AS one of modern Asia’s first revolutionary leaders, Dr Sun Yat-sen is revered as the “father of modern China” and the forerunner of a revolution which eventually overthrew the feudal Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). He ended the autocratic monarchial system that had governed China for more than 2,000 years and paved the way for the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912.

A renowned political figure, Sun devoted his life to the well-being of the Chinese people at great personal expense. He became a wanted man after the failure of the first Guangzhou Uprising in 1895 and was subsequently banished. It was only after the success of the 1911 Revolution that he was able to return to China.

By that time he had lived in exile for 16 years. During this period, his family was also dragged into the turmoil of the revolution and forced to leave Chinese mainland for Hawaii, Hong Kong and Penang, Malaysia. He was unable to bid his mother and elder daughter a final farewell before they passed away, nor even attended their funerals.

“Behind every successful man is a woman. In the case of Dr Sun Yat Sen, it’s his family. This family that followed him as he focused on his career ... deserves to be remembered,” says historian Shen Feide, whose recent Chinese-language book “Detailed Account of Sun Yat-sen’s Family” explores the history of the Suns over four generations.

Based on interviews and newly discovered family diaries and letters, this book provides insights into Dr Sun’s family ties, with a special focus on his parents, siblings, wives and children, as well as their sacrifices and life choices influenced by Sun and his ideals to modernize and develop the Chinese nation.

Key figures

Born in 1854, Sun Mei was 12 years older than Sun Yat-sen. He played a pivotal role in younger Sun’s life, providing financial support for his education in Honolulu, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. While he had disputes with Sun Yat-sen over his decision to convert to Christianity, Sun Mei never wavered in his support of his younger brother, even when financing his brother’s movement lead to his own bankruptcy.

Lu Muzhen was Sun Yat-sen’s first wife through an arranged marriage in 1884. However, the couple rarely spent time together due to Sun’s pursuit of his studies and revolutionary activities. She gave birth to two daughters, Sun Yan and Sun Wan, and a son, Sun Fo, and devoted herself to taking care of the children at a time (1895-1912) when the family was constantly being uprooted due to her husband’s political pursuits. When Sun suggested a divorce, she consented and then moved to Macau.

In 1891 Chen Cuifen met Sun in Hong Kong. After the Guangzhou Uprising in 1895, she fled overseas with Sun. Though the two did not officially marry, Chen attended to Sun and his revolutionary comrades as they took refuge in Japan and Southeast Asia. They separated in the early 1910s, but Chen still lived with and took care of Sun’s family for a period of time after that.

The US-educated Soong Ching Ling was 27 years younger than Sun, and started working as his secretary after her graduation in 1913. She married Sun two years later and became his second wife. They had no children of their own when Sun passed away in 1925. She maintained friendly relationships with the families of Sun’s children throughout the rest of her life.

Primary sources

As the only son of Dr Sun, Sun Fo was a member of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee from 1926 to 1950. He advocated cooperation with the Communist Party of China in the fight against Japanese occupation, and also represented the KMT in negotiations with Premier Zhou Enlai.

After 1949, Sun Fo exiled himself to Hong Kong until 1951. He lived in Europe from 1951 to 1952, and then finally resided in the United States from 1952 to 1965. After years of political differences with Chiang Kai-shek in Taiwan, Sun Fo returned to serve in the government of the Republic of China in Taipei as a senior advisor to Chiang from 1965, and as chief of the Examination Department from 1966 until his death in 1973.

During the course of writing his book, Shen interviewed three of Sun’s grandchildren: Sun Wan’s son Wang Hongzhi, and Sun Fo’s Shanghai-born granddaughters Sun Suifen and Sun Suifang.

“I have spent the past 20 years talking with the three during their life times, comparing their accounts with historical records and visiting the old residences where they once lived,” says Shen of the Shanghai Literature and History Archive Institute.

By the time the book was published, Sun Suifen, her mother Lan Ni, and Wang Hongzhi had passed away. “If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have obtained such vivid details of the painful modernizing changes in one of China’s most illustrious families during that era,” Shen tells Shanghai Daily.

“As a narrator, I don’t judge them on their differences and decisions. I placed them against the broader spectrum of Chinese life in the last hundred years, so that readers get to see for themselves how families were affected by the various reform movements in the process of national modernization,” Shen says.

Q: How did this book come into being?

A: I have much respect for Dr Sun Yet-san. He played an instrumental role in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty during the years leading up to the 1911 Revolution. He was appointed to serve as provisional president of the Republic of China when it was founded in 1912. He later co-founded the Kuomintang, serving as its first leader.

He remains unique among 20th-century Chinese politicians for being widely revered among people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. When I met Sun Fo’s second wife, Lan Ni, and Sun Wan’s son, Wang Hongzhi, in Shanghai in the 1990s, I knew I had a good point to dig into the history of Dr Sun and his family.

Q: What is the significance of such a family history?

A: Families are where we connect ourselves in relationships to the past, present, and future generations. Since the 1980s, there have been numerous biographies of Sun Yet-san from both sides of the Strait. While most of the biographical works focus on Sun’s political life and place in history, little is known about the family members of this Chinese revolutionary. From those who were close to him, we see his human side — as a son, brother, husband and father.

Q: Who is the most impressive character from your interviews?

A: Of all the family members, Sun Yet-san’s granddaughter Sun Suifang is the only one who wrote a biography of him. Published in 1995, her book “My Grandfather, Sun Yat-sen” (Chinese) chronicles the life of Dr Sun from a unique perspective. It includes more than 200 photos of Sun and his families.

Born in 1936 in Shanghai, Sun Suifang first entered Tongji University to study architecture. She then moved to Hong Kong in 1958 and emigrated to the US in 1967. She is currently the chair of Sun Yat-sen Foundation for Peace and Education.

Bearing a lot of likeness in appearance and character to Dr Sun, Sun Suifang has so far donated more than 100 Sun Yat-sen statues across the country and given more than 1,100 speeches on his political and social ideals both inside and outside of China.

Q: What’s the most unforgettable moment through your research on Sun’s family history?

A: It was in July 1999 when Sun Suifen (Sun’s granddaughter) met Wang Hongzhi (Sun’s grandson) and his wife Li Yunxia at the Rose Villa at 44 Fuxing Road W. in Shanghai.

By that time, Sun Suifen was 62, a retired diplomat who served missions at the US consulate in Guangzhou and later in Shanghai; and Wang Hongzhi, 81, was a retired professor of economics at Shanghai Finance College (now Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance). They got to know each other through my articles. It was a worthy moment to remember.