Three Principles of the People

Japanese: 三民主義 - さんみんしゅぎ

A political theory advocated by Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Xinhai Revolution and founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party. Nationalism, civil rights, and people's livelihood are collectively called the Three Principles of the People. It was inspired by the 16th President of the United States, Lincoln's "government of the people, by the people, for the people," but the content is unique to Sun Yat-sen, and is based on the idea of "saving the nation," that is, how to save China, which was on the verge of decline. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary activities can be divided into two periods: the period before and after the Xinhai Revolution, which aimed to overthrow the Qing Dynasty with the construction of a civil society in the foreground, and the period after the revolution, when he combined his activities with the mass struggle amid the chaotic situation of warlords. The ideas of the Three Principles of the People can also be divided into two periods.

[Ando Hikotaro]

The Three Principles of the People in the Early Period

The early Three Principles of the People were conceived by Sun Yat-sen during his exile in Europe in the 1890s, and his nationalism was based on the idea of overthrowing Manchuria and restoring the Han dynasty. This was an aspirational modern revolution in that it advocated the overthrow of the Qing dynasty, a dynasty established by the Manchus, a minority ethnic group in China, but it also had a kind of tribal character. It was only in the later period that nationalism developed into the content of the colonial national liberation struggle. Civil rights doctrine was republicanism and democracy, and while it was mainly modeled on America, it envisaged the separation of five powers, including examination and inspection, in addition to the three powers of legislation, judiciary and administration. People's livelihood doctrine was an economic policy to prevent poverty, which Sun Yat-sen realized existed even in the Western society that he initially considered ideal, and its main content was equal land ownership. The idea of average land rights was inspired by the theories of the American economist Henry George, and is based on the idea of reducing the gap between rich and poor and stabilizing people's livelihoods by taxing the increase in land prices caused by social development. Sun Yat-sen believed that the development of transportation was an essential condition for social development, and in this regard, he placed great importance on the promotion of railways. The China Tongmenghui, which was formed in Tokyo in 1905, set forth in its political platform the "Four Principles" of Exterminating the Tartars (expelling the Manchus), Restoring China (both of which are nationalism), Establishing a Republic (civil rights), and Average Land Rights (civil livelihood), which are considered to be the prototype of the earlier so-called Old Three Principles of the People.

[Ando Hikotaro]

The Three Principles of the People in the Later Period

However, after the Xinhai Revolution, the fruits of the revolution were usurped by the Beiyang warlord Yuan Shikai. Sun Yat-sen believed that the collapse of the Qing Dynasty had brought about nationalism, and the realization of the Republic had brought about civil rights, and that all that remained was civil rights, so he took up the position of National Railway Commissioner under Yuan. However, his dream was soon shattered, and the second and third revolutions against Yuan failed, so Sun Yat-sen fled to Japan and continued to grope in the dark amidst the divided and conflicting warlord situation. Then, in 1919, the May Fourth Movement broke out, ushering in a new era of mass movements that combined anti-imperialism and anti-feudal warlords. Facing this transformation, Sun Yat-sen changed and developed his ideology, and he decided to reorganize the Kuomintang he led and to cooperate with the Communist Party.

In January 1924, the First National Congress of the Kuomintang, jointly organized by the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, was held in Guangzhou, where he set out three major policies: allied with the Soviet Union, pro-communism, and aiding the workers and peasants. He also gave a series of lectures on the Three Principles of the People, clarifying the new stance of the Three Principles of the People in the later period. The transcripts of these lectures are the only book to bear the name "Three Principles of the People."

Here, Sun Yat-sen stated that nationalism is about striving for the freedom and independence of the Chinese people through the anti-imperialist struggle from the standpoint of an oppressed nation, and with regard to civil rights, he advocated the idea of direct civil rights in addition to the traditional civil democracy. He also incorporated the idea of "land for the cultivator" into the equal rights of the people, which is the idea of abolishing feudal landlordism, and he also advocated the idea of moderate capital, that is, state control of large private capital, along with equal rights of the land. The Three Principles of the People thus took on revolutionary content and were later made the concrete goal of the New Democratic Revolution led by Mao Zedong and others, and also became the theoretical basis for the formation of the United Front.

The Three Principles of the People contain valuable content as a statement from the perspective of an oppressed people calling for democratization and modernization, and at the same time, they also have a wealth of potential for interpretation, making the content of this lecture a work that should truly be called a classic.

[Ando Hikotaro]

"The Three Principles of the People, translated by Ando Hikotaro (Iwanami Bunko)"

[Reference] | Sun Yat-sen

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

辛亥(しんがい)革命の指導者であり、中国国民党の創立者である孫文(そんぶん／スンウェン)の唱えた政治理論。民族主義、民権主義、民生主義をあわせて三民主義という。アメリカの第16代大統領リンカーンの「人民の人民による人民のための政治」にヒントを得たものだが、内容的には孫文独自のもので、衰亡の危機に瀕(ひん)した中国をいかに救うか、という「救国」の立場に発想の基礎を置いている。孫文の革命活動は、市民社会の建設を前景に置いて清(しん)朝打倒を目ざした辛亥革命の前後の時期と、この革命のあと軍閥混戦の事態が現出するなかで大衆闘争と結合した時期との、二つに分けられるが、三民主義の思想も、それに従って前後二つの時期に分けることができる。

［安藤彦太郎］

前期の三民主義

前期の三民主義は、1890年代に孫文がヨーロッパに亡命していたころ着想したもので、その民族主義は滅満興漢(めつまんこうかん)を内容としていた。これは、国内少数民族たる満洲族の建てた王朝、清(しん)朝打倒を標榜(ひょうぼう)する点で、近代革命を志向するものではあったが、一種の種族主義の性格も有していた。民族主義が植民地民族解放闘争という内容に発展するのは、後期になってからである。民権主義は共和主義とデモクラシーで、主としてアメリカを模範としながらも、立法、司法、行政の三権に加え、考試、監察の五権分立を構想した。民生主義は、孫文が初め理想と考えた欧米社会にも貧困が存在するのを知り、それを未然に防ぐための経済政策で、平均地権をおもな内容とした。平均地権はアメリカの経済学者ヘンリー・ジョージの学説に触発され、社会発展によって生じた地価の値上がり分に課税することで貧富の差を縮小し民生安定を図るという考えである。社会発展の必須(ひっす)条件は交通の発達であるとし、孫文はこの点で鉄道振興策を重視していた。1905年、東京で結成された中国同盟会が、その政綱に駆除韃虜(くじょだつりょ)（満洲族追放）、恢復(かいふく)中華（以上が民族主義）、建立民国（民権主義）、平均地権（民生主義）の「四綱」を掲げたのは、前期のいわゆる旧三民主義の原型とされる。

［安藤彦太郎］

後期の三民主義

ところが辛亥革命のあと、革命の成果は北洋軍閥袁世凱(えんせいがい)に奪われたが、孫文は、清朝の崩壊により民族主義が、また共和制の実現により民権主義が実現され、残るは民生主義のみと考えて、袁のもとで全国鉄路督弁の地位についた。しかし、まもなくその夢想は破れ、反袁の第二、第三革命も成功せず、孫文は日本に亡命したりして、軍閥の分立抗争の状況のもとで暗中模索を続けた。そこに1919年、五・四運動が勃発(ぼっぱつ)、帝国主義反対と封建軍閥反対とを結合させた新しい大衆運動の季節を迎えた。孫文はその転換を前にして思想を変化、発展させてゆき、自ら率いる中国国民党を改組し、共産党と提携することを決意するに至った。

　1924年1月、広州で国共合作による国民党第一次全国代表大会が開かれ、そこで連ソ・容共・工農扶助の三大政策を打ち出すとともに、三民主義の連続講演を行い、後期の三民主義の新しい立場を明らかにした。この講演筆記が「三民主義」という名を冠したものとしては唯一の著作である。

　ここで孫文は、民族主義とは被抑圧民族の立場から反帝闘争を通じて中国民族の自由と独立を図るものであるとし、民権主義については、従来の市民的民主主義に加えて、直接民権の構想を主張した。また、民生主義の平均地権には、耕者有其田(たがやすものそのたあり)（耕作農民に土地を）という主張を取り入れて、封建的地主制廃絶の内容をもたせ、また、平均地権と並んで節制資本、すなわち巨大な私的資本の国家管理という考えを主張した。こうして革命的内容をもつに至った三民主義は、のちに毛沢東(もうたくとう／マオツォートン)らの新民主主義革命の具体的な実現目標とされ、統一戦線結成の理論的基礎ともなった。

　この三民主義は、民主化、近代化を主張する被抑圧民族の側からの発言として貴重な内容をもっていると同時に、さまざまに解釈できる豊富な可能性を秘めており、その講演内容はまさに古典というべき著作である。

［安藤彦太郎］

『安藤彦太郎訳『三民主義』（岩波文庫）』

[参照項目] | 孫文

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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