[1] Wu was born in Panyu, Guangzhou (Canton) in the last years of the Qing dynasty.

He moved to the United States for graduate schooling and obtained a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from the University of Michigan in 1933.

After the communists defeated the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Wu moved to Canada.

After 1962, he held various positions in Taiwan (Republic of China), including the President of the Academia Sinica (1983–1994).

His many illustrious students include Chen Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee, co-winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957.