Scramble for Sun Yat-sen ’s Political Heritage: Ta...
For more than a decade after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925，Nanjing National Government launched nationwide worship of Sun Yat-sen，which played an important role in rallying national consensus and strengthening common faith during the Anti-Japanese War.The 71st anniversary of Sun Yat-sen ’s birth took place on November 12，1937.The Shanghai Anti-Japanese Support Association said proudly，“This year，the anniversary of Sun Yat-sen ’s birth is held amid the enemy ’s fire.The glory of the Three Principles of the People is shining to the hearts of 450 million Chinese people.The fury of the national revolution has opened a new page in world history.”[69] Sun Yat-sen ’s Three Principles of the People became the premise and foundation of the second KMT-CPC collaboration.“Today，people are advocating the Three Principles of the People.Under the guidance of Chairman Jiang，people worked together for resistance against Japanese aggression in order to realize the lofty ideal of the Three Principles of the People.”[70]
After the establishment of the Wang puppet government，Sun Yat-sen was hailed as the “Father of the Nation ”[71]，and the scramble for Sun Yatsen ’s political heritage with Chongqing began.
The proposal to build Zhongshan Park in Shanghai boasts a long history，which can be traced back to when Sun Yat-sen died.On March 17，1925，Chen Bingbo appealed to all walks of life in Shanghai in the Shun Pao： “We commemorate Sun Yat-sen by constructing Zhongshan Park，setting up the portrait，engraving the will，upholding the Three Principles of the People，naming Zhongshan Road...However，the most important thing is to build Zhongshan Park in China with funds raised by ourselves.”[72] His proposal to build Zhongshan Park in Zhabei was“approved by a great number of people，who agreed that a great memorial to Sun Yat-sen should be built in Shanghai，an international city of strategic significance，to show respect”.[73] Zhongshan Park has been built in the surrounding areas of Shanghai，such as Qingpu，Jiading，Chuansha，and Chongming[74]，but no Zhongshan Park has been completed in the urban area of Shanghai.[75]
After the outbreak of the Pacific War，the Japanese entered the concession，ending the isolated island period of Shanghai.On October 10，1942，the United Kingdom and the United States respectively issued statements，declaring that they would negotiate with the Chinese government and give up all privileges such as extraterritorial jurisdiction in China.On January 9，1943，the Japanese government and the Wang puppet government signed the Treaty on the Return of Concessions and the Relinquishment of Extra-Territorial Rights in China.As a result，on July 30，the French concession was “returned” to the Wang puppet government；two days later，the “return” ceremony was held.The foreign concessions in Shanghai were taken back by the Wang puppet government.
In June 1944，the Shanghai authority of the Wang puppet government said that： “the construction of parks is considered to have great relations with legitimate recreation and health of the public，so we have spared no efforts to rectify them...All park names as well as managers have been appropriately adjusted.The largest Zhaofeng Park （also known as jessfield Park）[76] has been renamed Zhongshan Park，enabling visitors to pay homage to the father of the nation at any time，and integrate education with recreation”.[77]
Zhongshan Park is the first public space related to the commemoration of Sun Yat-sen in the former foreign concession area of modern Shanghai.Although renamed from Zhaofeng Park without any substantial change，the park was given with a new political meaning as a clear sign of Wang puppet regime ’s active scramble for the political heritage of Sun Yatsen.On June 4，1945，on the eve of the restoration of Shanghai，the KMT Headquarters of No.1 District in Shanghai Special Municipality even proposed to “rename Shanghai Race Club （now People ’s Square） into Zhongshan Memorial Hall for worship”.[78]