View source for Lin Sen

{{Short description|Chairman of the National Government of China from 1938 to 1943}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{mcn|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = 
| name                = Lin Sen
| native_name         = {{no bold|林森}}
| native_name_lang    = zh
| honorific_suffix    = 
| image               = Lin Sen.jpg
| image_upright       = 
| alt                 = 
| caption             = 
| order1              = 
| office1             = [[President of the Republic of China|Chairman of the National Government of China]]
| term_start1         = 15 December 1931
| term_end1           = 1 August 1943
| premier1            = [[Chen Mingshu]] (acting)<br>[[Sun Fo]]<br>[[Wang Jingwei]]<br>[[Chiang Kai-shek]]<br>[[H.H. Kung]]
| 1blankname1         = [[Military Affairs Commission|Military chief]]
| 1namedata1          = Chiang Kai-shek
| predecessor1        = Chiang Kai-shek
| successor1          = Chiang Kai-shek (acting)
| order2              = 
| office2             = [[President of the Legislative Yuan]]
| term_start2         = 2 March 1931
| term_end2           = 1 January 1932
| vicepresident2      = [[Shao Yuanchong]]
| predecessor2        = [[Hu Hanmin]]
| successor2          = [[Shao Yuanchong]] (acting)<br>[[Zhang Ji (Republic of China)|Zhang Ji]]
| order3              = 
| office3             = [[Vice President of the Legislative Yuan]]
| term_start3         = 8 October 1928
| term_end3           = 2 March 1931
| president3          = Hu Hanmin
| predecessor3        = ''Position established''
| successor3          = Shao Yuanchong
| pronunciation       = 
| birth_name          = 
| birth_date          = 16 March 1868
| birth_place         = [[Minhou County|Minhou]], [[Fujian]], [[Qing dynasty|China]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|df=y|1943|08|01|1868|03|16}}
| death_place         = [[Chongqing]], [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]]
| death_cause         = 
| resting_place       = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| citizenship         = 
| nationality         = Chinese
| party               = [[Kuomintang]] ([[Western Hills Group|Western Hills faction]])
| otherparty          = <!--For additional political affiliations-->
| height              = <!-- "X cm", "X m"  or "X ft Y in" plus optional reference (conversions are automatic) -->
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| children            = 
| mother              = <!-- may be used (optionally with father parameter) in place of parents parameter (displays "Parent(s)" as label) -->
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| net_worth           = <!-- Net worth should be supported with a citation from a reliable source -->
| cabinet             = 
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| portfolio           = 
| awards              = [[Order of Brilliant Jade]]
| blank1              = 
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| signature           = 
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| website             = 
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=林森於民國30年元旦演講.oga|title=Lin Sen's voice|description= Lin Sen speech on New Year's Day of the 30th year of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]<br>Recorded 1 January 1941}}
}}

'''Lin Sen''' ({{zh|c=林森|p=Lín Sēn}}; 16 March 1868 – 1 August 1943){{efn|[[Courtesy name]] '''Zi Chao''' ({{lang-zh|c=子超|w=Tze-chao}}), [[sobriquet]] '''Zhang Ren''' ({{lang-zh|c=長仁|w=Chang-jen|labels=no}})}} was a Chinese politician who served as [[Chairman of the National Government of China|Chairman]] of the [[Nationalist government|National Government]] of the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] from 1931 until his death in 1943.

==Early life==
[[File:Full View of the Former Villa of Lin Sen 2011-12.jpg|thumb|Former villa of Lin Sen in [[Nanjing]].]]

Born to a middle-class family in {{ill|Shanggan Township|zh|尚干镇}} ({{Lang-zh|c=尚幹鄉|labels=no}}), [[Minhou County]], [[Fuzhou]], Lin was educated by American missionaries. He later worked in the Telegram Bureau of [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan under Qing rule|Taiwan]], in 1884. After the [[First Sino-Japanese War]], he engaged in [[guerrilla]] activities against the Japanese occupiers. He returned to China and worked in the [[Shanghai]] customs office in 1902. He later lived in [[Hawaii]] and [[San Francisco]].

There he was recruited by the [[Tongmenghui]] in 1905, and was an overseas organizer for the [[Kuomintang]]. During the [[Xinhai Revolution]], he was in charge of the [[Jiangxi]] revolt. He became speaker of the senate in the [[National Assembly (Beiyang government)|National Assembly]]. After the failed [[Second Revolution (Republic of China)|Second Revolution]] against President [[Yuan Shikai]], Lin fled with [[Sun Yat-sen]] to Japan and joined his [[Chinese Revolutionary Party]]. He was sent to the United States to raise funds from the party's local branches. In 1917, he followed Sun to [[Guangzhou]] where he continued to lead its "extraordinary session" during the [[Constitutional Protection Movement]]. When the assembly defected to the [[Beiyang government]], he remained with Sun and later served as governor of Fujian.

Lin was a member of the right-wing [[Western Hills Group]] based in Shanghai. The group was formed in Beijing shortly after Sun's death in 1925. They called for a party congress to expel the [[Communist Party of China|Communists]] and to declare social revolution as incompatible with the Kuomintang's national revolution. The party pre-empted this faction and the ensuing congress expelled Western Hills' leaders and suspended the membership of the followers. They supported [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s [[Shanghai massacre|purge of the communists]] in 1927. Lin rose to become the leader of the Western Hills faction and undertook a world tour after the demise of the Beiyang government.

==As head of state==
[[File:Taipei Taiwan Statue-of-Lin-Sen-in-Jieshou-Park-01.jpg|thumb|Statue of Lin Sen in Jieshou Park, [[Taipei]]]]

In 1931, Chairman Chiang's arrest of [[Hu Hanmin]] caused an uproar within the party and military. Lin and other high-ranking officials called for the impeachment of Chiang. The [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]] prevented the civil war from erupting, however it did cause Chiang to resign on 15 December. Lin was appointed in his place as acting chairman and confirmed as chairman of government on 1 January 1932. He was chosen as a sign of personal respect and held few powers since the Kuomintang wanted to avoid a repeat of Chiang's rule. He never used the [[Presidential Palace, Nanjing|Presidential Palace]], where Chiang continued to reside, and preferred his modest rented house near the [[Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum]]. Chiang's full influence was restored after the 1932 [[Battle of Shanghai (1932)|Battle of Shanghai]] as party grandees realized his necessity.

Shortly after acceding to the chairmanship, Lin Sen embarked on an extended trip that took him to the Philippines, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. He visited the Chinese diaspora and the Kuomintang party organisations in those countries. This was the first overseas visit by a serving head of state of China.

In 1934, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine called him "puppet President Lin", and when there was a talk by [[Military Affairs Commission|military chief]] [[Chiang Kai-shek]] at a "secret conference of government leaders" of granting the President of China actual powers, it insinuated that Chiang was entertaining the thought of taking the Presidency himself, since Chiang held the actual power while Lin's position was described as "[[figurehead]] class".<ref>{{cite news |title=CHINA: Chiang on Lid|newspaper=TIME|date=Aug 20, 1934|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,747712,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125090434/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,747712,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 25, 2010|accessdate=May 22, 2011}}</ref>

Though he had little influence on public policy, Lin was highly respected by the public as an august elder statesman who was above politics. His lack of political ambition, corruption, and nepotism was an exceedingly rare trait. He lent dignity and stability to an office while other state institutions were in chaos.

A widower, Lin used his position to promote monogamy and combat [[concubinage]] which became a punishable felony in 1935. He also called for a peaceful resolution when Chiang was kidnapped during the [[Xi'an Incident]]. National unity was something he stressed as relations with Japan deteriorated further.

When the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] entered full swing in 1937, he moved to the wartime capital of [[Chongqing]]. He legalized civilian use of guerrilla warfare, but this was merely a formality as it was already a widespread practice. He spurned all offers to defect and collaborate with the [[Reorganized National Government of China|Japanese puppet government]].

==Death==
On 10 March 1943, his car was involved in an accident. Two days later, he had a stroke while meeting the Canadian delegation. As he was in [[hospice]], he urged the recovery of Taiwan be included in the post-war settlement; it became part of the [[1943 Cairo Declaration|Cairo Declaration]] months later. He died on 1 August, aged 75, following which a month of mourning was declared. He was the longest serving head of state in the Republic of China while it still held [[mainland China]]. The central executive committee elected Chiang as chairman of government a few hours after Lin's death. All of the powers that were denied to the chairmanship were restored for Chiang.

Lin visited Qingzhi Mountain in [[Lianjiang County|Lianjiang]], [[Fuzhou, Fujian]], and was fascinated by it, which encouraged him to style himself "Old Man Qingzhi" ({{zh|c=青芝老人|p=Qīngzhī lǎorén|labels=no}}) in his old age. His monument, built beside Qingzhi Mountain in 1926 before his death, was damaged in the [[Cultural Revolution]], and was restored in 1979.

==Family==

Lin had adopted his nephew Lin Jing (known in English as K. M. James Lin), as his son. While studying as a postgraduate student in [[Ohio State University]], James Lin married Viola Brown, a [[five-and-ten-cent store]] clerk, although he was reported already to have two wives in China. Lin Sen objected to the marriage and the couple eventually divorced. James Lin returned to China and died in action during the Japanese invasion.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/03/24/archives/son-of-chinas-president-reported-killed-in-action.html | title = Son of China's President Reported Killed in Action | newspaper = New York Times | pages = 14 | date = March 24, 1938}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:No. 97, Ningbo W. St., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City - 02 20240111.jpg|thumb|Lin Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei]]
There are roads named after Lin Sen in [[Taipei]], [[Kaohsiung]], [[Tainan City|Tainan]], and other towns and cities in Taiwan due to his role in fighting the [[Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)|Japanese invasion of Taiwan]] and as ROC president. A prominent statue of Lin Sen stands on [[Jieshou Park]] in front of the [[Presidential Office Building, Taipei]].

In the [[People's Republic of China]], Lin was denounced for his anti-communism and roads and places named after Lin Sen were renamed, but he was later [[political rehabilitation|rehabilitated]] after the [[Cultural Revolution]].

==See also==
* [[Jieshou Park]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Sister project links|Lin Sen}}

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{{Succession box
|before = [[Chiang Kai-shek]]
|title = [[President of the Republic of China|Chairman of the National Government]]
|years = 1931&ndash;1943
|after = [[Chiang Kai-shek]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Presidents of the Republic of China}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Sen}}
[[Category:People from Fuzhou]]
[[Category:1868 births]]
[[Category:1943 deaths]]
[[Category:Chinese people of World War II]]
[[Category:Conservatism in China]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Republic of China]]
[[Category:World War II political leaders]]
[[Category:Politicians from Fuzhou]]
[[Category:Writers from Fuzhou]]
[[Category:Members of the Kuomintang]]
[[Category:Republic of China politicians from Fujian]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Legislative Yuan]]
[[Category:Tongmenghui members]]
[[Category:20th-century presidents in Asia]]