Is there a “Gate of Goodness” in the world? Are gods watching people in the dark? Here, we will introduce two stories from the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the stories, a suitable hall collapsed suddenly, but some people survived for different reasons. The way Gods protect people is beyond our imagination.
A Ming Dynasty dream
In the Ming Dynasty, when Liu Jiong, the prefect of Tingzhou, was serving as the Director of the Nanjing Ministry of Justice in his early years, he had a dream one night. He dreamed of crossing a dangerous bridge but accidentally fell into the deep valley. It was strange that there was a gate in the valley with the words “The Gate of Accumulating Goodness” inscribed on the door’s lintel.
At the time, a man with golden armor appeared and led Liu through the door. Surprisingly, he found that the realm inside was not the secular world. So Liu politely bowed down at the foot of the steps. A man with a crown and silk robe, who Liu considered a God, was sitting in the hall. As soon as he saw Liu, God knew Liu’s lifespan and said: “You are a person of great fortune, and you will live to 75 years old. So why are you here now?”
After Liu explained how he had arrived in the hall, the deity ordered the guard to pat Liu on the back with a golden claw. Liu instantly woke up from the dream and found himself sweating profusely. Revisiting the scenes in his dream, Liu felt astonished.
The next day, after returning home from work, Liu rested on his bed. Suddenly, some dirt fell onto his face. He thought it might be the mouse jumping over the beams. But on getting up to check, he found nothing. As soon as he lay down, more dirt fell onto his face again.
So Liu got up and stopped trying to sleep. The pillars broke instantly, and the wall fell onto his bed. After the incident, Liu suddenly remembered that in the dream, he had entered the Gate of Goodness, where the deity forewarned him. He felt it was unbelievable.
Later, after resigning from the job in Tingzhou, Liu went home. He had a very comfortable and leisurely life in his later years with the support of his family, who were very respectful toward him. As destined, Liu lived to be 75 years old.
Due to the lack of documentary records, people didn’t know what good deeds Liu’s ancestors had done. However, as Liu received protection from the deity, the Liu family must have accumulated significant virtue so that Liu could turn calamities into blessings.
A little bit of clay dropping onto Liu’s face made him sleepless and thus saved him. Next, let’s read the story of the Qing Dynasty. God’s protection way is also over people’s imagination.
A child cried at monsters pushing down the wall
During the period of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty (1821-1850), an incident happened in the Zhejiang Provincial Office. When an official was going to entertain guests in a hall, he suddenly heard a child crying in the yard. So he rushed outside to see what had happened.
Some guests also came out of the hall with him. At that moment, the building collapsed, shocking everyone at the scene. Later, the official asked the child why he cried. The child replied: “I saw a dozen men with green faces and fangs pushing the wall very hard with their shoulders. I felt terrified by their appearance.”
Probably the officials and some guests were not destined to die then, or they got protection from deities because they had secret virtue, as the child’s crying drew the officials and guests out of the building, thus saving their lives.
