Sun Yat-sen: a Life Beyond Symbols. A Semiotic Approach to Modernity
abstract
Sun Yat‑sen is the quintessential Chinese historical figure embodying modernity: a revolutionary representative of Chinese national identity still revered on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. This essay takes an interdisciplinary approach to Sun’s emblems of modernity, drawing upon semiotics and the study of material culture. The symbols examined are: Sun’s photographic portrait as Provisional President of the Republic of China; his photographic portrait as Director General of the National Railways; the suit which he created and which was given his name; and his mausoleum in Nanjing, which have all been deployed to perpetuate Sun Yat‑sen’s memory and appropriate it in support of later political agendas.
Keywords: Semiotic • Politics mausoleum • Modernity • Chinese identity • Sun Yat‑sen