Tan Sitong (March 10, 1865 – September 28, 1898), courtesy name Fusheng, pseudonym Zhuangfei, was a native of Liuyang, Hunan. He was a famous politician, thinker, and reformist in modern China. His book, The Philosophy of Benevolence, was the first philosophical work of the reformists and an important work in the history of modern Chinese thought. In his early years, Tan Sitong founded the Current Affairs School and the Southern Society in his hometown of Hunan, hosted the Hunan Daily, advocated mining, built railways, promoted reforms, and implemented new policies. In 1898 (the 24th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu), Tan Sitong participated in and led the Reform Movement of 1898, but was killed after its failure at the age of 33. He was one of the “Six Gentlemen of the Reform Movement of 1898”.
谭嗣同（1865年3月10日—1898年9月28日），字复生，号壮飞，湖南浏阳人，中国近代著名政治家、思想家，维新派人士。其所著的《仁学》，是维新派的第一部哲学著作，也是中国近代思想史中的重要著作。谭嗣同早年曾在家乡湖南倡办时务学堂、南学会等，主办《湘报》，又倡导开矿山、修铁路，宣传变法维新，推行新政。1898年（光绪二十四年），谭嗣同参加领导戊戌变法，失败后被杀，年仅33岁，为“戊戌六君子”之一。
谭嗣同·《甘肃布政使署憩园秋日七绝》
小楼人影倚高空，目尽疏林夕照中。
为问西风竟何著，轻轻吹上雁来红。
Written on an Autumn Day at the Garden of the Official Residence of the Governor of Kansu
T’an Ssu-T’ung
On a small balcony, the shadow of someone leaning against the tall sky;
In the distance, the sparse forest in twilight’s glow.
Let me ask what the west wind is really doing:
To blow so gently, reddening the aramanth blossoms.
1. Yen-lai hung: literally, “wild geese come red,” or Amaranthus tricolor, with showy red flowers resembling the cockscomb. Because its flowering season is in late fall, it is also called lao shao-nien (youthful-looking old man) in the eastern part of China.
