Originally he thought that it should not have been hard to raise the funds, judging from the wealth of Fujian's overseas businessmen. But Tan soon met an unending line of equivocations, and he was forced to bear the whole burden himself.
本來他以為以福建僑商之富裕，要募捐一些錢不是難事，不過在幾次碰了軟釘子的情形下，他只有自己獨力苦撐。