Tui bei tu
| Tui bei tu | |||||||||||||
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 A sample frame (Frame 3) | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 推背圖 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 推背图 | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | push back chart push back picture push back graphics | ||||||||||||
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Tui bei tu is a Chinese prophecy book from the 7th century Tang dynasty. The book is known for predicting the future of China, and is written by Li Chun-feng (李淳風) and Yuang Tian-gang (袁天罡). It has been compared to the works of famous western prophet Nostradamus.[1] The book is well known in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. It was long banned in the People's Republic of China under the Communist party for superstition, though it has since re-appeared in street-side book stalls in the 1990s as a best seller.[1]
Description
The book is supposed to contain clues to China's future conveyed through a series of 60 surreal drawings, each accompanied by equally obscure poem.[1] Each poem is a prophecy, which describes a Chinese historical event that will occur in order. For example, the 36th poem should occur before the 40th poem. Poem number 60 is the last prophecy. Some sources have said that out of the 60 prophecies, 55 of them are supposed to have already been fulfilled.[2] Though just like Nostradamus's work, the interpretations largely depend on the individuals. A lot of it is still up for debate.
Usage
During the end-of-dynasty turmoil, rebels used it to prophesize victory for their cause and thereby drum up public support.[1] As the introduction to one mainland China version of the book explained, Tui Bei Tu is a way of shaping public opinion used by feudal rulers to seize power or consolidate power. It is also similarly used by oppressed people to overthrow their rulers.[1]
In the culture
- The Hong Kong TVB drama A Change of Destiny mentions the Tui bei tu.
External links
- Taiwan Sina book scan images with poem - words are in classic vertical alignment
- Chinese prophecy research group (Traditional Chinese)
- Alexchiu philosophy super I-Ching (English)
- Hinet (Traditional Chinese)
- Cs.columbia.edu (Simplified Chinese)
- Jilm (Simplified Chinese)
- Mmkey (Simplified Chinese)