Guan Yin lot 2 of 100
The fish before Yu's Gate
Below even (中下). Grade from lot 2 of the related Goodfate edition, whose verse is worded quite differently, so it is not compared line by line below. Grades differ between temples, and many Taiwanese temples print none.
鯨魚未化守江湖
未許升騰離碧波
異日崢嶸身變態
從教一躍禹門過
The great fish, not yet changed, keeps to river and lake.
It may not yet rise and leave the blue waves.
One day, grown mighty, its body will transform,
And with a single leap it will clear Yu's Gate.
What this lot says
A great fish has not yet changed its form, so it stays in the rivers and lakes. Old stories say a fish that leaps the rapids at Yu's Gate becomes a dragon, and this one is still growing.
The verse asks for patience and for growth in the meantime. It places the leap on some later day and names no date.
If you are waiting on a promotion or planning to leave a steady role, this lot suggests staying where you have water for now. Build your strength there, and try the leap when you have changed enough to clear it.
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
Su Qin fails at first (蘇秦不第)
By tradition, the Warring States strategist Su Qin came home from years of fruitless travel to a wife who would not acknowledge him, shut himself away to study, and later led an alliance of six states. Parts of his biography are disputed, and the tale suits a fish still waiting to leap.
Source: Wikipedia, Su Qin (parts of the traditional account are disputed)
Where this text comes from
This verse is a traditional temple text with no known author. No single original edition is known and wording differs between temples, so we compare named witnesses and record where they differ.
Míguāng (覓光) (the text shown above)
鯨魚未化守江湖 / 未許升騰離碧波 / 異日崢嶸身變態 / 從教一躍禹門過
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Jiěqiān Gé (解籤閣)
鯨魚未化守江湖 / 未許升騰離碧波 / 異日崢嶸身變態 / 從教一躍禹門過
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Where the sources differ
- The related Goodfate edition has a substantially different verse for this lot.
English translation and commentary are by Cast & Chart.