in history by the name of Fang-shu [1]. Fang-shu gave birth to Po- hsia [2], and from him came Shu-liang Heh [3], the father of Confucius. Heh appears in the history of the times as a soldier of great prowess and daring bravery. In the year B.C. 562, when serving at the siege of a place called Peh-yang [4], a party of the assailants made their way in at a gate which had purposely been left open, and no sooner were they inside than the portcullis was dropped. Heh was just entering; and catching the massive structure with both his hands, he gradually by dint of main strength raised it and held it up, till his friends had made their escape. Thus much on the ancestry of the sage. Doubtless he could trace his descent in the way which has been indicated up to the imperial house of Yin, nor was there one among his ancestors during the rule of Chau to whom he could not refer with satisfaction. They had been ministers and soldiers of Sung and Lu, all men of worth, and in Chang K'ao, both for his humility and literary researches, Confucius might have special complacency. 2. Confucius was the child of Shu-liang Heh's old age. The soldier had married in early life, but his wife brought him only [Sidebar] From his birth to his first public employments. B.C. 551- 531. daughters,-- to the number of nine, and no son. By a concubine he had a son, named Mang-p'i, and also Po-ni [5], who proved a cripple, so that, when he was over seventy years, Heh sought a second wife in the Yen family [6], from which came subsequently Yen Hui, the favourite disciple of his son. There were three daughters in the family, the youngest being named Chang-tsai [7]. Their father said to them, 'Here is the commandant of Tsau. His father and grandfather were only scholars, but his ancestors before them were descendants of the sage sovereigns. He is a man ten feet high [8], and of extraordinary prowess, and I am very desirous of his alliance. Though he is old and austere, you need have no misgivings about him. Which of you three will be his wife? 'The two elder daughters were silent, but Chang-tsai said, 'Why do you ask us, father? It is for you to determine.' 'Very well,' said her father in reply, 'you will do.' Chang-tsai, accordingly, became Heh's wife, and in due time gave 1 防叔. 2 伯夏. 3 叔梁紇. 4 偪陽. 5 孟皮, 一字伯尼. 6 顏氏. 7 徵在. 8 其人, 身長十尺. See, on the length of the ancient foot, Ana. VIII. vi, but the point needs a more sifting investigation than it has yet received.