Towards the Republic

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Towards the Republic (走向共和) or For the Sake of The Republic as it is known in some countries is a 60-episode Chinese television series produced by CCTV and subsequently banned by the government of the People's Republic of China after its first run. Since a conclusive lecture given by Republic of China's founder Dr. Sun Yat-sen about his "Three Principles of the People" and "Five-Power Constitution", which constitutes the final five minutes of the entire play, was deleted at the first run on CCTV, it is conjectured that this TV series is banned because of its extensive coverage of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's political philosophy. It deals with the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the foundation and creation of the Republic of China.

Sun Chun as Yuan Shikai

[edit] Controversy

In April 2003, the series was cancelled and banned from future broadcasting in mainland China. However, DVDs of the series remained on sale in bookshops.

The government in China has alleged that the series portrayed the Republic of China's founding father Sun Yat-sen incorrectly as a so-called "clown" — comical and muddle-headed. After the show's cancellation and complete ban of the series, many have speculated there were political reasons for the ban, especially of its unconventional portrayal of historical giants like Li Hongzhang and Yuan Shikai. According to the view promoted by the Communist Party of China's state-sponsored education in China, these two figures are synonymous with traitor and state-hijacker.

The following two lines from Li Hongzhang's poetry help to capture the essence of this high-octane drama and served to inspire millions of ingenious minds such as his contemporaries, Yuan Shikai and Japan's prime minister Ito Hirobumi:

一万年来谁著史 (who will write the history in ten thousand years)

三千里外欲封侯 (I intend to be lionized in three thousand miles far afield.)

The true underlying reason for the banning of "Towards the Republic" could be its emphasis on democracy or, as Dr. Sun Yat-sen would put it, a revolution on dictatorship^{[citation needed]}. In addition the film stresses that a Chinese republic that delegates too much power to the head of state is just as bad as imperial rule. This is at odds with China's current stance where the head of state has absolute power. While most Chinese tend to be aware of this situation, the CCP has always been and still is wary towards overt displays of democratic notions, resulting in the banning of this series.