| Kau cim | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 求籤 / 求簽 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Request a stick or Beg a stick | ||||||||||
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Kau Cim is a fortune telling practice that originated in China in which the querent requests answers from a sacred oracle lot. The practice is often performed in a Taoist or Buddhist temple in front of an altar. Kau Cim is often referred to as Chien Tung or Chinese Fortune Sticks by westerners. In the USA, a version has been sold since 1915 under the name Chi Chi Sticks. Kau Cim is also sometimes known as "The Oracle of Kuan Yin" in Buddhist traditions.
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The prediction begins with the cup storing a number of the sticks. After the querent has finished their devotions to the main deity, the querent kneels and thinks silently or whispers it to the deity about their question while holding the cup between their palms. This part needs to be done decisively as one should not shift questions or hesitate on the question in the middle of the rite. The shaking of the cylinder, which is usually tipped slightly downward, results in at least one stick leaving the cylinder and being dropped onto the floor. In most cases, if multiple sticks leave the cylinder, those fortunes would not count and must be shaken again. Each stick, with its designated number, represents one answer.
Once a single stick falls out, that stick will have a number on it that will correspond to a number, leading to a single piece of paper with an answer. The writing on the piece of paper will provide an answer to the question. To confirm the validity of the answer given by the deity, the querent will pick up and toss two jiaobei blocks (筊杯). Each block is round on one side and flat on the other. A successful answer requires one side flat and one side round to be shown when tossed, a failed answer will result in two round sides tossed. In some practices, much emphasis is placed on denial when both sides flat are tossed; some legends that say when this happens, the deities are laughing at the querent. The querent will have the option to ask for a fortune again until a successful answer can be made.
Following a successful fortune, interpretation may be needed to comprehend the answer. Answers can be interpreted by a temple priest or volunteers or can be interpreted by the querent. In many cases, an offering is made prior to the asking of the question in order to carry good favor from the higher powers. These offerings typically consist of incense, fresh fruits, cakes, a roasted pig or fowl, or monetary donations.
At places such as the Thean Hou Temple the handheld bucket is replaced with a larger container. On the inside at the bottom of the container are protrusions (such as the heads of fixing bolts). To consult the oracle, the querent holds the sticks in a vertical bundle, raises them a little inside the bucket and drops them while holding them loosely. Any stick that stands proud of the rest (because it is resting on a protrusion, not having bounced off) is considered part of the divined answer.
The stick result is analyzed by an interpreter, who has a book of Chinese poetic phrases and stories. The interpretation is generally short ranged, typically covering no more than one year, using Chinese New Year as the starting point. The interpreter typically charges a small fee. Often, interpreters provide other services such as palm or face reading.
Because the accuracy of the prediction very much depend on the interpreter, some people run the result through a number of different interpreters to see whether similar results are drawn. The interpreted answer is usually a historical Chinese story re-told in modern sense. The story is basically the forthcoming event the querent is about to experience.
In Hong Kong, by and large the most popular place for this fortune telling practice is the Wong Tai Sin Temple which draws thousands to millions of people each year.
In 1915 kau cim sticks were introduced to the United States under the name "Chi Chi sticks" by the Pacific Dry Goods Company of San Francisco, California, where a large population of Chinese immigrants had settled. The sticks were made in China of bamboo but they were marked with Arabic numerals instead of Chinese characters, and were packaged in a bright yellow and red chipboard tube with a black lid (like a modern mailing tube). They were accompanied by a rolled-up book of rhyming interpretations that fit inside the tube with the sticks.
By the early 1920s, Chi Chi sticks were available all across America, from several importers and under a variety of trade names. They were heavily marketed to African American fortune tellers through mail-order catalogues. They fell out of popularity during World War II , but only due to problems with supply, as China had been invaded by Japan and trade routes were disrupted.
In the 1990s importations of kau cim sticks were again available in the USA, this time packaged in leather-covered tubes painted with ornate Chinese designs -- but still with the old rhyming Chi Chi stick booklet so well known to Americans. Meanwhile, vintage Chi Chi sticks of the 1915-1935 era -- if all their parts and the booklet are intact -- have become highly desirable collectibles among those who collect artifacts related to fortune telling.
The practice of using sticks in Chien Tung may be related to the game of pick-up sticks played today. This theory is based on a Japanese variation, called Mikado, which also has an emperor stick. A form of the game developed in the 16th century and may have been adapted from Chinese culture and religion.