210 KITAN. two million taels, * in this year ten and a quarter, besides four million Chinese pecks of grain. This is the most conclusive proof we can have of the power to which the Kitan had grown on the north of China Next year Looshan went to pay his new-year's respects to the emperor, who received him with great favour. He reported that there had been a teirible visitation of locusts in Yingchow ; that he had burned incense and prayed to heaven, saying, " If I am not upright in business and faithful to my prince let the locusts eat all up ; if I am faithful and upright let the spirits abovQ and those of the earth cause the locusts to scatter;" — and immediately there came an immense flock of birds from the north, which completely ate up all the locusts. He prayed that this memorial might be put on record, and the emperor agreed, and raised him, besides, to a higher rank. In order to distinguish himself, Looshan, in 745, scoured the country of the west Eitan ; and they retaliated by murdering their queen, the Chinese princess, as the signal of revolt Loo- shan defeated them and pursued them to Beiping Districti* Four years after, at a time when there was no hostile action going on, he invited the principal Eitan men to a feast, at which he provided a great deal of spirits. Chinese were themselves then much addicted to drunkenness, and the Eitan were not likely to be more moderate drinkers than the present Mongols, who get drunk on every possible opportunity. They drank themselves drunk at this feasts when he had them all murdered, sending the head of their chief officer to the emperor. He got leave to visit the capital soon thereafter, and took with
- The Chinese tael or ounce is equal to IJ oz. English, and the tael of silver is, in
round numbers, equal to 6/ stg., though then it was at least double that value ; for gold was then cheaper than now ; and silver was so scarce that we believe the weight here to be of gold and not of silver. At that time silver was not used, except in extrsmely rare instances. There was copper cash and gold ingots, but no silver cuirency. Hence silver, which is the only currency now, is often called so many ounces of "gold,** or at times "white gold.'* t Tsunhwa, north of Peking. Then, and long after, the country immediately north of Peking was in nomad hands, spite of the great wall.
