The first person sacrificed for the republican revolution- Lu Haodong

Martyr Lu Haodong was a loyal follower and capable go-getter of Dr. Sun Yat-sen in Sun's early pursuit of revolutionary activities. He was arrested unfortunately after the failure of Guangzhou Uprising, the first uprising led by the Revive China Society. On November 7, 1895, he laid down his life for the sake of the country. Dr. Sun Yat-sen praised Lu "was the first person sacrificed for the republican revolution in China's history".

Lu Haodong (1867－1895), also known as Zhonggui and Xianxiang, was a native of Xiangshan, Guangdong (today's Zhongshan, Guangdong) . He got friendly with Sun Yat-sen in their childhood and the two were once classmates in the village school. In 1883, they together damaged the josses in Beijing Hall of the village, which were objected by other villagers. The two left their hometown for Hong Kong, where they were baptized and joined Christianity. In 1884, he was admitted into a telegraph school in Shanghai. After graduation, he was employed by the telegraph office. In that period,when Lu returned the hometown or stopped at hometown for a business trip to Hong Kong,he often got together with Sun Yat-sen, Yang Heling, Chen Shaobai and You Lie, and they were known as the "Four Bandits".. During the meetings, they criticized the corruption of the government of the Qing Dynasty and explored ways of reforming China.

In 1893, Lu Haodong and You Lie made joint investment in establishing Xingli Silkwork Company in Shunde and appealed for improvement of silkworm eggs. Sun Yat-sen wrote the couplet "兴创自我，利归于农" (Develop oneself, benefit all) for the company. Lu attended the meeting held in Kangfengxuan, Guangya, Nanyuan, Guangzhou to discuss current political affairs. In 1894, he accompanied Sun in reaching Tianjin, but theytried in vain to submit the Statement to Li Hongzhan. On the way, they inspected the situation in Peking, Wuhan and other places. In February of the next year, he assisted Sun in setting the stronghold of the Revive China Society in Hong Kong. In March 1895, Lu, Sun and others arrived in Guangzhou to establish a secret branch of the Revive China Society and plan and prepare the Guangzhou Uprising. They contacted members of the garrison and the society and designed the flag of blue sky and white sun for the uprising. On October 26, he started to leave immediately after learning that the plan for the uprising had been divulged. Then, he remembered the list of party memberswas left in the secret branch and went back to destroy it, but unfortunatelywas arrested. In the prison, he stood firm and unyielding, flatly admitted the revolution against the Qing governmentand scathingly denounced its corruption and tyranny. At the end of his confession, he wrote: "Although our uprising failed, I feel relieved. You can kill me, but not all of us, not even our successors.I died a victim of unjust charges and my assertions will be proven. That's all I have to say. Please be quick with the execution."On November 7, he died a hero. Daring not to go and claim the corpse, his family members buried two of his teeth together with his clothes at the foot of Beilitou Hill of Cuiheng Village.