Fledgling steps of revolution

Dr Sun Yat-sen was based in Hong Kong from 1883 to 1895 when his ideas began to coalesce around the necessity of overthrowing the Qing government.

However, according to Feng Ziyou, chairman of the Hong Kong branch of the Tong Meng Hui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance), the main terms available to revolutionaries to describe their activities at the time were zaofan (rebellion), qiyi (uprising) and guangfu (restoration).

It wasn't until 1897, when Sun relocated the anti-Qing camp to Japan, that the movement's language was exposed to Japanese translations.

The term geming (revolution) became extended beyond its original meaning - the overthrow of a dynasty by violent means - to encompass a deeper connotation in the broader context of political and social reform.

After the publication of Thirty-Three Years' Dreams by Miyazaki Torazo and The Revolutionary Army by Zou Rong in 1903, the modern meaning of 'revolution' entered China's public consciousness.

In the national debates between the revolutionaries and the monarchists that followed, Sun described himself as a revolutionary, and from that point on the word 'revolution' conveyed an aura of righteousness that encouraged unprecedented public participation in politics and social reform movements.