and report to the God that another girl would be chosen immediately. Thereupon he caused them to be flung into the ri?er, and after waiting some time for them to come back, he said that the chief men must be sent to see why they delayed. Accordingly the chief men were thrown in after them; and from that time the custom fell into desuetude.
679 Hsi Shih eg i|g or Hsi TatL gg -^ (M. H ^). 5th ceni B.G. One of the most famous of Chinese beauties. She was the daughter of humble parents, named Shih, known as the ^ western Shihs to distinguish them from another family of that name. She liyed in the Ytleh State, and gained her livelihood by washing silk; or according to another account, 'by selling firewood. Chuang Tzti writes of her as follows: — *'When Hsi Shih was distressed in mind, she knitted her brows. An ugly woman of the village, seeing how beautiful she looked, went home, and having worked herself into a fit frame of mind, knitted her brows. The result was that the rich people barred up their doors and would not come out, while the poor people took their wives and children and departed elsewhere. That woman saw the beauty of knitted brows but she did not see wherein the beauty of knitted brows lay." In due course the fame of Hsi Shih*s loveliness reached the ears of the Prince of Tfleh; and acting under the advice of his trusted Minister, Fan Li, he at once set to work to make her the means of wreaking Vengeance upon his victorious rival, Fu Gh'ai, the Prince of Wu. Hsi Shih was trained in deportment for three years, dressed in S^orgeous apparel, and sent under the care of Fan Li, ambassador to Wa, to be exhibited to Fu Gh'ai. The stratagem was successful; t;he Prince of Wu abandoned himself to lustful dalliance, and was ere long completely defeated by his wily neighbour. See Kou Chien.
Hsi Tsung. See (T'ang) Li Yen; (Ohin») Wan-yen Tan;
CMing) Chu Yu-chiao.
