Fortune-telling abacus

The fortune-telling process of the blind.

Ask the fortune teller to report his (or his family's) date of birth, that is, the date of birth, and also state what he wants to ask or his fate. Fortune tellers calculate and set up "four pillars" according to the year, month and day of their birth, that is, year pillar (branch of birth year), moon pillar (branch of birth month), sun pillar (branch of birthday) and hour pillar (branch of birth).

Each branch has two characters (such as Jia Zi, B Chou, C Yin, etc. ), so it is also called eight characters. The blind people in Chaoshan don't have paper, pens and abacus, but just use their fingers to stretch and bend points, which is different from the fortune-telling of the discerning people in big cities.

Blind fortune tellers start with four pillars, and then calculate the five elements in the main branch of a birth (that is, fire, water and earth in Jin Mu), from which they can calculate good or ill luck, pros and cons, wealth, dignity, longevity, diseases, disasters, joints and even the situation of their wives and children. He will also teach you how to get rid of fierce difficulties and get good luck, so fortune tellers also know how to ask people's psychological state, and they often leave room for improvisation to gain the favor and trust of people who ask for their lives. Some gentlemen play the flute instead of the bronze mirror. Once upon a time, there was a blind man playing a small flute with only four holes while walking in Shantou city. At night, the crisp and loud flute sounds a little musical.