The Chinese are honoring the Year of the Fire Horse in 2026. At the Kwock Hing Society building in Kula on March 1, they’ll also be celebrating Father of Modern China Sun Yat-sen who was born in the Year of the Fire Tiger in 1866. Graphics courtesy John Tam.

As part of a Chinese New Year’s observance, the Kwock Hing Society members in Kula will celebrate 2026 as The Year of the Fire Horse and also honoring their history and a world leader.

On March 1 at 11 a.m., the Society in Kula will be honoring the Father of Modern China Sun Yat-sen and sharing photographs and stories of him and his family who lived in Kula.

Society president Sara Shim said the public is welcome to the Chinese New Year’s observance, featuring a lion dance and sword dance, an incense-burning ritual, and a variety of food.

Organizers of the event will present some traditional foods that are symbolic — noodles for longevity, gao made of mochi for family unity and cohesiveness, and baked watermelon seeds for fertility.

There are also several photographs on exhibit featuring the ranch and farm operations in the late 1800s.

Kula was where Sun Yat-Sen found a safe haven after an unsuccessful rebellion in 1895 forced his family to flee China and seek the safety of his brother Sun Mei’s ranch.

Sun Mei not only supported Sun Yat-Sen’s education at English-speaking schools in Hawaii where he learned the principles of democracy, but also gathered support among the overseas Chinese to lead a revolution.

It’s also a story about his brother Sun Mei who rose from an immigrant peasant to become one of the wealthiest Chinese persons in Hawaii, operating a ranch and farm of thousands of acres in Kula.

Although the weather was dry in Kula, Sun Mei developed a reservoir about half the size of a football field to irrigate his fields and feed his livestock.

Roads were improved to take the produce down to Makena Landing where they were put into rowboats, then ships destined for Honolulu or San Francisco.

Sun Yat-Sen was born in 1866 in the Year of the Fire Tiger, known in Chinese Zodiac for the qualities of bravery and strength.

Sun Mei was born in 1854 in the Year of the Wood Tiger, known for its leadership, ambition, and courage. Wood tigers are also known to be sympathetic and cooperative — traits that were useful to understand and support his brother who led 11 armed rebellions before succeeding in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in 1911 and establishing a republic.

Some schoolmates from Iolani School in Honolulu later wrote memoirs about Sun Yat-sen’s early life as a bright but sometimes rebellious student who became a Christian and among the first Chinese trained in western medicine.

Schoolmate Chung Kun Ai loaned Sun Yat-sen money and introduced him to leaders in the Christian community who helped to support his education and return to China.

Another classmate, Luke Chan, escorted the family members of Sun Yat-sen from China to Hawaii, when they fled their country after the unsuccessful rebellion in 1895.