history, so to speak, of prehistoric times, ending as it does with the 18th century B.C.
1391Lo Pin-wang 駱賓王. 7th cent. A.D. A native of I-wu in Chehkiang, who early distinguished himself as a poet and received an appointment under the Emperor Kao Tsung of the T'ang dynasty. At the death of this monarch, A.D. 684, Lo espoused the cause of the legitimate heir as opposed to that of the Empress Wu Hou. The two princes under whose banner he was fighting were captured and put to death. There is no record of his own fate, but it is most likely that he perished with them. Some say that he retired to a monastery and became a Buddhist priest. Was one of the "Four Heroes" of the T'ang dynasty (see Yang Ch'iung).
1392
Lo Ping-chang 駱秉章 (T. 籲門). A.D. 1798-1867. A native of Fatshan near Canton, who at 17 years of age was cook (some say slave) in a gentleman's family. There he used to listen to the lessons given by the tutor to the establishment, and ere long composed an essay which attracted so much notice that his master provided him with a suitable education and gave him one of his daughters in marriage. In due course he graduated as chin shih and was appointed to the Han-lin College. After some years in metropolitan offices he became a Censor in 1840 and memorialised upon foreign affairs (see P'an Shih-ên). From 1850 to 1860 he was Governor of Hunan, and kept the province fairly clear of T'ai-p'ing rebels. In the latter year he was sent in pursuit of Shih Ta-k'ai into Ssŭch'uan, of which province he became Viceroy in 1861. He succeeded in checking the rebels, and captured Shih Ta-k'ai himself as he was attempting to pass up the 建昌 Chien-ch'ang valley in 1863. His subordinates, carefully selected and trained under his own eye, rose in many cases to occupy leading positions in the empire, the most notable among them being Tsêng Kuo-fan. Incorruptible in his official capacity, in private life he
