fty, and have no male child to succeed me on the throne. My
dynasty will therefore become extinct. Of what use have been all my
labours and all my victories?" Chao Chen tried to console him, saying,
"Heaven has granted you three daughters: no human power can change this
divine decree. When these princesses have grown up, we will choose
three sons-in-law for your Majesty, and you can elect your successor
from among them. Who will dare to dispute his right to the throne?"

The King named the third daughter Miao Shan. She became noted for her
modesty and many other good qualities, and scrupulously observed all
the tenets of the Buddhist doctrines. Virtuous living seemed, indeed,
to be to her a second nature.

Miao Shan's Ambition

One day, when the three sisters were playing in the palace garden of
Perpetual Spring, Miao Shan, with a serious mien, said to her sisters,
"Riches and glory are like the rain in spring or the morning dew;
a little while, and all is gone. Kings and emperors think to enjoy to
the end the good fortune which places them in a rank apart from other
human beings; but sickness lays them low in their coffins, and all
is over. Where are now all those powerful dynasties which have laid
down the law to the world? As for me, I desire nothing more than a
peaceful retreat on a lone mountain, there to attempt the attainment
of perfection. If some day I can reach a high degree of goodness,
then, borne on the clouds of Heaven, I will travel throughout the
universe, passing in the twinkling of an eye from east to west. I
will rescue my father and mother, and bring them to Heaven; I will
save the miserable and afflicted on earth; I will convert the spirits
which do evil, and cause them to do good. That is my only ambition."

Her Sisters Marry

No sooner had she finished speaking than a lady of the Court came to
announce that the King had found sons-in-law to his liking for his two
elder daughters. The wedding-feast was to be the very next day. "Be
quick," she added, "and prepare your presents, your dresses, and so
forth, for the King's order is imperative." The husband chosen for Miao
Ch'ing was a First Academician named Chao K'uei. His personal name was
Te Ta, and he was the son of a celebrated minister of the reigning
dynasty. Miao Yin's husband-elect was a military officer named Ho
Feng, whose personal name was Ch'ao Yang. He had passed first in the
examination for the Military Doctorate. The marriage c