Sun Yat-sen (Sun Zhongshan) occupies a central place in modern Chinese history as the leader who laid the ideological foundations of the Chinese Revolution. His political philosophy, known as the Three Principles of the People (Sanmin Zhuyi), was formulated during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to provide a comprehensive programme for national reconstruction. These principles—Nationalism (Minzu), Democracy (Minquan), and People's Livelihood (Minsheng)—became the guiding ideology of the Chinese Nationalist movement and significantly influenced China's political development. The first principle, Nationalism (Minzu), aimed at restoring China's sovereignty and ending foreign domination. During Sun Yat-sen's lifetime, China suffered from imperialist intervention, unequal treaties, and internal weakness under the Qing dynasty. Sun believed that China could not achieve modernization unless it first liberated itself from foreign control and overthrew the Manchu Qing rulers, whom he regarded as alien conquerors. Initially, his nationalism emphasized the expulsion of the Manchus, but later it evolved into a broader concept advocating the unity of all ethnic groups within China, including the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Tibetan, and Hui peoples. Nationalism thus