“Understanding is difficult. Once you understand it, the action is easy.” (Lifequoteslib, 2011, p. 1) These symbolic words were spoken by Sun Yat-Sen in one of his many speeches. Sun Yat-Sen was a Chinese revolutionary who sought to turn China into a republic so he could end the repressive Qing dynasty, and was elected by officials to become the first president in 1911. Sun Yat-Sen was born on November 12, 1866 in Cuiheng village, Guangdong, China. He was born into a disadvantaged peasant family. On the other hand, Sun's older brother Sun Mei became a successful merchant, so he paid for Sun to receive a decent education. After finishing elementary school in China, Sun moved to Honolulu in 1878 and studied at Iolani School. He graduated in 1882 and then attended Oahu College. Sun was only able to study for one semester before Sun Mei sent him back to China. Sun Mei was afraid that Sun would embrace Christianity. Upon returning home in 1883, Sun met his childhood friend, Lu Hao-Tung, at the village temple. They saw the villagers worshiping a statue of the God-Emperor. Sun and Lu were dissatisfied with the villagers' ancient practices, so they vandalized the statue. The villagers were extremely angry, so much so that Sun fled to Hong Kong. Sun studied medicine there under the guidance of a Christian missionary and eventually earned his medical license from Hong Kong College in 1892. Sun also converted to Christianity, which he expressed as symbolic of accepting "modern" knowledge and ideas or Westerners. become a doctor. Instead, Sun became increasingly frustrated that the conservative Qing government did not adopt the knowledge of more advanced Western nations. Soon after getting his medical license,… half of the paper… ang continued to grow. Today, China would not be a thriving republic without Sun Yat-Sen. He is called the "father of the nation". Only with Sun Yat-Sen's ambition and dedication for China to become a modern republic was it able to become one. His political philosophy, known as the “Three Principles of the People,” still survives. Nationalism. Democracy. Welfare.Sun Yat-Sen achieved his goal as a revolutionary: turning China into a republic, ending the rule of emperors, and making China equivalent to the West by being elected president in 1911. His legacy will never be forgotten. “When we undertake a task, we must not falter from first to last until the task is accomplished; if we fail, we should not despise our life as a sacrifice: this is what we mean by loyalty. The ancient teaching of loyalty sometimes meant death.” (Lifequoteslib, 2011, p.1)