The “Book of the Northern Dynasties(北史)” says that the king of Piqian(毗騫國) had a three-foot-long head and still hasn’t died to this day. I used to doubt the authenticity of this record.
During the Kangxi(康熙) period, a man named Fang Wenmu(方文木) from Zhejiang(浙人) was navigating at sea when his ship was blown by the wind to a place where a grand and magnificent palace stood, inscribed with the three characters “Piqian Palace(毗騫殿)”. Fang Wenmu was greatly astonished and knelt outside the palace. Two people wearing multicolored cloaks led him inside.
In the center of the palace sat a king with an elongated head, wearing a crown resembling a large bucket, with pearls hanging from the edges of the crown. When his beard brushed against the pearls, it made a sound. The king asked, “Are you from Zhejiang?” Wenmu replied, “Yes.” The king said, “Zhejiang is five hundred thousand li away from here.”
The king invited Fang Wenmu to dine, and each grain of rice was as big as a jujube. Sensing the king’s extraordinary powers, Wenmu knelt and begged to return home. The king ordered his attendants, “Bring the records of the first time Emperor Pan Gu and investigate for him!” Wenmu was terrified upon hearing this, repeatedly bowing and asking the king, “Why are there several Pan Gu emperors?” The king replied, “Since the beginning of heaven and earth has no starting point or ending, every hundred twenty thousand years, there appears an Emperor Pan Gu. Presently, over a hundred million have come to pay homage to the Heavenly Emperor. How could I possibly remember the exact number? The secrets of the cyclical nature of the world have already been disclosed by Shao Yaofu of the Song Dynasty. As for why all those who have opened up heaven and earth must follow the regulations established during the first opening, alas, no one has yet fully explained the reasoning behind it. The strong wind that blew you here is to make you understand the reasoning and enlighten the people when you return.”
Fang Wenmu couldn’t comprehend the king’s words. The king continued, “I want to ask you: why do some experience retribution for their deeds while others don’t? Why do some prayers and offerings to gods and spirits work while others don’t? Why do some succeed in cultivating immortality or learning Buddhism while others fail? Although it’s said that beautiful women often have tragic fates, why do some have fortunate lives? Although talented individuals may have a hard life, why do many among them prosper? Why are some creatures destined to drink while others are destined to peck for their food, predetermined from birth? Eclipses, landslides, disasters—why do they only occur at particular times? Why can fortune-tellers predict others’ fates but not their own? Why does heaven not punish those who resent or blame it?” Wenmu couldn’t answer any of these questions.
The king continued, “Indeed! The laws prevailing in the world today were established long ago. During the hundred twenty thousand years of the first opening of heaven and earth, everything was not intentionally arranged by the creator but rather happened due to the chance movements of the energies in heaven and earth, partly clear and partly obscure, resembling and yet not resembling. It’s like water flowing on the ground, occasionally forming various shapes of squares or circles. It’s also like a child playing chess, casually placing a piece, but once it’s placed, it seems to become an unchangeable and irrevocable account, turning into an unalterable situation. When heaven and earth are about to perish, the Heavenly Emperor hands over the records of the first opening of heaven and earth to the next Pan Gu tasked with the next opening, commanding them to execute it exactly as planned without any changes. This discrepancy between human intentions and divine will often creates discordance. People in the world are busy all day, yet they are like puppets manipulated by fate behind the scenes. Success and failure, intelligence and foolishness, were predetermined long ago, but people are unaware of it.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Wenmu began to grasp some understanding and asked the king, “So, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors mentioned by people today were from the previous cycle? And everything recorded in the current twenty-one histories is from the previous cycle’s twenty-one histories?”
The king replied, “Correct.”
As the king finished speaking, an attendant approached carrying a book with inscriptions stating, “In the third year of Kangxi, Fang Wenmu of Zhejiang sailed the seas and was blown by the wind to Piqian Country. He must relay the predestined heavenly secrets to the world. Send Fang Wenmu back to Zhejiang.”
Fang Wenmu thanked the king and left reluctantly, shedding tears. The king waved his hand and said, “Why cry? In a hundred twenty thousand years, we’ll meet again here. No need to weep so much.” Then he chuckled, “I misspoke. Your tears now are part of the tears shed in the previous cycle of a hundred twenty thousand years. This is just a demonstration; I shouldn’t have stopped you.”
Fang Wenmu asked the king’s age, and the attendants around said, “Our king was born with the first Pan Gu who opened heaven and earth, but he doesn’t die like the millions of Pan Gus after him.” Fang Wenmu then asked, “If the king lives eternally, where will he go when heaven and earth perish?” The king replied, “I am made of mud and sand, and even after countless catastrophes, I won’t be destroyed. When all things in the world are destroyed, they ultimately become mud and sand. I’ve already reached this worst state, so I won’t burn in a fire or drown in a flood. It’s just that during violent storms, I sometimes ascend to the Ninth Heaven or descend to the Ninth Abyss, which is quite exhausting. Usually, I sit alone for tens of thousands of years, waiting for the birth of a new Pan Gu, feeling that life is too long and particularly dull.”
After the king finished speaking, he exhaled a breath towards Fang Wenmu, who flew into the air and landed back on the same ship. Over a month later, he returned to Zhejiang and recounted the incident to Master Mao Xihe(毛西河). Master Mao said, “People in the world know that everything is predetermined from past lives but do not understand the reasoning behind it. Now, with this explanation, I feel enlightened.”
Translated from 《奉行初次盤古成案》in 《子不語》:
《北史》稱「毗騫國王頭長三尺，至今不死」，予嘗疑其誕。康熙間，浙人方文木泛海，被風吹至一處，宮殿巍峨，上署「毗騫殿」三字，方大驚，俯伏殿外。兩霞帔者引之入。有長頭王上坐，冕如巨桶，珍珠四垂，鬚拂拂然相觸有聲，問文木曰：「汝浙人乎？」曰：「然。」王曰：「離此五十萬里矣。」賜文木飯，米大如棗。
文木知王神靈，跪拜求歸。王顧謂侍臣曰：「取第一次盤古皇帝成案替他一查。」文木大駭，叩頭曰：「盤古皇帝有幾個乎？」王曰：「天地無始無終，有十二萬年，便有一盤古。今來朝天者，已有盤古萬萬餘人，我安能記明數目？但元會運世之說，已被宋朝人邵堯夫說破。可惜歷來開闢總奉行第一次開闢之成案，尚無人說破，故風吹汝來，亦要說破此故，以曉世人耳。」文木不解所謂。王曰：「我且問汝：世間福善禍淫，何以有報有不報耶？天地鬼神，何以有靈有不靈耶？修仙學佛，何以有成有不成耶？紅顏薄命，而何以不薄者亦有耶？才子命窮，而何以不窮者亦多耶？一飲一啄，何以有前定耶？日食山崩，何以有劫數耶？彼善推算者，何以能知而不能免耶？彼怨天尤天者，天胡不降之罰耶？」文木不能答。
王曰：「嗚呼！今世上所行，皆成案也。當第一次世界開闢十二萬年之中，所有人物事宜，亦非造物者之有心造作，偶然隨氣化之推遷，半明半暗，忽是忽非，如瀉水落地，偶成方圓；如孩童著棋，隨手下子。既定之後，竟成一本板板帳簿，生鐵鑄成矣。乾坤將毀時，天帝將此冊交代與第二次開闢之天帝，命其依樣奉行，絲毫不許變動，以故人意與天心往往參差不齊。世上人終日忙忙急急，正如木偶傀儡，喑中為之牽絲者。成敗巧拙，久已前定，人自不知耳。」文木恍然，曰：「然則今之所謂三皇五帝，即前此之三皇五帝乎？今之二十一史中之事，即前此之二十一史中之事乎？」王曰：「然。」
言未畢，侍臣捧一冊至，上書「康熙三年，浙江方文木泛海至毗騫國，應將前定天機漏泄，俾世人共曉，仍送歸浙江」云云。文木拜謝，臨別泣下。王搖手曰：「子胡然？十二萬年之後，我與汝又會於此矣！何必泣為？」既而笑曰：「我錯，我錯！此一泣，亦是十二萬年中原有兩條眼淚，故照樣謄錄，我不必勸止也。」文木問王年壽，左右曰：「王與第一次盤古同生，不與第千萬次盤古同死。」文木曰：「王不死，則乾坤毀時，王將安歸？」王曰：「我沙身也，歷劫不壞。萬物毀壞，變為泥沙而極矣。我先居於極壞之處，劫火不能燒，洪水不能淹，惟為惡風所吹蕩。上至九天，下至九淵，殊覺勞頓。每每枯坐數萬年，等盤古出世，覺日子太多，殊可厭耳。」言畢，口噓氣吹文木，文木乘空而起，仍至海船上。
月餘歸浙，以此語毛西河先生。先生曰：「人但知萬事前定，而不知所以前定之故，今得是說，方始豁然。」
🎨傅抱石