Page:A Chinese Biographical Dictionary.djvu/98

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A Chinese Biographical Dictionary
79

Ch'in Kuei and his policy of making peace with the Tartars, for which he was banished to various places; among others to Ch'ao-chou Fu in Kuangtung, where he remained for five years, and ultimately to a distant military post at 吉陽 Chi-yang. In his memorial of thanks to the Emperor he said, "My hair is white, and I can hardly hope to return. Yet though my days be few, my heart remains firm; and were I to die nine deaths, I would not change my views." "This old fool," cried Ch'in Kuei, on reading these words, "is as obstinate as ever!" Three years afterwards he fell ill, and indited the following epitaph: "My grosser self has mounted upon the stars to heaven, but my spirit will remain under the form of hills and rivers as a line of defence for the Throne." He then refused all nourishment and died. Canonised as 忠簡.

186 Chao T'ing-ch'ên 趙廷臣 (T. 君鄰). Died A.D. 1669. A Chinese Bannerman, who was sent in 1645 to Shan-yang in Kiangsu as Magistrate, and afterwards distinguished himself as Prefect of Nanking. Dismissed for dilatoriness in the collection of taxes, in 1653 he was made Taot'ai in Hunan, where he set his face against the giving and receiving of presents. In 1658 he became Governor of the newly-settled province of Kueichou, and Viceroy of Yün-Kuei in 1659, where he introduced education of the native chieftains and reclamation of waste lands. Transferred in 1662 to Chehkiang, he simplified taxation and reformed the military and naval administrations, and stamped out the last efforts of the adherents of the Mings. He also issued a much needed cash coinage. Many stories are told of his acumen as a judge. Canonised as 清獻.

187 Chao T'o 趙佗. Died B.C. 137. A general in the service of the First Emperor. In B.C. 215 he was appointed to a command under Jen Hsiao, and co-operated with him in the reduction of