Early life

Tan Sitong was one of nine siblings and was born in Beijing, although his family originally came from Liuyang, Hunan Province. His father, Tan Jixun (谭继洵), was the governor of Hubei Province. His mother, Xu Wuyuan (徐五缘), a traditional Chinese housewife, was very strict with her children.

Tan Sitong spent his childhood in Beijing and his youth in Liuyang. He began his formal education at 5 and was tutored by a famous scholar called Ouyang Zhonggu (欧阳中鹄) when he was 10. Although he was talented at essay writing, he objected to the conventional form of the essay that was required for examinations. As a result, he only achieved the title of "student member" (shengyuan - 生員), a very low educational level.

At the age of 12, Tan Sitong lost his mother, his eldest brother, and his second eldest sister, who all died within a span of five days due to diphtheria that had spread during a visit to a cousin. Tan Sitong also fell gravely ill but recovered three days later, which many people deemed to be a miracle. After Tan Sitong lost his mother, his father』s concubine treated him badly.

In 1879, Tan Sitong studied under another scholar, Xu Qixian (徐启先), with whom he began a systematic study of representative works in Chinese, as well as natural science.

In 1884, he left his home and traveled to several different provinces of China, including Hebei, Gansu, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Shanxi. He composed more than 200 poems during the trip.

At the age of 19, Tan Sitong married a woman named Li Run (李闰) and had a son named Tan Lansheng (谭兰生), who died within a year of being born.

Reforming campaign

Background

National isolationism began (闭关锁国) in the late 18th century resulted in a wide technological gap between China and the Western world, which had exacerbated corruption among the feudal authorities. One effect of this gap was a push by Western countries to develop and invest in underdeveloped nations, including China. This led to the First Opium War（第一次鸦片战争） between China and Britain, which ushered in a period of foreign invasion and colonization in China, at the time ruled by the Qing Dynasty（清王朝）. During this time, Chinese intellectuals and officials sought ways to improve Chinese life and national prospects. In 1895, after a defeat by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War（甲午战争）, China was forced to sign the unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki（马关条约）, under which Taiwan（台湾） was occupied and 250 million taels (两，then Chinese currency) were paid to Japan.

Astonished and indignant by the defeat, Tan Sitong began to realize the necessity of a thorough reformation in China. He and his colleagues began to search for new approaches to improve national standing. In 1896, he wrote the poem My Feelings (《有感》):

世间无物抵春愁，合向苍冥一哭休。四万万人齐下泪，天涯何处是神州？Nothing in this world can withstand the longing for Spring, These longings join together until they reach the shadowy netherworld in tears. The wailing 400 million people are asking the same question:Oh Where, oh where on this earth can we find our divine China?

Between 1896 and 1897, he finished writing a famous book called Ren Xue (仁学, Theory of Benevolence), which was considered to be the first philosophical work of the Reform. In this book, he said absolute monarchy greatly oppressed human nature. In 1898, he founded a new academy called the South Academy, which attempted to introduce Reformation ideals in southern China, specifically the Hunan district. Later, he also created the newspaper 「Hunan Reporter」 (湘报) to publicize the advantage of Reformation policies.

Hundred Days Reform

Early in 1898, Tan Sitong was introduced to Emperor Guangxu（光绪皇帝）, who was considering enacting Reformation policies. Tan was appointed a member of the Grand Council（军机处）, and within two months the Hundred Days' Reform began with the issuing of an Imperial order called Ming Ding Guo Shi (明定国是诏). However, some of the new policies appeared to challenge the existing interests of many government officials, which led to objections from Manchu（满族, the ethnic group ruling the Qing Dynasty）aristocrats and they reported the case to Empress Dowager Cixi（慈禧太后）, who was de facto leader of the central authority as she was holding much more political leverage than Emperor Guangxu, even though the Emperor had been in throne for more than two decades. As a result, the Reform policies did not gain wide and effective support officially.

When it came to September 1898, Tan and his counterparts thought the Dowager as well as conservative officials was planning to interfere with the Reformation campaign, for which he immediately visited general Yuan Shikai（袁世凯）, in the hope that Yuan's army could support the Reformation Movement by murdering Ronglu (a Manchu official who was in charge of the capital and its surrounding regions then) and imprisoning Cixi in the Summer Palace（颐和园）where she was relaxing in. Yuan did not decline this at the moment however, after returning to Tianjin（天津）, he immediately betrayed the Reform movement by divulging the conspiracy of overthrowing Cixi』s power. What』s more, Cixi was informed that the reformists were trying to engage Itō Hirobumi (伊藤博文，a Japanese politician and reformist who was touring in China then) as a government consultant even provide him with a certain amount of power, which worried her significantly about invulnerability of the Dynasty. Actually, when the Reform began, Cixi didn』t show much resistance while the Emperor had been empowered absolutely to deal with administrative affairs by her, until getting to know these.

As a result, Cixi swiftly returned to the Forbidden City（紫禁城）from the Summer Palace on Sep 21 and led a coup, in which she seized the throne power from Emperor Guangxu and ordered to arrest all those involved in the Reformation. The short-lived Reformation Movement tragically ended 103 days after it began and it has been known ever since as the Hundred Days' Reform（百日维新）. Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned at a place surrounded by water called Ying Tai (瀛台, a tiny isiand in the middle of a lake）in Zhongnanhai（中南海）, allowing Cixi to absolutely consolidate her public standing and authority. All the Reformation policies were abolished except for Jing Shi Da Xue Tang (京师大学堂), the first government-established tertiary educational institution in China』s history, which later on became Peking University.

Tan Sitong was arrested at the "Guild Hall of Liuyang" (浏阳会馆, a guildhall for those from Liuyang) in Beijing on September 24. He had been encouraged to escape to Japan, where the government had expressed sympathy for Reformist scholars. However, Tan refused to go with the reason that his sacrifice would serve as a catalyst for Reformation ideals among the nation. His words on this were as follows:

各国变法，无不从流血而成。今中国未闻有因变法而流血者，此国之所以不昌者也。有之，请从嗣同始。Seen from the world, no successful reforms were made without bleeding. So far, within China, it has never been heard that anyone sacrificed his life to reform the nation, for which the country lacks prosperity. If there is anyone to be, just start from me.

After being caught, Tan Sitong was put in the Xing Bu Da Lao (刑部大牢), the jail belonging to then Ministry of Justice, and charged with treason and attempting a military coup. Unanticipatedly, The legal inquiry process was soon interrupted by an abrupt order from the Emperor (effectively made by Cixi) calling for an immediate execution due to the severity of his crimes. Consequently, Tan was escorted to the Caishikou Execution Grounds (菜市口刑场) outside Xuanwu Gate (宣武门) of Peking on the afternoon of September 28, 1898, where he was executed by beheading along with five others, Yang Shenxiu（杨深秀）, Lin Xu（林旭), Liu Guangdi（刘光第), Kang Guangren（康广仁，younger brother of Kang Youwei), and Yang Rui（杨锐). Historically, these men are called the 「Wu Xu Liu Jun Zi」 (戊戌六君子，Six gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform, 「Wu Xu」 (戊戌) was the term of the year 1898 within a Sexagenary cycle in Chinese traditional calendar). Originally, there were another two officials was ordered to be executed along with the six, Zhang Yinhuan（张荫桓）and Xu Zhijing（徐致靖), they survived the execution due to efficacious rescues by high-ranked officials and foreign interventions.

Tan Sitong's last words on the execution ground are well-known in China, translated as follows:

有心杀贼，无力回天。死得其所，快哉！快哉！I wanted to kill the robbers, but lacked the strength to transform the world. This is the place where I should die. Rejoice, rejoice!

Shortly before the execution, Tan asked to leave a word to Gangyi (刚毅, a Manchu official who was Minister for Defense and an strong opponent against the Reform), who supervised the execution, but Gangyi refused to hear so. This thus left unknown to all.

Death and legacy

After the execution, Tan Sitong's remains were collected and stored by some of his friends. In 1899, the remains were sent to and buried in his hometown, Liuyang (浏阳), Hunan (湖南). His father, despite his disagreement with his son's Reform efforts, was stripped of all official duties. He returned to his hometown and died three years later. Tan Sitong's wife, Li Run, became active in promoting girls』 education and also volunteered as a foster mother in Hunan in her later years. Li passed away in 1925, 14 years after the collapse of Qing Dynasty and 27 years after her husband』s death.

Shortly before his execution, Tan Sitong wrote a farewell letter to his wife, in which some of his principles and values are expressed:

闰妻如面：结缡十五年，原约相守以死，我今背盟矣！手写此信，我尚为世间一人；君看此信，我已成阴曹一鬼。死生契阔，亦复何言，惟念此身虽去，此情不渝。小我虽灭，大我常存。生生世世，同住莲花。如比迎陵毗迦同命鸟，比翼双飞，亦可互嘲。愿君视荣华如梦幻，视死辱为常事。无喜无悲，听其自然。我与殇儿，同在西方极乐世界相偕待君，他年重逢，再聚团圆。殇儿与我，灵魂不远，与君魂梦相依，望君遣怀。戊戌八月九日，嗣同My love Run as you see my face here,You see, we had promised our 15-year marriage to finish the life hand in hand but heartbreakingly, I may have to break the promise now! When I was writing this, I was still alive in the world; however, you, as the reader, are facing a ghost in the netherworld. A long separation is standing ahead, deserving no extra words. Though I am gone, our affections exist as usual. My small ego perished though, long lives my super ego. Life after life, a lotus is accommodating us, we are something like inseparable king birds there - always flying together and making jokes on each other. My last hope, here for you, is to see glory and wealth as unreal illusions while getting accustomed to sacrifice and humiliation. Better to discard extreme happiness and sorrow and, just let everything go. I, along with our dead son, am sincerely waiting for our another reunion in heaven some time after you. We will not go too far away from home, where we are still accompanying your soul and dream, for which nothing will be different for you.SitongSep 24 1898

Tan Sitong has become a symbol of courage, patriotism and anti-feudalism among Chinese people, for which he is always portrayed in a positive light in literature and film. His life and accomplishments are part of popular cultural knowledge and well known to most of the Chinese population.

生平

清朝同治四年農曆二月十三日（公元1865年3月10日），譚嗣同出生于北京宣武城南孏眠胡同（今爛漫胡同）的家邸中。其父譚繼洵時為朝廷官員，曾出任戶部郎中、甘肅道台、湖北巡撫等職。譚嗣同5歲讀書，15歲學詩，20歲學文。譚嗣同早年得力于母教，鑽研儒家典籍，廣泛涉獵文史百科，對中國國學有較深造詣。同時其又致力自然科學之探討，鄙視科舉，喜好今文經學。後往來於疆、隴、秦、直、豫、鄂、湘、蘇、贛等行省，察視風土，結交名士，有「風景不殊，山河頓異；城郭猶是，人民複非」的感慨。少年與繼母不甚相得，遂養成內斂的性格。13歲時，譚嗣同隨父親第一次回到家鄉瀏陽，給母親掃墓，便留在家鄉，師從當地著名學者歐陽中鵠、塗啟先、劉人熙。同時，他還拜師王正誼（大刀王五）和胡致廷（通臂猿胡七），學習武術。1883年，譚嗣同在湖北省和妻子李閏完婚，婚後，他耗時10年，行程8萬里，走遍全國各地。

1895年中日《馬關條約》簽訂，譚嗣同異常不滿，即努力提倡新學，呼號變法，並在家鄉和歐陽中鵠、唐才常等組織「算學社」，集同志講求鑽研，同時在南台書院設立史學、掌故、輿地等新式課程，開湖南全省維新風氣之先。1896年2月入京，結交梁啓超、翁同龢等人。之後，他父親為他捐官江蘇候補知府，供職江寧。

1896年底重回金陵，閉戶養心讀書，成《仁學》2卷。（梁啟超言，譚嗣同曾兩渡臺，其所著仁學，初題：臺灣人所著書）1897年，譚嗣同接受湖南巡撫陳寶箴邀請，和唐才常等人設立時務學堂，籌辦內河輪船、開礦、修築鐵路等新政。1898年，創建南學會、事務學堂、武備學堂、4月和唐才常、熊希齡等主辦《湘報》，積極宣傳變法，成為維新運動的激進派。維新運動時期，《湘報》和上海《時務報》、天津《國聞報》三足鼎立，是全國最有影響力的三大維新報刊。同年4月，得翰林院侍讀學士徐致靖推薦，被徵入京，擢四品卿銜軍機章京，與林旭、楊銳等人參與新政，時號「軍機四卿」。

當宮中zh-cn:后; zh-hk:后; zh-sg:后; zh-tw:后;黨密謀政變，光緒帝傳密詔康有為等設法相救時，即「拔刀以救上自任」。9月18日夜，譚嗣同前往法華寺爭取袁世凱支援，殺榮祿、囚慈禧，不料袁世凱向榮祿告密。有說其實日間已有守舊派楊崇伊上書請太后訓政，袁世凱了解到太后已知，畏罪才告發。變法失敗後，梁啓超避禍日本使館，勸說譚嗣同一同出逃但是遭到拒絕，「各國變法，無不從流血而成，今中國未聞有因變法而流血者，此國之所以不昌也。有之，請自嗣同始！」，大刀王五一再勸說譚嗣同出逃，譚嗣同拒絕，「不有行者，無以圖將來；不有死者，無以酬聖主」，1898年9月28日，榮祿親信貽穀請奏：速行斬決譚嗣同等人，同日，在北京宣武門外的菜市口刑場英勇就義，臨刑前高呼：「有心殺賊，無力回天。死得其所，快哉快哉！」當劊子手要臨刑之際，譚嗣同突然大喊一聲：「吾有一言！」當時劊子手詢問在當時對維新派恨之入骨的監斬官剛毅，是否等譚嗣同說完，無奈剛毅不予理會，譚嗣同英勇就義，這句話也因此成了千古之謎。同時被害的維新人士還有林旭、楊深秀、劉光第、楊銳、康廣仁，六人並稱「戊戌六君子」。後人將其著作編為《譚嗣同全集》。

譚嗣同年少時曾隨大刀王五學習武術，而王五為人樂仗義行俠，喜結交維新人士，1898年戊戌變法失敗，8月間譚嗣同曾和大刀王五謀救光緒帝，未成。譚嗣同被害後，王五冒風險為譚收屍，並運回湖南瀏陽家鄉安葬，此事一時成為京師之美談。

著作

譚曾著《仁學》一書，認為世界是由物質的原質所構成，其本體是「仁」，世界的存在和發展都是由於「仁」的作用，故稱其哲學為「仁學」。「仁」是萬物之源，「以通為第一義」。

而「以太」則是溝通世界成為一個整體的橋樑。由於「以太」「不生不滅」，所以就肯定了自然界和人類社會不是靜止的、停頓的，而是不斷運動、變化和發展的，批判了「天不變，道亦不變」的頑固思想，從變易中論証其改革社會制度的政治理想。

並且認為儒學「名教」是維護專制主義的精神支柱，號召人們衝決君主、倫理、利祿、俗學、天命、佛法等專制網羅。對秦漢以來專制制度的抨擊尤為猛烈，認為君主專制是一切罪惡的淵藪，提出「彼君之不善，人人得而戮之」。在批判專制制度的同時，還提出了發展資本主義的政治、經濟以及變法等主張。

《仁學》一書還有驚人之議：「二千年來之政，秦政也，皆大盜也；二千年來之學，荀學也，皆鄉愿也。惟大盜利用鄉愿，惟鄉愿工媚大盜。」

其候刑時，據說曾題詩「望門投止思張儉，忍死須臾待杜根。我自橫刀向天笑，去留肝膽兩崑崙。」此詩在當時刑部司員唐烜《留庵日鈔》中記為：「望門投宿鄰張儉，忍死須臾待樹根，吾自橫刀仰天笑，去留肝膽兩崑崙。」黃彰健考《康梁演義》小說有另一版本：「望門投趾憐張儉，直諫陳書愧杜根。手擲歐刀仰天笑，留將公罪後人論。」。

家世

先祖譚逢琪、譚世昌，曾祖譚文明，祖父譚學琴，其父為湖北巡撫譚繼洵。

夫人李閏（1865-1925）為中國女學會的倡辦者之一，兩人有一子早夭。

譚嗣同無子嗣，去世後，侄子譚傳煒過繼為「兼祧子」

紀念建築

• 湖南省瀏陽市譚嗣同故居，譚嗣同的成長之地。譚嗣同墓坐落在湖南省長沙瀏陽市荷花街道嗣同村石山組一山坡上。譚嗣同祠坐落在湖南省瀏陽市才常路89號。

• 北京譚嗣同故居原在北半截胡同41號，現位于菜市口大街西側。

• 譚嗣同還被稱為清末維新四公子，另外三人是湖南巡撫陳寶箴之子陳三立、禮部侍郎徐致靖之子徐仁鑄、兩廣總督陶方之之子陶葆廉。後二人有異說。

藝術作品改編

譚嗣同事跡曾被改編為不少影視戲劇，亦有文學作品的描述：

注釋