Han Huang, the Prime Minister
during the reign of Emperor De in the Tang Dynasty (also the painter of
the Picture of Five Oxen, which is kept in the Imperial Palace in
Beijing as one of the masterpieces of animal painting), held the post of
the envoy to the west of the Province Zhe. He was very talented and
ambitious and was always plotting to unseat the emperor.
One day, a travelling merchant named Li Shun tied his boat up at the
dock of the capital. At midnight, there arose a great gale wind, and the
docking rope was broken by the wind. The boat then drifted aimlessly on
the river. When dawn broke on the next day, the boat drifted to the foot
of a mountain and stopped. When the wind died down, Li Shun went to shore
in order to seek help. When he arrived he saw that there was just a narrow
meandering footpath up to the mountain, so he walked for five or six miles
along the path. At that time he saw a man wearing a black hood and ancient
clothes that were totally different from those of other people of that
time period. This man then led Li Shun to climb a hill and then to the
front of a palace where he saw many magnificent multi-storied buildings,
pavilions and halls. It was just like a place where immortals would live.
After they entered the main entrance, they passed through many doors. They
saw that the hall inside the palace was very large and spacious. From a
distance the man started bowing towards the main hall, and then someone
lifted the shade of the main hall and walked out to talk to Li Shun,
saying, “Don’t feel surprised! I want to let you take along a letter with
you to Han Huang.” Then he took out a letter. Li Shun bowed to him and
then took the letter from him. He then served as a guide and walked Li
Shun out of the palace and back to the boat.
Out of curiosity, Li Shun asked the guide, “Where is this place? If Han
Huang asks me who had me deliver the letter, how can I answer him?” The
guide said, “This is the immortal island Guang Sang Shan of the Eastern
Sea, where the Announced Father Zhongni of the Warring State of Lu
(Confucius, his name is Qiu and his other name is Zhongni; “Announced
Father” was the title given to Confucius respectfully by the emperor of
the Tang Dynasty, Taizong Li Shimin, in the 11th year of Zhengguan) became
an immortal officer in Heaven after he obtained the Tao [Tao is
commonly known as “The Way”]. He is in charge of the island. Han Huang
is the reincarnation of Confucius’s disciple Zhongyou (also called Zilu,
who was bold, powerful and resolute, and had been a city governor of the
bureaucrat Kong Li during the Warring State of Wei). Han Huang is so
powerful and ambitious that Confucius fears that he will commit a crime
and fall into the net of justice. So he is sending this letter to Han
Huang to get his attention.” After these words, the guide took his leave.
Li Shun went back to the boat, and at that time, an envoy from the
immortal place told the people in his boat, “Take your seats, please, and
don’t be afraid. Never look outside, and you will be back to where you
came from soon.” All the people inside the boat didn’t dare to look out of
the boat. In just a short while, the boat returned to the dock of the
capital city, though it seemed they had travelled for thousands of miles.
When Li Shun found the office of Han Huang, Li gave the letter to Han.
When Han Huang opened the letter, he found there were nine words on it,
which were unrecognisable. So he asked Li what had happened and so Li told
him his experience on the island. What he said made Han feel so strange
that he thought that Li wanted to spread fallacies in order to deceive
people. So he detained Li and wanted to use cruel torture against him. Han
Huang then visited many people who might be able to make out the archaic
Chinese characters. But none of them could figure them out. One day, a
person in ancient clothes paid a formal visit to Han, and he said he was
good at making out ancient characters. Then Han gave the letter to him.
After he finished reading the letter, he raised the letter over his head
and got down on his knees and kowtowed to Han and said, “The letter is
from the Announced Father, Confucius. The characters are Kedou script from
the period of Xiayu. The nine words are: Gao Han Huang, Jie Chen Jie, Wu
Wang Dong.” (The meaning was to admonish Han, to tell him to do his duty
well, not to act rashly.) Han was then very respectful to the guest who
disappeared after he had left. After the guest had left, Han felt very sad
and sat silently for a long time. He remembered the experience Li Shun had
told him about the island of a supernatural being so he released Li and
gave him a handsome reward. From then on, Han Huang was very modest and
prudent and was devoted to assisting the emperor in governing the country.
Source URL: www.clearharmony.net/articles/189912/9827.html
Category: Ancient Stories
