From the Sacred Lotus to an Imperial Portent: Revisiting the Institutionalized Detection and Reporting of Auspicious Omens in Tang China

Abstract

 During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, a new auspicious omen known as the Thousand-Petaled Auspicious Lotus was displayed to court officials. In response, officials drew on Buddhist scriptures rather than classical Confucian texts to legitimize the omen, aligning with Empress Wu's strategic use of Buddhist symbolism to consolidate imperial legitimacy. Rather than relying solely on Buddhist scriptures, ministers also consulted Ruidie to determine whether this omen had any precedent in official records. Within the Tang dynasty's mature system of omen classification, local officials were tasked with examining reported omens and determining their authenticity and status. The question of what documents were used in such verification processes is therefore of great importance. This paper shows that Sun's Illustrations of Auspicious Omens, though frequently cited in Tang literature, was not an officially sanctioned reference text. Other similar compilations were also used, but none held formal authority. In contrast, the official Ruidie, compiled by the Ministry of Rites from all reported omens each year, were submitted to the emperor at the New Year's Etiquette for Meeting and sent to the Historiography Institute for archival. These registers were also circulated among central and local officials, serving as authoritative references in identifying, validating, and reporting new omens.