Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/962

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Yen Ting ^^ (T. ^ # ). Died BXI. 493. An official of 2488 the Ch*i State, noted for his thrifty habits of life. At meals, he iroald not eat of two kinds of meat, neither would he allow his womenfolk to wear silk. A small shoulder of pork sufficed for his ancestral sacrifices, and one fox-skin robe lasted him for thirty years. He is credited with the following ruse, by which he got rid of the three rival Ministers who stood most in the way of his own advancement. He persuaded the Duke of Ch4 to offer two peaches to those of his counsellors who should show that they had the best claims. At first only two of the rivals came forward, and each received and ate one of the coveted peaches. Then the third rival presented himself and soon proved that his merits were really greater, whereupon the two slew themselves from mortification. The survivor, indignant that such men should have been sacrificed for the sake of peaches, promptly committed suicide.

Yesnn Timnr it ^ i^ tK l^- ^-^^ 1293-1328. Nephew of 2484 Timur Khan. He was placed upon the throne in 1323, by the conspirators who slew Sotpala, as the sixth Emperor of the Ttlan dynasty; but directly he felt his position secure he put to death the ringleaders and banished others to the frontier. His reign was marked by famine, earthquakes, inundations, and constant plagues

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of locusts. He was as ardent a Buddhist as his predecessors, and gave grants of land to temples; however he forbade Central Asian priests to use the courier-horses, a practice which had caused much injury to the administration and hardship to the people. He was not canonised, but is known in history from his year-title as

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Yin Chi-fa ^ ^ '^. 9th cent. B.C. A military commander 2485

under king Hstlan^ of the Chou dynasty. Having married a second

wife, at her instigation he turned his son Yin "fj^ -^ Po-ch4 out

of doors. The son wandered about the mountains, giving vent to