The real Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng

Today, people like to compare Yuan Tiangang (also known as Yuan Tiangang) and Li Chunfeng, regard them as the "Gemini constellation" in the history of Chinese prediction, and attach Li Chunfeng as a disciple of Yuan Tiangang, and also refer to the famous prophecy "Tui Bei Tu" under the name For them, they have also made up many stories about the fighting between the two. In fact, although both of them were active in the early Tang Dynasty (Yuan Tiangang served as a salt official in the late Sui Dynasty and died in the Zhenguan period. Li Chunfeng was active in the Tang Emperor Taizong and Tang Gaozong periods, and died in the Gaozong period), but the age difference is large. , The experience is completely different.

Yuan Tiangang is from Chengdu, Sichuan, and his father is a small Sicang. Yuan Tiangang was lonely and poor. He began to learn Taoism at a young age. He was especially good at face-to-face, but he had never been a decent official in his life. There are only two records: Yanguanling in the Sui Dynasty and Huojing County in Sichuan in the Tang Dynasty. County magistrate. Li Chunfeng is a native of Fengxiang, Shaanxi. His father was a Gao Tangwei in the Sui Dynasty. He studied astronomy, calendar calculation, yin and yang, and called himself "Huang Guanzi". Nourished by his family studies, Li Chunfeng was a famous astronomer and mathematician in the early Tang Dynasty. He was a Taishiling official to the fifth grade, and was in charge of the Taishi Bureau which was responsible for observing astronomical weather and verifying calendars. This position was promoted from the third grade in the Tang Dynasty.

The first try is very different

Yuan Tiangang is good at face-to-face. In the last year of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, Dou Gui lived in Deyang, and when he was embarrassed, he asked Yuan Tiangang about his future. Yuan Tiangang looked at it for a while and said, "Your forehead is raised to the hairline and the bones are connected to the jade pillow behind your head. Your chin is round and fat. You will become a good minister of the court within ten years. And the one on your right. The chin is uplifted, clean and bright, and it should establish a prominent fame at the division between Liang and Yizhou." Ten years later, Dou Gui responded to Li Yuan's army to fight against the Sui Dynasty, and was later named Yizhou Xingtaibu shooter.

After Dou Gui took office, he was very impressed by Yuan Tiangang's accurate prediction, and he invited him to meet again. The Yuan Tiangang said: "The basic face has not changed, but its eyes to the red pupil, speak impetuous, pale crimson, I am afraid to do the generals will kill a lot of people to learn a lesson." Soon, sinus track with Li Shimin crusade Shichong, attack Tuyuhun, but not only did he fail to be vigilant, but rather aggressively kill him, he was also very strict with his subordinates, and he would kill him if he was dissatisfied, even his nephew was not let go.

In the 9th year of Wude (626), Tang Gaozu called Dou Gui to enter Beijing. He felt a little frustrated, so he called Yuan Tiangang to make calculations. What made him gratified was that Yuan Tiangang brought good news, saying that his right chin was shiny, and it seemed that he would receive holy grace and would return to work in Yizhou. I don't know if it was because of this good news that he was proud of his guilty conscience. When he arrived in the capital, he not only had disheveled appearance, but also sat and talked with Tang Gaozu carelessly, and Gaozu put him in jail in a rage. However, as Yuan Tiangang said, he was released soon afterwards and was granted the post of Governor of Yizhou.

In comparison, Li Chunfeng's pioneering work is more like the legend of "high wealth and handsome". Unlike Yuan Tiangang, Li Chunfeng is good at "xiangtian". The calendar promulgated in the early Tang Dynasty was the "Wu Yin Yuan Calendar" compiled by Fu Renjun. This calendar was repeatedly inaccurate for solar and lunar eclipses. Fu Renjun was originally a Taoist priest in Luoyang, who was good at pushing the steps. In the early years of Zhenguan, Li Chunfeng and Fu Renjun had a dispute over the calendar. In the end, Li Chunfeng's views won the support of most people, and he entered the Taishi Bureau.

In the seventh year of Zhenguan (633 years), Li Chunfeng produced an armillary zodiacal instrument, and added a triple celestial instrument on the basis of the original Liuhe instrument and Siyou instrument, so that it can observe the sun, moon and five stars according to the ecliptic. The running situation. This instrument has been used until the Song Dynasty. He also wrote a book of "Faxiangzhi".

Once, Li Chunfeng read the New Year's calendar and found that there was a solar eclipse on the first day of the new year, which was not a good omen. With bad luck, Tang Taizong was naturally unhappy when he heard that, he said, "What if not?" Li Chunfeng said firmly: "If I hadn't, I'd be willing to die." So the monarch and the minister bet. On that day, when the sky was clear and sunny, Tang Taizong asked Li Chunfeng to go home and say goodbye to his wife and children. Li Chunfeng drew a line on the wall and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, there will be a solar eclipse when the sun reaches this position." As Li Chunfeng expected, the solar eclipse appeared as soon as the hour came.

Li Chunfeng's accurate calculation of the astronomical phenomena made his career smooth throughout his life. In the fifteenth year of Zhenguan (641), he was promoted to Taishicheng, and 7 years later he was promoted to Taishiling. He constantly revised the "Wuyin Yuanli" and finally compiled it into "Lindeli" in the Gaozong period, completing the reform of the calendar system, which has a far-reaching impact and spread it to Japan.

Both of them are diligent in their skills

Yuan Tiangang's physiognomy skills can be described as extraordinary skills. During the Sui Dynasty, he met Du Yan, Wang Gui and Wei Ting. He predicted that Du Yan would be a picket, Wang Gui would be a five-rank key position, and Wei Ting would be able to get noble support; Wang and Du would be clerical, and Wei Ting would be a military attache; after that, the three would be dismissed together. Sure enough, in the sixth year of Wude (623), the three were sent to Junzhou together. They went to Yizhou to find Yuan Tiangang and asked about their future again. Yuan Tiangang comforted them and said: "The three bones are better than before, and they will soon be able to turn into good fortune, and they will all enjoy the glory." Sure enough, three years later, these three were recalled again. When they returned, they passed through Yizhou and went to Yuan Tiangang to ask for divination. Yuan Tiangang said that all three of them could be third-rank officials, and Du Yan got official early, but unfortunately, his life was not long; the other two got official late and lived a long life, but they would not have much development in the official career. Although the future was not so satisfactory, Du Yan was still very happy. After returning home, he wrote a poem to praise Yuan Tiangang: "Ilu is so admirable, Song Qiao must be imaginary. The wind won't end, and she wants to be at ease. . And Zhen Yu is so beautiful, and she should be shunned with Ficus. Yang is proud of it, but it will not be a long time to live."

Li Shensu and Fang Xuanling were also Yuan Tiangang's clients, and they both came to inquire. Li Shensu usually relied on his talents and didn't pay much attention to Fang Xuanling. Fang Xuanling asked him to be the first. Yuan Tiangang said that Li could also be an official below Rank 6. Li Shensu, who had a high self-esteem, was naturally not convinced, so he asked Fang what kind of official he could get, and Yuan Tiangang said to him: "If you want to get a five-rank official, please ask Fang Xuanling as soon as possible." Li Shensu naturally didn't believe it. Later Fang Xuanling became prime minister, and he died in the humble living quarters of the official position.

In the new and old "Book of Tang" narratives about Yuan Tiangang, such as "Achievement in Orchid Terrace, Broad Academy", "Achievements in Three Pavilions, Heaven and Earth Adjacent", "Faces Like Big Beasts", "Fusion and Guanyu" are used in the narratives about Yuan Tiangang. Pillow, auxiliary angle from the right", "right assists the ze and moves", "the meat is not the bone" and other relative terms. These can often be seen in the Xiangfa books of later generations, and it also illustrates Yuan Tiangang's position in Xiangshu.

Yuan Tiangang became more and more famous, and he was received by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and he was treated at the same time as Yan Junping, the famous ancient magnate. Tang Taizong asked him to meet Cen Wenwen, a member of Zhongshu She. Yuan Tiangang believes that the Cen text is famous for its articles and has bones on its head, so it will continue to be promoted in the future. However, if he can eventually become a third-rank official, it will damage his life.

The end of Cen Wenwen's life once again proved Yuan Tiangang's correctness. He did the book order, but soon died. In addition to the Cen text, Yuan Tiangang also showed Zhang Xingcheng and Ma Tuue people a photo. At that time, the two people had the same job, they were both serving as Yushi. His judgment to Ma Zhou was: "Furthermore, there is a jade pillow behind it, and the back is like a burden. When wealth is beyond words... the complexion is red, the color of life is dark, the bones behind the ears are not good, and the ears have no roots. Fear not to live.” He judged Zhang Xingcheng better: “The five mountains and four blasphemy accomplishments, the pavilion is full, and although he is late, he will live in the place of Zaifu.” Later, Ma Zhou made a book order and served as an official book. , 48 years old at the time of death. Zhang Xingcheng did the right shot of Shangshu.

The most bizarre face of Yuan Tiangang is Li Qiao, the prime minister after the prime minister. At that time, Li's mother led her son to find Yuan Tiangang excitedly and asked him to face him. Yuan Tiangang gave him a blow and said, "Oh, the young man has beautiful eyebrows, but his life is shorter. I am afraid he will not live to be 30 years old." The family members are all right. Li Qiao had high hopes, and these words were like a bolt from the blue, which made Li's mother very sad. So, a few days later, she personally invited Yuan Tiangang to the house again, begging him to take a good look. However, after good wine and good food served, Yuan Tiangang still insisted on his previous conclusions. At night, Li's mother arranged Yuan Tiangang and her son to sleep in a bed. Yuan Tiangang woke up suddenly when he slept until the fifth watch, but he couldn't hear Li Qiao's breathing. He was deeply surprised, so he put his finger under Li Qiao's nose and found that he was not breathing. This shocked him, thinking that the young man left before he was 30 years old, and after careful investigation, he found that he was breathing with his ears. Yuan Tiangang immediately said excitedly: "Finally found the answer." He immediately went to congratulate Li's mother. It turns out that Li Qiao is different from ordinary people. He breathes like a tortoise. This is the sign of longevity. He said that Li Qiao will definitely be expensive in the future, but he can only be poor, not extravagant.

At the time of Wu Zetian, Li Qiao worshipped the prime minister. Wu Zetian heard that a country’s Zaifu was always sleeping in a coarse cloth tent, and felt that he had lost his nationality, so he gave him an embroidered tent. Li Qiao fell asleep in the embroidered tent, and he couldn't be stable all night, as if he was ill. Thinking of Yuan Tiangang's warning, he changed back to the original tent and he got better again. On another occasion, Li Qiao was sent to Xuanzhou to collect silver, and soon after the news of his violent death came out, the court was shocked. A warlock in the imperial court who claimed to have received the true biography of Yuan Tiangang sighed to everyone: "I have known that Prime Minister Li does not live a long life. Seeing his short stature, his mouth and nose are not blessed, he is not blessed to enjoy high officials. Some time ago, I saw that he added the post of Chaosan doctor, and I was already worried for him.” It turned out that Li Qiao was fine afterwards, and he worshipped the face three times, an extremely human minister, and I really don’t know how the warlock would end up. . This also reflects from the side that Yuan Tiangang's Xiangshu is indeed extraordinary.

Li Chunfeng's art of observing the sky is also very good. Legend has it that in June of the 13th year of the Sui Dynasty (617), Li Chunfeng watched the astronomical phenomenon at night and found that Zhenxing was dim and weak. He moved to Shenju, which corresponds to Tang, and Zhenxing represents Fulu. He saw that the Great Sui Dynasty was going to end, and the land of Tang Dynasty was a sign of prosperity. Sure enough, soon after Tang Guogong Li Yuan sent troops to overthrow the Sui Dynasty.

During the Zhenguan period, Li Chunfeng and Zhang Li became officials together. Once the south wind rose suddenly and violently, Tang Taizong asked if it was an ominous omen. The two counted, Li Chunfeng said that some people were crying five miles to the south; Zhang Li was the opposite, saying that someone was playing music. The contrast was so great that Tang Taizong immediately asked him to check it out. As a result, someone reported that he was going for a funeral, accompanied by band advocacy. Both of them were right, but they focused on different aspects.

Another day, Li Chunfeng said that the Big Dipper would be transformed into a human form the next day, and he could send someone to invite them in a restaurant in Xishi. Tang Taizong was skeptical, but he still sent someone to wait. The next day, as expected, seven people entered the city from Jinguangmen and came to the Xishi restaurant. They ordered a stone of wine, drank it in an instant, and immediately added another stone. This weird behavior naturally attracted the attention of the messenger sent by Taizong Tang, and invited seven people into the palace. The seven looked at each other and said: "It must be Li Chunfeng, this stinky boy who has leaked the secret." They asked the messenger to go downstairs and wait, saying that they would come down as soon as they finished drinking. As a result, as soon as the messenger came down, the seven people disappeared without a trace, leaving only a few wine money under their seats. After the messenger reported back, Tang Taizong was very surprised.

In March of the 23rd year of Zhenguan (649), the sun turned red and dimmed. Taishi ordered Li Chunfeng to break the secret again. He said that the sun's discoloration was a sign of military affairs, a sign of the monarch's lack of virtue and ministers, and the lack of light was a sign of the emperor's illness. As a result, he was right again. In May of this year, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin died in Hanfeng Palace.

Different trajectories have intersection

Although Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng have learned differently, they have also overlapped in the prediction of historical events. It is said that Yuan Tiangang was once invited to meet Wu Zetian's home. Seeing Wu Zetian's mother, Yuan Tiangang said that she had a precious son in her life. Seeing Wu Zetian's brothers Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang, they said that they could be third-rank high-ranking officials, and they could do their filial piety to protect their family. To Wu Zetian's sister, Yuan Tiangang said that she had hit Dagui, but it was not good for her husband. Wu Zetian was still young, dressed as a boy. Yuan Tiangang saw her shape Hale thorough, it took her a few steps, then taking a closer look, think children child bones have British Gas, but what seems to be lacking, carefully Augur of Wu family said: "This A child has a dragon-eyed and phoenix-necked neck and is extremely honorable. It is a pity that he is a boy. If he is a girl, he can become the emperor."

Ten years later, Wu has been the palace, there Prophecy said that in the near future, Datang will rot, and will appear surnamed Wu woman to become the new emperor. Tang Taizong immediately consulted Li Chunfeng. Li Chunfeng said: "From the perspective of the sky, this man has entered the palace and will become an emperor in 40 years. Li's clan will be massacred."

Tang Taizong continued to ask: "If I can find this person and kill her, what will happen?"

Li Chunfeng said: "This is a destiny and cannot be changed. The killing can only victimize the innocent, but cannot remove this person. Moreover, this person is now close to your Majesty. After 40 years, he is old and will become more merciful, royal family. All the clan relatives cannot be killed, and Datang Sheji can still be saved. If this person is killed, I am afraid that a younger person will replace him, leading to a more cruel slaughter. In that case, the descendants of the Li family may all be killed. It's done."

Finally, Tang Taizong compromised.

There is also a small episode in the middle. There is a general named Li Junxian in the dynasty. He was originally from Wu'an, Hebei, and was named Wulian County Lord. He also served as General Zuowuwei, guarding the Xuanwu Gate. His relationship with "wu" made Li Shimin very nervous, and a more exaggerated scene appeared one night. That day, Li Shimin hosted a banquet for the generals in the palace. When the order was given, everyone reported their nicknames. It was Li Junxian’s turn. He embarrassedly said that his nickname was "Five Niangzi". Everyone laughed and all joked about men. There is such a woman's name. But Li Shimin couldn't laugh. This "five ladies" didn't respond to the words of the heroine Wu Wang? So, after a while, Li Shimin found an excuse to kill Li Junxian. What Tang Taizong would not have thought of when he died was that the so-called heroine was really a woman. Later, when Wu Zetian came to power, he sighed for a long time when he learned of the origins of the "Five Niangzi", and he vindicated Li Junxian, who was "lying down and shot".

The authenticity of this story is doubtful. The story of Li Chunfeng's observation of the sky and foreseeing the Wu clan as king is unreliable. The Song Dynasty’s "Ji Wen" in the Song Dynasty believed that the two stories were fabricated by traitors after Wu Zetian usurped the establishment, in order to promote that everything Wu Zetian did was doomed by heaven and manpower could not be stopped.

Regarding the origin of this incident, the record in Zizhi Tongjian is more specific: during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Taibai star appeared several times in the daytime, which was quite unusual. Tai Shiling's divination conclusion is: the heroine Chang. Indicates that there will be a female emperor.

While Taibai Star frequently appeared abnormal, the folks began to circulate a "Secret Record", the main content is: "After the Tang III, the heroine Wu Wang has the world."

There are a total of five works signed by Yuan Tiangang in the "Tong Zhi" of the Song Dynasty, and five of them belong to Xiangfa, namely: the seven-volume "Yuan Tiangang Xiangshu", the one-volume "Yuan Tiangang Essential Jue", and the five-volume version of "Yuan Tiangang Qi Nerve", the one-volume "Yuan Tiangang Bone Method", and a sub-category of "Yuan Tiangang Xianghu Jing".

It is said that Li Chunfeng wrote "Yi Si Zhan", "Ten Tian Zhan", "Elephant Yuan Wen", "The Mystery of the Universe", and "Dharma Xiangzhi".

The real Yuan Tiangang is more like Mr. Xiangmian who wanders among the people; Li Chunfeng is an astronomical arithmetic who wanders above the temple, and his children and grandchildren have served as Taishilings like him. They are one high and one low, one person a day, forming different forecasting schools. Their experience forms part of China's prediction culture.

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