(7-96) One of my favorite stories about fortune telling occurred in Chou dynasty, about 2500 years ago, but the story was written in Ming dynasty around 1500 AD. The historical figures and events are all true, and recorded somewhere. However, there may be some fabrication in terms of how people are connected and how events are related.

The first book about military strategies in China was written by a man named Sun Bin. He was a student of a man who called himself "the old man from Ghost Valley". Mr. Ghost Valley had another student named Pong Juan. Pong Juan and Sun Bin were so close that they later became blood brothers. One day when Pong Juan was ready to leave his master, he went to ask for permission and blessings. Master Ghost Valley said: "Go fetch me a flower, I may be able to give you some advice."

It was mid June, most spring flowers had come and gone. Pong Juan walked around the valley for a while before he found a small flower. He picked it up, was about to return, then he thought: "Wait, this flower is weak and cheap, cannot be of much promise." He put it down, and went on looking for some more. He searched for a long time, but he couldn't find any. Finally he went back and picked up the same flower. He hid the flower under his sleeve, and went to see his teacher. "There are no flowers in the mountain." he reported. Master said: "If there're no flowers then what is it in your sleeve?" Juan could not hide any longer, he took out the flower and presented it to the master. The flower had been picked and exposed under the sun for a while, it was withered. The master said: "Do you know the name of this flower? It's Harness Bells. When it blooms, there will be twelve little flowers opened all at once. This will be the number of your successful years. You got it from the Ghost Valley, and it has withered under the sun; the character withered plus the character ghost, is the character Wei; you will prosper in Wei." Pong Juan was surprised. The master continued to say: "Your failure comes from your deceit. You will be deceived by deceiving others. You must remember this warning. I have a few words for you, I wish you would remember: you will prosper when you see a ram, and die when you see a horse." Pong Juan bowed and said: "Master's teaching, I dare not to forget."

Years later, when Sun Bin was ready to leave to join Pong Juan. The master also asked Bin to find a flower for him. It was September, in the autumn. Bin saw a yellow chrysanthemum in a vase on top of his master's desk. He took it out and presented to the master, and then returned it back to the vase. The master made his judgment, and said: "This flower is already damaged, not in its perfect form. But it has a character of enduring the cold weather, not even frost can kill it. Though it's damaged, it will survive. Besides it loves to be in the vase, which means it is loved by people. This vase is made of precious metal, the kind used for the bells and vessels for the country to record history on. You will prevail in the cold weather. Your name will be recorded on the vessels for history. This flower is off the vase for a while, which means you will suffer for a while. It's returned to the vase, means your success will be after you return to your old country...

Everything, of course, turned out to be exactly as the master predicted. Pong Juan could not tolerate Sun Bin's brilliance. He betrayed Sun, and deceived Sun. He plotted, and made the king believed that Sun was a traitor. As a capital punishment, Sun was crippled, his face tattooed with the word "traitor". Sun suffered, but survived. He escaped to Chi, his own country, and became the top military strategist. Later, the two countries engaged in series of battles. Sun Bin out smarted Pong Juan in every way, and killed him in a place called Horse Trout Way. Exactly as the master predicted, that when Pong saw a horse, he would die.

I think it is obvious that the fortune telling part is fabricated. But it's so neat, we tend to believe it. First of all predicting future through flowers, that's unheard of. Second of all, It is such a wonderful way to characterize the two men. Picking up a flower is such a simple task, but it reveals so much. Every act, conscious or not, can reveal who we are, what our characters are. And the future is largely determined by our characters. That's the beauty of this fortune telling.