In 1924 Dr. Sun had proclaimed his program of the Three Principles—Nationalism, Democracy and the People’s Livelihood—with inspiring effect throughout China. But lured as ever by the prospect of power through arrangement, he accepted an invitation from Chang Tso-lin and Feng Yu-hsiang in Peking to join a conference of “reorganization” for national union. While in Peking he died of cancer on March 12, 1925, leaving behind his Principles, a movement and a successor already steeped in the realities of Chinese power politics.
