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Sun Yat-Sen-by Dalee2200-Wikipedia Commons

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Sun Yat-Sen

Sun Yat-Sen was born on 12th November 1866 in a peasant family in the village of Cuiheng Xiangshan county. His birthday has been considered an unofficial holiday in Taiwan called ‘Doctors day’ since he was a doctor.

Sun is commonly known as ‘Father of the Nation’ or ‘National Father of Modern China’ for his instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty during the Xinhai Revolution.

He is extraordinary among 20th-century Chinese leaders, politicians, doctors, and political philosophers for being generally respected in both Taiwan and Mainland China.

Here are 10 interesting facts about Sun Yat-Sen.

1. Sun was partly educated by his older brother

Sun Yat-Sen’s family-by Unknown author-Wikipedia Commons

Sun began schooling at the age of 10 and by age 13 in 1878, after receiving a few years of local schooling, he went to live with his elder brother Sun Mei in Honolulu, who from then financed his education. During his stay in Honolulu, Sun Yat-Sen went to Iolani school where he studied English, British history, mathematics, science, and Christianity.

He quickly picked up the English language and received a prize from King David Kalakaua before graduating in 1882. He then attended Oahu College(now known as Punahou School)for one semester.

In 1883, at the age of 17, he returned to China and later went to Hong Kong where he studied at the Diocesan home and orphanage on Eastern street (now the Diocesan Boys’ School).

In 1886, he studied medicine at the Guangzhou Boji Hospital under a Christian missionary, and in 1887 he heard of the opening of the Hong Kong College of medicine for Chinese and immediately joined. He earned a license of Christian practice as a medical doctor in 1892. In his class of 12 students, Sun was of only two that graduated.

2. He spent years in exile

In 1895, Sun went o Hong Kong and plotted an uprising in Guangzhou the capital of his native province. When the scheme failed, he began a 16-year exile abroad. In 1896, under completely unclear circumstances Sun was caught and detained for 3 days by the Chinese legation in London.

He met a fellow Cantonese during his detention who worked for the legation and was caught and seized while visiting him where the legation planned to ship him back to China. Before he could be shipped the British Foreign intervened and he was released from his captivity, which gave his career a powerful boost.

3. Sun was the founder of the Revive China Society

The society for regenerating China or China Society was founded by Sun on the 24th of November in the year 1894. The Society was to forward the goal of establishing prosperity for China and as a platform for future revolutionary activities.

The society went through several political re-organizations in later years and in the end, became the party known as the Kuomintang. It was founded in Honolulu, the Republic of Hawaii during the period Sun was in Exile.

4. He is known as the father of Modern China

Sun is also referred to as ‘Father of the Nation’ and ‘Forerunner of the Revolution’ in China for his instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing dynasty during the Xinhai revolution. He is unique among 20th-century Chinese leaders for his legacy is claimed by both Mainland China and Taiwan.

5. Sun was elected the provisional president of the Republic of China

Sun Yat-Sen, while President of the Republic being saluted-by Unknown author-Wikipedia Commons

Sun, the leader of the Chinese Nationalist party known as the father of modern china embarked on his medical career in 1892. Due to Quin dynasty’s inability to keep China from suffering humiliations at the hands of more advanced countries, he forsook medicine 2 years later for politics. He went abroad to try organizing expatriate Chinese.

He spent time in Hawaii, England, Canada, and Japan and in 1905, became head of a revolutionary coalition The Tongmenghui(Alliance Society).

In 1911, a rebellion in Wuhan unexpectedly succeeded after his revolts failed to overthrow the provincial government. Sun returned to be elected provisional president of a new government after other provisional successions followed.

6. He converted to Christianity

In the early 1880s, Sun was schooled in Iolani school which was under the supervision of the Church of Hawai’i directed by Anglican prelate Alfred Willis where he first came in contact with Christianity.

He was later baptized in Hong Kong on 4th May 1884 by Rev.C.R. Hager, an American missionary of the Congregational Church to the United States(ABCTM).

7. He stepped into Revolutionary activities

Sun Yat-Sen Military staff-Unknown author-Wikipedia Commons

In 1888, during the Qing dynasty rebellion, Sun was in Hong Kong with a group of revolutionary thinkers nicknamed the ‘Four Bandits’ at the Hong kong college of medicine for Chinese.

He had grown more frustrated by the Qing government so he quit his medical practice in order to devote his time to transforming China. Quite fittingly, the Chinese Communists call him ‘A Pioneer of the Revolution’.

8. His legacy has been of great importance in China

Sun’s political doctrines are summarized in his three principles of the people(Nationalism democracy and people’s livelihood the last involving the regulation of private capital and equalizing land rights)and his plan for National Reconstruction, which explained basic parliamentary procedures.

He sees forth a magnificent plan for China’s industrialization without much help from engineers or economists.

His magnetic personality, a great capacity for tolerating others’ weaknesses, his dedication to the pursuit of power, and his knowledge of the West were unalike to any of his political rivals. His factor is the most important for it made him the symbol of Chinese modernization.

9. He drafted two books.

Sun’s lectures on his”Three principles of Nationalism” and “Democracy and Livelihood” were first announced in 1905 which he had developed into a program he had drafted in 1922 when the manuscript was destroyed by Ch’en Chiung-Ming’s attack on Sun’s headquarters.

He wanted to distinguish his party from that of communists. Sun’s principles were designed as he stressed at the end of his 3rd lecture on democracy, to create people’s happiness which he had observed Western governments had achieved. This is a reflection of Sun’s self-sacrifice that he was concerned with the happiness of the Chinese Nation.

10. Sun’s romantic entanglement

Soong Ching-Ling-by Unknown author-Wikipedia Commons

In 1885 at the age of 20, Sun had an arranged marriage with fellow villager Lu Muzhen his first wife. They had three children one son and two daughters.

During his exile in Japan, he had a relationship with two Japanese women;15 years old Haru Asada who he took as a concubine, and Kaoru Otsuki who he married in 1904 as his 2nd wife with whom they had one son.

On 25th October 1915 in Japan, Sun married Soong Ching-ling one of the Soong sisters as the 3rd wife. He later died in 1925 in Peking(Beijing)of gallbladder cancer.

Sun Yat-Sen is known as the “Father of the Nation” in the Republic of China, and the “Forerunner of the Revolution” in the people’s Republic of China for his instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing dynasty during the Xinhai Revolution.