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This year marks the 110th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution. On October 9, at the Museum of Modern Chinese History sites (Presidential Palace) in Nanjing, the "Exhibition of Cultural Relics and Historical Materials of Sun Yat-sen and the Provisional Government of Nanjing" is being revised and added to the Xinhai Revolution, which will be exhibited to the public from October 12.
Liu Gang, deputy director of the Nanjing Museum of Modern Chinese History (Presidential Palace), introduced that this exhibition not only outlines the relevant situation before and after the Xinhai Revolution, but also specially shows Sun Yat-sen's political career in Nanjing, the establishment of the Republic of China, and system construction.
How busy was Sun Yat-sen? These telegrams tell you
How busy was Sun Yat-sen every day during his tenure as provisional president of the Republic of China? This can be seen in the number of telegraphic messages presented in the exhibition.
In the exhibition, the "Nanjing Provisional Government Cultural Treasures" is a batch of precious archival documents found by the Second Historical Archives of China when sorting out the archives in the collection, with a total of about 700 pieces.
Among them, the telegram room of the Presidential Palace has been calling since December 14, 1911, and ended on April 7, 1912, and the number of these received telegrams is from No. 1 to No. 554, which is a relatively complete and systematic record of the political, diplomatic, military, domestic affairs, economic and other major events that Sun Yat-sen took the oath of office in Nanjing on January 1, 1912, until his dismissal was announced on April 1, 1912.
In addition, the documents of the Grand Presidential Office, including the original archives of the Provisional Grand Presidential Decree and the Batch, were all signed by Sun Yat-sen himself, which is a major discovery of Sun Yat-sen's surviving archives and cultural relics. The documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government of Nanjing record the efforts and achievements of the Provisional Government of Nanjing in the field of diplomacy in just three months.
"Someone once said that Sun Yat-sen served here as the provisional president of the Republic of China for only 3 months, which seems to be a shorter time. In fact, he was the greatest. He ended the absolute monarchy that had lasted for thousands of years in China and established a democratic republic. His spirit of 'the world is just' was fully reflected when he was the interim president. Liu Gang said.
There is also a highlight in the exhibition, there is a large hemispherical screen on the scene, giving the audience an immersive feeling. When the audience approached it through the tunnel, the large screen in front of them was playing the picture of Sun Yat-sen's writing, which was very shocking.
A rare sight to see! Precious photographs and glass negatives are on display
"It is very fortunate that we recently collected a glass negative of a very precious set of photographs, which was taken in 1912 when Sun Yat-sen was the interim president. In the photographic techniques of that time, the negatives were made of glass. The contents of the photos, we carefully studied and looked at, most of them are the first time to see. Liu Gang told the Modern Express reporter that these photos include Sun Yat-sen and his two daughters Sun Wan, Sun Jiao, and his wife.
In particular, it is worth mentioning that it has been recorded in some sources that when the Provisional Government of the Republic of China was established, many people came to cheer, including female soldiers wearing military uniforms and walking heroically, including foreign female soldiers with white skin, high noses and yellow hair. "When we saw the information, we thought it was possible, but only the written records were uncertain. But this time we saw foreign female soldiers in the glass negatives. This photo is a new discovery. Liu Gang said.
The medal of the aggressor reflects the national crisis in China in the late Qing Dynasty
What was China like before the Xinhai Revolution? This exhibition, from a new perspective, uses cultural relics to show.
The first half of the exhibition shows the chaos of late Qing society, the corruption of the Qing government, and the aggression of imperialist powers. The first part of the exhibition, "The National Crisis in Late Qing China," presents the aggression of western powers against China. After the First Opium War in 1840, the Western powers invaded China, starting with the Sino-British Treaty of Nanking in 1842, and seized various privileges in China through a series of unequal treaties signed.
This is a very deep disaster for the Chinese people. But when the invaders returned to their countries, they were rewarded. "We recruited a group of these servicemen to be awarded medals in their country." Liu Gang said. In the Treaty of Nanking oil painting, representatives of the Western invaders sit on ships, some of whom wear medals on their chests. One of the medals is on display in this exhibition.
Modern Express +/ZAKER Nanjing trainee reporter Ding Mengsha Reporter Liu Jingyan/Wen Liu Chang/Photo