aving been falsely accused by one of the petty princes
of the State. The people, out of pity for the unfortunate courtier,
sent out these boats in search of his body.

Chiang Tzu-ya

In the wars which resulted in the overthrow of the tyrant Chou Wang
and his dynasty and the establishment of the great Chou dynasty,
the most influential generalissimo was Chiang Tzu-ya. His family name
was Chiang, and his own name Shang, but owing to his descent from one
of the ministers of the ancient King Yao, whose heirs owned the fief
of Lue, the family came to be called by that name, and he himself was
known as Lue Shang. His honorific title was T'ai Kung Wang, 'Hope of
T'ai Kung,' given him by Wen Wang, who recognized in the person of
Chiang Tzu-ya the wise minister whom his father T'ai Kung had caused
him to expect before his death.

The Battle of Mu Yeh

Chiang Tzu-ya was originally in the service of the tyrant Chou Wang,
but transferred his services to the Chou cause, and by his wonderful
skill enabled that house finally to gain the victory. The decisive
battle took place at Mu Yeh, situated to the south of Wei-hui Fu,
in 1122 B.C. The soldiers of Yin, 700,000 in number, were defeated,
and Chou, the tyrant, shut himself up in his magnificent palace, set
it alight, and was burned alive with all his possessions. For this
achievement Chiang Tzu-ya was granted by Wu Wang the title of Father
and Counsellor, and was appointed Prince of Ch'i, with perpetual
succession to his descendants.

A Legend of Chiang Tzu-ya

The _Feng shen yen i_ contains many chapters describing in detail the
various battles which resulted in the overthrow of the last tyrant
of the Shang dynasty and the establishment of the illustrious Chou
dynasty on the throne of China. This legend and the following one
are epitomized from that work.

No-cha defeats Chang Kuei-fang

The redoubtable No-cha having, by means of his Heaven-and-earth
Bracelet, vanquished Feng Lin, a star-god and subordinate officer of
Chang Kuei-fang, in spite of the black smoke-clouds which he blew
out of his nostrils, the defeated warrior fled and sought the aid
of his chief, who fought No-cha in some thirty to forty encounters
without succeeding in dislodging him from his Wind-fire Wheel,
which enabled him to move about rapidly and to perform prodigious
feats, such as causing hosts of silver flying dragons like clouds of
snow to descend upon his enemy. During one of these fight