from South Asia to the north, and Russia expanded from Central Asia to the south. Xinjiang once became a battleground in the eyes of both sides.
From the 1960s to the 1970s, the Aqubai army invaded southern Xinjiang. Tsarist Russia took the opportunity to send troops to invade and occupy my country's Ili region for 13 years. At this time, Xinjiang was facing an unprecedented crisis.
After the Revolution of 1911, the warlords' melee led to domestic chaos. Tsarist Russia came back, instigating the independence of Outer Mongolia, and then provoked the Koh-A war. Then it sent troops to Ili, Kashgar , and Altai. Xinjiang faced the danger of being dismembered.
From 1918 to 1920, during this period, the remnants of the Tsarist Russian army retreated into Northeast my country and Outer Mongolia, but a large number of troops entered Xinjiang, causing a nuisance to the local society.
The Yang Zengxin government that had just come to power implemented an autocratic rule in Xinjiang and implemented a closed-door policy to the outside world. It was almost the same as an independent kingdom, but the central government at the time was unable to do anything about it.
Compared with the Central Plains, another social feature of Xinjiang is that it is a multi-ethnic community. Each ethnic group has its own language and living habits, religious beliefs are also different. However, the rulers of the past dynasties have taken advantage of these ethnic differences to carry out ethnic discrimination and oppression policies. There have been extremely unstable factors within Xinjiang society for a long time.
To put it bluntly, there were great instability factors both inside and outside Xinjiang at that time. The two even formed a vicious cycle. The more internal turmoil and backwardness became, the more external imperialism became more and more covetous.
It is conceivable that when Sun Yat-sen faced the warlord separatism in China, Xinjiang has been in a state of extreme instability for a long time. It is difficult for people to live a sustainable life, and it can no longer be described as "devastated".
Even so, politicians who care about the world can still see hope in crises, and even find the light of the future in desperate situations.
2. “The devastation” is not a “god-sent opportunity”
In the vast land of Xinjiang, Tacheng’s gold mines, The copper mine in Aksu , the iron mine in Urumqi, and the jade in Hotan are all prestigious. If the imperialists in the past repeatedly invaded Xinjiang to expand their territory, it would be better to say that it is these unique resources and treasures that make them salivate.
In Sun Yat-sen’s opinion, the Northwest definitely has the value of in-depth development.
In 1894, in " on Li Hongzhang's Book ", Sun Yat-sen stated that he wanted to go to various parts of Europe to investigate new mulberry farming laws, and then return to China to inspect agriculture in Xinjiang and other places. He had such a far-sighted ancestor, and another thing was related to it, and that was the implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States in 1882.
As the anti-Chinese storm swept the world, the tragic experiences of overseas Chinese, especially Chinese workers, affected Sun Yat-sen's heart. However, it was not easy to resettle this huge group of people back to the country. In Sun Yat-sen's eyes, the northwest region was vast and sparsely populated and was in urgent need of development. Wouldn't it be the best choice to survive and develop on his own land?
Therefore, Sun Yat-sen eagerly hoped that China's agriculture could develop rapidly. One very important reason was to build the northwest region including Xinjiang, so that more Chinese compatriots could be fed and resettled, and all Chinese people could avoid the fate of being bullied while making a living abroad.
html At the beginning of the 120th century, European explorers came to my country's Xinjiang, Gansu and other places to conduct inspections. The rich oil resources once shocked the world and attracted the attention of various countries. However, at this time, China was blessed with unique natural treasures but could not use them to its advantage.
Just as Sun Yat-sen said with great regret at that time: "China is also known as a country rich in kerosene production... China has such minerals, but it cannot be mined for its own use. It is a pity that the kerosene, gasoline, etc. imported from foreign countries are increasing year by year!"
In this way, Sun Yat-sen has been known throughout his life to advocate that China make oil extraction an important plan and give priority to development, so as to promote the revitalization and development of other domestic industrial fields.
As mentioned above, Xinjiang has been suffering from internal and external troubles for a long time. However, such worries have always had a close relationship with the mainland of the Central Plains. Perhaps in the eyes of other powerful people, Xinjiang is more like the big mess of China. However, in Sun Yat-sen's view, Xinjiang can completely become China's barrier against foreign enemies.
In 1912, he clearly warned the Mongolian prince in a message that Tsarist Russia was eyeing Xinjiang. In his view, Outer Mongolia and Xinjiang were both "the center of the population of China and Europe" and "an important position in dominating the world." Only by making Xinjiang stronger would China's territory become indivisible and foreign enemies would be afraid.
The aforementioned development of mineral deposits and strengthening of military strength are only at the technical level. From the perspective of defending the country, Xinjiang is an important carrier of Sun Yat-sen's idea of "a republic of five ethnic groups, one family of five ethnic groups".
He once mentioned in the " Provisional Presidential Declaration ": If the newborn Republic of China wants to achieve all-round consent of the nation, territory, military and political, internal governance, and finance, it must be the integration of the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan and other ethnic groups. Faced with the fate of the country being broken up, he knows that this is the foundation for reversing the national destiny.
In Sun Yat-sen's mind, Xinjiang's economic status, national defense status, and national status in the country are all very important. In many aspects, the powerful people at that time were destined to be unable to solve the problem of Xinjiang if they wanted to rebuild a prosperous and powerful New China. However, once Xinjiang was truly governed and stabilized, this region was destined to feed back the mainland of the Central Plains.
In the turbulent Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen was thinking more than just how to survive. He had been seeking a new future for the people of the country. Stabilizing and developing Xinjiang became a shortcut for him to realize this ideal.
Therefore, Xinjiang was the place that Sun Yat-sen was most concerned about throughout his life. Only by establishing Yili as the capital and under the personal supervision of the Nationalist Government can the situation in Xinjiang be reversed the fastest and the country will become stronger in a shorter period of time.
Unfortunately, a person's power is weak after all, even if he is at the core of power. When Sun Yat-sen looked at the world selflessly, he had no selfish desires in his heart, but the reality is that a group of petty people are in power. The capital of Yili cannot satisfy their ever-expanding greed. Behind the capital of Nanjing is more of submission to reality.
3. The helplessness and necessity of establishing Nanjing as the capital
People who are familiar with modern history know that there has been a tug-of-war between Nanjing and Beijing regarding the issue of establishing the capital in the Republic of China. However, at the beginning of the Republic of China, Nanjing was the ideal location for establishing the capital in most people's minds.
After the Wuchang Uprising, when all provinces responded one after another, it was urgent to establish a unified provisional government. However, the Qing Dynasty army stationed troops in the north of the Yangtze River, and the situation in Wuchang was tight.
On December 2, 1911, news came from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang coalition forces that they had conquered Nanjing, an important town in the southeast. Representatives from each province were cheered. They then held a meeting in Wuchang and decided to establish the provisional government in Nanjing. In this way, Nanjing became the de facto capital of the Republic of China.
Until December 25, when Sun Yat-sen returned from abroad, it had become a foregone conclusion that Nanjing would be the capital.
In February 1912, the Qing emperor abdicated and Sun Yat-sen resigned. The domestic situation changed again, and the issue of the capital of the Republic of China once again became the focus of debate between the north and the south.
Having understood Sun Yat-sen's special preference for Ili, Xinjiang, we will naturally feel that it is not his wish to make Wuchang, Nanjing or Beijing the capital at this time. However, the situation is stronger than others, and he also needs to make compromises and concessions for the stability of the country. The firm choice of Nanjing as the capital is precisely his good intention to do his best to protect this new regime.
At that time, under a specific political and military background, Sun Yat-sen firmly supported Nanjing as the capital. The biggest purpose was to transfer Yuan Shikai out of Beijing, the home of powerful feudal autocratic forces. Only when he came to Nanjing could he be supervised and controlled by the revolutionary forces.
From a legal point of view, Nanjing is the birthplace of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China and the " Provisional Law", and is also the seat of the Provisional Senate. Nanjing, the capital, has indisputable legal validity.
What is surprising is that this originally reasonable and legal proposal to establish the capital was later opposed by many revolutionaries.
Among this group of people, it is understandable that those led by Yuan Shikai advocated making Beijing the capital, but other leaders of the Revolutionary Party such as Zhang Taiyan, Song Jiaoren, and senior generals of the Revolutionary Party army such as Zhu Rui, Yao Yuping and others also advocated making Beijing the capital, which happened to be the most distressing thing for Sun Yat-sen.
Regardless of the purpose, everyone kept mentioning "ensuring national unity". After Yuan Shikai held the inauguration ceremony in Beijing, it became an indisputable fact that Beijing became the new capital of the Republic of China.
Here, it is necessary to mention one person, that is Zhang Taiyan. As a scholar, he also maintained a great favorable impression of Beijing as the capital from a cultural perspective. However, when Beijing became the capital, he had to face the reality that all the yearnings for Beijing as the capital were too idealistic.
After the interim government moved north, Zhang Taiyan also became a senior adviser to the Presidential Palace of Yuan Shikai, and was later appointed as the border envoy for the three northeastern provinces. He was fully satisfied and hoped to see the northern culture remain unchanged, but what Beijing gave him back was a corrupt and filthy atmosphere, and even he was trapped in it. As a result, Zhang Taiyan felt extremely regretful for his original initiative to advocate the establishment of Beijing as the capital.
In 1916, he mentioned in a letter to Huang Zongyang that Beijing at that time had degenerated into a corrupt bureaucracy and it was too late even if reforms were proposed again.
Indeed, at this time, the new capital of the Republic of China had long lost the aura of the new era that people had given it, and its corrupt and filthy nature was fully exposed. But this bitter wine was brewed by the revolutionaries who went northward with hope like Zhang Taiyan.
In fact, Zhang Taiyan was not the only one who felt disappointed with Yuan Shikai's government and regretted supporting Beijing as the capital. Looking back, Sun Yat-sen's far-sightedness can be seen.
4. Sun Yat-sen's long-term vision is destined to be worthy of admiration
Seeing this, we will slowly discover that Sun Yat-sen's deepest painstaking effort in wanting to make Ili the capital was that he wanted to change the obsolescence of old China.
Let’s take a look at Sun Yat-sen’s development plan for Xinjiang back then. The main focus was on opening up transportation, immigration, development of agriculture and animal husbandry, and mining.
First, "Transportation is the mother of industry." In the Xinjiang railway construction plan, Sun Yat-sen designed 14 trunk lines. On the one hand, they can connect major towns in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, directly breaking the traffic congestion in Xinjiang. On the other hand, they can closely connect Xinjiang with other parts of the country and promote the pace of economic development.
Just as he once envisioned: "Once these railways are completed, Urumqi will become the intersection of many railways. Yili can go directly to Guangzhou, and Kashgar can go directly to Shanghai!"
Secondly, in view of Xinjiang's vast land, sparse population and lack of labor, the Xinjiang immigration plan is vigorously promoted. This idea , Sun Zhong referred to the successful strength of the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries in developing backward areas through immigration, as he said, "The results will be unparalleled!"
Third, based on the railway transportation line, it will gradually expand to both sides to develop Xinjiang's rich land resources and water conservancy resources. While improving agricultural production, it will gradually develop animal husbandry.
Fourthly, the top priority in building Xinjiang is mining, which is also what Sun Yat-sen proposed: "The key to China's survival lies in the development of industry" and "Miners are the great cause of material civilization and economic progress!"
All signs are profoundly explaining one thing. Sun Yat-sen's efforts back then were all based on a selfless perspective to seek a bright future for China. He was not a politician who put his own interests at the commanding heights. Therefore, even if Xinjiang was extremely backward, he never felt disgust in his heart, but saw hope in a desperate situation.
Setting the capital in Ili means that those in power must devote 100% of their enthusiasm to conquer the world on their own in the midst of desolation, and even end the unbearable situation there first. Politicians with selfish interests in mind cannot do it anyway.
Just as Yuan Shikai and his party tried their best to turn the capital into Beijing into reality, we cannot say that they do not have the desire to strengthen the country, but they are destined not to give up the political capital they have, nor can they give up their own interests in the face of national crisis to build a new China.
Sun Yat-sen saw this precisely. Setting the capital in Ili will be a major training and test for the new government. Only in this way will China be fully reshuffled and have the possibility of Nirvana and rebirth.
Therefore, those who claim that the operating costs of in Ili, the capital, are too high, often overlook one point, which is that the biggest obstacle to Sun Yat-sen's desire to realize this political ambition lies precisely in the revolutionary party itself. When politicians who have no desires and only want to become a powerful country become a minority, no matter where the capital is, China is destined to be unable to escape the tragic fate of the past.
You might as well refer to the capital of our party, Beijing, when it established New China. The founding leaders achieved Sun Yat-sen’s desire for nothing. Over the years, Beijing has actually played the role of a perfect capital. For our party, even if the capital is the barbaric land of Ili, the leaders can still open up a new situation in the shortest time.
Therefore, rather than saying that Sun Yat-sen’s desire to make Yili the capital was too idealistic, it is better to say that this was his silent resistance to profit-minded politicians!
Conclusion
If we must give an evaluation to Sun Yat-sen’s insistence on establishing Ili as the capital, we can only say that his judgment is both objective and false. Objectively, establishing Ili as the capital will indeed open up a new situation for China’s future. What is false is that even if we strive to realize this vision, it will take too long. The weak China at that time could not afford to wait!
But this incident just illustrates Sun Yat-sen's extremely lofty vision for China's future. When the country was in crisis, he was willing to do everything he could to save it from fire and water. Even in desperate situations, he still never gave up his ambition to push China into the ranks of great powers.
Although today's China still does not have Ili as its capital, this prosperous age is what Sun Yat-sen hopes to see most. In addition, the best way to comfort his heroic spirit is to build the Northwest better, which also contains the code of a powerful country.
Editor's profile: Song Xiaole, a post-90s dad, comes from an ordinary family. He has been writing full-time for 5 years. He made his first pot of gold through self-media writing and has cooperated with many new media companies. If you are interested in self-media, writing, and making money, and want to do side jobs or part-time jobs every month after work, you can search and follow my public account "Today's People" on WeChat to discuss and make progress together.
