Reexamining Wu Tiecheng’s Early Post-1911 Activities and First Encounter with Sun Yat-sen
Abstract
This study reexamines Wu Tiecheng’s (1888–1953), a senior statesman of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Republican China, on his early post-1911 Revolutionary activities, with particular attention to his political development and first encounter with Sun Yat-sen between late 1911 and early 1912. Seeking to supplement and clarify existing scholarship, especially the simplified narrative presented in his memoir: Wu Tiecheng Memoir, this study focuses on Wu’s involvement with the Jiujiang and Jiangxi Military Government during this formative period. Employing a qualitative historical approach, the study relies primarily on documentary and content analysis of primary and secondary sources, notably archival materials from the KMT Party Archives in Taipei. It demonstrates how Wu’s early political engagement laid the foundation for his affiliation with the Revolutionary Alliance and later the KMT, as well as for the forging of guanxi (Chinese relationships or connections) with Sun Yat-sen, rooted partly in their shared native-place origins in Xiangshan. Particular attention is given to Wu’s role during moments of political crisis and reexamining his participation in key national conferences, including conferences held in Shanghai and the pivotal 1911 Nanjing Conference. By reassessing Wu’s choices between competing revolutionary leaders between Sun Yat-sen and Chen Qimei, followed by clarifying the circumstances of his first direct encounter with Sun Yat-sen, this study reveals how Wu retrospectively framed these experiences as political capital that later facilitated his rise within the KMT and Republican China.
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