Abstract
The present article apprehends the concept of divination in the pre-Qin period by analyzing certain bureaucratic systems within Zhouli 周禮 (Rites of Zhou), including pyro-plastromancy (tortoise plastron cracking), stalk divination and oneiromancy, which elaborate on divination tools, the processes of related activities and the propagation of technical knowledge. To begin, “bushi” 卜師 (divination master or instructor) were responsible for the four types of omens on tortoise plastrons in the Zhou dynasty; among them, the yi 義 omen is likely a square hole with rounded corners and gong 弓 (bow) is two connected round holes with longitudinal grooves. In addition to observing the cracks of tortoise plastrons from the Spring and Autumn period, it is necessary to determine whether the omen is auspicious or ominous by their associated verses. Fortunately, Bushu 卜書, a manuscript in the Shanghai Museum Chu bamboo slips from the Warring States period regarded as a direct product of this custom, has collected the verses. The role of “zhanren” 占人 (diviner) also conducted tortoise plastron cracking and stalk divination, a practice which reflects the same characteristics of bamboo slips used for divination in the Chu region of the Warring States period. With this in mind, this article restores the actual processes of divination activities through the different styles of handwriting of the Baoshan bamboo slips. Moreover, the numbers that were recorded in Shifa 筮法, found within the Tsinghua University bamboo slips, can assist us in inferring the early methods of yarrow stalk divination and the possible range of the number of yarrows. Guizang 歸藏 of the Wangjiatai Qin bamboo slips frequently mentions “mei” 枚 (twig) divination, and sixty twigs with a length of 62.5 cm were unearthed from the very same tomb as the slips, indicating that they were used as divination tools. The rise of twig divination in the late Spring and Autumn period likely serves as the background of when Guizang was written. The manuscript Yu jiu ce 禹九策 (Nine Stalks of Yu) from the Peking University Qin bamboo slips uses bamboo chips and bamboo tubes as divination tools, namely the so-called “tingzhuan” 筳篿 within the Songs of Chu 楚辭. Jing jue 荊決 contained with the Han bamboo slips at Peking University is similar to the thatch divination of the Song and Yuan dynasties, and it can be speculated that divine thatch, a specialty of the Chu region, was originally used for divination which is referred to as “qiongmao” 藑茅 in the Songs of Chu. Finally, this article expounds that “zhanmeng” 占夢, namely oneiromancy, is related to the practice of divination through observing meteorological phenomenon. Of the three types of dreams, “zhimeng” 致夢 is what later generations would call being visited (e.g., by a deity or the deceased) in a dream; “jimeng” 觭夢 connotes any dream deemed to be fantastic; and “xianzhi” 咸陟 is likely a dream about the weather. The text Zhanmeng shu 占夢書, found within the Yuelu Academy Qin bamboo slips, records that spirits desire to eat and lead someone to dream, a conception which has long influenced traditional culture.
Keywords
pyro-plastromancy; stalk divination; oneiromancy; sortilege
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