It was reported that Tian had a quarrel with his superiors because they had forced his wife to have an abortion when she was pregnant with their second child, in accordance with China’s one-child policy. Tian already had a daughter; however, as he came from a rural area in Henan province, where strong traditional values emphasize having a male child, Tian secretly planned on having a son until someone in the army revealed his plan and the birth control officer forced his wife to have an abortion. By then, his wife was already seven months pregnant and died during the operation along with the unborn fetus (later discovered to be a boy). He had also been disciplined for beating another soldier.