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order of his uncle and saccessor, Yen Hsi, and were all pnt to death. Canonised as

2137 Wang Chiang ^gB (T. ^"i". H. ^^ and H ^ jfe

i^). A.D. 1724--1806. Known even in early youth as a prodigy of learning, he graduated as chin shUi in 1753 and rose by 1768 to the post of Senior Secretary in a Board. He was then cashiered for revealing official secrets and sent with 0-kuei to Burmah. Up to 1776 he served in the west as military secretary against the rebels in Chin-ch*uan, and gradually rose until in 1787 he came to Peking as Vice President of the Board of Punishments, whence

he is often spoken of as ^E "^ ^ * B^^^i^g ^^ ^ ^^ ^^ ^ goods in order to make his accounts balance when in charge of the copper administration in YiQnnan (on which he wrote a comprehensive work), he lived after his retirement in 1793 upon the charity of friends. He was said to be equally proficient in classical, critical, and poetical scholarship, and equally skilled whether in literary research, in military strategy, or in civil government. He was a deep metaphysician and had a following of some two thousand disciples. He was employed in editing various Topographies and Imperial compilations, besides being himself the author of many volumes of essays, poetry, and historical studies, among which may be mentioned the ^ ^ !^ )||^, a collection of inscriptions from the earliest times down to the 13th century.

2138 Wang Ch*aiig-Ung ^ g ^ (T. ^p'i^y 8th cent. A.D. A

native of Chiang-ning, who graduated as chin shih and distinguished himself as a poet. He was employed for some time at the capital, but fell into disfavour, and was finally sent to ]||| ^ Lung-p'iao in Hunan. When An Lu-shan broke into rebellion, he returned to his native place, where he was slain by the Censor ^ J^ ^ Lii Gh'iu-hsiao. The latter, when caught by ^ ^ Chang Hao, pleaded hard that his life should be spared, on the ground that