1
志第十五五行三
Treatise Fifteen: The Five Elements, Part Three.
2
大水水变色大寒雹冬雷山鸣鱼孽蝗
This section treats great floods, discolored water, bitter cold, hail, thunder in winter, mountains that thunder, fish omens, and locust swarms.
3
《五行传》曰：「简宗庙，不祷祠，废祭祀，逆天时，则水不润下」谓水失其性而为灾也。 又曰：「听之不聪，是谓不谋。 厥咎急，厥罚恒寒，厥极贫。 时则有鼓妖，时则有鱼孽，时则有豕祸，时则有耳疴，时则有黑眚、黑祥，惟火沴水。」 鱼孽，刘歆传以为介虫之孽，谓蝗属也。
The "Treatise on the Five Elements" says: "When one slights the ancestral shrines, does not pray at the altars, abandons sacrifices, and goes against Heaven's seasons, then water fails to moisten downward"—meaning water loses its proper nature and becomes calamity. The same text adds that when the ruler "does not hear clearly," counsel goes unheard—that is the fault called "lack of planning. The omen-chain names rash governance as the moral fault, unrelenting cold as the matching scourge, and grinding poverty as its bitter end. Such ages bring freak drumming, fish omens, swine plagues, ear diseases, and black hauntings—while in the mutual overcoming of phases, fire is said to encroach on water." Liu Xin's school reads "fish prodigies" alongside omens among armored or shelled vermin—in practice, the locust plague.
4
Yongyuan 1 (89 CE), seventh month: nine provinces were inundated and the standing grain was ruined. Jing Fang's "Tradition of the Changes" says: "When one monopolizes affairs with cunning knowledge, and punishments and executions cut off what is right, the calamity is flood. The portents cluster: lethal downpours, untimely frost, howling gales, and a sallow, yellowed sky. When hunger stalks the land yet the court refuses relief—false "tranquility"—the waters rise until they carry off the people. To bar worthy men from office is the madness of policy; rivers then run wild and, when they withdraw, leave the fields worm-ridden. When the innocent languish in jail, the omen is killing cold carried on the flood. Endless vindictive killing is "disorder"; the harvest fails and the granaries stand empty. When a shattering military reverse is never redressed—total yin dominance—rivers invade the cities and late frost finishes the crops." The emperor was a child; Dou Xian and his kin ran the realm from behind the dowager's screen, swaggering in rank and murdering scores by private assassins whenever spite moved them. In time the whole Dou faction was swept away and put to the sword.
5
Yongyuan 12 (100 CE), sixth month: the Yingchuan plain went under and the harvest was lost. The court had turned to Lady Deng while Empress Yin, sensing she would be cast off, nursed a bitter grudge. Another gloss ties the flood to the shabby obsequies for Empress Gonghuai, the belated reinterment of Empress Liang at Xiling after Dou's death, and the sudden enrichment of three uncles at the highest noble rank.
6
Yanping 1 (106 CE), fifth month: thirty-seven provinces flooded and the fields were battered. Dong Zhongshu said: "Water means yin qi is abundant." The boy on the throne was still in arms; Empress Dowager Deng held every rein of power.
7
Yongchu 1 (107 CE), late autumn: a flash flood out of the Xincheng hills in Henan tore through farmland, and new springs welled ten yards deep in the scour. Zhou Zhang and his fellow ministers resented the dowager's choice of the Qinghe infant over Prince Sheng and conspired to reverse the succession. Eleventh month: the plot leaked; Zhou Zhang and his allies went to the block. That same year forty-one jurisdictions saw rivers overrun their banks and sweep away whole communities. The "Chen" prophecy says: "Water is the essence of pure yin. When yin swells past measure, mean men seize the levers of state, envy the good, trade on public trust for private gain, and trample their betters—so the rivers boil up in answer."
8
Yongchu 2: another year of widespread flooding. Yongchu 3: floods again. Yongchu 4: the inundations continued. Yongchu 5: still the rivers would not stay their banks. Yongchu 6: the ponds of Hedong turned the color of blood. The dowager's regency still gripped the court.
9
Yanguang 3 (124 CE): catastrophic freshets drowned people and laid waste to the young grain. The emperor listened to his eunuchs and his wet nurse, cashiered Yang Zhen, and cast down the crown prince—classic signs of a tottering house.
10
Benchu 1 (146 CE), fifth month: the Bohai tide surged into Le'an and Beihai, swallowing lives and property. Another child emperor; the Liang empress dowager held the regency.
11
Jianhe 2 (148 CE), seventh month: Luoyang was awash. Only months after Liang Ji had framed and executed the two grand commandants Li Gu and Du Qiao. Jianhe 3, eighth month: the capital flooded again. The Liang dowager still pulled every string from behind the curtain.
12
永兴元年秋，河水溢，漂害人、物。 二年六月，彭城泗水增长，逆流。
Yongxing 1 (153 CE), autumn: the great river burst its dikes and carried off people and stores. Yongxing 2, sixth month: the Si swelled so violently at Pengcheng that it ran upstream.
13
Yongshou 1 (155 CE), sixth month: the Luo climbed to the Jinyang gate, rafting debris and bodies through the streets. Liang Ji, the empress's brother, dominated the bureaucracy, hunted the outspoken, and terrified even the throne. He and his clan were extirpated not long after.
14
Yanxi 8 (165 CE), fourth month: the Ji-north reach of the Yellow River ran transparent—a freak omen. Next year's fourth month: the same uncanny clarity appeared along the Yellow River in four commanderies. Xiang Kai submitted a memorial: "The river is the image of the feudal lords; clarity is the sign of yang brightness—does it mean only that the lords are taking aim at the capital's plans?" The following year Huan died without issue; the court fetched Liu Hong, marquis of Jieduting, who ascended as Emperor Ling.
15
16
灵帝建宁四年二月，河水清。 五月，山水大出，漂坏庐舍五百余家。
Jianning 4 (171 CE), second month: again the Yellow River ran crystal-clear. Fifth month: mountain torrents smashed over five hundred dwellings.
17
熹平二年六月，东莱、北海海水溢出，漂没人物。 三年秋，雒水出。 四年夏，郡国三水，伤害秋稼。
Xiping 2 (173 CE), sixth month: the sea breached Donglai and Beihai, wiping out lives and goods. Xiping 3, autumn: the Luo left its channel. Xiping 4, summer: three jurisdictions flooded and the late-season grain was spoiled.
18
光和六年秋，金城河溢，水出二十余里。
Guanghe 6 (183 CE), autumn: the Jincheng reach of the Yellow River spread miles beyond its banks.
19
中平五年，郡国六水大出。
Zhongping 5 (188 CE): six provinces were hit by major cloudbursts and river bursts.
20
Jian'an 2 (197 CE), ninth month: the Han River rampaged through settled country. The realm was already torn by warlord strife. Jian'an 18, sixth month: another great inundation. Jian'an 24, eighth month: the Han rose again and drowned communities along its course.
21
庶征之恒寒。
Under the heading of miscellaneous portents comes unseasonable, enduring cold.
22
灵帝光和六年冬，大寒，北海、东莱、琅邪井中冰厚尺余。
Guanghe 6, winter: a killing frost gripped the coast—wells in Beihai, Donglai, and Langye froze over a foot thick.
23
献帝初平四年六月，寒风如冬时。
Chuping 4 (193 CE), sixth month: a blast swept the land as bitter as mid-winter.
24
25
26
元初四年六月戊辰，郡国三雨雹，大如杅杯及鸡子，杀六畜。
Yuanchu 4 (117 CE), sixth month, wuchen: three provinces were pelted with hail between cup- and egg-size; herds died in the fields.
27
Yanguang 1 (122 CE), fourth month: twenty-one jurisdictions caught egg-sized hail that shredded the crops. The emperor again lent his ear to informers; innocents perished wholesale. Yanguang 3: another season of egg-sized hail.
28
Yanxi 4 (161 CE), fifth month, jimao: Luoyang was bombarded with hail as large as eggs. Huan was slaughtering beyond measure while showering favor on sycophants. Yanxi 7 (164 CE), fifth month, jichou: the capital hailstorm returned. Empress Deng had grown haughty, extravagant, and jealous of every rival for the emperor's eye. The following year she was cast down, broken-hearted, and her kin extirpated.
29
灵帝建宁二年四月，雨雹。 四年五月，河东雨雹。
Jianning 2 (169 CE), fourth month: hail. Jianning 4, fifth month: Hedong was hail-struck.
30
光和四年六月，雨雹，大如鸡子。 是时，常侍、黄门用权。
Guanghe 4 (181 CE), sixth month: egg-sized hail again. The palace eunuchs held the real authority.
31
中平二年四月庚戌，雨雹，伤稼。
Zhongping 2 (185 CE), fourth month, gengxu: hail ruined the spring planting.
32
献帝初平四年六月，右扶风雹如斗。
Chuping 4, sixth month: west of the capital, hail fell in lumps the size of peck measures.
33
Yuanxing 1 (105 CE), eleventh month, renwu: thunder rolled in winter across four provinces—an uncanny sound. Several imperial infants had died in secret; the court hid the losses from the realm. When He died that year the throne passed to the hundred-day-old Shang; the sick elder prince of Pingyuan followed him to the grave—He's line seemed cursed to die young and heirless.
34
殇帝延平元年九月乙亥，陈留雷，有石陨地四。
Yanping 1, ninth month, yihai: thunder over Chenliu shook four stones from the sky.
35
安帝永初六年十月丙戌，郡六冬雷。 七年十月戊子，郡国三冬雷。
Yongchu 6 (112 CE), tenth month, bingxu: winter thunder in six commanderies. Yongchu 7, tenth month, wuzi: three more provinces heard thunder in the dead of winter.
36
元初元年十月癸巳，郡国三冬雷。 三年十月辛亥，汝南、乐浪冬雷。 四年十月辛酉，郡国五冬雷。 六年十月丙子，郡国五冬雷。
Yuanchu 1 (114 CE), tenth month, guisi: triple winter thunder omen. Yuanchu 3, tenth month, xinhai: Ru'nan and Lelang echoed with winter peals. Yuanchu 4, tenth month, xinyou: five jurisdictions lit up with off-season thunder. Yuanchu 6 (119 CE), tenth month, bingzi: winter thunder rolled across five provinces.
37
永宁元年十月，郡国七冬雷。
Yongning 1 (120 CE), tenth month: seven jurisdictions heard thunder out of season.
38
建光元年十月，郡国七冬雷。
Jianguang 1 (121 CE), tenth month: the same omen struck seven provinces again.
39
Yanguang 4 (125 CE): nineteen commanderies reported winter thunder—a widespread sign. The dowager regent ran every decision; the sovereign had no voice in affairs. When she died, the emperor's wet nurse Wang Sheng and Empress Yan's brothers seized the reins; the ruler withdrew from the daily grind of government, indulged a reputation for mildness, and left policy to his officials.
40
41
灵帝熹平六年冬十月，东莱冬雷。
Xiping 6 (177 CE), winter: thunder rolled over Donglai though snow should have sealed the sky.
42
中平四年十二月晦，雨水，大雷电。 雹。
Zhongping 4 (187 CE), month's end: warm rain fell with deafening thunder—freak weather for deep winter. Hail followed—a further portent in the same season.
43
献帝初平三年五月丙申，无云而雷。 四年五月癸酉，无云而雷。
Chuping 3 (192 CE), fifth month, bingshen: thunder pealed from a clear sky. Chuping 4, fifth month, guiyou: again thunder without a cloud in sight.
44
建安七八年中，长沙醴陵县有大山，常大鸣如牛呴声，积数年。 后豫章贼攻没醴陵县，杀略吏民。
Between Jian'an 7 and 8 (202–203 CE) a peak above Liling in Changsha lowed like a bull for years on end. Then bandits from Yuzhang stormed Liling, slaughtering and looting the county.
45
Xiping 2 (173 CE): two leviathans surfaced off Donglai—ninety feet long and twenty feet out of the water. The following year two imperial princes, Chang of Zhongshan and Bo of Rencheng, died the same year.
46
Yongyuan 4 (92 CE): locust clouds darkened the fields. Yongyuan 8, fifth month: the pests devoured Henei and Chenliu. Ninth month: the swarm reached Luoyang itself. Yongyuan 9: the infestation lasted from midsummer into fall. For years the Western Qiang had risen in revolt, drawing expedition after expedition from the capital legions.
47
Yongchu 4 (110 CE), summer: locusts again. The Qiang war had dragged on for over a decade of campaigning. Yongchu 5, summer: the plague of locusts spread across all nine provinces. Yongchu 6, third month: the stripped fields hatched a second brood of hoppers. Yongchu 7, summer: another wave of locusts. Yuanchu 1 (114 CE), summer: five commanderies were stripped bare. Yuanchu 2, summer: twenty jurisdictions reported swarms.
48
延光元年六月，郡国蝗。
Yanguang 1 (122 CE), sixth month: a general locust plague.
49
顺帝永建五年，郡国十二蝗。 是时，鲜卑寇朔方，用众征之。
Yongjian 5 (130 CE): twelve provinces suffered locusts. The Xianbei were probing Shuofang; the court sent a punitive host north.
50
永和元年秋七月。 偃师蝗。 去年冬，乌桓寇沙南，用众征之。
Yonghe 1 (136 CE), late summer heading into autumn—the seventh month. Locusts fell on Yanshi east of the capital. That followed a winter campaign against Wuhuan incursions south of the desert.
51
52
永寿三年六月，京都蝗。
Yongshou 3 (157 CE), sixth month: Luoyang again under locusts.
53
延熹元年五月，京都蝗。
Yanxi 1 (158 CE), fifth month: another locust year in the capital.
54
Xiping 6 (177 CE), summer: seven provinces were eaten bare. The Xianbei had raided the passes over thirty times running. The court launched a three-pronged expedition—Xia Yu, Tian Yan, and Zang Min at the head of Wuhuan auxiliaries, Southern Xiongnu allies, and frontier garrisons—to crush the Xianbei. The treasury ran dry; ministers squeezed every commandery for grain to feed the armies. The campaign failed; fewer than half the men came back.
55
光和元年诏策问曰：「连年蝗虫至冬踊，其咎焉在？」 蔡邕对曰：「臣闻《易传》曰：'大作不时，天降灾，厥咎蝗虫来。'《河图秘征篇》曰：'帝贪则政暴而吏酷，酷则诛深必杀，主蝗虫。'蝗虫，贪苛之所致也。」 是时，百官迁徙，皆私上礼西园以为府。
Guanghe 1 (178 CE): the emperor issued an edict asking, "Locusts have plagued us for years, even persisting into winter—what is the cause of this omen?" Cai Yong answered: "The Tradition of the Changes teaches that untimely public works bring Heaven's scourge in the form of locusts. The River Chart adds that imperial greed breeds cruel officials whose endless killing draws the locust plague. Swarms, in short, follow rapacious rule." Just then, as offices were reshuffled, officials were secretly currying favor at the Western Garden, turning it into a personal power base.
56
献帝兴平元年夏，大蝗。 是时，天下大乱。
Xingping 1 (194 CE), summer: locusts blotted out the sky. The realm was already torn by warlord strife.
57
建安二年五月，蝗。
Jian'an 2 (197 CE), fifth month: the hoppers returned.