ABSTRACT
Kublai, who was a great believer in Buddhism, ordered that an examination should be made of the Taoist writings to see whether there was any truth in them. Advantage was decidedly in favour of the Burmese, for the horses of the Tartars took fright at the appearance of the elephants and refused to advance in their direction. In A. D. 1285 the heir-apparent, Chin-kin, died, to the great grief of those that knew him, for he was a man well worthy to succeed his father. At the time that Ch'eng Tsung ascended the throne the empire was at peace, and even Annam had sent in its submission in the form of tribute to the capital. In the year A. D. 1315 Ho-shih, the son of Wu Tsung, was banished from the capital and sent to Yunnan with the title of Prince of Chow, and in the following year he was transported to a place north of the desert of Gobi.
