son of the Emperor Yüan Ti, and second sovereign of the (illegible text)
dynasty. He was early distinguished for intelligence, good (illegible text) and love for literature. He was one day sitting on his father's
knee when a messenger arrived from Ch'ang-an. "Which is the
farther off," asked his father, "Ch'ang-an or the son?" "Oh, ibe
sun, of course," replied the boy; "we have people coming from
Ch'ang-an, but no one ever comes from the sun." His father was
so pleased with this answer that at a banquet the next day he
gave him the same question again, when to his astonishment the
child changed his reply to Ch'ang-an. "How so?" said his father
angrily; "what do you mean by this?" "Well," replied the boy,
"we can see the sun, but we cannot see Ch'ang-an." Succeeding to
the throne in 322, he saw his dominions reduced on the north
and west, and in 324 Wang Tun laid siege to Nanking. The latter
was defeated by the Emperor and slain, but Shih Lo succeeded in
extending his boundaries down to the river Huai. Canonised as
(
Chinese characters)
1761 Ssŭ-ma Tan (Chinese characters) (T. (Chinese characters)). A.D. 342-361. Son of the Emperor K^ang Ti , and fifth sovereign of the E. Chin dynasty.
He ascended the throne at the age of three, and by the exertions
of Huan Wên reigned not ingloriously for seventeen years. Saū̆ch'uan
was regained in 347, and in 356 Yao Hsiang was driven out of
Honan, and all south of the Yellow River acknowledged the sway
of the Chins. Canonised as. (Chinese characters)
1762 Ssū̆-ma T'an (Chinese characters) Died B.C. 110. Father of Saū̆ma Ch'ian,
and hereditary Grand Astrologer at the Court of the Emperor Wu
Ti of the Han dynasty. An eager student of philosophy, especially
of Taoism, he also planned and collected material for the Historical Record, which was completed by his more famous son. He accompanied the Emperor (see Liu Ch'ê) on his visit to Mt. T'ai in
Shantung for the celebration of the sacrifices to Heaven and
