Boj vran kot znamenje pogube

Besedilo

Boj vran kot znamenje pogube

In the eleventh month of the third year of Emperor Jing’s reign, white-necked crows fought a flock of black crows in Lü County in the kingdom of Chu. The white-necked crows were defeated, and several thousand fell into the Si River and died. Liu Xiang regarded this as a portent of the kind associated with white and black. At the time, Wu, King of Chu, was violent, rebellious, and without principle. He had subjected Master Shen to punishment and humiliation and was plotting rebellion with the kingdom of Wu. The flocks of crows fighting were an image of armies at war. The white-necked crows were smaller, making it clear that the lesser side would be defeated. Their falling into the water foretold death in a watery place. King Wu failed to heed the warning and duly raised troops in support of Wu. He fought a great battle against the Han forces, was defeated, and fled as far as Dantu, where he was beheaded by men of Yue—the fulfillment of the omen of the crows falling into the Si River. Jing Fang’s Commentary on the Changes says: “When a man turns against those bound to him by kinship, the portent is white and black crows fighting within his realm.” When Dan, King of Yan, plotted rebellion, a crow and a magpie likewise fought above a pond in the palace of Yan, and the crow fell into the pond and died. The Treatise on the Five Phases observes that the kings of Chu and Yan were both imperial kinsmen, yet as vassal rulers they grew arrogant and unrestrained and plotted unrighteous deeds; both therefore received the omen of crows or magpies fighting to the death. Their conduct was alike, and the portents corresponded: this is a clear manifestation of the bond between Heaven and humankind. The secret plot in Yan had not yet come to light, and the king alone killed himself in his palace; thus there was a single crow, and the bird that died bore the color of Water. Chu, by contrast, raised troops in an excess of yang, and its army suffered a crushing defeat in the field; thus there were many crows, and those that died bore the color of Metal. Such is the subtle precision with which the Way of Heaven manifests itself. Jing Fang’s Commentary on the Changes says: “When a man wages war on his own authority, seizes by force, and kills, the portent is crows and magpies fighting.”