The Rise of Li in a Ballad Prophecy

Abstract

THIS PAPER concerns a popular ballad which was sung in China during the years 614 to 618. The ballad with its prophecy of political change reflected the conditions of the time and also influenced several important events at the end of the Sui dynasty and the start of the T'ang. These facts are mentioned in various general accounts of the period,1 but none of them contain a detailed examination of the ballad itself. Here for the first time is presented a study of various writings bearing on this particular topic. The actual wording of the ballad is analyzed in some detail and connections between prophecy and events are pointed out.2 The materials used in this article have been drawn from the early histories of the period.3 Several problems of translation and interpretation remain unsolved and perhaps will always be in doubt. It is hoped that the reader will bear this fact in mind and that a study of these documents may lead to further comments on their significance. Let us first consider the historical background and the persons who were concerned with the ballad and its prophecy. The end of the first decade of the seventh century A. D. in China marked the height of power and prestige of the short-lived Sui dynasty of the Yang : family, famous for re-unifying the country after centuries of political division and for starting a great age of cultural achievement which flourished under the T'ang. This was the time of Emperor Yang4 (Yang-ti) Add (a posthumous title not to be confused with his personal name Yang Kuang whose energy and keen interest in the affairs of empire led to the construction of palaces, canals and fortifications and to extensions of territory and development of foreign commerce. On the other hand he was implicated in the murder of his father and other ruthless acts leading to his accession as emperor, the antagonizing of loyal officials and the collapse of his empire. During the years immediately after 610 Emperor Yang was chiefly engaged in an attempt to subjugate Koguryo, the northernmost state among the three kingdoms of Korea. Between 612 and 614, the years of the Korean campaigns, the popular suffering attendant on military conscription in north China was aggravated by flood and later by drought in the lower Yellow River valley and the combination resulted in the start of rebellious movements. The second of the campaigns against Koguryo, that of 613, was interrupted by a really serious revolt led by a high official, Yang Hsiiankan . The rebellion lasted for two months until it was suppressed. But this same year was also marked by other outbreaks in widely separated parts of the empire. Bandits and rebels arose like bees. 6 This condition was remedied only after the accession of the T'ang dynasty. One of Yang Hsiian-kan's most able assistants, who had escaped the extermination of most of his faction, became an important rebel leader during the next few years of unrest. This man's name was Li Mi I.7 It is with Li Mi and his for'See especially W. Bingham, Founding of the T'ang Dynasty [Volume I], The Fall of Sui and Rise of T'ang: A Preliminary Survey (Baltimore, 1941), 51-4, 76-7, and 80. 2 For some useful suggestions concerning important references and methods of translation the writer is indebted to Professor Peter A. Boodberg of the University of California and Mr. Feng Chia-sheng of Yenching University. 3 Wen Ta-ya i,!I it Ta T'ang ch'uang-yeh ch'i-chilchu [CYCCC] *'Jf= ) 4 (618-626. Vol. III in Ou hsiang ling shih, compiled by Miao Ch'fian-sun S Os,, 1910). Wei Cheng et al., Sui-shu (629-656, T'ungwen chii photo-lithographic reprint of the Ch'ien-lung palace edition of 1739, Wu-chou, 1903). Liu Hsli et al., Chiu T'ang-shu (945. T'ung-wen shu-chit photo-lithographic reprint of the Ch'ien-lung palace edition of 1739, Shanghai, 1884). Ssfi-ma Kuang, Tza-chih t'ung-chien. (1086. Commercial Press photo-lithographic reprint of the 1132 reprint; Vols. XCIX-CLXXVIII in Ssit-pu ts'ung-k'an, Shanghai, 1922; hereafter referred to as TCTC. The Commercial Press punctuated edition of 1934, with notes of the Yuan dynasty commentator Hu San-hsing *3 !', has also been used). 4 Annals in Sui-shu, ch. 3 and 4. 5 His father Yang Su 1i was probably put to death by order of the Emperor. Cf. Peter A. Boodberg, Marginalia to the Histories of the Northern Dynasties, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. IV, Nos. 3 and 4 (December, 1939), 269. 6 Sui-shu 81. 5b [KM 2532. lb (Kai-ming ed. of 25 histories) ]. 7582-618 (January 20, 619). Biography in Sui-shu, ch. 70; Chiu T'ang-shu, ch. 53; T'ang-shu, ch. 84.