Guan Di lot 16 of 100
Let the dispute rest
Lowest (下下, 乙己). Grades differ between editions, and many Taiwanese temples print none. Shown as Wikisource gives it. Wikisource prints no stem pair for this lot, so 乙己 is from manekineko.com.tw.
官事悠悠難辨明
不如息了且歸耕
傍人煽惑君休信
此事當謀親弟兄
The lawsuit drags on and is hard to settle.
Better to drop it and go home to your fields.
Do not trust those at your side who stir you up.
For this matter, consult your own brothers.
What this lot says
This is a lot about a dispute. The verse describes a matter that is hard to settle and advises against pushing it, and it says that stirring voices around you are not a good guide.
Its advice is to take it back to family or close and trusted people. If you face a real legal matter, speak to a qualified lawyer.
A lot is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
The story behind it
Wang Xiang lies on the ice (王祥臥冰)
According to the account on Wikisource, Wang Xiang of the Jin dynasty was devoted to his stepmother. When she wanted fresh fish in winter, he lay on the frozen river and the ice melted, and two carp appeared. People called it a sign of filial piety.
Source: Wikisource, 關聖帝君靈籤/16, the 故事及記載 section
Where this text comes from
This verse is a traditional temple text with no known author. We read it from two named web transcriptions, Chinese Wikisource (the base text) and manekineko.com.tw. Neither is a scan of a printing, the edition behind them is mixed, and we could not establish whether the two are independent of each other.
Wikisource (關聖帝君靈籤) (the text shown above)
官事悠悠難辨明 / 不如息了且歸耕 / 傍人煽惑君休信 / 此事當謀親弟兄
Retrieved 2026-11-09. Transcription licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
manekineko.com.tw (富貴轉運站)
官事悠悠難辨明 / 不如息了且歸耕 / 傍人煽惑君休信 / 此事當謀親弟兄
Retrieved 2026-11-09
Where the sources differ
- Line 3: a note in Wikisource's transcription gives 旁 for 傍, apparently a variant reading.
English translation, meaning and story summaries are by Cast & Chart.