Hanlu Temple · eighty lots
Wenquxing Hall — Lot 2
This tube asks about studies. Write the exam you have to pass clearly in your mind.
Wenquxing Hall · Lot 2Good
十年灯下苦功夫一举成名在半途莫道文章无伯乐星光不负苦读书
What it means: The work is half done. Do not slacken now.
The verse is kept in Chinese. It is a four-line regulated poem — rhyme and metre are part of the thing itself, and they do not survive translation. The reading below is written in English.
The reading
Ten years of effort is at its midpoint, and easing off is the one thing that ruins it. Sit an hour longer each day and go back through your mistakes. Until the results are posted, ignore what people say.
Wenchang's lots rarely mention luck. They talk about work and frame of mind.
How to read this grade
Good sits one step below Excellent: the direction is right, but the work has to be carried with diligence and patience. If the verse talks about keeping, gathering or holding steady, that is the point of the lot.
All eighty lots are lines written for Hanlu Temple. They are here to help you put a question into words — no promise, and no medical, financial or legal advice.
Draw this lot in the hall
Walk to the Wenquxing Hall, sit down on a cushion and put your palms together. The tube of lots stands by the altar. A lot you drew in the same hall on the same day is remembered, so you can come back and read it again.