Birth of Sun heralds dawn of revolutionary era for China

Tomorrow is the 133rd anniversary of the birth of Chinese revolutionary leader Dr Sun Yat-sen. On November 12, 1866, Sun was born into a peasant family in Cuiheng village, Guangdong.

Also known as Sun Zhongshan or Sun Wen in Putonghua, Sun first set foot in Hong Kong on his way to Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1878. When he returned to Hong Kong in 1883, he studied at Diocesan Boys' School and Central School.

He was a hardworking student and achieved brilliant results in his studies. In 1887, he went on to study medicine at the Hong Kong College of Medicine (now the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong). He studied medicine by day and Chinese by night. He also loved reading about the French Revolution and Darwinism, which influenced his philosophy.

Sun made many friends at the college and learned about democracy. He associated with a group of young intellectuals who often met to share their ideas on how to overthrow the ailing and weak Qing dynasty and save China.

Many of them became members of the Xingzhonghui (Revive China Society) and the Tongmenghui (United League). They were active in Hong Kong between 1895 and 1911, carrying out revolutionary activities against the Qing government.

Of his class of 12 students, only two graduated in 1892. One was Sun.

He continued to work for the overthrow of the Qing. After a failed uprising in 1895, Sun fled abroad to seek financial assistance for his revolutionary movement against the Qing dynasty. His goal was to rebuild China. The new China would be founded on his Three People's Principles: nationalism, democracy and the people's livelihood, which reflected his Western education.