empire. After the death of the Emperor she became Regent for
her youthful son , known in history as Hui Ti. To make the throne
secure, she poisoned the Prince of Chao, another sou of the late
Emperor by a concubine named (
Chinese characters) the Lady Ch'i; and
also put his mother to death with shameful tortures, and called
her own son to view the death-struggle of this unhappy woman
as she lay expiring in a latrine. This sight affected the young
Emperor do deeply that he lost self-control, and ga?e himself up
to drinking and debauchery; whereupon his mother usurped all
power, and reigned for the rest of her life as the legitimate
sovereign of the empire. After her death there was an attempt by
members of the family, all of whom had been raised to high rank,
to possess themselves of the throne. Their forces were dispersed by
Chou P'o, and Liu Hdng was saluted as Emperor.
1443
Lii Hsiang (Chinese characters)) (T. (Chinese characters) ). 8th cent. A.D. A native of (Chinese characters)
Ching-chou in Eansuh, whose father was absent at a distance when
he was born. Brought up by his maternal grandmother, he devoted
himself to the "grass" character and became so expert that he
could write 100 characters in a ring without taking off his pen.
The strokes were all so fine that his style came to be known as
the "brocade" style. In 722 he was admitted to the Han-lin College,
and wrote poems denouncing the Emperor's annual search for
beautiful girls and also the Imperial hunting expeditions. He rose
to be Vice President in the Board of Works; and one day, returning
from Court, he espied an old man in the street who greatly
resembled his father. Stopping to speak to him, he found out that
the stranger really was his father; whereupon he jumped off his
horse, and clasping the old man's knees, with tears of joy carried
him away to his home.
1444
Lti Hsien-chi (Chinese characters) S (T. (Chinese characters) ). A.D. 1800-1853. As
Censor in 1842 he gained a great reputation by his excellent
