Tuibei 60 detailed explanation of Tuibeitu 11th image: Shenshu

Tuibei Tu is a work by the Tang Dynasty geomancers Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng. It predicts some historical events that happened in later generations. The book is divided into 60 images. In ancient times, it was banned by emperors because it was too accurate. Today I want to introduce to you the eleventh image of "Tui Bei Tu": Shen Shu. Friends who are interested can learn about it!

Tui Bei Tu original text: The eleventh image is Shen Shu

【Prophecy】

Five people predict neither good fortune nor luck

In other words, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness

【Song said】

Dragon and snake fight for thirty years, one day the same light rises to the sky

A million soldiers from the East entered Qinchuan

Detailed explanation of Tui Bei Tu in vernacular Chinese

1. Explain the prophecy

【Five people divine together】: It is the traditional Chinese character for “从” (from).

[In other words]: It is the word "humility". These two sentences refer to Guo Congqian, an actor who caused rebellion in the Later Tang Dynasty.

[Neither fortune nor luck]: refers to Guo Congqian being a powerful actor without a proper official position.

【Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness】: the performance of actors and actresses. It refers to the fact that Li Cunxu was keen on performing with actors after founding the country.

In 908, the 24-year-old Li Cunxu inherited the throne of King of Jin and fought many bloody battles. In 913, he captured Youzhou, in 922 he defeated the Khitan, in 923 he destroyed Liang and unified the north, and established the Later Tang Dynasty. However, he was not a descendant of Li Tang.[1]

After this, Li Cunxu became increasingly arrogant and lazy. He was keen on performing on the same stage with actors, doting on them, recruiting eunuchs, entrusting them with high positions, but being very harsh to his old ministers, and the government became chaotic.

2. Explanation of the Song

[Dragon and Snake Fight for Thirty Years]

"Snake": refers to the various separatist Jiedushi. "Dragon": refers to Li Cunxu, the Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang. Because he was the true dragon emperor, he was also a dragon before he ascended the throne. "Thirty Years": Li Cunxu followed his father into battle when he was young. He followed his father to Chang'an to report his achievements when he was 11 years old. In 925, when he was 41 years old, he sent troops to destroy the Former Shu regime. It was a "dragon and snake fight" that lasted for 30 years.

[One day, the same light goes straight up to the sky]

"Tongguang" is the reign title of Emperor Zhuangzong Li Cunxu; "Shangtian" means ascension to heaven and death.

Zhuangzong's harsh policies and indiscriminate killing of meritorious officials made the imperial guards eager to rebel. On the first day of April in 926, Guo Congqian, the leader of the imperial guards who was originally an actor, took advantage of Li Siyuan's rebellion and entered the palace. In the chaos, Zhuangzong was shot and killed. One of his actors collected musical instruments and piled them on his body and burned it.[1]

【Good game in heaven】

Irony - go play games and sing operas after you ascend to heaven.

[One million soldiers from the east enter Qinchuan]

"Eastern Soldiers", Shi Jingtang was the governor of Hedong, in charge of the Shanxi area. He led the Khitan army to invade "Qinchuan" in the west, so they were called "Eastern Soldiers". "Qinchuan": The 800-li Qinchuan is located in the Guanzhong Plain of Shaanxi Province and is the location of Luoyang, the capital of the Later Tang Dynasty.

Li Cunxu was incompetent and led the country astray. He died four years after he ascended the throne. Although Mingzong Li Siyuan "ascended the throne" in 926 and implemented reforms, the court was still in a state of chaos. Li Conghou, who ascended the throne in 933, was still incompetent. The following year, Li Conghou weakened the feudal lords and forced Mingzong's adopted son Li Congke (pronounced Ke) to rebel. After Li Congke usurped the throne in 934, the government continued to be in chaos. In 936, Li Congke forced Shi Jingtang to rebel because he weakened the feudal lords. On January 11, 937, Shi Jingtang colluded with the Khitan to attack Luoyang, and the Later Tang Dynasty was destroyed.

2. Chen Xi’s interpretation of the diagram

There is a man lying on the ground in the picture, which represents Li Cunxu, the Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang who was killed by a stray arrow. The three trees around him refer to the fact that after his death, there were three emperors with the surname Li in the Later Tang Dynasty.[2] In the first few images of "Tui Bei Tu", there is a habit of using trees to represent the surname "Li" in riddles, such as "A tree of plum flowers, all are bleak." The picture uses trees to symbolize the Later Tang emperors after Zhuangzong, which seems to imply that they are not from the same family as Zhuangzong.

Li Siyuan, who ascended to the throne through a military coup, was the adopted son of Li Keyong and was considered Zhuangzong's sworn brother. Zhuangzong favored eunuchs, and the meritorious official Li Siyuan was suspected and nearly killed. In 926, Li Siyuan's rebellion was launched in Luoyang. The actor Guo Congqian also took advantage of the chaos to rebel. Zhuangzong was shot and died, and Li Siyuan took the opportunity to ascend the throne.

What does the eleventh image talk about: [The fate of the Later Tang Dynasty]

The eleventh image of "Tui Bei Tu" predicted the rise and fall of the Later Tang Dynasty. The picture of the eleventh image depicts a person dead in the woods and grass in the wilderness, implying the historical fact that the Later Tang Emperor Li Cunxu was killed. The prophecy said: "Five people divined together, and it was neither fortune nor luck. In other words, it would bring joy, anger, sorrow and happiness." "Five people divined together" is the traditional Chinese character "从" (cong), and "in other words" is the character "谦", which alludes to the fact that Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang Dynasty favored the actor Guo Congqian. The prophecy meant that Guo Congqian would change his appearance in front of Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang, making the emperor happy, cry, angry or joyful, but this was not a blessing for the emperor.

The ode says: "The dragon and the snake fought each other for thirty years, and one day they shared a common light and went up to the sky. It was fun to be in heaven, and a million soldiers from the east entered Qinchuan." "The dragon and the snake fought each other for thirty years, and one day they shared a common light and went up to the sky" refers to the fact that Li Cunxu, the Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang, fought for thirty years and finally ascended to the throne. The last two sentences mean that after he became emperor, he did not know how to cherish his position. During a recreational activity, he was shot to death in the wild by the actor Guo Congqian, and Li Siyuan's army was led to attack Qinchuan.