11
seemed to be favourable. But our human eyes do not see all the factors involved, we only see the externals. Matsu, powerful and wise, knows better. This is her oracle:
Do not implore blessings nor pray for luck
Your scheme and efforts will get stuck
The world of the living knows not the realm of death: A burning furnace is its law: no freedom is granted.
In small print the leaflet gives details about the major concerns of human life: here, the section ‘marriage' is the one that counts. But the expectations are not too good: “difficult to succeed" is the verdict. After reading the slip for herself, the woman had consulted one of the temple diviners: his view was that powers from beyond the grave are causing trouble and for some reasons trying to oppose the union. The woman is disappointed but her faith in Matsu is not shaken; the oracle has at least helped her in opposing a wedding that would end in failure, or would even never materialize. Where human eyes cannot see the truth, the gods and goddesses will offer guidance to help men follow the path of correct action.
Historical Precedents of the Temple Oracles
The above narrated scene took place in 1978: a thousand years earlier, in A.D. 978, the 3rd year of the Sung Emperor T'ai-tsung, a similar scene could have taken place anywhere in China, with a different worshipper addressing a different deity concerning the same frustrating problem.2
Again, another two thousand years before that, in the year 1022 B.C., in a different situation, a similar question could have been addressed to the imperial ancestors or the divine spirits of the Chinese realm. The divining technique used at that time must have been different: either the old Shang method of heating up animal bones (scapulomancy or osteomancy), or else the manipulation of yarrow stalks or milfoil sticks, later replaced by bamboo (achilleomancy).
In any case divination combined with ancestral sacrifices is one of the oldest expressions of Chinese religiosity. Whereas the Shang
11
seemed to be favourable. But our human eyes do not see all the factors involved, we only see the externals. Matsu, powerful and wise, knows better. This is her oracle:
Do not implore blessings nor pray for luck
Your scheme and efforts will get stuck
The world of the living knows not the realm of death: A burning furnace is its law: no freedom is granted.
In small print the leaflet gives details about the major concerns of human life: here, the section ‘marriage' is the one that counts. But the expectations are not too good: “difficult to succeed" is the verdict. After reading the slip for herself, the woman had consult- ed one of the temple diviners: his view was that powers from beyond the grave are causing trouble and for some reasons trying to oppose the union. The woman is disappointed but her faith in Matsu is not shaken; the oracle has at least helped her in opposing a wedding that would end in failure, or would even never material- ize. Where human eyes cannot see the truth, the gods and goddess- es will offer guidance to help men follow the path of correct action.
Historical Precedents of the Temple Oracles
The above narrated scene took place in 1978: a thousand years earlier, in A.D. 978, the 3rd year of the Sung Emperor T'ai-tsung, a similar scene could have taken place anywhere in China, with a different worshipper addressing a different deity concerning the same frustrating problem.2
Again, another two thousand years before that, in the year 1022 B.C., in a different situation, a similar question could have been addressed to the imperial ancestors or the divine spirits of the Chinese realm. The divining technique used at that time must have been different: either the old Shang method of heating up animal bones (scapulomancy or osteomancy), or else the manipu- lation of yarrow stalks or milfoil sticks, later replaced by bamboo (achilleomancy).
In any case divination combined with ancestral sacrifices is one of the oldest expressions of Chinese religiosity. Whereas the Shang
!
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.