Wong Tai Sin lot 33 of 100
Kongming borrows the east wind
Middling (中平). Grade as given on the named web transcriptions. We have not seen it on a temple printing, and we do not know that the temple prints one.
曹操雖有深謀計
智慧難瞞諸葛侯
試看東風都可借
更能流馬木成牛
Though Cao Cao has deep schemes,
his cleverness cannot hide from Lord Zhuge.
See how even the east wind can be borrowed,
and wooden oxen and gliding horses can be made.
What this lot says
The verse praises a planner who outthinks an opponent and who also builds practical tools. Skill and foresight are the theme.
Graded middling, it reads as a lot about preparation: good planning counts for a great deal, and cleverness alone is outdone by better planning.
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
Kongming borrows the east wind (孔明借東風)
A traditional allusion named with this lot. We have not traced the story to a source we could read, so we do not retell it here.
Where this text comes from
This verse is a traditional temple text with no known author, here read from named web transcriptions. We compared the sites character by character and show every difference. We could not establish whether the sites are independent of one another, and we have not read a temple printing.
Fortune Sticks (fortunesticks.org) (the text shown above)
曹操雖有深謀計 / 智慧難瞞諸葛侯 / 試看東風都可借 / 更能流馬木成牛
Retrieved 2026-11-09
Luckeyes (算命眼, luckeyes.com)
曹操雖有深謀計 / 智慧難瞞諸葛侯 / 試看東風都可借 / 更能流馬木成牛
Retrieved 2026-11-09
Andy.hk (加賀風水)
曹操雖有深謀計 / 智慧難瞞諸葛侯 / 試看東風都可借 / 更能流馬木成牛
Retrieved 2026-11-09
Where the sources differ
- andy.hk adds its own note to the text: "侯本作候".
English translation and commentary are by Cast & Chart.