Zhang Taiyan was a master of traditional Chinese studies in the early years of the Republic of China, and many people had read his articles and had a high prestige, even Lu Xun was his apprentice. Zhang Taiyan was an upright man, not afraid of the powerful, and never flattered, once humiliated Kang Youwei mercilessly when he was celebrating his 70th birthday, even Yuan Shikai did not give a little face, and finally he was imprisoned because of insulting Yuan Shikai. But he could be said to be the highest-ranking prisoner, and Yuan Shikai's good food and drink treats to him only restricted his freedom.
Zhang Taiyan was born in 1869, because his father was a landlord, so the family was quite well off, although his father's culture was not high, but his maternal grandfather was knowledgeable and very strict with Zhang Taiyan, let him read history books and personally teach him, thus laying a solid foundation for Zhang Taiyan. In 1890, Zhang Taiyan came to Hangzhou alone to study at the Jingjing Jingshe, and the host of the Jingjing Jingshe was Yueyue, a famous Master of Pu Xue in the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Taiyan stayed here for a total of eight years, and was deeply influenced by him.
In 1894, when there was constant war, Kang Youwei gave a lecture at this time and proposed to learn Western thought, Zhang Taiyan felt that Kang Youwei was a man of lofty ideals, admired him very much, and funded him with 16 taels of silver. However, Zhang Taiyan later found out that Kang Youwei was a hypocrite with a straight face, so he scolded him bitterly, which showed that Zhang Taiyan was a person with a personality.
After the failure of the Restoration Movement, Zhang Taiyan criticized Liang Qichao in his articles, and mercilessly criticized Yuan Shikai, who was angry but put him under house arrest. However, Zhang Taiyan's treatment was still good, because he was knowledgeable and just, and he was loved by a large number of people and supported by the literati, and if Yuan Shikai did something to him, he would not be able to explain it himself, and he did not dare to treat him badly, so he could only serve him.
He put Zhang Taiyan under house arrest at the Longquan Temple in Beijing, in a quiet environment, and although he could move around at will, the scope could not be too large. Yuan Shikai would send him a newspaper every day, and would send him five hundred silver dollars for living expenses every month, and if he had any daily necessities he needed, he could tell the prison guards and let them buy them. Yuan Shikai not only made him live comfortably, but also ate very well, did not have a meal with two silver dollars of subsidies, and equipped with a chef, what he wanted to eat told him.
That is to say, Zhang Taiyan had 6 silver dollars in a day of food expenses alone, and the prison guard's monthly salary at that time was only 6 silver dollars, which can be said to be a lot. Zhang Taiyan was also not polite, he asked the cook to make only one silver dollar meal, and another silver dollar he put away himself. Moreover, he also asked the cook and the messenger to ask him three times a day, and if there was one less time, he had to be severely punished, and there was such a big shelf in the prison, I am afraid that only Zhang Taiyan would be there.
Zhang Taiyan sometimes insulted Yuan Shikai, or wrote his name in the newspaper, hammered little by little with bricks, after Yuan Shikai's entourage told him, Yuan Shikai was not angry, but said, why fight with a mad dog, it can be seen that Yuan Shikai is still very jealous of Zhang Taiyan. It was not until 1916, when Yuan Shikai died, that Zhang Taiyan was released.
Zhang Taiyan remained fearless after his release from prison, traveled extensively to overthrow the Manchu Qing, and lectured in Suzhou until 1936, when Zhang Taiyan died of illness. Zhang Taiyan has never yielded in his life, said anything, never hidden, but it is precisely because of such a crime that many people, he has been imprisoned by Yuan Shikai, and has been imprisoned several times, but his will is still tenacious and admirable.