"To King-fu, venerable and respected Sir:
Multiplicity of affairs leaves me but little time for letter writing, and it is a long time since I have written to enquire after your health. I would humbly congratulate you on the ten thousand happinesses which attend your down-sitting and up-rising, and on the abundance of your virtuous deeds and meritorious achievements, With regard to the anti-heresy publications, let mo state that they are, all of them, printed and disseminated by myself, in' concert with the officials and gentry. both civil and military, who have. th of affairs connected with th Halls, Some time ago a relative of mii 'T'ang Chen-pih, styled Mung-liang, a native of Siangt'an, was going to Wuchang, and we unitedly entrusted him with a hamper-full of these publications for general distribution. After this a special messenger was sent by T'ang to Siang-tan, to inform us that he was imprisoned on account of what he had been doing, and praying that we would come to his rescue, etc., etc. This is amazing! If indeed it be wrong to attack this depraved heresy, then I am, so "far as the matter of fabricating words and creating disturbances is concerned, the chief culprit. I" all reason, you ought to report me to the Throne, deprive me of my official rank, and arrest ie as a criminal. What' has my relative T'ang to do with the matter? And even should you take off his head and bang it up as' warning to all, how could you by so cluing put a stop to the thing itself? My special object in writing now is to beg of you to consult with the Viceroy, and set at liberty my relative T'ang, and every one of his cumpanions, who together with him are unjustly implicated; also to return to them every article of property which may have been possibly taken away from them. I beg of you also to prepare a juiut statement of facts, and to impeach me in a memorial. I will respectfully wait Paolshment la. the provincial capital, will certainly not run away. If, however, your Excellencies will treat good and honest people like fish and pork, and put me aside and not examine me, then I will go at once to Peking, and cry at the gate Of His Majesty's palace, I aweer that I will with my own body requite the bene ficance of Yau, Shun, Yi, T'ang, Wen, Wu, Chen-kung, Kang,' and Meng, together with the beneficence of His Majesty the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and all the Ancestors of the Groat Dynasty. I shall certainly not allow my relative 'T'ang and his injured companions to hand down a fragrant name to all coming ai alone, I am anxiously looking for your reply, so as to decide whether to proceed or to stop. Itis for this I now write, also ishing you exalted enjoyment Your younger brother snd fellow countryman Chen-han writes with com. piiments, Chen-kau, impermlly honoured with the second rank, and expect Taotai in Shensi, a native of Ninghiang, now at his own village recruiting his health."
Translated by Guirriru Jou. Hankow, 22nd October.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.