During the reign of Tang, the founder of the Shang Dynasty (1766 B.C.), China suffered a seven-year drought. Someone suggested that a human sacrifice was necessary. Chan Kei Thong tells the story:
“Tang appointed a day for this to be done, and a great multitude gathered for the unprecedented event. To the amazement of all, the emperor, clad in rushes, presented himself as the sacrificial victim. Having fasted, cut his hair, and trimmed his nails, he arrived in a plain carriage draw by white horses at the designated site in the Mulberry Woods, near the capital city of Bo.”
He prayed, “I myself have sinned the ten thousand people have no part. If, however, the ten thousand people have sinned, the offenses must also rest upon me.”
The result: “when he finished praying, a heavy rain fell and the drought was relieved, rendering the sacrifice unnecessary.”
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Rome and the Church in the United States
Archbishop Michael J. Curley of Baltimore, who confirmed my father, was a pugnacious Irishman with a taste…
Marriage Annulment and False Mercy
Pope Leo XIV recently told participants in a juridical-pastoral formation course of the Roman Rota that the…
Undercover in Canada’s Lawless Abortion Industry
On November 27, 2023, thirty-six-year-old Alissa Golob walked through the doors of the Cabbagetown Women’s Clinic in…
