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 restoration of the sacred text. So many, indeed, of the literati are said to have been put to death for dis- obedience that melons actually grew in winter on the spot beneath which their bodies were buried.

Li SsO was a scholar himself, and the reputed inventor of the script known as the Lesser Seal, which was in vogue for several centuries. The following is from a memorial of his against the proscription of nobles and others from rival States :

" As broad acres yield large crops, so for a nation to be great there should be a great population ; and for soldiers to be daring their generals should be brave. Not a single clod was added to T'ai-shan in vain : hence the huge mountain we now behold. The merest stream- let is received into the bosom of Ocean : hence the Ocean's unfathomable expanse. And wise and virtuous is the ruler who scorns not the masses below. For him, no boundaries of realm, no distinctions of nation- ality exist. The four seasons enrich him ; the Gods bless him ; and, like our rulers of old, no man's hand is against him."

The First Emperor died in B.C. 2IO, 1 and his feeble son, the Second Emperor, was put to death in 207, thus bringing their line to an end. The vacant throne was won by a quondam beadle, who established the glorious House of Han, in memory of which Chinese of the present day, chiefly in the north, are still proud to call themselves Sons of Han.

So soon as the empire settled down to comparative peace, a mighty effort was made to undo at least some of the mischief sustained by the national literature. An

1 An account of the mausoleum built to receive his remains will be found in Chapter iii. of this Book.

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