They say that the civil and military advisors of the Tang court, along with the East Palace princes, empress, concubines, and attendants were all at the White Tiger Palace in mourning, all while discussing the matter of proclaiming the Emperor’s death, announcing a period of mourning, and crowning the prince as emperor. Wei Zheng stopped them, saying, “Everyone, you must not do this. If you alarm the counties and provinces, there may be unexpected consequences. Wait just one more day, for my lord will surely come back to life.”
Xu Jingzong came up and said, “What falsehoods Minister Wei speaks! It has been said since the beginning of time that spilled water cannot be gathered and a dead man cannot be revived. Why do you play with our hearts with such wild claims?”
Wei Zheng replied, “I do not want to keep anything from Mister Xu. From my youth, this humble official has been trained in the immortal arts. My divinations show clearly that His Majesty is not dead.”
As he spoke, a shout came from inside the coffin. “He’s drowning me! He’s drowning me!”
The shout made the civil and military advisors’ hearts stutter and the empress and consorts tremble. Every person’s face yellow like the autumn leaves of the mulberry tree, their spines soft as the willow’s tender branch in spring. The prince’s knees went soft – he could scarce clutch the funerary staff to finish the rites. The attendant felt his spirit flee – how could he wear the mourning cap to pay his respects? The concubines fluttered like hibiscus in wild wind. The palace women collapsed as lotus in a sudden storm. The officials shuddered, their bones soft and tendons numb, they trembled with fear, struck dumb and mute. White Tiger Palace became like a bridge with broken beams; the mourning platform like a collapsed Buddhist temple. Soon, every court attendant had fled the White Tiger Palace. None dared to approach the coffin. Thankfully, the upstanding Xu Maogong, the fierce Minister Wei, the courageous Qin Qiong, and the powerful Jing De walked forward to the coffin and called out, “Your Majesty, tell us what is troubling you. Let not your ghost haunt us and terrify your people.”
“It’s not his ghost,” Wei Zheng said. “His Majesty has come back to life. Quick, open the coffin!”
They lifted the lid and indeed, Taizong was sitting there still shouting, “He’s drowning me! Who has saved me?”
Mao Gong and the other ministers helped the emperor up and said, “Your Majesty is awake, do not be afraid. Your generals are here to protect you.”
The Emperor finally opened his eyes and said, “What hardship we have endured just now! I had just escaped the evil spirits of Hell when I met disaster in the water.”
The ministers said, “Your Majesty, don’t worry. Is there a flood coming?”1
The Emperor said, “We were riding a horse by the Wei River watching a pair of fish leaping out of the water when General Zhu took advantage of us and pushed us off the horse and into the river. We nearly drowned.”
Wei Zheng said, “The spirit of death has not fully lifted from Your Majesty.” He quickly ordered the doctor to provide medicines for calming the spirit and a mild diet of congee.2 After a few doses, the Emperor was back to himself. From the time the Tang Emperor died to the time he returned to the living was fully three days and three nights.
The poem says:
In every millennia, mountains and rivers shift,
Every generation has defeats and victories,
Extraordinary things happen in every dynasty,
Are any like the Tang Emperor risen from the dead?
That day, the sun was already setting. The advisors persuaded the Emperor to return to his quarters to rest, and each went home. They next morning, they exchanged their mourning clothes for bright red robes and black caps, purple tassels and gold seals, and assembled before the palace to await their summons.
They say that after Taizong had taken the medicine for calming the spirit and eaten several bowls of congee, he was assisted to his quarters by his advisors. He slept deeply until daybreak and woke up refreshed and in high spirits. Just look how he’s dressed: a sky-piercing crown,3 a yellow robe tied with a jasper belt,4 and empire-building carefree shoes.5 His majesty surpassed all others at court, his strength ready to face a new day. Truly a ruler of wisdom and justice is the Emperor of Tang, His Majesty Li who is back from the dead! The Emperor ascended into the throne room, assembled his civil and military leaders, and after all had taken their places, this proclamation was read: “Those who have matters to discuss, present your memorial. All others are dismissed.”
From the east wall came forward Xu Maogong, Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Yang Tiangang, Li Chunfeng, Xu Jingzong etc. From the west wall came forward Yin Kaishan, Liu Hongji, Ma Sanbao, Duan Zhixian, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Shubao, Hu Jingde, Xue Rengui, etc. They prostrated themselves before the White Jade Throne saying, “Your Majesty, may we ask how you awoke from the eternal slumber?”
The Tang Emperor said, “A few days ago, we received a letter from Wei Zheng. We felt our spirit leave the palace and saw our escort waiting to accompany us on a hunt. As we went, the men and horses disappeared, and we saw His Majesty our late father and our brothers fighting their way toward me. As we were hard-pressed, we saw a man in a black hat and robe. It was Magistrate Cui Gui who made our brothers withdraw. We gave him Wei Zheng’s letter. As he read it, a man in black holding a banner arrived and took us to Senluo Palace to speak with the ten Kings of Hell. They told us that the Jing River Dragon had falsely accused us of promising to save him and then allowing him to be killed, so we told them all that had happened. They told us that they had already decided the case, and ordered the Book of Life to be brought to see what our fated lifespan was. Magistrate Cui brought out the book and King Yan saw that we were destined to rule for thirty three years. We have thus far reigned for thirteen years, and have twenty years left. They summoned General Zhu and Magistrate Cui to accompany us back. We bid farewell to the ten kings and promised to thank them with a gift of melons and fruits. After we left Senluo Palace, we saw all manner of evil and unrighteous spirits, cheats, thieves, adulterers, and frauds, thousands upon thousands of them, who were subject to burning, beating, and all kinds of torture. Then we passed through the City of Tragic Deaths and saw countless of bandits and renegades that blocked our path. Luckily, Magistrate Cui acted as guarantor so we could loan a warehouse full of gold and silver from Mister Xiang and buy reincarnation for these ghosts so we could continue. Magistrate Cui told us to hold a Grand Mass of Land and Water once we returned to the world of the living to bring peace to all of the restless ghosts, and those were his parting words to us.”
After we left the Sixfold Wheel of Reincarnation, General Zhu asked us to mount a horse, and we traveled as if flying to the bank of the Wei River. We saw a pair of fish playing in the waves. As we were enjoying the sight, he pushed us into the water, and we came back to life.”
After listening to this, the officials all congratulated him. These happenings were wrote up and proclaimed in every city and province, and we won’t speak of the celebrations thereof.
To be continued…
1 The words used here – water and disaster – is used in the context of drowning by the emperor and a flood by the ministers. ↩
2 Maybe medicine? Just mild foods? unclear ↩
3 the name of the type of crown, not actually that tall of a hat by modern standards ↩
4 it seems that the author is describing the attire of emperors in the Ming Dynasty, when the novel was written, rather than using the attire of the Tang dynasty, when the novel is set. Seems like a historical instance of historical mis-costuming! and that’s pretty cool ↩
5 borrowing Prof Yu’s translation here, because the literal translation of entrepreneurial shoes just didn’t make sense. ↩
Etymology Adventures 