[
    {
        "id": 210065,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1984",
        "page_number": 36,
        "title": "RAS-1984",
        "content_text": "15\n\nThe Present-day Temple Oracles\n\nThe temple oracles, described in modern historical writings and still found in contemporary practice in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc. can be traced back as far as the Sung dynasty. Yet such a long interval between the milfoil-I Ching oracles of early Chou and the Sung practice does not necessarily mean a historical continuity. But although today the literary links are missing, some scholars have assumed a continuous line of development. J. Needham is very definite when he states that \"The milfoil, ... has descended continuously to the Taoist temples of the present day, where simple folk choose a stick from a box ...\" This method of using sticks is, in Needham's opinion, different from the use of the I Ching symbols, although he admits that, in the latter, milfoil sticks were also used.\n\n14\n\nMore recently a German anthropologist Werner Banck, has focused his attention on the study of temple oracles. A first volume of his work, a large collection of temple oracle texts, was published in 1976.1 (A second volume is promised in which the author will analyse and evaluate the collected source materials). In his foreword to Banck's work, Wolfram Eberhard clearly expresses the belief that there is continuity between the contemporary oracles and the tradition of the I Ching and the Han alternative version, embodied in the T'ai-hsuan ching. W. Banck himself shares this opinion and plans to examine the literary tradition of China for more exact information.\n\nA possible reason why direct evidence is not easily available consists in the very nature of the contemporary temple oracles: they are used by the people in the temples. Two conditions make such a practice possible: the existence of temples and the availability of printing. This double factor only started to materialize toward the T'ang period and therefore it seems plausible to look for the origin of temple oracles in the middle or later T'ang era. Before that time, people who wanted to consult the oracles in private matters, could visit diviners, who did not need temple oracles since they could read the I Ching and similar texts and cast the oracles for their clients.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 210083,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1984",
        "page_number": 54,
        "title": "RAS-1984",
        "content_text": "33\n\nAPPENDIX I: A SELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLES OF CURRENT TEMPLE ORACLES\n\nAlthough Werner Banck has published a voluminous collection of 55 complete sets of temple oracles (hereafter abbreviated as B), I believe that the following selection of samples can be meaningful and useful for comparative purposes. Seven samples taken from printed editions commonly used by the temple personnel are presented: these samples show the variations of commentaries attached to the basic oracular verses.\n\nFor each case I have only chosen the first oracle, but this is sufficient for our purpose of limited comparison.\n\nSample No. 1 (B-1)\n\nThis is oracle no. 1 taken from the most popular of all temple oracles: the 60 oracles Matsu set. (See bibliography, Sheng-ch'ien chu-chieh). Many temples not only have printed leaflets for the use of devotees with each oracle printed on a separate leaflet, but have booklet editions available for the use of specialists counselling devotees.\n\nThis set of oracles is characterized by its usually added subsections or areas of concern for which devotees most frequently cast the oracles. They are the major concerns in life, such as “employment”, “disease”, “dwelling”, “wealth”, “marriage”, “expectation of rain”, etc. When devotees consult the oracles they\n\n第一籤\n\n(000 000)\n\n萬事向明出清前清便途淨見保進照風大世雲安道問散移年詞歲節 | 病！作居冬歡君中人人事沾難解\n\nA\n\n求婚功 | 失 | 求日雨姻名物！病！財荷「尤 | 有「龙平悭安微\n\n甲子屬金利在秋天宜共西方公請雷驚\n\nwould in most cases ask about only one of these areas. The B-1 type of this variation distinguishes between 14 and 16 concern areas.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 210093,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1984",
        "page_number": 64,
        "title": "RAS-1984",
        "content_text": "43\n\nB-2\n\nB-2 Pai-shou ling-ch'ien, Ku-shih chu-chieh ti by Cheng Chin-ling $436. Tsoying, Kaohsiung, 1976.\n\nM. Published\n\nKuan-sheng Ti-chun ying-yan t'ao-yian ming-sheng ching E KNMVTÆ. Published by the Fu-ch'uan Fo-t'ang in Kang-shan, Kaohsiung. QUI÷HES, 1971. (The oracles are in the Appendix).\n\nB-6 Kuan Yin ling-ch'ien chu-chieh, erh-shih-szu shou Pi. Taichung: Jui-ch'eng Bookstore, 1975.\n\nB-34 Ch'ien-shu chu-chieh, Tien-shang Sheng-mu, lished by the Nan-yao Temple in Changhua M, R, LTE. Pub Mä, 1977.\n\nB-54 Huang Ta-hsien (Wong Tai Sin) ling-ch'ien, ku-pen chu-chieh A¶ LASER. Published by the Wong Tai Sin Temple in Kowloon, HK, n.d. (purchased in 1980).\n\nB-55 Po-chi hsien-fang 1981;. Taiwan (no exact place indicated but stamped by the Tz'u-yu Temple in Taipei, BMK), 1951.\n\nB-55 Lu Ti ling-ch'ien hsien-fang, PPARI), Hsinchu: Chu-lin Book-store 新竹市竹林書局,1977.\n\nB-55 Fu-yu Ti-chün chüeh-shih ching, Lü-tsu ling-ch'ien chi hsien-fang Fili MEIM.NG MAUZERO/2A07), Hong Kong, N.T., SEDILE. 8-0 1976.\n\n+ Wu-nien ch'ien-sui ling-ch'ien chu-chieh 1F, Published the Chen-an Temple (2000) of Ma-ming-Shan in the county of Yiin lin, Taiwan, 1963.\n\n(ii) Taiwan Oracles: Temple Samples\n\nWerner Banck, Das Chinesische Tempelorakel PPE (part 1: Sources), Taipei: Ku-t'ing Bookstore, fillaliliPVM, 1976.\n\n(iii) Canton Temple Oracles, collected by the Library of the Center of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong (not included in Banck's source edition)\n\n1. Kuan-shih-yin ling-ch'ien, #, published by Wu-kui t'ang 4, in Canton, n.d. (circa 1940?) block print reproduction; contains 100 oracles).\n\n2. Hung-sheng-wang ch'ien 1, published by I-wen tang in Canton, n.d. (blockprint reproduction; contains 64 oracles).\n\n3. K'ang-kung ling-ch'ien 12, published by T'ien-pao Printing Co.: Ch'an-shan, Canton, dated 1855 (nice wood block print edition)\n\n+ 4. Fu-shen T-u-ti ch'ien (@J:22, published by Wen-tang Bookstore, **W in Yue-tung ch'an shan 40, dated 1859. (woodblock print; 30 oracles).\n\n5. Shang-ti ling-ch'ien (zar, published by Wen-t'ang Bookstore, Z, n.d. (wood block print; 50 oracles).",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572",
        "rank": 0
    }
]