In every era of feudal backwardness, there will always be a group of people who advocate change and innovation in a certain period of time, who are eager to save the society at that time, eager to save the people in the midst of water and fire, whether the final outcome is failure or success, this concept of seeking innovation and change is also worthy of reference by us at present.
In modern history, the Penghu Reform Law is a movement that each of us is more familiar with, and in the context of feudal society, a vigorous innovation began, although the final result was a failure, but it still has a very important significance for modern China.
Among the six gentlemen of Wushu, except for Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, the rest of them were killed, and among those who were killed, Tan Sitong's family background could not be described as prominent, at that time his father Tan Jixun held the position of governor of Yipin Huguang, holding real power, plus such a high official position, why was he still indifferent to the murder of his son?
The political path is different, and the father-son relationship has long since collapsed
The Tan family was originally just a small household, Tan Jixun's father died when he was six years old, which made the already bleak family worse, and soon after the mother also died in a hurry, all relying on the elder brother to raise it, fortunately, Tan Jixun worked hard in reading, passed the entrance examination, and was also serious and careful in his career, and finally enlarged the family lintel.
Coming from a humble background to get today's status, this made Tan Jixun cherish the achievements at this moment very much, and also made him afraid of the decline of the family again, and all this was reflected in his personality, who was very cautious and conservative in his handling of things, and the same was true for things.
Later, the restoration of the law gradually arose, zhang Zhidong, who was a colleague of him at the time, invited him to write a letter advocating the change of the law many times, but Tan Jixun, who had a conservative personality, repeatedly refused and was very resistant to this kind of activity, and because of this, when his son Tan Sitong actively advocated the change of the law, for the future development of the entire family, he even directly and openly turned his face with his son and sided with the diehards in the imperial court.
Under the confrontation of the general trend, the reformists and the diehards are doomed to be incompatible, even if they are father and son, in such a fierce struggle, the feelings of the two gradually collapse, and there is no possibility of repair.
Even if there is no indifference, there is still weakness of the heart
But in the end, the bones were broken and the tendons were connected, and it was his own son who was killed, didn't Tan Jixun ever have the idea of saving him? But even if there were, under the feudal system of high concentration of power at that time, what was the use of the intercession of a small governor?
At that time, Empress Dowager Cixi monopolized power, and who dared to stand up and easily stop the people she decided to kill? Moreover, Tan Jixun was conservative and dared to obey any decision made by the imperial court, because cixi was already furious in this movement, and in his eyes, this was a conspiracy to support Guangxu and suppress himself, and he must cut the grass and root out the roots.
On the other hand, Tan Jixun valued his family so much, not because Tan Sitong pursued his sins was already good, at this time, if he was implicated by Cixi because of his intercession for his son, it might bring more serious consequences to the entire family, so at that time, even if Tan Jixun opened his mouth, the actual effect was only a praying arm as a car, not much use, and even if he ignited the fire, the whole family was not safe.
Tan Sitong risked his life and was already prepared
At that time, after the failure of the Wushu reform, the Guangxu Emperor also informed them that the situation had changed, in order to avoid the disaster of killing themselves, wanted them to escape in advance, Tan Sitong could have seized this opportunity, but he gave up, he said: None of the changes in various countries were not completed by bloodshed, and there is no such thing in China today, if there is, I am willing to start with myself.
With such a selfless mentality, Tan Sitong was arrested, during that time in prison, many friends were actively trying to find ways to rescue him, and even some people were willing to modify Yi Rong to die instead of him, Tan Sitong still refused, and finally heroically and generously died. His father also left an elegy after his death to mourn the death of his son.
Resources:
"Tan Si Tong" and so on