Out of the past, into the future

End of feudal monarchy by the 1911 Revolution saw China embark on the road to national rejuvenation and modernity

The 1911 Revolution was a milestone in the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and brought many changes to the country. Reviewing the century-long legacy of the epoch-making event, from political, economic, cultural and international perspectives, offers today's Chinese society precious historical references.

The 1911 Revolution put an end to the millenniums-long autocratic monarchy and established a fledging democratic republic, under which Chinese people's political rights such as democracy, freedom and equality were openly and legally recognized for the first time. Following the revolution, China presented itself to the world as a "modern nation" and embarked on its march toward political modernization.

The 1911 Revolution, known as the Xinhai Revolution in China, pushed the country forward on a new road of national unity and forged a sense of identity as a modern nation. The slogans raised by Dr Sun Yat-sen and other republican forerunners for national unity and the "Chinese nation" concept put forward by the Republic of China, following its establishment in 1912, greatly unified a nation that had long been plagued by political strife and chaos and kick-started China's transition to modernity.

The revolution smashed the feudal fetters and triggered the powerful ideological movement "salvaging the nation through boosting industrial development". Upon the establishment of a revolutionary alliance, advocated by Dr Sun in Tokyo in 1905, economic problems replaced political and ethnic ones to become a key factor influencing the future of China. Ever since, the "industrial development" campaign has swept through China and a wide variety of industrial associations have subsequently emerged.

The campaign for industrial development, coupled with the ever-rising patriotism of the people and the democratic spirit triggered by the 1911 Revolution, greatly improved the domestic environment for economic development and catalyzed the development of national industry and commerce, which was boosted by the introduction of various policies and regulations. Both the Nanjing interim government and the ensuing nationalist government under Yuan Shikai (1912-1916) attached the utmost importance to industrial development, setting up special administrative bodies for this purpose and promulgating a series of regulations and stipulations aimed at boosting agricultural, industrial and commercial development.

Despite being influenced by domestic political turbulences during this period, the industrial development campaign launched by the Republic of China in its early days laid a solid foundation for the hardware and software development of China's national economy and provided a systematic and ideological guarantee for its economic modernization later.

The relaxed political environment produced during the transitional period between the old and new regimes following the 1911 Revolution offered a broad stage for Chinese intellectuals to freely express their ideas. Without ideological taboos and fetters, various kinds of thoughts successively came center stage, promoting cultural and ideological diversity and even a Chinese "cultural Renaissance". Such a relaxed environment also catalyzed some new educational reforms and further pushed for ideological emancipation.

It was this relaxed political atmosphere that resulted in the widespread dissemination of Marxism and scientific socialism among Chinese intellectuals with political aspirations. From the perspective of ideological liberation, the 1911 Revolution served as the midwife for the introduction of Marxism to China and the birth of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Under the influence of the Chinese revolution, nationalist and democratic movements swiftly swept across the whole of Asia. Following China's revolution, anti-colonialism patriotic movements were also launched in Korea, Vietnam, India and Indonesia. All these movements and revolutions transformed Asia into a battlefield against colonialism and feudalism.

The 1911 Revolution undoubtedly had a huge influence on Chinese people's ongoing endeavors to realize a national rejuvenation. It laid a foundation for China's democratic politics, promoted the "great unity" of the Chinese nation and enhanced Chinese people's sense of national identity. Economically, it shifted Chinese people's focus to developing industries that would save the nation and started them on the road to economic modernization. Ideologically, the 1911 Revolution promoted ideological liberation among Chinese people and facilitated the spreading of Marxism in China and the creation of the CPC, two significant events that have helped Chinese people in their efforts to achieve national rejuvenation.

The 1911 Revolution changed China's image of "backwardness and ignorance" and presented to the world an image of "democracy, self-striving and independence".

Although a century has passed, the influence of the 1911 Revolution will last into the future. Its spirit will continue to encourage Chinese people to work for the long-cherished "great rejuvenation" of their nation.

The author is a researcher with the Guangdong Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

(China Daily 10/11/2011 page8)