Detailed explanation of Tuibeitu 60: The eighth image of Tuibeitu: Xinwei (the rebellion of the feudal lords)

The Rebellion of the Military Governorates occurred at the end of the Tang Dynasty, but Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang had predicted all of this early on and had already noted it in the Tuibei Tu. According to folklore, this Tuibei Tu predicted more than 2,000 years of Chinese history, and even major events that are happening today can be found in it. The book contains a total of 60 images. Because it was too accurate, it aroused the emperor's dissatisfaction and was listed as a banned book. What I want to explain to you in this issue is the detailed explanation of the eighth image of Tuibei Tui 60, Xinwei (the rebellion of the feudal lords). If you are interested, let’s learn about it together!

Tui Bei Tu original text: The eighth image Xin Wei

【Prophecy】

The thief is still a thief in the blood and gun

The plum blossoms are flying and the emperor is saying that the move is auspicious.

【Song said】

The emperor was in disgrace, but the three heroes were stationed in Guanzhong

A lone troop stationed in the country can collect arm skills

Detailed explanation of Tui Bei Tu in vernacular Chinese

1. Explain the prophecy

[The Blood of the Central Plains] During the "Rebellion of the Feudal Governorates" during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, four feudatories declared themselves kings, two feudal lords declared themselves emperors, and the Central Plains was plunged into war.

[After defeating a traitor, he became a traitor again] Li Huaiguang led his army to defeat the rebel Zhu Ci and saved Emperor Dezong from siege, but he later became a traitor himself.

During the Jingshi Rebellion, Zhu Ci proclaimed himself emperor and killed 77 people with the surname "Li" including princes, sons of the dukes, and princes' grandsons who had not managed to escape from the capital. Emperor Dezong escaped because he escaped in time. "Good luck": to be fortunate and escape.

※Analysis: Some people interpret "朵朵李花飞" as there were many generals with the surname Li in the Tang Dynasty. This explanation seems acceptable as a single sentence, but it is difficult to reconcile with "帝曰進進大吉". From the next image, we can see that "plum flowers" obviously refer to the descendants of Li Tang.

2. Explanation of the Song

[The emperor is covered in dust and his horse heads east] In October 783, the soldiers of Jingyuan mutinied in Chang'an, and Emperor Dezong fled west to Fengtian (now Gan County, Shaanxi). "Horse heads east": avoid the battlefield and flee. Some people interpret it as fleeing eastward, which is incorrect in both meaning and historical facts.

※Analysis: "The horse's head turns east" comes from the idiom "the horse's head wants to turn east", which was first seen in "Zuo Zhuan? Xianggong 14th Year". At that time, the State of Jin attacked the State of Qin, and the Qin army was in the west. Luan Yan (pronounced: yan) "the horse's head wants to turn east", which means avoiding the battlefield and returning to the east. "Ma Shou Dong" later became a rhyme in poetry, and there is no such thing as "Ma Shou Xi". There is an ancient poem paying tribute to Yue Fei: "The twelve golden medal horses head east, the soldiers of Yancheng are weeping in despair. The thousand-year-old Song society still has a solitary tomb, while the Jin soldiers have fought hundreds of battles but have no weapons left." The "horses head east" here does not mean eastward, but means withdrawing from the battlefield (at that time Yue Fei was heading south).

[Three heroes actually occupied Guanzhong] "Guanzhong": the scope of Guanzhong in ancient times varied. The four barriers of the ancient Qin State were: Hangu Pass (Lingbao, Henan) in the east, Dasan Pass (Baoji, Shaanxi) in the west, Wugu Pass (Danfeng, Shaanxi) in the south, and Xiao Pass (Guyuan, Ningxia) in the northwest. The area between the four dangerous passes is called Guanzhong.

Guanzhong in a broad sense refers to the area west of Hangu Pass, such as in "Records of the Grand Historian: The Banquet at Hongmen", "The Duke of Pei wanted to be the king of Guanzhong and made Ziying the prime minister." "Occupy Guanzhong": occupy Guanzhong. "Ju": squat, sit in entrenchment. "杰": hero, powerful man, robber. It can refer to loyal ministers and good generals, but can also refer to rebellious generals. "Three Heroes": The author believes that the "Three Heroes" should refer to Zhu Ci (pronounced: Ci), Li Huaiguang, and Li Sheng who occupied Guanzhong, rather than "Li Xilie, Zhu Ci, and Li Huaiguang" as mentioned by Jin Shengtan.

※Analysis: First, Li Xilie did not "occupy Guanzhong". Li Xilie was the governor of Huaixi and governed Caizhou, which is now Runan County, Henan Province. In December 783, Li Xilie captured Bianzhou (now Kaifeng). In the first month of 784, he established Bianzhou as Daliang Prefecture and proclaimed himself the Emperor of Chu. He did not invade Guanzhong.

Second, there were many rebels, so it was inappropriate for Jin Shengtan to only list these three. In addition to the three heroes mentioned by Jin Shengtan, there were also Zhu Ci's younger brother Zhu Tao who called himself King of Ji, Tian Yue who called himself King of Wei, Wang Wujun who called himself King of Zhao, and Li Na who called himself King of Qi - these were the self-proclaimed titles given by the four military governors after they built an altar and formed an alliance in November 782.

Therefore, I think the three heroes occupying Guanzhong and the three people in the picture refer to:

Zhu Ci was the Jiedushi of Youzhou Lulong, and his jurisdiction was in the area around Lulong County, Hebei. In 782, his brother Zhu Tao rebelled and Zhu Ci was placed under house arrest in the capital. In October 783, the Jingyuan soldiers who were sent to Huaixi to fight Li Xilie mutinied in Chang'an. Dezong fled to Fengtian in a hurry. The Jingyuan soldiers supported the imprisoned Zhu Ci, who proclaimed himself the Emperor of Great Qin in Chang'an and then besieged Fengtian.

Li Huaiguang was the governor of Bining (now Bin County, Shaanxi Province) and Shuofang, and was in charge of Lingzhou (now Lingwu, Ningxia). Dezong was trapped in Fengtian by Zhu Ci. Li Huaiguang rescued him and drove Zhu Ci back to Chang'an. Due to the instigation of the treacherous minister Lu Qi, Emperor Dezong did not allow Li Huaiguang to come to the court for an audience. Li rebelled in anger, and Emperor Dezong fled to Liangzhou (now Hanzhong, Shaanxi). In 785, Li Huaiguang committed suicide after his defeat.

Li Sheng was the military commander of Jingyuan, Sizhen and Beiting. In 783, he was ordered to return to attack Zhu Ci and was named "Jiedushi of the Shen Ce Camp". When Li Huaiguang rebelled, Li Sheng took on the important task of supporting the Tang Dynasty.

【The army stationed in Chang'an to ensure the safety of the country】 refers to Li Sheng's use of a solitary army to recapture Chang'an, being attacked from both sides, defeating a larger force with a smaller one, and thus supporting the country; at the same time, Li Sheng's tactic of directly attacking the imperial city preserved the people's livelihood in Chang'an, and the ancestral temple was intact, which was also "ensuring the safety of the country."

[Capable of controlling both internal and external forces] Li Sheng supported the Tang Dynasty. Internally, he was strict in military discipline and governing according to laws. Externally, he was good at attacking and fighting without causing any harm. He can be regarded as a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty.

In May 784, Li Sheng recaptured the capital. Zhu Ci was defeated and fled Chang'an, where he was killed by his subordinates in June. In July, Dezong returned to Chang'an and promoted Li Sheng to the position of Si Tu. His portrait was also placed in the Lingyan Pavilion next to Taizong's old ministers to highlight his contribution to the reconstruction of the Tang Dynasty. It can be seen that the protagonist of this image is Li Sheng.

What is the eighth image about: [Rebellion of the feudal lords]

The hexagram is "Jin", the lower part is Kun, which refers to the earth; the upper part is Li, which refers to fire.

The elephant said: "The sun rises from the ground, illuminating the earth, and it is a sign of brightness and progress." This is exactly the meaning of the word "Sheng" in Li Sheng. The Jin hexagram means "a good minister meets his king", and the fortune is "career, reputation, and wealth are all auspicious, which is a sign of promotion", which is exactly Li Sheng's fortune in this historical event.

"Tui Bei Tu" is a combination of picture, prophecy, ode and hexagram, so there should be a place for Li Sheng in the picture.

The "Jingshi Rebellion" completely ended Emperor Dezong of Tang's dream of reducing the power of the princes. In the first month of 784, Emperor Dezong issued a painful "self-blame edict", stating that the chaos in the world was caused by his "loss of the right way". Except for Zhu Ci, all the rebellious vassals were pardoned, and they submitted letters of apology. After Emperor Dezong returned to Chang'an, his attitude towards the vassal states turned to appeasement. The Tang Dynasty thus fell into decline. Despite two or three periods of improvement, they were all short-lived and inevitably met with the same fate as the next elephant.