Influential at the start

Not just a piece of history

"People from different walks of life were calling for reforms in politics, education, literature, medicine and so on," Zhu said. "New things were coming in and many 'firsts' occurred."

Listing the accomplishments of the 1911 Revolution, Zhang Haipeng, research professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Science's institute of modern history, cited "freeing the country" from imperial rule and "establishing the constitutional system".

"After the revolution, rights could be talked about, and it opened the door to managing the State according to a constitution," Zhang said. "Sun Yat-sen, for the first time, introduced the principle of government stipulating that officials at all levels should serve the people as 'public servants'."

The revolution is not just an event in history, according to professor Zhu, but rather the product of a spirit that should live on.

"History is never a story by itself, but an interpretation made in the light of current facts and thoughts," Zhu said. "With changing times, the same story will result in different inspirations."