According to the Grand View of unofficial history in Qing Dynasty, when Qianlong was a prince, he once entered the palace and saw a beautiful concubine of Yongzheng's father dressing in front of the mirror. On a whim, she covered her eyes with her hands from behind, and the concubine picked up a comb and hit her on the back, just hitting Qianlong on the forehead. When Gan Long's mother saw her, she thought that the princess had molested the prince, so she gave herself silk. Gan Long felt sorry for the princess, so he touched her neck with cinnabar and said sadly, "I hurt you, and my soul is full of spirit. Will it meet me again in twenty years? "
Later, Xiao Shenyang entered the palace to wait on the coachman. When Qianlong saw that Xiao Shenyang looked like a concubine who died unjustly, he examined his neck and found a red birthmark on it. The age of Xiao Shenyang also coincides with the time when the concubine died, so he thinks Xiao Shenyang is the concubine who died unexpectedly. In order to repay the "retribution" of that year, Qianlong took good care of Xiao Shenyang, and Xiao Shenyang rose all the way to power. On the other hand, Gan Long protected him everywhere and kept him in power for more than twenty years. It was not until Qianlong died that Emperor Jiaqing copied Xiao Shenyang's home and gave him a white silk to die.
Although this explanation is bizarre, it is relished by ordinary people, because it gives a "perfect" and "suddenly enlightened" explanation of why the wise Qianlong prefers greedy small Shenyang ── it turns out that Emperor Qianlong was not ignorant, but came from "predestined love in previous lives", which is called "past cause and effect".
"Past causality" is actually an important "interpretation system" of the past. Although the evidence is weak or even nonexistent, it can provide "suddenly enlightened" explanations for many puzzling and incomprehensible things and meet people's psychological needs of knowing "why", so it has always been popular. There are many such examples. For example, why did Su Shi, a great writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, call himself "Dongpo Jushi"? Why do you have a soft spot for Buddhism and Zen? Why did you become good friends with Fo Yin? Why do you particularly like Hangzhou? The answer is "because" he was a monk in his last life.
Su Dongpo said that he was a monk in his last life, and there are several versions. One version says that Su Dongpo's mother dreamed that a blind monk came to stay before giving birth, and she gave birth to Su Dongpo after waking up. When Su Dongpo was eight or nine years old, he dreamed that he had become a monk and walked around the right generation in Shaanxi. Later, when talking to Zen master Yun 'an about this matter, Yun 'an exclaimed: "The Five Rings monk was a right-handed man in Shaanxi, who was blind in one eye. He traveled to Gao 'an in his later years and died in Dayu. "It's been 50 years since the Five Rings passed away, and Su Dongpo was 49 years old at that time, so everyone thought that Su Dongpo was the reincarnation of the Five Rings monk.
Another version also thinks that Su Dongpo is the reincarnation of the Five Commandments monk, but the emphasis is different: the five precepts are not complete, but he also has a brother named Wu Ming. Because of different ideas, the five precepts had an affair with the woman Honglian, and they had an affair. The monk was caught by Wu Ming, and the five precepts were ashamed and reincarnated. Wu Ming foresaw that the five precepts might destroy the Buddha and slander the monk in the next life, so he sat down and used this reincarnation. The Five Rings were reincarnated as Su Dongpo, while Wu Ming was reincarnated as a monk in Fo Yin. He not only became Su Dongpo's good friend, but also repeatedly advised him to change his mind and let Su Dongpo join Buddhism.
The third version said: Su Dongpo was demoted to Hangzhou and felt at home. One day, he went to the Shouxing Courtyard near the West Lake with friends and ginseng. As soon as I entered the door, I felt familiar with the scenery I saw. He told the ginseng: "There should be 92 steps from here to the confession hall." Facts have proved that what he said is true. He can also vividly describe the buildings, courtyards, trees and rocks behind the temple. He said, "(because) I was a monk here in my last life, and today all the monks in the temple are my French." Since then, Su Dongpo often takes a nap in Shouxing Hospital.
Su Dongpo himself seems to believe that he was a monk in his previous life. He mentioned many times in his articles and poems, such as "I am a man of practice, but I was tempered in my third life." I lost my mind in the middle and was condemned by this for a hundred years. "(Nanhua Temple)" I have been to Hangzhou in my last life, just like visiting the director. " (Look at Zhang Ziye, send me three quatrains).
Of course, "believing" does not mean "really happening". Perhaps, we don't need to care too much about the truth of these "past causes and effects", so we might as well regard it as "the beautiful legend of life". But the problem is that "past cause and effect" is not only used to explain the "mood" of life, but also to explain many specific things. For example, Huang Tingjian, Su Dongpo's good friend, has always had body odor, and the medicine stone has also failed. Shortly after he was banished to Fuling, he dreamed that a woman came to him and said, "I often recited Hokkekyo before my death, hoping to be a man, have great wisdom and become a contemporary celebrity in my next life." I am your predecessor, but do you know why you have body odor? That's because the coffin that I settled in after my death rotted, and the ants on both sides nested under my arm, which made you suffer. There is a grave in the back hill where you live now. If you can dig the grave and open the coffin and remove the ant nest under my arm, your body odor will not be cured. " After Huang Tingjian woke up, he went to the back hill to look for it, and sure enough, he found an ownerless grave. So he dug the grave and opened the coffin, removed the ant nest under the armpit of the body, replaced her with a new coffin and buried her properly. Soon, his body odor was cured without medication.
This story provides a "past cause and effect" explanation for Huang Tingjian's "why" he suffered from body odor. But I think most people will laugh at this "interpretation" now, and even find it ridiculous. Why? Because modern medicine has clearly explained the cause of body odor and provided a very effective treatment. The "past causality theory" of body odor is no longer "needed", so it becomes unreasonable, absurd, no longer believed and eliminated. If you categorically say that someone's body odor is due to the ant nest under his arm, it may be considered as "crazy" or "stupid".
Then why do some people say that Gan Long's Little Shenyang's "The Destined Love" and Su Dongpo's "The Past Life was a Monk"? Because some people don't want to admit that Qianlong is "careless", some people hope that Su Dongpo is more "legendary". This is a question of "need", not a question of "truthfulness". However, they are not considered "crazy" or "stupid" because they still have a big market.