218 CHINESE LITERATURE
ling of his books that even after many years' use they were still as good as new. He would not allow his disciples to turn over leaves by scratching them up with the nails, but made them use the forefinger and second finger of the right hand. In 1085 he determined to return to public life, but he had not been many months in the capital, labouring as usual for his country's good, before he succumbed to an illness and died, uni- versally honoured and regretted by his countrymen, to whom he was affectionately known as the Living Buddha.
The following extract from his writings refers to a new and dangerous development in the Censorate, an insti- tution which still plays a singular part in the adminis- tration of China :
" Of old there was no such office as that of Censor. From the highest statesman down to the artisan and trader, every man was free to admonish the Throne. From the time of the Han dynasty onwards, this prerogative was vested in an office, with the weighty responsibility of discussing the government of the empire, the people within the Four Seas, successes, failures, advantages, and disadvantages, in order of im- portance and of urgency. The sole object in this arrangement was the benefit of the State, not that of the Censor, from whom all ideas of fame or gain were indeed far removed. In 1017 an edict was issued appointing six officers to undertake these Censorial duties, and in 1045 their names were for the first time written out on boards ; and then, in 1062, apparently for better preservation, the names were cut on stone. Thus posterity can point to such an one and say, ' There was a loyal man ; ' to another, ' There was a traitor ; ' to a third, ' There was an upright man ; ' to
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