Photo from The Warder Collection, New York
Too much of my historical knowledge was gleaned from western sources. I probably know more about the American Revolution than what went on in China during the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.
The ascension of modern China began in tumultous times - the end of dynasties and the focible opening of a nation cocooned since time immemorial. We talk about how the dragon in the east is roaring to life. The 1910s were a time where China was known as the sick man of the east.
Sun Yat-Sen. A man who tried to bring China into the modern world. A man who was frustrated by self-serving warlords. He must have felt a tinge of helplessness, just like how small he looks in this photo, surrounded by guns and military men all with their own agenda. Millions more would have to lay down their lives before a dream of a strong China came to fruition.
Sun Yat-Sen, father of modern China. I wonder what he'd think of the China now?
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