Stories from Ancient China: Wei Zhao, A Master of the Book of Changes

[Note: The true masters of the Book of Changes in ancient Chinese times worked miracles in divination. They were capable of giving the finest details as if they had seen the future through the eyes of a god. Despite their incandescent capability in divination, the true masters of the Book of Change would never use it for personal fame or profit. They usually consciously avoided showing off their skills and remained unknown, which manifested all the more their noble moral standing.]

Wei Zhao from Ruyin was a true master of The Book of Changes in the period of the North and South Dynasties (420 – 589 A.D). Before Wei Zhao died, he gave a woodcarving to his wife, and said: “After I die, our family will suffer from extreme poverty, but you must never sell our home no matter how financially difficult our situation may be. In the fifth spring from now, a Zhao Shi (an ancient Chinese government official’s position) will pass by our neighbourhood, and will take a break in the pavilion next to our home. [These pavilions were post shelters on the roadside built by the government in ancient times. It was also the office for travelling officials or a rest area for laymen on the road.] The officer’s last name is Gong. He owes me a large amount of gold. You should present to him this woodcarving and ask to settle the debt with him. You must do exactly what I have told you.”

After Wei Zhao’s death, his family was reduced to extreme poverty as he had predicted. At one point his wife wanted to sell the house to make ends meet, but she remembered Wei Zhao’s words, and gave up the idea.

In the fifth spring, a Zhao Shi named Gong did indeed come to the pavilion near their home to take a rest. Wei Zhao went to see him with that woodcarving to settle the debt. Gong examined the woodcarving over and over again, looking very puzzled.

Wei’s wife said: “My husband drew this picture himself. He had predicted our fate after his death and told me about your visit. I wouldn’t dream of lying to you!” Gong contemplated for a very long time looking at the floor before he finally figured the whole thing out. He asked Mrs. Wei, “Did your husband specialise in anything?” Mrs. Wei answered, “My husband was an expert on The Book of Changes, but he never did fortune-telling for anyone.”

Gong thereupon understood how to interpret the wooden board. He said, “Oh, now I know what to do with the plate.” Gong started to draw on the woodcarving with a dried grass stem and to interpret the signs based on The Book of Changes. When Gong finally understood the message on the board from Wei Gao, he clapped his hands with excitement. “Mr. Wei was a genius! Why would a true master of The Book of Changes be willing to live in obscurity, unknown to the public?! Mr. Wei, you are a real genius!”

Next, Gong revealed to Mrs. Wei the secret of the woodcarving: “Actually, I don't owe you any money. Mr. Wei had gold in his possession and knew that in the first several years after his death, your family would suffer from poverty. He also knew that the gold would be more useful when society was in a better situation. Therefore, he intentionally hid the gold to save it for later. He didn’t want to tell you or the children about the gold, because he worried that you might spend all the gold before you really needed the money. Mr. Wei could even see that I’m also good at The Book of Changes and would pass by this town, so he drew several Trigrams on the wooden board for me to help locate the gold. Do you know that you have 25 catties of gold?! They are stored in a blue jar topped by a copper plate. The jar is buried 3 meters below the ground at the east room of your house, about 10 feet away from the wall.”

Mrs. Wei followed his instructions and indeed found a jar of gold.