The Shikongren Method: Cases, Volume Five

Translator's note. Eight gestures in a row, read one by one like a sentence: the arm on the armrest, the rosary, the fist on the belly, the notebook pushed away, the cup, the tea leaf, the nose, the cheek. Then the sharpest question in the volume — does it matter that he was wearing gloves — and an answer that draws a clean line: what is worn is part of the body and carries no omen; what is held does.

Observed information:

The person being observed rested his arm on the arm of the chair; his left hand fingered a string of prayer beads; his right hand, in a fist, rested on his belly. He then pushed away the notebook in front of him, picked up the cup in front of him and took a sip of water, picked a tea leaf out of his mouth and threw it away, then stroked his nose with the index finger of his left hand and touched his left cheek.

Teacher Lü's analysis on the spot:

1. The arm resting on the armrest means that recently, and at the point marked X, he received the support and help of others, and the thing he planned or was doing found its footing.

1. Fingering the prayer beads. Beads stand for troublesome matters; fingering them means troublesome matters occur. So recently, and at the point marked X, he will have entangled, knotted, hard-to-clear trouble.

1. The right fist on the belly. The belly stands for secret people, matters and things. A hand placed on the belly means that recently, and at the point marked X, a secret matter will occur, or he will do something secret. At the same time, for a man the belly is also closely connected with feeling for the opposite sex, so it means that recently, and at the point marked X, something connected with such feeling will happen or be done.

1. Pushing the notebook away. A notebook stands for matters connected with the seal. Pushing it away means that recently, and at the point marked X, an important matter connected with the seal is postponed or pushed aside.

1. Taking a sip from the cup in front of him. A sip of water means that recently, and at the point marked X, money comes in. The cup is sand; sand in front of him means incoming money, and also means meeting an outstanding woman, and means he handled some troublesome people, matters and things correctly.

1. Picking a tea leaf out of his mouth and throwing it away. A tea leaf stands for money; one leaf means not much money. So recently, and at the point marked X, he will lose or spend a small sum.

Small money and large money are relative to the person observed. For Ma Y, losing ten thousand yuan is small money; for us, losing ten thousand is at least a middling sum, and not a small loss at all.

1. Stroking the nose with the left index finger. The nose stands for money. The index finger stands for decision. Stroking the nose with the index finger means that recently, and at the point marked X, money comes in, or he has put money or property away. Making an auspicious decision (stroking is an auspicious gesture) about money and property means the money and property have been stored: either he acquired a good thing, or he deposited the money in a bank or asked someone to keep it for him.

1. Touching the cheek with the hand. The hand stands for matters; the cheek also stands for matters. Touching the cheek means that recently, and at the corresponding point, he feels content about something he has done (touching is a state of pleasure, not of pain).

The student's feedback on the spot:

1. This year he attended the hundred-day intensive, with his family's full support.

1. In the year X money came in, but with a great deal of minor trouble.

1. In the mao month of the year X there was a matter of feeling.

1. In the year X he had planned to build a temple; because of certain changes it is now postponed.

The student then asked: he was wearing gloves when he touched his nose. Does that have special meaning?

Teacher Lü answered: wearing gloves is still touching the nose with the hand. If he had touched it with a tool, that would be another matter. Touching the face with a gloved hand is the same as holding the sleeve of one's own garment and touching the face with it. But taking the glove off and rubbing the face with the glove held in the hand is different — just as taking off a garment and rubbing the face with the garment is different from holding the sleeve of the garment one is wearing and rubbing the face with that.

Hold a pen and touch your nose: the pen is a tool, not one body with you. But a mask you are wearing and gloves you are wearing are one body with you. So wearing a mask in the ordinary way has no meaning of covering the eyes and mouth. The doctors and nurses you meet in a hospital all wear masks; that does not mean they are keeping hidden secrets, or that they bungle their speech all day. Clothing worn on the body is one with the body and carries no predictive meaning. But an object held in the hand is not one with your body, and a held object carries omen meaning.