Page:A history of Chinese literature - Giles.djvu/211

 followers of Lao Tzu and Buddha behave themselves like ordinary mortals. Let us burn their books. Let us turn their temples into dwelling-houses. Let us make" manifest the Method of our ancient kings, in order that men may be led to embrace its teachings."

Of the character of Han Yii's famous ultimatum to the crocodile, which all Chinese writers have regarded as a real creature, though probably the name is but an allegorical veil, the following extract may suffice :

" O Crocodile ! thou and I cannot rest together here. The Son of Heaven has confided this district and this people to my charge ; and thou, O goggle-eyed, by disturbing the peace of this river and devouring the people and their domestic animals, the bears, the boars, and deer of the neighbourhood, in order to batten thyself and reproduce thy kind, thou art challenging me to a struggle of life and death. And I, though of weakly frame, am I to bow the knee and yield before a croco- dile ? No ! I am the lawful guardian of this place, and 1 would scorn to decline thy challenge, even were it to cost me my life.

" Still, in virtue of my commission from the Son of Heaven, I am bound to give fair warning ; and thou, O crocodile, if thou art wise, will pay due heed to my words. There before thee lies the broad ocean, the domain alike of the whale and the shrimp. Go thither and live in peace. It is but the journey of a day."

The death of a dearly loved nephew, comparatively near to him in age, drew from Han Yii a long and pathetic " In Memoriam," conveyed, as mentioned above, to the ears of the departed through the medium of fire and smoke. These are two short extracts :

" The line of my noble-hearted brother has indeed been

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