54 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA, ETC. a person of great virtue, and Kouei-Siou of Kin-Fan, all illustrious religious men, united their efforts to restore the fallen law, and i-e- unite the broken ties. Then Tsoung, an emperor of sublime wisdom, ordered the five kings, Ning-Kouo, to repair to the temple of felicity, and firmly raise its altar. The beam of the law, which had been bent, was again straightened, and the stone of the doctrine was re- stored to the perpendicular. " At the commencement of the years Tien-Pao (747), he ordered Kao-Ly-Siu, the generalissimo of his armies, to take the venerable images of the five saints, place them in the temple, and offer a hun- dred pieces of silk as a sign of joy and gladness. Thus we were able to seize the bow, the sword, and the moustaches of the Dragon*, although he was far off. The beams of the sun shed a great light on their celestial countenances. " 10. In the third year of Tching-Kouan (744), there was a reli- gious man of the kingdom of Ta-Thsin named Ki-Ho, who, directing his course by the stars, travelled for the conversion of men. Having contemplated the sun, he came to render homage to the emperor. " The emperor ordered the devout Lo-hou, the devout Pou-Loung, and others, to the number of seven, to devote themselves, along with the virtuous Ki-Ho, to the practice of perfection in the temple of Hing-Khing. Then the celestial emperor himself wrote a tablet for the temple. The writing of the Dragon appeared on the front ; gorgeous ornaments glittered on every part, vermilion clouds shone from afar, they rose, and rivalled in splendour those of the sun. The imperial favours are like the summits of the southern mountains, they equal in depth the Eastern Ocean. " Reason can do all things ; that which is possible can be named ; the saint does everything, and what he does may be made public. " Sou-Tsoung, the illustrious and brilliant emperor, erected at Ling-ou and other towns, five in all, luminous temples. The primi- tive good was thus strengthened, and felicity flourished. Joyous so-
- This is an allusion to a Chinese fable, according to which the
Emperor Hoang-ti was carried to Heaven, along with seventy other persons, by a great Dragon. Those who were only able to catch at his moustaches, were shaken off, and thrown back on the ground. It is still the custom, when an emperor dies, to say, the Dragon has ascended to Heaven.
