The Politics Of Narration

Narration of the Xinhai Revolution is an important political and cultural phenomena which has lasted for more than100years. Lots of common sense about the revolution is deeply influenced by politics and times. In this paper, the narration of Wuchang Uprising is chosen as a case, to study the narration of the Xinhai Revolution during the period of the Republic of China from multiple angles.Common writings about the Xinhai Revolution start the story from the founding of the Revive China Society(Xingzhonghui)by Sun Yat-sen in Honolulu in1894, while the words "Xinhai Revolution"originate from the famous Wuchang Uprising, which took place on Octl0th,1911.This uprising, which quickly triggered a nation-wide revolutionary current, and eventually led to the establishment of the R.C. and the end of the monarchy, became a great watershed event in the history of China, and can’t be ignored by any book on the whole Xinhai Revolution. However, in all kinds of narrations of the Revolution, the Wuchang Uprising is not always be properly narrated as it deserves. Especially in the texts of the history of the Party or of the Revolution In the late Republic, the Wuchang Uprising was in an extremely embarrassing position.This is mainly caused by the complicated relationship between the Wuchang Uprising and the United League(Tongmenghui) which is regarded as the predecessor of KMT, and its great leader Sun Yat-sen. Specifically, this biggest and most remarkable anti-Qing uprising, brewing in the low tide period of revolution after the failure of the Huanghuagang Uprising, was triggered not by the Tongmenghui itself but by the army troops in Hubei who were urged on by the local revolutionary bodies the Literary Society and the Common Progress Society which were not incorporated in the league.The relationship between the uprising and Sun Yat-sen is even less.Sun paid little attention to Central China before the uprising. Wuchang Uprising, together with the the political situation of China affected by it, visibly reflected the weaknesses of the Tongmenghui, and of the leadership of Sun Yat-sen as well. As a result, there came to be the serious political problem of how to narrate the Wuchang Uprising among the Xinhai Revolution.After the Xinhai Revolution,the narration of Wuchang Uprising was once influced by the struggle between the several factions of Hubei Group. When Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Revolutionary Party of China and later the leader of KMT, had to launch other revolutionary movements to realize his ideal of saving China, he recoganized the importance of writing an official history of Xinhai Revolution. through which a unified narration would be made. As we see, during the last several years of his life, he finished two autobiographical articles about the Chinese revolution and his party. In the articles. Sun himself was set in the absolute center, and the revolutionary events of the Xingzhonghui and the Tongmenghui occupied the absolute important position of the history of the revolution. What’s more, the Wuhan Revolution from1900to the Wuchang Uprising of1911, were described to be look like that they are leaded by Sun and his Tongmenghui. After the establishment of the Nanjing National Government, KMT began to construct and spread a more systematic and ideological narration based on Sun’s original version, through compiling official history books, history textbooks, holding commemorative activities, building memorial buildings, and so on. As a result, the "fact"that Sun Yat-sen and Tongmenghui leaded the Wuchang Uprising was widely accepted to be a common sense. Meanwhile, those who were critical of the official narrations, especiallly the revolutionaries who took part in the uprising, try their best to express their own memory and view and provide other kinds of narrations, though they were only given a secondary position. Through the investigation of different narrations of Wuchang Uprising, we can get a deeper understanding of the relationship between current politics and historical narration.