589 Fu I 傅奕. A.D. 554-639. An official of the Sui dynasty, who became Historiographer under the first Emperor of the T'ang dynasty. He presented a memorial asking that the Buddhist religion might be abolished; and when Hsiao Yü questioned him on the subject, he said, "You were not born in a hollow mulberry-tree; yet you respect a religion which does not recognise the tie between father and son!" He urged that at any rate priests and nuns should be compelled to marry and bring up families, and not escape from contributing their share to the revenue, adding that Hsiao Yü by defending their doctrines showed himself no better than they were. At this Hsiao Yü held up his hands, and declared that hell was made for such men as Fu I. The result was that severe restrictions were placed for a short time upon the teachers of Buddhism. The Emperor T'ai Tsung once got hold of a Tartar priest who could "charm people into unconsciousness, and then charm them back to life again," and spoke of his powers to Fu I. The latter said confidently, "He will not be able to charm me;" and when put to the test, the priest completely failed. He was the originator of epitaphs, and wrote his own, as follows: —
Fu I loved the green hills and the white clouds.
Alas! he died of drink.
590
