Song Jiaoren (1882–1913) was early-twentieth-century China’s greatest champion of constitutional democracy. Fleeing the police after a failed plot in 1904, the young revolutionary found refuge in Japan, where his eyes were opened to new political possibilities. Along with Sun Yatsen, he was one of the founders of the Nationalist Party, turning an underground organization into a nationwide force. After the 1911 revolution, Song campaigned for a truly democratic constitution guaranteeing a representative government. Following parliamentary elections in 1913, he was on the verge of becoming prime minister—but he was struck down by an assassin’s bullet on a Shanghai railway platform, and China began its descent into chaos and authoritarianism.

Don C. Price provides the definitive biography of Song Jiaoren, recounting his remarkable career and illuminating a period of epochal change. Drawing on a wide variety of sources—especially his revealing diary—this book chronicles Song’s life and times, interweaving his personal relationships with his revolutionary activities and intellectual development. From his early life in a rural interior province to his Japanese exile through his meteoric ascent and tragic death, it explores how Song became an unwavering advocate for democracy—and why antidemocratic forces sought to eliminate him. By detailing Song’s legacy, this book sheds light on the roots of democratic aspirations in China and on the path not taken in the country’s tumultuous history.

Don C. Price is professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Davis. He is the author of Russia and the Roots of the Chinese Revolution, 1896–1911 (1974) and a coeditor of Beyond the May Fourth Paradigm: In Search of Chinese Modernity (2008), among other publications on Chinese history.