1898, 1 1 In June, marked by the imperial edict of Emperor Guangxu, a vigorous and top-down reform movement was launched in an all-round way. 1898 was the year of the Reform Movement of 1898, so it was called the Reform Movement of 1898 in history. However, the Reform Movement of 1898 only lasted for more than three months. One morning in September of 2 1 year, Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly returned to the Forbidden City, imprisoned Emperor Guangxu, and strangled the Reform Movement of 1898 in its cradle.

Since then, Empress Dowager Cixi has successively killed many reformers such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, and beheaded six people including Tan Sitong, Yang Rui, Liu Guangdi, Yang Shenxiu and Kang who participated in the Reform Movement of 1898 in the execution ground of Caishikou outside Xuanwu Gate in Beijing. Tan Sitong, Yang Rui, Liu Guangdi,, and Kang were called the Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days Movement.

The source of the title of six gentlemen:

Six people who died in the Reform Movement of 1898, such as Tan Sitong, Yang Shenxiu and Xu Lin, remain in the history books, which are called "Six Gentlemen of the Reform Movement of 1898". The title began with Liang Qichao, who escaped from exile in Japan and was eager to make things public. Regarding the specific situation of North Korea, I can only listen to rumors, remember the heroic sacrifice of my comrades, and write down "1898 coup". In order to increase the publicity effect, the article is inevitably flattering. Later generations followed his theory and collectively referred to Tan Sitong and others as the six gentlemen of the 1898 Movement.