Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/52

 of the circuit of Huai-an-fu and Hsü-chou-fu in Kiangsu. Two years later he was recommended for appointment to the post of provincial judge of Hunan. But Emperor Shêng-tsu disapproved, remarking that Shih Shih-lun, being always on the side of the poor and depressed classes, might be unjust in trials involving other ranks of society. Owing to his ability as a financier he was appointed instead financial commissioner of Hunan, and in 1704 was transferred to Anhwei. In 1705 he was promoted to the position of director of the Court of the Imperial Stud. But because of his inability to prevent pillaging by some soldiers in Hunan, when he was financial commissioner of that province, he was discharged from his post in 1706.

In a few months Shih was recalled and appointed Governor of Shun-t'ien-fu, retaining that position when he was promoted to the vice-presidency of the Censorate three years later. In 1710 he was made vice-president of the Board of Revenue and then placed in charge of the Peking granaries. Five years later, in recognition of his faithfulness, he was made director-general of grain transport at Huai-an, Kiangsu. To relieve a serious famine in Shensi in 1720, plans were formed to transport grain from Honan to that province. Shih was put in charge both of the transportation and distribution of the relief which he carried out efficiently. In 1721 he returned to his post as director of grain transport in Huai-an where he died in 1722. His last request that, like his father and his brother,, he be buried in Fukien, was granted, although all three were Bannermen and would normally have been buried near Peking. His official career was almost uniformly successful and brought him the name of being "the most incorruptible official of the empire" (天下第一清官), as Emperor Shêng-tsu once remarked. Everywhere he went, he was referred to by the people as Shih Ch'ing-t'ien 施青天, "Shih of the Clear Sky," because of his justice in court procedure and because of his hatred of bribery.

He became the hero of a long popular novel, entitled 施公案 Shih kung an, "The Judicial Trials Conducted by His Excellency Shih," a work in 8 chüan or 97 chapters (囘), which also goes under the title 百斷奇觀 Pai-tuan ch'i-kuan. This work which first appeared in 1838 was modeled after a Ming novel, Pao (包) kung an, which narrates similar exploits relating to a Sung official, Pao Chêng 包拯. Several novels, written at the close of the last century, are based on this same theme. The Shih-kung an was written in a crude literary style, but portrays well the ideal official from the viewpoint of the common people. The character, Shih Shih-lun, of the novel was much idealized, and many of his exploits were invented to make the narrative more colorful. However, through the influence of the novel he became one of the most popular and beloved historical figures in the estimation of the common people. He was also a poet, and left a number of verses which were brought together in a collection of 13 chüan, entitled 南堂詩鈔 Nan-tang shih ch'ao, printed in 1726 by his son, Shih T'ing-han 施廷翰. The printing was beautifully executed, and a copy is preserved in the Library of Congress.

[1/283/8a; 2/11/44a; 3/163/10a; 23/23/1a; Fukien t'ung-chih (1871) 228/23b; Lu-hsün, Chung-kuo hsiao-shuo shih lüeh (see bibl. under ) pp. 325–26.]

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 SHIH Shih-p'iao 施世驃, d. 1721, age 55 (sui), admiral, was a native of Chin-chiang, Fukien, and a younger brother of. When his father,, effected the surrender of Chêng K'o-shuang (see under ) in Taiwan in 1683, Shih Shih-p'iao, though only a lad of seventeen (sui), demonstrated his prowess in battle. In 1691 he was made lieutenant-colonel in command of the city guards of Tsinan, Shantung. In 1696 he served for a time under Yüeh Shêng-lung (see under ) in the war against, but returned to his post at Tsinan after the war was over. He was made a colonel in command of the guards at Lin-ch'ing, Shantung, in 1698 and became a brigade-general stationed at Ting-hai, Chekiang, three years later. Because of his exploits in subduing pirates along the coasts he was, in 1708, made provincial commander-in-chief of Kwangtung.

In 1712 he became commander-in-chief of the naval forces of Fukien—a post his father had twice held, in the years 1662–68 and 1681–96. Stationed at Amoy, Shih Shih-p'iao constructed ships and otherwise increased his naval equipment. At the end of May 1721, report of a serious uprising in Taiwan (see under ) reached him. As the rebels had already occupied the entire island, he at once prepared 654