K'uai's severity in this case was so extreme that he incurred much odium, and the Emperor ordered Ch'en P'ing to have him beheaded. The latter however prudently disobeyed this order; and when shortly afterwards his Majesty died, the Empress Lü Hou restored her niece's husband to all his honours.
540
Fan Li 范蠡. 5th cent. B.C. A native of the Yüeh State, who became Minister under Kou Chien and planned the scheme (see Hsi Shih) by which his master was enabled to reduce the rival State of Wu. After this success he withdrew from official life, declaring that Kou Chien was one with whom adversity but not prosperity might be shared; and that having spent the best part of his life in the public service, he wished to devote his remaining energies to private enjoyment. He repaired first of all to the Ch'i State, where he adopted the sobriquet of 鴟夷子皮, and afterwards to 陶 T'ao, where he took the name of 朱公. Here he seems to have amassed a large fortune; and the name 陶朱公, by which he is sometimes known, is now often used in the sense of "millionaire."
541
Fan Ning 范寕 (T. 武子). A.D. 339-441. A native of 順陽 Shun-yang in Honan. In youth a diligent student, he did not take office until over thirty years of age, when he became a Magistrate in Chehkiang. Six years later he held high office at the capital; but he attacked the powerful Minister 司馬温 Ssŭ-ma Wên, and was sent away to be Governor of Yü-chang in Kiangsi, shortly after which he retired into private life. As an author he is chiefly known by his 春秋穀梁傳集解, a work on Ku Liang's commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals. In 647 his tablet was placed in the Confucian Temple; in 1530 it was removed; and in 1724 replaced.
542
Fan Shih-ch'ung 范時崇. Died A.D. 1720. Son of Fan Ch'êng-mo. On the execution of Kêng Ching-chung, he tore
