Cast & Chart

Guan Di's 100 lots

Temples to Guan Di, the deified general Guan Yu, keep a cup of 100 numbered sticks, each tied to a four-line verse and a story from Chinese history or legend. Hold a question in mind, shake the cup, and read the verse for the stick that rises.

As in temple practice, a lot is confirmed by throwing two moon blocks. One flat side and one round side up confirms the lot.

Draw a lotWhat are these fortune sticks, and where did they come from?

Where the text comes from

We read each verse from two named web transcriptions: Chinese Wikisource (zh.wikisource.org/wiki/關聖帝君靈籤, shown on the lot pages, under CC BY-SA 4.0) and manekineko.com.tw. Each lot page lists both readings and notes where they differ.

These are web transcriptions, not scans of a printing that we opened. The edition behind them is mixed: Wikisource prints a stem pair only for lots 1 to 10. We could not establish whether the two sites are independent of one another, so their agreement is weaker evidence than two independent witnesses would give.

Grades differ between editions. We show the grade as Wikisource gives it, and for lots 11 to 100 the stem pair printed on manekineko.com.tw. Each lot page says which source its grade comes from. The English translations, meanings and story summaries are written by Cast & Chart.

  1. 1Walking alone above the clouds
  2. 2Fullness and emptiness follow the season
  3. 3Food and clothing come of themselves
  4. 4Last year went well, this year is weaker
  5. 5Three things out of your hands
  6. 6No need for more music
  7. 7Born with an immortal's bearing
  8. 8A harvest this year
  9. 9Good news coming from the capital
  10. 10Illness and a turning year
  11. 11A good start that may not last
  12. 12Spring plans, autumn change
  13. 13A fisherman waiting by the river
  14. 14A pleasant first meeting
  15. 15Two households well matched
  16. 16Let the dispute rest
  17. 17Fields and prices
  18. 18Both feet on solid ground
  19. 19Your time has come
  20. 20The Eighteen Rapids
  21. 21An old grievance
  22. 22A white lotus in a jade pool
  23. 23Flowers open and fall
  24. 24A hard spring, a steady summer
  25. 25Dry wood in spring
  26. 26Rain for the dry fields
  27. 27Everything belongs to someone
  28. 28No lineage for high office
  29. 29Ancestors' stored goodness
  30. 30Serve with an honest heart
  31. 31Plain in autumn, brighter in spring
  32. 32Too much scheming
  33. 33No north, no south
  34. 34Help from a person of standing
  35. 35Together, then parted
  36. 36A ten-thousand-mile journey
  37. 37Incense and an honest account
  38. 38Waiting with the cricket's song
  39. 39Settle, and mind the start
  40. 40A new way of doing things
  41. 41A ladder to the edge of the sky
  42. 42Change the plan, not the hope
  43. 43A summons and a fast boat
  44. 44A good person who made mistakes
  45. 45Tend your own heart
  46. 46Riding the ox is freer
  47. 47Settle it quietly
  48. 48Over the mountain in the cold
  49. 49Close by, and far apart
  50. 50Peace at home
  51. 51Let things follow their course
  52. 52Alone with one lamp
  53. 53A hard road, then a meeting
  54. 54Hero among the crowd, books for now
  55. 55Plough hard, do not waste time
  56. 56Crooked words and a clear mirror
  57. 57Think again in the noise
  58. 58Three inches of tongue
  59. 59A cold, empty house
  60. 60Brothers pass together
  61. 61Bandits in the hills
  62. 62Tigers and wolves in human faces
  63. 63Defeat in the past, still strong
  64. 64Good people meet in harmony
  65. 65Cold wind, warm gate
  66. 66Work the home ground
  67. 67Heaven already knows
  68. 68Pearls south, salt north
  69. 69Leave the boat, take the road
  70. 70A date for rain
  71. 71A magpie at the eaves
  72. 72The sun is already in the west
  73. 73Half a hairpin, no word
  74. 74Mountain upon mountain
  75. 75A match made before this life
  76. 76Three thousand laws, eight thousand words
  77. 77Trees have roots, water has a source
  78. 78Wealth that harms
  79. 79Look at the lie of the land
  80. 80A sudden summons
  81. 81Borrowed goods return
  82. 82A worthy among your peers
  83. 83Plain porridge at home
  84. 84Too much going on
  85. 85Rain all spring, a long road
  86. 86A boatload of goods
  87. 87A knife behind a smile
  88. 88After the toil, a new spring
  89. 89Sing at the cup, wait for the time
  90. 90Plenty of matters, no need to pray
  91. 91Sift the sand for gold
  92. 92A poor harvest and high prices
  93. 93Wet spring, dry summer
  94. 94Tools like anyone's
  95. 95A pearl in your sleeve
  96. 96Do not mind the wait
  97. 97Success at fifty
  98. 98Dry wood in spring again
  99. 99Cool friendship, long taste
  100. 100Spirit of thunder and rain