Let us now observe some features of the life of the nation and the profound influence wrought upon it by the introduction of the continental civilization and of Buddhism. It is not too much to say that, at least around the seat of the central government, the arts and sciences of China and the creed of Buddha greatly changed the simplicity of Japanese life and imparted to it a character of refinement and pomp hitherto unknown. Chinese literature not only taught Japan the art of writing and composition, but also brought with it an advanced ethical sense of fidelity, piety, benevolence, and justice. The Emperor Ōjin's son, who was the first Japanese student of Chinese literature, had acquired such an accurate knowledge of the rules of composition and calligraphy that when a memorial was presented to the throne by Korean ambassadors, he detected the presence of disrespectful ideograms and rebuked the envoys. His attainments won for him the favor of his father, who nominated him heir in preference to his elder brother; nevertheless, on the death of the emperor, this prince resigned his claim in behalf of his brother. For such self-denial his scholarship had prepared him. So, too, the erudite Emperor Nintoku dwelt for the space of three years in a dilapidated palace, in order that his people might have relief from taxation during a famine, and know the sense of love and duty his learning had taught him. The prosperity of the nation, he said, was his own prosperity, their poverty his poverty.