675 Hsi-fu . A.D. 1588—1652. Became secretary to the Emperor T*ai Tsu on account of his knowledge of the Manchu, Chinese, and Mongol languages. He rose in 1636 to be one of the newly instituted Three Grand Secretaries, and had a large share in the organisation of the goYernment. In 1644 he presented to the Throne translations of the Liao, Chin, and T^n histories. A riyal Minister, ^^ T'an-t'ai, procured his degradation; but in 1651 the Emperor Shun Chih, on assuming the direction of a&irs, restored him to o£Bce, and T'an-t*ai was executed for treason. Ennobled as Viscount, and canonised as ^ |^ .
676 Hsi Ho (1) A legendary female, said to have given birth to the sun. (2) An o£Bcial under the Great Ttl.
Hsi K'ang. (Transfer from Chi K'ang.)
677 Hsi-ling Shih . The Lady of Hsi-ling in Hupeh; a title given to $^ j|jg^ Lei Tsu, consort of the Tellow Emperor, from her birthplace. She is said to have taught the art of rearing silkworms, and is now worshipped as ^^.
678 Hsi-mên Pao . 5th cent. B.C. A worthy of old, who always wore a soft leather girdle to help him to correct a certain roughness in his own disposition. When appointed Magistrate of Yeh in modern Honan, he began by enquiring what were the grievances of the people. He found that the chief men were in the habit of leaguing with the sorcerers of the place to collect large sums of money for the purpose of providing the Biver-Grod (see Ho Po) with a wife. They would then fix upon some girl of poor family, and sacrifice her with great ceremony by setting her afloat on the river in such a way that she soon sank and was drowned. The bulk of the subscriptions was then divided amongst the conspirators. Upon the first possible occasion, Hsi-mfin Pao appeared upon the scene; and declaring that the girl was not
nearly good-looking enough, told the sorcerers that they must go