Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/90

Rh  Chao Kuo 趙遏. 2nd. cent. B.C. An official under the Emperor Wu Ti of the Han dynasty, who is said by some to have been the first to substitute oxen for human labour in ploughing.   Chao K'uo 趙擴. A.D. 1168-1224. Third son of. He reigned from 1194 to 1224 as fourth Emperor of the Southern Sung dynasty. A good-hearted but feeble ruler, he fell under the domination first of, whose niece he married, and on his assassination in 1207, under that of. Han T'o-chou, by accusing his opponents of caballing, and stigmatising as false learning the teachings of the two Ch'êngs and their followers, was enabled to fill all offices with his own creatures, and to enter upon a war with the China Tartars in 1206. The war proved disastrous, and ended in the assassination of Han and the acceptance of burdensome conditions of peace in 1208. The Mongols, however, were now penetrating into northern China, and in 1214 the annual tribute was stopped; yet no preparations were made by the short-sighted rulers of the House of Sung against the rising power that was to overwhelm them. A desultory war with the Chinsa ensued, but few engagements took place. On the Emperor's death, the Empress and the all-powerful Shih Mi-yüan passed over the Heir Apparent, who had rashly disclosed his hostility towards the latter, and set up a descendant of the founder of the Sung dynasty. Canonised as 寧宗皇帝.   Chao Liang-tung 趙良棟 (T. 擎字 and 西華). A.D. 1620—1697. A successful military officer during the reign of the Emperor. In 1676 be quelled the mutiny of the troops in Shensi, and took a prominent part in recovering Ssŭch'uan in 1679. For the latter service he was made President of the Board of War and Viceroy of the Yün-Kuei provinces. In 1681 he was sent to Yünnan, to aid in stamping out the last traces of the rebellion of. His plans were adopted; the provincial 