Song Jiaoren
Chinese revolutionary (1882-1913)
Song Jiaoren (Chinese: 宋敎仁; pinyin: Sòng Jiàorén; Wade–Giles: Sung Chiao-jen, [sʊ̂ŋ tɕjâʊɻə̌n]; 5 April 1882 – 22 March 1913) was a Chinese republican revolutionary and one of the founding leaders of the Kuomintang (KMT). An advocate of a parliamentary cabinet system to check the powers of Yuan Shikai, Song led the KMT to victory in China's first democratic election before being assassinated in Shanghai on 22 March 1913. His untimely death, widely attributed to Yuan, was regarded as having dashed the prospects for constitutional democracy in early 20th-century China.
Early life
Song Jiaoren was born and educated in Hunan. When he was six years old, Song Jiaoren began his education at a private school. When Song was seventeen years old, he graduated and began enrollment at Taoyuan Zhangjiang College. The influence of his teachers, Huang Shouyi and Qu Fangmei, caused Song to make no effort to pursue the civil service examinations, and he was interested mainly in his time's world events and the counterculture. Song received excellent grades in college.
In August 1902, Song Jiaoren went to Wuchang to attend the Bishop Boone Memorial School (now the Central China Normal University), and in Wuchang, he met the revolutionary Huang Xing, and the two quickly became lifelong friends. Huang was soon forced to leave Wuchang due to his revolutionary activities, and returned to his hometown of Changsha.
The public source identifies “Song Jiaoren” as chinese revolutionary (1882-1913). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Song, Jiaoren and Chinese.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Song Jiaoren”, the useful work is to connect “chinese revolutionary (1882-1913)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q532587. VIAF identifies the subject as 8703657. The Library of Congress control number is n81042649. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1882, 1913 and 1902.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Song Jiaoren”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Song Jiaoren primary sources, Song Jiaoren archive and Song research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Song Jiaoren”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Song Jiaoren” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.