The master of soothsayers is born
In the turbulent times of the last years of the Sui Dynasty, Yuan Tiangang, a master of divination, was born in Chengdu, Sichuan. Although Yuan Tiangang lived a hard life when he was young, he was fiery in his heart and diligent and studious. He is observant and well-versed in the mysteries of Feng Shui, as well as has a deep understanding of physiognomy.
Yuan Tiangang's life deeds are mainly derived from historical records, among which the most representative records can be found in official historical books such as the Old Tang Book.
However, is Yuan Tiangang really as brilliant as the legend says? The answer to this question may only be found from the depths of history.
According to the "Old Tang Book", Yuan Tiangang once predicted the date of his death, saying: "In April this year, I will run out of gas." Sure enough, in April of that year, Yuan Tiangang died of illness in Chang'an City.
Yuan Tiangang also predicted the occurrence of the Anshi Rebellion. He told Tang Xuanzong: "There will be chaos in the world, not in the present, but in the future." After Tang Xuanzong heard this prophecy, he thought that Yuan Tiangang was alarmist. Eventually, the Tang Dynasty declined rapidly after the Anshi Rebellion and went to extinction.
Once, Wu Zetian's family met Yuan Tiangang by chance while in exile. Wu Zetian's mother, Yang, has always been a loyal fan of Yuan Tiangang, and she asked the servant to bring the young Wu Zetian.
Yuan Tiangang looked at Wu Zetian and was shocked to find that this child had a phoenix body and dragon appearance, indicating that he would ascend the throne as a king and control the world in the future. Sure enough, Wu Zetian became the first female emperor in Chinese history.
Yuan Tiangang's prophecy is not only reflected in the accurate prediction of historical events, but also the "Tui Bei Tu" he co-wrote with his friend Li Chunfeng is also praised by the world.
Tang Taizong found that Yuan Tiangang's predictive ability was extraordinary, so he decided to keep him by his side, and in 632 AD, Tang Taizong summoned Yuan Tiangang to Beijing.
In order to explore the fate of the Tang Empire, Tang Taizong specially instructed two divination masters, Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng, to jointly compile a book to predict the fortunes of the country. After 17 years of careful research and deduction, the two finally completed this masterpiece called "Tui Bei Tu" during the Zhenguan period.
However, Li Chunfeng was obsessed with the deduction of the future, and even predicted the fate of China for more than 2,000 years. This made Yuan Tiangang feel uneasy, he knew the truth that "the secret of heaven cannot be revealed", so he hurriedly pushed Li Chunfeng and warned him to stop predicting. This is the origin of the "push back map".
This book predicts the historical development from the Tang Dynasty to the future, and the content covers many aspects such as people, economy, and society. It predicted a series of historical events such as the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the birth of the Qing Dynasty, and the Xinhai Revolution. The prophecy presented in "Tui Bei Tu" has aroused many doubts and speculations because of its mystery and accuracy. Despite this, "Tui Bei Tu" has still become the focus of later research and discussion.
epilogue
Some people say that Yuan Tiangang has insight into the heavenly machine, and some people say that he is at most a feng shui master and fortune teller, and even more that he is feudal superstition and cannot be trusted.
In fact, we just need to look at it rationally, the future is changeable, it is the result of countless possibilities, and no one can predict it accurately. Therefore, we should approach these prophecies with an open mind, rather than blindly believing and following.
A truly happy life does not depend on prophecy, but in our own hands!
References: 1. The New Tang Dynasty Book is 150 volumes
2. Jin Shengsi's "Explanation of the Push Back Picture"