1911 Revolution opened door for China's progress
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People's Daily, September 22, 2011
The 1911 Revolution was a great victory because it overthrew the Qing Dynasty, ended the autocratic monarchy that had ruled China for more than 2,000 years and led to the establishment of the Republic of China.
The 1911 Revolution emancipated the minds of the Chinese people. After the revolution, the monarchy, which was once held sacred and inviolable, was declared as evil, dark and unacceptable to the free and equal people. The restoration of the monarchy became simply impossible, and the ancient feudal system was finally overturned. Furthermore, the majority of the people, who were once regarded as ignorant and abject and had little control over their own lives, became the masters of the country.
The 1911 Revolution not only put an end to the monarchy of China but also greatly promoted democracy among the Chinese people, thereby contributing much to the country's transition from a monarchy to a republic as well as its political modernization. The large-scale emancipation of the mind brought a series of changes to social customs and the people's moral outlooks and habits. The revolution weeded out many old-fashioned ideas, injected new impetus and vitality to the society and played a profound role in improving the moral standards of the people at the time.
The 1911 Revolution created significant conditions for social and economic development, and the revolutionaries during the period always pursued the objectives of enriching and strengthening the country and making the masses well off. They were convinced that if they overthrew the feudal autocratic government, China would surely achieve economic development at an "exceptional pace" and would "keep up with" and even overtake Western countries within a short period of time.
They sought to improve public livelihoods and "devoted themselves to the well-being of the masses" through economic development. After the establishment of the provisional government in Nanjing, China's economic development entered into an unprecedented booming period. The modern industry in the early period of the Republic of China outperformed the industry developed by the late Qing Dynasty for several decades in terms such as volume, scale and scope, and the sectors of education, media and medical services also improved considerably. This helped create significant conditions for future social and economic development.
The 1911 Revolution made positive contributions to the establishment of the Chinese national community. Once the Qing Dynasty collapsed, the revolutionaries instantly embraced the equality of all ethnic groups, emphasized the removal of obstacles among different ethnic groups and promoted ethic harmony. Sun Yat-sen made clear in the "Declaration of Provisional President," "The essential foundation of a state is its people. Integrating the territories inhabited by the Han, Manchu, Mongolians, Hui and Tibetans into one state is to unify the Han, Manchu, Mongolians, Hui and Tibetans into one nation. This is the union of nation." There were no concepts and moves in China's previous feudal dynasties that were of such a great and far-reaching significance to the development of the Chinese nation.
The 1911 Revolution laid the way for the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The ideological emancipation brought by the 1911 Revolution provided the environment and conditions for various political and social theories, including Marxism, to spread. The 1911 Revolution's dream of pursuing a capitalist republic was derailed, and suspicious and depressed people had to find another road, which laid the ideological foundation for China to choose the socialism.
The development of national capitalism after the 1911 Revolution strengthened the force of China's proletariat, laying the class foundation for the founding of the CCP. Some of the early activists of the CCP had actively participated in the 1911 Revolution or held important positions in the revolution in as early as the T'ung-meng Hui period and some of them had been heavily edified by the revolution. In this sense, the 1911 Revolution trained cadres for the founding of the CCP.
Since the CCP was founded, it has always regarded the cause for which it fights as the extension and development of the 1911 Revolution and declared in public that the current people of China are all successors of the revolutionary cause started by Sun Yat-sen, with the exception of a few reactionaries. What the CCP has inherited is the anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism fight launched by the 1911 Revolution to realize the national independence and the liberation of the people as well as the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation aimed at promoting the prosperity of China and lifting up the people of China.
