Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/598

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History of the Mings. His ^ ^ ^ ^ Introduction to Astronomy was revised by the Emperor E^ang Hsi himself.

1511

Mei Yao.ch*en ;|2| ^ g (T. H -^). A.D. 1002-1060. A native of ^ |^ Wan-ling in Anhui, who distinguished himself as a poet under the Sung dynasty. He inherited official rank, and in 1056 he was summoned on account of his poetic ability to the Imperial Academy, rising to be a second-class secretary. In con- sequence of his work on the T^ang dynasty, he was placed on the commission to prepare the New History of that period, but died before its completion. Author of the >Jn ^, the -j^ '^ 2^ » &nd the ^ ^, works explanatory and illustrative of the Book of Odes. Ou-yang Hsiu, parodying the Confucian Analects^ XX. 8, said of him that he "knew words."

1512

Men Ta P^ ^. Died A.D.? 1464. A eunuch of g( ^ F6ng. jan in Chihli, and an hereditary officer of the Body-guard, who was charged by the Emperor Ying Tsung with the management of criminal investigations. He assisted in the restoration of Ying Tsung in 1457, for which service he was promoted in rank and received the sole charge of the criminal department. The Emperor, who had a horror of cabals, used the Guards as detectives; and M6n Ta and 逯杲 Lu Kao established a tyranny thereby, even the highest officials bribing to escape prosecution. Princes were included in the frequent State trials; and after Lu Eao had been slain by the son of Ts^ao Chi-hsiang in 1461, Mfin Ta spread his net so widely that the palace prison had to be enlarged. On the Emperor's death, he was banished to the Euangsi frontier, where he died.

Menoius. See Meng K'o.

1513

Meng Chiang ^ 1^ (T. >f|^ ^ ). 2nd cent. A.D. A native of Shang-yfl in Chehkiang, who rose to be Governor of -^ 7^ Ho- p*u in Euangtung. On reaching his post he found that the greed and corruption of his predecessor had almost put an end to the