Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/942

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A Chinese Biographical Dictionary
923


K'o-hsi. His tradocers, the Viceroy and the Gofernor, committed suicide; but he too was turned adrift at the age of fifty. The rebellion of the Feudatories enabled him to renew his career, and haring visited all alone and unarmed the warering E6ng Ching- chung and induced him to surrender, he was for this and many acts of Talour appointed Viceroy of Fuhkien in 1678, to oppose the invasion of Ch^ng Chin. Besieged with only 5,000 men in Chang-chou, he beat off his 100,000 assailants by a sudden sortie during a thick fog, and steadily advancing, drove the Formosahs to their island in 1680. For this he was ennobled and appointed President of the Board of War. In 1682 the death of Ch^ng Chin, who left a boy-successor, offered an opportunity to recover Formosa; but disputes with Shih Lang delayed operations until 1683 when Ghdng E'o-shuang submitted, his brave general Liu Euo-hstlan having been alienated from him by the wiles of Yao Ch4-sh6ng. The latter is said to have been seven feet in height, and to have possessed enormous strength. He married his wife on account of her great muscularity, and their one son was strong enough to stop a runaway horse! Author of a collection of essays, etc. entitled

Yao Chien j^^ (T. MM)- ^®^ ^I^- ^*3- ^ ^^^"^^ ^^ ^*^*

Wan*nien in Shensi, and son of Yao Ch^a. He served under the Prince of Eoei-chi; and subsequently, under the Sui dynasty, as Reader to the Prince of Tai, he alone of the staff remained in attendance when the capital was stormed by the army of the Twangs. He was one of the eighteen men of learning gathered around him by the Prince of Ch4n in A.D. 621 (see LiShih-tnin). He afterwards held the post of Chamberlain, and was entrusted with the completion of the histories of the Liang and Ch^Sn dynasties begun by his father. Ennobled as Baron, and canonised as j^t He is better known by his style, as Yao Ssii-lien.