In the magnificent drama of modern Chinese history, many characters have gone from ordinary to legendary because of the wonderful arrangement of fate. A talented man who could have been a champion in high school, because of a big man's dissatisfaction with his name, plummeted and missed the peak of officialdom. However, this talented man did not give in, but counterattacked all the way, and finally became a key figure in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty.
On January 25, 1880 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, a baby that would affect the fate of China fell to the ground. On this day, the whole city was immersed in the joy before the Spring Festival, and in the prefect's mansion on the edge of the West Lake, it was even more joyful. This prefect, named Tan Zhonglin, dreamed that his late father told him that the upcoming child would be extraordinary, shortly before the child was born. So, he named the child "Tan Yanhong", hoping that he could inherit the wishes and expectations of his ancestors.
In his childhood, under the influence of his father, Tan Yanmin studied Confucian classics and ancient culture, and also saw the complexity and cruelty of politics. His father, from the position of governor of Liangguang, provided him with the best perspective for observation and learning. This kind of education not only tempered his knowledge, but also cultivated his deep feelings for the country and the nation.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, Tan Yanmin has grown up, and with his ingenuity, he easily passed the preliminary examination and the general examination of the imperial examination, passed all the way, and finally entered the palace examination. The palace exam, this is the last hurdle to determine the champion, and it is more of a test of the candidate's temperament and luck - after all, it depends on the emperor's mood and preferences.
However, Tan Yanmin's fate suffered a turning point here. It is said that the Empress Dowager Cixi at that time did not like the name "Tan Yanmin" for some reason, and as a result, this talented son, who should have been the top student in high school, turned out to be famous in Sun Shan. missed the champion, and Tan Yanmin's life seems to be rewritten. But who would have thought that this frustrating turn would become a new starting point in his life.
After his father's death, Tan Yanmin could have chosen to settle for the status quo, but he didn't. He began to study in depth the various problems of the society at that time, and gradually became dissatisfied with the various shortcomings of the Qing government. In 1904, shortly after the last imperial examinations of the Qing Dynasty, he decided to abandon his career and plunge into the torrent of revolution.
Tan Yanmin soon rose to prominence in the revolutionary party, and his wisdom and courage made him one of the leaders of the revolution. With the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, he became a key figure in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and establishing the Republic of China. From a champion of the imperial examination who was abandoned by Cixi because of his name, to a hero of the Republic of China who set off a revolutionary storm, Tan Yanmin's life is full of legends.
In the storms of the revolution, Tan Yanmin not only showed his political talent, but also showed his cultural heritage and personality charm. In addition to war and planning, he often wrote articles and poems to express his political ideas and hopes for the future. These works later became a very important cultural heritage during the Republic of China.
Fate always seems to like to play a joke on this hero. Although he succeeded in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, in the subsequent political struggles, Tan Yanmin gradually discovered that the new regime was also full of the ills of the old society. The struggle for power and factional strife made him feel deeply tired and helpless. In his memoirs of his later years, we can clearly feel his helplessness and anxiety about these issues.
Tan Yanmin's story is a historical drama full of twists and turns. From a scholar who lost his title because Cixi disliked his name, to a revolutionary hero who overthrew the imperial system and established a republic, to an old politician who faced confusion and challenges in the new regime, his life is not only a personal history of struggle, but also a microcosm of China's transformation from a feudal monarchy to a modern state.
Tan Yanmin's life is a legendary story of ups and downs from a possible champion to the chairman of the Republic of China. His experience reflects the transformation of an era and the awakening of a nation.