Stories from Ancient China: Emperor Tai Zong of the Tang Dynasty, a Monarch of Great Virtue

[Note –“The rule of Zhen Guan” is also known as “the enlightened administration of Emperor Tai Zong of the Tang Dynasty”, whose reign lasted from 627 to 649 A.D. The rule of Zhen Guan has been praised by countless generations of Chinese people as the peak of Chinese culture, economics and literature in Chinese history. The administration of the virtuous Emperor Tai Zong contributed much to the rule of Zhen Guan, as is illustrated by many historical records, such the ones that follow.]

Emperor Tai Zong

During the second year of the Zhen Guan Period, locusts plagued Chang An, the capital city of China during the Tang Dynasty. One day Emperor Tai Zong saw locusts in the imperial garden. He then picked up several locusts and said, “My people’s lives depend on crops, but you ate their crops. I’d rather you ate my internal organs than my people’s crops.” Then he started to swallow the locusts. The subjects gathered around Emperor Tai Zong exclaimed, “Pests like locusts will ruin your stomach!” Emperor Tai Zong replied, “I am willing to bear any plagues, I fear no diseases.” Then he continued to swallow the remaining locusts. It is said that the locusts did not do much damage that year.

Also in the second year of the Zhen Guan Period, the region of Shan Hai Pass was plagued with drought and famine. Many families in that area had no choice but to exchange their children for food and clothing. Emperor Tai Zong ordered his ministers to buy back their children with gold, silver and silk from the imperial storehouses, and returned the children to their parents. Emperor Tai Zong wrote in a proclamation, “May the plagues be transferred to me and me alone if that will give my people bountiful harvests and peaceful lives.” Soon after he issued this proclamation and brought the children back to their families, rain started to pour down. The drought was ended, and the people living at Shan Hai Pass were saved.

Reading these historic records of virtuous Chinese monarchs makes us Chinese people feel ashamed of the former head of the Chinese Communist Party. In sharp contrast with this ancient saintly monarch, in today’s China the amoral and worthless Jiang, driven by his selfish desire, has abandoned his senses and persecutes the highly virtuous Falun Gong cultivators who conduct themselves with Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance. His murderous crimes have enraged both men and gods, who now have begun to plague China with locusts, droughts, floods, and epidemics. The only way to allay the heavenly rage is to immediately end the unprecedentedly brutal persecution against Falun Gong practitioners and to bring the evil leader Jiang to justice. At the time of this writing, Falun Gong practitioners have filed a civil lawsuit against Jiang for genocide. This is a righteous act that will benefit China and the Chinese people. God is just. Jiang must face the music; he can never escape. The heavenly net of justice is tightening.