and of China, which seems to have no boundaries, will see a time of peace. The events in this hundred-year span are hazy--as if a dream. From the end of the Qing dynasty to the present, it's been almost a hundred years. All the great events during that time have happened as if in a dream.

Springtime peace and gold powder prevail in the southern dynasty. In the future the capital will be established in Nanjing. The southern dynasty refers to Nanjing ("southern capital"). The peaceful and prosperous era of music and dancing will return, and musical halls will abound. The atmosphere in Nanjing will be very joyful and merry again. Nanjing will celebrate in peace again. The people will enjoy tranquility and things will be plentiful. Everyone will have abundant clothing and food. Springtime peace means it will be a very good time. The "golden glitter" refers to the girls on the boats in Nanjing, who entertain clients by singing songs and drinking with them. The occasions for displays of luxury and splendor will return. That is for certain.

For tens of thousands of miles throughout the land, everything is green. Everywhere, green clothing will be emphasized. In the future the army that replaces the Communists will take green as its color. Green also means mourning. That is, this army will be expressing its condolence to the people while attacking the tyrant. They think the tyrant has been too cruel, and they want to seek justice for the people. "Everything is green": All the people's clothing and the uniforms of the army will be green. All the land for tens of thousands of miles will be occupied by soldiers, so the verse says that everything will green throughout the land. This army is referring to a new army that will arise in the future, not to the Communist or Nationalist Parties. But it will arise from these two. The country's fate is that it is sometimes at peace, sometimes in chaos, sometimes prosperous, and sometimes in decline.

Emperor Gao of Tang
Raised an army
To quell the disorder of the Sui dynasty
And established the country's foundation.

This was just like the beginning of the Republic of China, when Li Yuanhong started the revolution and people from all directions responded.

The world is divided into three parts;
A sage will appear.
Black will be his hat, and a dragon will adorn his robes.
The sun and moon will be bright once more,
And he will oversee the myriad affairs.
Within the four seas, odes and praises will be sung.
All will come under the protection of his blessings.

The world is divided into three parts. This is not referring only to China. Rather, it means the world will be jointly governed by three large nations. It is not certain which three nations these will be. They could be America, China, and Japan; or the Soviet Union, Japan, and China. In any case, China will be one of the three. Like a sacrificial vessel which has three legs, the world will be divided and governed by these three great countries.

A sage will appear. A sage will emerge in China. Black will be his hat, and a dragon will adorn his robes. He will wear a black hat, and the insignia of a dragon will be displayed very clearly and obviously on his shoulder badge. Most military officers have shoulder badges (epaulets) on their uniforms. The uniforms of five-star generals all have shoulder badges. In this case, his shoulder badge will bear the emblem of a dragon. The sun and moon will be bright once more. This means the heavens will return to normal, and the sun will come out again. Heaven and earth will again have light. And he will oversee the myriad affairs. At this time the sage will govern the world and attend to the myriad daily affairs. He will work to bring prosperity to the people of the world. Because he will care about the well-being of all people and work to give them blessings, within the four seas odes and praises will be sung. All the people sing and dance, dwelling in peace and content with their work. Everyone lives happily, without any worries or afflictions.

All will come under the protection of his blessings. The people of the world will all enjoy the protection of the sage's blessings, which will shelter them. As the saying goes, "When one person has virtue, all the multitudes can rely upon him." If that one person is intelligent, the light of his blessings will shine upon all the people of the world. And so in the twenty-first century China will lead the world. That is, if everyone works towards the good, then they will lead the world. But if they don't work toward the good, then China may not even be able to survive because foreign countries are lurking, ever watchful of China. As soon as she shows any signs of weakness, or scattering or splitting, it will be just like the snipe's beak locked in the shell of the clam--the only one who will benefit will be the fisherman. If they go toward the good, then the Chinese will lead the world in the future. If they don't go toward the good and don't walk upon a bright path, then they will be led by others.

The above is the poem that Great Master Bu Xu spoke. Following that, he spoke another four lines of verse. He said,

Vast and boundless is heaven's destiny,
and basically difficult to know.
Only on the part of living beings
can the cosmic fate be influenced.
This old monk does not dare
to indulge his tongue too much.
If I completely reveal heaven's workings,
I'm afraid I will be executed.

Vast and boundless is heaven's destiny, and basically difficult to know. This is talking about fate. The vast, boundless, infinite, and inexhaustible principles of fate are basically not easy to know.

Only on the part of living beings can the cosmic fate be influenced. Regardless of whether you know or not, and regardless of how immense the scope is, if all living beings can change their evil and become good, they will be able to influence heaven and earth to become peaceful and to have an air of auspicious harmony. This old monk does not dare to indulge his tongue too much. Great Master Bu Xu says, "I, this old monk, don't dare to say too much."

If I completely reveal heaven's workings, I'm afraid I will be executed. If I completely disclose the secrets of heaven, I may be struck by lightning as a reprimand from heaven. Heaven may punish me.

This has been a general discussion of the influential figures in China over the last hundred years. I hope that we will all not neglect our country; not neglect our family; and not neglect our own physical health. Not only should we care about our own health, we should care about our family and about our country. This is my hope for all good and wise advisors in Taiwan. Why have I told all of you about this? Because I want everyone to wake up and realize that everything involves fate--it is all determined. People are just like robots, under the control of heaven and earth. That's how they become upside-down, doing heartless things and fighting for power and benefit. In fact, it's all the same whether you fight or not. Everyone should learn from the Great Master Bu Xu: Forget about fighting for fame and benefit; hurry up and cultivate instead.