"Strange Vigour"—A Biography of Sun-Yat-Sen

Now that so much Interest is focussed on the Pacific and China any book which gives some idea of China's history is interesting. Bernard Martin attempts to give a balanced view of the life of the Chinese revolutionist. Sun Yat-Sen (known in China as Sun Wen) against a background of the main events of his lifetime and some of the events leading up to the desire to overthrow the ruling power of his period. The book is a quite readable account of the life of a man who is now the subject of a "cult" and worshipped by many Chinese. The writer evidently had difficulty in sorting out facts because so many false stories about Sun Yat-Sen were circulated both during his lifetime and after his death in 1925, that biographers have to decide for themselves what to believe and what not to believe. Sun Yat-Sen spent most of his life outside China and, being known as a revolutionary by the Manchu Government, he moved about the world secretly, covering his tracks and destroying what materials are the foundations of a biography. Moreover, any stories which were circulated about him, true or otherwise, remained uncontradicted by Sun.

The book is valuable in the light of current Chinese history. Sun Yat-Sen knew and influenced present-day Chinese leaders. Chiang Kai Shek, who figured largely in the later part of Sun's life, described him as "Not a visionary, but one of the world's greatest realists." Dr. T. V. Soong (present Minister of Foreign Affairs) took an active part in Sun's government, and the other members of the Soong family, particularly Charles Jones Soong, whose friendship meant much to Sun and the history of China, all helped and influenced him. This is, on the whole, a worthwhile book.