Sun Yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen

Sun Te-Ming or Sun Yat-sen (12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925) was born in China and was a Chinese political leader. Sun helped overthrow the Qing Dynasty in October 1911. This was the last imperial dynasty of China. He is often called as Father of the Nation.

He was president when the Republic of China was founded in 1912. He later co-founded the Kuomintang. Sun remains revered in both mainland China and Taiwan. A massive portrait of Sun continues to appear in Tiananmen Square for May Day and National Day.

Early years

Sun Yat-sen was born on 12 November 1866 to Sun Dacheng and Madame Yang in Cuiheng, Xiangshan County (now Zhongshan City), Guangdong.He had a cultural background of Hakka (with roots in Zijin, Heyuan, Guangdong) and Cantonese. His father owned very few lands and worked as a tailor in Macau, and as a journeyman and a porter. After finishing primary education, he moved to Honolulu in the Kingdom of Hawaii, where he lived a comfortable life of modest wealth supported by his elder brother Sun Mei.

Death

After his death in Beijing, his body was shown at a temple in the Fragrant Hills.