Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/252

Rh a Grand Secretary in 1748. In that year he was sent to put an end to the campaign against Chin-ch'uan, which had been incompetently conducted. He enticed the chief rebels to his camp and executed them, and by vigorous attacks forced the rest to submit early in the following year. For his services he was ennobled as Duke, and on his return to Peking was received with extraordinary honours. In 1763 the Emperor Ch'ien Lung publicly acknowledged the valuable aid he had given in the prosecution of the Sungar war. Four years later he obtained leave to carry on the Burmese war, hitherto mismanaged; and reaching Moulmein in May 1769, he contrived to build a flotilla, crossed the Lankan river, and after some fighting laid siege to Kauntong, whereupon the Burmese consented to pay tribute. He died on his way to Peking and was buried with princely honours, Ch'ien Lung paying a personal visit of condolence to the family. He is specially mentioned in the poem by Ch'ien Lung entitled 懷舊詩 A Retrospect. Canonised as 文忠, and included in the Temple of Worthies.

  Fu Hsi 伏羲. B.C. 2953-2838. The first of the Five Emperors of the legendary period, also known as 包羲氏 and 太昊. He is said to have been miraculously conceived by his mother, who after a gestation of twelve years gave birth to him at Ch'êng-chi in Shensi. He taught his people to hunt, to fish, and to keep flocks. He showed them how to split the wood of the 桐 t'ung tree, and then how to twist silk threads and stretch them across so as to form rude musical instruments. From the markings on the back of a tortoise he is said to have constructed the Eight Diagrams, or series of lines from which was developed a whole system of philosophy, embodied later on in the mysterious work known as the Canon of Changes. He also invented some kind of calendar, placed the marriage contract upon