Long Fuben
During the reign of Emperor Wenzong of Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Long Fuben who was blind, but he was good at deducing people’s fortune and misfortune through sound and bone palpation, which always came true. He could detect the longevity of a person’s life and official fortune by simply playing with the ivory or bamboo palm for a while.
He was so famous at that time that the scholars wanted to get involved with him, and they were expecting to be prominent and prosperous. At that time, the Yongle people Xiao Xiangqi also in the admonition office, one day Song Qi and Xiao Xiangqi together to Long Fuben, their palm to Long Fuben, let him guess, infer. Long Fuben took Xiao Xiangqi’s bamboo palm for a long time, put it on the bookcase and said, “This is the palm used by the Chancellor!” Then he touched the pallet used by Song Qi and said, “This is the pallet used by the governor!” Song Qi was very upset when he heard that. Xiao Xiangqi said to Song Qi, “Why do you mind if you have no proof of your words.”
After a month or so, Song Qi and Xiao Xiangqi were promoted to the Central Secretariat at the same time and went to see the Chancellor together. At that time, Li Zhu Ya had just assumed the position of Chancellor and was in charge of the power of the court, and his prestige shocked the court. Song and Xiao were standing around chatting and joking with each other when they were waiting to see each other. Shortly after, Prime Minister Li suddenly came out from inside. Just in time, Song Qi was covering his face with a bamboo hand board and laughing more than once. Li Zhuya looked at Song Qi very attentively, turned back to the people around him and asked, “What is the matter with Song Qi laughing at me?” Hearing Li Zhuya ask such a question, there was no one who did not have chills and trembling legs.
Less than ten days after this incident, Song Qi was sent to the capital as the magistrate of Qinghe County, and died in office a year later. Later, Xiao Xiangqi’s official fortune was so good that he was transferred to the capital to preside over the Ministry of Household Affairs from the observation envoy of western Zhejiang. Soon, he was promoted to the post of chancellor and took charge of the imperial government.
Everything was as Long Fuben said.
(From “The Book of Drama”)
“One person, 8,000 mouths”
The late Minister of Justice Liu Zungu was in charge of the army of Eastern Shu in the fourth year of Dahe of Emperor Wenzong of Tang Dynasty. A local Shu man had a rich collection of books. After arriving here, Liu Zungu borrowed hundreds of books from him to read, however, he was not able to read them in detail.
The next summer, the Ful River flooded and flooded over the bank, flooding many houses. It took several days for the flood to recede, and all of Liu Zungu’s borrowed books and antique collections were soaked and soiled by the flood.
Liu Zungu ordered people to place the books in the courtyard and expose them to the sun. A few days later, Liu Zungu found a book “Zhou Yi Justice” in the group of books, with wonderful penmanship and slightly ancient font, definitely not a contemporary book. There is an inscription at the end of the book: “On March 11 of the second year of Shang Yuan, because of reading the Zhou Yi, I wrote this Justice. From this Yi number twelve or thirteen, years to one person eight thousand mouth, when there is a big water drift drowning, because get Shu turn sun exposure. Hengyang Taoist priest Li Dechu.”
Liu Zungu read the inscriptions, sighing for a long time. After the inventory check, know that this book or Shu people’s collection. So he called his officials to study the so-called “easy number twelve or thirteen, years to a person 8,000 mouths”.
It was thought that “one person and 8,000 mouths” was the word “Dahwa”, and that there were thirteen changes of year numbers from Shang Yuan, through Baoying, Guangde, Yongtai, Dali, Jianzhong, Xing Yuan, Zheng Yuan, Yongzhen, Yuan He, Chang Qing, Bao Li to Dahwa, which really matched with what the inscription said. It is in line with what the inscription says. However, I don’t know who Lee Deok-chu was, so perhaps he was given a false name to enlighten future generations.
(Source: Xuanmu Zhi)
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