A Chinese Biographical Dictionary 941

Yen Tzti |^ -^ . One of the 24 examples of Blial piety, said to 2478 have lived under the Chou dynasty. When his parents wished for some doe*s milk, he clothed himself in a deerskin, and was thns enabled to mix with a herd of deer and obtain the desired draught. Yen Wu ^^ (T. ^ J!J| ). A.D. 726-765. A native of Hua- 2479 yin in Shensi, who as a child of eight killed his father's fayonrite concubine by hitting her on the head with a heavy hammer while asleep. His father thought he did it in play; but Yen Wu declared that '^a high official ought not to show favour to a concubine and put to shame the mother of his son.** In 756 he accompanied the Emperpr Hsflan Tsung in his flight to Sstlch'uan, and subsequently held many high posts. For making a road to the Imperial mausolea, while acting as Governor in the capital , he was ennobled as Duke. He acted as patron to Tu Fu, the poet, whom from pure eccen- tricity of character he several times threatened to kill; and he was also on terms of great intimacy with YQan Tsai.

Yen Ten ^ >|g (T. -^ ^). Born about B.C. 510. One of the 2480 disciples of Confucius. He entered public life and became Governor of Wu-ch^^ng in modern Shantung, where he tried to re-organise society by instructing the people in music and ceremonial. Under the T^ang dynasty he was ennobled as ^ ^ , and under the Sung dynasty as J^ ^ ^ > His tablet stands in the Confucian Temple among the "Twelve Wise Men.*'

Yen Ten-chih ^^Z (T. ^ ^)- A.D. 384-456. A native 2481 of Lin-i in modern Shantung. Left an orphan in early youth, with scant means of subsistence, he devoted himself to study and soon gained' considerable reputation as an essay- writer and a poet (see Hsieh Ling-yan). He held various high appointments under the first four Emperors of the Sung dynasty, but his sharp tongue and an over-fondness for wine were always landing him in trouble. Hurt

at the promotion of others over his head, he conducted himself in