Yue Lao Oracle Lot 98 · Good

昨夜江邊春水生，艨艟巨艦一毛輕。向來枉費推移力，此日中流自在行。 Last night the spring flood rose along the river; the great warship floated light as a feather. All that pushing and hauling was wasted before; today it sails midstream with ease.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 流通本作「春草生」，依朱熹原詩改「春水生」.

Background: what the original says

Once the spring waters rise, a huge ship becomes as light as a feather; the vessel that could not be budged by all that effort before now glides freely down the middle of the river.

Zhu Xi (1130-1200), the great Southern Song Neo-Confucian thinker, wrote two quatrains titled "Thoughts on Reading." The first, about a half-acre square pond, is the more famous; the lot quotes the second. Both are philosophical poems about study, and one account says Zhu Xi first wrote them in a letter to a friend. Both entered the Poems of a Thousand Masters, a standard schoolbook.

The second poem uses a boat. Last night the spring flood rose along the river, and the huge warships became as light as a feather. All the effort once spent pushing them was wasted; today they move freely in midstream. Zhu Xi is describing learning: while a principle stays opaque, force does not help; once enough work has built up and understanding breaks through, the difficulty is simply gone. The first poem makes a matching point about a pond kept clear by living water from its source.

The lot takes the picture of rising water and the great ship sailing on its own.

What it means

When the time is right, things go smoothly on their own, and the obstacles you faced before will fall away.

Reminder: When the time has not yet come, do not force it.

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 97; next: Lot 99.