Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/691

672 son of the Emperor Yüan Ti, and second sovereign of the dynasty. He was early distinguished for intelligence, good and love for literature. He was one day sitting on his father's knee when a messenger arrived from Ch'ang-an. "Which is the farther off," asked his father, "Ch'ang-an or the son?" "Oh, ibe sun, of course," replied the boy; "we have people coming from Ch'ang-an, but no one ever comes from the sun." His father was so pleased with this answer that at a banquet the next day he gave him the same question again, when to his astonishment the child changed his reply to Ch'ang-an. "How so?" said his father angrily; "what do you mean by this?" "Well," replied the boy, "we can see the sun, but we cannot see Ch'ang-an." Succeeding to the throne in 322, he saw his dominions reduced on the north and west, and in 324 Wang Tun laid siege to Nanking. The latter was defeated by the Emperor and slain, but Shih Lo succeeded in extending his boundaries down to the river Huai. Canonised as

1761 Ssŭ-ma Tan (T. ). A.D. 342-361. Son of the Emperor K^ang Ti, and fifth sovereign of the E. Chin dynasty. He ascended the throne at the age of three, and by the exertions of Huan Wên reigned not ingloriously for seventeen years. Saū̆ch'uan was regained in 347, and in 356 Yao Hsiang was driven out of Honan, and all south of the Yellow River acknowledged the sway of the Chins. Canonised as.

1762 Ssū̆-ma T'an Died B.C. 110. Father of Saū̆ma Ch'ian, and hereditary Grand Astrologer at the Court of the Emperor Wu Ti of the Han dynasty. An eager student of philosophy, especially of Taoism, he also planned and collected material for the Historical Record, which was completed by his more famous son. He accompanied the Emperor (see Liu Ch'ê) on his visit to Mt. T'ai in Shantung for the celebration of the sacrifices to Heaven and