him alone. On its completion in 1060, he became President of the Board of Works. He was also aathor of the J^ ^ §Q, and of an extensiye collection of pieces in one hundred chapters; besides which he was employed apon the compilation of the ^ ^ , a phonetic dictionary containing over 53,000 characters and intended to supersede the ^ ]^ (see Ch^Sn P^eng^nien). A great faTOurite at Court, it is related that he was once at some Imperial festivity when he began to feel cold. The Emperor bade one of the ladies of the seraglio lend him a tippet, whereupon about a dozen of the girls each offered hers. But Sung Ch^i did not like to seem to favour any one, and rather than offend the rest continued to sit and shiver. In his will he begged the Emperor to appoint an heir to his estate, and forbade his sons to employ priests at his funeral service. He wished that no application should be made for his canonisation, or for any epitaph or posthumous honours. Chang Fang-p4ng however obtained for him the epithet of ^ ^ • Sung Chih-wen ^J^fS^ (T. ^^). Died A.D. 710. A 1829 native of F^-chou in Shansi, whose martial appearance marked him out for a military pareer. He was appointed to a post by the Empress Wu Hou, but became mixed up with Chang I-chih and was banished. Returning without leave, he remained in concealment at Lo-yang until he succeeded in obtaii^ing a pardon and an appointment as Archivist in the Court of State Ceremonial. After a discreditable 'career he was again banished for corrupt practices and forced to commit suicide. He was one of the most charming poets of his day, and it is said that the Emperor Chung Tsung was on one occasion so pleased with his verses that he presented the poet with his own Imperial robe of silk.
Sung Ching ^ jf (T. ^ ^). A.D. 662-737. A native of 1830 Jf^ Hsing-chou in Chihli, who graduated as chin shih and rose to be President of the Board of Civil Office in 710. Under the
