谭嗣同
Tan Sitong was arrested at the "Guild Hall of Liuyang" (, 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: