Ceremonies in Honolulu will be taking place to honor the 150th anniversary of the birth of a man who as a teenager studied the principles of democracy in Hawaii and returned home to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and establish a republic in China.
| CELEBRATIONS
Public events will be held in November in Hawaii, China and Taiwan. In Honolulu:
>> Event: A special screening of a film about “Sun Yat-sen and Overseas Chinese” accompanied by talks and musical performances.
>> Time: 3:30-5:30 p.m. Nov. 12
>> Where: Hilton Hawaiian Village’s Tapa Ballroom I; the Hilton will also host a photography exhibit about his life that afternoon.
>> Note: Other events, including a photography exhibit and musical performances in Chinatown and Waikiki, are tentatively planned.
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Sun Yat-sen, who spent his formative years in Honolulu and Maui, is recognized by both the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan as the father of modern China.
Public events will be held next month in Hawaii, China and Taiwan.
Sun Yat-sen, born Nov. 12, 1866, was the son of a peasant farmer in Guangdong Province in South China. At 13, after a remarkable reversal in family fortunes, Sun arrived in Honolulu to receive a western education.
He first attended ‘Iolani School, then Oahu College (Punahou School) from 1879 to 1883, with support from his older brother Sun Mei, who had built thriving enterprises in Honolulu and Maui, according to accounts from friends and family members.
The Hawaiian monarchy encouraged the migration of Chinese workers to Hawaii and also their development of businesses.
Sun Mei went from being a laborer to bringing hundreds of Chinese laborers from his village to Hawaii and leasing thousands of acres of land in Kula, Maui, to grow a variety of crops that were exported to Honolulu and California, according to Victor Sun, the great-grandson of Sun Mei and author of “Sun Mei: My Great-Grandfather.”
Sun Yat-sen knew very little English when he arrived in Hawaii but he was a quick study and earned recognition for his academic achievements.
In 1882, he received an award from King David Kalakaua after taking second place in an English grammar competition at ‘Iolani.
He also made friends at ‘Iolani and at Punahou who would be his close allies in the Chinese revolution, including Chung Kun-Ai, the founder of City Mill and author of “My 79 Years in Hawaii.”
Chung recalled, in his autobiography, that the ‘Iolani library was well stocked with books, including the biographies of U.S. Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Sun Yat-sen would advance principles of equality similar to Lincoln in putting forth his vision of a republic, scholars have noted.
He also learned to identify with Christianity and Christian values — a move opposed by his brother that eventually led Sun Yat-sen to leave Maui for Honolulu at age 16.
The Rev. Francis Damon and other friends encouraged Sun Yat-sen to pursue his medical studies and helped to raise money for his passage to China.
The brothers eventually reconciled and combined their efforts to work to overthrow the Qing Dynasty.
Sun Mei, who participated in the successful 1911 revolt, died in Macau on Feb. 11, 1915. His tomb is inside the Guangdong Sun Yat-sen Memorial School.
Sun Yat-sen died of liver cancer on March 12, 1925, in Peking. His remains are entombed in a mausoleum in Nanjing.
A statue honoring Sun Mei’s contribution to China stands in Sun Yat-sen Park in Kula, Maui.
