The most radical representative of the reformists is Tan Sitong. He not only advocated that the reform should start with politics, but also had a revolutionary tendency.

Tan Sitong (1865— 1898) was born in Liuyang, Hunan. Born in a feudal bureaucratic family. As a teenager, he received traditional feudal education, participated in imperial examinations many times, and fell into Sun Shan every time. He likes playing with swords and guns and traveling. 1884- 1894 during the ten years, he traveled all over China. 1894 The Sino-Japanese War of 1894 was a turning point in Tan Sitong's life history. Before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Tan Sitong was basically just a person who emphasized "textual research, annotation, epigraphy, seal cutting, poetry and the study of ancient prose". The failure of the Sino-Japanese War strongly affected Tan Sitong. He said: "Thirty years is the Sino-Japanese War. The overall situation of the earth changed suddenly and the academic changes were even greater ... After that, it was long and old." From then on, he paid close attention to state affairs and "studied the changes in the world for decades in detail" in order to seek ways to save the country. 1896 invested in Jiangsu as a backup magistrate and waited for the vacancy in Nanjing. From the end of this year to the beginning of the second year, he wrote the famous Benevolence. 1897 assisted Hunan Governor Chen Baozhen and provincial judge Huang Zunxian to set up a current affairs school, organized inland river vessels, mined mines, built railways and other new policies. 1898 returned to Hunan to advocate the establishment of Southern College, run Hunan Daily well and publicize reforms. In August, he was ordered by Emperor Guangxu to go to Beijing in spite of illness, and enjoyed four titles: getting on the military plane Zhang Jing and participating in the New Deal. There was a coup on September 2 1 day, and Tan Sitong was determined to shed blood for the political reform. He was arrested on 24th and executed by Empress Dowager Cixi on 28th together with Yang Shenxiu and other six people. A poem about staying in prison: "Looking at the door, I miss James Zhang, and I have to wait for my roots. I am smiling at the sky, and I am going to live in the two Kunlun Mountains. " He expressed his thoughts before he died and placed high hopes on the dead king.

Tan Sitong's thought of opposing feudal absolutism is mainly embodied in Benevolence and some letters. He profoundly pointed out: "politics and those who play politics for two thousand years are thieves", and traditional Confucianism for two thousand years "wants to go home"; For two thousand years, the emperor has been a "lone husband thief". And put forward that "if people are not good, they will be punished." This is a bold denial of monarchy and reflects the bourgeoisie's extreme hatred of feudal autocracy. This kind of strength is unprecedented for Kang Youwei and others.

Tan Sitong's book Benevolence was not published when he was alive, but circulated among friends and comrades. 1899, after the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898, Liang Qichao published Qing Yi Bao one after another, some of which were deleted by Liang. Liang Qichao said: "It's beyond the reach of humanity, and its words are not to be feared." It can be seen how radical Tan Sitong's thoughts were during the Reform Movement of 1898!

There is a huge contradiction between Tan Sitong's thought and practice. He is so radical and generous in thought, but he has not got rid of the shackles of improvement in practice. He threatened to kill the emperor of the world, but at the same time he fell at the emperor's feet (in his eyes, Guangxu was different from the general autocratic monarch) and finally gave his head for it. He is a revolutionary and improved personality. When the grand ideal of the democratic revolution cannot be realized immediately, he tends to the seemingly labor-saving road of improvement. The contradiction between ideal and reality and the contradiction between theory and practice led to his tragedy.