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原題目題號：DSE-2018-Essay-02
你認為以下哪一位對中國而言是更偉大的領袖？
(a)孫中山
(b)毛澤東
「偉大」指個人成就卓越，為他人作為奉獻和犧牲，而非著重於個人的利益，並且愛民如子。孫中山被稱為是「國父」，毛澤東則是中華人民共和國建國的領軍人物，兩人對中國的發展均有著舉足輕重的重要性。相比之下，孫中山較毛澤東對中國而言是一位更偉大的領袖。以下，將從政治、社會及外交方面討論。
政治方面，偉大的領袖應能夠推動中國的政治發展，為建設中國而願意犧牲個人權力及利益。就毛澤東而言，毛澤東是中國共產黨的創始人之一及領袖，帶領中國共產黨擊敗了國民黨，於1949年建立中華人民共和國。及後，毛澤東積極推動中國社會主義革命的實踐，於1953年發起「第一個五年計劃」，號召農民、手工業者成立合作社，逐漸組織合作，並且將大型企業及鐵路收歸國有，落實國有化措施。至1956年，毛澤東宣佈中國成為了一個社會主義國家，將中國由資本主義國家蛻變為共產主義國家。
孫中山對於推動中國政治發展也是貢獻重大。孫中山自1894年成立了中國首個革命組織「興中會」後，就持續推動反清大業，希望推翻君主制度，將中國打造成共和立憲國家。及後，孫中山又於1905年團結起不同的革命組織，建立了「同盟會」，確立了以「民生、民族、民權」的三民主義為宗旨。最終，以孫中山為首的革命黨人成功透過辛亥革命推翻了滿清政權，結束了在中國實行長達2000年的帝制，開創中華民國。至袁世凱專政時期，孫中山也發起了「二次革命」(1913年)及護國戰爭(1915年)希望推翻袁世凱的專制管治，落實民權主義，使人民能夠當家作主。孫中山一生為中國革命事業奉獻，至1925年病重時仍然叮囑「現在革命尚未成功，凡我同志，繼續努力，以求貫徹」，其為國之奉獻精神確實無庸置疑。
相比之下，孫中山較毛澤東更加偉大。就兩人的豐功偉業而言，孫中山是推翻帝制的核心人物，毛澤東則是創立中華人民共和國的領袖，兩人的影響力對於中國也是極為重要。但就為國犧牲的角度出發，毛澤東貪戀權力，於大躍進失敗後被迫退居二線，其為求取回權力，不惜發動文革打倒劉少奇，使中國陷入了文革的十年浩劫，為中國帶來了無可挽回的傷害。相反，孫中山為避免中國於辛亥革命四分五裂，爆發內戰，寧願犧牲臨時大總統一職予袁世凱，放棄權力也為求保國家安穩，其無私的奉獻精神才真正稱得上去偉大。因此，孫中山相較毛澤東而言，是一位更偉大的領袖。
社會方面，偉大的領袖應能解救國民，而且團結國民一致建設中國，避免中國四分五裂。就毛澤東而言，在面對日本的步步進逼時，毛澤東呼籲國民黨放棄「先安內，後攘外」的政策，團結共同對抗日本，有助促成第二次國共合作的出現。及後，儘管在抗日戰爭後爆發了第二次國共內戰，但毛澤東領導共產黨擊敗了國民黨，正式統一中國，解救了國民長期陷於戰禍的局面。建國後，為解救人民於糧食不足的苦況，毛澤東也實行了「土地改革」(1950-52年)，解放土地予全國的農民，使人民能夠耕者有其田，解決人民的溫飽問題。
孫中山對於推動中國社會發展意義極大。辛亥革命前，孫中山為從滿族手上解放漢族，提出了「民族主義」，要「驅除韃虜」。至1911年推翻滿族管治，解救了漢族後，孫中山希望集合各民族的智慧及力量，因此放下了過往對滿族的仇恨，將「民族」的思想改為「五族共和」，實現漢、滿、回、蒙、藏的五族共和，達致種族平等，以團結全國民族。加上，辛亥革命後的「民族融和」等的口號也廣泛流傳，後來孫中山更提倡將五族歸為中華民族，使中華民族的思想逐步取代過往單一的民族主義，奠定了中華民族的觀念，有助實現民族團結，使各族人共同努力建設中國。
相比之下，孫中山較毛澤東更加偉大。就解救人民而言，儘管孫中山未能從民生方面去改善人民生活狀況，但毛澤東急功近利地推行的大躍進(1958-60年)卻導致了中國經濟倒退，使中國出現大飢荒，餓死多達1500-3000萬人，是中國歷史上悲壯的一頁。就團結人民而言，儘管毛澤東成立了新中國，但國民黨逃離到台灣，造就了中、台對立的情況，民族從此分裂出來。此外，毛澤東主張「階級革命」，不斷發動革命以批鬥異見分子，包括發動了文革(1966-76)以打倒「走資派」，令中國社會出現嚴重的分裂，甚至是道德倫理也一朝盡喪。相反，孫中山有效團結各民族，甚至不惜放下政見，允許「聯俄容共」，接納共產黨人加入國民黨，以共同壯大中國，其大愛的精神才真正稱得上是偉大。因此，孫中山對中國而言是一位更偉大的領袖。
外交方面，偉大的領袖應能提高中國的外交地位，協助中國與世界接軌。就毛澤東而言，毛澤東於建國初期積極加強與蘇聯的關係，其中於1950年簽訂了《中蘇友好同盟條約》，強化與蘇聯的合作關係。另外，毛澤東亦希望透過強硬的外交政策以提高中國在共產主義陣營的角色，例如在韓戰(1950-53年)和越戰(1961-75年)派兵援助北韓及北越，以對抗資本主義派別。在中國的協助下，北韓成功對抗了南韓和聯合國軍隊，北越更成功擊敗了南越，中國在共產主義陣營中的地位明顯得到提高。此外，毛澤東積極爭取中華人民共和國在聯合國的席位，最終成功於1971年獲得席位，有助中國與世界接軌。
孫中山也推動了中國外交方面的發展。孫山中的「三民主義」中，民族主義不但是推翻滿族管治，同時也是希望將中國從列強手中解放出來。在辛亥革命前，孫中山周遊列國，積極爭取列強承認中國的革命活動，避免革命成果被外國破壞。至革命成功後，孫中山也努力不懈地爭取中國權益，例如在1923年，孫中山與蘇聯外交部副部長越飛達成了「孫文越飛宣言」，蘇聯承諾廢除在中國的不平等條約，同時承諾外蒙古為中國國土的一部分，有助提高中國的外交地位。而且，在辛亥革命後，孫中山亦推動中華民國採取西曆、廢除纏足和奴隸買賣等不文明陋習，以便中國文化與世界接軌。
相比之下，孫中山較毛澤東更加偉大。就與世界接軌而言，毛澤東的「一邊倒」傾向共產主義陣營的外交政策驅使中國與資本主義國家關係交惡，例如中國派軍參與韓戰，結果令中國受到西方國家的強烈譴責，聯合國更對中國實施禁運。同時，毛澤東於1950年代末批評蘇聯赫魯曉夫為「走資派」，結果也令中蘇關係惡化。至文革時期，紅衛兵在毛澤東的煽動下有著強烈的排外情緒，攻擊外國使館及使節，使中國外交陷於外交孤立的狀況，與世界脫節。相反，孫中山積極拓展與外國的關係，即使共產主義的蘇聯與孫中山的意識形態有著極大的差異，但孫中山仍能放下歧見，從中國利益為前提，與越飛會面，力爭蘇聯廢除不平等條約，並建立友好關係，令中國逐步融入世界舞台。因此，相比毛澤東，孫中山是一位更偉大的領袖。
總括而言，孫中山對中國大愛、無私、奉獻的精神明顯有別於毛澤東，同時也令人極為欽佩，被冠以「國父」之名當之無愧。儘管毛澤東也是構成現代中國不可或缺的人物之一，但其未能像孫中山般擺脫對於權力的貪戀和個人的政見，也未能做到愛民如子，凡事從國家而非個人方面著想。因此，相比毛澤東，孫中山對中國而言是一位更偉大的領袖。
Which of the following leaders do you think was a greater leader for China?
(a) Sun Yat-sen
(b) Mao Zedong
A ‘great’ leader should have remarkable personal achievements, make contributions and sacrifices for others instead of focusing on his own interests, and care about the common people. Both Sun Yat-sen and Mao Zedong were of crucial importance to the development of China as the former has been dubbed the founding father of the Republic of China while the latter was a prominent figure in the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Upon comparison, Sun was a greater leader compared to Mao. This essay is going to discuss it from political, social and diplomatic perspectives.
Politically speaking, a great leader should be able to promote China’s political development and sacrifice his own power and interests for the sake of China. As for Mao, he was one of the founding members and the leader of the Communist Part of China (CPC). Under his leadership, the CPC defeated the Kuomintang (KMT) and established the People’s Republic of China中華人民共和國 in 1949. After that, Mao made active efforts to promote China’s socialist revolution. In 1952, he launched the First Five-Year Plan第一個五年計劃 to build cooperation by calling on peasants and handicraftsmen to set up cooperatives, and to achieve nationalization國有化 by nationalizing large enterprises and railways. In 1956, Mao announced that China had achieved socialism and transformed from a capitalist country into a communist one.
As for Sun, he also contributed significantly to China’s political development. Since the establishment of China’s first revolutionary organization, the Xingzhonghui興中會, in 1894, Sun had made continuous anti-Qing efforts with a view to overthrowing the monarchy and making China a constitutional republic. In 1905, Sun formed the Tongmenghui同盟會 from the merger of different revolutionary groups and established the Three People’s Principles of ‘People’s Livelihood民生’, ‘Nationalism民族’ and ‘Democracy民權’. At the end, the revolutionaries with Sun as the leader managed to overthrow the Manchu Qing through the 1911 Revolution and marked the end of 2,000 years of imperial rule in China with the establishment of the Republic of China. Under Yuan Shikai’s dictatorial rule, Sun also started the Second Revolution二次革命(1913) and the National Protection War護國戰爭(1915) in an attempt to overthrow Yuan’s autocratic regime and achieve the principle of democracy by giving people the decision-making power. Sun had been devoted to China’s revolution throughout his life. Despite being seriously ill, he still reminded his comrades in 1925 that ‘the work of the Revolution was not yet done’ and the comrades should ‘strive on for its consummation’. His dedication and commitment to his nation was beyond doubt.
In comparison, Sun was a greater leader than Mao. In terms of their achievements, Sun was a key figure of overthrowing the monarchy, while Mao was the leader who established the People’s Republic of China. Both of them played an important role for China. However, in terms of the sacrifices they made for the nation, Mao as a power-hungry leader started the Cultural Revolution文革 against Liu Xiaoqi in an attempt to regain political power after being forced to retreat to the second line after the failure of the Great Leap Forward, and the ten-year disaster of the Cultural Revolution did irreparable harm to China; in contrast, Sun handed the provisional presidency臨時大總統 to Yuan Shikai in order to prevent China from becoming divided and experiencing civil wars. Pursuing national stability at the expense of his leadership role, Sun lived up to his reputation as a great leader with his altruist spirit. It was clear that Sun was a greater leader than Mao.
Socially speaking, a great leader should be able to save the people and prevent China from becoming divided by uniting the people for the development of China. As for Mao, in the face of Japanese military threats, Mao called upon the Nationalists to give up their policy of ‘internal pacification before external resistance先安內，後攘外’ and make concerted efforts against Japanese aggression, contributing to the Second United Front. Although the Chinese Civil War broke out after the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Mao led the CPC to defeat the KMT and officially unified China, saving the people from war. After the founding of the PRC, Mao also implemented the Land Reform土地改革(1950-52) in order to saving the people from food shortage. By redistributing farmland to peasants across the nation, Mao enabled the Chinese people to farm their own land and feed themselves.
Sun also played a significant role in promoting China’s social development. Before the 1911 Revolution, Sun proposed the principle of nationalism and the program to ‘expel the northern barbarians驅除韃虜’ in order to liberate the Han people who were controlled by the Manchus. After overthrowing the Manchu rule and freeing the Han people in 1911, Sun wanted to pool the wisdom and power of different races. Therefore, he put aside his grudges with the Manchus and changed his idea of ‘nationalism’ to that of ‘five-group harmony五族共和’ among the Han, the Manchus, the Hui, the Mongols and the Tibetans in pursuit of racial equality and national unity. In addition, slogans such as ‘racial harmony民族融和’ became known across the nation after the 1911 Revolution. After that, Sun even proposed the concept of ‘the Chinese nation中華民族’ that entailed the five races to replace the old monoethnic nationalism. By establishing the concepts of ‘the Chinese nation’ and ‘the Chinese ethnicities’, Sun contributed to racial unity and brought all races in China together to develop the nation.
In comparison, Sun was a greater leader than Mao. In terms of saving the people, it was true that Sun did not address the issues of people’s livelihood and improve their life; nevertheless, Mao started the Great Leap Forward大躍進(1958-60) with the intention of achieving instant success and caused the Chinese economy to regress. Bringing about great famines that killed 15 to 30 million people, Mao’s over-ambitious attempt was a devastating event in Chinese history. In terms of uniting the Chinese people, despite that Mao created the New China, he divided the Chinese nation since the KMT fled to Taiwan and there was the opposition between mainland China and Taiwan. Besides, Mao advocated for ‘class revolution階級革命’ and made continuous attempts to purge dissidents, including the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) that aimed at fighting against ‘capitalist roaders’. As a result, society became seriously divided and morally degenerated. In contrast, Sun managed to unite different races and even put aside political differences to forge ‘alliance with Russia and the Community Party聯俄容共’, under which Chinese Communists were admitted into the KMT with a view to jointly strengthening China. His inclusiveness characterized him as a truly great leader. Therefore, Sun was a greater leader for China than Mao.
Diplomatically speaking, a great leader should be able to raise China’s international status and connect the nation to the world. As for Mao, he made active efforts to strengthen China’s ties with the Soviet Union in the early years of the establishment of the PRC. For example, in 1950, Mao signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance中蘇友好同盟條約 to promote cooperation with the Soviet Union. In addition, Mao also intended to exert more influence in the communist bloc with a hard-line foreign policy. For instance, he intervened in the Korean War韓戰(1950-53) and the Vietnam War (1961-75) in favour of North Korea and North Vietnam against the capitalist bloc. With Chinese assistance, North Korea was able to resist South Korea as well as the United Nations forces, and North Vietnam even defeated its southern counterpart. There was thus a significant rise in China’s status in the communist bloc. Moreover, Mao fought for China’s membership in the United Nations聯合國 and succeeded in 1971, helping connect China to the world.
Sun also facilitated China’s diplomatic development. Among Sun’s Three Principles of the People, the principle of nationalism was meant to not only overthrow the Manchu regime but also free China from foreign domination. Before the 1911 Revolution, Sun lobbied different countries hard for their recognition of the Chinese revolution in order to protect the fruits of revolution against foreign powers. After the success of the revolution, Sun continued his endeavor to fight for the interests of China. For instance, in 1923, Sun and Soviet Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Adolph Joffe signed the Sun-Joffe Manifesto孫文越飛宣言, under which the Soviet Union agreed to abolish its unequal treaties with China and recognized Outer Mongolia as part of China. This helped promote China’s international status. In addition, after the 1911 Revolution, Sun also advocated the use of the Western Calendar and the abolition of evil practices such as foot-binding and slavery in the Republic of China, helping China converge with world standards culturally.
In comparison, Sun was a greater leader than Mao. In terms of connecting China to the world, Mao’s diplomatic policy of ‘leaning to one side一邊倒’ in favor of the communist bloc alienated China from capitalist countries. For example, China was condemned by Western Countries and experienced embargo禁運 by the United Nations for its intervention in the Korean War, and the Sino-Soviet split took place after Mao criticized Soviet leader Khrushchev for being a ‘capitalist roader’ in the late 1950s. During the Cultural Revolution, Mao incited strong anti-foreign sentiments among the Red Guards紅衛兵, who therefore attacked foreign legations and ambassadors. What Mao did got China caught up in diplomatic isolation and disconnected the nation from the rest of the world. In contrast, Sun made active efforts to build ties with other countries. Even for the communist Soviet Union that showed significant ideological differences with him, Sun could still put aside the differences and put Chinese interests first. Through the meeting with Adolph Joffe越飛, Sun worked hard to revoke the unequal treaties the Soviet Union had with China and forge close ties with the communist power with a view to facilitating China’s integration into the global community. Therefore, Sun was a greater leader compared to Mao.
In conclusion, Sun differentiated himself from Mao with his inclusiveness, altruism and devotion for China and lived up to his reputation as the founding father. Despite being one of the crucial leaders who created modern China, Mao failed to either hold back his hunger for power and political views, or genuinely care about his people and pursue national interests rather than personal interests. Therefore, Sun was a greater leader compared to Mao.
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