Chien-Shiung Wu was born in the town of Liuhe, Taicang in Jiangsu province, China, on May 31, 1912, the second of three children of Wu Zhong-Yi () and Fan Fu-Hua. The family custom was that children of this generation had Chien as the first character (generation name) of their forename, followed by the characters in the phrase Ying-Shiung-Hao-Jie, which means "heroes and outstanding figures". Accordingly, she had an older brother, Chien-Ying, and a younger brother, Chien-Hao. Wu and her father were extremely close, and he encouraged her interests passionately, creating an environment where she was surrounded by books, magazines, and newspapers. Wu's mother was a teacher and valued education for both genders. Wu's father was an engineer who encouraged women's equality and became a notable activist during the recent revolution led by Sun Zhongshan that modernized the country. Her father supported the revolt due to his modern ideals. He even led a local militia that wiped out local bandits and completely modernized the little town of Liuhe, while seeking girls from rich and poor families to join his new school.