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A Chinese Biographical Dictionary
495

Censors with promotions haying failed, he set to work, aided by a eunuch, to persecute them. In 1492, having lost the Emperor*8 favour, he was ordered^ to retire. His impassive endurance of attacks earned him the sobriquet of fj^ {^ ^ ^^Cotton-wool Liu." He proposed that only three attempts to obtain the cM jen degree should be allowed. Canonised as ^ i^ .


1284 Liu Ch'i ^^. Died B.C. 140. Son of Liu H6ng, whom he succeeded in B.C. 156 as fifth sovereign of the Han dynasty. Throughout the reign the Hsiung-nu were constantly giving trouble, making treaties of peace only to break them. In 152 an Imperial Princess was sent as wife to their Khan. Canonised as


1285 Iiiu Clii-3rtian ^ |g tC • I>ied A.D. 991. Son of a daughter of Liu Min, by a man named ^ Ho, and adopted son of Liu Ch^Sng-chtln , who had also adopted and named as his successor another son of the same lady by a former husband named |^ Hsieh. The rightful Heir Apparent, known as :^ |^ J^ Liu Chi-Sn, was murdered after a graud banquet which he had just given to the grandees of the Court, and Liu Chi-yflan was raised to the throne. In 979 he submitted to the House of Sung, and received the title of ^ ^ '^ •


1286 IduCMen ^^ (T. ^ ^). A.D. 1434-.1527. A pupil of Hsieb Hstlan, who graduated as chin ahih in 1460 and rose in 1491 to be President of the Board of Rites. In 1498 he succeeded Hsfl P^u as Prime Minister, and laboured to check abuses and to rouse the Emperor to a sense of bis duty by dwelling on the military weakness of the country. On the completion of the Institutes of the Ming Dynasty he became President of the Board of Civil Office; and at last in 1504 the Emperor, fireed from the superstitious Dowagers, set about reforming the administration. On his death-

bed the sovereign thanked Liu and bis colleagues ^ ^ ^ Li