80 Years Anniversary - Burial of Dr Sun Yat Sen

60th Year (1949 -2009)Celebration of the formation for the People's Republic of China. After the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, Madam Soong held various high positions in the government, including Vice-Chairman of the Central People’s Government, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China and Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. She was conferred the title of Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China on May 16, 1981.



June 1 this year-2009 marks the 80th anniversary of Sun being buried in Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum in Nanjing. KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung will lead a delegation to visit Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum in Nanjing to pay respects.

1940年，中国政府通令全国，赞扬孙氏"倡导国民革命，手创中华民国，更新政体，永 奠邦基，谋世界之大同，求国际之平等"，尊称其为"中华民国国父"。孙文被中国国民党 尊为"永远的总理"；中国共产党则称他为"革命先行者"。在中国大陆也有人称他为"现 代中国之父"，而民间普遍称他为"中国国父"。

To remember Sun's historical achievements, KMT and the Taipei-based National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall jointly organize this special exhibition, with a total of 160 photos and 60 documents put on display. Many important historical documents are exhibited for the first time.

"Icon of an Era: the Dr Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum 1929.6.1" introduces the organisation of Dr Sun's funeral including the construction of the Dr Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and the removal of Dr Sun's coffin from Beijing to Nanjing. The exhibition also explores the implicit messages conveyed by the Mausoleum and the funeral of Dr Sun Yat-sen.



When Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou recalled Dr. Sun Yat-sen's profound relations with Taiwan when attending the special exhibition in remembrance of Sun organized by the Kuomintang (KMT) on May 21, he sobbed a couple of times and even became too emotional to speak. Aside from sentimentality, Ma showed his humorous side, saying the US President Barack Obama is Sun's "underclassman" at school, Ma said the high school Sun had studied in Honolulu is the exact same one Obama went to (Punahou School). "They were classmates in different years." As soon as Ma finished, a round of laughter burst out among the audience.


Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum - For more of the funniest videos, click here

Dr Sun Yatsen Museum Kom Tong Hall, Hong Kong
Built in 1914, the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum is located in the Kom Tong Hall, originally the residence of Ho Kom-tong, the younger brother of the Hong Kong's magnate Robert Hotung. Being a typical Edwardian Classical building, this four-storey building has the facade surrounded by the Greek-style granite columns. Inside the premises are preserved the stained-glass windows, balcony wall tiles and staircase railings in good condition. The Kom Tong Hall is among the best-preserved buildings dating back to the early 20th century Hong Kong.



Apart from its majestic appearance, Kom Tong Hall was among the earliest residential buildings constructed with reinforced concrete structure and fitted with concealed electrical wiring in Hong Kong. It sets an important milestone in the development of building construction.

清菊雅石 2009 Soong Ching Ling and Her Artefacts
[展覽] 清菊雅石—宋慶齡文物珍品展 (3月20日- 7月15日)
宋慶齡(1893-1981)為孫中山夫人，亦是中華人民共和國名譽主席。她傳奇的一生，與中國近百年歷史緊密相連。為増進香港市民對這位二十世紀傑出女性的瞭解，康樂及文化事務署與中國宋慶齡基金會合作舉辦是次展覽，通過70多件文物及相關的歷史圖片，勾勒出孫中山與宋慶齡風雨同舟的深厚感情，展現了宋慶齡的愛國情懷及其生活點滴。
　　展品包括宋慶齡母親所送的結婚禮物，孫中山簽署遺囑所用的筆，宋慶齡在抗戰時期常穿的旗袍和她所穿的最後一件睡衣，當中不少展品為宋慶齡生前的私人珍品，更是首次外借展覽，難得一見。

A selection of valuable artefacts and photographs, which not only demonstrate the celebrated love between Madam Soong Ching Ling (1893-1981) and Dr Sun Yat-sen and her love for China, but also provide a glimpse of the intimate details of her life, will be on display at the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum from tomorrow (March 20) until July 15 2009.

A Sketch of Soong Ching Ling and Her Artefacts
Soong Ching Ling (1893-1981) was Dr Sun Yat-sen’s wife and the Honorary Chairman of the People’s Republic of China. Her legendary life was inextricably intertwined with China’s history in the past one hundred years. To enhance Hong Kong citizens’ understanding of this remarkable lady of the 20th century, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and China Soong Ching Ling Foundation jointly present this exhibition, which features over 70 pieces of artefacts and photographs. These valuable exhibits, including a wedding gift from Soong Ching Ling’s mother, the pen Dr Sun used to sign his will, a qipao Soong often wore during the Sino-Japanese War and the last pyjamas she ever wore, demonstrate the celebrated love between Soong Ching Ling and Dr Sun as well as Soong’s love for China. They also tell heart-warming stories about her life. Many of the items on display have come from Soong Ching Ling’s personal collection, and are on loan to outsider institute for the first time. This exhibition is thus a rare opportunity for us to look into the intimate details of Soong’s life.



孫中山紀念館的館址「甘棠第」於1914年建成，原為香港殷商何東胞弟何甘棠的住宅，樓高四層。整座大樓的建築屬英皇愛德華時期的古典風格，弧形陽台有希臘式巨柱承托。內部裝修瑰麗堂皇，色彩斑斕的玻璃窗、陽台牆身的瓷磚，以及柚木樓梯的欄杆至今依然保存 良好，是香港現存有數的二十世紀初建築物。

甘棠第不單在外觀上美輪美奐，亦是香港其中一座最早以鋼筋構建，並有供電線路舖設的私 人住宅，堪稱香港建築史上的里程碑。

The 70 exhibits on display are on loan from the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation and shown in Hong Kong for the first time. They include the wedding gift from Madam Soong’s mother, the pen Dr Sun used to sign his will and Dr Sun’s family testaments, the wedding gift given by Dr Sun to Madam Soong, the clothes worn by Madam Soong during her exile and during the Sino-Japanese War as well as the last pyjamas that she wore. These artefacts will be displayed along with a number of historical pictures.


Officiating at the exhibition’s opening ceremony today (March 19) were the Former Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China and the Special Adviser to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, Ms He Luli; the Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Wang Zhimin; the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing; the Vice Director of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation Research Centre, Mr He Dazhang; the Deputy Director of the Department of International Relations of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, Ms Chen Aimin; and the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Thomas Chow.
A Sketch of Soong Ching Ling and Her Artefacts

　　Soong Ching Ling (1893-1981) was Dr Sun Yat-sen’s wife and the Honorary Chairman of the People’s Republic of China. Her legendary life was inextricably intertwined with China’s history in the past one hundred years. To enhance Hong Kong citizens’ understanding of this remarkable lady of the 20th century, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and China Soong Ching Ling Foundation jointly present this exhibition, which features over 70 pieces of artefacts and photographs. These valuable exhibits, including a wedding gift from Soong Ching Ling’s mother, the pen Dr Sun used to sign his will, a qipao Soong often wore during the Sino-Japanese War and the last pyjamas she ever wore, demonstrate the celebrated love between Soong Ching Ling and Dr Sun as well as Soong’s love for China. They also tell heart-warming stories about her life. Many of the items on display have come from Soong Ching Ling’s personal collection, and are on loan to outsider institute for the first time. This exhibition is thus a rare opportunity for us to look into the intimate details of Soong’s life.


Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Tsang Tak-sing noted since she married Dr Sun Yat-sen in 1915, Madam Soong had been inextricably intertwined with China’s history in the past 100 years. After Dr Sun’s death, Madam Soong followed in his footsteps and faithfully devoted herself to promoting peace, independence and self-determination for China.

Historical Background
On 10 October 1911, a military uprising at Wuchang in which Sun had no direct involvement (at that moment Sun was still in exile and Huang Xing was in charge of the revolution), began a process that ended over two thousand years of imperial rule in China. When he learned of the successful rebellion against the Qing emperor from press reports, Sun immediately returned to China from the United States. Later, on 29 December 1911 a meeting of representatives from provinces in Nanking elected Sun as the provisional President of the Republic of China and set 1 January 1912 as the first day of the First Year of the Republic. This republic calendar system is still used in Taiwan today.

The official history of the Kuomintang (and for that matter, the Communist Party of China) emphasizes Sun's role as the first provisional President, but many historians now question the importance of Sun's role in the 1911 revolution and point out that he had no direct role in the Wuchang uprising and was in fact out of the country at the time. In this interpretation, his naming as the first provisional President was precisely because he was a respected but rather unimportant figure and therefore served as an ideal compromise candidate between the revolutionaries and the conservative gentry.

However, Sun is credited for the funding of the revolutions and for keeping the spirit of revolution alive, even after a series of failed uprisings. Also, as mentioned, he successfully merged minor revolutionary groups to a single larger party, providing a better base for all those who shared the same ideals.

Sun is highly regarded as the National Father of modern China. His political philosophy, known as the Three Principles of People, was proclaimed in August 1905. In his Methods and Strategies of Establishing the Country completed in 1919, he suggested using his Principles to establish ultimate peace, freedom, and equality in the country. He devoted all efforts throughout his whole lifetime until his death for a strong and prosperous China and the well being of its people.