Born at the end of the Manchu rule in a small town in Fukien province which translates into English as "Maple Arbor," Wu is a typical old-fashioned Chinese woman who was confined to her home and did needlework as a girl.
滿清末年，她出生在福建省仙遊縣一個名喚「楓亭」的小鎮上。年輕時候的吳李玉哥，和所有的中國舊式女性一樣，成天溫婉嫻靜地在閨房裡繡花做女紅。