In January of 226 AD, Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, went to Xuchang for inspection. Unexpectedly, the south gate of Xuchang collapsed for no apparent reason. Cao Pi felt uneasy, interpreting it as a bad omen, so he did not enter the city and went straight back to Luoyang. This was an example of "Jin Ni Mu," a phenomenon where wood is affected and moves. In May, Cao Pi passed away. Jing Fang's "Yi Zhuan" stated: "Both high and low are going against the will of heaven, that's why such strange incidents like the city gate collapse occurred."
In June of 316 AD, Emperor Yuan of Eastern Jin, Sima Rui, suddenly fell at his rice granary in Wu County (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu). It was like a warning from heaven: the rice granary, a place for storing grain, collapsed on its own, signifying a rise in grain prices, making it unaffordable for the common people. That year indeed saw a great famine, with thousands of people dying.
In the year 323 AD, Zhou Yan joined Wang Dun and had just finished building a house. Suddenly, the six main beams of the five rooms all fell to the ground, while the other roof beams were still hanging on the pillars. This was yet another sign of "Jin Ni Mu." In the following year in May, Qian Feng rebelled, and Zhou Yan's whole family was wiped out, with his ancestral home quickly turning into ruins.
On Bing Zi day in January of 402 AD, Crown Prince Sima Yuan Xian of Kuaiji, son of Emperor An of Eastern Jin, was preparing to attack Huan Xuan. He raised the command flag at the south gate of Yangzhou, but the flagpole on the east side just couldn't stand up straight, taking a long time to barely get it upright. This was not far from "evil omens." Later, Sima Yuan Xian was indeed captured by Huan Xuan.
In May of 405 AD, the music hall of Emperor An, Lexian Hall, collapsed. At that time, the emperor was known for his violent temper and had no intentions of being virtuous, so the collapse of the hall fulfilled the will of heaven.
In May of 413 AD, the Sacred Hall of the Imperial Academy collapsed. It seemed like a warning from heaven: the Sacred Hall, the foundation of rituals and music, collapsed on its own, indicating that the country was going to decline. Within a decade, Emperor An abdicated.
