The "Hongfan Lun" states: If the emperor is not wise, it will lead to political errors. In July of the twenty-third year of Emperor Gao's reign, officials in Sizhou reported that a lamb was born in Yangqu County, having one head and two bodies, one female and one male, three ears, and eight legs. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Gao passed away, and six regents began to seize control. In July of the first year of Emperor Shizong's reign, Shanshan Town sent a lamb with one head, two bodies, and eight legs. In the following January, Shanshan Town sent another lamb with eight legs. In May of the fourth year of Yan Chang, Bogu Lu Town reported that a lamb was born with one head, six legs, and two tails. Jing Fang stated in the "Zhuan": Any strange phenomenon, such as animals with many legs, is due to the appointment of treacherous individuals. In "Jing Fang Yi," it states: Strange phenomena, like a pig giving birth to a human-headed pig body, indicate that the place will fall into chaos and perish. In September of the first year of Emperor Gao's Yanxing reign, the relevant departments reported that Wang Rang, the governor of Yuzhou and Duke of Linhuai, reported a pig that gave birth to a piglet having one head, two bodies, and eight legs. In September of the fourth year of Emperor Shizong's Jingming reign, Liangzhou reported that a dog and a pig had mated. In the eighth month of the fourth year of Zhengshi, a pig in the capital gave birth to piglets with four ears, two bodies, and eight legs. In the seventh month of the fourth year of Yan Chang, Xuzhou reported that a pig in Yangping Shu gave birth to a piglet with a human-like face, a flesh lump on its head, and no hair on its body. This is a sign that Empress Ling and the young ruler are on the verge of being deposed! The "Hongfan Lun" states, and Jing Fang in the "Zhuan" says: Small chickens and small livestock are like small officials and minor clerks; horns symbolize weapons, growing on top, representing the authority of the monarch. This indicates that if small officials and minor clerks grasp the monarch's power, they will cause chaos, which is a danger of poor governance. In May of the first year of Emperor Gao's Taihe reign, the relevant departments reported that there were two hens in the capital with combs resembling horns, unlike other chickens. At that time, Empress Wen was in power, and this indicated her favoritism toward treacherous individuals and her trust in the wicked.
In April of the first year of Emperor Shizong's reign, a small chicken with four legs and four wings appeared in Henan, as noted in the "Biography of Cui Guang." In August, the governor of Sizhous reported that in a household in Henan, a domesticated chicken had grown a head on its backside, complete with a beak and eyes. Each head had a pair of wings growing from the back of its neck, and the two legs moved side by side. At that time, Emperor Shizong favored lowly officials and was swayed by factions, with corrupt individuals meddling in state affairs; this was a clear warning sign.
In December of the fourth year of the Yan Chang period, Luozhou reported that in the household of Chang Jiao, the governor of Wei Xing, a yellow hen had grown a fleshy horn on its head, about the size of a jujube, measuring one and a quarter inches long, and the horn had fluffy hair growing on it, measuring one and a half inches.
In January 520, two chickens raised by General Lan Dou had grown two horns on their heads, with mottled feathers that stood taller than its comb. At that time, Empress Ling was in charge, and she made all the decisions.
The "Hong Fan Lun" states: Poor vision and hearing are punishments in themselves.
In November 536, a white owl was captured in the capital. In August 521, a bald eagle was caught in the palace. In April 502, someone brought a strange duck with one head, two bodies, four legs, four wings, and two tails. In March 506, a male pheasant flew into the Ministry of Personnel and was caught there.
The "Hong Fan Lun" also states: If the ruler's punishments are harsh and focused solely on plundering the people's resources; greedy and insatiable, constantly mobilizing the populace; building fortifications while losing the people's support, then pestilence will strike.
In July 475 AD, a locust plague occurred in the Dunhuang region, and nearly all the autumn crops were devoured. In July of the following year, Qingzhou and Yongzhou also suffered from a disaster caused by locusts (a type of grasshopper). In August, seven states—Xuzhou, Dongxuzhou, Yanzhou, Jizhou, Pingzhou, Yuzhou, and Guangzhou—and four towns—Pingyuan, Fangtou, Guanga, and Linji—were all affected by locust plagues. In April 477 AD, Xiangzhou and Yuzhou again faced locust plagues. In March 478 AD, Jizhou, Zhouzhou, and Xiangzhou suffered from locust damage. In April, seven states—Jizhou, Guangzhou, Youzhou, Sizhou, Yongzhou, Qizhou, and Pingzhou—experienced locust plagues. In June, Xiangzhou, Qizhou, Guangzhou, and Qingzhou were again hit by locusts. In October 496 AD, a locust plague occurred in the Fuhan region, resulting in a total crop failure.
In May 497 AD, Qingzhou, Qizhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Guangzhou, and South Qingzhou suffered from locust damage. In March 501 AD, Hezhou experienced a large-scale armyworm disaster, leading to a complete loss of wheat. In May, Guangzhou was affected by locusts. In June, Hezhou faced a major locust plague. In July, Donglai County suffered from locust damage. In June 504 AD, Xiazhou and Sizhou experienced locust plagues. In April 508 AD, the foot-cutting insect in Qingzhou damaged jujube flowers. In August, Jingzhou, Hezhou, Liangzhou, and Hengnong County in Sizhou suffered damage from yellow rats, locusts, and other pests. In June 509 AD, Liangzhou experienced a locust plague. In May 512 AD, the foot-cutting insect in Qingzhou damaged jujube flowers again.
In July, the locust disaster swept through the capital city, and the sight was truly devastating! In August, Qingzhou, Qizhou, and Guangzhou also faced locust plagues, with two-thirds of the crops eaten, resulting in heavy losses!
In the first year of Xiping, in June, the four provinces of Qingzhou, Qizhou, Guangzhou, and Nanqingzhou were again struck by locust plagues, truly a calamity that comes in waves! In the first year of Tian'an, in June, a battle erupted between black ants and red ants in Yanzhou, with a battlefield measuring sixty steps by four inches. The red ants were completely annihilated, sustaining heavy losses. The black ants occupied the north, while the red ants occupied the south. In November of the same year, the governor of Yanzhou, Bi Zhongjing, sent envoys to submit to the court, which appointed General Wei Yuan to take over and decisively defeated the bandit leader Zhou Kai and others.
In the tenth year of Taihe, in July, Zhang Wanshou, the administrator of Bingzhou, reported that in Jianxing, Huozecounty, there was a commoner named Jia Richeng who discovered, during the mid-April silkworm rearing season, that the silkworm silk had formed a curtain, inside which was 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, an incident in Xuzhou saw silkworm moths injuring people, leaving over one hundred injured and more than twenty dead; this was truly unprecedented!
Ancient people believed that caterpillar disasters were signs of celestial changes. During Emperor Taizu's reign, a massive tiger was spotted in Henan, lingering by the river for three months before it finally departed. The following year, large numbers of ants and white deer crossed the Yellow River. A year later, the river water turned blood red! This was regarded as an omen of the Weichen clan's downfall. Later, people threw all members of the Weichen clan into the river, and thereafter, no strange occurrences were reported in that area.
In the first month of the first year of Yuanxiang, a wolf surprisingly wandered into the city and was only caught when it reached Xieshi. In the fifth year of Wuding, in December, a leopard was captured on the copper platform in the northern city.
In the first year of Taihe, on the day of Xinhai in May, a fox spirit came out to cut people's hair. At that time, Empress Dowager Wenxuan was ruling, and there were numerous indications of corruption in the court.
In the spring of the second year of the Xiping era, strange occurrences began in the capital, where a fox spirit was rumored to be cutting people's hair, leaving the people in a state of panic. On the day of Renchen in June, Empress Ling summoned all those who had their hair cut and ordered Liu Teng, the commander of Chongxun Wei, to whip them outside Qianqiu Gate, echoing events from the Taihe era. According to the ancient text "Ruitu," if local princes, governors, officials of the second rank, and local leaders are cruel and oppressive to the people, leading to widespread grievances, white mice will appear.
In the third year of the Yongxing era, in February, a man named Zhao Wen in the capital found a white mouse in his home and presented it to the court. That spring, Beiyuan also caught a white mouse, but it soon died. Upon dissection, they found three small white mice in its stomach.
In March of a certain year, the emperor went to the Western Palace for leisure and caught a small white mouse. In August, Zhang An, who was in charge of palace affairs, also caught a small white mouse. In May of the second year of the Shenrui era, the emperor hunted on Kelong Mountain and caught another small white mouse; three more were caught in Pingcheng. In June, two more were caught in Pingcheng. In August, Wang Kui of Yuzhang also caught a small white mouse.
In November of the first year of Taichang, a person in the capital caught a small white mouse and presented it to the emperor. In June, two years later, two small white mice 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 the Shiguang era, a small white mouse was caught in Weijun, in the province of Xiang. In August of the first year of the Taiyan era, a small white mouse was presented to the emperor from Yanmen. In August of the twenty-third year of the Taihe era, another small white mouse was caught in the capital. In May of the fourth year of Jingming, another was caught in the capital. In June of the first year of the Zhengshi era, another was caught in the capital. In April of the first year of the Xiping era, a small white mouse was sent from Sizhou.
