‘_Say what supports the sky; say what supports the earth; What is the mystic number which to the universe gave birth? Whence come the eddying waves of the river’s rolling might? Where shall we seek the primal germ of the mountain’s towering height? By which of the elements five is the work of Nature done? And of all the ten thousand things that are, say which is the wondrous ~one~? Such are the questions seven which I now propound to you; And he who can answer them straight and well is the trusty man and true._’ “The theme had hardly been uttered, when up started Chi Nien, generalissimo of the Ch‘in State, and cried out, ‘This is but a question of natural philosophy; what difficulty is there in it?’ He thereupon advanced to the front, and, having obtained permission to compete, seized a stylus and wrote down the following reply:-- ‘_Nothing supports the sky; nothing supports the earth; How can we guess at the number which to the universe gave birth? From the reaches above come the eddying waves of the river’s rolling might: How can we tell where to look for the germ of the mountain’s towering height? By every one of the elements five is the work of Nature done; And of all the ten thousand things that are there is no particular ~one~. There you have my replies to the questions set by you; And the arbiter’s post I hereby claim as the trusty man and true._’ “Chi Nien, having delivered this answer, proceeded to tuck up his robe, and, passing to the front of the palace, seized with both hands the sacrificial vessel, and raised it some two feet from the ground, his whole face becoming suffused with colour under the effort. At the same time there arose a great noise of drums and horns, and all the assembled nobles applauded loudly; whereupon Duke Ai personally invested him with the golden tablet and proclaimed him arbiter of the exhibition, for which Chi Nien was just about to return thanks, when suddenly up jumped Wu Yüan, generalissimo of the Ch‘u State, and coming forward, declared in an angry tone that Chi Nien’s answer did not dispose of the theme in a proper and final manner; that he had not removed the sacrificial vessel from its place, and that consequently he had not earned the appointment which Wu Yüan now contended should be bestowed upon himself. Duke Ai, in view of his scheme for seizing the persons of the various nobles, was naturally anxious that the post of arbiter should fall to one of his own officers, and was much displeased at this attempt on the part of Wu Yüan; however, he replied that if the latter could dispose of the theme and carry round the sacrificial vessel, the office of arbiter would be his. Wu Yüan thereupon took a stylus and indited the following lines:--