Complete Notes on the Song Dynasty: Volume 2. Five

Author: Zhu Yian, Fu Xuanzong, et al
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features:
Ong Gong once said: "[In my youth, a monk told me: 'If your ears are white against your face, you will be renowned throughout the world; if your lips do not touch your teeth, you will be free from slander. His words were quite fantastical.' If your ears are white against your face, that is something everyone can see. As for your lips not touching your teeth, I dare not ask you about it, but I wonder why. There was a family in Meizhou who raised several hundred fish in a deep pool to make a profit. The pool was surrounded by houses on all sides, and they raised the fish for over thirty years. One day, when the sky was clear and there was no thunder, a loud noise like thunder and rain suddenly erupted from the pool, and all the fish leaped up like sheep horns and disappeared into the air. According to old tales, if there were no turtles guarding the pool, the dragon would take the fish. I believe the dragon must have been stirred by the thunder and rain. I suspect that these fish, kept in this enclosure for over thirty years, had always had the desire to leap, and their spirits never waned. Over time, they naturally reached their destination. The Lantern Festival in Chang'an was once said to be a tradition dating back to the Han Dynasty, where lamps were lit from dusk till dawn. Emperor Jianwen of the Liang Dynasty wrote a Treatise on Lanterns, and Emperor Minghuang of the Chen Dynasty composed a poem titled Remote Ode to Mountain Lanterns. In the Tianchi era of Emperor Minghuang of the Tang Dynasty, lanterns were set up in the eastern capital; during the Kaicheng era of Emperor Wenzong, lanterns were used to welcome the Empress Dowager. Thus, before the Tang Dynasty, lanterns were not set up every year. The Tang Imperial Calendar records an edict from the second year of the Piyi era, March: '[This decree shall be implemented as a permanent model].' The paper used was white, and it was often eaten by insects. From then on, the Secretariat of State issued orders to various departments and counties using yellow paper. Xu Jian of the Tang Dynasty wrote A Guide for Beginners, and Liu Ziyi of Zhongshan loved the book and said: '[It is not just for beginners; it is truly a lifelong guide.' When Lu Mengzheng was preparing for the imperial examinations, he rented a room at the Jianlong Temple and entered Luoyang along the river. He locked himself in his room and did not return until spring. When he opened the door, he found that a cluster of locust trees had grown three feet high in front of his bed, entwined and embracing. That year, he passed the examinations and became prime minister ten years later. The Tang imperial treasury had a green wine cup with a pattern like tangled silk, thin as paper. When wine was poured into it, it gently emitted steam like boiling water, and it was called the Self-Warming Cup. The Kingdom of Quanzhou sent in a pillow that was the color of horse brain. When used, it made one dream of the Ten Continents, the Three Islands, the Four Seas, and the Five Lakes. Emperor Minghuang named it the Lantern Pillow. Li Bai, when young, dreamed that flowers grew from the tip of his pen, and later, his talent flourished, making him renowned. When new scholars passed the examinations, they sent home golden letters to announce the news, calling it the My Belief. During Emperor Wenzong's reign, this custom was abolished. In the palace during the Cold Food Festival, people would compete in swinging for fun, which Emperor Minghuang called the Half-Angel's Game. Song Jing loved the people and cared for them, so people called him the Man with Feet of Spring, meaning that wherever he went, it was like the arrival of spring. Li Bai's conversations were always poetic and rhythmic, like spring flowers and lush algae, shining in his teeth. People called his words the Splendid Flowers of Discourse. In the capital, men and women would ride in carriages and horses in the suburbs on the 15th day of the first lunar month for the Spring Exploration Banquet. Emperor Minghuang, when appointing ministers, first wrote their names in eight-character script and placed them in a golden jar. A scholar once visited Li Linfu, claiming to be a descendant of Guan Zhong, and later, the brush transformed into a pen. Guo Ziyi returned from Tongzhou, and the emperor ordered ministers to his home to play the Soft Foot Game, where each person contributed three hundred thousand. In the courtyard, a pair of magpies nested in the rose tree behind the Jade Hall. Whenever scholars gathered for a meal, the magpies would flutter around. If they chirped, it meant there would be an imperial decree or summons, so they were called Spiritual Magpies. Therefore, in the poem by Chao Hanlin, it is written: 'I heard the spiritual magpie's heart should be joyful.' And in his own poem, he writes: 'The spiritual magpie first perches on the jade tree.' This is why. P336-337