They make Republican era history endlessly fascinating. Take for example Wang Jingwei. He was a leading figure of the first revolutionary generation and advised Sun Yat-sen; he served as chairman of the Nationalist government, and a leader of the Kuomintang. Yet, during the War of Resistance Against Japan, Wang cooperated with the Japanese and formed the Nanjing puppet government, becoming the archetypal traitor of his age.
例如「引刀成一快，不負少年頭」的作者汪精衛，曾以其不可一世的才情輔佐過國父孫中山先生，擔任過國府主席及國民黨黨魁等職，沒想到在抗戰中期，竟以國民黨副總裁之尊，寧與日人合作，建立南京偽政權，成為民國史上的大漢奸。