Just the other day, my son switched on the television to watch via satellite the Hong Kong serials titled, ‘The Conqueror's Story’. The show is set during the times of popular uprising against the Chin and after its fall, the battles between Chu and Han for supremacy. Since the storyline followed quite closely to that of the Records of the Historian (Shiji), one could provide a running commentary on how Hsiang Yu became so powerful and the reasons why he appointed and demoted kings to later kill them at will. And why he lost popular support from the nobles and the people.
One has also provided a commentary on how Liu Pang, his adopted brother who became his main adversary, attracted the best strategist, Chang Liang and the top general, Han Hsin because of his benevolence and generosity. The characters of both Hsiang Yu and Liu Pang were also contrasted and why Liu Pang was able to gain popular support and the Mandate of Heaven (Tian Ming).
To answer his question on how Hsiang Yu with just 30,000 picked troops can overcome a force of 560,000 allied soldiers led by Liu Pang in Pengcheng, one had to refer back to the Shiji to confirm and explain. After reading the relevant incident in the chapter on Hsiang Yu, one had also spotted this:
"The pursuers threw three cordons round the king of Han. But just then a great wind sprang up from the northwest. It blew down trees and houses and raised swirling clouds of sand so that all grew dark and day turned into night. This storm beat against the army of Chu and threw it into confusion. Their ranks broke, enabling the king of Han to escape with several dozen horsemen."
More than four centuries later, decades after the fall of the Han dynasty, an almost similar intervention by Heaven happened during the Three Kingdoms:
"As he spoke there arose a great shout and from the hillside came many torches, which fell all around them and set fire to the straw, so that soon the entrance to the valley was lost in smoke and flame. They tried to get away from the fire, but no road led up the hillside. Then fire-arrows came shooting down, and the earth-mines exploded, and the straw and firewood blazed as high as the heavens. Ssuma I, scared and helpless, dismounted, clasped his arms about his two sons and wept, saying, ‘My sons, we three are doomed.’ But suddenly a fierce gale sprang up, black clouds gathered, a peal of thunder followed and rain poured down in torrents, speedily extinguishing the fire all through the valley. The mines no longer exploded and all the fiery contrivance ceased to work mischief. The father and the two sons made a dash for the outlet. As they broke out of the valley they came upon reinforcements from their army and so were once more safe."
"Hearing this news, Chuko Kungming sighed, saying, ‘Man proposes; God disposes. We cannot wrest events to our will.’"
Indeed the ancients before the wise Kungming knew that when Heaven favors some one what can Man do to him. For this reason Laozi said in the TTC, Heaven is on the side of the good. And on an occasion where his students had feared for his life, Confucius has said, since Heaven does not intend culture to disappear, what can the men of Kuang do to him? (Shiji)
Therefore is it not beneficial to have Heaven on our side?
Is it really harmful to become good and sincere again? (Think baby, or on the contrary you can think Bush, if you like.)
No comments:
Post a Comment