算命赚钱：一个算命师的故事

前言——
在英文里，fortune既是命运，又代表财富。算命师则是结合了这个词两种含义的一种角色吧。
我有个加拿大朋友Liam，他在中国教书，开了个博客叫the face of china，定期采访一些他觉得有趣的中国人。去年12月他问我有没有什么好的采访提议，我说我住雍和宫附近，走在雍和宫大街上总有人拉我说“姑娘请留步，免费给您算一卦”“小姐您长得贵气”等等，他听到扑哧一乐，我说要不你来采访算命师吧。
后来一拍即合，决定采访算命师，他执意要找个足够老的算命师，因为这样才比较带感，最后我们在一个胡同里找到了李先生。Liam提问，我帮忙翻译，有了以下采访。（主要是翻译了我朋友Liam的文章，也添加了一些我觉得有趣的内容。）
算命赚钱：一个算命师的故事——
                
                
李先生是个算命师。今年58岁，住在雍和宫（北京著名的藏传佛教寺院）附近一条老胡同里，他的算命生意也在同一屋檐下。李先生精通周易卜卦法（以周易阴阳、八卦象数理论为指导，结合干支五行学说，创造的一套独特而神奇的预测方法）。他同意给我算命，并就他的职业接受了采访。
首先是摇卦。李先生让我一边想着我想问的问题，一边摇手里的三枚铜钱。我将铜钱分六次抛下，李先生有条不紊地记下了铜钱每次的排布。
“好卦！”我最后一次抛完铜钱，他说道。这是“鲤鱼变龙”之卦，是个喜卦。卦中又发展出另外一卦“青龙得位”，是心想事成之卦。他看到我过去的事业并不成功，可是从明年起，我的运气就会变好。如果我从政或是做金融，会有大好前程。同时，他算出我未婚，他说就算我早婚，也会以离婚告终。他预测2013年我会结婚，但我的第一段婚姻并不会很理想，而是会经历离婚、再婚，第二段婚姻才是成功的。
他询问了我的出生日期、时间，拿出一本黄色的万年历查看。从我的生辰八字，他说我过去的事业很不顺利，但2013年是变化的一年。留在东方，会对我更有利。可能他最惊人的预测就是：我会成为一个亿万富翁，但他并没具体点明我是如何做到的。
他多次强调2013我会十分走运，不管事业还是婚姻，或者任何其他方面。我的每一步都会是正确、成功的。我还问了他我最后会在哪里安定下来，他说如果我做和金融相关行业，会留在东方。如果我选择做一个政客，则会定居加拿大。
我问李先生有没有什么事情是我需要特别注意的，他回答说我应该多穿黑色或者蓝色的衣服，因为这些是我的幸运色，棕色或者红色则不能穿。5和10这两个数字对我不利，我最好避开它们，尤其是涉及到很重要的金融交易时，比如买房。1,3,6,8是我的幸运数字，我做生意时应该记住这些数。
从李先生口中得知了我未来的光辉岁月后，我开始了对他事业和算卦这种特殊能力的采访。我提到我想帮助外国人了解中国文化，这促使他表达了关于中国人和中国文化的一些观点：
“中国是人类文明开始的地方，中国文化是最美的。古时候我们说盘古开天辟地，地球是盘古开辟的，盘古就是中国人嘛，所以中国处于世界中心位置。在盘古之前，世界一片混沌。在中国，人们正越变越矮，这是因为中国人越来越聪明，中国人是进化完全的，外国人呢，还在进化中，所以他们才比中国人高。一旦外国人也完成了进化，他们的平均身高就也会降低，就像中国人一样。”
—您是什么时候成为算命师的？
—30年前。我没做过其他工作，我父亲和祖父也都是算命师。我是跟父亲学的算命，他有开班进行授课。
—您为什么会从河南来到北京？
—这是我的命运。我预测到了。
—您小时候算到了您会成为一个算命师吗？
—没有，因为那时候我的卜卦能力还不强。
—您小时候有没有什么读心术之类的特殊的感知能力？
—我七八岁开始，能看到鬼魂。他们看起来和人一样，但是非常瘦。（民间大家说你瘦的跟鬼似的，就是因为鬼真的就是特别瘦。）我十六岁时，我父亲把我的能力封了，因为他觉得这对身体不好。我不知道他是怎么做到的。
—您能说说您工作日一般是怎么样的么？
—我8点上班，6点下班，每周工作五天。每天大概有4到10个顾客。
 
                
                
—您有过外国顾客吗？
—有啊。日本的，韩国的，新加坡、马来西亚的，美国人，都有。
—外国顾客和中国顾客有什么不一样的么？
—没什么，都一样。
—您的顾客会在预言应验之后回来找您吗？
—会。
—您能举个例子吗？
—你就会。我算的都实现之后，你就会回来找我。这样的例子太多了，数都数不过来，我就不说了。
—您会去您同行那，让他们给您算命吗？
—会啊，我们互相学习。我们会定期聚会，讨论《易经》。（《易经》是一本关于变化之书，长期被“卜筮”使用。）
—您算到了我今天会来采访您吗？
—没有。虽然我是做这个的，我也不会每天都给自己算命。我很少给自己算命（这个十分花费精力的），如果我算到你会采访我，你一进来我就会说了。
—您预言过任何灾害吗？
—有，我每年春节的时候都会预测自然灾害、国家命运。我算到了去年的日本大地震，也算到了今年中日的钓鱼岛之争。
—您预测过中国的未来吗？
—未来，中国和美国会统领世界。中国是阴，美国是阳。他们需要彼此，来达到平衡，不过这需要很长一段时间。
                
                
吐槽——
采访完李先生，我和Liam出门，相视wow了一声。Liam在和我讨论问什么问题的时候还自满了一下，想说能问出这样的问题真是赞，没想到李先生其实给出了好些我们意料之外的巧妙回答。相信与否倒是其次，我是觉得和算命师聊聊天也还蛮有趣的。和几个朋友讲过这件事之后，大家都纷纷表示，可以得空找算命师聊天去了。
原文：He’s Making a Fortune: The Tale of a Teller
Li Jiu Ming is a 58 year old fortune teller who runs his business from his small home in a traditional Beijing hútòng 胡同 near the Yong He Lama Temple, a notable Buddhist monastery. Mr. Li is an expert in Zhou Yi divination 周易, a traditional Chinese method for predicting future events using ancient texts. He agreed to read my fortune and provide an interview regarding his profession.
Prior to reading my fortune, Mr. Li asked me to shake three divination coins in my fist while thinking about what I wished to ask him. The coins were thrown down six times in this fashion, with Mr. Li methodically noting the arrangement of the coins following each throw.
“That’s a good one”, he remarked, upon noticing the coin combination from my final throw. The combination represented the metamorphosis from a fish into a dragon. The dragon will then move into its rightful position, resulting in my every wish coming true. He looked into my past and saw an unsuccessful career. Starting from next year, he claimed, my luck will improve, and I will have a brilliant career in politics or finance. He correctly stated that I haven’t married yet. Had I married early, he said, it would have ended in divorce. He predicted that I will marry in 2013, though my first marriage will end in divorce. This will be followed by a second, more successful, marriage.
He also inquired into my date and exact time of birth, at which time he consulted a yellow book containing detailed tables of dates. My date of birth indicated that my career thus far had not been good, but that would change starting in 2013. He explained that it would be better if I stay in the East. Perhaps his most surprising prediction was that I will become a billionaire, but he didn’t specify how. He stressed that I will become very lucky in 2013, in my career, marriage, and everything else. Every move I make will be successful. I asked him where I will eventually settle down and he answered that if I choose a career in finance, I will stay in the East. If I choose to become a politician, I will live in Canada.
I asked Mr. Li if there is anything I should be careful of, and he answered that I should wear black or blue clothing, because those colors are best for me. I should not wear anything brown or red. He stated that 5 and 10 are unlucky numbers for me, and I should avoid them, especially in any important financial transactions such as purchasing a home. The numbers 1, 3, 6, and 8 are all lucky numbers for me, and I should remember them when bargaining with merchants.
After learning of my bright future from Mr. Li, I questioned him regarding his career and special abilities. I mentioned that I was interested in helping foreigners learn about Chinese culture, which prompted him to explain his views on Chinese people and culture:
“China is where human culture began. The Chinese culture is most beautiful. The universe was created by the first being Pángǔ 盘古, who was Chinese. Because he was Chinese, China is the center. Before him, there was nothing. In China, people are becoming shorter, because they are becoming wiser. Chinese people are fully evolved. Foreigners are still evolving, which explains why they are taller than Chinese people. Once foreigners have finished evolving, their average height will decrease, just like Chinese people.”
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-When did you become a fortune teller?
Thirty years ago. I have never had any other job. My father and grandfather were fortune tellers as well. My father trained me, as he trained the others who attended his class.
-Why did you move to Beijing from Henan?
It was in my fortune. I predicted it.
-When you were a child, did you predict that you would become a fortune teller?
I did not, because my prediction skills were weak when I was young.
-Did you have any telepathic powers or special powers of perception as a child?
I started seeing ghosts I was seven or eight. They looked just like people, but were really thin. When I was sixteen, my father removed this talent because he thought it was bad for my health. I don’t know how he did it.
-Can you please describe a typical day at work?
I work from 8am to 6pm, five days a week. I usually have from four to ten customers a day.
-Do you have any foreign customers?
Yes, Japanese, Korean, Singaporean, Malaysian, American.
-Do your foreign customers have any different habits from Chinese customers?
No, they’re all the same.
-Do customers ever return to you after your predictions have proved correct?
Yes.
-Can you give an example?
You will. You will come back, after my predictions have come true. There are too many other examples to recount, so I’d rather not go into it.
-Do you ever visit other fortune tellers to have your fortune told?
Yes, because we learn from each other. We meet regularly and discuss Yì Jīng 易经 (The Book of Changes, a classic Chinese text on divination).
-Did you predict that I would interview you today?
No. Even though I work in this field, I don’t predict my future every day. I seldom predict my own future and I would have told you before if I had predicted this interview.
-Have you ever predicted any disasters?
Yes, I give predictions about nature and the nation every year, during Spring Festival. I predicted the earthquake in Japan last year, as well as the current conflict with Japan over the Diaoyu Islands.
-Do you have any predictions about the future of China?
In the future, the US and China will be the governors of the world. China is the yīn 阴 and the US is the yang 阳. They need each other to maintain a balance. It will take a long time.
原文链接：http://thefaceofchina.com/
原文\图：Liam 翻译整理\浅色
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