Yue Lao Oracle Lot 43 · Very good

君子有援琴之挑，淑女無投梭之拒。 The gentleman plays the zither to win her heart, the lady does not fling her shuttle to refuse him.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 流通本作「援勤之桃」，依《鶯鶯傳》改「援琴之挑」; 《鶯鶯傳》原作「鄙人無投梭之拒」.

Background: what the original says

In a letter to Zhang Sheng, Cui Yingying writes that he courted her the way Sima Xiangru won Zhuo Wenjun with his zither music, and that she did not rebuff him the way a neighbor girl once threw her weaving shuttle at the forward Xie Kun.

The line comes from "The Story of Yingying" (Yingying zhuan), a Tang tale by Yuan Zhen. The scholar Zhang was lodging at the Pujiu Temple in Puzhou when the widowed Madame Cui and her children stopped there. Soldiers rioted in the town, and Zhang had friends among the officers protect the family. Madame Cui had her daughter Yingying greet him in thanks, and he fell for her at once. Through the maid Hongniang he sent poems; Yingying first scolded him, then days later came to his room, and they met in secret for a time.

Zhang later failed the examinations and stayed in the capital. Yingying's reply to his letter looks back: he had courted her as Sima Xiangru won Zhuo Wenju with his zither, and she had not rebuffed him as a neighbor's daughter once threw a shuttle at the flirting Xie Kun. Zhang ended the affair anyway. The oracle keeps only the mutual attraction, and the later Romance of the Western Chamber gave the story a happy ending.

What it means

You are interested, and the other person is not turning you away; the feeling is mutual, and this can work out well.

Reminder: Mutual attraction is only the start; whether it lasts depends on whether you are both willing to commit.

This is a plain reading of the words and their source. How it applies to your own question is best settled with the interpreter at the temple where you drew it.

How to ask Yue Lao for a lot

1. Yue Lao, the Old Man under the Moon, usually has a side shrine inside a larger temple, such as a City God temple or a Mazu temple. Follow the temple's route: pay respects to the main deity first, then go to Yue Lao.
2. Tell Yue Lao your name, birth date and address, describe where you are in love right now, and state the one question you want to ask (for example, "Will this relationship last?" or "When will I meet someone?").
3. Cast the moon blocks (jiaobei, two crescent-shaped wooden blocks) to ask whether you may draw. One face up and one face down means yes; then pull one stick and cast again to confirm it. Many temples ask for three yeses in a row; if not, draw again.
4. Collect the slip with the matching number. Yue Lao lots are quotations from old books, so the meaning often depends on the original passage. If it is unclear, ask the temple's interpreter.

Ask about one thing at a time; the more specific the question, the easier the lot is to apply. Yue Lao lots are for love and marriage only; for other matters, use the temple's general fortune poems.

Common misunderstandings

Previous: Lot 42; next: Lot 44.