Sun Yat-sen (12 November 1866 or 24 November 1870 – 12 March 1925), also known as Sun Yixian, Sun Wen, Sun Itchisen/Sun Itchiyama(Japanese) and Sun Zhongshan (originally Sun Deming), was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader often referred to as the Father of Modern China. Sun played an instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in 1911. He was the first provisional president when the Republic of China (ROC) was founded in 1912 and later co-founded the Kuomintang (KMT) where he served as its first leader. Sun was a uniting figure in post-Imperial China, and remains unique among 20th-century Chinese politicians for being widely revered in both Mainland China and Taiwan.
Although Sun is considered one of the greatest leaders of modern China, his political life was one of constant struggle and frequent exile. After the success of the revolution, he quickly fell out of power in the newly-founded Republic of China, and led successive revolutionary governments as a challenge to the warlords who controlled much of the nation. Sun did not live to see his party consolidate its power over the country. His party, which formed a fragile alliance with the Communists, split into two factions after his death. Sun's chief legacy resides in his developing a political philosophy known as the Three Principles of the People (The People's Relation/Connection, The People's Power, and the People's Livelihood/Welfare, or sometimes known as nationalism, democracy/sovereignty, and socialism/populism/livelihood depending on the translation).
