A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Chang Tsai (張載, 3rd c.)

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1757111A Chinese Biographical Dictionary — Chang Tsai (張載, 3rd c.)Herbert A. Giles

116 Chang Tsai 張載 (T. 孟陽). 3rd cent. A.D. A native of 安平 An-p'ing, famous for an inscription he wrote in A.D. 280 at 劍閣 Chien-ko, on the top of the pass into modern Ssŭch'uan, calling on the people of that province to trust more to virtue than to their mountain walls. This inscription was brought to the notice of the Emperor Wu Ti, who caused it to be engraved on the face of the mountain at the pass. Chang received a government appointment, and rose to be secretary in the establishment of the Heir Apparent. But political disturbances caused him to weary of office, and he retired into private life. He was also noted for his ugliness, which was so exaggerated that whenever he went out of doors the children used to pelt him with stones.