The sound of music is not in harmony with the disaster

He Zhaohan

He Zhaohan, a magistrate during the pseudo-Shu period, once worked as a magistrate in Qiannan with others. In his free time, he went for a walk in the field and saw an angler by the river. He Zhaohan said, “Yes.” The angler said, “I am Zhang Shibu, a man of the mountains. I have been associated with you for a long time, and you have forgotten me now.” He Zhaohan was confused and did not understand, so he sat down on the grass. He said to He, “You had several official positions, but eventually you made it to Qingcheng County Magistrate. I live in Qingcheng Mountain, and when your official term expires, I will return to the mountain with you, so it is too late to come to your official office today.” After saying that, he said goodbye and left.

He Zhao Han was particularly impressed by this incident. Later, he became an official for several terms, and when he became the magistrate of Qingcheng County, he was very worried. The angler was a frequent visitor, and He Zhaohan had great respect for him. One day, when the army was pressing the city and the bandits were rising, the angler and He Zhaohan fled into the Qingcheng Mountains together, while all of He’s family members stayed in the city. After the bandits entered the county, they threatened to kill the magistrate. The son of the leader of the bandits, who called himself General Xiao, suddenly disappeared that day. The head of the magistrate on the portrait was the head of the young general, so the bandits killed each other and no one knew where the magistrate was.

Later, someone entered the mountain and saw He Zhaohan walking with Zhang Shibu. He Zhao Han then asked him to send a letter to tell his family, saying, “I am not dead, I have fled back to my original mountain, you should live your lives well and not memorialize me.” From then on, people never saw him again and did not know where he had gone.

(from “Gossip of the Wild Man”)

The sound of music does not harmonize to know the calamity

In the early years of Qingtai of the Later Tang Dynasty, Wang Renyu served as a minister in Liang Yuan. At that time, Fan Yanguang was on guard here. In the early spring of that year, the countryside was still very cold. Fan Yanguang led his staffs to farewell the ambassadors sent by the court in the pavilion outside the countryside. The music was in the key of feather, but the cymbals were playing the sound of palace, which was not in harmony with each other.

Wang Renyu was surprised and told Li Shi and Tang Xian, the judge of the military, privately, “Something is bound to happen today, and this is a sign that the music is not in harmony. When the music was played just now, all the tones were in the key of feather, but only the cymbals were in the sound of palace. The feather is water, the palace is earth, water and earth are mutually exclusive, can there be no trouble?” When the banquet broke up, the courtiers returned to the west and left. Fan Yanguang led all the guests and took the eagle to the north of Wangba Dian when hunting, he fell off the running horse and fainted. He woke up from the fainting only from the eve to the afternoon.

Wang Renyu was able to predict the accident from the sound of music, which is very accurate!

(from “Yutang Gossip”)