Monk Yixing was born in Julu, Xingzhou (now Julu County, Xingtai City) in the Tang Dynasty. He was a famous scientist and Buddhist scholar.
Monk Yixing, as a generation of Tantric monks and famous astronomy and mathematics scientists, has many stories and legends. One of them is that he captured Big Dipper in order to repay his kindness and save people.
The monk and his party captured the Big Dipper
Source: "Youyang Zazu"
The monk and his party were from Julu, Xingzhou (now Julu County, Xingtai City) in the Tang Dynasty. They were famous scientists and Buddhists. A monk and his party were young and impoverished, so they helped an old woman. After they became successful, the old woman came to the door and asked for help: her son was imprisoned for murder. This made things difficult for Yi Xing. Although the old woman was kind to him, she couldn't break the law, so she refused. The old woman was furious and said that she had been ungrateful. The group was very distressed and had no choice but to do something wrong.
The group asked someone to place a large urn in an empty room of the temple, then called two people over, gave them cloth bags, and said: "There is an abandoned garden on a certain street. You guys lurk in it at noon, and at dusk, Something must have come in. When you catch the seventh one, you can tie the bag. If one escapes, I will ask you!" The two men said in unison, and then lurked in the garden to see the results at dusk. A group of things rushed towards me, and upon closer inspection, they turned out to be pigs. With both hands open, they caught seven of them and presented them to the group. The group was overjoyed and asked people to put the pig into a big urn, cover it with mud, and inscribe Sanskrit characters on it.
Early the next morning, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty urgently summoned the monk and his party.
Tang Xuanzong: "Taishi reported that the Big Dipper was missing last night. What is the sign?"
One line: " During the Northern Wei Dynasty , Mars lost its place in the night sky, and the world was in chaos. Now the Big Dipper has disappeared. It has not happened since ancient times. It may happen. It's a mess! "Tang Xuanzong: "What can be done to make up for it?" "
" Yixing: "The only way is to give the world a general amnesty and release all the prisoners. Of course, I will give it a try."
Emperor Xuanzong agreed.That night, one of the Big Dipper and appeared, and then one more appeared every day. After seven days, they all appeared and returned to normal.
In this story, a group of people indirectly saved the old woman’s son through magic. Speaking of which, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, there was indeed an event where a general amnesty was granted to the whole world because of a strange celestial phenomenon. The exact time of occurred on Geng Wu Day in 721 AD. No wonder Duan Chengshi said: "Chengshi is quite strange about this matter, but it spread so widely that he had to follow it." It can be seen that the legend was very popular at that time.
In "Youyang Zazu", the original text of this story is as follows:
"The monks knew everything, especially good at counting. The hooks were so deep that no scholars at the time could fathom them." When I was young, my family was poor, and my neighbor had a grandma Wang who donated hundreds of thousands of donations to me. I also received a lot of respect from my friends in the Kaiyuan Dynasty, and I always thought of repaying my kindness. Grandma Wang was found guilty of murder and was not jailed. Grandma visited a group of people asking for help. The group said, "I want gold and silk, so I will pay you ten times as much. It is difficult for a wise king to enforce the law. How can I ask for it?" Grandma Wang's halberd-hand cursed: " Why do you know this monk?" I thanked him and ignored him.
A group of people planned to have hundreds of workers in the Huntian Temple, so they ordered the room to be empty and moved a large urn into it. They also carefully selected two permanent slaves and gave them cloth bags, saying: "A certain corner of a certain square." There is an abandoned garden, you are waiting in the middle, if something comes in from noon to dusk, you can cover it up if you lose one of the sticks." The slave went as he said, and there was a group behind him. When the pigs arrive, the slaves will return home after catching them. The group was overjoyed and ordered it to be placed in an urn, covered with a wooden cover, and sealed in Liuyi mud. It was inscribed with Sanskrit characters of several inches in red, and its followers were unpredictable. During the interrogation, the envoy knocked on the door and summoned him urgently. When he arrived at the Bian Hall, Xuanzong greeted him and asked, "How auspicious is it that the Beidou was not seen last night when Taishi reported it? Is there any way for the master to save it?" One line said: "In the later Wei Dynasty, the Emperor's chariot was missing, and the emperor's chariot has not been seen to this day. It has never been seen in ancient times. Tian Your Majesty will be given a warning. If I am wrong, I will give you a general amnesty." Xuanzong followed. Also, on the evening of the same day, Taishi reported that one of the stars in the Big Dipper would be seen, and it would come back in seven days. Cheng Shi thought this was quite strange, but it spread so widely that he had no choice but to take it seriously.
In addition, through this paragraph, we also know that the seven stars of the Big Dipper are all pig gods.
Beidou Pig God, Tianpeng Marshal
Chinese people have worshiped Beidou for a long time. The reason why Beidou can successfully stand out from thousands of stars is because it can be observed all year round.
The Huangdi tribe of Hongshan created the Big Dipper pig god "Feng Xi" based on the four stars of the Big Dipper, which resembled the eyes and nose of a pig, all of which were inverted trapezoids. . In the Xia Dynasty, there was a feudal state called "Xiwei". "Country". Genghis Han Mongolian are the descendants of Hongshan Huangdi tribe "Xi Wei", so the clan name is "Shi Wei".
After that, the Big Dipper God gradually formed the image of the two-headed pig god - and Sealed.
In ancient times, the chief of the Yellow Emperor tribe was buried with the Pig God. In ancient times, the chief of the Yellow Emperor tribe called himself the "Son of the Emperor of Heaven" (referred to as the "Son of Heaven"). The Yellow Emperor was named Xuanyuan, the God of the Big Dipper. Open the picture), so The astronomical counterpoint is the Big Dipper, and the religious counterpoint is the "Big Dipper Pig God". During his lifetime, he was the "Big Dipper Pig God" and returned to the "Big Dipper Pig God" after his death, which was called "Bin Tian". ml2 Does the Beidou Pig God on the lacquered coffin of Zeng Hou Yi’s tomb look like Zhu Bajie?
A large amount of archaeological evidence and related documents fully prove that from the fourth thousand years of antiquity to the second thousand years of the Middle Ages, the Beidou Pig God The pig-fighting god "Marshal Tianpeng" has always been the second-highest god in China after the Arctic Emperor " Ziwei Emperor ". The Beidou Pig God "Feng Xi" or "Bing Feng" is also known as "Big Dipper Lord" and "Big Dipper". "True King", "Dou Zhai Star God", "Marshal Tianpeng".
A line of Go expert monks
There is another story in "Youyang Zazu": a group of people watched Datang h in the residence of Prime Minister Zhang Shuo tml2 The first Go master Wang Jixin played chess. Before this, Monk Yi Xing did not understand Go, but after watching a game, he played against Wang Jixin, and they were evenly matched. He smiled and said to Zhang: "This is But if you compete for the first ear, if you recite Pindao's four multiplication and division words, everyone will be a national hero. "
The reason why I can become an opponent with Teacher Wang is just because I strive to be first when playing chess. If everyone who plays chess recites my four formulas, then everyone can become a national Go player!"
Some people think This story is too exaggerated, but it may not be completely fictional. Later, Wang Shizhen of Ming Dynasty expressed his affirmation of Yi Xing's defeat of Wang Jixin in "Game Questions" and believed that it was not impossible for Monk Yi Xing who was proficient in mathematics and calculus to play good chess. So, what are the four formulas for a line? It is not recorded in "Youyang Zazu".
Memory Master Monk Yi Xing
Yi Xing was an eminent monk and was not known to Emperor Xuanzong at first. When the two met for the first time, the emperor asked: "How can a Zen master be so good?" The household registration of the palace residents was shown, and the group watched and returned it, and then recited it one by one, word for word. The emperor stayed and paid homage to him, calling him a saint.
and his party first studied with Zen Master Puji in Songshan . Later they traveled around the world and once went to Guoqing Temple in Tiantai, Zhejiang Province. They also worshiped the eminent monk of the temple as their teacher and learned the method of calendar calculation. Later, Daoist Xing and Pu said: "Yi Xing, the saint has been reincarnated!" At the end of Kaiyuan, the group returned to Songshan Zen Master Puji. After paying homage, they whispered in their ears, and Puji only said: "Yes, yes." After speaking, the group entered the room, closed the door and passed away. .
Astronomer Seng Yixing
When Yixing was alive, he invented many instruments for observing astronomical phenomena and corrected the positions of many stars. Of course, more importantly, he successfully measured the meridian during the Kaiyuan period. It seems incredible now that the above projects can be operated in and tang dynasty . More than a thousand years later, in memory of this outstanding ancient Chinese astronomer, the International Asteroid Organization named a star "Yixing Asteroid".
