Wei Pan
I don’t know where Wei Pan came from. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, he was dismissed from his post as a lieutenant of Jintan County in Runzhou, so he came to Wuxing for a visit and temporarily put his boat near the waterfront of Xingguo Buddhist Temple. It was the 15th day of the first month, and all the good men and women came to gather. Wei Pan was just about to go ashore to have fun when he suddenly died. The magistrate and the constable came to examine him and found that he was still breathing, and after a night, he woke up again.
He said: He saw an official coming with an official document and said, “The government secretary wants you to go.” So he went with him, and after walking for about ten miles, he suddenly came to a city, which was heavily guarded, and after entering the city, he saw mostly relatives and old friends coming and going. The official said; “This is not earth.” Only then did Wei Pan understand that he was already dead. Not long after, he saw several people on horseback chiding and coming, one of them had fresh and gorgeous clothes and a great appearance, Wei Pan walked up and took a look, but it turned out to be his late friend. The man was surprised and said, “What are you doing here?” Wei Pan said, “I was chased by the officials.” The man said, “I am the one in charge of summoning spirits. I didn’t know you were the one being chased?” Then after thinking for a while he said, “Ha! Wrong! The one who is chasing you is not you, but Wei Pan, a lieutenant of Jinxiang County in Yanzhou.” He immediately reprimanded the official to send Wei Pan back. Wei Pan was very happy to return to earth, and relying on him as an old friend, he took the opportunity to ask him to tell him about his official position and longevity. The man had no choice, so he secretly told an official to take Wei Pan to another courtyard and let him stand by the door. An official came in, took a red pen, and wrote on Wei Pan’s left hand, “The former Yang is back to the latter Yang, the latter Yang is stronger every year, and the festival of July returns to Xuanxiang.” After he finished writing, Wei Pan came out. The official who used to chase Wei Pan sent him back again.
After he woke up, Wei Pan recounted what he had experienced. A monk named Fa Bao liked to hear about the strange events and got as much as he could and spread the word. Six years later, Wei Pan was transferred to Yangqu County in Taiyuan as the chief bookkeeper. When he returned to the capital, he met his relatives who had an old friendship with the Salt and Iron Minister, so he recommended Wei Pan to be the inspector of Yangzi County. After five years of service, on the 28th of June in the first year of Jianzhong, he was preparing to go to the capital for the election of officials when he suddenly became violently ill and died in the Guangling hostel, which was the day of the first day of autumn.
(From “Qian Ding Lu”)
Wei Xiaqing
During the reign of Emperor Daizong of Tang Dynasty, Wei Xiaqing, the Crown Prince’s Young Protector, could foretell people’s future, but no one knew he had this ability.
Once, on his way Home after retiring from court, Wei Xiaqing met his cousins Wei Diyi, Wei Qumou and Wei Zhou. All three of them got the twenty-fourth place in the examination and were chosen to be a governor at the same Time. The three men rode together, and after a while, Xiaqing said, “I have met the three twenty-fourth-ranking officials today, and I have to evaluate you.”
He said to Wei Deuyi, “You will surely become a prime minister, but keep your late career well!” To Qumou, he said, “You should choose another new master, and you will soon be a high official.” To Wei Zhou, he said, “Of the three of you, you will have the longest term, both in terms of years of Life and in terms of rank, old brother, and will be able to hold the highest military power.”
Later, the fate of these three men was indeed the same as Wei Xiaqing had predicted.
(From “Biography”)
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