character, who made himself a eunuch, and changed his name to Li Chin-chung.  Entering the palace, he managed to get into the service of the mother of the future Emperor, posthumously canonised as Hsi Tsung, and became the paramour of that weak monarch’s wet-nurse.  The pair gained the Emperor’s affection to an extraordinary degree, and Wei, an ignorant brute, was the real ruler of China during the reign of Hsi Tsung.  He always took care to present memorials and other State papers when his Majesty was engrossed in carpentry, and the Emperor would pretend to know all about the question, and tell Wei to deal with it.  Aided by unworthy censors, a body of officials who are supposed to be the “eyes and ears” of the monarch, and privileged to censure him for misgovernment, he gradually drove all loyal men from office, and put his opponents to cruel and ignominious deaths.  He persuaded Hsi Tsung to enrol a division of eunuch troops, ten thousand strong, armed with muskets; while, by causing the Empress to have a miscarriage, his paramour cleared his way to the throne.  Many officials espoused his cause, and the infatuated sovereign never wearied of loading him with favours.  In 1626, temples were erected to him in all the provinces except Fuhkien, his image received Imperial honours, and he was styled Nine Thousand Years, i.e. only one thousand less than the Emperor himself, the Chinese term in the latter case being wan sui, which has been adopted by the Japanese as banzai.  All successes were ascribed to his influence, a Grand Secretary declaring that his virtue had actually caused the appearance of a “unicorn” in Shantung.  In 1627, he was likened in a memorial to Confucius, and it was decreed that he should be worshipped with the Sage in the Imperial Academy.  His hopes were overthrown by the death of Hsi Tsung, whose successor promptly dismissed him.  He hanged himself to escape trial, and his corpse was disembowelled.  His paramour was executed, and in 1629, nearly three hundred persons were convicted and sentenced to varying penalties for being connected with his schemes.

Jobbery and corruption were rife; and at the present juncture these agencies were successfully employed to effect the recall of a really able general who had been sent from Peking to recover lost ground, and prevent further encroachments by the Manchus.  For a time, Nurhachu had been held in check by his skilful dispositions of troops, Mukden was strongly fortified, and confidence generally was restored; but the fatal policy of the new general rapidly alienated the Chinese inhabitants, and caused them to enter secretly into communication with the Manchus.  It was thus that in 1621 Nurhachu was in a position to advance upon Mukden.  Encamping within a mile or two of the city, he sent forward a reconnoitring party, which was immediately attacked by the Chinese commandant at the head of a large force.  The former fled, and the latter pursued, only to fall into the