Wang Biao, an official in the imperial palace of the Tang Dynasty (618 – 917 AD) in charge of relaying official orders and documents, said, "Everything a person encounters in his life is related to his fate. His fate and career have long been predetermined. Be it fortune or misfortune, even the timing in which each event will occur is prearranged.

When Empress Dowager Wu Zetian (625 – 705 AD) took the throne, she attempted to exterminate all members of the deceased emperor's family. The emperor’s son was tried at the Dali Temple and sentenced to death. He sighed, "Since I have to die, why stain a knife or saw." At midnight, he used the sleeves of his clothing to hang himself. He passed out but awoke at daybreak.

He chatted and laughed as usual. He ate and drank as if he was at home. When he initially regained consciousness he said, "When I went to the palace of the netherworld, an official there was angry with me. He ordered me to return and receive the punishment of execution. I asked why this was necessary. The official showed me a dossier of events in my previous lives. It was documented that I had killed people in the past and I was to repay the debt."

Because the son knew what was in store for him, he felt no fear when he was executed. It seems that when a person is born into this world, his birth and death have already been arranged. One harvests in this lifetime the seeds sowed in one's past life. One is rewarded for the good things one did or the virtues one accumulated, and is punished for the bad deeds or sins one committed. No one is an exception.
During the Zhenguan era (627 – 649 AD), Zhang Baozang worked in the Imperial Palace Guard. He often returned to the Liyang area when not on duty in the capital. One day, he ran into a young hunter who was roasting the meat of an animal he had just shot. Zhang leaned against a tree, sighed, and said, "I have lived 70 years. What regret that I never had the luck of picnicking on such fresh, tasty meat." Just then, a monk walked by and said to Zhang, "You are to be promoted to a third ranking official in 60 days, why should you sigh?" The monk then disappeared. Zhang was quite puzzled. Instead of going to Liyang, he returned to the capital.

At the time, Emperor Tang Taizong (599 – 649 AD) was suffering from a serious bout of diarrhea. None of the imperial palace doctors was able to cure his illness. Emperor Taizong issued an order to ask all officials in the imperial palace if they knew of a suitable prescription, promising a generous reward for an effective remedy. Zhang Baozang had suffered from the same illness in the past and so he provided an effective recipe of his own. He submitted this recipe to Taizong: long peppers stewed in milk.  

Taizong tried the stew and was immediately rid of the diarrhea.He issued an order to Prime Minister Wei Zheng to promote Zhang to a fifth ranking official. Wei intentionally procrastinated. For over a month, he did not draft the appointment. Taizong happened to have diarrhea again, ordered to have the stew prepared, and was again healed.

Taizong wondered why he had not seen the paperwork for Zhang's promotion, as it was Zhang who had provided the effective recipe. When he asked Wei Zheng what had happened, the Prime Minister became afraid. He said he was not sure whether the fifth ranking official was a civilian or military position. Taizong knew that in the past, Wei Zheng had promoted someone who had provided Wei with a prescription to a third ranking official. He told Wei sternly, "Why doesn't someone who treated the emperor get promoted as high and as quickly as someone who treated a prime minister? I want Zhang to be a third ranking civilian official, with additional titles for supervising rituals and diplomacy." The emperor's order was made exactly on the 60th day after the monk's prediction.

It appears that not only are one's birth and death predetermined, a person's rank and wealth are also prearranged. No wonder ancient people often said, "When something exists in your fate, it will arrive in due time. If something isn't in your fate, you can't make it happen no matter what, so why bother trying to make it happen?"

(Stories taken from Taiping Guangji, a collection of stories compiled between 977 – 988 AD.)

生死有命 富贵在天

唐朝的太子通事舍人王儦说：“人生的遭遇都和你的命运有联系，命运、事业早就定好了，所以不是吉就是凶，该什么时候来也是注定的。过去太后（武则天）诛杀皇帝的宗族，宗子被送到大理寺审判应当死刑，宗子长叹说：『我既然免不了一死，何必污染了刀锯！』半夜的时候，用自己的衣领上吊而死，到天亮时又苏醒过来，立刻又说又笑，又吃又喝，同在家里一样。几天以后被杀，脸色神气一点儿也没有改变。当他刚苏醒的时候说：我刚死，冥府的官就生气对我说：『你该被杀死，为什么自己就来了？快回去受刑！』宗子问什么缘故，冥官把生死簿给他看，『因为你前世杀了人，现在要报偿。』宗子知道是怎么回事了，所以受害时面无一点难色。”人来世间，何时出生？何时入土？看来早有定数，前世的因，今世的果，行善积德、做恶造业，没有不偿还的。

贞观年间，张宝藏任金吾长史，经常因为在朝值班结束，归回栎阳。有一次，在路上碰到一个少年打猎，割下新鲜肉野餐。张宝藏靠著树长叹说：“我张宝藏年已七十，未曾吃过一次像这样的酒肉，太可悲了。”旁边有一个和尚指著他说：“六十日之内，官职会升到三品，有什么可叹息的呢？”说完就不见了。宝藏很奇怪，立刻回到京城。

这时太宗得了痢疾很痛苦，很多医生给治都不见效。就下诏书访问殿庭中的左右大臣，有能治这种病的，一定重重赏他。当时，宝藏也曾被这种病困扰过，就写了一份奏疏，献出用乳汁煎荜拨的药方，皇上服了药以后立刻就好了。下诏给宰相，授予张宝藏五品官。魏征有意为难，过了一个多月也不拟文授官。皇上的病又发作了，询问左右侍臣：“我以前吃了乳煎荜拨的药很有效。”于是又命令进献此药，一吃又好了。

因此皇上想想说：“我曾下令授予进方人五品官，到现在不见提升授官，什么原因呢？”魏征害怕了，说：“奉诏那时候，不知是文还是武的。”皇上生气说：“治好了宰相，不妨授给他三品官，我是天子，难道不如你吗？”就严厉地说：“给他三品文官。再授鸿胪卿官号。”当时正好六十天啊。看来人生除了生死是命中注定的，官职、富贵也是注定的。难怪古人常说：“命里有时终需有，命里无时莫强求。”