University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XIII.

Auspicious Portents (Chi-yen).

Whenever men are predestinated for something grand by
Heaven, auspicious portents are seen on Earth. When such appear
on Earth, Heaven's destiny is at work. There are different kinds
of omens, either do they appear in the men themselves or they
are lucky signs, or take the form of a sort of halo.

Huang Ti is reported to have been an embryo for 20 months,
before he was born. After birth his intelligence was marvellous.
Weak as he was, he could already speak. When he was full-grown,
he took the lead of all the feudal princes, who submitted to his
sway. He taught the bears to fight, and thus defeated Yen Ti,
who was completely routed. His nature was different from that
of other people, therefore he remained for ten months longer in
his mother's womb. Being predestined to become emperor, he
taught the creatures, and they were subservient to him.

Yao's body was like the sun, when closely inspected, viewed
at a distance, he appeared like a cloud. When the great flood
rose up to the sky, and snakes and dragons did mischief, Yao employed
Yü for the regulation of the water and the expulsion of
the snakes and dragons. The water, when regulated, flowed eastward,
and snakes and dragons absconded. His bones were abnormal,
thence the extraordinary events. As he was endowed with
a wonderful intellect, portents appeared in things. Since by fate
he was to become noble, he ascended the imperial throne as a
marquis of T`ang.

Previous to his meeting with Yao, Shun was living unmarried
in a nasty, out-of-the-way place. Ku Sou[1] together with Hsiang[2]
attempted to kill him. They bade him complete the building of
a granary, and kindled a fire underneath. They directed him to
dig a well, and then they threw earth down from above. Shun
contrived to get out of the granary unharmed by the fire, and
to make his escape from the well by one side, unhurt by the

earth.[3] When Yao heard of this, he summoned him, and gave him
an office on trial. Shun filled his post with great credit, and no
disorder occurred. He would enter a solitary, big forest without
being pounced upon by tigers and wolves, or being bitten by vipers
or snakes. In the midst of thunderstorm and a gushing rain-shower
he did not go astray.[4] Men bent upon his assassination, could do
him no harm, and wild birds and reptiles with venomous stings
were unable to wound him. Suddenly he attained imperial sway,
and mounted the throne of the son of heaven.

Prior to Hou Chi's[5] time, his mother[6] walked upon the footstep
of a giant. Others say that she put on Ti Ku's[7] clothes, or
that she rested in Ti Ku's place. At all events, she became enceinte
with a child, which she cast away in a narrow alley, regarding
it as an ill omen. But oxen and horses did not dare to
tread upon it. She placed it on ice, but the birds covered it with
their wings. From all these auspicious signs converging on the
baby's body, the mother learned, what wonderful qualities it possessed.
Therefore, she brought it up. When Hou Chi had attained
to manhood, he assisted Yao, and rose to the rank of a minister of war.

The Wusun[8] Prince bearing the surname of K`un Mo had his
father slain by the Hsiung-nu,[9] and was himself thrown into the
desert, still alive. The birds fed him on flesh, which they carried
in their beaks. The Shan Yü[10] was amazed at this, which appeared
to him supernatural. He took care of the boy, and, when he had
grown strong, he gave him a military post. After he had won
many laurels, the Shan Yü put the people formerly obeying his
father again under Kun Mo's command, and directed him always
to guard the Western City.[11]

Hou Chi was not to be cast away, therefore the oxen and
horses did not kick him, and the birds covered and protected him
with their plumage. K`un Mo was not doomed to die, therefore
the birds came with flesh in their beaks to feed him.

A servant girl of the king of T`o-li[12] of the northern Yi[13] was
with child. The king wanted to kill her. The girl said by way
of apology:—"A vapour, big as an egg, descended from heaven,
and made me enceinte." Afterwards, she was delivered of a child,
which she threw away into a pig-stye. The pigs sniffed at it, but
it did not perish. Then it was removed again to the horse stable,
in order that the horses should kill it, but the horses also only
sniffed at it, and it did not die. The king thereupon imagined that
the child would become a sovereign, and therefore ordered the
mother to take it back, and had it nursed by his slaves. The boy
received the name of Tung Ming. He was employed as a shepherd
for cattle and horses. As he was an excellent archer, the king got
afraid, that he might deprive him of his kingdom, and therefore
wished to kill him. Tung Ming went southward to the Yen-hu river,
where with his bow he shot fish and turtles in the water. They
formed a floating bridge, enabling Tung Ming to cross. Then the
fish and turtles separated again so, that the troops pursuing him
could not follow. Subsequently he became king of Fu-yü. Among
the northern Yi there is a kingdom of Fu-yü.[14]

When Tung Ming's mother first became pregnant, she perceived
a vapour descending from heaven, and, when she threw the newly
born away, pigs and horses sniffed at him. After he had grown
up, the king desired to kill him, but the fish and turtles, which
he had shot, formed a floating bridge. According to heaven's fate
he was not to die, therefore he was saved from pigs and horses.
As he was predestinated to become king of Fu-yü, the fish and
turtles formed a bridge to help him.

When Yi Yin[15] was about to be born, his mother dreamt that
she saw a man, who said to her:—"Water flows from the mortar.[16]
Forthwith travel eastward." The mother took note of this, and,
on the next morning, found out that really water came out from

the mortar.[17] She went 10 Li eastward. When she looked back
to her native place, all was under water. Yi Yin's destiny was not
to be drowned, consequently his mother had a dream, and went away.

The same principle holds good for the city of Li-yang.[18]
Those whose fate was like that of Yi Yin, were certainly roused
beforehand, and removed to another place before the catastrophe.

When Duke Hsiang of Ch`i got into trouble, Duke Huan, the
crown-prince, had to fight for his throne with Tse Chiu.[19] Kuan
Chung assisted Tse Chiu, Pao Shu[20] stood by Duke Huan. Kuan
Chung in a combat against duke Huan, shot at him with arrows,
and hit him on the buckle of his belt. Man is generally 7 feet
high,[21] the belt clasps the waist, and the buckle attached to the
belt covers only a spot less than an inch wide. Its smallness
makes it difficult to be hit. Moreover, the pointed edge is curbed
on its polished surface. All the arrows hitting the buckle are
deflected. Yet Kuan Chung just hit the buckle in the middle. The
arrow struck against it, and then fell down without deviating into
the flesh on either side. Duke Huan's fate was wealth and honour,
and a god helped him, so that the arrow hitting his buckle did
not hurt him.

King Kung of Ch`u[22] had five sons:—Tse Chao, Tse Yü, Tse Kan,
Tse Hsi, and Ch`i Chi, who all were much liked by him. But
having no son from his first wife, whom he might make his successor,
he sacrificed to the mountains and rivers, and invoked the
decision of the gods. Together with his second wife Pa he buried
a jade badge in the ancestral hall, and bade his five sons to enter
after having feasted, and make obeisance. The later king K`ang
stepped over it, Tse Yü reached it with his elbow, Tse Kan and
Tse Hsi both remained far from it. Ch`i Chi was carried in as a
baby. With each prostration he pressed on the top of the jade
badge. When King Kung died, Tse Chao became King K`ang,[23] but
his son lost the kingdom. Tse Yü became King Ling,[24] but was

himself assassinated. Tse Kan reigned but ten odd days. Tse Hsi
did not come into power, and even was afraid of being beheaded.
All were exterminated and left no progeny. Ch`i Chi mounted the
throne later, and continued the sacrifices of the house of Ch`u, for
such had been the presage.[25]

The duration of the reigns of these princes corresponded to
the distance they kept from the jade badge, when prostrating
themselves. The piece of jade was in the earth, while the five
sons, unaware of it, entered one by one, and bowed nearer or
farther off. When they pressed down the top of the jade ornament,
they were, so to speak, induced by their spirits to kneel down.

T`u An Ku of Chin[26] out of hatred destroyed the sons of
Chao Tun.[27] After the death of Chao So,[28] his wife had a posthumous
child. When T`u An Ku heard of it, he sought it in the Palace.[29]
The mother put it into her pantaloons, and swore the following
oath:—"The whole Chao family will be lost, if the child cries, it
will not be so, if it does not utter a sound." While being searched
for, it did not cry at all. Then its escape could be effected, and
its life be saved. Ch`êng Ying Ch`i[30] carried it away, and concealed
it on a mountain. During Duke Ching's time,[31] Han Chüeh mentioned
it to the duke, who together with Han Chüeh raised the orphan
of Chao to his former rank, so that he could continue the sacrificial
rites of his family under the name of Wên Tse. The orphan
of Chao did not utter a sound, as though its mouth had been closed.
Thus the elevation of Wên Tse was predetermined by fate.

The mother of Han Kao Tsu, dame Liu, reposed on the banks
of a large lake. In a dream, she met with a spirit. At that time
there was a tempest with thunder and lightning. In the darkness a
dragon appeared on high. The son, of which she was delivered, had
an excellent character, but was very fond of wine. He would buy
wine on credit from Mrs. Wang and mother Wu. When he was drunk,
he stopped, and lay down to sleep. Mrs. Wang and mother Wu then
always saw some miraculous signs about him. Whenever he remained

to drink wine, the price of the wine then sold was many
times as much as usual.

Later on he walked into the lake, and cut a big snake into
pieces with his hand. An old woman filled the roads with her
wails, crying that the Red Emperor had killed her son. This
miracle being very striking was much talked about.[32]

Ch`in Shih Huang Ti used to say that in the south-east there
was the spirit of a son of heaven. Therefore he travelled eastward
in order to suppress it. This was Kao Tsu's spirit. Together
with Lü Hou he concealed himself amidst the marshes in the Mang
and T`ang Mountains.[33] When Lü Hou with other people went in
search for him, they always saw a vapour rising in a straight line
above him, and thus discovered where he was.[34]

Later on Kao Tsu agreed with Hsiang Yü that whoever first
entered the gates of Ch`in, should be king. Kao Tsu arrived first,
which was deeply resented by Hsiang Yü. Fan T`sêng[35] said:—
"I pray to look at his vapours. They all take the shape of a
dragon, and have five colours:—they are those of the son of heaven.
He must be despatched forthwith."

When Kao Tsu went to thank Hsiang Yü, the latter and Ya
Fu[36] hatched a plot to kill him. At their instigation Hsiang Chuang
performed a dance with a drawn sword. Hsiang Po, who knew
their intentions, began to dance together with Hsiang Chuang, and
no sooner was the sword raised over Kao Tsu's head, than Hsiang
Po covered him with his own body so, that the sword did not
fall, and the murderous plot was not carried out.[37] At one time,
Kao Tsu was rescued by Chang Liang and Fan K`uai,[38] and after
all got off unhurt. Thereupon he swayed the whole empire.

When his mother conceived him, the spirit of a dragon made
its appearance. When he grew up, peculiar clouds were seen about
the wine shop. During the night, he killed a snake, and the
snake's old mother lamented, and cried. Ch`in Shih Huang Ti and
Lü Hou saw an aureole above him. Hsiang Yü planned his assassination,
but Hsiang Po protected him, and the scheme fell through.

He found such helpmates as Chang Liang and Fan K`uai. For
there being signs pointing to his future wealth and honour, all
things obeyed him, and men lent him their help and support.

A younger brother of the Empress Dowager Tou,[39] of the
name of Kuang Kuo, was, at the age of 4 or 5 years, robbed from
his poor family, and sold, his people not knowing his whereabouts.
More than ten times he was sold again to other families, till he
came to I-yang.[40] There he went on the hills for his master to
make charcoal:—When it grew cold at night, over a hundred
people lay down under the coal. The coal collapsed, and all were
crushed to death, save Kuang Kuo, who managed to escape. He
then divined himself, and ascertained that, after a certain number
of days, he would be made a marquis. He left his home, and
betook himself to Chang-an.[41] There he learned that the Empress Tou
had lately settled her family at Kuan-chin in Ch`ing-ho.[42] He reported
himself to the emperor. The Empress Dowager prevailed upon Ching
Ti to grant him an audience. What he replied to the questions
about his origin proved true, and the emperor made him rich
presents. At the accession of Wên Ti,[43] Kuang Kuo was created a
marquis of Chang Wu. When the coal heaps came down, more
than a hundred people were killed, only Kuang Kuo escaped. Being
preserved by fate for wealth and honour, he did not only keep
alive, but was made a marquis to boot.

Yü Tse Ta, a native of Tung Kuan in Ch`ên-liu[44] came into the
world at night. His mother beheld something like a skein of silk
over him, which went up to heaven. She asked other people's advice
about it. All were agreed that it was an auspicious fluid foreboding
honour, which reached up to heaven. Yü Tse Ta, when grown up, became
an official, and was promoted to the rank of Minister of Education.

Kuang Wên Po[45] from P`u-fan[46] in Ho-tung[47] was likewise born
about midnight. At that time some one called his father's name

from without doors. The father went out, and replied, but nobody
was to be seen, only a big wooden stick was planted next to the
door. He understood well that it was different from common ones.
The father took the stick into his house, and showed it to somebody,
who prognosticated the future from it, saying:—"A lucky
omen, indeed. When Kuang Wên Po is grown up, he will study,
and in his official career be appointed prefect of Kuang-han."[48] Kuang
Wên Po was to be wealthy and honoured, therefore his father was
presented with the stick. The diviner, as it were, implied that the
stick represented the strength of the child.

On the day Chia-tse[49] in the twelfth moon of the first year
Chien-p`ing,[50] when the Emperor Kuang Wu Ti saw the light in the
second hall of the seraglio in the rear of the Chi-yang palace,[51]
his father was magistrate of Chi-yang.[52] During the night this room
was lighted of itself without there being any fire. His father
summoned the secretary Ch`ung Lan, and despatched him to consult
a fortune-teller. For that purpose Ch`ung Lan, accompanied by the
groom Su Yung, went to Wang Ch`ang Sun's place. Wang Ch`ang Sun
said to the two:—"That is a lucky thing, I cannot say more."
That same year a blade of grain grew among house-leek and wall-pepper.
It had three roots, one stalk, and nine ears, and was by
one to two feet higher than a common one, it being an auspicious
blade.[53]

At the beginning of Yuan Ti's[54] reign a phenix alighted on
the Chi-yang kung. Hence there exists still to-day in the Chi-yang
palace a phenix cottage. Yuan Ti together with Li Fu and others
travelled into the region of Ch`ai.[55] On the road they fell in with
insurgents, and greatly alarmed, fled to the old cottage of Chi-yang.
When they arrived, they beheld a red glare like fire just south
from the road leading to the old cottage. A stream of light went
up to heaven, and after a moment was gone.

At Wang Mang's time, the Lord Marshal Su Po A could distinguish
the currents of air. When, on an embassy, he passed
through the suburb of Ch`uang-ling,[56] he found the air very brisk
and fresh. Kuang Wu Ti came to Ho-pin,[57] where he had an interview
with Su Po A. He put to him the question:—"How did you
know that a lucky wind was blowing, minister, when you passed
Ch`uang-ling?"—"Only because I saw the air brisk and fresh" was
Su Po A's reply.

Ergo, when by Heaven's decree a new man is to rise, and a
wise emperor to come forth, the manifestations of the original fluid
before and after can clearly be made out.[58] But, when there is
only a succession of power, and a continuation of former institutions,
insomuch as the latter serve as a basis, then the manifestations
of the heavenly fluid are not worth mentioning.[59] When there
is a complete revolution, and a new dragon rises, he starts from
very small beginnings, and passes first through all sorts of calamities,
as in the case of Han Kao Tsu and Kuang Wu Ti.[60] Were they not
ushered in with wonderful signs from heaven, men, and spirits, and
great splendour?