Stories from Ancient China: The Negative Consequences of Lustful Behaviour

Pei Zhang lived in the He Dong area of Shanxi Province in ancient China. His father was a good friend of Tan Zhao, a famous and well-cultivated monk who was also well-versed in physiognomy. Earlier on, Tan Zhao took a look at Pei Zhang's physiognomy and told Pei that he had a countenance of good fortune, which meant Pei would have great achievements in his life.

Pei Zhang was married to Li Shi at the age of twenty. The following year, Pei was assigned to work as a government official in Taiyuan but his wife stayed in their hometown. Several years later, Pei met Monk Tan Zhao again. Tan Zhao was very surprised at what he saw and said, "Many years ago, I saw that you had a countenance of good fortune but why has that changed? Your Tianting (forehead) looked full but now it seems collapsed; your Dige was round but now it has sharpened. Further more, there is dark Qi surrounding the centre of your palms. This means there is calamity awaiting you, you need to be careful. Your physiognomy has changed so much. I wonder what unethical things have you done?"

Pei reflected on his conduct over the past few years and the only thing he could think of was his having extra-marital affairs with other women while he was in Taiyuan. After hearing this, Monk Tan Zhao sighed and said, "You were originally predestined to have a good life, but you did not cherish it and had lustful conduct with other women. It is a shame that you had destroyed your own good fortune in this manner." Not long after, Pei indeed brought calamity onto himself as predicted by Monk Tan Zhao. One day, while Pei was having a bath, one of his subordinates assassinated him. He was slain with a sword. His abdomen was cut open and all his internal organs fell out.