As we commemorate the 160th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's birth this year, his intellectual legacy continues to resonate with China's ongoing journey toward modernization. In his seminal work, The International Development of China, part of The Fundamentals of National Reconstruction, Sun outlined visionary plans for developing railway networks, ports, mineral resources and industries. His ideas reflected a grand ambition to elevate China to the ranks of the world's leading nations, underscoring his dedication to his country.
Today, China is advancing its national development and rejuvenation under vastly different conditions. The relationship between Sun's vision and the country's current achievements reveals a historical thread that links national independence, prosperity and people's well-being over the past century.
Sun long aspired to elevate China's stature in the world. After World War I, he devoted himself to developing a comprehensive theory of national reconstruction, envisioning a future for China that he articulated in The Fundamentals of National Reconstruction.
In The International Development of China, Sun proposed building three major ports in northern, eastern and southern China, alongside the development of railways, waterways and other transport infrastructure.
He also emphasized the importance of exploiting mineral resources and establishing modern industries. His vision extended to water conservancy, electricity and urban development. Sun's goal was not merely to increase economic output but also to integrate domestic markets, enhance regional links and unlock the country's resources.
These proposals reflected a comprehensive understanding of national development. Sun did not see railways or ports merely as gateways for goods. He recognized that a coordinated approach to transportation, industrial development, resource utilization and urban construction was essential for building an integrated and mutually reinforcing modern economy. Infrastructure connects not only regions, but also production, markets and everyday life, while industrialization transforms economic structures and enhances a country's global competitiveness.
Sun's vision was grounded in thorough research rather than abstract speculation. He extensively studied foreign languages, examined China's domestic conditions and drew on advanced international experience.
His work, The International Development of China, was a systematic blueprint for the country's future, rooted in China's realities, informed by global experience and oriented toward long-term development.
For Sun, railway construction was a key path to national prosperity. He envisioned a nationwide railway network linking coastal and inland areas, as well as cities and rural communities, to promote resource development and economic growth.
A century later, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, many of Sun's aspirations have become reality. China's high-speed railways now span the country, its integrated transport network continues to improve, and infrastructure development has overcome geographical constraints.
From the eastern coast to the western plateau, and from densely populated regions to border areas, expanding transport links are fostering balanced regional development and improving people's lives.
Sun also envisioned the development of three major ports and proposed projects such as the development of Pudong, the dredging of the Huangpu River and the expansion of Shanghai's urban functions. Today, the Yangshan Deep Water Port, the opening-up and development of the Pudong New Area, and the enhanced role of the Yangtze River as a major shipping corridor exemplify China's capacity to connect domestic and international markets through ports and integrated transport hubs.
In modern history, a weak industrial base left the country vulnerable to external pressures.
Sun understood that modernization required not only institutional and intellectual change, but also the development of productive forces and a transformation of the economic structure.
Only by developing industries, exploiting resources and improving production conditions could China strengthen its economic foundations.
His proposals for mineral development, machinery manufacturing and nationwide transportation infrastructure reflected his belief that infrastructure should drive production and industrial growth should underpin national prosperity.
Today, China has emerged as a manufacturing powerhouse with a comprehensive industrial system. It continues to upgrade its industries, advance technological innovation and promote green transformation. Carrying forward Sun's vision does not mean mechanically reproducing the project list he drew up a century ago. Rather, China is addressing the fundamental challenge he identified under entirely new social and economic conditions.
Sun's vision extended beyond production and wealth creation. He was also concerned with the fair distribution of social benefits, the development of education and improvements in people's living conditions.
Revisiting The Fundamentals of National Reconstruction today reminds us of the original purpose of modernization. China's modernization puts people at its center and seeks common prosperity for all. It emphasizes coordinated material and cultural-ethical advancement, bringing modernization more closely in line with human development and social progress.
Sun consistently looked to the world's advanced nations as a benchmark, hoping that China would eventually stand alongside, and even surpass, Europe and the United States. Yet he did not advocate blindly copying the West. Recognizing that countries had different social conditions, he believed China needed to draw on the achievements of world civilization while adapting them to its own circumstances.
Chinese modernization is the transformation of a huge population, common prosperity for all, the coordination of material and cultural-ethical advancement, harmony between humanity and nature, and peaceful development. It draws on the valuable achievements of human civilization while addressing China's own development challenges.
Its goal is not simply to expand economic output or improve technological capabilities, but to promote coordinated progress across the economy, society, ecology and culture, while ensuring that national development serves people's well-being.
Revitalizing China was Sun's lifelong aspiration. He did not live to see many of the projects envisioned in The Fundamentals of National Reconstruction become a reality.
China has moved forward and undergone profound transformation, but the task of envisioning its future will never end. Modernization remains an ongoing endeavor. With each generation building on the work of its predecessors, China will continue to write new chapters in its pursuit of modernization.
The author is a professor at the College of Liberal Arts, Shanghai University, and vice-president of the Sun Yat-sen Society of China.
The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
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