CHINE, DYNASTIE MING, DATÉ DU PREMIER MOIS DE L’ANNÉE BINGSHEN DU RÈGNE DE L’EMPEREUR WANLI (1616)

This remarkable volume, printed in 1616 for the Wanli Emperor, resembles a Buddhist sutra but is, in fact, a fortune-telling book that merges Buddhist beliefs with indigenous Chinese divination practices predating Daoism. The preface recounts how the Tang dynasty monk Xuanzang travelled to India to collect Buddhist sutras and encountered the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (known in Chinese as Guanyin). She warned him of unpredictable dangers he would face on his journey and offered to teach him a fortune-telling method involving five coins and 32 possible combinations. She advised him to memorize these combinations and their meanings, practicing them each morning to foresee the day’s fortunes and potential misfortunes. The preface also suggests that before casting the coins, one should chant, “Praise to the compassionate, miracle-performing Bodhisattva and Mahasattva Avalokitesvara” either 7, 37, or 108 times. In China, the tradition of throwing five coins for fortune-telling has existed for over a millennium. In this volume, one side of each coin is left plain, while the reverse side depicts the Five Elements: earth, fire, water, gold, and wood. The book illustrates 32 of the possible outcomes from tossing the coins, with the number 32 reflecting the various manifestations of Avalokitesvara . For instance, the first combination depicted shows gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, considered one of the luckiest arrangements. Accompanying the coin diagram are four five-character phrases: “The phoenix will come to the red palace, the auspicious turtle will bestow good fortune, disasters will be prevented, good luck and prosperity will arrive, and everyone will be happy.” The meanings of these phrases are elaborated upon in the preceding page. The frontispiece is exquisitely painted, featuring occasional gold detailing. The main outlines of the scene were printed using woodblocks, while finer elements, such as faces, flowers, and birds, were hand-painted in black ink. The colors and gold accents were also applied by hand. The illustration depicts Guanyin seated on a rock, envisioned as the goddess of the Southern Sea, surrounded by rocks, waves, and bamboo. To her right is a water sprinkler containing a bamboo branch, and on her left is the Dragon King, accompanied by his granddaughter Longnü, who holds a pearl. A youthful figure of Shencai is shown praying to her right. To the left of the frontispiece is a striking colophon inscribed: “May the empire always be secure, and may the emperor flourish, the Buddha light shine increasingly, the Wheel of the Law turn eternally.” The last two pages of this volume feature a colophon stating the date as the bingchen year of Wanli, corresponding to 1616, alongside the guardian figure Wei Tuo facing the colophon. According to the inscription at the text's conclusion, 120 copies were printed, yet no records of other copies have been found.