Sun Yat-sen Quotes & Sayings

The World is for All — Sun Yat-sen

The Chinese people have only family and clan solidarity; they do not have national spirit ... they are just a heap of loose sand ... Other men are the carving knife and serving dish; we are the fish and the meat. — Sun Yat-sen

When we undertake a task, we should not falter from first to last until the task is accomplished; if we fail, we should not begrudge our lives as a sacrifice-this is what we mean by loyalty. The ancient teaching of loyalty meant sometimes death. — Sun Yat-sen

China is now suffering from poverty, not from unequal distribution of wealth. Where there are inequalities of wealth, the methods of Marx can, of course, be used; a class war can be advocated to destroy the inequalities. But in China, where industry is not yet developed, Marx's class war and dictatorship of the proletariat are impracticable. — Sun Yat-sen

Revolution is not a dinner party. — Sun Yat-sen

The whole world is one family. — Sun Yat-sen

Trust is earned by many deeds, and lost by only one. — Sun Yat-sen

If the idea of revolution is to win out, it must be through political enlightenment. It is useless to try to impose it by force of arms. — Sun Yat-sen

It is only after mature deliberation and thorough preparation that I have decided upon the Program of Revolution and defined the procedure of the revolution in three stages. The first is the period of military government; the second, the period of political tutelage; and the third, the period of constitutional government. — Sun Yat-sen

Class war is not the cause of social progress; it is a disease developed in the course of social progress. The cause of the disease is the inability to subsist, and the result of the disease is war. — Sun Yat-sen

An individual should not have too much freedom. A nation should have absolute freedom. — Sun Yat-sen

The Revolution has not yet succeeded. Comrades, you must carry on! — Sun Yat-sen

To understand is difficult; to act is easy. — Sun Yat-sen

In the construction of a country, it is not the practical workers but the idealists and planners that are difficult to find. — Sun Yat-sen

Only powerful people have liberty. — Sun Yat-sen

To understand is hard. Once one understands, action is easy. — Sun Yat-sen