Guan Di lot 56 of 100
Crooked words and a clear mirror
Lowest (下下, 己己). Grades differ between editions, and many Taiwanese temples print none. Shown as Wikisource gives it. Wikisource prints no stem pair for this lot, so 己己 is from manekineko.com.tw.
心頭理曲強詞遮
直欲欺官行路斜
一旦醜形臨月鏡
身投憲網莫咨嗟
Your heart knows you are in the wrong, yet you cover it with forceful words.
You want to cheat the official and walk a crooked path.
One day your ugly face appears in the moon-mirror.
When you fall into the net of the law, do not complain.
What this lot says
This is a warning lot. The verse warns against arguing a false case, and it pictures the one who tried to fool the magistrate caught in the net of the law.
If you are tempted to hide something, it is a clear message to put it right now. For 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
Privy Councillor Wang's treachery (王樞密奸險)
According to the account on Wikisource, Wang Qinruo of the Song dynasty was said by an emperor to be a scheming man. In the account, when Song forces had the Liao in disarray, he blocked a push to recover lost territory out of jealousy and persuaded the emperor to make a treaty.
Source: Wikisource, 關聖帝君靈籤/56, 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)
心頭理曲強詞遮 / 直欲欺官行路斜 / 一旦醜形臨月鏡 / 身投憲網莫咨嗟
Retrieved 2026-11-09. Transcription licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
manekineko.com.tw (富貴轉運站)
心頭理曲強詞遮 / 直欲欺官行路斜 / 一旦醜形臨月鏡 / 身投憲網莫咨嗟
Retrieved 2026-11-09
Where the sources differ
- Grade: the manekineko.com.tw page title gives 下下 but its sub-heading gives 上上.
- Wikisource prints 黃欽若 in the story, which we read as 王欽若 (Wang Qinruo).
English translation, meaning and story summaries are by Cast & Chart.