Sun Yat Sen and the ROC: Rise to Great Glory

Hi everyone. I'm new (less than 1 day registered) as a registered poster this website, although I've been following this site and thinking of my own alternate histories, long before I stumbled onto this awesome site.

I have long been a big fan of Sun Yat Sen and what he did/tried to do for the nation of China and what he might have succeeded in doing if he didn't die such an untimely death. No doubt he was a much more humane, honest, having of humility, generous, and visionary leader than Chiang Kai Shek. As a Taiwanese, I'm aware of Chiang's mass crimes he committed in China and in Taiwan, and hate the guy's ultra-conservatism. He wasn't fit to rule!! Therefore, I will also be purging him much of this story--he will in fact get the death sentence from China's GuoFu (Sun Yat Sen as the "Father of Republican China"), for attempting to carry out a coup with the KMT far-right fanatics who think of Sun as an overyl liberal leader.

I've decided to post my ATL story with 4 major divergence points.

POD1: The Guangxu Emperor has D.E. CiCi poisoned for trying to carry out a coup against him. Thus, nobody effectively stands in the way of hi carrrying out the 100 Days of Reform, greatly modernizing China quicker than in OTL. He hires Sun Yat Sen as foreign minister, giving Sun some ample time to practice politicswith ample power. Guangxu dies early in his thirties, and the whole country mourns him for having restored their sense of dignity. His successor ruled like highly selfish despot and squandered the greatly increased Chinese national strength Gunaxu ahd achieved. Sun Yat Sen is highly sickened and lead a revolution that successfully throws out this corrupt emperor and creates a republic.

POD2: Sun realizes early on what a major asshole Chiang Kai Shek is and decides that having him around will only undermine the Republican Unified Nation cause; thus he relegates him to a sinecure position and appoints someone else as his right-hand general.

POD3: Sun never has cancer in this ATL, so lives at least until the end of the Sino-Japanese War.

POD4: The Japanese Empire is even more aggressive in East Asia than in OTL. The US gets very concerned and realizes it needs to friend China in order to counter Japan in Asia. In the middle of the Sino-Japanese War, Sun Yat Sen meets Franklin D. Roosevelt and the top hit it off; Sun deeply impresses with his knowledge of American English, American culture, and American politics. He covinces FDR that China has the potential to the the United States of the Asian region. Soong Ching-Ling and Eleanor Roosevelt get along very well. Roosevelt sends along lots of military, economic, industrial, and political advisors to strengthen China. China is able to develop, along with its Guangxu-era strengthenings, an even stronger army, navy, and the world's first independent airforce. China manufactiures indigensouly-designed military hardware, in some cases even superior to their US counterparts. Imperial Japan will have a hellish time in China during WW2. :-D

I recommend POD 1.
 
I recommend POD 1.

Hello, EcoBOOM. Thanks for commenting and recommending. I have chosen to write the one with Sun alive during the entire Sino-Japanese War forf the time being, but as you're interested in it, I will also be writing the stronger-Qing scenario in a different thread. I'll probably call it "Beginning With a Stronger Qing." :)
 
Thank you for feeling so and for planning to follow it, zeppelinair! I'm currently reading your 12 republics piece and feel very excited for the unyet-read later possiblities the story can offer. Thanks for writing it and sharing it!

Thank you very much for those kind words. I have much in store for Chinese republicanism - and republicanism in general for Asia.
 
Thank you very much for those kind words. I have much in store for Chinese republicanism - and republicanism in general for Asia.

You're very welcome, zeppelin. Completely well-earned ones! :) Sounds exciting--I shall most definitely continue to follow 12 Republics with great enthusiasm and anticipation! ;)
 
Agreed... That would be very interesting to see.;)

Okay, Well, that's two votes for POD1. Anyways, I've decided I definitely shall be writing both stories. "Beginning With a Stronger Qing", is an has an alternate history timeline in which Guangxu succeeds at reforming China significantly: militarily, economically, politically, and socially, by the end of 1898. The other nations all take not and trade a lot more lightly with the Qing Empire as a result. Even the previously more powerful Japanese Empire suddenly desires to treat the Chinese Empire as a friendly equal as they realize a far stronger China is here to stay.
 
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It was the year 1927.

The great Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat Sen had undertaken many stressful endeavors in his life, starting with attempting to topple the generally corrupt and inept Qing Dynasty. He had succeeded the eleventh time at an armed revolution, after failing a tragic ten times in a row, and being laughed at as the credibilitiless subject of ridicule by plenty of people for that, including some of his fellow revolutionaries. Then he had to face up to the fact that despite overthrowing the Qing Dynasty finally, he didn't have the power other than to serve as Provisional President, but had to conceed power to Qing Prime Minister Yuan Shikai, since he lacked the military power to defeat the Qing altogether in the entire country. And he had gladly done so for the good of the country, hoping Yuan could be made an honest statesman of by subjecging him to the presidential-parliamentary system, but President Yuan had disappointed him probably in the worst possible way and first tied to evolve into President for Life Yuan Shikai of the Chinese Republic, and then Emperor Yuan Shikai of the Empire of China. After Yuan died, China fractured into warlord regions ruled by Yuan's generals. Sun now had to be not only China's Washington, but also China's Lincoln.

After the Warlord Period had started, Sun had gotten into contact with the newly-formed Soviet Union and asked for both political and military aid. Advisors upgraded both the KMT party inner workings and the KMT military's army branch. Specifically, they helped set up the elite Whampoa Militry Academy to train an officer corps to help lead the planned Northern Expedition, to rid China of its Anti-KMT warlords.

Sun sipped his breakfast tea, dining with his wife Soong Ching-Ling. He was glad he was alive and well and able to finally see the expedition occur. He looked forward to the great possiblities he could achieve as head of a unified Republic of China.
 
It was the year 1927.

The great Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat Sen had undertaken many stressful endeavors in his life, starting with attempting to topple the generally corrupt and inept Qing Dynasty. He had succeeded the eleventh time at an armed revolution, after failing a tragic ten times in a row, and being laughed at as the credibilitiless subject of ridicule by plenty of people for that, including some of his fellow revolutionaries. Then he had to face up to the fact that despite overthrowing the Qing Dynasty finally, he didn't have the power other than to serve as Provisional President, but had to conceed power to Qing Prime Minister Yuan Shikai, since he lacked the military power to defeat the Qing altogether in the entire country. And he had gladly done so for the good of the country, hoping Yuan could be made an honest statesman of by subjecging him to the presidential-parliamentary system, but President Yuan had disappointed him probably in the worst possible way and first tied to evolve into President for Life Yuan Shikai of the Chinese Republic, and then Emperor Yuan Shikai of the Empire of China. After Yuan died, China fractured into warlord regions ruled by Yuan's generals. Sun now had to be not only China's Washington, but also China's Lincoln.

After the Warlord Period had started, Sun had gotten into contact with the newly-formed Soviet Union and asked for both political and military aid. Advisors upgraded both the KMT party inner workings and the KMT military's army branch. Specifically, they helped set up the elite Whampoa Militry Academy to train an officer corps to help lead the planned Northern Expedition, to rid China of its Anti-KMT warlords.

Sun sipped his breakfast tea, dining with his wife Soong Ching-Ling. He was glad he was alive and well and able to finally see the expedition occur. He looked forward to the great possiblities he could achieve as head of a unified Republic of China.

BUMP BUMP BUMP

How's this to begin with?
 
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