“When new methods do not exist, people will not think of changes; but when there are new instruments, to copy them is certainly possible” stated Wang Tao, a reformist thinker and journalist, during the Qing dynasty. During the end of the nineteenth century in China, a reluctant government resisted making changes to adapt to the changing industrial world. The steady pressure by the Western world to enter the global economy and the government’s sluggish response to make needed changes led to social unrest. Revolutionary activist, Sun Yat-sen, united groups of radical followers that believed in his plan to establish a new government based on Western ideas (Halsall). After the collapse of the Qing dynasty, Sun Yat-sen put forth a plan for the establishment of a Western style constitutional government that embraced a strong sense of nationalism and created a system that improved the lives of the Chinese people.
The Qing dynasty faced external pressures and internal strife that led to its collapse in 1911. Western influences saw China as a potential source of revenue due to its large population. In China’s weakened state, these countries seized
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Throughout history, the strong sense of nationalism in the people has provoked the overthrow of ineffective regimes. In the Qing Dynasty, the people suffered from an ineffective government unwilling to make necessary reforms. This caused social unrest and the ousting of the Qing Dynasty. Yat-Sen called for new form of government that would capitalize on some of the old principles of previous rulers. Historic statements that guide the Chinese beliefs favor democratic ideals. One statement reads “the people are most important, while the king is of the least importance” (Halsall). Long standing beliefs in democracy and importance of the people served as a base for Yat-sen’s new approach to a constitutional