In June of the nineteenth year of Taihe, it was reported in Xuzhou that the eight-zhang tall copper statue was sweating! This was quite an unusual occurrence. During the Yong'an, Putai, and Yongxi periods, the golden statue of Dingguang at the Temple of Pingdeng in the capital also sweated several times, and each time the country encountered troubles. People at that time were very afraid and believed it to be an ominous sign. In February of the third year of Yong'an, two bronze statues appeared in the homes of common folks in the capital. Each statue was over a foot long, with one statue growing four white hairs under the chin, and the other growing a black hair next to the cheek. The "Hongfan Lun" says: Dragons are scaly animals born in water. Clouds are also symbols of water, with heavy yin energy, so the sighting of a dragon is an ominous sign. If a ruler violates moral ethics and disrupts the heavenly order, disasters of usurpation and bloodshed are sure to follow.
In the third year of the reign of Shizu Shen, in the third month, two white dragons appeared in the wells of common folks in the capital; in the second month of the sixth year of Zhenjun, on the day of Bingchen, another white dragon appeared in the wells of common folks in the capital. Dragons are divine creatures, but they stoop in the wells, all foretelling the impending downfall of Shizu! In the first year of the reign of Suzong Zhengguang, in August, a black dragon that looked like a dog appeared, running from the south to Xuanyang Gate, then jumping up and running out from under the city gate tower. This signaled the decline of the Wei Dynasty! In the second year of Emperor Zhuang, a dragon appeared in the well in Jinyang and stayed there for a long time, foreshadowing Emperor Zhuang's violent demise in Jinyang.
In the first month of the first year of Emperor Feidi Putai, on the day of Jia Yin, signs of a dragon emerged from the west side of Xuanyang Gate and then returned to the city. The next day, on the day of Yi Mao, the court officials came to offer their congratulations, and the emperor said, "For the country to thrive, we must heed the people's voices; if the country is to perish, we must obey the will of heaven. We, the ruler and his subjects, should all restrain ourselves and govern the country, not merely rely on these auspicious omens for celebration." The "Hongfan Lun" says: Horses symbolize soldiers, and the appearance of strange phenomena with horses is an ominous sign that war is imminent.
In the eleventh month of the second year of Suzong's Xiping era, on the Xinwei day, a horse colt was sent from Hengzhou. Its tail was one foot long, but it had no hair on its hindquarters. In September of the first year of Zhengguang, bugs infested the ears of the official horses in Woye town, resulting in the deaths of fourteen or fifteen horses. These bugs resembled locusts, less than five inches long and as thick as chopsticks. "Hongfan Lun" quoted the words of "Yijing": "Kun is a cow." Kun represents earth; when the earth's energy becomes chaotic, strange phenomena will occur in cows; this phenomenon is referred to as "cow disaster." This predicts the extinction of ancestral temples. Some also believe that heavy transportation can lead to disasters among cows.
In May of the second year of Shizong's Jingming era, Jizhou reported that a cow in Changle County gave birth to a calf that had two faces, two mouths, three eyes, and three ears! "Hongfan Lun" states that when the monarch is not wise, misgovernment leads to the appearance of these strange phenomena.
In March of the year 499 AD, Sizhou reported that a lamb was born in Yangqu County, with two bodies attached to one head, one ewe and one ram, three ears, and eight legs. Not long after, the dynasty's founder passed away, and six regents began to seize power.
Next, in July of the year 505 AD, a lamb with two bodies and eight legs was reported from Shanshan town. In the first month of the next year, Shanshan town sent another lamb that had eight legs. In May of the year 508 AD, Baogu Lu town reported the birth of a lamb that had six legs and two tails. Jing Fang stated in his "Zhuang" that all creatures with many legs are possessed by evil spirits. Jing Fang also said in the "Yijing" that if creatures resembling pigs with human heads and pig bodies are born, that place will be chaotic and doomed.
In September of 500 AD, the relevant authorities reported to Wang Rang, the Governor of Yuzhou and Duke of Linhuai, that a pig had given birth to piglets, one piglet had two bodies and eight legs. In September of 508 AD, reports from Liangzhou indicated that dogs and pigs had mated. In August of 508 AD, a pig in the capital gave birth to piglets, one with four ears, two bodies, and eight legs. In July of 508 AD, Xuzhou reported that a pig in Yangping Fortress gave birth to piglets, one with a head resembling a human, a flesh lump on top of its head, and no hair on its body. This was an omen of the impending downfall of Empress Ling and the young ruler. The "Hongfan Lun" cites Jing Fang in the "Chuan" as saying: chicks are like junior officials; horns symbolize weapons, and being above signifies the majesty of the ruler. This indicates that junior officials will cause chaos relying on the ruler's authority, which poses a challenging calamity to manage.
In May of 497 AD, the relevant authorities reported that there were two horned hens in the capital, with combs resembling horns, different from other chickens. At that time, Empress Wen was in charge of state affairs, foreshadowing a heavy reliance on petty officials. In April of 505 AD, Henan produced a chick with four legs and four wings, as recorded in the "Biography of Cui Guang." In August, Sizhou reported that in a commoner's house in Hanoi, a chick had grown a head on its rear, with a beak and eyes. Both heads grew from the back of the neck, each with two wings and two legs walking side by side. At that time, Emperor Shizong placed greater trust in petty officials and had many followers. Corrupt individuals also interfered in state affairs, which were all ominous signs. In December of 508 AD, Luozhou reported that a yellow hen raised by Chang Jiao, the governor of Weixing, had a flesh horn the size of a jujube on its head, measuring one inch and three-tenths, with hair an inch and a half long growing from the horn.
In January of 484 AD, two chickens raised by the Lan Dou family, a rooster and a hen, both had two horns and feathers of mixed colors, and the horns stood tall above their combs. At that time, Empress Ling was presiding over state affairs.
The "Hong Fan Lun" states: "The punishment for unclear vision and dull hearing." We won't translate this ancient text, but will leave it for reflection.
In November of 475 AD, a white owl was captured in the capital.
One day in August of 485 AD, a bald vulture was caught in the palace.
In April of 486 AD, someone delivered a dead duck; this duck had one head, but two bodies, four legs, four wings, and two tails.
In March of 492 AD, a male pheasant flew into the Ministry of Rites and was then captured in the hall.
The "Hong Fan Lun" also states: "Cruel punishments benefit the lower classes; insatiable greed stirs the masses; taking cities and ruling towns while losing the hearts of the people brings disaster." We will directly quote this original text.
In July of 475 AD, a locust plague occurred in the Dunhuang region, resulting in a complete crop failure.
By July of 476 AD, Qingzhou and Yongzhou also suffered from locusts, with no crops harvested. In August, the seven states of Xuzhou, East Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Jizhou, Pingzhou, Yuzhou, and Guangzhou, along with the four key towns of Pingyuan, Fangtou, Guang'a, and Linji, all faced locust disasters.
In April of 477 AD, Xiangzhou and Yuzhou suffered from locusts again. In March of 478 AD, the three states of Jizhou, Zhou, and Xiangzhou were ravaged by locusts. In April, seven states including Jizhou, Guangzhou, Youzhou, Sizhou, Yongzhou, Qizhou, and Pingzhou faced severe locust plagues. On a day in June, the locusts returned to devastate the crops in the four states of Xiangzhou, Qizhou, Guangzhou, and Qingzhou.
On a day in October of 486 AD, the Fuhan region also suffered from a locust disaster, leading to heavy crop losses.
In May of 490 AD, the six states of Qingzhou, Qizhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Guangzhou, and South Qingzhou faced locust invasions.
In the year 493 AD, in March, Hezhou was struck by a large-scale locust disaster, resulting in no harvest of wheat and barley grains. In May, Guangzhou was again plagued by locusts. In June, Hezhou suffered a severe locust plague. In July, Donglai County was also invaded by locusts.
In June of the year 494 AD, Xiazhou and Sizhou were hit by locusts.
In April of the year 497 AD, Qingzhou was ravaged by the pest known as the Butu Worm, destroying jujube flowers. In August, Jingzhou, Hezhou, Liangzhou, and Sizhou Hengnong County were attacked by locusts and other pests.
In June of the year 498 AD, Liangzhou experienced a locust plague.
In May of the year 502 AD, the Butu Worm in Qingzhou once again harmed the jujube flowers.
In July, a locust disaster swept through the capital; the sight was truly appalling! In August, Qingzhou, Qizhou, and Guangzhou were also hit by locusts, with two-thirds of the crops being eaten and huge losses incurred.
In June of the first year of Xiping, Qingzhou, Qizhou, Guangzhou, and South Qingzhou were hit by locusts again; disaster struck again! In June of the first year of Tian'an, there was a spectacle in Yanzhou: black ants and red ants engaged in a battle, with the battlefield measuring sixty steps long and four inches wide; the red ants were completely defeated, with their heads bitten off. The black ants occupied the north, while the red ants occupied the south. In the same year, in November, the governor of Yanzhou, Bi Zhongjing, sent envoys to surrender to the emperor, and the court appointed General Wuyuan to receive them, defeating the rebel leaders such as Zhou Kai.
In July of the tenth year of Taihe, Zhang Wanshou, the magistrate of Bingzhou, reported that in Jianxing Huoze County, there was a commoner named Jia Riche, who, in April while raising silkworms, discovered that the silkworm silk had formed into a curtain, inside which was rolled up something resembling a silk ribbon, four feet long and three inches wide, thin, with two yellow cocoons on top, shaped like footprints.
In March of the second year of Zhengshi, a silkworm moth incident occurred in Xuzhou, with over a hundred people injured and over twenty deaths, which was truly frightening!
Regarding the caterpillar plague, ancient texts state that this is an omen of unusual events to come. During the reign of Taizu, a large tiger appeared in Henan and lay by the river for three months before leaving. The following year, a swarm of locusts and white deer crossed the Yellow River. Another year later, the river water turned blood red! This was considered a premonition of the downfall of the Wei Chen family. Eventually, all members of the Wei Chen family were thrown into the river, and strange occurrences never happened there again.
In the first month of the first year of Yuanxiang, a wolf ran into the city and was caught near Keshi. In the twelfth month of the fifth year of Wuding, a leopard was caught on the bronze platform in the north city.
In the fifth month of the first year of Taihe, a fox demon came out to cut people's hair. At that time, Empress Wenxuan was in court, which was a bad omen, signaling political turmoil.
In the spring of the second year of Xiping, strange occurrences of fox demons cutting people's hair also appeared in the capital city, striking fear into the hearts of the people. On the day of Renshen in June, Empress Ling summoned all those who had their hair cut and had them whipped outside Qianqiu Gate by the Chongxun Guard Liu Teng, just as it had during the Taihe era.
Recorded in "Rui Tu": If officials from other regions, such as kings, governors, officials ranked at two thousand stones, and county magistrates, oppress the people cruelly and the people are full of grievances, white rats will appear. In the second month of the third year of Yongxing, a man named Zhao Wen from the capital city had a white rat appear in his home, which he offered to the court. In the spring of the same year, a white rat was also caught in Beiyuan, but it soon died. Upon examination, three baby white rats were found inside it.
In a certain year in March, the emperor visited the West Palace and caught a small white rat.
In August, Zhang An, who managed logistics in the palace, also caught a small white rat.
In the fifth month of the second year of Shenrui, the emperor went hunting on Mount Pelun and caught yet another small white rat; three more were caught in Pingcheng as well. In June, two more were caught in Pingcheng. In August, Prince Kuai of Yuzhang also obtained a small white rat.
In November of the first year of Taichang, someone in the capital caught a small white rat and presented it to the emperor. In June two years later, two were caught in the Zhongshan area. In March of the third year, another was caught in the capital. In November, another was caught in the capital. In August of the third year of Shizong Shiguang, one was caught near Weijun in Xiangzhou. In August of the first year of Taiyan, one was presented from Yanmen. In August of the twenty-third year of Gaogu Taihe, another was caught in the capital. In May of the fourth year of Jingsong Jingming, another was caught in the capital. In June of the first year of Zhengshi, another was caught in the capital. In April of the first year of Suzong Xiping, one was sent from Sizhou.
