In Cao Dai cosmology, Sun Yat-sen, the Chinese revolutionary leader and founding father of the Republic of China, is venerated as one of three spirits, alongside Victor Hugo and Nguyen Binh Khiem, who signed the Third Alliance Between God and Man, a covenant depicted in the well known mural at the Cao Dai Holy See in Tay Ninh. The mural shows the three writing on a tablet, in French and Chinese, the words God and Humanity and Love and Justice, and the trio is understood within Cao Dai teaching to represent Western, Chinese and Vietnamese civilization jointly recognizing the new revelation, with Sun Yat-sen standing for Chinese civilization. His inclusion reflects the broad, deliberately syncretic reach of Cao Dai cosmology, which venerates historical, religious and political figures across traditions as revealed spirits.
Facts
Attestation
Veneration TodayActively venerated in a living tradition 2 Historicity DetailSun Yat-sen (1866 to 1925) is a documented historical figure of modern Chinese history. His role as a Cao Dai spirit is the tradition's own religious claim about a figure who died the year before Cao Dai was founded. 2 Function
Domain / Function Belief
TheologyCaodaism is a monotheistic religion whose one Supreme Being is served by a hierarchy of venerated spirits rather than co-equal gods; Sun Yat-sen is one such spirit, matching the reading already carried by Nguyen Binh Khiem and Victor Hugo. Attributions
Mythic AssociationRepresents Chinese civilization within the Third Alliance Between God and Man, alongside Victor Hugo and Nguyen Binh Khiem. 2 Cult
Attributes and IconographyDepicted in the Third Alliance mural at the Cao Dai Holy See in Tay Ninh, writing on a tablet reading, in French and Chinese, God and Humanity and Love and Justice, alongside Victor Hugo and Nguyen Binh Khiem. 2 Connections
Associated With
Sun Yat-sen is one of the spirits canonized within Cao Dai, a syncretic new religious movement founded in and centered on Vietnam.
Source The Divine Eye and the Diaspora: Vietnamese Syncretism Becomes Transpacific Caodaism (Hoskins, 2015)Janet Hoskins
Belongs to Tradition
Source The Divine Eye and the Diaspora: Vietnamese Syncretism Becomes Transpacific Caodaism (Hoskins, 2015)Janet Hoskins
Sources
1. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend
Anthony S. Mercatante, revised and expanded by James R. Dow, Facts on File
2. The Divine Eye and the Diaspora: Vietnamese Syncretism Becomes Transpacific Caodaism (Hoskins, 2015)
Janet Hoskins, University of Hawaii Press, 2015Treatment of the Third Alliance Between God and Man mural and its signatory spirits
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