Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/526

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422
THE PASSING OF KOREA

insures a plentiful source from which to recruit the ranks of the profession.

Koreans use the services of a pansu to find out whether a man will escape the punishment of a crime; whether he will receive a reward for good conduct; whether a certain piece of work will be successful; what will happen during the day; what will happen during the month; what will happen during the year; what will happen up to the point of death; what was the condition in a former state of existence; whether he carries in his body the seeds of a great misfortune; how to find a lost article or person; whether a journey will be prosperous; what is the condition of a distant friend or relative; what will be the day of his death; whether he will become wealthy; what is the cause of sickness; in what direction he should move when he changes his residence; whether he can repair his house without suffering calamity; whether he will draw a prize in a lottery; whether he had better purchase a certain slave; when a son will be born; when he will obtain official position; when he will get out of jail; whether a son or daughter will have a happy life; how a spirit may be propitiated; when one must marry in order to be happy; where to find a good husband for one's daughter; whether a dream is good or bad; whether it will be safe to cut down a certain tree; whether he may move a grave with safety; whether it will be well for a woman to be delivered of a child at her own house or whether she had better go to some other.

Divination is accomplished in any one of three ways, - with dice-boxes, pieces of money or Chinese characters. The first of these is the lowest, the second is a little more respectable, and the third, being performed with Chinese characters, may be adopted by a gentleman without incurring criticism. Many gentlemen learn to do their own divining in a crude sort of way.

The dice-box divination consists in shaking and throwing out from a dice-box eight little metal rods about the size of friction matches. Each rod has a different number of notches cut in it, and as each rod is put back after the throw, it will be seen that