Author 丨 Ma Jiaqin
Edited by 丨 Wu Youren
Among Chinese folk culture, there are two influential "prophecies". One is "Push back map", which is attached to the names of Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang of the Tang Dynasty; the other is "Song of Burning Cakes", which is attached to the name of Liu Bowen of the Ming Dynasty.
The deceptive method of "Pushing Back The Map" has been described in the article "Pushing back the Map" to play the trick of "prophecy after the fact", of course, a hundred hairs and a hundred in the middle". Here's another look at how "The Song of Burning Bread" is deceptive.
Just as the author of "Push back the picture" is not Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang, the author of "The Song of Burning Cakes" is not Liu Bowen. There is absolutely no record in the historical materials of the Ming Dynasty that Liu Bowen composed the "Song of Burning Cakes". According to Chen Xuelin's examination, the "Song of Burning Cakes" was attached to Liu Ji, which was something that appeared relatively late. The "Song of Burning Cakes" circulated in the early days was actually attached to the name of Zhang Zhong, a person with the Iron Crown Dao, and was originally called "Steamed Cake Song".
Cover of "The Song of Burning Bread" in the late Qing Dynasty
This Zhang Zhong was a Taoist monk in the early years of the Ming Dynasty. He was very famous in the Ming Dynasty, along with Zhang Sanfeng, Leng Qian, and Zhou Yi, so he liked to spread his strange stories in the Ming Dynasty. Song Lian wrote a biography of him, and there are also records of him in the Ming Shilu. Song Lian was ordered to write the "Biography of Zhang Zhong", preaching that Zhang Zhong assisted Zhu Yuanzhang with foreknowledge, but only to complete the political tasks assigned by Zhu Yuanzhang, and to publicize that Zhu Yuanzhang had the "Mandate of Heaven" and deserved to get the world--according to Song, the information on Zhang Zhong's prophecy miracles was provided by Zhu Yuanzhang. Xie Jin criticized Zhu Yuanzhang in the last years of Hongwu's reign, saying that he "set up a religion in Shinto" and "wanted to fool the world", including deliberately portraying figures such as Zhang Zhong and Zhou Yi as "royal prophets".
It is worth noting that in the early Ming Dynasty historical materials, there is no mention of "Zhang Zhong, a Tieguan Daoist, who wrote the Song of Steamed Cakes" or "Songs of Burning Cakes". It was probably not until the last years of Jiajing that Zhang Zhong could predict the future of the Empire began to become popular. At this time, about two hundred years have passed since the era when Zhang Zhong was active. Zheng Xiao, a person of the Jiajing era, recorded a story in the "Present Words": Zhu Yuanzhang came to a certain temple on a private visit, and the monks had already bowed down in front of the mountain gate to greet him. Zhu asked, "How did you know that you had come to this point?" The monks replied, "Smell the iron crown Dao ren yun." So Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Zhang Zhong, a member of the Iron Crown Dao. When Zhang Zhong entered the door, Zhu Yuanzhang "had less than half of the bread in his hand, that is, he gave the Taoist." Zhu also said, since you can expect me to come to the temple, you may as well predict state affairs for me again. As a result, Zhang Zhong "recited dozens of sentences." What was recorded by Zheng Xiao was only two sentences: "Peng Yin Leap Five Dragons Return to the Sea, Nong Noon Green Snake Flees in The Fire". Zheng Xiao said that this was an accurate prediction of Zhu Di's seizure of the throne and the disappearance of Emperor Jianwen in the fire.
The story of the two monarchs eating cake to predict the future (a story rather than a historical fact) was later attached to Liu Bowen's head. Zhang Zhong in the story only "recites dozens of sentences", and the volume of the "Song of Burning Bread" in later generations is far more than this, which can be known to be deliberately added by later generations.
Portrait of Liu Bowen in "Three Talents Picture Society". Liu Bowen's fate was tragic in the era of Zhu Yuanzhang, and he was repeatedly hit and almost died.
The title "Song of Steamed Cakes" was first seen in historical records, and it was the last year of the Ming Dynasty.
Gu Qiyuan, a contemporary, recorded a story very different from the "Present Words" in the "Guest Speech": Zhu Yuanzhang visited the Jiming Temple in Nanjing, and saw that the location of the temple could overlook the imperial city, so he had the idea of destroying the temple. Before they could say anything, the monks had already come to intercede en masse. Zhu Yuanzhang asked the monks how they knew their inner thoughts, and the monks replied that it was "Iron Crown Daoist Language". Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Zhang Zhong, a member of the Tieguan Daoist, and personally tested him: "What happened to me today?" It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, so Zhang Zhong replied: "The prince will enter the cake at some time." Zhu Yuanzhang then locked Zhang Zhong in the room, and then sat and waited to see if the prince would eat the cake at the moment zhang Zhong predicted. The result is that Zhang Zhong's prediction is accurate. Zhu Yuanzhang then sent someone to give Zhang Zhong the bread he ate. The person who sent opened the door and found that Zhang Zhong had disappeared. On the table was a "Song of Steamed Bread", which predicted the change of Jing'an and the change of Tumu Fort.
The two books, "Present Words" and "Guest Words", are about half a century apart. The plot of the "Story of Eating Bread" recorded in the two books is very different, and it should be that the story has undergone different variations in the process of folk circulation. Although it is impossible to know what the most primitive story looks like, from a certain temple ("Jinyan") to Nanjing Jiming Temple ("Guest Words"), from the general "oral recitation of dozens of sentences" ("Present Words") to the retention of a "Steamed Cake Song" ("Guest Words"), from the concretization of this detail, we can still see the existence of the "historical layer effect" - the more detailed the story, the more details are often more, the more complete the plot, and the lower the credibility.
It should be noted that Gu Qiyuan's "Guest Words" only recorded the legend that the Tieguan Daoist left Zhu Yuanzhang with the "Steamed Cake Song", and did not say that the book "Steamed Cake Song" was already circulating in the Ming Dynasty city at that time. In fact, there is no historical record that anyone collected and read the book "Steamed Cake Song" at that time. Logically, it is also impossible- according to the legend of the "Guest Sayings", the "Steamed Cake Song" has no external transmission, only left to Zhu Yuanzhang, who did not spread the book to the people for the sake of the Ming Empire for thousands of generations.
"Steamed Cake Song" has changed from a legendary book title to a physical book like the current publication, which is after it was replaced by "Burning Cake Song" and attached to Liu Bowen's name. The general time of this change is the middle and late Qing Dynasty. Wang Liumen, a Jinling scholar who was active in the Guangxu period, left a note "Essay on the Sword Qing Room", which mentioned:
"The Song of Burning Bread", which is now transmitted, was written by Zhang Zhong, a Ming Tieguan Daoist. ...... Or "Steamed Cake Song". Or liu chengyizuo (Liu Ji was awarded the title of chengyi bo), which is unknown. Today's manuscripts are all disordered and unfinished. And the banknote is not the same as the original. ”
According to this, Wang Liumen had seen many versions of the "Song of Burning Bread" that day. Some are signed by Zhang Zhong, some are signed by Liu Bowen, and some are called "Steamed Cake Song", and their texts are not uniform.
Wang Liumen: Essays on the Sword Qing Room
Why did only the title of "Steamed Cake Song" circulate in the Ming Dynasty, but in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, there was a physical book of "Burning Cake Song"?
The reason was the anti-Qing trend of thought at that time.
Lu Xun experienced the demise of the Qing court and the establishment of the Republic of China. Based on his personal experience, he wrote in the "True Biography of Ah Q": "As for the revolutionary party, some people say that they entered the city on this night, all in white armor and white armor, wearing the plain of the Chongzhen Emperor." The "Ninety-nine with a steel knife in hand, killing all Hu Renfang and giving up" in "The Song of Burning Cakes" corresponds to this experience of Lu Xun ("ninety-nine" is one hundred and one, which can be interpreted as "white clothes"). Japanese intelligence officer Munakata Kotaro once said that after the first uprising in Wuchang, he went to visit Li Yuanhong and saw the "Ninety-nine Steel Knives in His Hand, Killing Hu Renfang and Stopping" in the "Song of Burning Cakes", which was used as a couplet and hung on the doorpost of the military government. Samongwu, who was about 14 years old at the time of the Xinhai Revolution, also recalled: "Around the first year of Xuan reunification, Liu Ji's "Song of Burning Cakes" and the monk's "Push back map" could be secretly bought in the city. ...... At that time, almost no one could recite the "Song of Burning Cakes" ,...... 'Holding a steel knife ninety-nine in hand, killing all Hu Renfang and giving up'... Everyone was convinced that the house would perish." Xia Yan, 11, has similar memories, saying: "Every time I walk in front of the Wu family shop, many people gather there to discuss the two sentences of "Pushing back the map" (Note: Xia Yan's hand is wrong, it should be "Burning Cake Song"),' which is said, 'Holding a steel knife in my hand ninety-nine, killing Hu Erfang and giving up'. ”
Obviously, "The Song of Burning Cakes" was used by the revolutionaries of the late Qing Dynasty as a weapon of public opinion against the Qing court. The part about the demise of the Qing Dynasty is not so much a "prophecy" as an "expectation" of the revolutionaries for the future. The version of "The Song of Burning Bread" circulating today was compiled by the revolutionaries — Zou Rong's book "Revolutionary Army" published in 1903 also contains Liu Bowen's "Song of Burning Bread" in addition to the main text of "Revolutionary Army".
This also explains why Liu Bowen was able to replace Zhang Zhong as the author of "The Song of Burning Cakes".
First of all, in the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Zhong was a far more famous prophet than Liu Bowen, and the Ming Dynasty's book "Penetrating Heaven and Mystery" portrayed Liu Bowen as a seeker, and Zhang Zhong as a pointer and an answerer, which is a proof. But by the late Qing Dynasty, Zhang Zhong's fame had declined, and Liu Bowen was much more famous than him, and he was more suitable to become an "arrow-stacked figure" that gathered various legends.
Secondly, in the tradition of the Heaven and Earth Society and Hongmen in the Qing Dynasty, Liu Bowen had already become a divine and mysterious military master with the same name as Zhuge Liang. During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years, the propaganda materials of the Heaven and Earth Society copied by the people contained many proverbial poems signed by Liu Bowen. These poems either predict the victory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Heaven and Earth Council; or prophesied that "going straight to Guangdong" and "true destiny is in Fujian" to create legitimacy for the follow-up within the Heaven and Earth Society. Revolutionaries in the late Qing Dynasty often collaborated with secret societies, and it was obviously a better choice for Liu Bowen to replace Zhang Zhong as the author of "The Song of Burning Cakes."
In 1911, the Times published an article interpreting the Song of Burning Bread.
The essence of "The Song of Burning Bread" is a book created collectively. The late Qing revolutionaries were one of its most important authors. Besides the revolutionaries, it must have had an earlier author, but we can no longer know who it is.
However, there are also some clues to follow. In 1900, the monthly magazine "Game World" in Hangzhou published a "Song of Burning Cakes". This is a small examination article, the author has read the folk circulation of the time "Burning Cake Song", most of these books signed by Liu Bowen. The author said that according to the "History of Ming", the person who ate the cake with Zhu Yuanzhang and then "recited dozens of sentences" was not Liu Bowen, but Zhang Zhong. The author also says:
"Nowadays, the song of burning cakes is circulated, full of paper slang words, and there is no two languages in the two languages of Peng Yin And Five Dragons Returning to the Sea. In addition to the previous events of the Tongzhi Dynasty, many things are not tested. The rebellion of the Gengzi fist bandits is also not in line with it. Or it may be said that this book is a false trust of the bandits during the Daoxian years, inciting people's hearts, and it may be reasonable or natural. ”
The author of this article said that the "Song of Burning Cakes" he saw could only "predict" the events before the Tongzhi era, and the things after that were very inaccurate, and even the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance in the year of Gengzi and the escape of Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor in a hurry were not predicted at all. It can be seen from this that the version of the "Song of Burning Bread" seen by the author of the article is not yet a complete version, and it has not yet had time to make up for the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance (the version circulating today has this paragraph). At this time, the revolutionaries may not have yet taken over the compilation of the Song of Burning Bread.
Article in the monthly magazine "Game World" in Hangzhou in 1900
According to Chen Xuelin's examination of the text of the "Song of Burning Bread", this book predicts the world's major events, "especially several great disasters in the Ming Dynasty, which were all fabricated by fabricators to pick up the Ming and Qing barnyards and take advantage of rumors, and the so-called fulfillment theory is also due to the attack on the predecessor, the author only took a little thought, and the comparison was only a chapter." For example, when predicting the change of the Jing Dynasty, Liu Ji told Zhu Yuanzhang that although the city of Nanjing was well built, it was "only afraid of swallows flying." This paragraph is actually taken from the Ming Dynasty He Qiaoyuan's book "Famous Mountains and Collections" recorded by Liu Ji, using Liu Ji's sentence "Beauty is beautiful, swallows can enter the Yan". In short, it is a slight processing of the legends and stories created by the predecessors, and then put together to compile a book called "The Song of Burning Cakes".
The above is the general beginning and end of "The Song of Burning Bread". Historical events occurred before, and the compilation of prophecy books occurred later; the compilers concealed their names and surnames, and then attached the books to Liu Bowen's name, these "prophecies" will of course be more accurate. When it is necessary to describe the events of the early times, in addition to clearly expressing a strong anti-Qing stance, because there are no specific historical events to create a proverb, it has to take the path of obscurity and confusion in the wording (such as the history after entering the Republic of China), so that no matter what happens, it can be far-fetched to make an explanation. All the "prophecies" under the heavens are actually this routine. This is true of "Push Back", and it is also true of "Burnt Cake Song".
Of course, more importantly, "The Song of Burning Cakes" appeared in the late Qing Dynasty, echoing a mood of the times. This is the main reason why it can be widely spread. (Source: Tencent News)
Chen Xuelin: "Liu Bowen < Burnt Cake Song > Preliminary Examination".
(American) Fulut: "Zhang Zhong" article of the Biography of Ming Dynasty Celebrities, Times Chinese Literature Bureau, 2015 edition, pages 91-94.
Narrative of the > Editions of the < Revolutionary Army and Editions of Various Issues. Collected in Zou Rongji, Chongqing Publishing House, 2011, p. 144.
Chen Zhiping: An Outline of the Documents of the Late Qing Dynasty Heaven and Earth Society Discovered in Nan'an, Fujian Province.
Fu Guoyong, A Hundred Years of Xinhai: A Private Record of Witnesses (Part 1), Oriental Publishing House, 2011, pp. 04-06.
Wang Liumen: Essays on the Sword Qing Room, Nanjing Literature, No. 2, 1947. Anon., "Song of Burning Bread", Game World (Hangzhou), No. 3, 1900.