Yat-sen Sun

Born on November 12, 1866, Sun Yat-sen studied medicine before giving himself fully to politics. He became a central figure in the movement against the Qing dynasty and is widely remembered for helping lead the 1911 Revolution, which ended more than two thousand years of imperial rule in China.

Sun went on to serve as the first provisional president of the Republic of China in 1912. He also helped found the Kuomintang, or Chinese Nationalist Party, and spent much of his later life trying to build a stable republican government during a time of deep division and warlord conflict.

He is often associated with the Three Principles of the People—nationalism, democracy, and people’s livelihood—which shaped his political vision and gave later generations a simple way to understand his goals for China. After his death on March 12, 1925, his legacy remained powerful across different political traditions, and he is still honored as a founding figure of modern China.