his son and many other innocent persons to be put to death, upon which Fu Ling became Heir Apparent; but in B.C. 88 the plot was discovered, and the Lady Eon I perished by the hand of the executioner.
984 K'ou Ch'ien-chih 寇謙之. 5th cent. A.D. A native of Ch'ang-p'ing in Chihli, who fell in with a Taoist Immortal named 成功興 Ch'êng Kung-hsing, and retiring with him into seclusion obtained from him the elixir of life. His body emitted a heavenly radiance; and he was appointed to be the 天師 Divine Teacher or "Pope" of the Taoists, in succession to Chang Tao-ling of old. About A.D. 424 he was summoned to Court; but one day he said to a disciple, "I dreamt last night that my master, Ch'êng Kung-hsing, beckoned me to the Palace of Immortality." Thereupon dissolution began to set in. A blue, smoke-like vapour issued from the lips of the dying man and vanished in mid-air, after which his body gradually shrank to nothing.
985
K'ou Chun 寇準 (T. 平仲). Died A.D. 1023. A native of 下邽 Hsia-kuei in Shensi, who graduated as chin shih and rose to high office under the second Emperor of the Sung dynasty. At the early age of eight he distinguished himself by the excellence of his poetical compositions, and his future greatness was foretold. In 1004 he persuaded the Emperor Chên Tsung to proceed in person to 澶 Shan-chou to oppose the raid made by the Kitan Tartars. The Emperor confided to him the entire direction of the campaign a which at once made him an object of jealousy. "Does your Majesty understand gambling?" asked Wang Ch'n-jo. "A gambler who has lost heavily," he continued, "will stake his all upon a last chance. Your Majesty is K'ou Chun's last chance." His tactics however were successful. There was a bloody battle in which on half of K'ou Chan's men were either killed or taken prisoner, and consternation prevailed. Yet K'ou Chun was found to be drinking