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CHIU LING-YEONG
brother, Li Hsien and his sister Li Shun-hsien, also attained literary fame in late T'ang. Li Hsün's tz'u is very melodic and musical, Professor Lo Hsiang-lin points out that Li's work had stimulated the tz'u writing of the Northern Sung period.43
Li Hsün, though a Persian, had activated the Pen-ts'ao and tzʼu writing of his time and also of the Sung Period.44
Chao Heng 朝衡
Chao Heng was a Japanese envoy who came to China with Chen-jen shu-tien A in A.D. 716. Chao Heng's original name was Abeno Nakamaro E. Chao Heng was his sinicized name. After reaching Ch'ang-an with Chen-jen shu-tien AA Chao Heng felt that Chinese culture was far superior to any other culture he knew, so he decided to stay in the Chinese capital and rendered his service to Emperors Hsüan-tsung and Su-tsung In Shang-yüan period (A.D. 760-762), he was sent to Annam as Tu-hu (Protectorate General). He died in A.D. 770.45
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It is interesting to note that foreigners in T'ang times had very high social standing in a multi-racial society and in the Court. Foreigners were not only offered senior posts in the government but also shared the responsibilities of policy-making for the empire.46 This, of course, was one of the reasons which led to An Lu-shan's 安祿山 rebellion.
It is mentioned earlier that Lu Chún had introduced the anti-foreign regulations when he was governor of Kuang-chou in A.D. 836. However, he also presented Li Yen-sheng, a Persian, to the Court in A.D. 847. Li was later given the title of chin-shih because of his literary achievement. It was a custom in Tang times to add two to three unusual surnames to the pass-list of the civil examinations which were held annually either in the capital or in the main cities. These unusual surnames were all those of foreigners. Those who were selected for inclusion in the pass-list were known as pang-huak.
T'ang Emperors had shown no bias towards these foreigners in China. They even decreed, more than once, that Persians, Arabs and other nationals in Kuang-chou, Yang-chou and Ch'üan-chou