Instalment 52 (1912/13)
Scene 1: Beijing; at Yuan Shikai’s residence
After Yuan Shikai has come to meet Liang Qichao – who has accepted Yuan’s offer to return to China – at the train station, he invites Liang to lunch. Yuan has ordered his cooks to prepare the Western (!) food, which Liang prefers. The foreign cook was especially called in from Tianjin. Yuan complains to Liang that a president should have the right to do such a thing, but adds that if the provisional parliament knew about this, they would impeach him. Since 1898, Yuan explains, he has always advocated a government based on a constitution. But now that this government has actually been realised, it has turned out to be very limiting. (Meanwhile, the foreign cook is preparing the steaks next to the dining table.) Yuan continues to complain that he is unable to properly fulfil his presidential duties. When Sun Yatsen was President, Yuan claims, he was vested with absolute power. But once Yuan took over the presidency, Sun had Song Jiaoren draft a provisional constitution and set up a cabinet system. The parliament is now superior to Yuan and always restricts him. He therefore does not have any real power. Yuan explains that when he discussed this matter with Yang Du, Yang advised him that it would be better to introduce a constitutional monarchy.
Liang, who understands that Yuan is trying to sound out his personal stance on the matter, decisively replies that if a government system has been laid down (as Republican), it cannot simply be changed. Yuan thereupon asks Liang to at least help him to organise a new Party which is larger than the GMD. If this Party would be able to gain more seats in parliament, it would subsequently have a say in the codification of the final constitution.
Liang, however, believes this is not an easy task. But he is nevertheless willing to give it a try since Yuan puts faith in him.
Scene 2: Beijing; at an assembly of the Gonghe-, Minzhu- and Tongyi Parties
Yuan Shikai praises Zhao Bingjun’s earnest attempts to prepare for the election campaigns. Zhao reports that the GMD continues to head the opinion polls (1912!); and they personally are likely to lose. Yuan proposes that the three Parties, i.e. the Gonghedang (Republican Party), Minzhudang (Democratic Party) and the Tongyidang (Unity Party) should join forces. He recommends the eloquent Liang Qichao as leader of the new Party. Among frantic applause, Yuan pronounces the foundation of the Jinbudang (Progressive Party).
Scene 3: Nanjing; at the former presidential seat
The election campaign atmosphere in the former presidential seat is enthusiastic. Tian Mo reports all the election campaign news to her editorial office over the telephone. Song Jiaoren meanwhile explains propaganda techniques to the candidates. Liang Qichao enters wearing sunglasses. After Liang has taken off the sunglasses, Song suddenly recognises his face. Liang admits that the GMD is well prepared for the election campaigns; other Parties are not able to match up to her. He highly values the motto which Sun has composed for the GMD: “the people’s rights’ first step”. Although Liang himself has written much about a constitutional government, his writings, he states, only referred to theoretical approaches. But Sun uses colloquial language in order to allow also simple people to understand his motives. Tian Mo asks why the two – Song and Liang – are so civil to each other although they are the respective leaders of opposing Parties. Song answers that they are political opponents, but not enemies (which apparently is supposed to explain the TV-audience the differences between political competitors and enemies more clearly.)
If the two Party system, as is known to England and the USA, is supposed to be introduced in China, then this would be good news indeed! Liang and Song agree to control the other Party in the new government system, and Liang asks Song to make film recordings of the GMD election campaigns, since the GMD is a model example in how to devise election campaigns. Liang complains that the candidates of his Party are mainly former Qing government officials and soldiers who do not even understand the parliamentary system. A GMD candidate says that the voters of his province are predominantly peasants and that
they therefore do not understand the Three People’s Principles yet either. Thus, the campaigners have to tour the country and explain them.
Sun Yatsen and Song Jiaoren arrive with other candidates in a village near Yangzhou in order to gain votes. Mayor Xiao receives them. Sun asks about the state of the preparations for elections in this village. Xiao replies that he has asked a few old scholars to fill in the ballots in the names of the voters!
The peasants do not understand the concept of an election. Therefore the old scholars simply fill out the ballots for them. Sun Yatsen propagates his People’s Principles using simple argumentation and simple language. He first asks the old scholars about the meaning of “people’s rights” (minquan) in the Classics. One of the scholars answers that according to the canonised texts, “the people are more important, the emperor is less important, and the people are the fundament of the entire world” (min wei gui, jun wei qing, tianxia yi min wei ben). Sun criticises that this was only one of very few democratic ideas developed under feudalism. And even this little shred of democracy had been hard to realise.
The Republic, he explains, now has a constitution to secure the People’s Rights. Sun asks about the meaning of
“gonghe” 共和 (republic). The old scholars cannot think of the meaning of this term.
Thus, Sun tells them a story which was written down by Sima Qian (author of China’s first encompassing history): three thousand years ago, a brutal
dictator of the Zhou dynasty was purged by the people; two chancellors went on to govern the state together. They called this state “gonghe”
(harmonise together).
Sun continues that today’s “gonghe” implies that the state belongs to the people.
All people lead the state together. Therefore all should embrace their civil rights – and fill out their ballots themselves!
But the voters do not know the candidates, and they do not know whom to vote for. Sun explains that every candidate should give a speech.
When the voters agree with him, they should vote for him. Song Jiaoren leads the way: he propagates the “social welfare” (minsheng, the
third of Sun’s Three People’s Principles). After Song’s speech, the people present want to vote for him. But Sun wants to convince them
to value their civil rights. Therefore they are supposed to listen to more speeches and only then arrive at their decision. Finally, Sun
cautions the mayor Xiao that he should not disregard the people’s rights. If he does, however, the people will not re-elect him as the
village’s mayor! (The scene elaborately depicts democratic procedures, even though only few people were actually entitled to vote at all in 1913!
This suggests that the TV drama mainly intends to “educate” the current audience watching the series on these matters).
Yuan Shikai, Liang Qichao and Zhao Bingjun are watching the films documenting the GMD election campaign. The candidates of the Progressive Party (Jinbudang) complain that no one wants to listen to their campaign speeches. Compared to the GMD, they are doing much worse. In two day, the election results will come out and the Shibao already estimates that the GMD will win. Yuan’s several years of experience serving as an official have made him believe that China is just like loose sand (a quotation which ironically is mostly attributed to Sun Yatsen!). In order to guard the country’s stability, Yuan therefore argues that it is necessary to install an authoritarian government. If the Republic is to continue like this, he believes it will soon end in chaos. Liang Qichao apologises for the failure of the election campaign but Yuan soothes him saying that there surely will be a solution. Then he intensely looks at Song Jiaoren’s picture in the film (a hint to the forthcoming assassination of Song Jiaoren).
Song Jiaoren and Tian Mo visit an antiques store to find a present for Sun Yatsen. (Sun will travel to Japan). Song is interested in a bronze tripod with the inscription “gonghe”! The shop owner, Wang Afa, claims that the tripod is a real antique and more than three thousand years old. Tian, however, who knows Wang well, can immediately tell that he is lying. When she identifies Song Jiaoren to Wang, the latter tells Tian in secret that someone has offered him one thousand Yuan to carry out an assassination – against Song Jiaoren! The man, realising that Wang was not ready to do this himself, finally had pawned a precious jade bracelet with him for one thousand Yuan of cash to find someone else for the job. Tian is very worried and warns Song Jiaoren “to be careful”. But Song is his usual confident self. Finally, they do buy the tripod.
Sun Yatsen and Huang Xing are packing their things. They are planning to depart to Japan on the following day. The Governor of Jiangsu province, Cheng Dequan, and
his subordinate, Ying Guixin, come to pay Sun a visit. Song Jiaoren and Tian Mo return and give Sun the “gonghe”-tripod as a gift. When Sun asks if the tripod
is really antique, Song replies that evidently he does not have enough money to afford real antiques. Even the reproduced tripod, Song explains, is a joint gift
from him and Tian. Sun, though, critically remarks that he only desires a real republic, not a fake!
Luo Wen, Tian Mo’s fiancé and Member of Parliament, arrives and reports the GMD’s election victory. Everyone is delighted. Finally, their dream has come true.
Sun plans to travel to Japan and thus he cannot accompany Song Jiaoren, who will lead the GMD into the parliament, to Beijing. Tian is worried about the talk
of an assassination, but does not speak of it directly. She merely demands that Song should not travel on his own and that there should be someone to protect him.
Cheng Dequan then orders his subordinate Ying Guixing to protect Song Jiaoren.
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