Guo Shoujing's legendary story: borrowing rain and releasing grain

One year, there was a three-year drought in the Xingzhou area, the wells bottomed out, the river bottomed to the sky, the land cracked, and the grass and trees did not grow. The people hoped that the rain would dry up their tears, but God still did not rain a drop. Sometimes the clouds are full, the wind is blowing, the lightning is thundering, and it seems that it is about to rain, so people run into the ground with their picks, trying to plant before the rain. Unexpectedly, just after the seeds were planted, the wind stopped, the clouds dispersed, and the sun was still poisonous. Several times in a row, this is the case, but it can toss the people bitterly.

    The people of Guo Village went to ask an old farmer surnamed Zhang when he could see if it could rain. Zhang Laohan said: "As the saying goes: "Ants move, heavy rain falls; It's sweltering, the wind and rain arrive, the birds come home, the cows sulk, the sheep gluttonous grass and the wind and rain; the water tank wears a skirt and rain comes. I have observed these celestial phenomena, and it is strange to say that these sayings do not work. Alas, no way! ”

    The seeds were gone, the grain was eaten, and the people had to slaughter cattle and sheep to fill their hunger. Later, it was to pull out grass roots, pick leaves, peel the bark, and even sell children and daughters. Really helpless, people invited a mage to pray to the Jade Emperor Longjun and survive the rain. The mage stood on the stage, barefoot, squinting, holding the sword, and stroked for a while, and said unhurriedly, "Oh, there is no water in the Heavenly River, and the Jade Emperor can't drink water, and his voice is dry, so he wants to punish the Dragon King; The cowherd and the weaver girl also fought for a bowl of water, and left their own children, one hedong and one hexi divided their families; even Guan Laoye sharpened the big knife and rubbed it on the stone, where is there water for the world!"

    Guo Shoujing, who had been a Taishi Ling, heard that there had been a drought in his hometown for many years, so he told the emperor for leave and asked to return to his hometown to visit the villagers, and the emperor approved his request. He bought a lot of mung beans and millet and walked to his hometown day and night. Along the way, Guo Shoujing observed the changes in the weather at any time. Watch the sunrise, clouds and wind direction early. Look at the strength of the sun's illumination in the afternoon, whether there is a ring (sun circumference), and see how many and colors of the clouds are when the sun sets; in the middle of the night, he must get up to observe the moon and stars, even the long worm aisles, swallows fly high and low, the drums are loud or muffled, he wrote down in detail in the book.

    On June 15, Guo Shoujing returned to his hometown of Guo Village. The next day, he distributed the seeds he brought to the villagers, and the rest of the people distributed them to the poor in the four directions, east, west, south, and north, and the villagers said happily: "This time we can be saved!" "As soon as I said that, someone put the beans in his mouth and chewed them.

    Guo Shoujing hurriedly stopped and said, "You can't eat it now, you have to plant it as a seed in the ground." The old man Zhang said to Guo Shoujing: "I have been looking at the sky for eighty years, what 'ants on the tree, heavy rain can not stop; the east wind is only three, after three there are rainy days; snake aisles, rain comes' does not work, everyone asks God to worship the sky, several times it is time and cloudy days do not rain." Now you call the next seed, it is not that the grain planted on the stone slab cannot sprout for a lifetime. "All things grow in the soil, and lack of water cannot grow." Guo Shoujing said: "It is not that your old man's opinion has not been accurate for many years, but that the weather changes unpredictably. The same is the east wind, the early wind does not rain, the late wind is not sunny; The same is fog, long sunny fog, long cloudy fog clear; Snake aisles, but also depend on when. Night, evening, are different. Lightning and thunder blowing strong winds, is an illusion, even if there is rain, the wind stops the clouds and the rain also stops; Most of them are thunder and thunder before there is rain" After the villagers listened, they all admired it.

    People asked Guo Shoujing, "When can we rain here?" Guo Shoujing said: "I observed the changes in the sun, moon, wind and clouds and objects along the way, and this morning I saw a big snake on a tree. You may remember that in early March, a great north wind blew one day and one night, and many big trees were uprooted, 'there was a strong wind in the spring, and there was heavy rain around the 100th', and I expected that there would be a heavy rain within three days. At present, it is close to the summer season, if you do not grab the seeds, there is no hope for a year's harvest. ”

    Some people are still a little unconvinced, and they are reluctant to scatter the seeds in the ground. Guo Shoujing saw through people's thoughts, smiled and said, "If the land is planted first, I will return to the emperor on the same day to transport grain from Shanxi to help the people." When the people heard this, they happily planted the seeds in the ground

    People are half-believing in the land. The seeds were sown in less than three days, and some grain was left. On the third day, Guo Shoujing said to the villagers: "Everyone has worked hard for two or three days, and the rest of the grain will be eaten first, so let's rest well!"

    In the evening, a dark cloud drifted from the northwest, and as soon as the lightning passed, there was a muffled thunder, and the rain really rushed down. After a while, it turned into a warm wind and drizzle, and it rained all night.

    The ground was soaking wet, and the seeds were on the ground.

    The next day, the sun came out, and the people jumped, jumped, sang, and the joy was not to be mentioned. People came to Guo Village from all directions to thank Guo Shoujing. The old Man Zhang smiled and said, "Back then, Zhuge Liang could borrow the East Wind, and now Guo Shoujing can borrow rain to release grain." Can you really call the wind and rain and dispatch thunder and lightning?"

    Guo Shoujing said, "The Jade Emperor manages the heavens, and the Dragon King manages the rain, all of which are deceitful. The sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, clouds, fog, snow and frost are all natural changes. Then he explained his years of experience in observing astronomy and meteorology and many proverbs about the weather. People understand it as soon as they hear it, and it is easy to remember, and it is said that Guo Shoujing knows astronomy and geography, and has raced through the gods.

    Since then, people have not prayed for rain anymore.