Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/747

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A Chinese Biographical Dictionary


whose defeat and death he collected the remaiDB of the army, and after a struggle succeeded in placing' the latter's son upon the throne of Gh4, with himself as Minister. His refusal to aid Hsiang Liang against Chang Han was the indirect cause of the defeat and death of the former. This, coupled with his usurpation of the Princedom of ^ :((^ Ghi-pei, so incensed Hsiang Chi that he organised a campaign against him. T4en Jung was completely beaten and fled to P^ng-yuan, where the people put him to death. 1920 T*ien Ling-tzu BB ^ |§: (T. ^^ ^Ij ). Died A.D. 893. A eunuch of Sstlch^uan, originally named ^ Gh^^n, who had gained the entire confidence of the Emperor Hsi Tsung of the T^ang dynasty before that monarch ascended the throne, and was even accustomed to share his sovereign's bed. He was entrusted with the sole direction of affairs, while the young Emperor, who playfully called him "Daddy,'* gave himself up to a life of pleasure. Knowing that he had nothing to fear, he sold important ofiBcial posts to the highest bidder and issued commissions without waiting for the Imperial sign-manual. He used power to gratify his personal spite, and concealed from his master the disturbed state of the empire. At length the approach of Huang Ch^ao in 880 necessitated a flight from the capital, and the Court took refuge, first of all at Hsing- yflan in Shensi, and afterwards in Sstich^uan. He was then appointed Commander-in-chief and ennobled as Duke. Upon the collapse of the rebellion, the Emperor returned. But in 885, when clamours for vengeance against T4en were heard on all sides, and Li EV yung was hastening up at the head of an army, the former proposed to the Emperor again to take refuge at Hsing-yuan in Shensi. And when the Emperor refused, T4en seized his person by night and carried him ofl*, together with the Imperial seal. The journey was one of considerable sufiering. His Majesty was for a long time without food and was compelled to sleep by the roadside with his