The Wall in Prison
Looking at the door to stop thinking about James Zhang,
Enduring death for a moment.
I smile at the sky from the horizontal knife,
Go and save the liver and gallbladder!
Actually, this is not Tan Sitong's original work, but Kang Youwei has modified it according to his own views. The original work is:
Looking at the door and thinking about James Zhang,
Waiting for Du Gen for a moment.
I smiled at the sky with a European knife, but
I left my gains and losses to future generations!
The original works express Tan Sitong's praise for European civilization, and he is proud of knowing the advanced technologies and systems in Europe. He thinks that his thoughts will change the fate of China, and he is finally praised by people. What Kang Youwei changed was to express his lofty sentiments of death.