1
萬物盈於天地之間，而其為物最大且多者有五：一曰水，二曰火，三曰木，四曰金，五曰土。 其用於人也，非此五物不能以為生，而闕其一不可，是以聖王重焉。 夫所謂五物者，其見象於天也為五星，分位於地也為五方，行於四時也為五德，稟於人也為五常，播於音律為五聲，發於文章為五色，而總其精氣之用謂之五行。
Myriad things fill heaven and earth, yet among them the greatest and most abundant substances are five: water, fire, wood, metal, and earth. In their application to human life, none of these five can be dispensed with for sustenance; to lack even one is impossible. Hence sage kings held them in esteem. These five substances appear in heaven as the five stars, on earth as the five directions, through the four seasons as the five virtues, in human beings as the five constants, in music as the five tones, in literary ornament as the five colors; taken together, the operation of their essential qi is called the Five Elements.
2
自三代之後，數術之士興，而為災異之學者務極其說，至舉天地萬物動植，無大小，皆推其類而附之於五物，曰五行之屬。 以謂人稟五行之全氣以生，故於物為最靈。 其餘動植之類，各得其氣之偏者，其發為英華美實、氣臭滋味、羽毛鱗介、文采剛柔，亦皆得其一氣之盛。 至其為變怪非常，失其本性，則推以事類吉凶影響，其說尤為委曲繁密。
After the Three Dynasties, numerologists flourished, and scholars of calamities and portents pushed their theories to extremes, until every creature and plant in heaven and earth, great or small, was classified and assigned to one of the five substances as an attribute of the Five Elements. They held that human beings are born receiving the full qi of the Five Elements and are therefore the most spiritually perceptive of all creatures. Other animate and inanimate kinds each receive a partial allotment of qi; whether in splendid blossoms and fine fruit, scent and flavor, feathers, scales, and shells, or ornament and hardness or softness, each manifests the dominance of a single element. When things became uncanny anomalies that lost their natural character, scholars deduced categories of events for good or ill omens and influences—a doctrine especially convoluted and elaborate.
3
蓋王者之有天下也，順天地以治人，而取材於萬物以足用。 若政得其道，而取不過度，則天地順成，萬物茂盛，而民以安樂，謂之至治。 若政失其道，用物傷夭，民被其害而愁苦，則天地之氣沴，三光錯行，陰陽寒暑失節，以為水旱、蝗螟、風雹、雷火、山崩、水溢、泉竭、雪霜不時、雨非其物，或發為氛霧、虹蜺、光怪之類，此天地災異之大者，皆生於亂政。 而考其所發，驗以人事，往往近其所失，而以類至。 然時有推之不能合者，豈非天地之大，固有不可知者邪？ 若其諸物種類，不可勝數，下至細微家人里巷之占，有考於人事而合者，有漠然而無所應者，皆不足道。
When a king holds the realm, he governs mankind in accord with heaven and earth and draws on the myriad things of creation to meet every need. If government follows the Way and extraction does not exceed proper bounds, heaven and earth complete their cycles harmoniously, the myriad things flourish, and the people live in security and joy—this is called perfect order. If government strays from the Way, exploits resources and harms the young, and the people suffer harm and grief, the qi of heaven and earth turns defiled; the sun, moon, and stars go astray; yin and yang and the seasons of cold and heat fall out of step. There come floods and droughts, locusts and caterpillars, wind and hail, thunder and fire, collapsing mountains, overflowing waters, dried-up springs, untimely snow and frost, rain of the wrong substance, or miasmic fog, rainbows, and uncanny lights. These great calamities and portents of heaven and earth all spring from misrule. Yet when one examines how such events arise and tests them against human affairs, they often correspond closely to recent failures and arrive by kindred category. Yet at times deductions fail to match—is this not because heaven and earth are so vast that some things must remain unknowable? As for the countless kinds of things, down to the petty divinations of households and lanes—some, when checked against human affairs, fit; others correspond to nothing at all. All such cases are not worth mentioning.
4
語曰：「迅雷風烈必變。」 蓋君子之畏天也，見物有反常而為變者，失其本性，則思其有以致而為之戒懼，雖微不敢忽而已。 至為災異之學者不然，莫不指事以為應。 及其難合，則旁引曲取而遷就其說。 蓋自漢儒董仲舒、劉向與其子歆之徒，皆以春秋、洪範為學，而失聖人之本意。 至其不通也，父子之言自相戾，可勝歎哉！ 昔者箕子為周武王陳禹所有洪範之書，條其事為九類，別其說為九章，謂之「九疇」。 考其說初不相附屬，而向為五行傳，乃取其五事、皇極、庶證附於五行。 以為八事皆屬五行歟，則至於八政、五紀、三德、稽疑、福、極之類，又不能附。 至俾洪範之書失其倫理，有以見所謂旁引曲取而遷就其說也。 然自漢以來，未有非之者。 又其祥眚禍痾之說，自其數術之學，故略存之，庶幾深識博聞之士有以考而擇焉。
A saying runs: "When thunder is sudden and the wind fierce, change is sure to come." The noble man reveres heaven: when he sees things turn abnormal and lose their natural character, he reflects on what may have caused it and takes warning; even the slightest sign he does not dare ignore. Scholars of calamities and portents are not so: they invariably point to specific events as correspondences. When a case is hard to fit, they draw in side references and tortuous analogies to bend their doctrine to it. From the Han scholars Dong Zhongshu, Liu Xiang, his son Liu Xin, and their followers—all who took the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Great Plan as their learning—the sage's original intent was lost. Their incoherence runs so deep that father and son contradict each other—a cause for endless sighing! Long ago Jizi presented to King Wu of Zhou the Great Plan that Yu had possessed, arranging its subjects into nine categories and its doctrines into nine chapters, called the "Nine Categories." On examination, its doctrines were originally not subordinate to one another; yet in his Commentary on the Five Elements, Liu Xiang took the five affairs, the supreme norm, and the various proofs and attached them all to the Five Elements. If one claims that all eight affairs belong to the Five Elements, then the eight policies, five chronologies, three virtues, examination of doubts, blessings, and the norm cannot be attached either. This made the Great Plan lose its proper order and principle—a clear instance of drawing in side references and tortuous analogies to bend one's doctrine. Yet from the Han dynasty onward, no one has rejected this approach. As for doctrines of auspicious signs, calamities, misfortune, and pestilence, they derive from numerological learning and are therefore preserved in brief, so that scholars of deep insight and broad learning may examine them and judge for themselves.
5
夫所謂災者，被於物而可知者也，水旱、螟蝗之類是已。 異者，不可知其所以然者也，日食、星孛、五石、六鷁之類是已。 孔子於春秋，記災異而不著其事應，蓋慎之也。 以謂天道遠，非諄諄以諭人，而君子見其變，則知天之所以譴告，恐懼脩省而已。 若推其事應，則有合有不合，有同有不同。 至於不合不同，則將使君子怠焉，以為偶然而不懼。 此其深意也。 蓋聖人慎而不言如此，而後世猶為曲說以妄意天，此其不可以傳也。 故考次武德以來，略依洪範五行傳，著其災異，而削其事應云。
Calamities are afflictions that strike visible things and can be known—floods, droughts, locusts, and the like. Anomalies are events whose causes cannot be known—solar eclipses, comets, showers of five stones, flocks of six geese, and the like. Confucius in the Spring and Autumn Annals recorded calamities and portents but did not spell out their corresponding events—out of caution. The Way of Heaven is remote; it does not instruct people with repeated admonitions. When the noble man sees its transformations, he knows that heaven is reprimanding and warning him, and he need only fear, cultivate virtue, and examine himself. If one deduces corresponding events, some fit and some do not; some match and some differ. When correspondences fail or differ, the noble man may grow slack, treating them as mere chance and ceasing to fear. This is the deeper meaning. The sage was cautious and did not speak in this way, yet later ages still devised tortuous doctrines to presume upon heaven's will at random—what cannot be handed down. Accordingly, events from the Wude era onward are arranged chronologically; following in brief the Commentary on the Five Elements of the Great Plan, calamities and portents are recorded while their supposed corresponding affairs are omitted.
6
五行傳曰：「田獵不宿，飲食不享，出入不節，奪民農時，及有姦謀，則木不曲直。」 謂生不暢茂，多折槁，及為變怪而失其性也。 又曰：「貌之不恭，是謂不肅。 厥咎狂，厥罰常雨，厥極凶。 時則有服妖，時則有龜孽，時則有雞禍，時則有下體生上之痾，時則有青眚青祥、鼠妖，惟金沴木。」
The Commentary on the Five Elements says: "When hunting in the fields is not properly lodged, food and drink are not offered in sacrifice, comings and goings lack restraint, the people's farming seasons are seized, and treacherous plots arise, then wood does not bend straight." This means that growth fails to flourish, much breaks and withers, and things turn into strange anomalies that lose their natural character. It also says: "When appearance is not respectful, this is called lack of reverence. Its fault is madness, its punishment constant rain, its extreme misfortune. At times there are omens in clothing, turtle portents, chicken calamities, pestilence in which the lower body grows upon the upper, green calamities and green auspices, and rat omens—only when metal defiles wood."
7
木不曲直。
Wood Does Not Bend Straight
8
武德四年，亳州老子祠枯樹復生枝葉。 老子，唐祖也。 占曰：「枯木復生，權臣執政。」 眭孟以為有受命者。 九年三月，順天門樓東柱已傾毀而自起。 占曰：「木仆而自起，國之災。」
In the fourth year of Wude (621), at the temple of Laozi in Bozhou a withered tree put forth branches and leaves again. Laozi was the ancestral sage of Tang. Divination says: "When withered wood revives, a powerful minister holds the government." Sui Meng took this to mean that someone had received the Mandate of Heaven. In the third month of the ninth year (626), the eastern pillar of the Shuntian Gate tower, though already toppled and ruined, raised itself upright. Divination says: "When timber falls prostrate yet raises itself, it is a calamity for the state."
9
永徽二年十一月甲申，陰霧凝凍封樹木，數日不解。 劉向以為木少陽，貴臣象。 此人將有害，則陰氣脅木先寒，故得雨而冰也。 亦謂之樹介，介，兵象也。
On the jiashen day of the eleventh month of the second year of Yonghui (651), yin mists froze and encased the trees; for several days the ice did not melt. Liu Xiang held that wood is lesser yang and symbolizes honored ministers. When such a person is about to do harm, yin qi presses upon wood and chills it first; hence rain falls and turns to ice upon the trees. This is also called "tree armor"; armor is the image of weapons.
10
顯慶四年八月，有毛桃樹生李。 李，國姓也。 占曰：「木生異實，國主殃。」
In the eighth month of the fourth year of Xianqing (659), a fuzzy peach tree bore plums. Li was the imperial surname. Divination says: "When wood bears strange fruit, the ruler of the state suffers misfortune."
11
麟德元年十二月癸酉，氛霧終日不解。 甲戌，雨木冰。
On the guiyou day of the twelfth month of the first year of Linde (664), miasmic fog lasted all day without clearing. On the jiaxu day, rain froze on the trees.
12
儀鳳三年十一月乙未，昏霧四塞，連夜不解。 丙申，雨木冰。
On the yiwei day of the eleventh month of the third year of Yifeng (678), dusk fog closed in on all sides and did not lift through the night. On the bingshen day, rain froze on the trees.
13
垂拱四年三月，雨桂子于台州，旬餘乃止。 占曰：「天雨草木，人多死。」
In the third month of the fourth year of Chuigong (688), osmanthus seeds rained on Taizhou; after more than ten days it ceased. Divination says: "When heaven rains plants, many people die."
14
長壽二年十月，萬象神宮側檉杉皆變為柏。 柏貫四時，不改柯易葉，有士君子之操； 檉杉柔脆，小人性也。 象小人居君子之位。
In the tenth month of the second year of Changshou (693), beside the Wanxiang Divine Palace all tamarisk and cedar trees turned into cypress. Cypress endures through all four seasons without changing branch or leaf, embodying the conduct of the scholar-gentleman; Tamarisk and cedar are soft and brittle—the nature of petty men. It symbolized petty men occupying the positions of gentlemen.
15
延載元年十月癸酉，白霧，木冰。
On the guiyou day of the tenth month of the first year of Yanzai (694), white fog appeared and trees were encased in ice.
16
景龍四年三月庚申，雨木冰。
On the gengshen day of the third month of the fourth year of Jinglong (710), rain froze on the trees.
17
景雲二年，高祖故第有柿樹，自天授中枯死，至是復生。
In the second year of Jingyun (711), at the High Ancestor's former residence a persimmon tree that had withered during the Tianshou era (690–692) came back to life.
18
開元二十一年六月，蓬州枯楊生李枝，有實，與顯慶中毛桃生李同。 二十九年，亳州老子祠枯樹復榮。 是年十一月己巳，寒甚，雨木冰，數日不解。
In the sixth month of the twenty-first year of Kaiyuan (733), in Pengzhou a withered poplar put forth plum branches bearing fruit—the same omen as the fuzzy peach that bore plums in the Xianqing era. In the twenty-ninth year (741), at the temple of Laozi in Bozhou a withered tree flourished again. That year, on the jisi day of the eleventh month, the cold was severe; rain froze on the trees, and the ice did not melt for several days.
19
永泰元年三月庚子，夜霜，木有冰。
On the gengzi day of the third month of the first year of Yongtai (765), night frost appeared and trees were encased in ice.
20
大曆二年十一月，紛霧如雪，草木冰。 九年，晉州神山縣慶唐觀枯檜復生。
In the eleventh month of the second year of Dali (767), swirling fog fell like snow and grass and trees were encased in ice. In the ninth year (774), at the Qingtang Abbey in Shenshan County, Jinzhou, a withered cypress came back to life.
21
興元元年春，亳州真源縣有李樹，植已十四年，其長尺有八寸，至是枝忽上聳，高六尺，周迴如蓋九尺餘。 李，國姓也。 占曰：「木生枝聳，國有寇盜。」 是歲，中書省枯柳復榮。
In the spring of the first year of Xingyuan (784), in Zhenyuan County, Bozhou, a plum tree planted fourteen years earlier, only a foot and eight inches tall, suddenly sent its branches shooting upward six feet high, spreading in a canopy more than nine feet across. Li was the imperial surname. Divination says: "When wood puts forth branches that shoot upward, the state will suffer raids and banditry." That year, at the Secretariat a withered willow flourished again.
22
貞元元年十二月，雨木冰。 四年正月，雨木于陳留，十里許，大如指，長寸餘，中空，所下者立如植。 木生于下，而自上隕者，上下易位之象； 碎而中空者，小人象； 如植者，自立之象。 二十年冬，雨木冰。
In the twelfth month of the first year of Zhenyuan (785), rain froze on the trees. In the first month of the fourth year (788), wood rained on Chenliu for about ten li; pieces the size of a finger, a little over an inch long and hollow within, stood upright where they fell as if planted. Wood grows from below yet falls from above—an image of high and low exchanging places; broken and hollow within symbolizes petty men; standing upright as if planted symbolizes self-establishment. In the winter of the twentieth year (804), rain froze on the trees.
23
元和十五年九月己酉，大雨，樹無風而摧者十五六。 近木自拔也。 占曰：「木自拔，國將亂。」
On the jiyou day of the ninth month of the fifteenth year of Yuanhe (820), in a great downpour fifteen or sixteen trees broke though there was no wind. This approximates trees uprooting themselves. Divination says: "When wood uproots itself, the state is about to fall into disorder."
24
長慶三年十一月丁丑，雨木冰； 成都栗樹結實，食之如李。
On the dingchou day of the eleventh month of the third year of Changqing (823), rain froze on the trees; In Chengdu a chestnut tree bore fruit that tasted like plums when eaten.
25
寶曆元年十一月丙申，雨木冰。
On the bingshen day of the eleventh month of the first year of Baoli (825), rain froze on the trees.
26
大和三年，成都李樹生木瓜，空中不實。 七年十二月丙戌，夜霧，木冰。
In the third year of Dahe (829), in Chengdu a plum tree bore papaya that were hollow and without seed. On the bingxu day of the twelfth month of the seventh year (833), night fog appeared and trees were encased in ice.
27
開成四年九月辛丑，雨雪，木冰。 十月己巳，亦如之。
On the xinchou day of the ninth month of the fourth year of Kaicheng (839), rain and snow fell and trees were encased in ice. On the jisi day of the tenth month, the same occurred.
28
會昌元年十二月丁丑，雨木冰。 四年正月己酉，雨木冰。 庚戌，亦如之。
On the dingchou day of the twelfth month of the first year of Huichang (841), rain froze on the trees. On the jiyou day of the first month of the fourth year (844), rain froze on the trees. On the gengxu day, the same occurred.
29
咸通十四年四月，成都李實變為木瓜。 時人以為：李，國姓也； 變者，國奪於人之象。
In the fourth month of the fourteenth year of Xiantong (873), in Chengdu plum fruit turned into papaya. People of the time interpreted this: Li was the imperial surname; and change was the image of the state being wrested from its rulers.
30
廣明二年春，眉州有檀樹已枯倒，一夕復生。
In the spring of the second year of Guangming (880), in Meizhou a sandalwood tree that had withered and fallen revived overnight.
31
常雨。
Constant Rain
32
武德六年秋，關中久雨。 少陽曰暘，少陰曰雨，陽德衰則陰氣勝，故常雨。
In the autumn of the sixth year of Wude (623), Guanzhong suffered prolonged rain. Lesser yang is drought; lesser yin is rain. When yang virtue declines, yin qi prevails—hence constant rain.
33
貞觀十五年春，霖雨。
In the spring of the fifteenth year of Zhenguan (641), soaking rain fell.
34
永徽六年八月，京城大雨。
In the eighth month of the sixth year of Yonghui (655), the capital was deluged.
35
顯慶元年八月，霖雨，更九旬乃止。
In the eighth month of the first year of Xianqing (656), soaking rain fell and did not cease for another ninety days.
36
開元二年五月壬子，久雨，禜京城門。 十六年九月，關中久雨，害稼。
On the renzi day of the fifth month of the second year of Kaiyuan (714), prolonged rain fell and exorcistic rites were performed at the capital gates. In the ninth month of the sixteenth year (728), prolonged rain in Guanzhong damaged the crops.
37
天寶五載秋，大雨。 十二載八月，久雨。 十三載秋，大霖雨，害稼，六旬不止。 九月，閉坊市北門，蓋井，禁婦人入街市，祭玄冥太社，禜明德門，壞京城垣屋殆盡，人亦乏食。
In the autumn of the fifth year of Tianbao (746), great rain fell. In the eighth month of the twelfth year (753), prolonged rain fell. In the autumn of the thirteenth year (754), great soaking rain damaged the crops and did not cease for sixty days. In the ninth month, the north gates of wards and markets were closed, wells covered, and women forbidden from the streets; sacrifices were offered to the Dark Sovereign and the Grand Altar of Soil, and exorcistic rites performed at the Mingde Gate. The capital's walls and houses were nearly all ruined, and the people went hungry.
38
至德二載三月癸亥，大雨，至甲戌乃止。
On the guihai day of the third month of the second year of Zhide (757), great rain fell and did not cease until the jiaxu day.
39
上元元年四月，雨，訖閏月乃止。 二年秋，霖雨連月，渠竇生魚。
In the fourth month of the first year of Shangyuan (760), rain fell and did not cease until the intercalary month. In the autumn of the second year (761), soaking rain lasted for months on end, and fish appeared in ditches and drains.
40
永泰元年九月丙午，大雨，至于丙寅。
On the bingwu day of the ninth month of the first year of Yongtai (765), great rain fell and continued until the bingyin day.
41
大曆四年四月，雨，至于九月，閉坊市北門，置土臺，臺上置壇，立黃幡以祈晴。 六年八月，連雨，害秋稼。
From the fourth month of the fourth year of Dali (769), rain fell until the ninth month. The north gates of wards and markets were closed; earthen platforms were erected with altars on top and yellow banners raised to pray for clear skies. In the eighth month of the sixth year (771), consecutive rain damaged the autumn harvest.
42
貞元二年正月乙未，大雨雪，至于庚子，平地數尺，雪上黃黑如塵。 五月乙巳，雨，至于丙申。 時大飢，至是麥將登，復大雨霖，眾心恐懼。 十年春，雨，至閏四月，間止不過一二日。 十一年秋，大雨。 十九年八月己未，大霖雨。
On the yiwei day of the first month of the second year of Zhenyuan (786), heavy rain and snow fell until the gengzi day, piling several feet deep on level ground, with yellow-black dust-like stains upon the snow. On the yisi day of the fifth month, rain fell and continued until the bingshen day. There was then a great famine; just as the wheat was about to ripen, soaking rain fell again, and the people were filled with dread. In the spring of the tenth year (794), rain fell until the intercalary fourth month, with pauses of no more than a day or two. In the autumn of the eleventh year (795), great rain fell. On the jiwei day of the eighth month of the nineteenth year (803), great soaking rain fell.
43
元和四年四月，冊皇太子寧，以雨霑服罷。 十月，再擇日冊，又以雨霑服罷。 近常雨也。 六年七月，霖雨害稼。 十二年五月，連雨。 八月壬申，雨，至于九月戊子。 十五年二月癸未，大雨。 八月，久雨，閉坊市北門。 宋、滄、景等州大雨，自六月癸酉至于丁亥，廬舍漂沒殆盡。
In the fourth month of the fourth year of Yuanhe (809), the investiture of the heir apparent Li Ning was halted when rain soaked the ceremonial garments. In the tenth month, another date was chosen for the investiture, and again rain soaked the garments and the ceremony was called off. This approximates constant rain. In the seventh month of the sixth year (811), soaking rain damaged the crops. In the fifth month of the twelfth year (817), consecutive rain fell. On the renshen day of the eighth month, rain fell and continued until the wuzi day of the ninth month. On the guiwei day of the second month of the fifteenth year (820), great rain fell. In the eighth month, prolonged rain fell and the north gates of wards and markets were closed. Song, Cang, Jing, and other prefectures were deluged; from the guiyou day of the sixth month to the dinghai day, lodges and houses were nearly all swept away.
44
寶曆元年六月，雨，至于八月。
From the sixth month of the first year of Baoli (825), rain fell until the eighth month.
45
大和四年夏，鄆、曹、濮等州雨，壞城郭廬舍殆盡。 五年正月庚子朔，京城陰雪，彌旬。
In the summer of the fourth year of Dahe (830), Yun, Cao, Pu, and other prefectures were flooded, and city walls and lodges were nearly all destroyed. On the gengzi new moon of the first month of the fifth year (831), gloomy snow blanketed the capital for more than ten days.
46
開成五年七月，霖雨，葬文宗，龍輴陷不能進。
In the seventh month of the fifth year of Kaicheng (840), soaking rain fell; at Emperor Wenzong's burial the dragon hearse sank in the mud and could not advance.
47
大中十年四月，雨，至于九月。
From the fourth month of the tenth year of Dazhong (856), rain fell until the ninth month.
48
咸通九年六月，久雨，禜明德門。
In the sixth month of the ninth year of Xiantong (868), prolonged rain fell and exorcistic rites were performed at the Mingde Gate.
49
乾符五年秋，大霖雨，汾、澮及河溢流害稼。
In the autumn of the fifth year of Qianfu (878), great soaking rain fell; the Fen, Huai, and Yellow rivers overflowed and damaged the crops.
50
廣明元年秋八月，大霖雨。
In the eighth month of the autumn of the first year of Guangming (880), great soaking rain fell.
51
天復元年八月，久雨。
In the eighth month of the first year of Tianfu (901), prolonged rain fell.
52
服妖。
Clothing Omens
53
唐初，宮人乘馬者，依周舊儀，著羃䍦，全身障蔽，永徽後，乃用帷帽，施裙及頸，頗為淺露，至神龍末，羃䍦始絕，皆婦人預事之象。
Early in Tang, palace women who rode horses wore veiled hats per the old Zhou ritual, screening the entire body. After the Yonghui era they used curtained hats with skirts to the neck, rather more revealing. By the end of the Shenlong era veiled hats disappeared entirely—all omens of women intruding into public affairs.
54
太尉長孫无忌以烏羊毛為渾脫氈帽，人多效之，謂之「趙公渾脫」。 近服妖也。
Grand Preceptor Zhangsun Wuji made a felt hat of black sheep's wool called a "huntuo"; many imitated it, calling it "Duke Zhao's Huntuo." This approximates clothing omens.
55
高宗嘗內宴，太平公主紫衫、玉帶、皂羅折上巾，具紛礪七事，歌舞于帝前。 帝與武后笑曰：「女子不可為武官，何為此裝束？」 近服妖也。
Emperor Gaozong once held a palace banquet at which Princess Taiping appeared in a purple robe, jade belt, and black gauze military turban, fully equipped with the seven items of military harness, and sang and danced before the throne. The emperor and Empress Wu laughed and said, "A woman cannot serve as a military officer—why this attire?" This approximates clothing omens.
56
武后時，嬖臣張易之為母臧作七寶帳，有魚龍鸞鳳之形，仍為象牀、犀簟。
During Empress Wu's reign, the favorite Zhang Yizhi made his mother Zang a canopy of the seven treasures adorned with dragons, fish, phoenixes, and luan birds, along with an ivory bed and rhinoceros mat.
57
安樂公主使尚方合百鳥毛織二裙，正視為一色，傍視為一色，日中為一色，影中為一色，而百鳥之狀皆見，以其一獻韋后。 公主又以百獸毛為韀面，韋后則集鳥毛為之，皆具其鳥獸狀，工費巨萬。 公主初出降，益州獻單絲碧羅籠裙，縷金為花鳥，細如絲髮，大如黍米，眼鼻觜甲皆備，瞭視者方見之。 皆服妖也。 自作毛裙，貴臣富家多效之，江、嶺奇禽異獸毛羽採之殆盡。
Princess Anle had the Palace Workshops weave two skirts from the feathers of a hundred birds—one hue viewed head-on, another from the side, another in sunlight, another in shadow—yet every bird's form was visible; she presented one to Empress Wei. The princess also made facing-cloths from the fur of a hundred beasts; Empress Wei used gathered bird feathers—each displaying the forms of birds and beasts, at a cost of tens of thousands. When the princess first married, Yizhou presented a cage-skirt of single-thread blue gauze with gold filigree flowers and birds, fine as silk thread and no larger than millet grains, with eyes, nose, beak, and claws all complete—visible only to one who looked closely. All were clothing omens. She herself made fur skirts; honored ministers and wealthy families widely imitated her, until the feathers and fur of rare birds and beasts of the Yangzi and Ling ranges were nearly exhausted.
58
韋后妹嘗為豹頭枕以辟邪，白澤枕以辟魅，伏熊枕以宜男，亦服妖也。
Empress Wei's younger sister once made a leopard-head pillow to ward off evil, a white-unicorn pillow to ward off demons, and a crouching-bear pillow to bring sons—all clothing omens.
59
景龍三年十一月，郊祀，韋后為亞獻，以婦人為齋娘，以祭祀之服執事。 近服妖也。
In the eleventh month of the third year of Jinglong (709), at the suburban sacrifice Empress Wei served as secondary offerer; women served as fast maidens and performed the rites in sacrificial garb. This approximates clothing omens.
60
中宗賜宰臣宗楚客等巾子樣，其制高而踣，即帝在藩邸時冠也，故時人號「英王踣」。 踣，顛仆也。
Emperor Zhongzong bestowed on Chief Minister Zong Chuke and others a cap pattern—tall and toppling—that the emperor had worn as Prince of Ying; people called it "Prince Ying's Topple." "Topple" means to fall prostrate.
61
開元二十五年正月，道士尹愔為諫議大夫，衣道士服視事，亦服妖也。
In the first month of the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan (737), the Daoist Yin Yin was appointed Remonstrance Grand Master and conducted office in Daoist robes—a clothing omen.
62
天寶初，貴族及士民好為胡服胡帽，婦人則簪步搖釵，衿袖窄小。 楊貴妃常以假鬢為首飾，而好服黃裙。 近服妖也。 時人為之語曰：「義髻拋河裏，黃裙逐水流。」
Early in the Tianbao era, nobles and commoners alike favored foreign dress and foreign hats; women wore swaying-step hairpins, with narrow collars and sleeves. Consort Yang Guifei often wore false side-locks as head ornaments and favored yellow skirts. This approximates clothing omens. People of the time composed a saying: "The righteous topknot cast into the river, the yellow skirt following the water's flow."
63
元和末，婦人為圓鬟椎髻，不設鬢飾，不施朱粉，惟以烏膏注脣，狀似悲啼者。 圓鬟者，上不自樹也； 悲啼者，憂恤象也。
At the end of the Yuanhe era, women wore round buns and chignon knots, forwent side-lock ornaments and rouge, and blackened their lips with dark paste so that they looked as if weeping. Round buns symbolized that the top does not raise itself; weeping in grief symbolized sorrow and distress.
64
文宗時，吳、越間織高頭草履，纖如綾縠，前代所無。 履，下物也，織草為之，又非正服，而被以文飾，蓋陰斜闒茸泰侈之象。
During Emperor Wenzong's reign, the Wu and Yue regions wove high-headed straw sandals fine as gauze silk—unheard of in earlier ages. Sandals are humble footwear; to weave grass for them, and moreover not proper dress, yet adorn them with ornament—this symbolized yin askew, dissolute excess, and extravagant overreach.
65
乾符五年，雒陽人為帽，皆冠軍士所冠者。 又內臣有刻木象頭以裏幞頭，百官效之，工門如市，度木斫之曰：「此斫尚書頭，此斫將軍頭，此斫軍容頭。」 近服妖也。
In the fifth year of Qianfu (878), the people of Luoyang made hats patterned on those worn by Champion soldiers. Moreover, inner courtiers carved wooden elephant heads to line their official caps; officials imitated them until craftsmen's shops thronged like markets. As they carved, they would say, "This one chops a Minister's head, this one a General's head, this one an Army Supervisor's head." This approximates clothing omens.
66
僖宗時，內人束髮極急，及在成都，蜀婦人效之，時謂為「囚髻」。
During Emperor Xizong's reign, palace women bound their hair extremely tight; when the court reached Chengdu, Shu women imitated them, and people called it the "prisoner's bun."
67
唐末，京都婦人梳髮以兩鬢抱面，狀如椎髻，時謂之「拋家髻」。 又世俗尚以琉璃為釵釧。 近服妖也。 拋家、流離，皆播遷之兆云。
Late in Tang, capital women combed their hair with both side-locks framing the face in chignon shape; people called it the "abandoning-home bun." Moreover, the common people favored glass hairpins and bracelets. This approximates clothing omens. "Abandoning home" and "wandering in exile" were both omens of displacement, it was said.
68
昭宗時，十六宅諸王以華侈相尚，巾幘各自為制度，都人傚之，則曰：「為我作某王頭。」 識者以為不祥。
During Emperor Zhaozong's reign, the princes of the Sixteen Residences vied in splendor, each devising his own cap style; capital people imitated them and would say, "Make me Prince So-and-so's head." Those with insight took this as inauspicious.
69
龜孽。
Turtle Portents
70
大足初，虔州獲龜，六眼，一夕而失。
At the beginning of the Dazu era (701), in Qianzhou a six-eyed turtle was caught; overnight it vanished.
71
肅宗上元二年，有鼉聚于揚州城門上，節度使鄧景山以問族弟珽，對曰：「鼉，介物，兵象也。」
In the second year of Shangyuan (761), alligators gathered on the Yangzhou city gate. Military Governor Deng Jingshan asked his clansman Deng Bing, who replied, "The alligator is a shelled creature—the image of war."
72
貞元三年，潤州魚鼈蔽江而下，皆無首。
In the third year of Zhenyuan (787), in Runzhou fish and turtles covered the river flowing downstream, all headless.
73
大和三年，魏博管內有蟲，狀如龜，其鳴晝夜不絕。 近龜孽也。
In the third year of Dahe (829), within the Weibo circuit an insect shaped like a turtle cried day and night without ceasing. This approximates turtle portents.
74
秦宗權在蔡州，州中地忽裂，有石出，高五六尺，廣袤丈餘，正如大龜。
When Qin Zongquan held Caizhou, the ground suddenly split and a stone emerged five or six feet high and more than a zhang across, shaped exactly like a great turtle.
75
雞禍。
Chicken Calamities
76
垂拱三年七月，冀州雌雞化為雄。
In the seventh month of the third year of Chuigong (687), in Jizhou a hen changed into a rooster.
77
永昌元年正月，明州雌雞化為雄。 八月，松州雌雞化為雄。
In the first month of the first year of Yongchang (689), in Mingzhou a hen changed into a rooster. In the eighth month, in Songzhou a hen changed into a rooster.
78
景龍二年春，滑州匡城縣民家雞有三足。 京房易妖占曰：「君用婦言，則雞生妖。」
In the spring of the second year of Jinglong (708), in Kuangcheng County, Huazhou, a commoner's chicken had three feet. Jing Fang's Book of Changes omen divination says, "When the ruler heeds women's counsel, chickens produce omens."
79
玄宗好鬬雞，貴臣、外戚皆尚之，貧者或弄木雞，識者以為：雞，酉屬，帝生之歲也； 鬬者，兵象。 近雞禍也。
Emperor Xuanzong was fond of cockfighting; eminent officials and imperial affines all took it up, while the poor might amuse themselves with wooden cocks. The knowing observed that the rooster belongs to the you branch—the year of the emperor's birth; Fighting is the image of war. This approximates chicken calamities.
80
大中八年九月，考城縣民家雄雞化為雌，伏子而雄鳴。 化為雌，王室將卑之象，反雌伏也。 漢宣帝時，雌雞化為雄，至元帝而王氏始萌，蓋馴致其禍也。
In the ninth month of the eighth year of Dazhong (854), in a commoner's household in Kaocheng County a rooster changed into a hen, brooded chicks, yet crowed as a male. Its change into a female signified that the royal house would be lowered—a reversion to female submissiveness. Under Emperor Xuandi of Han a hen changed into a rooster; by Emperor Yuandi's reign the Wang clan had begun to rise—likely the gradual prelude to their calamity.
81
咸通六年七月，徐州彭城民家雞生角。 角，兵象，雞，小畜，猶賤類也。
In the seventh month of the sixth year of Xiantong (865), in a commoner's household in Pengcheng, Xuzhou, a chicken grew horns. Horns betoken war; the chicken is but a small domestic beast—a creature of base rank.
82
下體生上之痾。
Lower Body Growing on Upper Pestilence
83
咸通十四年七月，宋州襄邑有獵者得雉，五足，三足出背上。 足出于背者，下干上之象； 五足者，眾也。
In the seventh month of the fourteenth year of Xiantong (873), in Xiangyi, Songzhou, a hunter took a pheasant with five feet, three of them sprouting from its back. Feet springing from the back signified the lower encroaching upon the upper; Five feet signified multitude.
84
青眚青祥。
Green Calamities and Green Auspices
85
貞觀十七年四月，立晉王為太子，有青氣繞東宮殿。 始冊命而有祲，不祥。 十八年六月壬戌，有青黑氣廣六尺，貫于辰戌，其長亙天。
In the fourth month of the seventeenth year of Zhenguan (643), when the Prince of Jin was installed as crown prince, green vapor encircled the Eastern Palace hall. At the very moment of investiture a baleful sign appeared—an ill omen. In the sixth month of the eighteenth year (644), on the day renxu, a green-black vapor six feet wide pierced the Chen and Xu sectors, its length spanning the sky.
86
大和九年，鄭注篋中藥化為蠅數萬飛去。 注始以藥術進，化為蠅者，敗死之象。 近青眚也。
In the ninth year of Dahe (835), the medicine in Zheng Zhu's casket transformed into tens of thousands of flies and flew away. Zhu had risen through pharmaceutical arts; its transformation into flies signified defeat and death. This approximates green calamities.
87
乾元三年六月，昏，西北有青氣三。
In the sixth month of the third year of Qianyuan (760), at dusk three green vapors appeared in the northwest.
88
鼠妖。
Rat Omens
89
武德元年秋，李密、王世充隔洛水相拒，密營中鼠，一夕渡水盡去。 占曰：「鼠無故皆夜去，邑有兵。」
In the autumn of the first year of Wude (618), Li Mi and Wang Shichong confronted each other across the Luo River; in Mi's camp the rats crossed the river in a single night and all departed. Divination says: "When rats without cause all depart at night, the town will face war."
90
貞觀十三年，建州鼠害稼。 二十一年，渝州鼠害稼。
In the thirteenth year of Zhenguan (639), in Jianzhou rats ravaged the crops. In the twenty-first year (647), in Yuzhou rats ravaged the crops.
91
顯慶三年，長孫无忌第有大鼠見於庭，月餘出入無常，後忽然死。
In the third year of Xianqing (658), at Zhangsun Wuji's residence a great rat appeared in the courtyard; for more than a month it came and went without pattern, then suddenly died.
92
龍朔元年十一月，洛州猫鼠同處。 鼠隱伏象盜竊，猫職捕嚙，而反與鼠同，象司盜者廢職容姦。
In the eleventh month of the first year of Longshuo (661), in Luozhou cats and rats dwelt together. The rat's hiding betokens theft; the cat's office is to catch and bite—yet it dwelt with rats instead, signifying that those charged with suppressing thieves had abandoned their duties and tolerated malfeasance.
93
弘道初，梁州倉有大鼠，長二尺餘，為猫所嚙，數百鼠反嚙猫。 少選，聚萬餘鼠，州遣人捕擊殺之，餘皆去。
At the opening of the Hongdao era (683), in a Liangzhou granary there was a great rat over two feet long; a cat bit it, and several hundred rats bit the cat in return. Shortly afterward more than ten thousand rats gathered; the prefecture sent men to strike them down, and the rest dispersed.
94
景雲中，有蛇鼠鬬于右威衞營東街槐樹，蛇為鼠所傷。 鬬者，兵象。
During the Jingyun era (710–712), a snake and rats fought in a locust tree on the east street of the Right Majestic Guard camp, and the snake was wounded by the rats. Fighting betokens war.
95
景龍元年，基州鼠害稼。
In the first year of Jinglong (707), in Jizhou rats ravaged the crops.
96
開元二年，韶州鼠害稼，千萬為羣。
In the second year of Kaiyuan (714), in Shaozhou rats ravaged the crops in swarms of tens of millions.
97
天寶元年十月，魏郡猫鼠同乳。 同乳者，甚于同處。
In the tenth month of the first year of Tianbao (742), in Weijun cats and rats suckled together. Nursing together was graver still than merely dwelling together.
98
大曆十三年六月，隴右節度使朱泚於兵家得猫鼠同乳以獻。
In the sixth month of the thirteenth year of Dali (778), the Longyou Military Governor Zhu Ci obtained cats and rats suckling together from a soldier's household and presented them as tribute.
99
大和三年，成都猫鼠相乳。
In the third year of Dahe (829), in Chengdu cats and rats suckled one another.
100
開成四年，江西鼠害稼。
In the fourth year of Kaicheng (839), in Jiangxi rats ravaged the crops.
101
咸通十二年正月，汾州孝義縣民家鼠多銜蒿芻巢樹上。 鼠穴居，去穴登木，賤人將貴之象。
In the first month of the twelfth year of Xiantong (871), in commoners' households in Xiaoyi County, Fenzhou, many rats carried artemisia and forage to build nests in trees. Rats dwell in burrows; leaving their holes to climb trees signified that base persons would rise to honor.
102
乾符三年秋，河東諸州多鼠，穴屋、壞衣，三月止。 鼠，盜也，天戒若曰：「將有盜矣。」
In the autumn of the third year of Qianfu (876), rats swarmed the prefectures of Hedong, burrowing into houses and ruining clothing; the plague lasted three months. The rat signifies theft; Heaven's warning seemed to say, "Thieves are coming."
103
乾寧末，陝州有蛇鼠鬬于南門之內，蛇死而鼠亡去。
Late in the Qianning era (894–898), in Shaanzhou a snake and rats fought within the inner south gate; the snake died and the rats vanished.
104
金沴木。
Metal Defiles Wood
105
武德元年八月戊戌，突厥始畢可汗衙帳無故自壞。
On the day wuxu in the eighth month of the first year of Wude (618), the yurt court of the Turkic Khan Shibi collapsed without cause.
106
中宗即位，金雞竿折。 樹雞竿所以肆赦，始發大號而雞竿折，不祥。
When Emperor Zhongzong ascended the throne, the golden rooster pole snapped. The golden rooster pole was erected to proclaim amnesty; as the great proclamation was first issued the pole snapped—an ill omen.
107
神龍中，有羣狐入御史大夫李承嘉第，其堂無故壞； 又秉筆而管直裂，易之又裂。
During the Shenlong era (705–707), a pack of foxes entered the mansion of Censor-in-Chief Li Chengjia, and his hall collapsed without cause; When he next took up his brush, the pen tube split straight through; a replacement split again.
108
開元五年正月癸卯，太廟四室壞。
In the first month of the fifth year of Kaiyuan (717), on the guimao day, four chambers of the Imperial Ancestral Temple collapsed.
109
天寶十四載十二月，哥舒翰帥師守潼關，前軍啟行，牙門旗至坊門，觸落槍刃，眾以為不祥。
In the twelfth month of the fourteenth year of Tianbao (755), Geshu Han commanded troops at Tong Pass; as the vanguard marched out, the command pennant reached the ward gate, struck a spear blade, and fell—the troops took it as ill omen.
110
永泰二年三月辛酉，中書敕庫壞。
In the third month of the second year of Yongtai (766), on the xinyou day, the Secretariat edict archive collapsed.
111
貞元四年正月庚戌朔，德宗御含元殿受朝賀，質明，殿階及欄檻三十餘間自壞，衞士死者十餘人。 含元路寢，大朝會之所御也； 正月朔，一歲之元。 王者之事，天所以儆者重矣。
On the new year's dawn of the fourth year of Zhenyuan (788), the gengxu day of the first month, Emperor Dezong received court congratulations at Hanyuan Hall; at daybreak more than thirty sections of steps and balustrades collapsed by themselves, killing more than ten guardsmen. Hanyuan was the approach hall and sleeping palace, the seat of great court assemblies; The first day of the first month is the year's beginning. For the affairs of a sovereign, heaven's admonition in this was weighty indeed.
112
大和九年，鄭注為鳳翔節度使，將之鎮，出開遠門，旗竿折。
In the ninth year of Dahe (835), Zheng Zhu was appointed military commissioner of Fengxiang; as he set out for his command and passed through Kaiyuan Gate, the flagpole broke.
113
光啟初，揚州府署門屋自壞，故隋之行臺門也，制度甚宏麗云。
At the beginning of Guangqi (885), the gate-house of the Yangzhou prefectural headquarters collapsed by itself—it had been the Sui Branch Secretariat gate, and its design was said to have been magnificent.
114
五行傳曰：「棄法律，逐功臣，殺太子，以妾為妻，則火不炎上。」 謂火失其性而為災也。 京房易傳曰：「上不儉，下不節，盛火數起，燔宮室。」 蓋火主禮云。 又曰：「視之不明，是謂不哲。 厥咎舒，厥罰常燠，厥極疾。 時則有草妖，時則有羽蟲之孽，時則有羊禍，時則有目痾，時則有赤眚赤祥，惟水沴火。」
The Commentary on the Five Elements says: "When laws are abandoned, meritorious ministers driven away, the crown prince killed, and a concubine raised to wife, then fire does not blaze upward." This means that fire lost its nature and turned into calamity. Jing Fang's Book of Changes Commentary says: "When those above are not frugal and those below lack restraint, fierce fires arise repeatedly and palace halls are consumed." For fire governs ritual, it is said. It also says: "When sight is not clear, this is called lacking wisdom. Its fault is laxity, its punishment constant heat, its extreme illness. At times there are grass omens, winged-insect portents, sheep calamities, eye pestilence, and red calamities and red auspices—only when water defiles fire."
115
火不炎上。
Fire Does Not Blaze Upward
116
貞觀四年正月癸巳，武德殿北院火。 十三年三月壬寅，雲陽石燃，方丈，晝則如灰，夜則有光，投草木則焚，歷年乃止。 火失其性而沴金也。 二十三年三月，甲弩庫火。
In the first month of the fourth year of Zhenguan (630), on the guisi day, fire broke out in the northern court of Wude Hall. In the third month of the thirteenth year (639), on the renyin day, stone at Yunyang burned over a square zhang; by day it looked like ash, by night it glowed, and whatever grass or wood was thrown upon it caught fire—the burning lasted years. Fire had lost its nature and was defiling metal. In the third month of the twenty-third year (649), the crossbow-armory caught fire.
117
永徽五年十二月乙巳，尚書司勳庫火。
In the twelfth month of the fifth year of Yonghui (654), on the yisi day, the Ministry of Personnel merit-records archive caught fire.
118
顯慶元年九月戊辰，恩州、吉州火，焚倉廩、甲仗、民居二百餘家。 十一月己巳，饒州火。
In the ninth month of the first year of Xianqing (656), on the wuchen day, Enzhou and Jizhou suffered fire that burned granaries, armor stores, and more than two hundred households. In the eleventh month, on the jisi day, Raozhou suffered fire.
119
證聖元年正月丙申夜，明堂火，武太后欲避正殿，徹樂。 宰相姚璹以為火因人，非天災也，不宜貶損。 后乃御端門觀酺，引建章故事，復作明堂以厭之。 是歲，內庫災，燔二百餘區。
On the bingshen night of the first month of the first year of Zhengsheng (695), the Bright Hall caught fire; Empress Wu wished to withdraw from the main hall and suspend music. Chancellor Yao Shuan held that the fire was man-made, not a calamity sent by heaven, and that the court should not humble itself. The empress then attended Duan Gate to watch the feast, citing the Jianzhang precedent, and rebuilt the Bright Hall to overcome the omen. That year the inner treasury burned, consuming more than two hundred sections.
120
萬歲登封元年三月壬寅，撫州火。
In the third month of the first year of Wansui Dengfeng (696), on the renyin day, Fuzhou suffered fire.
121
久視元年八月壬子，平州火，燔千餘家。
In the eighth month of the first year of Jiushi (700), on the renzi day, Pingzhou suffered fire that burned more than a thousand households.
122
景龍四年二月，東都凌空觀災。
In the second month of the fourth year of Jinglong (710), the Lingkong Abbey of the Eastern Capital burned.
123
開元五年十一月乙卯，定陵寢殿火。 是歲，洪州、潭州災，延燒州署，州人見有物赤而暾暾飛來，旋即火發。 十五年七月甲戌，興教門樓柱災。 是年，衡州災，延燒三百餘家，州人見有物大如甕，赤如燭籠，所至火即發。 十八年二月丙寅，大雨雪，俄而雷震，左飛龍廏災。 占曰：「天火燒廏，兵大起。」 十月乙丑，東都宮佛光寺火。
In the eleventh month of the fifth year of Kaiyuan (717), on the yimao day, the sleeping hall of Dingling mausoleum caught fire. That year Hongzhou and Tanzhou burned; the blaze spread to the prefectural offices, and locals saw a red, gleaming object fly in—fire broke out immediately. In the seventh month of the fifteenth year (727), on the jiaxu day, the pillar of Xingjiao Gate tower burned. That year Hengzhou burned; the blaze spread through more than three hundred households, and locals saw an object as large as a jar, red as a lantern shade—wherever it passed, fire erupted. In the second month of the eighteenth year (730), on the bingyin day, heavy rain and snow fell, then thunder pealed, and the Left Flying Dragon Stud burned. Omen divination says: "When heaven's fire burns the stud, great armies rise." In the tenth month, on the yichou day, Foguang Temple of the Eastern Capital palace caught fire.
124
天寶二年六月，東都應天門觀災，延燒左、右延福門，經日不滅。 京房易傳曰：「君不思道，天火燔其宮室。」 九載三月，華岳廟災，時帝將封西嶽，以廟災乃止。 十載八月丙辰，武庫災，燔兵器四十餘萬。 武庫，甲兵之本也。
In the sixth month of the second year of Tianbao (743), the Yingtian Gate abbey of the Eastern Capital burned; the blaze spread to the left and right Yanfu gates and burned for days. Jing Fang's Book of Changes Commentary says: "When the ruler does not reflect on the Way, heaven's fire consumes his palace halls." In the third month of the ninth year (750), the Huayue temple burned; the emperor was then preparing to enfeoff the Western Peak and halted the rite because of the temple fire. In the eighth month of the tenth year (751), on the bingchen day, the Armory burned, destroying more than four hundred thousand weapons. The Armory is the foundation of armor and arms.
125
寶應元年十二月己酉，太府左藏庫火。
In the twelfth month of the first year of Baoying (762), on the jiyou day, the Grand Treasury left storehouse caught fire.
126
廣德元年十二月辛卯夜，鄂州大風，火發江中，焚舟三千艘，延及岸上民居二千餘家，死者數千人。
On the xinmao night of the twelfth month of the first year of Guangde (763), Ezhou suffered a great wind; fire broke out on the river and burned three thousand boats, spreading to more than two thousand shore households—several thousand people died.
127
大曆十年二月，莊嚴寺浮圖災。 初有疾風震電，俄而火從浮圖中出。
In the second month of the tenth year of Dali (775), the pagoda of Zhuangyan Temple burned. At first came fierce wind and thunder; then fire burst from within the pagoda.
128
貞元元年，江陵度支院火，焚江東租賦百餘萬。 十三年正月，東都尚書省火。 十九年四月，家令寺火。
In the first year of Zhenyuan (785), the Jiangling revenue commission office caught fire, destroying more than a million in Jiangdong land tax and tribute payments. In the first month of the thirteenth year of Zhenyuan (797), the Eastern Capital Secretariat caught fire. In the fourth month of the nineteenth year of Zhenyuan (803), the Household Administration Temple caught fire.
129
二年七月，洪州火，燔民舍萬七千家。 元和七年六月，鎮州甲仗庫災，主吏坐死者百餘人。 八年，江陵大火。 十一年十一月甲戌，元陵火。 李師道起宮室於鄆州，將謀亂，既成而火。
In the seventh month of the second year of Yuanhe (807), Hongzhou caught fire, destroying seventeen thousand households. In the sixth month of the seventh year of Yuanhe (812), the Zhenzhou armor and weapons depot burned; more than a hundred officials in charge were executed. In the eighth year of Yuanhe (813), Jiangling suffered a great fire. In the eleventh month of the eleventh year of Yuanhe (816), on the jiaxu day, Emperor Xianzong's Yuan tomb caught fire. Li Shidao built palaces at Yunzhou planning rebellion; when the work was finished, they caught fire.
130
大和二年十一月甲辰，禁中昭德寺火，延至宣政東垣及門下省，宮人死者數百人。 三年十月癸丑，仗內火。 四年三月，陳州、許州火，燒萬餘家。 十月，浙西火。 十一月，揚州海陵火。 八年三月，揚州火。 皆燔民舍千區。 五月己巳，飛龍神駒中廏火。 十月，揚州市火，燔民舍數千區。 十二月，禁中昭成寺火。
In the eleventh month of the second year of Dahe (828), on the jiachen day, Zhaode Temple in the palace burned, spreading to the east wall of the Xuanzheng Hall and the Secretariat-Chancellery; several hundred palace attendants died. In the tenth month of the third year of Dahe (829), on the guichou day, fire broke out in the arms-guard quarters. In the third month of the fourth year of Dahe (830), Chenzhou and Xuzhou caught fire, destroying more than ten thousand households. In the tenth month, Zhexi caught fire. In the eleventh month, Yangzhou and Hailing caught fire. In the third month of the eighth year of Dahe (834), Yangzhou caught fire. In each case more than a thousand wards of dwellings were burned. In the fifth month, on the jisi day, the central stables of the Feilong Divine Colts caught fire. In the tenth month, Yangzhou city caught fire, destroying several thousand wards of dwellings. In the twelfth month, Zhaocheng Temple in the palace caught fire.
131
開成二年六月，徐州火，延燒民居三百餘家。 四年十二月乙卯，乾陵火。 丁丑晦，揚州市火，燔民舍數千家。
In the sixth month of the second year of Kaicheng (837), Xuzhou caught fire, spreading to more than three hundred civilian dwellings. In the twelfth month of the fourth year of Kaicheng (839), on the yimao day, Emperor Gaozong's Qian tomb caught fire. On the last day of the dingchou cycle, Yangzhou city caught fire, destroying several thousand wards of dwellings.
132
會昌元年五月，潞州市火。 三年六月，西內神龍寺火； 萬年縣東市火，焚廬舍甚眾。 六年八月，葬武宗，辛未，靈駕次三原縣，夜大風，行宮幔城火。
In the fifth month of the first year of Huichang (841), Luzhou city caught fire. In the sixth month of the third year of Huichang (843), Shenlong Temple in the western inner palace caught fire; The east market of Wannian County caught fire, burning a great many shops and dwellings. In the eighth month of the sixth year of Huichang (846), during Emperor Wuzong's burial, on the xinwei day the spirit carriage halted at Sanyuan County; that night a great wind arose and the mourning encampment's curtain walls caught fire.
133
乾符四年十月，東都聖善寺火。
In the tenth month of the fourth year of Qianfu (877), Shengshan Temple of the Eastern Capital caught fire.
134
大順二年六月乙酉，幽州市樓災，延及數百步。 七月癸丑甲夜，汴州相國寺佛閣災。 是日暮，微雨震電，或見有赤塊轉門譙藤網中，周而火作。 頃之，赤塊北飛，轉佛閣藤網中，亦周而火作。 既而大雨暴至，平地水深數尺，火益甚，延及民居，三日不滅。
In the sixth month of the second year of Dashun (891), on the yiyou day, a tower in Youzhou city burned, spreading for several hundred paces. In the seventh month, on the first jia watch of the guichou night, the Buddha pavilion of Xiangguo Temple in Bianzhou burned. That evening came light rain, thunder, and lightning; some saw a red mass circling in the vine nets of the gate tower, and when it completed its circuit fire broke out. Shortly afterward the red mass flew north, circling in the Buddha pavilion's vine nets; again when it completed its circuit fire broke out. Then a torrential rain burst upon the city; water several feet deep stood in the streets, yet the fire grew fiercer, spreading to civilian dwellings, and burned for three days without going out.
135
常燠。
Constant Heat
136
天寶元年冬，無冰。 先儒以為陰失節也。 又曰：「知罪不誅，其罰燠，夏則暑殺人，冬則物華實。」 蓋當寒反燠，象宜刑而賞之也。
In the winter of the first year of Tianbao (742), there was no ice. Earlier Confucians held that yin had lost its proper season. It is also said, "When guilt is known yet goes unpunished, the penalty is heat: in summer scorching heat kills people; in winter plants blossom and bear fruit." When it should be cold yet heat prevails, the omen signifies that punishment ought to be applied but reward is given instead.
137
貞元十四年夏，大燠。
In the summer of the fourteenth year of Zhenyuan (798), extreme heat prevailed.
138
元和九年六月，大燠。
In the sixth month of the ninth year of Yuanhe (814), extreme heat prevailed.
139
長慶二年冬，少雪，水不冰凍，草木萌荑如正月。
In the winter of the second year of Changqing (822), snow was scant, water did not freeze, and plants and trees sprouted buds as in the first month of spring.
140
廣明元年十一月，暖如仲春。
In the eleventh month of the first year of Guangming (880), the weather was as mild as mid-spring.
141
草妖。
Grass Omens
142
武德四年，益州獻芝草如人狀。 占曰：「王德將衰，下人將起，則有木生為人狀。」 草，亦木類也。
In the fourth year of Wude (621), Yizhou presented lingzhi fungus shaped like a human figure. Omen divination says, "When the king's virtue is about to decline and the lower orders are about to rise, wood grows in human shape." Grass, too, belongs to the wood category.
143
景龍二年，岐州郿縣民王上賓家，有苦蕒菜高三尺餘，上廣尺餘，厚二分。 近草妖也。 三年，內出蒜條，上重生蒜。 蒜，惡草也； 重生者，其類眾也。 四年，京畿藍田山竹實如麥。 占曰：「大饑。」
In the second year of Jinglong (708), at the home of Wang Shangbin, a commoner of Mei County in Qizhou, a bitter sow-thistle stood more than three feet tall, more than a foot across at the top, and two fen thick. This approximates grass omens. In the third year (709), garlic shoots brought from the inner palace grew new garlic atop them. Garlic is an inauspicious plant; Regrowth signifies that its kind will multiply. In the fourth year of Jinglong (710), in Lantian County of the capital region, bamboo bore fruit like wheat grains. Divination says: "Great famine."
144
開元二年，終南山竹有華，實如麥，嶺南亦然，竹並枯死，是歲大饑，民採食之。 占曰：「國中竹、柏枯，不出三年有喪。」 十七年，睦州竹實。
In the second year of Kaiyuan (714), bamboo in the Zhongnan Mountains flowered, fruiting like wheat; the same occurred in Lingnan. The bamboo all withered and died. That year brought great famine, and the people gathered and ate them. Divination says: "When bamboo and cypress in the state wither, mourning comes within three years." In the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan (729), Muzhou bamboo bore fruit.
145
天寶初，臨川郡人李嘉胤屋柱生芝草，狀如天尊像。
Early in the Tianbao reign (742–756), Li Jiayin of Linchuan Commandery found spirit fungus growing on a house pillar, shaped like an image of the Heavenly Worthy.
146
上元二年七月甲辰，延英殿御座上生白芝，一莖三花。 白，喪象也。
In the seventh month of the second year of Shangyuan (761), on the jiachen day, white fungus grew on the imperial throne of Yanying Hall—one stalk with three flowers. White is the image of mourning.
147
大和九年冬，鄭注之金帶有菌生。 近草妖也。
In the winter of the ninth year of Dahe (835), fungus grew on Zheng Zhu's gold belt. This approximates grass omens.
148
開成四年六月，襄州山竹有實成米，民採食之。
In the sixth month of the fourth year of Kaicheng (839), bamboo in the Xiangzhou mountains bore fruit like rice, and the people gathered and ate them.
149
光啟元年七月，河中解、永樂生草，葉自相樛結，如旌旗之狀，時人以為「旗子草」。 一年七月，鳳翔麟游草生如旗狀。 占曰：「其野有兵。」
In the seventh month of the first year of Guangqi (885), at Jie and Yongle in Hezhong, grass grew with leaves intertwining like pennants; people called it "Banner Grass." In the seventh month of the first year (886), at Linyou in Fengxiang, grass grew like banners. Divination says: "In the countryside there is warfare."
150
羽蟲之孽。
Calamities Among Winged Creatures
151
武德初，隋將堯君素守蒲州，有鵲巢其砲機。
Early in the Wude reign (618–626), the Sui general Yao Junsu held Pu Prefecture; a magpie nested on his cannon mount.
152
貞觀十七年春，齊王祐為齊州刺史，好畜鴨，有狸嚙鴨，頭斷者四十餘。 是歲四月丙戌，立晉王為太子，雌雉集太極殿前，雄雉集東宮顯德殿前。 太極，三朝所會也。
In the spring of the seventeenth year of Zhenguan (643), Prince You of Qi, governor of Qizhou, was fond of raising ducks; a raccoon dog gnawed them, and more than forty were found with severed heads. That year, in the fourth month on the bingxu day, the Prince of Jin was established as heir apparent; hen pheasants gathered before Taiji Hall, and cock pheasants before Xiande Hall of the Eastern Palace. Taiji Hall is where the Three Assemblies meet.
153
永徽四年，宋州人蔡道基舍傍有獸高丈餘，頭類羊，一角，鹿形，馬蹄，牛尾，五色，有翅。 占曰：「鳥如畜形者，有大兵。」 五年七月辛巳，萬年宮有小鳥如雀，生子大如鳲鳩。
In the fourth year of Yonghui (653), beside the house of Cai Daoji of Song Prefecture stood a beast more than ten feet tall, with a sheep-like head, one horn, a deer's body, horse hoofs, an ox tail, five colors, and wings. Divination says: "When birds take the form of livestock, great armies rise." In the fifth year of Yonghui (654), in the seventh month on the xinsi day, at Wannian Palace a small bird like a sparrow gave birth to offspring as large as turtledoves.
154
調露元年，鳴鵽羣飛入塞，相繼蔽野，至二年正月，還復北飛，至靈夏北，悉墮地而死，視之皆無首。
In the first year of Tiaolu (679), screaming owls flew in flocks into the frontier passes, one after another blotting out the wilderness. By the first month of the second year they flew north again; reaching north of Ling and Xia they all fell dead—every one was headless.
155
文明後，天下屢奏雌雉化為雄，或半化者。
After the Wenming reign (684), reports repeatedly came from across the realm of hen pheasants turning into cocks, or half-transformed.
156
景龍四年六月辛巳朔，烏集太極殿梁，驅之不去。
On the first day of the sixth month of the fourth year of Jinglong (710), on xinsi, crows gathered on the beams of Taiji Hall and would not leave when driven away.
157
開元十三年十一月戊子，雄雉馴飛泰山齋宮內。 封禪，所以告成功，祀事無重於此者，而野鳥馴飛，不忌禁衞，不祥。 二十五年四月，濮州兩烏、兩鵲、兩鸜鵒同巢。 隴州鵲哺慈烏。 二十八年四月庚辰，慈烏巢宣政殿栱。 辛巳，又巢宣政殿栱。
In the eleventh month of the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan (725), on the wuzi day, a cock pheasant flew tamely within the Mount Tai fasting palace. The Feng and Shan rites announce success to heaven; no sacrifice is weightier. Yet a wild bird flew tamely within, heedless of the forbidden guard—an inauspicious sign. In the fourth month of the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan (737), in Puzhou two crows, two magpies, and two mynahs shared one nest. In Longzhou a magpie nursed filial crows. In the fourth month of the twenty-eighth year of Kaiyuan (740), on the gengchen day, filial crows nested on the bracket of Xuanzheng Hall. On the xinsi day, they nested again on the bracket of Xuanzheng Hall.
158
天寶十三載，葉縣有鵲巢于車轍中。 不巢木而巢地，失其所也。
In the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754), in Ye County a magpie nested in wheel ruts. Not nesting in trees but on the ground—they had lost their proper place.
159
至德二載三月，安祿山將武令珣圍南陽，有鵲巢于城中砲機者三，雛成乃去。
In the third month of the second year of Zhide (757), An Lushan's general Wu Lingxun besieged Nanyang; three times a magpie nested on the cannon mounts in the city, and when the chicks were grown it left.
160
大曆八年九月，武功獲大鳥，肉翅狐首，四足有爪，長四尺餘，毛赤如蝙蝠，羣鳥隨而噪之。 近羽蟲孽也。 十三年五月，左羽林軍有鸜鵒乳鵲二。
In the ninth month of the eighth year of Dali (773), at Wugong a great bird was caught—flesh wings, a fox head, four clawed feet, more than four feet long, fur red like a bat's; flocks of birds followed, crying at it. This approximates winged-creature calamities. In the fifth month of the thirteenth year of Dali (778), in the Left Feathered Forest Army a mynah nursed two magpies.
161
貞元四年三月，中書省梧桐樹有鵲以泥為巢。 鵲巢知歲次，於羽蟲為有知，今以泥露巢，遇風雨壞矣。 是歲夏，鄭、汴境內烏皆羣飛，集魏博田緒、淄青李納境內，銜木為城，高二三尺，方十里。 緒、納惡而焚之，信宿又然，烏口皆流血。 九年春，許州鵲哺烏雛。 十年四月，有大鳥飛集宮中，食雜骨數日，獲之，不食死。 六月辛未晦，水鳥集左藏庫。 十三年十月，懷州𪄢鵊巢內有黃雀往來哺食。 十四年秋，有異鳥，色青，類鳩、鵲，見於宋州郊外，所止之處，羣鳥翼衞，朝夕嗛稻粱以哺之，睢陽人適野聚觀者旬日。 十八年六月，烏集徐州之滕縣，嗛柴為城，中有白烏一，碧烏一。
In the third month of the fourth year of Zhenyuan (788), on a parasol tree at the Secretariat a magpie built a nest of mud. Magpies know the year's turn when they nest; among winged creatures they are counted intelligent. Yet this one built an exposed nest of mud, and wind and rain destroyed it. That summer, crows throughout Zheng and Bian flew in flocks into the territories of Weibo's Tian Xu and Ziqing's Li Na, carrying wood to build walls two or three feet high and ten li square. Xu and Na hated the omen and burned the structures; within a night or two they caught fire again, and the crows' mouths all bled. In the spring of the ninth year of Zhenyuan (793), in Xuzhou a magpie nursed crow chicks. In the fourth month of the tenth year of Zhenyuan (794), a great bird flew into the palace and ate assorted bones for several days; when caught, it refused food and died. On the last day of the sixth month, on xinwei, water birds gathered at the Left Vault. In the tenth month of the thirteenth year of Zhenyuan (797), within a hawk's nest in Huai Prefecture yellow sparrows came and went, nursing and feeding. In the autumn of the fourteenth year of Zhenyuan (798), a strange green bird resembling doves and magpies appeared in the outskirts of Song Prefecture. Wherever it rested, other birds guarded it with outspread wings; morning and evening they brought rice and grain to feed it. For ten days people of Suiyang going to the fields gathered to watch. In the sixth month of the eighteenth year of Zhenyuan (802), crows gathered at Teng County in Xuzhou, carrying firewood to build walls; among them were one white crow and one jade-green crow.
162
元和元年，常州鸛巢于平地。 四年十二月，羣烏夜集于太行山上。 十三年春，淄青府署及城中烏、鵲互取其雛，各以哺子，更相搏擊，不能禁。
In the first year of Yuanhe (806), in Changzhou storks nested on level ground. In the twelfth month of the fourth year of Yuanhe (809), flocks of crows gathered at night on the Taihang Mountains. In the spring of the thirteenth year of Yuanhe (818), at the Ziqing circuit headquarters and in the city, crows and magpies seized one another's chicks, each nursing them as their own, and fought in turn without cease.
163
寶曆元年十一月丙申，羣烏夜鳴。
In the eleventh month of the first year of Baoli (825), on bingshen, flocks of crows cried at night.
164
開成元年閏五月丙戌，烏集唐安寺，逾月散。 雀集玄法寺，燕集蕭望之冢。 二年三月，真興門外鵲巢於古冢。 鵲巢知避歲，而古占又以高下卜水旱，今不巢于木而穴于冢，不祥。 秋，突厥鳥自塞北羣飛入塞。 五年六月，有禿鶖羣飛集禁苑。 鶖，水鳥也。
In the intercalary fifth month of the first year of Kaicheng (836), on bingxu, crows gathered at Tang'an Temple; after more than a month they dispersed. Sparrows gathered at Xuanfa Temple; swallows gathered at the tomb of Xiao Wangzhi. In the third month of the second year of Kaicheng (837), outside Zhenxing Gate magpies nested in an ancient tomb. Magpies know to nest away from inauspicious years, and ancient divination also reads the height of nests to foretell flood and drought; now they did not nest in trees but burrowed in tombs—an ill omen. In autumn, birds from the Turks flew in flocks from beyond the frontier passes into the interior. In the sixth month of the fifth year of Kaicheng (840), bald coots flew in flocks and gathered in the Forbidden Park. The coot is a water bird.
165
會昌元年，潞州長子有白頸烏與鵲鬬。
In the first year of Huichang (841), in Changzi in Luzhou a white-necked crow fought with magpies.
166
大中十年三月，舒州吳塘堰有眾禽成巢，闊七尺，高一尺。 水禽山鳥，無不馴狎。 中有如人面、綠毛、紺爪觜者，其聲曰「甘」，人謂之甘蟲。 占曰：「有鳥非常，來宿于邑中，國有兵，人相食。」
In the third month of the tenth year of Dazhong (856), at Wutang Dam in Shuzhou many birds formed a communal nest seven chi wide and one chi high. Water birds and mountain birds alike were tame. Among them was one with a face like a human's, green plumage, and dark blue claws and beak; its cry was "gan," and people called it the Gan creature. Divination says: "When an extraordinary bird comes to lodge within a town, the state will see warfare and people will devour one another."
167
咸通七年，涇州靈臺百里戍有雀生燕，至大俱飛去。 京房易傳曰：「賊臣在國，厥妖燕生雀。」 雀生燕同說。 十一年夏，雉集河內縣署。 咸通中，吳、越有異鳥極大，四目三足，鳴山林，其聲曰「羅平」。 占曰：「國有兵，人相食。」
In the seventh year of Xiantong (866), at Baili garrison in Lingtai, Jingzhou, a sparrow gave birth to a swallow; when grown they all flew away. Jing Fang's Book of Changes Commentary says: "When a treacherous minister is in the state, the portent is a swallow born of a sparrow." Sparrows giving birth to swallows follows the same doctrine. In the summer of the eleventh year of Xiantong (870), pheasants gathered at the Henan county magistrate's office. During the Xiantong era, in Wu and Yue an extraordinary bird of enormous size, with four eyes and three legs, cried in the mountain forests; its call was "luoping." Divination says: "The state will see warfare and people will devour one another."
168
乾符四年春，廬江縣北鵲巢于地。 六年夏，鴟、雉集于偃師南樓及縣署。 劉向說：「野鳥入處，宮室將空。」
In the spring of the fourth year of Qianfu (877), north of Lujiang county magpies nested on the ground. In the summer of the sixth year of Qianfu (879), owls and pheasants gathered at the south tower of Yanshi and at the county magistrate's office. Liu Xiang explained: "When wild birds enter dwellings, palace halls will stand empty."
169
廣明元年春，絳州翼城縣有鵂鶹鳥羣飛集縣署，眾鳥逐而噪之。 光啟元年、二年，復如之。 鵂鶹，一名訓狐。
In the spring of the first year of Guangming (880), in Yicheng county, Jiangzhou, owl-falcon birds flew in flocks and gathered at the county office, and many birds chased and clamored at them. In the first and second years of Guangqi (885–886), the same thing occurred again. The owl-falcon is also called the instruction fox.
170
中和元年三月，陳留有烏變為鵲。 二年，有鵲變為烏。 古者以烏卜軍之勝負。 烏變為鵲，民從賊之象； 鵲復變為烏，賊復為民之象。 三年，新安縣吏家捕得雉養之，與雞馴，月餘相與鬬死。 四年，臨淮漣水民家鷹化為鵝，而弗能游。 鷹以鷙而擊，武臣象也； 鵝雖毛羽清潔，而飛不能遠，無搏擊之用，充庖廚而已。
In the third month of the first year of Zhonghe (881), in Chenliu a crow changed into a magpie. In the second year of Zhonghe (882), a magpie changed into a crow. In antiquity crows were used to divine victory or defeat in armies. A crow changing into a magpie betokened the people following rebels; a magpie changing back into a crow betokened rebels returning to be people again. In the third year of Zhonghe (883), a clerk's family in Xin'an county caught a pheasant and raised it; it grew tame with the chickens, and after more than a month they fought each other to death. In the fourth year of Zhonghe (884), at a commoner's home in Lianshui, Linhuai, a hawk transformed into a goose yet could not swim. The hawk strikes through fierceness—the image of military ministers; though the goose's plumage is clean, it cannot fly far and has no power to strike, serving only to fill the kitchen.
171
光啟元年十二月，陝州平陸集津山有雉二首向背而連頸者，棲集津倉廡後，數月，羣雉數百來鬬殺之。 二年正月，閺鄉、湖城野雉及鳶夜鳴。 七月，中條山鵲焚其巢。 三年七月，鵲復焚巢。 京房易傳曰：「人君暴虐，鳥焚其舍。」 三年十月，慈州仵城梟與鴟鬬相殺。
In the twelfth month of the first year of Guangqi (885), on Jijin Mountain in Pinglu, Shanzhou, there was a pheasant with two heads facing back to back on joined necks; it roosted behind the Jijin warehouse sheds, and after several months several hundred pheasants came and fought and killed it. In the first month of the second year of Guangqi (886), in Minxiang and Hucheng wild pheasants and kites cried at night. In the seventh month of the second year of Guangqi (887), on Zhongtiao Mountain magpies burned their nests. In the seventh month of the third year of Guangqi (888), magpies again burned their nests. Jing Fang's Book of Changes Commentary says: "When the ruler is cruel and tyrannical, birds burn their dwellings." In the tenth month of the third year of Guangqi (888), at Wucheng in Cizhou, owls and horned owls fought and killed each other.
172
光化二年，幽州節度使劉仁恭屠貝州去，夜有鵂鶹鳥十數飛入帳中，逐去復來。
In the second year of Guanghua (899), after Military Commissioner Liu Rengong of Youzhou slaughtered Beizhou and departed, at night more than a dozen owl-falcon birds flew into his tent; driven off, they returned again.
173
昭宗時，有禿鶖鳥巢寢殿隅，帝親射殺之。
During Emperor Zhaozong's reign, bald coots nested in the corner of the sleeping hall; the emperor personally shot and killed them.
174
天復二年，帝在鳳翔，十一月丁巳，日南至，夜驟風，有烏數千，迄明飛噪，數日不止。 自車駕在岐，常有烏數萬棲殿前諸樹，岐人謂之神鴉。 三年，宣州有鳥如雉而大，尾有火光如散星，集于戟門，明日大火，曹局皆盡，惟兵械存。
In the second year of Tianfu (902), the emperor was at Fengxiang; on dingsi, the winter solstice night, a sudden gale arose, and several thousand crows from then until dawn flew and clamored, not stopping for several days. Since the imperial carriage was at Qizhou, tens of thousands of crows always roosted in the trees before the halls; the people of Qi called them divine crows. In the third year of Tianfu (903), in Xuanzhou a bird like a pheasant but large, its tail bearing firelight like scattered stars, gathered at the halberd gate; the next day a great fire consumed all the government offices—only weapons remained.
175
羊禍。
Sheep Calamities
176
義寧二年三月丙辰，麟游縣有羔生而無尾。 是月乙丑，太原獻羖羊，無頭而不死。
In the third month of the second year of Yining (618), on bingchen, in Linyou county lambs were born without tails. That same month on yichou, Taiyuan presented a ram without a head that did not die.
177
開元二年正月，原州獻肉角羊。 二年三月，富平縣有肉角羊。
In the first month of the second year of Kaiyuan (714), Yuanzhou presented a sheep with flesh horns. In the third month of the second year of Kaiyuan (714), Fuping county had a sheep with flesh horns.
178
會昌二年春，代州崞縣羊生二首連頸，兩尾。 占曰：「二首，上不一也。」
In the spring of the second year of Huichang (842), in Guo county, Daizhou, a sheep was born with two heads joined at the neck and two tails. Divination says: "Two heads—the ruler above is not one."
179
咸通三年夏，平陶民家羊生羔如犢。
In the summer of the third year of Xiantong (862), at a commoner's home in Pingtao a sheep bore a lamb like a calf.
180
乾符二年，洛陽建春門外因暴雨，有物墮地如羖羊，不食，頃之入地中，其跡月餘不滅，或以為雨土也。 占曰：「當旱。」
In the second year of Qianfu (875), outside Jianchun Gate in Luoyang, after a violent rainstorm something fell to earth like a ram, would not eat, and shortly sank into the ground; its tracks remained more than a month without fading—some thought it was rain-earth. Divination says: "Drought is due."
181
赤眚赤祥。
Red Calamities and Red Auspices
182
武德七年，河間王孝恭征輔公祏，宴羣帥于舟中，孝恭以金盌酌江水，將飲之，則化為血。 孝恭曰：「盌中之血，公祏授首之祥。」
In the seventh year of Wude (624), Prince Hejian Xiaogong campaigned against Fu Gongyu; feasting the commanders aboard a boat, Xiaogong scooped river water in a golden bowl and was about to drink when it turned to blood. Xiaogong said: "The blood in the bowl is an omen that Gongyu will lose his head."
183
武德初，突厥國中雨血三日。
At the beginning of Wude (618–619), in the Turks' lands blood rained for three days.
184
光宅初，宗室岐州刺史崇真之子橫、杭等夜宴，忽有氣如血腥。
At the beginning of the Guangye era (684), Heng, Hang, and the others—sons of Prince Chongzhen, prefect of Qizhou—held a night banquet when suddenly air like the smell of blood appeared.
185
武后時，來俊臣家井水變赤如血，井中夜有吁嗟歎惋聲，俊臣以木棧之，木忽自投十步外。
During Empress Wu's reign, at Lai Junchen's house the well water turned red as blood; at night the well had sounds of sighing and lament; Junchen covered it with timbers, and the timber suddenly flung itself ten paces away.
186
長安中，幷州晉祠水赤如血。
During the Chang'an era (701–704), the waters of the Jin Shrine in Bingzhou were red as blood.
187
中宗時，成王千里家有血點地，及奩箱上有血淋瀝，腥聞數步。 又中郎將東夷人毛婆羅炊飯，一夕化為血。
During Emperor Zhongzong's reign, at Prince Qianli of Cheng's house blood spotted the ground, and on chests and boxes blood dripped in profusion, its stench detectable for several paces. Also the Eastern Yi Mao Poluo, a commander of the palace guards, cooked rice that overnight turned to blood.
188
景龍二年七月癸巳，赤氣際天，光燭地，三日乃止。 赤氣，血祥也。
In the seventh month of the second year of Jinglong (708), on guisi, red vapor reached heaven, its light illuminating the earth; after three days it stopped. Red vapor is an omen of blood.
189
天寶六載，少陵原楊慎矜父墓封域內，草木皆流血，慎矜令浮屠史敬思禳之，退朝裸而桎梏於叢棘間，如是數旬而流血不止。 十二載，李林甫第東北隅每夜火光起，或有如小兒持火出入者。 近赤祥也。
In the sixth year of Tianbao (747), within the sealed bounds of the tomb of Yang Shenjin's father at Shaoling Plain, all vegetation streamed blood; Shenjin had the Buddhist monk Shi Jingsi perform rites; stripped naked he was shackled among thorn thickets; thus for several tens of days yet the bleeding did not stop. In the twelfth year of Tianbao (753), at the northeast corner of Li Linfu's residence firelight arose each night, or like small children bearing fire going in and out. This approached red auspice.
190
寶應元年八月庚午夜，有赤光亙天，貫紫微，漸移東北，彌漫半天。
On gengzi night in the eighth month of the first year of Baoying (762), red light spanned heaven, piercing Purple Tenuity, gradually shifting northeast and flooding half the sky.
191
大曆十三年二月，太僕寺有泥像，左臂上有黑汗滴下，以紙承之，血也。
In the second month of the thirteenth year of Dali (778), at the Imperial Stud there was a clay image; black sweat dripped from its left arm—paper placed to receive it proved to be blood.
192
貞元二年十一月壬午，日沒，有赤氣五，出于黑雲中，亙天。 十二年九月癸卯，夜有赤氣如火，見北方，上至北斗。 十七年，福州劍池水赤如血。 二十一年正月甲戌，雨赤雪于京師。
On renwu in the second year of Zhenyuan (786), at sunset five red vapors issued from within black clouds and spanned heaven. On guimao night in the twelfth year of Zhenyuan (796), red vapor like fire appeared in the north, reaching up to the Northern Dipper. In the seventeenth year of Zhenyuan (801), the waters of the Sword Pool in Fuzhou were red as blood. On jiaxu in the first month of the twenty-first year of Zhenyuan (805), red snow fell on the capital.
193
元和十四年二月，鄆州從事院門前地有血，方尺餘，色甚鮮赤，不知所從來，人以為自空而墮也。
In the second month of the fourteenth year of Yuanhe (819), before the gate of the registrar's office in Yanzhou blood covered the ground, more than a square chi in extent, its color vividly red—no one knew whence it came; people thought it had fallen from the void.
194
長慶元年七月戊午，河水赤，三日止。
On wuwu in the seventh month of the first year of Changqing (821), the Yellow River turned red; after three days it stopped.
195
寶曆元年十二月乙酉夜，西北有霧起，須臾遍天，霧止，有赤氣，或淺或深，久而乃散。
On yiyou night in the twelfth month of the first year of Baoli (825), in the northwest mist arose; in a moment it filled heaven; when the mist lifted there was red vapor, sometimes pale sometimes deep, and after a long while it dispersed.
196
大和元年四月庚戌，北方有赤氣，中有數白氣間之。 六月乙卯夜，西北有赤氣。 八月癸卯，京師見赤氣滿天。 二年閏三月乙卯，北方有赤氣如血。
On gengxu in the fourth month of the first year of Dahe (827), in the north red vapor with several white vapors mingled among it. On yimao night in the sixth month of the first year of Dahe (827), in the northwest there was red vapor. On guimao in the eighth month of the first year of Dahe (827), in the capital red vapor filled heaven. On yimao in the intercalary third month of the second year of Dahe (828), in the north red vapor like blood.
197
咸通七年，鄭州永福湖水赤如凝血者三日。
In the seventh year of Xiantong (866), Yongfu Lake in Zhengzhou was red like congealed blood for three days.
198
乾符六年，中書政事堂忽旦有死人，血汚滿地，不知主名。 又御井水色赤而腥，渫之，得一死女子腐爛。 近赤祥也。
In the sixth year of Qianfu (879), at the Secretariat's Council Chamber at dawn there suddenly lay a dead person, blood-stained filth covering the ground, the name of the victim unknown. Also the imperial well water was red and foul; when drained, a rotting dead woman was found. This approached red auspice.
199
中和二年七月丙午夜，西北方赤氣如絳，際天。
On bingzi night in the seventh month of the second year of Zhonghe (882), in the northwest red vapor like deep crimson reached heaven.
200
光啟元年正月，潤州江水赤，凡數日。
In the first month of the first year of Guangqi (885), the river waters of Runzhou turned red for several days.
201
水沴火。
Water Defiles Fire
202
幽州坊谷地常有火，長慶三年夏，遂積水為池。 近水沴火也。
At Fang Valley in Youzhou fire was always present; in the summer of the third year of Changqing (823), it finally accumulated into a pool of water. This approached water defiling fire.
203
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Collation Notes