afterwards became Minister to the Prince of ]^ @ Chiao-hsi. His name is associated with the Spring and Autumn Annals^ to which he devoted his life. He was the author of the ^ ^ ^ ^ i and other works on this his favourite study. In 1330 his tablet was placed in the Confucian Temple. 2093 Tung-&ng So ;^ ^ |^ (T. ^ ^). Bom 160 B.C. A natiie of P^ng-yiian in Shantung. In B.C. 138 an Imperial proclamation was issued, calling for men of parts to assist in the government of the empire, and in response thereto Tung-fang So sent in an application which closed with the following words: — '*I am now twenty-two years of age. I am nine feet three inches in height My eyes are like swinging pearls, my teeth liKe a row of shells. I am as brave as Meng Pto, as prompt as Ch'ing Chi, as pure as Pao Shu-ya, and as devoted as Wei Sh§ng. I consider myself fit to be a high officer of State; and with my life in my hand I await your Majesty *s reply." He received an appointment and ere long was promoted to be Censor, after which he was upon the most intimate terms with the Emperor, amusing his Majesty with humorous sallies and earning for himself the sobriquet of |^ ^ the Wit. On one occasion he drank off some elixir of immortality which belonged to the Emperor, and the latter in a rage ordered him to be put to death. But Tung-fang So smiled and said , **If the elixir was genuine, your Majesty can do me no harm; if it was not, what harm have I done?" Legend has been busy with his name. His mother is said to have been a widow, who became pregnant by a miraculous conception and removed from her home to give birth to her child at a place farther to the eastward; hence the name Tung-fang. The boy himself was said to be the incarnation of the planet Venus, and to have appeared on earth in previous births as F§ng Hon, Wu Ch^Sng Tzd, Lao Tztl, and Fan Li. Besides this he was credited with divine wisdom and supernatural powers,
