Protest by Descendants of Famous General An interesting version of the reason why the late Dr.. Sun Yat-sen chose for himself the words "Chung-shan" as an honorary title for himself is told in a.letter submitted to the National Government by a number of ascendants of Gen, Hsu Tah, who was reputed t9 be the ablest and Bravest general of Chu Yuan-chang, otherwise Ming Tai-teu, the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. This says, inter lie "The tate Gen. Hsu Tah, who dove the Tartar invaders ' from China, restored China, to the Chinese, and made it possible for Chu Yuan-chang to ascend the throne as first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was our ancestor. For his meritorious services to the nation, Emperor Ming Tai-tsu conferred upon him the title of Duke of Wei and, after his death, the posthumous title of Chung Shin Wang (Prince of Chung Shan). In addition, the Emperor selected a piece o the Yaiping-men in Nanking and ande ed the construction of a state tomb for the deceased general. This was situated to the west of the Chung, Hill and has been preserved for more than 500 years.
"After the Provisional Gove 4911, the late Dr. Sun paid a to' the Bing Tombs and also, it was that Dr. Sun assumed the honorary title of CHung-shan as his own name, Having accepted our ancestor's tite it will easily be seen how high he held Gen, Hsu Tan in his esteem.
"We regret to say that, recently, we have learned that the grave of the Into Gen. Hsu has frequently ton trampled upon by horses and sand that, as a result, the tomb had been thrown into a state of confusion and—dilapidation. According to watchmen employed there, troops have frequently en= gaged in gun practice and drill in the tomb compound. Surely, this is not the way in which to hold an officer Who has rendered meritorious We, therefore, pray that you will issue an order forbidding troops to engage in gun practice or drill at} this spot and to accord proper protection to our ancestor so that the remains may rest in peace out being disturbed as the ser\ rendered by Gen. Hsu Tah are by means less thab those rendered by the famous Gen Yoh Fei of the Sung Dynasty."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.