Chen Cuifen (; 1873–1960) was a longtime romantic partner of

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

, the founder and first president of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

. She was regarded as the "forgotten revolutionary female" and "the first revolution partner" of Sun Yat-sen. Before marrying

Soong Ching-ling Rosamond Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 189329 May 1981) was a Chinese political figure. As the third wife of Sun Yat-sen, then Premier of the Kuomintang and President of the Republic of China, she was often referred to as Madame Sun Yat-sen. ...

, Sun Yat-sen had a 20 year-relationship with Chen Cuifen. In the "Sun Genealogy", she was called "Sun Yat-sen's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Biography

Chen was born in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

in 1873, the fourth child of her family. Chen and Sun met in 1892, then fell in love. She made many contributions to the revolution. She lived with Sun in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. She acted as Sun's wife to the outside world, and helped the secret activities of the revolution. She lived in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the M ...

from 1910 until 1912. After the establishment of the

Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

, she settled in Malaya alone. In the movie ''

Road To Dawn ''Road to Dawn'' () is a 2007 Chinese historical film directed by Hong Kong filmmakeDerek Chiu The film depicts an obscure episode in Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary life, when he sought refuge in Penang from July to December 1910. He relocated the Sou ...

'' (2007), which features the story of

in Penang, the character of Chen Cuifen is played by Chinese actres
Wu Yue

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Cuifen 1873 births 1960 deaths Hong Kong people Chinese revolutionaries 20th-century Chinese women 20th-century Chinese people