Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-01-27
CHINESE FORTUNE TELLERs.
A Story of the Graft in San Francisco's
Chinatown.

Chinatown in San Francisco and one
of the most interesting characters, is
Wong Gong, astrologer, clairvoyant,
physiognomist, palmist and all-round
wizard, who holds court in the weirdest
sort of little den in the "Blingum" por-
ton of the Celestial quarter. Wong
hangs his sign at the entrance of the
Jackson street Palace Hotel.
AT a round table in the centre of a
roof about 10x12 sits the twin of the
doctor in 1.-THE First Born" A small
kerosene lamp radiates light for a
space of perhaps two feet and sends
queer shadows over the remaining por-
ton of the room. You are already fas
cinated by the mystery Of it; you in
hale the faint odor of incense and look
about at the assortment of mixed pic
lures. Suddenly you are recalled to
earth by the flowery speech of the re-
vealer, asking whether you will have
the past or future, want him to read
your palm, let the stars determine your
fate, or just choose your own fortune
by selecting sticks. There is one pc
culiarity in all the various methods of
Chinese fortune telling-you must ask
plainly just what you want to know.
You announce the subject and the
prophet will do the rest.
l fancy it depends a great deal upon
the color of your eyes and hair and
the tilt of your nose whether the an
swer to your question be propitious or
no. One old fellow in a communicative
mood told me that he would not tell any
red haired persons fortune. Titan
y, n
peal to the artistic soul of the Chinese.
Priests, ministers, doctors and under
takers are also tabooed, if by any
chance their profession is disclosed
Their money, according to the Chinese
idea, will hoodoo the purse. Wong
Kong, however, is a trifle more Ameri-
canized than any of the others, SO he
does not draw the line quite so severe
| ly, but he, too, has his superstitions.
Tourists generally take SO cents or
81 worth of past or future, but those
who know are more apt to dicker for
a quarters worth, for fortune in China
town is sold singly or in quantities,
like fish or vegetables. Ten cents a
question, three for a quarter, seven for
a half, and it is vastly more fun than
buying it in wholesale quantities. The
stick process of divination goes some
thing like this: The customer is re-
auested to choose from small jar full
of sticks. These sticks are about a
foot in length, pointed at the end and
PAINTED red - the tips. The symbols
and Chinese characters upon them de-
termine your fate. There are, in all,
26 of these sticks, each one represent
ing a block upon the shell of a terra
min. a certain species of which. from
the Chinese point of view, is symbolic
of all that is good. Some of the spots
with words strongly expressive of evil,
as ''fiend," dragon" or evil geni1.'
Others are spirits of dead friends.
"God. Heaven, earth, water, fire." etc.
After choosing the required number of
sticks they are deity gathered up by
the taper fingers of the OWNER, VINO
has in the meantime placed a slip of
red paper before him and has prepared
the brush and pot of backing or
Chinese ink. Then as he looks over
the symbols and sorts the sticks he
murmurs a sort of prayer as he writes
in Chinese on the red slip. The prayer,
as near as it can be translated into
English. goes like this: MAY the great
felicitous star answer to it's change
without resting. May it dispel diabol-
ical influences and bind monsters, pre-
serve life and protect the person. In
wisdom. intelligence, splendor and pur-
ity. may the heart and spirit have rest
and peace. May the three souls OF
which man is constituted endure for
ever"
You are then requested to state your
question. Perhaps you wish to know if
you are to travel. Very well. A long
iargon, lot of mysterious letter paint
ing, the revealer all the time as serious
as statue. Finally he answers that
you will be lucky, or otherwise. Then
he is ready for the next question. Ii
you happen to strike Wongs fancy ne
will tell you that you have red
heart" one of the greatest compli-
ments that a Chinese can pay.
Just how well Wong Gong can d.
vine the future / am not prepared toI
state; but he certainly is a clever judge
of human nature, and among his own
countrymen he appears to be quite a
power, having many regular customers
who consult him on every question be-
fore taking action. Many fond faith
ers bring their small sons to see what
the future has in store for them. Wong
himself is a queer character, a mix
ture of native shrewdness and Irish
blarney. He speaks three languages.
but is master of none. His patois of
,flowery English, occasionally breaking |
into the most popular of slang, is GER
tainly curiosity. especially as thisl
slang is spoken with Confucian dignity
and great seriousness. During his
twenty odd years of fortune-t telling
here in San Francisco Wong has made
quite a, number of American friends,
among them few celebrities, of whom
he is very proud.
The street fortune tellers are also IN |
teresting characters. About every four