Stories from Ancient China: The Law of Cause and Effect

Wang Anshi (王安石) was a Chinese economist, statesman, chancellor and poet during the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 A.D.).

One day he discussed with his son, Wang Pang, whether to revive a type of cruel torture that had been abolished. Soon after the discussion, Wang Pang died in an accident.

One day while Wang Anshi and another official, Ye Tao, were touring Jiang Mountain, a low-level military official asked to meet him. The military official asked Wang Anshi to have everyone else removed from the scene because he had to report a private issue to him. After everyone else left, he told Wang Anshi, “Last night I had a dream where it seemed I had entered Hell and I saw your son in shackles suffering in Hell. He asked me to tell you something that might be good for you. I was worried that you might not believe in my dream when your son told me, ‘My father will believe you as long as you tell him that I am being tortured in Hell because of a matter we had discussed at a certain time on a certain day.’”

Wang Anshi immediately realised what had happened, and felt extremely distraught and regretful.