singing, playing the guitar, writing and reciting poetry. The Emperor T'ai Tsnng of the Sung dynasty summoned him to Court, but he would not go; so his Majesty sent a painter to paint a portrait of him with his surroundings. When however the painter's arrival was announced , he hastily picked up his guitar and fled out of the back-door. On one occasion, when travelling with E^ou Chun, the pair of them scribbled some verses upon the wall of an inn. Stopping once again at the same inn, he found E'ou Chun's verses protected by a green gauze screen, while his own were covered with cobwebs (see Wang Po). A courtesan stiepped forward and wiped off the dust with her red robe, whereupon he cried out,
- O'er lack of screen I need not grieve,
- Thus honoured by a fair one's sleeve.
In 1008 he received an o£Scial appointment; but he again declined, saying, "The place of the wild deer is not in the throng of the audience-chamber."
Wei Ting-wu ^ ^ ^. 8th cent. A.D. A native of Ch'ang-an 2299 in Shensi. In early life he was la soldier in the body-guard of the Emperor Ming Huang; but after a course of study, he entered upon a civil career. He filled several important posts and finally rose to be Governor of Soochow, whence he is often styled ^ ^ j^ . A man of pure and lofty disposition, his poetry was likened to that of T^ao Ch4en, ^'simple in expression, pregnant with meaning," and the two are often spoken of together as |^ ^ .
Wei Yuan i| ^ (T. ^ '^). Died A.D. 1856. Served as a 2300 magistrate in the provinces. He wrote the |^ "^ §^ , a descriptive account of the military operations of this dynasty, and also the j(^ S ^ >^f ^ record of foreign nations, founded on the notes of Lin Ts^-hsil.
Wen Chiang ^ ^ . The God of Literature, said to have been 2301 originally a man named ^ ^ Chang Ya, who lived under the
