Dai Jitao

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Dai Jitao.

Dai Jitao ( Chinese  戴季陶 , Pinyin Dài Jìtáo , W.-G. Tai Chi-tao ) (born January 6, 1891 in Guanghan , Sichuan Province , Chinese Empire ; † February 11, 1949 in the Republic of China ) was a Chinese politician and Publicist, one of the most important theorists of the Guomindang party and long-time head of the Examination Yuan (1928–48).

biography

Dai was born in Guanghan, Sichuan Province. After he received the classical Chinese basic training, but failed the Shēngyuán exam , he went to study in Japan . Here the sociable young man founded the Association of Chinese Students in Japan in 1908 and became its president. After graduating from university, Dai returned to China where he became the editor of a small Shanghai newspaper. He attacked local bureaucrats in his newspaper and joined the local Tongmenghui cell . In December 1911, Dai sided with the revolution. The acquaintance and long-term collaboration with Sun Yat-sen , the leader of the Chinese revolution and Guomindang, played a decisive role in his political career and his convictions . Dai became Sun's personal secretary and was also appointed director of the national railways in 1912. After the “Second Revolution” in 1913, he went into exile in Japan with Sun Yat-sen and other leading Guomindang members, where he was appointed editor of the new party press organ “Minguo Zazhi”.

After returning to China (to Guangdong Province , the only part of which was part of Guomindang ), Dai Jitao took turns holding several important positions, such as that of the general secretary of the military headquarters or the deputy foreign minister. In the years 1919-22 Dai occupied himself with popularizing the ideas of Sun Yatsen, but also increasingly with Marxism . With his articles he was one of the first Chinese interpreters of Marxism and was even involved in the founding of the Chinese Communist Party , although he refused to join . Later, he surprisingly turned completely against the CCP and firmly opposed the policy of a united front with the communists, represented by Sun Yat-sen.

At the First National Congress of Guomindang in 1924, Dai was elected a member of the party's Central Executive Committee and was appointed head of the propaganda department. Soon after, he rose to the post of chairman of the Committee for the Codification of Laws and head of the Political Department of the Whampoa Military Academy . After Sun Yat-sen's death in 1925, Dai began to process the spiritual legacy of his patron, interpreting much of his own thoughts into the writings and statements of Sun. Among other things, he understood how to combine the moral teaching of Confucianism with the ideas of Sun Yat-sen, who was actually an opponent of Confucianism. But resistance to communism became the central point of his literary and political activity. His anti-communist writings provided the basis for Chiang Kai-shek's persecution . The term "Daijitaoism" was even created to describe this philosophy of confrontation with the left. After the beginning of the northern campaign , Dai was appointed dean of Beijing University for a short time, but soon went to Japan on a diplomatic mission. In November 1928, Dai Jitao, in whom Chiang saw one of his most loyal supporters, was elected a permanent member of the Executive Committee and shortly afterwards even became President of the Examinationsyuan. He will hold this office for 20 years, almost until his death. During this time he pursued a passive, government-loyal policy. Dai often dealt with foreign affairs, especially with the relationship with Japan, as he was very friendly towards this country.

Despite his high offices, Dai practically retired from active politics. He began to be very interested in Buddhism , with which he spent more and more time. His last foreign policy activities are connected to India , which he held in high esteem as the homeland of Buddhism. He resigned from the post of President of the Examinationsyuan in July 1948 because of health problems. After learning of the overwhelming success of the Chinese Communist Party at the end of the civil war, Dai Jitao committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills .

Web links

• Literature by and about Dai Jitao in the catalog of the German National Library

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Dai is the family name here, Jitao is the first name.