The Hsing Chung Hui (Hanyu

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

romanization: Xīngzhōnghuì), translated as the Revive China Society (興中會), the Society for Regenerating China, or the Proper China Society was founded by

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

on 24 November 1894 to forward the goal of establishing prosperity for

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and as a platform for future

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

activities. It was formed during the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

, after a string of Chinese military defeats exposed corruption and incompetence within the imperial government of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. The Revive China Society went through several political re-organizations in later years and eventually became the party known as the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

. As such, the contemporary Kuomintang considers its founding date to be the establishment of Revive China Society. Because Sun was in exile from China at the time, the Revive China Society was founded in

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Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii ( Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'') was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United State ...

. Those admitted to the society swore the following oath: :Expel Tatar barbarians, revive

Zhonghua Zhōnghuá, Chung¹-hua² or Chunghwa is a term that means "''China''" or "''relating to China''" (), in a cultural, ethnic, or literary sense. It is used in the following terms: People's Republic of China * ', the Chinese name for the People' ...

, and establish a unified government. :(驅除韃虜，恢復中華，創立合眾政府。) When Sun Yat-sen returned to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

in early 1895, he met up again with

Yeung Ku-wan Yeung Ku-wan (19 December 1861 – 11 January 1901) was a Chinese revolutionary of the late Qing dynasty. In 1890, Yeung started the Furen Literary Society in British Hong Kong to spread ideas of revolution against the Qing dynasty and to est ...

, president of the already existing

Furen Literary Society The Furen Literary Society, also known as the Chinese Patriotic Mutual Improvement Association, or the 'Furen Cultural Society Restoration Association (Foo Yan Man Ser Kwong Fook Hui)', was founded in Colonial Hong Kong in 1892. It was founded b ...

, whom he had first met in 1891. As they both wanted to take advantage of the uneasy political situation due to the

, on 18 February 1895 the Furen Literary Society was merged into the Revive China Society, with help from

Yau Lit Yau Lit (; 1864 – 12 December 1936), born Yau Kwai-bok (尢季博), courtesy name Tui-hau (推孝) or Ling-kwai (令季), or Euclid Yau, was a Chinese revolutionary from Shuntak, Kwangtung. He is one of the Four Bandits, together with Sun Yat- ...

, a close friend of Sun and member of Furen. Yeung and Sun became the President and Secretary of the Society respectively. They disguised their activities in Hong Kong under the guise of running a business called "Kuen Hang Club", founder

Tse Tsan-tai Tse Tsan-tai (; 16 May 1872 – 4 April 1938), courtesy name Sing-on (), art-named Hong-yu (), was an Australian Chinese revolutionary, active during the late Qing dynasty. Tse had an interest in designing airships but none were ever construct ...

's account (乾亨行). In October 1895, the Revive China Society planned to launch an uprising in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

, with Yeung directing the uprising in Hong Kong where funds and training location were provided by Li Ki-tong. However, plans were leaked out and more than 70 members, including

Lu Haodong Lu Zhonggui (30 September 1868 – 7 November 1895), courtesy name Xianxiang, better known as Lu Haodong, was a Chinese revolutionary who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for designing the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag that beca ...

, a schoolboy friend of Sun Yat-sen, were captured by the Qing government. Under pressure from the Qing government in mainland China, the British colonial authorities in Hong Kong forced Yeung and Sun Yat-sen to leave, barring them from entering Hong Kong over the next five years. Yeung travelled to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, via

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and later to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, where he stayed from 1896 to 1899, to expand the Revive China Society and spread its ideas. The group lost its vigour after the failed uprisings in 1895 and 1900, according to the ''Concise History of Hong Kong.'' It was later merged into the

Tongmenghui The Tongmenghui of China (or T'ung-meng Hui, variously translated as Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance, United Allegiance Society, ) was a secret society and underground resistance movement ...

, which in turn became the

Background

References

; Footnote citations ; In-line citations : ; Infobox citations : : : Organizations established in 1894 1894 establishments in the United States 1894 in China 1911 Revolution Kuomintang {{China-hist-stub

Background

See also

References