“From the many countless pictures and pages of history books I’ve gone through, Vancouver meant a lot to the Doctor and to the [revolutionary] cause,” adds Quon, current board chair of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. “As a proud Canadian Chinese and Vancouver Chinese citizen, I’m quite proud of that connection with Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.”
Throughout his political career, including his exile from China, the Doctor envisaged a society based on equality. Commemorating the centenary of Dr. Sun ’s death, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden’s All Under Heaven Are Equal exhibit runs until April 9.
The exhibit’s name reflects one of Dr. Sun’s most resonant phrases, highlighting the absence of emperors and common people – all are equal under heaven. Curated with the assistance of Garden board members, and supported by local Chinese organizations, the exhibit showcases Dr. Sun’s life and devotion to China’s revolutionary cause over 40 years, while highlighting his connection to Vancouver.
Early support in Chinatown
The “Father of the Chinese Republic,” Dr. Sun, was born on November 12, 1866, in Canton (Guangdong) Province. His vision of a democratic Chinese republic led to many revolutionary efforts in China – he persevered despite 11 failed attempts to overthrow the Qing dynasty –until success came on Oct. 10, 1911. Vancouver’s Chinese Canadian community supported the Doctor, who visited three times between 1897 and 1911.
“The Doctor knew that these people had money, and he desperately needed money to fund this revolution,” Quon explains, pointing out that the overseas Chinese were key to the success of Dr. Sun’s efforts.
Dr. Sun fundraised in other Canadian cities, including Victoria, Montreal and Calgary, as well as Chinese communities in the United States, Singapore and the Philippines. While people were initially skeptical about a revolution’s chances of success, many eventually supported it as the best way to reform China.
“My dad told me that in 1905, because my great grandfather was already here, he gave 30 dollars to…the cause,” Quon recalls. “I can’t even begin to tell you what 30 dollars would have been valued at in 1905.”
Revered around the world, Dr. Sun’s death in March 1925 led to public mourning by Chinese people everywhere. In Vancouver, the mourning procession was organized by the Wongs’ Benevolent Association of Canada and other Chinese associations that this exhibit documents.
“Viewers [of the exhibit] will see black-and-white photos taken right in the heart of Pender Street, between Columbia and Main,” says Quon. “This long procession of old model T cars, Ford cars and men in top hats, and all Chinese, holding funeral wreaths.”
Preserving the legacy
The Doctor is still remembered a century after his death, commemorated in Montreal, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles and Hawaii. For Quon, Dr. Sun continues to speak to the worldwide Chinese diaspora because he worked with both nationalists and communists – encouraging democratic ideas still relevant today.
“Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’s legacy is living on even a hundred years after his death, his legacy is still there, it’s still enduring,” Quon adds. “I was in New York last year, [and] they had put up this beautiful new statue of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen in Columbus Park, near Chinatown.”
Dr. Sun’s life was particularly intertwined with Vancouver – he sailed from here to China in late 1911 to become its first president. For Quon, who has also learned about the Doctor’s links to Vancouver through history books and images, these details cannot be forgotten. Stories of Dr. Sun and Chinese history are just as important as what he calls the “physical acts of Chinese culture and tradition,” such as martial arts or lion dance.
“All that he did might start to fade, and that’s the sad thing,” Quon reflects. “So, it’s important that organizations such as the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, the Chinatown Storytelling Centre, and even the Chinese Canadian Museum…keep these stories alive for the future generation.”
Quon has devoted over 35 years of his life to the local Chinese Canadian community, teaching dragon and lion dance through the Hon Hsing Athletic Club of Vancouver and engaging in various other initiatives. Like his commitment to service, Quon’s interest in Dr. Sun and Chinese history come from his father – whom he described as a “huge student of history.”
“[My father] had all this space, your typical Vancouver Special House, but he hung [the photo] out right in front of the chair that rocks back and forth, right in front of the TV, right in front of him,” Quon recalls. “I remember asking, ‘baba, why did you hang up Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’s picture there of all places, and the short answer was, he said, ‘it’s so that I can always see him looking at me.’”
Although Quon’s father, Mr. Bennie Quon, passed in 2013, his family keeps the photo hanging. They like to think he is still sitting in the rocking chair, looking at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.
For more information, see www.vancouverchinesegarden.com/exhibitions
