Emperor Ming Huang he was again appointed to high offiee, becoming Minister of State in 729. Althoagh inflexibly stem, hia influence was at the same time so benign that he was called a ^^walking spring." In a preface to his collected works, P*i Jih-hsia said he was astonished that such charming poetry as he found therein could be composed by a man whose "bowels were of iron and whose heart of stone.*' Taking part against the 'Fai-p^ng Princess he was dismissed and sent to the provinces, and later on to Canton where he induced the people to exchange their inflam- mable huts for mud and tile buildings. Canonised as ^ ^ .
1831 Sung Chttn ^ J:^ (T. ;^ J^ ). Died A.D. 76. A natire of ^ ^ Ch6n-p4ng in Honan, who rose to be GoTernor of ^jj, Chiu-chiang, a District in modern Anhui, much infested by tigers. There bis^ virtuous administration caused the tigers to cross the Yang-tsze and seek other fields; while in another case an enormous flight of locusts no sooner reached his dominions than the insects scattered in all directions and disappeared. In A.D. 58 he was transferred to Tung-hai in Kiangsu, but flye years* later he got into trouble and was dismissed. The people sent a deputation to the Emperor, petitioning for his return; and ultimately he was again employed as Governor of Ho-nei in Honan, from which post he retired in ill-health.
1832 Sung Hsiang ^j^ J^ (T. ^ ^). Died A.D. 1064. Elder brother of Sung Ch'i, and known as ;^ ^ the Elder Sung. When quite small children, the two brothers met a Tartar priest, who was macb astonished at the appearance of the younger and declared that he was destined for great literaiy triumphs. Ten years later he met them again, and said to the elder, ^'Ah! I now see that you too will triumph with your brother.*' The fact was that in the interim Sung Hsiang had aided some ants to escape drowning by placing a piece of wood to serve as a bridge for them, and had thus
