of her consent two bracelets of white jade. Yang went and dog in his field, and was rewarded by the discovery of five such pairs. EUs union was thereupon happily accomplished. Hence comes the phrase ^ 3& [Q **to cultivate a jade field,'* figuratively used of a happy marriage, and from this l^end the District of 3E [Q Tfl-t4en in Chihli is said to take its name. The same story is told of a man named Liu, from whom the illustrious Lin Ts£-hsti is said to have traced his descent, with unimportant differences of detail. The field is said to have been an indigo-field, and the District named after the story is ^ [Q Lan-t4en in Shensi. Tao ^ . Died B.C. 2258. The famous legendary Emperor, whose 2426 name, coupled with that of Shun, is suggestive of China's Golden Age. His surname was j|[^ Chi, and his personal name ^ ^ Fang-hstln. He is said by some to have been the son of the Emperor ^ ^ Ti K*u, who invested him with the Principality of |lj^ T*ao, whence he subsequently moved to ^ T^ang, from which two localities he obtained the name of |^ ^ ^ • Another account makes him t&e son of a virgin, who produced him according to the prophecy of a red dragon after a gestation of fourteen months, with eyebrows of eight different colours. He ascended the throne in B.C. 2357, and after a glorious reign, variously estimated at 70 and 98 years, he set aside his worthless son Tan Chu and abdicated in favour of Shun. He was canonised as ^ *i^ ^ i ^^^ is also known as "^ j^ and ^ ^ .
Tao Ch'a j^ ^ (T. ^^ ^). AD. 533-606. A native of Wu- 2427 k^ang in Chehkiang. Distinguished in youth by fili^ piety, he rose to eminence as a scholar and undertook to write the History of the Liang Dynasty^ A.D. 502—557. This work was completed by his son, Yao Chien, with some slight help from Wei Ch^ng, as also was Ids History of the Ch^in Dynasty^ A.D. 557—589, towards which he had done little more than collect materials. He served as
