Sun Yat-sen was a radical reformer who sought to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty in 1911; his successor was Chiang Kai-shek. Which statement is correct?

Sun Yat-sen was a radical reformer who sought to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty in 1911; his successor was Chiang Kai-shek. Which statement is correct?

• A. Sun Yat-sen's successor was Chiang Kai-shek
• B. Sun Yat-sen's successor was Mao Zedong
• C. Sun Yat-sen's successor was Deng Xiaoping
• D. Sun Yat-sen had no successor

Answer: (A)

Understanding who followed Sun Yat-sen in leading the nationalist movement and the early Republic helps explain the sequence of power after the 1911 revolution. Sun Yat-sen laid the groundwork and led the effort to establish the Republic of China, but after his death the central figure who carried on his mission and led the Nationalist government was Chiang Kai-shek. He took over the leadership of the Kuomintang, organized the Northern Expedition to unify large parts of China, and became the main leader of the government in the late 1920s, continuing Sun’s goal of modernizing and unifying China under a nationalist framework. Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping are associated with the Communist Party and the People’s Republic of China, not with Sun Yat-sen’s nationalist leadership. So, Chiang Kai-shek is the correct successor in the sense of continuing Sun’s political project.

Understanding who followed Sun Yat-sen in leading the nationalist movement and the early Republic helps explain the sequence of power after the 1911 revolution. Sun Yat-sen laid the groundwork and led the effort to establish the Republic of China, but after his death the central figure who carried on his mission and led the Nationalist government was Chiang Kai-shek. He took over the leadership of the Kuomintang, organized the Northern Expedition to unify large parts of China, and became the main leader of the government in the late 1920s, continuing Sun’s goal of modernizing and unifying China under a nationalist framework. Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping are associated with the Communist Party and the People’s Republic of China, not with Sun Yat-sen’s nationalist leadership. So, Chiang Kai-shek is the correct successor in the sense of continuing Sun’s political project.