Cup-toss fortune-telling

Qu Wenjun's Textual Research on the Custom of "Flying" in Ancient China

Textual research on the custom of "throwing flies" in ancient China (abstract)

(Qu Wenjun of Linyi Normal University, Linyi, Shandong 276005)

Abstract: Throwing stones is one of the important forms of divination in ancient China. It began in the Tang Dynasty and prevailed in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. It is characterized by simple instruments, convenient operation and concise and clear will of God. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was gradually replaced by the "pray for divination" with more complicated prayer content and more specific will of the gods.

[Keywords:] Yi wrestling cup Yi folk signing culture

【 China Library Classification Number 】 H 【 Document Identification Number 】 A 【 Article Number 】

The ancient divination custom in China has a long history. As early as the ancient Zhou Dynasty, there were officials specializing in divination in the imperial court, such as Dabu, Bushi, Turtle Man and Zhan. For thousands of years, as an important folk cultural phenomenon, various divination forms such as tortoise divination, money divination, chicken divination, stone divination, skill divination and mirror divination have been circulated among the people. Since no one has explored the form of "throwing stones", I will make a rough textual research here. Cup-throwing, Cup-throwing, Monument-throwing, Divination and Throwing. It is one of the important forms of divination in ancient China. The word "Yi" did not appear in early dictionaries such as Erya and Shuowen Jiezi, but first appeared in Guang Yun edited by Chen Pengnian in Song Dynasty.

Judging from the information currently available, it was Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty who first used the word "yi" and recorded the custom of "throwing yi". He wrote in "I wrote this poem on the tower by Hengshan Temple" [1, Volume I P836]:

Step on the steps, bend down and offer meat and wine to show your humility to the money.

The old man in charge of the temple can understand this sacredness. He stared at the temple repeatedly and bowed to me again and again.

The corner of the hand cup taught me how to throw, saying that this kind of bo is the most difficult guitar.

It was a lucky escape. Simple food and simple clothes were what I wanted.

Han Yu's poems reveal two messages to people: First, from the day it came into being, "Zhuanjing" was closely integrated with Buddhist temples, and monks had their invention patents. Secondly, "the cloud is the luckiest" because the probability of "throwing a flintlock gun" to produce "auspicious flintlock gun" and "medium flintlock gun" is one third, while the probability of "slamming flintlock gun" is only one third. For the frustrated who are lucky enough not to die, it is easier to get a little relief without seeking good luck.

The word "Beili" in A Chinese Dictionary is quoted from Fan Yan Lu Bu Jiao written by Cheng Dachang in Song Dynasty. It is recorded in detail: "Later generations asked Li, who is famous for his gods, to throw two clams in the air and watch them cast, so as to break the blame ... or to make them look like clams with bamboo or wood. [Volume 2 and 4 P8 12] This passage shows that the "throwing" instruments are mainly mussels, and bamboo is occasionally used. Guan Xiu, a senior monk in the former Shu Dynasty, wrote a poem "Reading Bamboo Roots", saying: "Festival is also heard by people because of their purity. But the strength is there, and I have always been willing to report the time. "[1, Volume II P2033] shows that bamboo rafters were made of bamboo roots in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. At this time, the "cup" is a clam shell or clam-shaped object carved from bamboo and wood, rather than the "cup" that people later understood.

There are detailed records of "throwing" in some official history of Song Dynasty and unofficial history materials.

For example, Fei Yi's "Liang Xi Man Zhi Wujiang Yu Xiang God" in the Song Dynasty: "Ying Hui Temple in Wujiang County, Hezhou is covered with Xiang Yu, whose spiritual name. Shaoxing Xin has invaded Huainan, stationed troops under the temple and prayed. It was unlucky to throw dozens of stones. He was very angry. He wants to burn his temple with fire. When Russia saw the shrine, it shrugged its shoulders, opened its mouth and shot its eyes at people. The enemy came out in horror. " [Volumes 3 and 4 P 194 1] This shows that not only the Han people in the Song Dynasty were proficient in throwing stones, but also Jin people of different nationalities were very superstitious about this trick.

Another example is "Song Shi An Bing Biography": "First, I am engaged in the work of Lang Xiangong (Wu). I was in Hechi, tasting the dream and praying for blessings, and throwing a silver cup. God stood up and called the sunrise, saying,' What do you doubt? Why do you doubt it? After that, political affairs were assigned to Wen Zi. "Before sunrise, God said,' An Wen Zi person has enough talent to do this.' Gong Zhijie, the heart is different, and it has words. "[4] This example shows that in the Song Dynasty, the utensils used in" throwing instruments "were not necessarily objects such as mussels and bamboos, but could be replaced by" cups ". "Throwing a silver cup for a stone" shows that the arbitrariness of this divination activity is gradually strengthening, laying the foundation for the comprehensive popularization of the custom of throwing stones in the Yuan Dynasty.

Zaju and Sanqu are the most abundant materials in the literature of Yuan Dynasty. According to rough statistics, there are more than 20 references to the custom of throwing in Jin Quan Yuan Qu, Yuan Qu Xuan and Yuan Qu Xuan Xu.

For example, Zhang Guobin's zaju "A Sweater Together" is the second discount: "(Bang Laoyun) I am the most sacred Dongyue Temple in Xuzhou, with a jade cup, which is Warawako; Throwing flat is a daughter; An unnatural ball is a ghost. It's easy to do business there, and doubling the profit is ten times. (Zhang Xiaoyou Cloud) In that case, I'll throw a cup with you. (Bang Laoyun) It's no use for me to go with you. I have to throw a cup myself with my body, and I'll have an epiphany. (Zhang Xiaoyou Claude) I told my father that I knew. (Bang Laoyun) Live, live, live! Then it won't work if the fourth person besides you and your sister-in-law knows. (Zhang Xiaoyou Cloud) You also said that. Collect more gold beads and treasures. One is to throw cups, and the other is to do business and go once. " [5, 1 Volume P 124]

Another example is Ma Zhiyuan's zaju "Commending the Blessed Monument", the second discount: "I made a wish on the monument and spent several times on the incense burner. Yuanlai is a heresy. (3 subjects) (singing) How can you be distracted? Besides, this stinky celery paste is expensive to climb. It is Jiaomu Jiaohe, and Daguli is this autumn. You went down and flooded my seedlings in a large field. Some of my rich men with gold and silver died, and I bumped into you, a god who enjoyed the mud without sacrifice. (with a cloud) I scold you, (singing) and there is a good rain. " [5,2 Volumes P584]

Another example is Liu Tingxin's divertimento "One Night's Boat Singing a Prostitute in a Brothel", which says, "I'm afraid I'm shocked when I wind the string, and I'm worried about the bottle in the well. Marriage mountains are high and the sea is deep. If the divination is changed to the swallow's mind, the scorpion drops a sign of Yuanyang, and the husband and wife draw it. Teeth are sweet, ears are blowing. " [6]

These words show that the folk custom of "throwing stones" was very popular in the Yuan Dynasty. Men and women need the guidance of the gods in advance to get married, have children, work productively and seek wealth. There are three kinds of results, namely "seeking good luck at the top", "being fair and comfortable with people's hearts" and "going against one's will". Of course, fortune tellers will not completely follow the instructions of the gods to decide their own actions. When he can't realize his wish, the fortune teller will curse with indignation, "This stinky celery paste has also climbed at a discount."

Among the materials found by the author, the record of Ming Anonymous Biography is the most precious, in which the procedures and specific contents of "throwing stones" are recorded in detail, and the extracts are as follows:

"One day, the mutinous soldiers crossed the temple and the monks were burned in the temple. When I returned late, I wished good or bad luck, saying,' If I am allowed to take refuge overseas, I will repay my kindness with Yang, and I will repay my kindness with Yin and Yang if I am conservative.' I wish you a happy ending, and throwing it on the ground is a double yin. This is the third one. Congratulate him and say that God said,' You are not allowed to go in or out. Can God repay you? Nothing is desire. I am a hero and then prosper, right? And then just like before. "I wish you all the best. God agreed, surprised and willing, and said,' I'm afraid I'm going to marry a man. May God give me a good sign and take refuge elsewhere. Wish you all the best. I threw myself on the ground and cast a shadow over Li Zhuo. I see that God's will must be obeyed by men, because I stick to my home. Before the end of ten days, my friend came from the chaos with a book and simply said that he was not careful. After reading them, they burned them. Within ten days, someone came to tell me that someone who knows the book is interested in knowing it and knows it in his heart ... With the approach of the quartet, false rumors rose and he was determined to follow the hero. Reporter: The reason why the Holy Father started fighting is obvious to all the world. Galand embodies the unified industry of the emperor and the Ming Dynasty. "[3,7 volumes P3]

This passage shows rich contents: firstly, Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated before starting his army, and decided to "submit to the crowd" with the help of "Galand Yi", and finally realized the great cause of unifying the world in the Ming Dynasty. It can be seen that the Book of Changes not only influenced some behaviors of ordinary people among the people, but also related to the development process of social history to some extent. Secondly, it is clear for the first time that the god in charge of throwing is the Buddhist "Garan God". This can be proved by the records in Lu Ciyun's Miscellaneous Notes on the Branches of a Lake in the Qing Dynasty: "At the end of the Ming Dynasty, I meditated on a monk and slept in the daytime, and I dreamed of a saying:' There is an upstart named Zhang, and I want to meet him.' Frightened, the monk turned to the mountain gate to find a scholar. He was holding his breath ... Afterwards, he returned to Galand. He was lucky and happy. [Volume 2, 8 P 1 159] Third, the program of Throwing flintstones records in detail that throwing flintstones at the same time can only lead to two possibilities: double yang, double yin, one yang and one Yin San. There should be prayer content before throwing stones, and three possible forms should be given to the actual content, so as to understand "God's will" through repeated throwing stones. After understanding this passage, people are basically "self-taught" about the form of throwing hexagrams.

By combing the above-mentioned documents, we have a further understanding of "stone throwing": it sprouted in the Tang Dynasty, prevailed in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, declined in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and lasted for more than 1000 years. It is characterized by simple instrument, convenient operation and straightforward "will" of God. People can go to the temple seriously and openly to accept the "will" of the gods, and they can make some inconvenient wishes in private without being known by others, which is highly confidential. But because throwing a stone has only three results, the will of the gods is only "yes", "no" and "nothing" for people's prayers, which is too monotonous and simple. With the relative improvement of people's cognitive level, people's desire to understand the future is gradually strengthened, people's expectations for the gods are higher, and their will is also higher. "Throwing" can no longer satisfy people's desires. So people gradually abandoned this relatively simple method of casting divination and turned to divination with more complicated content and more specific meaning. In the literary works of Ming Dynasty, such as Sanyan Erpai, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, The Journey to the West and Jin Ping Mei Hua Ci, there are few descriptions of hit the floor. There is almost no description of "investing in letters" in literary works such as Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, A Dream of Red Mansions and The Scholars in the Qing Dynasty. In the literature of Ming and Qing dynasties, we see more records of seeking for a sign and divination. Speaking of it, from "throwing" to "asking for a sign", the will of the gods is more concrete and direct. From the perspective of divination, this is also a kind of "progress". Of course, people now use computers to tell fortune, which should be regarded as progress in means, rather than "seeking for a sign."

refer to

(1) the whole Tang poetry on page 936, Shanghai ancient books publishing house 1986.

② The Chinese Dictionary, Volume 4, page 8 12, Chinese Dictionary Publishing House, 1989.

(3) The Complete Works of Tang Poetry, Volume II, p. 2033, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1986.

(4) China unofficial history, Volume 4, pp.194/kloc-0, Taishan Publishing House, 2000.

⑤ History of Song Dynasty, Volume 35, 12 189, Zhonghua Book Company, 1997.

⑥ Zang's Selected Songs of Yuan Dynasty, Volume 1, Page 124, Zhonghua Book Company, 1979.

⑦ Zang's Selected Songs of Yuan Dynasty, Volume 2, page 584, Zhonghua Book Company, 1979.

⑧ Quanyuanqu, 1292, China Standards Publishing House, electronic version 1999.

Pet-name ruby China and unofficial history Volume 7, Page 3, Taishan Publishing House, 2000.

Attending Luo's Chinese Dictionary, Volume 8, page 1 159, Chinese Dictionary Publishing House, page 1989.