At the age of 12 he began attending a public school set up by the Japanese. In those days the pupils were still all wearing pigtails, and the school authorities encouraged them to get them cut off. Wu San-lien was one of the first to be "de-tailed," and the school presented him with an abacus as a prize.
他在十三歲開始上日本人設立的公學校，那時學生都還留著發辮，學校當局鼓勵學生剃髮，他率先「去尾」，學校還送他一個算盤當紀念品。