Tan Sitong

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is 譚 (Tan).

Tan Sitong (traditional Chinese: 譚嗣同; simplified Chinese: 谭嗣同; pinyin: Tán Sìtóng; Wade-Giles: T'an Szut'ung, March 10, 1865—September 28, 1898), courtesy name Fusheng 复生, pseudonym Zhuangfei (壮飞), was an eminent Chinese revolutionist in the late Qing Dynasty who was in support of liberal reform.

[edit] Early life and Literary Activity

When Tan was young, his mother died, he had an unhappy childhood living with his stepmother. Before 30, he travelled to different provinces of China including Xinjiang, and written more than 200 poems while travelling. In his poems, he expressed his fear of social unrest.

In 1896, along with Liang Qichao, he openly called for a reformation in poems, Tan asked then-poets to try writing some "modern poems" (新詩). Although this kind of "modern poems" is just using new nouns to express different feelings (尋扯新名詞以自表異) and "old style containing new thinkings" (以舊風格含新意境), it represents the hearts of many scholars to called for new culture and new thinking.

[edit] Hundred Days' Reform

While he was still living in Hunan, Tan Sitong was enlisted in local reform projects by the provincial governor, Chen Baozhen. He subsequently became involved in the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898, supporting the Guangxu Emperor. He was one of the four liberals to be appointed to the Grand Council on June 20, 1898. Unlike his colleague Kang Youwei, Tan decided against fleeing after the failure of reforms. Deemed an enemy by the Empress Dowager Cixi, Tan was executed in public on September 28, 1898, along with five others. They were dubbed the "Six gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform" (戊戌六君子).

[edit] See also

• Gongche Shangshu movement

Tan Sitong was portrayed by actor Elliot Yueh Hua in two films made by Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers studio, Chang Cheh’s Iron Bodyguard (1973) [1] and Li Han-hsiang’s The Last Tempest (1976) [2]