Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/365

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A Chinese Biographical Dictionary

seeing tbat all was lost, he took poison, his body being subsequently found and burnt. On the 10th July Nanking was taken by assault, and one of the greatest rebellions the world has ever seen was at an end. From the £EM^t that the T^ai-p^ings ceased to shave the head and wear a queue according to the Manchu fashion, they also came to be known as the Long-haired Rebels.

891 Hung Jen . A.D. 602-675. The fifth of the Eastern Patriarchs of Buddhism. He was the son by a miraculous conception of a virgin named Chou of ^ >|^ Hnang-mei in Hupeh, and was the re-incarnation of an aged wood-gatherer who applied to Tao Hsin for instruction. His mother was driven out by her parents and reduced with her son to beggary. He gained the favour of the fourth Patriarch, whom he succeeded. About 670 Lu Hui-ndng came to him from Hsin-chou in Euangtung, and was set to menial work. Soon afterwards the Patriarch told each of his monks, over 700 in number, to compose a g&th&, in order to decide who should be his successor. The favourite, jjj^ ^ Shfin Hsiu, wrote on a wall the following lines: —

Man's body is like the B6dhi tree;
His mind is like a mirror
And should be constantly cleaned,
Lest dust should stick to it.

Whereupon Lu Hui-ndng came by night and wrote alongside: —

There is no such thing as the B6dhi tree;
There is no such thing as a mirror;
There is nothing which has a real existence;
How then can dust be attracted?

He thus triumphed over Sh^n Hsiu; and having been invested as the last Patriarch, was sent oflF to study in seclusion. Then, declaring that his doctrine was complete. Hung Jen appeared no more in public.