TAO.--The infinite being, or Universal Life, whence all forms
proceed: Literally, "the Way," in the sense of the First Cause.
Lao-tseu uses the term in other ways; but that primal and most important
philosophical sense which he gave to it is well explained in the
celebrated Chapter XXV. of the _Tao-te-king_.... The difference between
the great Chinese thinker's conception of the First Cause--the
Unknowable,--and the theories of other famous metaphysicians, Oriental
and Occidental, is set forth with some definiteness in Stanislas
Julien's introduction to the _Tao-te-king_, pp. x-xv. ("Le Livre de la
Voie et de la Vertu." Paris, 1842.)

THANG.--The Dynasty of Thang, which flourished between 620 and
907 A.D., encouraged literature and art, and gave to China its most
brilliant period. The three poets of the Thang dynasty mentioned in the
second story flourished between 779 and 852 A.D.

"THREE COUNCILLORS."--Six stars of the Great-Bear constellation
([Greek: ik--lm--nx]), as apparently arranged in pairs, are thus called
by the Chinese astrologers and mythologists. The three couples are
further distinguished as the Superior Councillor, Middle Councillor, and
Inferior Councillor; and, together with the Genius of the Northern
Heaven, form a celestial tribunal, presiding over the duration of human
life, and deciding the course of mortal destiny. (Note by Stanislas
Julien in "Le Livre des Récompenses et des Peines.")

TIEN-HIA.--Literally, "Under-Heaven," or "Beneath-the-Sky,"--one
of the most ancient of those many names given by the Chinese to China.
The name "China" itself is never applied by the Black-haired Race to
their own country, and is supposed to have had its origin in the fame of