Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/167

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148
A Chinese Biographical Dictionary


to his death he was engaged in keeping in order the Tellow River, which had been greatly neglected. His fondness for dyking, on which he spent altogether some 2Vg million taels, led to many disputes, from which he emerged successfal, being able to report in 1683 that the river was in its old bed. In 1685 he introduced locks to let off flood waters, and caused willows to be planted along the dykes. He was anxious to be allowed to keep back the sea by dykes at the mouth of the river, but this scheme met with disapproval. In 1689 he retired, but was recalled in 1692 to his old post, his last work being the successful transport up river of grain for the famine in Shensi. His work, the *^ f^ ^ , on the conservancy of the Yellow River, is still highly valued. Canonised as ^ ||| .

380 Chin Kang Chih Vadjramati, an Indian priest, of royal descent, who arrived in China A.D. 270. He was summoned to Court, and succeeded in procuring rain during a time of drought. He introduced the system of magic formulae, which was elaborated later on by Amdgha (see Pu K^ung).

381 Chin Li-hsiang (T. -^ ^. R. j^ \\\). A.D. 1232-1303. A native of || j^ Lan-ch'i in Chehkiang. Devoted to study in his youth, the Mongol invasion and subsequent fall of the Sung dynasty deterred him from entering upon an official career. He retired to a quiet life upon Mt. ^ Jen near his native place; hence the name by which he is known in literature. Later on, he appears to have become head of a college at Chin-hua, and to have had numerous disciples. He was author of the ^^'^)|l^i a history of early China, from the days of the Emperor Tao down to the point at which Ssti-ma Euang's history begins. Also of a miscellaneous collection, published under the title of \2, |1| ^ ^ » and of many commentaries upon the

Classics. He was canonised by the last Emperor of the TtLan