Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/660

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A Chinese Biographical Dictionary
641


health, 7th May 1895. As Taot^ai at Shanghai he proved himself an obstructi?e of the worst type, and in spite or his European experiences an inveterate enemy to the foreigner; while his career in Formosa was devoted to undoing all the material civilisation which his wiser predecessor, Lin Ming-ch'uan, had been at such pains to build up. In 1896 he was ordered to accompany Li Hung- chang On his mission to attend the coronation of the Czar at Moscow , but found means to excuse himself from duty.

Shao Yung 3|S|| (T. ^ ^). A.D. 1011-1077. A native of 1683 Fan-yang in Chihli, who was from his boyhood a voracious reader. For several years he denied himself a stove in winter and a fan in summer; for thirty years he did not use a pillow, nor had he even a mat to sleep upon. He travelled through much of northern and central China in order to increase his knowledge by contact with men of learning. Settling with his father and family at ^ ^ Eung-ch'6ng in Anhui, he became intimate with the local Magistrate, ^ "^ >^ Li Chih-ts^ai, at whose instigation he devoted himself ^ to the study of the Canon of Chan^^ and produced a work which was subsequently published by his son, Shao Po-w6n, under the title of M @ ^ m: # • Of this book, the chapters ^1^ On the Study of Phenomena are often printed as a separate volume. Upon the death of his father he removed to Lo-yang, where the charm of his conversation and his profound learning attracted such men as Ssd-ma Euang, Fu Pi, and Han ChM. He was still poor. The hut in which he lived kept out neither wind nor rain. Accordingly his friends bought him a cottage and garden, which he named his Nest of Peace and Happiness — hence his sobriquet ^ |5I ^ ^ — and in which he lived happily for the rest of his life. He refused all offers of official employment, but gladly advised all who consulted him and was exceedingly popular and respected. On one dccasion he was strolling about with some friends when he heard the goatsucker's

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