Complete Notes on the Song Dynasty: Volume 2. Ten

Author: Zhu Yian, Fu Xuanzong, et al
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Tiger Hill, the former residence of Prince Jin Wenhun. Wenhun served as the Interior Minister of Wu and thus both he and his brother Min chose to reside in Wu. Tradition holds that their residence was located in Rihua Lane within the city, now occupied by Jingde Temple. Tiger Hill was their outer residence. Wenhun and Min lived in separate eastern and western residences, originally located at the foot of the hill. Later, these were converted into temples, known as Eastern and Western Temples. Today, the temple sits atop the hill, overlooking Jianchi Lake. The elders believe that by the end of the Huichang era, the inscriptions on the temple’s tablets did not include the character "" (wèi), while the yellow-cloth-bound versions lacked the character "" (sì). According to the Xu (Xu-copied) version, the temple was dismantled, and the land returned to the people. Even today, the farmers can still point out its former location. In the early DaZhong era, the inscriptions on the tablets did not include "" (chū), so the Xu version was used to add it. When the temple was rebuilt, it was moved to a higher position, which explains why the inscriptions on the tablets no longer included "" (Mín), so the yellow-cloth-bound version was used to correct it. This is the current state. To the west of the temple is a small courtyard called Western Hermitage, though it now exists only in name. My great-grandfather’s former residence was adjacent to Jingde Temple. During the invasion by the northern barbarians, Jingde Temple was destroyed, but Tiger Hill miraculously survived. Its scenic beauty remains a treasure of Wu.
Xu Fuhui, known as the Scholar of Unfathomable Depth, was from Jianzhou. Initially, he also attempted the imperial examinations. The Book of Changes by Jing Fang had long been lost to the world, but Xu once encountered a hermit who possessed the knowledge and combined it with the Six-Heaven Divination and the Twelve Earthly Branches. He used divination throughout his life but found no success in officialdom, so he abandoned the examinations. When Fan Wenzheng served as the governor of Suzhou, he once suspected that foreign tribes might rise in rebellion and asked Xu to predict. Xu foretold that the west would mobilize troops, starting in a certain year and month, reaching its peak in another, and that the world would be in turmoil. Fan Wenzheng thus intensified his discussions on border affairs, and all his predictions proved accurate when the Yuan Hu rebelled. Emperor Renzong learned of this and summoned Xu to the court to inquire about military matters. Xu said, "This year is marked by the small passage (), with the yang position lost and not properly aligned. Only by strengthening the ruler’s virtue can one rectify this." He was appointed as the Grand Censor () but declined the position, receiving an honorary title and returning home. His former residence was on Wansong Ridge in Hangzhou. At that time, Lin Hejing was still alive, and Hangzhou was renowned for the two scholars. After Hejing’s death, Xu was finally given a posthumous title. Another contemporary of Xu was Guo Jing, who also mastered divination but was overly talkative about military matters and lacked refinement, which hindered his prominence.
In Taoism, there is the concept of the Three Corps (), also known as the Three Pings (), believed to be three insects within the human body that record one’s faults. On the day of Gengshen (), they enter a person’s dreams and report to the heavens. Thus, practitioners of Taoism avoid sleeping on this day, a practice called "guarding Gengshen," or take medicine to kill the Three Corps. The absurdity of petty people can reach such extremes. According to Taoist teachings, accumulating merits and virtues is meant to achieve transcendence, not to avoid faults and resent the insects recording them. Nor should one avoid sleep to guard against them or take medicine to kill them. How could one deliberately commit faults and hope to deceive the heavens, hiding and concealing them, only to be considered a divine captive? The heavens watch over all, accepting the Three Corps’ slanderous reports as "persuasion." Their folly is particularly evident. Yet, no practitioner of Taoism doubts this claim. Liu Zihou, known as the "stubborn man," also wrote the "Scolding the Corpse Insects" essay.
In the late Tang Dynasty, the inscription on the tablets had "" (Tang shàng yǎn qiě), which was corrected according to the Xu and Huang-copied versions. There was a Taoist named Cheng Zixiao, who one day attended a gathering at the Zhongnan Taiji Temple to guard Gengshen. Cheng Zixiao laughed and said, "What use are the two corpse insects? My master merely uses them to scare the wicked." He then composed a poem to show the others:
"I do not guard Gengshen nor doubt,
My heart forever clings to the Dao.
The Jade Emperor already knows my path,
Let the Three Corps speak their falsehoods."
He threw down his brush, and his snoring was like thunder. Though the poem was rustic, none of his disciples ever dared to refute it. Who would say that Liu Zihou was inferior to this scholar?
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