Chang Chung[ 1 ] and his Prophecy: The Transmission of the Legend of an Early Ming Taoist[*

The earliest biography of Chang Chung which supplies the basic source for later accounts was written by Sung Lien, a learned Confucian scholar and imperial adviser. Sung states, he drew his material primarily from a file of notes compiled by Chu Yuan-chang, then emperor, and secondarily from his own reminiscences. The first mention of Chang Chung’s prophetic insight occurs in the Ch‘an-hsuan hsien-chiao pien by Yang P‘u, who reports a meeting between Chang Chung and Chu Yuan-chang during which the former prophesized the events of the Ming Dynasty. The transmission of the stories about Chang Chung’s prophetic gift finally culminated in the appearance of the Shao-ping ko in the late Ch‘ing period. In modern times Chang Chung‘s prophecies were continued in yet another similar book known as T‘ou-t‘ien hsuan-chi, which gives Chang Chung and Liu Chi as joint authors. This work appears in at least two editions, with slight content variations.