Good and Bad Omens

(Minghui.org) There once was a young man who came across a black kitten on one of his trips. The kitten took a liking to him and followed him everywhere, and the young man also grew to like the kitten. He believed that the kitten was a gift given to him by God, so he took it home and took very good care of it. This young man was later blessed in many ways.

Another story about a cat, also in modern times, went the other way. A black cat ran across the road in front of a sales manager on his way to discuss business with a customer. He thought it was a bad omen and cancelled the appointment. The customer thought he was unreliable, and as a result the sales manager lost a very good deal.

There are so-called good omens and bad omens in all cultures. Asians believe that unusually beautiful clouds, shooting stars, or swallows nesting around their home are good omens; whereas howling dogs or huge swarms of insects are harbingers of something bad.

Westerners think four-leaf clovers and rainbows are lucky whereas encountering noisy magpies or breaking a mirror are considered bad omens. People tend to feel good and expect something good to happen when they come across a good omen and might feel fearful or anxious when they see a bad omen.

How did the ancient Chinese view good and bad omens?

“Demons Are No Match for Virtuous People”

The ancients believed that omens were good and bad hints given by heaven, and they would try to deal with them in a positive way, no matter if they foreshadowed something good or bad.

According to Historical Records - Yin Benji and Kongzi Jiayu (a book of sayings from Confucius and his disciples), during Emperor Yong’s rule, the Shang dynasty had begun to decline. The vassal states started to ignore the monarch and stopped paying homage to the central government.

After Emperor Yong passed away, his younger brother Tai Wu succeeded to the throne as the ninth king of the Shang dynasty. After the new king appointed Yizhi as the Prime Minister, something very strange happened: A mulberry tree and a paper mulberry tree grew in the palace hall overnight. Tai Wu was terrified, thinking it was a bad omen. He asked Yizhi what it meant.

“I’ve heard that demons are no match for virtuous people,” said Yizhi. “Your Majesty might want to check to see if there is anywhere you have fallen short. I hope you will keep cultivating your virtue.”

Tai Wu followed Yizhi’s advice and carefully cultivated his virtue. He studied the ways the previous monarchs governed and explored measures to improve the wellbeing of the people. The strange trees gradually withered away and disappeared.

Three years into his reign, as many as 16 states from far away sent envoys to pay homage to Shang out of respect for its moral standards. The Shang dynasty prospered again, and the vassal states again submitted themselves to the Shang court. Because he revived the Shang dynasty, Tai Wu was honored with the title “Zhongzong” (meaning “Middle Ancestor”) after he passed away.

Official Appointments and Titles Earned Through Virtue and Merit

Wu Ding was the 22nd king of the Shang dynasty. According to Historical Records - Yin Benji, on the day Wu Ding was carrying out sacrificial rites in honor of his ancestor Cheng Tang, a pheasant landed on one of the ceremonial vessels and started to crow. Wu Ding was horrified as he took it as a bad omen.

His eldest son Zu Ji, the crown prince at the time, reassured his father, “Your Majesty need not to worry about it. Just handle state affairs properly, and all will be fine.

“When gods inspect people on earth, they focus on whether or not they abide by the standards of morality. Our lifespans, which are bestowed upon us by heaven, can be long or short. Premature deaths are not brought about by heaven—some people ruin their own lives with their own misconduct,” Zu Ji went on to explain. “People who defy the moral standards and refuse to admit their sins are punished by heaven as a way to rectify their conduct.”

He also reminded his father, “Your Majesty has inherited the throne, but please respect the people, as they are all people of heaven. Your Majesty also needs to offer sacrifices frequently but refrain from carrying out excessive rituals.”

Wu Ding took Zu Ji’s advice and endeavored to improve policies and promote benevolent governance. He also reformed the appointment system and established a policy that official positions should not be offered under the table, but should be given based on talent and ability and that titles should not be awarded to those who do evil deeds but to those who were virtuous and capable.

Such policies did away with the privileges of the old nobility and quelled the intrusion of the northern nomadic ethnic tribes, such as Tu Fang, She Fang, Bao Fang, Gui Fang, and Qiang Fang. Everyone in the kingdom lived and worked in peace and contentment.

The Shang dynasty flourished again in a period known in history as the “Prosperous Period of Wu Ding.”

One’s Fate Is Decided by One’s Own Conduct

According to Kongzi Jiayu (sayings from Confucius and his disciples), Duke Ai of Lu once asked Confucius, “I believe the fate of a state is determined by heaven not by people. Am I right?”

“One’s fate depends on oneself,” Confucius replied. “Natural disasters are not the most crucial.”

He then gave an example: “In the past, during the time of King Zhou of Yin, a tiny sparrow hatched a large bird on the city tower. A soothsayer said that such a phenomenon was an assurance that the state would surely be prosperous. Believing in such an ‘auspicious omen,’ King Zhou ignored state affairs and became extremely cruel and irrational, which, in the end, led to the destruction of Shang.

“This showed that because he acted against the way of heaven, what could have been an extraordinary blessing turned into a catastrophe,” Confucius continued.

“During Tai Wu’s reign, a bad omen occurred [as mentioned above] and he was terrified. However, because he cultivated his virtue and carried out benevolent governance, misfortunes turned into blessings. Therefore, natural disasters are only warnings from heaven to those in power. They cannot defeat benevolent governance and are no match for good deeds.”

Epilogue

We often think that the ancients were superstitious, but, in fact, the ancients view of the unknown was one of awe and thoughtful caution. They believed that, by cultivating virtue and doing good deeds in the face of an unknown future, misfortunes could be turned into blessings.

In recent years, natural and man-made disasters have taken place all over the world. In January 2023 alone, China saw blizzards and avalanches triggered by ultra-low temperatures, 10 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4 or above, and 24 bushfires—resulting in deaths, injuries, and damage to crops.

Natural disasters serve as a warning by forces outside of our control. It’s prudent for those in power to learn from the ancients and adopt a more reverent and humble attitude towards natural disasters. They should practice virtue and treat people with benevolence instead of harming them and leaving them to suffer.