Question 1

True or false: Sun Yat-sen's political philosophy, the Three Principles, includes nationalism, democracy, and livelihood.

Accepted Answer

True. These principles—minzu, minquan, minsheng—guide his vision for a modern China and remain influential in Taiwan.

Question 2

True or false: Sun Yat-sen was a lifelong supporter of absolute monarchy.

Accepted Answer

False. He was a staunch republican who advocated for democracy and overthrew the monarchy, co-founding the Kuomintang.

Question 3

True or false: Sun Yat-sen was a trained medical doctor.

Accepted Answer

True. He studied medicine in Hong Kong and graduated from the College of Medicine for Chinese, earning a license to practice.

Question 4

True or false: Sun Yat-sen died in a plane crash while traveling to a political rally.

Accepted Answer

False. He died of gallbladder cancer in Beijing in 1925, not in a plane crash, which is a common fictional rumor.

Question 5

True or false: Sun Yat-sen served as the first President of the Republic of China.

Accepted Answer

True. He was elected provisional president in 1912, but resigned soon after in favor of Yuan Shikai to unite the country.

Question 6

True or false: Sun Yat-sen's wife, Soong Ching-ling, was his only spouse.

Accepted Answer

False. He married three times: first Lu Muzhen, then Kaoru Otsuki (briefly), and finally Soong Ching-ling in 1915.

Question 7

True or false: Sun Yat-sen personally led the Wuchang Uprising that overthrew the Qing dynasty.

Accepted Answer

False. He was in the US fundraising at the time; the uprising was sparked by local revolutionaries, though he inspired the movement.

Question 8

True or false: Sun Yat-sen was once kidnapped by Chinese gangsters in London.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1896, he was detained at the Chinese legation in London, but released after British government intervention, a dramatic event that boosted his fame.

Sun Yat-sen Trivia Questions