In "10,000 Hours of Play," Yu-kai Chou describes how Sun Yat-sen's first attempt at revolution became the ultimate Plot Fail Quest — a setback that cost him his closest ally but forged his resolve to never stop fighting.

Sun returned from Hawaii with funds and fighters, planning to seize Guangzhou on October 26, 1895. He set up a cover organization called the Nongxuehui (Agricultural Society) to recruit members without raising suspicion. But the plan leaked — someone tipped off the Hong Kong police about Triad recruitment, supplies never arrived, and supporting armies were blocked. The uprising collapsed before it started.

Sun barely escaped, hiding in Xiaolan Town before fleeing to Macau and then Japan. His childhood friend Lu Haodong — the same boy he'd grown up with in Cuiheng, the same one who'd helped him smash the village idol — was captured and executed on November 7, 1895. Sun became a fugitive, beginning a 16-year exile. He wouldn't set foot in China again until after the dynasty fell.

📖 Discover the full journey: 10,000 Hours of Play by Yu-kai Chou