2009 power and prediction

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On the Intersection of Power and Prediction: Aspects of Divination inEarly China and Greece

Lisa Raphals

University of California, Riverside

This material is part of an extensive comparative study of the roles of divination in the

formative cultures of China and Greece.1 By divination I mean a delierate search for

understandin! of the hidden si!nificance of events in the future, present or past. "If it #ere

ovious, there #ould e no need to divine.$ %s a set of coherent reasonale technolo!ies for

predictin! "and potentially controllin!$ the future, divination emer!es as a ma&or constitutive

element in oth Chinese and Gree' thou!ht and social practice, ut its importance only e!ins

#ith predictin! the future. (ivination #as also used to interpret the hidden causes or

si!nificance of events, variously understood as the #ill of the !ods, patterns of chan!e, or cosmic

principles. It affected the development of medicine, la#, philosophy, politics, and the history of

science.)

Recent research stresses the dual aspect of divination, as oth a set of mental attitudes

and a set of social institutions. % series of studies over the past t#o decades have focused on

important sociolo!ical and epistemolo!ical dimensions of divination, oth in anti*uity and in the present. Reco!nition of the importance of the social role of divination invites many other

*uestions. +hat domains of society #ere under the authority of divination, and #here #ere

diviners in the hierarchy of memers of a society #ho #ield the po#er of decision, such as

'in!s, priests, or &ud!es The possiility and act of prophecy themselves created important

choices that determined decisions on oth pulic and private matters. It is important to stress the

-normalcy- of oth aspects of divination in civiliations #here it #as central. It #as not an

isolated mentality, opposed to such -ordinary- social practices as la#, medicine, or

1This research #as partially supported y fundin! from the /resident0s Research ello#ships inthe 2umanities, University of California, the 3ational 4ndo#ment for the 2umanities, and the%merican Council of Learned 5ocieties.

)In particular see 6ernant 1789 and Chemla et. al.1777.

1



administration, ut rather a coherent part of social thou!ht "analo!ous, mutatis mutandis, to

consultin! a physician or a stoc'ro'er$.

5ome 2ellenists have applied the methods of anthropolo!y to study the function of Gree'

oracles, and have concluded that their functions #ere less predictive than re!ulatory. In this

vie#, oracles offered #ays to resolve doutful situations and to validate decisions already ta'en

at the community level. Classical studies of the su&ects of Gree' divination ta'e them as 'eys to

chan!in! stress points of Gree' society.

% related *uestion is the relation et#een diviners and political authority. +hat #ere the

political roles of Gree' or Chinese diviners +hat #ere the tensions et#een divination and

political authority These *uestions are complicated y a lon!standin! "ut no# chan!in!$

tendency of oth Gree' and Chinese historians to do#nplay the role of reli!ion and ritual in

favor of "on the 2ellenic side$ Gree' rationality and "on the Chinese side$ Confucian humanism.In a forthcomin! oo' I ma'e that road ar!ument that Chinese and Gree' divination can

e examined in comparale phases of intellectual, social and political or!aniation. The first is a

roadly theocratic phase in #hich divinatory activity arises in close connection to royal po#er

and state ritual. (iviners are either officials or military fi!ures, either of royal irth or hi!h

officials #or'in! closely #ith 'in!s. In China this period includes the 5han!, +estern :hou, and

early 4astern :hou, to the ;<th century.= In the Gree' #orld this phase is documented in

accounts of le!endary 2omeric manteis and divination in the Iliad and Odyssey. It also includes

the testimonies of 2esiod, the 2omeric 2ymns, and evidence for the rise of oracles in the ;>th

throu!h the ;<th centuries.9

% second phase is mar'ed y the asence of central political po#er and intense

competition, oth amon! diviners and et#een diviners and other intellectual and textual

specialists. This phase is most mar'ed in +arrin! 5tates China and #ith fifth and fourth century

Greece. It is mar'ed y the relative political independence of diviners. This period sees the

domination of a *uintessentially Gree' mode of divination, oracles, and the rise of a very

=Chinese #ords are transliterated in /inyin. Translations are my o#n unless other#iseindicated.

94xcept #here other#ise indicated, Gree' texts are referenced accordin! to the Loe ClassicalLirary editions. +ith the exception of terms that are #ell 'no#n other#ise, Gree' terms aretransliterated accordin! to the third edition of the Oxford Classical (ictionary.

)



particular oracle, the pan;2ellenic shrine of %pollo at (elphi. /olitical consultation at (elphi

and the uni*ue reputation of this oracle stands in contrast to the mana!ement and procedures of

more typical Gree' oracles, such as those at (odona and (idyma.

In a third phase, divination a!ain comes under the s#ay of a po#erful and centralied

imperium. The independence of diviners from political authority is compromised or nonexistent,

and divination ecomes an important aspect of the le!itimation of state po#er. I identify this

imperial phase #ith the ?in and 2an dynasties in China, #ith the rise of %lexander in the Gree'

#orld and, of course, Rome.

It should e said that this periodiation is not #ithout its prolems, since the nature of the

evidence and source materials is very different. There is si!nificant Chinese evidence for the

first period, ut the Gree' evidence is #ea'er, as the 2omeric poems cannot e ta'en as

historically transparent accounts of divinatory practices. @ur 'no#led!e of archaic Gree'oracles all comes from oral tradition, via the 2omeric poems, #hich had particular features in the

values and heroic types they portrayed. 5ources are y far the stron!est for the classical period,

#here there is a #ealth of historical accounts in oth Greece and China. @ther prolems arise

for Greco;Roman sources for the third period. or example, it is difficult to &ud!e to #hat extent

the decline of oracles in anti*uity #as a real phenomenon. Gree' historical accounts are #ea',

and most evidence comes from accounts not interested in historical narrative.

(espite prolems of evidence, I concentrate on the third period , from mid ;9th to mid

;)nd century Greece and ?in and 2an China. In these periods, divination comes under the s#ay

of a po#erful and centralied imperium in oth ?in;2an China and 2ellenistic Greece and

Rome. Reemer!ent political authority, and ne# uses of divination ased on it, provide oth

advanta!es and disadvanta!es for diviners and also to the private individuals #ho still consult

them. In this period, there is no independence from political authority, and divination a!ain

ecomes an important aspect of the le!itimation of state po#er.

I e!in #ith the imperial uses of divination in ?in and 2an China and 2ellenistic Greece.These include #hat #e mi!ht e tempted to call state sponsored scientific in*uiry and the

appropriation of divination for political authority and le!itimation. 3ext I touch on the place of

private divination in this complex scenario. +as mantic access constrained y the ne# interest

=



and control of the state inally, I ta'e up a line of ar!ument advanced y some Classicists that

the primary function of oracles "or more roadly, divination$ #as the production of social

consensus, rather than the prediction of the future "or interpretation of the past$, in other #ords,

that consensus #as more important than validity. %lthou!h classicists have turned to

anthropolo!y to try to understand the social roles of divination, that comparative turn has not

extended to China. I conclude #ith a Chinese perspective on this issue.

Divination and the State

In oth ?in and 2an China and 2ellenistic Greece and Rome, divination #as an officially

sanctioned and supported state activity, oth for military purposes and for other state purposes

such as control of the calendar, mana!ement of a!riculture, and le!al administration. (ivination

ecame an important tool for the le!itimation of the ne# imperium and its on!oin! decisions and

policies. @ne form in #hich divination #as used to olster political authority #as in theinclusion of ne# or ne#ly reinvented cosmolo!ies that underscored the authority of the state.

%nother form of state sponsorship, and control, #as the selective inclusion "or exclusion$ of

divination texts in canonical collections.

Military Divination

In oth China and Greece, distinctive modes of divination #ere used for the decision to

!o to #ar at the state level and attlefield divination in situ.

Greece

Gree' technical divination #as closely connected #ith #arfare. Both le!endary andhistoric military diviners #ere trained in #arfare and military command. rom the ;<th throu!h

the ;9th centuries, such manteis served a variety of tyrants and 'in!s, sometimes chan!in! their

alle!iances #hen the si!ns #ere unfavorale. or example, #hen the tyrant Telys of 5yaris

attac'ed Croton aout ;A1, his 4lean mantis Callias *uit his service and fled to Croton ecause

he could otain no favorale omens on Telys0 ehalf. Croton !ave him plots of land #here his

descendants lived, even in 2erodotus o#n time.A Inscriptions and epitaphs indicate the presence

of military manteis at several important attles, in some cases, stayin! to fi!ht after predictin!

defeat. ost famous is e!istias, the mantis #ho predicted defeat at Thermopylae "9>$.<

A2dt. A.99.<2dt 8.)17;))1.

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Consultations to (elphi on #arfare "and !overnment$ decrease compared to earlier

periods. The topic that dominates consultation is reli!ious cult, the sin!le lar!est topic of

consultation "rou!hly a third of all state consultations$. But this is not to say that military

divination disappeared. ilitary manteis continued to e employed y the 2ellenistic 'in!s.

In addition to the oracles, %lexander0s io!raphers report several other incidents of

divination for %lexander y the mantis %ristander. %ccordin! to /lutarch, durin! the sie!e of

Tyre in ==1. %ristander performed sacrifices and interpreted the entrails to affirm that the city

#ould e ta'en that month.8

%ristander reappears durin! the sie!e of Tyre in ==1. %ccordin! to /lutarch, he

performed sacrifices and interpreted the entrails to affirm that the city #ould e ta'en that

month.> Immediately after#ard he proceeded to Gaa, #hen a portent occurred. % lar!e irdfle# over him and dropped a clod of earth on his shoulder. The ird settled on a atterin! ram

and ecame entan!led in the nets that protected the ropes of the machine. %ristander interpreted

this as a confirmation of his prediction that %lexander should e #ounded and the city reduced.7

@n the eve of the attle of Gau!amela in ==1, %lexander #as said to have spent the entire

ni!ht #ith %ristander, performin! -mysterious ceremonies- and spha!ia sacrifice. In the

mornin!, his disheartened advisers ur!ed %lexander to attac' y ni!ht, to mas' the actual dan!er

of the attle. Instead, at the start of the attle, %ristander pointed out an ea!le that soared over

%lexander and fle# to#ard the enemy, effectively encoura!in! the army to char!e (arius0

troops.1

%ristander disappears from the record after the murder of Cleitus in =)>, ut another seer,

(emophon appears riefly in the accounts of (iodorus and Curtius "ut not in %rrian or

/lutarch$. (emophon #arned %lexander a!ainst attac'in! the to#n of the alli in =)<, and

#arned of portents indicatin! dan!er from a attle #ound. %lexander re&ected these #arnin!

8/lut. %lex. )A.1;=.>/lut. %lex. )A.1;=.7/lut. %lex. )A.9;A.1/lut. %lex. ==.1;=.

A



and led the attac', in #hich he #as dan!erously #ounded.11

Given the extreme textual prolems and their ultimate insoluility, #hat do #e ma'e of

the prolematic testimonies concernin! the role of oracles and divination in %lexander0s military

campai!ns and self;representation @ne approach is to stress their hi!hly fictional nature and to

re&ect many of them as unhistorical. %n alternative is to attempt a lar!er vie# of %lexander0s

attitudes to#ard divination. Lo#ell 4dmunds has ar!ued that %lexander0s reli!iosity has een

overloo'ed or underestimated in recent scholarship. %lexander0s devotion to the !ods #as #idely

reco!niedD %rrian, for example, refers to him as -the most attentive #ith respect to the !ods-

"tou theiou epimelestatos$.1) odern scholarship often trivialies this aspect of %lexander0s

character, either y reducin! it to deates aout #hether he elieved himself to e divine "ased

on the interpretation of a fe# historical incidents$ or y representin! his reli!iously motivated

actions as political propa!anda. 4dmunds ar!ues that %lexander0s heroism and emulation ofmythical heroes #ere aspects of a acedonian reli!iosity that had more in common #ith ;<th

century or even 2omeric values that #ith the values of ;9th century Greece. 1= %s he puts itE

-2omeric 'in!ship lived on in acedon. The 'in! #as preeminent amon!st the aristocratic

chiefs on account of his o#n #ealth and po#er. 2is po#er consisted in his o#n aretF.-19 %nd

acedonian 'in!ship, li'e 2omeric 'in!ship, #as deeply reli!iousD acedonian 'in!s #ere

priests #ho could, for example, purify the army at need.1A acedonian 'in!s #ere also deeply

involved #ith divination, and retained mantic seers such as %ristander and (emophon as

advisers.

China

ilitary pro!nostication #as e*ually important in China, ut since #arfare #as

considered a ritual activity of the state, military divination at the state level #as not separate in

'ind from other forms of state ritual divination. The decision of #hether to !o to #ar typically

11(iod. 18.7=D Curt. 7.9.)8;)7. By contrast %rrian "%na. <.7.1;11.>$ and /lutarch "%lex. <=$do not mention him.

1)%rr. %na 8.)>.).1=4dmunds 1781.194dmunds 1781, p. =8.1ACurt. 1.7.11;1).

<



#as ta'en at the state level y the use of turtle and yarro# divination. or example, the

Zuozhuan records that in ;<9A (u'e u of ?in orders a yarro# divination to determine #hether

to launch a retriutive invasion a!ainst in.1< %nother account descries a divination in the state

of +ei in ;A<=. %t the time, Chu and :hen! had invaded +ei0s ally 5on!, and in had invaded

Chu0s ally ?in "in retaliation for an earlier incursion$. The ar*uis of +ei #as a#ay aidin!

5on!, and in response to a crisis, the +ei official 5un +eni divined aout #hether to

counterattac', ut as'ed the 'in!0s stepmother (in! ian! to interpret the crac'sE

孫文子卜追之獻兆於定姜. 姜氏問繇. 曰: 兆如山陵, 有夫出征而喪其雄.

姜氏曰: 征者, 喪雄!之"# .

5un +eni performed turtle divination on #hether to pursue them, and then

presented the crac' to (in! ian!. Lady ian! as'ed for the omen. 2e saidE -The

crac' is li'e a mountain suspended. There is a chief leadin! a raid only to mourn

his fi!hters.- Lady ian! saidE -The chief losin! his fi!hters opposin! andits are

your profit.-18

The passa!e ends #ith a verification that +ei did counterattac' and captured 2uan! 4r of

:hen!.

%t a much later date, the use of turtle and yarro# divination to predict the rise and fall of

states #as &ustified at a more !eneral level y :hon! Hon!中庸 "Un#averin! /ivot$ chapter of

the Liji:

至誠之道．可以前知．國家將興．必有禎祥．國家將亡．必有妖孽．見乎

蓍龜．動乎四體．禍福將至．善必先知之．善必先知之．!至誠"#．

It is characteristic of him #ho is entirely perfect that he can fore'no#. +hen a

state or family is aout to flourish, there are sure to e luc'y omens, and #hen it

is aout to perish, there are sure to e unluc'y omens. They #ill e seen in the

turtle shell and stal'sD they #ill affect the movements of the four lims. +hen

calamity or happiness is aout to come, the !ood is sure to e fore'no#n y him,

1< Zuozhuan, i 1A.9, p. =A= "cf. Le!!e 1<8$, cf. i 1= "Le!!e 1<1$ and i 1A.9, pp. =A= and=<= "Le!!e 1<8;<7$.

18 Zuozhuan, ian! 1.A, pp. 78>;87 "cf. Le!!e 998$.

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and the evil also. 2ence, he #ho is entirely perfect is li'e a 5pirit.1>

ilitary divination #as also performed on the attlefield. %ccounts of military divination in the

Zuozhuan, descriptions of the military use of cloud divination and pitchpipes in the Shiji and

Hanshu treatises, and the a#an!dui and Hin*ueshan texts on cloud and #ind divination all

attest to the on!oin! importance of these methods. 4vidence from oth the received tradition

and excavated texts attests the use of -oservin! *i- for military and state purposes. Techni*ues

for -+atchin! ?i and Clouds- "wang iyun $%&$ ecame prominent in the 2an, and persisted

into the ?in!.17 These treatments of cloud *i are more extensive and systematic than the rief

references to cloud *i " yuni$ in +arrin! 5tates texts, either in naturalistic or divinatory contexts.

The 2an texts are closely lin'ed to state and specifically military divination. The Shiji contains a

treatise on the use of pitch pipes in #ind divination.) It descries the six pipes as fundamental to

state decisions, especially in military decisionma'in!. The chapter descries ei!ht directional

#inds, their relation to )> lunar lod!es lod!es " xiu '$, and their domains of activity.)1

There are also records of the use of turtle and yarro# divination to interpret dreams #ith

state or military implications. or example, the Hou Hanshu descries a #oman0s ni!htmare

ein! interpreted to si!nifiy an impendin! armed uprisin! in J)8.)) The next year, the reel

leader Tian Ron!田戎 used turtle divination to decide #hether to surrender to Cen /en! 岑彭.)=

Conflicts of Authority

ilitary divination of this 'ind left the door open for potential cofnlicts of authority et#een court and military divination and command. (urin! the +arrin! 5tates period, an

emer!ent class of military strate!ists positioned themselves a!ainst diviners in ar!uin! for their

1>Li&i A=.9a ":hon!yon!$, trans. Le!!e ch. )> sec. )9, p.172ulse#K 1787D Bodde 17>1D Loe#e 17>> rpt. 1779, pp. 171;)1=D 2o /en! Ho'e and 2e

Biao!uan 17>A, Le#is 177, pp. 1=7;99D 2uan! Hi;lon! and Chan! Chih;ch0en! 177<.)Shiji )AE 1)=7;A9D Chavannes =E)7=;=17.)14ach -lod!e- #as each named y a star #ithin it and each comprisin! some 1= de!rees "du

($ of the circle. 5ee Chen :un!ui 17>;>7, pp. =A;>9D 3eedham #ith +an! Lin! 17A< "vol.)$, pp. =A1;A8D 3eedham 17A7 "vol. =$, pp. ))7;A7D and a&or 177=, pp. 89, >9;><, 7);79 and11>;1)<.

)) Hou Hanshu 1)E A9.

)= Hou Hanshu 18E <A>, trans. Bielenstein 17A7, pp. )<f.

>



o#n rationalied techni*ues for predictin! victory and defeat. In an atmosphere of decreased

competition, #ith only one Chinese state employin! !enerals, there #as less place, or need, for

such polemics. ilitary divination found a ne# place in the ritual aspects of the Confucianied

state that developed over the 2an.

There #as a different potential for competition et#een military diviners and other

technical experts under the 2ellenistic 'in!s. @n the one hand, they transformed the process of

#arfare #ith innovations in machinery and tactics, ut they continued to employ diviners at the

hi!hest level. @ne mi!ht say the potential for conflict #as addressed y a distinction et#een

ends and means. (iviners #ere employed to determine #hether victory #as possile at a

particular timeD military en!ineers and strate!ists #ere consulted to rin! it aout. There is also

evidence that oth Chinese and Gree' technical diviners passed their s'ills in linea!es from

father to son, and in a fe# Chinese cases, from father to dau!hter.State-sponsored Astronoy

China

Chinese state sponsorship of divination did not end #ith #arfare. 4vidence for state

sponsorship of astronomy in the 2an comes from its ureaucracy, from texts and instruments

excavated from toms, and from official 2an records. In 2an ureaucracy, astronomy #as one

of the functions overseen y the Chamerlain for Ceremonials "!aichang $, the foremost of the

3ine Chamerlains " jiu chan!$. The taichang #as in char!e of ceremonies in the Imperial

ancestral temples and the #orship of 2eaven and 4arth.M)9 2is suordinates headed several

departments, and included the Grand (iviner "Taiu %&$ and the Grand %strolo!er "Taishilin!

%'($, in char!e of astronomy and astrolo!y. The officials he supervised included of ficials in

char!e of astronomical oservation " Lingtai cheng )*+ and "ingtang cheng ,-+$ held

lo# ran' as assistants.M This parallels the account of the Zhouli, #here the astronomical ureau

#as located in the inistry of 5prin! "Chun!uan$, #hich approximately corresponded to the

2an Taichan! ministry.)A By the Later 2an, the !aishiling supervised a staff that included

officials devoted to oservin! *i "hou i or wang i$.)< In addition to the astronomical ureau,

)9 Hanshu 17%E8)<;8)8.)A4erhard 17A8, p. 9<.)< Hou Hanshu )AE=A8).

7



there are indirect accounts of emperors conductin! astronomical oservation. There is one

record of emperor in! of the Later 2an -mountin! the (ivine Terrace to oserve primeval *i

"wang yuan i$.-)8 +hether or not the oservations #ere conducted y the emperor or duly

appointed officials, a -divine terrace- #as constructed durin! the 2an and oservations #ere

made durin! the initial month of each season.)>

?in astrocalendric texts from :hou&iatai and 2an liuren and jiugong divination oards

from uyan! attest to the increasin! complexity of astronomical oservation. The occupant of

the :hou&iatai tom seems to have een a petty official of youn! a!e "less than thirty years$, ut

some of the amoo slips uried #ith him seem to e of an official nature. In addition to the

astrocalendric text, there are medical recipes and a calendar that lists all the !anhi days of the

=9th year of ?in 5hi 2uan!0s rei!n period "the year ;)1=$. )7 The occupant of the tom at

5han!!udui, uyan! #as a far hi!her officialD iahou :ao #as the second mar*uis of Ruyin anda hi!h Chu official. It has ecome a commonplace that the ?in preserved calendric and

divination texts #hen other oo's #ere urned, and the 2an founded academies for the study

and exe!esis of Confucian texts, startin! #ith the #ijing , a transformation of a divination manual.

%strocalendric and meteorolo!ical texts and instruments also appear in the toms of 2an

officials such as Li Can!, the chancellor of Chan!sha and ar*uis of (ai "the occupant of

a#an!dui Tom 1$. %lthou!h there is too little evidence to !eneralie, the presence of

astrocalendric texts and instruments comined #ith other official documents in the toms of lo#

ran'ed and hi!h officials su!!ests state sponsorship of astrocalendric oservation.

2an histories also indicate the official character of astronomy. The -@ffices of 2eaven-

chapter of the Shiji "1)8$ descries oservations of the stars, planets, correlations, and

pro!nostications. %stronomical information appears in accounts of portents and anormal

natural phenomena in three portions of the HanshuE the annals "$enji, Hanshu 1;1)$, the chapter

on astronomy " Hanshu )<, the correlate of Shiji )8$, and the Treatise on the ive /hases or

%uxing zhi " Hanshu )8$. Court;sponsored astrocalendric treatises of the Huainanzi and the

)8 Hou Hanshu )E1, cf. <7%E))9<.

)>!aiping yulan >88.=, cf. 2ulse#J 1787, p. 9.

)7The tom includes a total of =>8 amoo slips, as #ell as #ood fi!ures, lac*uer#are, andmodels of chariots and horses.

1



Hanshu include technical discussions of astronomical oservation, includin! the lunar lod!es and

diviners0 oards.= % related index of the official character of 2an astronomy comes from

accounts of portents in official 2an sources and their use as moral and political criti*ue of the

throne.

The t#o ma&or foci of Chinese court astronomy and astrolo!y #ere the calendar, #hich

itself #as used for divinatory purposes, and the oservation, recordin! and explanation of

portentsE celestial events such as eclipses, supernovae, planetary con&unctions and comets.=1

@servations of this 'ind #ere not possile durin! the turmoil of the +arrin! 5tates, and 5ima

?ian himself oserves that only #ith the political order of the ?in and 2an #ere such re!ular

oservations possile.=) The focus on calendrics is are also prominent in other court sponsored

texts "such as the Huelin! calendars of the Liji$ and in dayoo's, #hich #ere nonofficial texts

uried in the toms of hi!h officials.

The -@ffices of 2eaven- "Tian!uanshu )*+$ chapter of the Shiji chapter has sections

on pro!nostication y the sun, moon "includin! eclipses of oth$, various stars, and clouds and

mists, as #ell as pro!nostications aout harvests.== The section on clouds and mists descries

-oservin! cloud *i- "wang yuni &%$.=9 Clouds are identified y resemlance to the fi!ures

of animals, color and topo!raphical ori!in "arisin! over mountains, rivers, etc.$. The Shiji

passa!e descries clouds y color, sie and hei!ht, and !ives rules of thum for &ud!in! their

distance, and states that the most important clouds are those #ith the shapes of animals.=A The

discussion focuses on color, directions of ori!in, and the identification of types of cloud *i formilitary purposes.

-%/01%2/3%45467$$而8/9%而;/<%=/

>而?5者7@A>B而?5者7CA?C而者7DE...

F&G者7其HI7其JKE其LM而>NO者7PQER7

=5ee Shiji 1)8E=)1>D Hanshu 77BE 917D Zhouli juan )8, Biot )E1>.=1(us 17A>, 3a'ayama 17<<.=)

Shiji )8E 1=9>;97.==Shiji )8E 1==1;1=9)D Couvreur =E=>A;91.=9Clouds and mistsE Shiji )8E1==<;=7 "Chavannes =E=7=;78$D Hanshu $uzhu )<E9=a "trans.

2ulse#K 1787, pp. 9;97$.=AShiji )8E 1==<D Chavannes =E=7=.

11



The *i of corvee laor is #hiteD the *i of !reat earth#or's is yello#. The *i of

chariots is sometimes hi!h and sometimes lo# ut al#ays continuous. The *i of

cavalry is lo# and spread out. The *i of conscripts is rollin!. If they are lo# in

front and hi!h ehind, there #ill e illness Nin the armyOD if they are s*uare and

hi!h in front and pointed and lo# ehind, there #ill e discontent. . . .+hen there are small clouds that are clear and #hite, the !eneral is rave ut his

soldiers are slac'. +hen they have a lar!e root at the front ut are frayed in the

distance, one should fi!ht. +hen they are !reen and #hite, and droopin! in the

front, there #ill e victory in attle. +hen they are red in the front and they rise

up, one #ill not e the victor in attle.=<

The chapter states that soldiers respond to pro!nostication and #ill follo# those #ho can

do it correctly. Cloud divination as descried in the Shiji is ased on formE the cloud *i of

northern ararians resemles the shapes of domestic animals and tentsD that of southern ararians resemles the shapes of oats and military anners. There are further variations ased

on !eo!raphyE the presence of mountains, #ater, etc.=8

This picture is amplified y a manuscript from a#an!dui, #hich modern scholars have

titled !ianwen ixiang zazhan )文%STU or iscellaneous /ro!nostications y %stronomy

and ?i Confi!urations&=> It lists types of cloud, classified y the names of the fourteen states of

+arrin! 5tates China "startin! #ith Chu$, and y ima!es such as cloth, ox, carria!e, rat, crimson

clothin!, and dra!on, each earin! an illustration "as #ell as the oldest 'no#n pictures of

comets$. The manuscript correlates the cloud ima!es of animals "pi!, horse, ox, etc.$ #ith

military pro!nostications, for example that a city cannot e ta'en "do!$ or that the !eneral of the

army #ill die "pi!$.

There is considerale consistency et#een the representation of clouds and cloud *i in

these t#o texts. By the Later 2an, there are accounts of emperors themselves ascendin! to

oservatories to study the clouds.=7 In these accounts of cloud *i, the shape of the immediate s'y

=<Shiji )8E1==8D Chavannes =E=79.

=8Shiji )8E1=A=D Chavannes =E97;91.=>Tian#en *ixian! ahanE a#an!dui 2anmu #en#u, pp. 1A9;AA, trans. Loe#e 1779, p. 17=D

discussed in Gu Tiefu 178> "trans. 2arper 1787$.=7in! (i "JA7$E Hou Hanshu ).1)D :han! (i "J8>$E Hou Hanshu >.=A=D 2e (i "J7=$E Hou

Hanshu 87%.E )A9A.

1)



has ecome an ima!e of the prospects of the state.

In addition, a #ide variety of astronomical, astrocalendric and hemerolo!ical texts and

instruments have een excavated from toms, especially in the territory of #hat #as once the

state of Chu in south China. These include si!nificant ne# astrocalendric instrumentation, #hich

seems to have een developed durin! the ?in;2an imperium. %mon! them are ne# types of

diviner0s oard, complete liu$o sets, and texts descriin! the use of dipper astrolaes and the use

of liu$o./ -chess- oards for divination.9 It is temptin! to infer that they #ere someho# an

element of state;sponsored astronomical or hemerolo!ical divination. +e cannot do so ecause

there is sustantial deate aout the exact purpose of placin! these o&ects in toms. 91

Greece

The situation of state sponsored divination in ;9th throu!h ;)nd century Greece is very

different. The ma&or form of state sponsored divination #as not astronomical ut oracular. It is#ell 'no#n that Gree' political interest in divination, and specifically *ueries to (elphi aout

politics and #arfare, declined durin! this period. In much of the Gree' #orld #e find the same

pattern of decline in oracular consultation and the activities of military manteis. 3onetheless,

(elphi continued to e consulted re!ularly in its other traditional role as an ariter of *uestions

on state reli!ion and ritual.

This period mar'ed the e!innin! of extensive Gree' in interest in astronomy, astrolo!y

and calendrics, ut that interest did not ta'e the form of state sponsorship. Increased contact

after %lexander0s con*uest of /ersia rou!ht Gree's into contact #ith esopotamian ideas of the

odiac and the methods and data of Baylonian astronomy and astrolo!y. These had profound

effects on astronomy and astrolo!ical cosmolo!y. 4arly Gree' interest in astronomy is difficult

to reconstruct. /lato !ives an oscure description of astronomy and cosmolo!y in the !imaeus.

Contact #ith Baylon may have increased alter the /ersian #ars. Baylonian methods may have

9ost of the diviners0 oards or cosmic oards " shi$ excavated to date are from the ?in and

2an periods. The relative asence of these implements efore the ?in may e an artifact of thearchaeolo!ical record, rather than an indication of the state of +arrin! 5tates astrocalendrictechnolo!y. or revie# of these finds see Li Lin! 177=.

91% recent survey "al'enhausen )=$ of the contents of toms from Chu su!!ests thatdayoo's and amoo texts #ere uried in the toms of memers of the hi!hest levels of theelite.

1=



influenced attempts to reform the %thenian calendar aout ;9=), and descriptions of the

constellations y 4udoxus of Cnidus "9>;=AA$. In addition, various individuals #ere credited

"or lamed$ for rin!in! -eastern- astrolo!y into Greece, includin! the atomist philosopher

(emocritus of %dera "c.9<;=8$, Berrosus "=A;)>$, a Baylonian priest #ho settled in Cos

and the Baylonian diviner 5udines "fl. c.)9$. 2ellenistic %lexandria ecame the cradle of

Gree' astrolo!y.9)

3onetheless, imperial amitions #ithin the Greco;Roman #orld continued to actively

sponsor other forms of political divination. Both /hilip and %lexander consulted court manteis

on military and other matters. %lexander reestalished the oracle at (idyma, and used his

contacts #ith oracles to propa!ate a myth of his divine ori!in and destiny.

Rome

Rome too actively sponsored state au!ury in oth the Repulic and 4mpire. The ;1stcentury Roman taste for Gree' culture included oth Gree' 5toicism "#ith its defense of

divination$ and astrolo!y, especially throu!h the advocacy of /osidonius "1)A;A$, #ho came to

Rome as an amassador in ;>8. Gree' astrolo!y !ained purchase in Rome throu!h the !eneral

reputation of Gree' learnin!, throu!h devices such as the armillary sphere of /osidonius and the

astronomical poem of %ratus "translated y Cicero$.9= Rome also had its o#n distinctive modes

of state divination.

In summary, an important difference et#een Chinese and Gree' -imperial- divination

#as their very different relations to centers of political po#er. Chinese divination had a

conspicuously official character and stood at the center of political po#er. Gree' divination, y

contrast, held authority y virtue of its separation from the centers of political po#er, in part

throu!h the physically mar!inal locations of ma&or sanctuaries and the lon!;standin! perceived

neutrality of (elphi. (elphi, (odona, (idyma and %mmon #ere outside the oundaries and

direct control of any one state or party.

9)5ee Barton 1779, chapter 1, especially pp. )1;)= and =;=1.9=/osidonius0 advocacy of astrolo!yE %u!ustine, (e civitate dei, A.). %ratus "=1A;c.)9A$ of

acedonia resided at the courts of the acedonian 'in! %nti!onus II Gonatas and %ntiochus Iof 5yria. 2is didactic astronomical poem 'haenomena put into verse an astronomical text of4udoxus of Cnidus. or these developments see Barton 1779, pp. ==;91.

19



State Cosolo!y and "hetoric

+hen diviners predicted the future or unraveled the hidden si!nificance of the past, they

#ere not ma'in! astract 'no#led!e claimsD they #ere actin! #ith the support "or opposition$ of

po#erful interests. %nother political use of divination #as to provide authority and le!itimacy

for rulers and political decisions, includin! the social and political costs of expandin! an empire.

China

Competin! +arrin! 5tates theories of -correlative cosmolo!y- #ere po#erful rhetorical

tools for political purchase that could oth descriptively model and prescriptively le!itimie the

ne# imperial order. This #as done y systematic microcosm;macrocosm analo!ies. They used

inary pairs "yin and yan!$ and the five -phases- "wuxing E #ood, fire, earth, metal, and #ater$ to

-correlate- different domains of the cosmos "such as time, space, the contents of the heavens, the

seasons$ #ith human and social reality "the human ody, human !eo!raphy, morality, ehavior,

historical chan!e and the ne# sociopolitical order$. Correlative cosmolo!y e!an to e

systematied in the ;=rd century, startin! #ith the L(shi chuniu "aster LP0s 5prin! and

%utumn %nnals$ of LP Bu#ei "c. ;)=7$. Its reached a hi!h point durin! the 2an in such texts the

Chuniu fanlu "Luxuriant Gems of the 5prin! and %utumn %nnals$, Huainanzi ";1=7$ and

)ohutong "Comprehensive (iscussions in +hite Ti!er 2all, J 87$.99

2an discourses on omens also reflect ne# tensions et#een the rulers considered

responsile for the cosmomoral order and the officials #ho prescried it. @n the one hand,

scholar;officials used correlative cosmolo!y to create authority and le!itimacy for the ne# 2an

empire as symols of a unified, centralied state. @n the other, they used correlative cosmolo!y

and omens to criticie the !overnmentE if not the ruler in propria persona, then those close to him

and in po#er. These theories also entailed stron! claims y officials to oth mantic access and

moral authority. 2an rulers fou!ht these claims y employin! a variety of ma!ical and

divinatory officials to increase their personal access to divine forces.

(ivination provided le!itimacy for 2an rulers in various #ays. The most po#erful

dynastic use of divination #as in the context of ne# cosmolo!ical theories, shored up ydivination, #hich provided -natural- explanations for the estalishment and expansion of the

99The topic is immense. @f particular interestE Graham 17><, 3ylan 177=, Loe#e 1779, Lloyd177<, +an! %ihe ). or issues in the datin! and authorship of these texts see Loe#e, ed.177=.

1A



2an dynasty. or example, the Hanshu specifies five *ualities that *ualified 2an Gaou to rule.

The list e!ins #ith his descent from 4mperor Hao and ends #ith his his character and s'ill at

mana!in! suordinates. In the middle are divine si!ns. 2is physio!nomy is extraordinary

"timao duo iyi VWXYZ$ divine si!ns appeared #hen he assumed rule " shenwu you

zhengying [\有]^$.9A @ther accounts of extraordinary physio!nomy appear else#here in

the Hanshu "of Gaou and 4mpress LP$ and Hou Hanshu "of 4mpress (en!$. In perhaps the

stron!est case of cosmolo!ical rhetoric, +an! an! used five;phase cosmolo!y and appeals to

divinatory discourse to &ustify his short;lived in dynasty. In a decree of 7 C4 announcin! his

ascent to the throne, he claims that omens indicate that 2eaven has transferred its mandate y

selectin! 4arth as the current phase, replacin! the ire of the 2an dynasty. 2e appeals to the

!eneration order of the five phases, in #hich ire e!ets 4arth, and himself claims to represent

4arth throu!h descent from the Hello# 4mperor.9<

%ccounts of dreams, essentially private experiences #hich y their nature cannot e

shared, also served to &ustify political chan!e. or example, the Hou Hanshu reports a dream

ascried to 4mpress (en! that predicts and &ustifies her future rule as re!ent. 5imilarly, in

le!endary anti*uity accounts of dreams #ere used to &ustify dynastic chan!e. or example, a

premonitory dream of t#o suns fi!htin! in the s'y #as ascried to oxi, the -dissolute-

concuine of the last 'in! of the ia dynasty. oxi "#ho is descried as havin! a man0s mind

and divinatory ailities$ interprets this as a #arnin! that ie0s mandate to rule #as comin! to anend. 5use*uently, the noles reel, ie0s soldiers aandon him, and Tan! estalishes the 5han!

dynasty.98

But early Chinese cosmolo!y #as also an expression of realpoliti'. 5cholar officials also

used it to define "and circumscrie$ royal po#er, to chan!e social and political institutions, and

to reconfi!ure earlier po#er relations, prominently includin! mantic access. ive;phase theory

#as ased on the premise that mantic access #as not the sole prero!ative of rulers. It theoried a

ne# direct lin' et#een humanity and heaven. By the 2an, four ma&or social !roups had laid

9A Hanshu 1%E9)11.9< Hanshu 77BE97A;<, tr. (us vol. =, pp. )AA;A<D Hanshu $uzhu 77%E=A;=<a.98 Lien(zhuan 8E1aD *uoyu 8.) "in 1$, p. )AAD L(shi chuniu 1AE1E)a. or discussion see

Raphals 177>.

1<



ne# claims to mantic accessE reli!ious and technical experts, officials, military specialists and the

competin! teachin! linea!es of classical Chinese philosophy.

The opposite side of the coin of usin! divine si!ns to le!itimate authority is usin!

portents to criticie it. In #hat has ecome the classic survey of this material, +olfram

4erhard ar!ues that many of these accounts of portents #ere inserted for political reasons,

primarily as a method of criticiin! the emperor or more roadly the !overnment as represented

y him.9> 4erhard notes several pea's in accounts of portents over the course of the 2an, and

ar!ues that ne!ative interpretations of portents #ere directed, sometimes a!ainst the emperor

himself, ut often a!ainst other political actors. or example, portents et#een ;17A and ;1>A

are directed, not a!ainst 4mperor 2ui "179;>>$, ut a!ainst the -usurpation- of his mother

4mpress LP. /ortents from ;1> to ;18 criticied not 4mperor +en "187;A8$, ut a series of

revolts y princes. /ortents from 11A to 11 #arned a!ainst the excessive #ars of 4mperor +u"19;>8$. @ther pea's in the latter half of the ;1st century refer to the rise to po#er of +an!

an! and the +an! clan.97 4erhard uses this evidence to ar!ue that portents #ere a po#erful

political method y #hich officials and moralists #ere ale to exercise institutional chec's upon

the po#er of the emperor.

Het another mode of le!itimacy #as provided y the selective canoniation and officially

sponsored study of certain texts and modes of 'no#led!e. ive;phase discourse occurs in oth

the textual record and excavated texts. /erhaps most important is the -Treatise on the ive

/hases- "%uxing zhi$ from the 2an dynastic history " Hanshu )8$. +ind divination "and its

correlate, divination y pitchpipes$ is also classified in the Hanshu Bilio!raphic Treatise as an

area of ive;/hase cosmolo!y. The -(isease- sections of the dayoo's from 5huihudi also use

five;phase correlations.

But in China, the earlier open;ended competition et#een technical shushu specialists

and -asters- textualists #as completely reconfi!ured y the adoption of Confucianism y the

2an state. Technical specialists continued to practice their expertise at oth the official and

private level, ut official ideolo!y #as dominated y the dominant Confucian school. %t the

institutional level, academies and chairs #ere created for the study of Confucian texts. The

9>4erhard 17A8, #hich attempts a statistical analysis of the information in all three sources.974erhard 17A8, pp. A8;A>.

18



#ijing #as transformed from a divination manual to a privile!ed form of textual exe!esis distinct

from more limited methods of divination. Bilio!raphic classifications such as the Hanshu

Bilio!raphic Treatise elevated classics " jing $ over asters texts " zi$, and separated the #i from

other divinatory #or's. Both #ijing exe!esis and divination ecame modes of rhetorical

persuasion #ithin the 2an court, as divination and omen interpretation provided a rhetorical

frame#or' for remonstrance or recommendations on state policy.

Astrolo!y in "oe

%!ain, the Gree' and Roman situations are very different. @racular divination durin!

this period #as used primarily to address *uestions of reli!ious cult. But oracular divination did

not have a stron! en!a!ement #ith, or reliance on, cosmolo!y, eyond elief in the @lympian

pantheon. %lexander0s mythical claims to divine descent and a destiny to con*uer %sia have

nothin! li'e the cosmolo!ical rhetoric of 2an China. Gree' cosmolo!y manifests, not inimperial amition ut in humoral theories #hose primary domain #as medicine.

inally, Gree' astrolo!y #as incorporated into Roman politics. %strolo!y entered Rome

as a component of Gree' hi!h culture, ut it #as only ta'en up y elite Romans in the last

century BC4, #hen !enerals e!an to listen to astrolo!ers. The rise of astrolo!y in Rome

coincided #ith the e!innin! of the fall of the Repulic, a coincidence #hich, Tamsyn Barton

ar!ues, #as no accident.A Under the Repulic, the Colle!e of au!urs or haruspices, elements of

an earlier 4truscan tradition #hich had een asored into Roman life, #ere official state

diviners. They #ere in char!e of extispicy, #eather divination and prodi!ies. They #ere

expected to #arn the senate of si!ns of the !ods0 "dis$favor and to advise on ritual action, ut the

po#er of decision #as al#ays held y the senate. The custodians of the oo's of 5iylline

prophecy #ere dra#n from the 5enate itself. The constitution put po#er in the hands of the

senate, and limited the po#er of diviners to set policy.

%strolo!y y contrast #as the province of a ruler #ho held sole po#er. The association

of astrolo!y #ith Roman aristocratic leaders e!ins durin! the turulence of the early ;1st

century. The -portent- of a comet durin! the mournin! for ulius Caesar #as used to &ustify hisdeification y the Roman senate. Caesar0s adopted son @ctavian then used its ima!e, and the

lin'ed ima!es of father and son, to provide le!itimacy to his o#n rule as Caesar %u!ustus.

ABarton 1779, pp. =>; 91.

1>



(urin! this period, official diviners #ere effectively replaced y unofficial advisers close to the

ruler. %nonymous colle!e au!urs #ere replaced y famous astrolo!ers and other diviners #ho

increasin!ly focused on the fates of individuals, rather than *uestions of divine approval for a

particular course of action. %strolo!y helped to move the individual and individualied

prediction to the center of the divinatory a!enda. %strolo!y #as suited to monarchy in that

astrolo!ers, unli'e repulican state au!urs, had no oli!ation to report their findin!s pulicly and

could pic' and choose their clients.

%lthou!h %u!ustus had used astrolo!y to le!itimate his position as the first emperor, y

the end of his life, forade private astrolo!ical consultations. Later emperors follo#ed the

pattern set y his successor TieriusE elief in the infalliility of astrolo!y, a 'ind of astrolo!ical

paranoia aout potential rivals to the throne, and strict re!ulation of astrolo!y y la#. These

included decrees annin! astrolo!ers from Rome and Italy and trials of astrolo!ers and theirclients. This period also sa# s'epticism aout astrolo!y, ut it manifested not in politics ut in

philosophical deates aout free #ill and determinism.A1

In summary, state sponsorship #as an important element that shaped divinatory practice

in China, Greece and Rome, ut that sponsorship too' very different forms. In all three contexts,

divination continued to e an important element of the practice of #arfare, and in interest in the

2eavens. Rulers #ho seied po#er also used it to le!itimate their rei!ns and promote their

imperial amitions. In China these activities #ere lin'ed to state sponsored astronomy,

calendrics, official cosmolo!y, the creation and canoniation of certain texts, and the relative

mar!inaliation of others. In 2ellenistic Greece, interest in astronomy developed, not in the

context of state sponsorship, ut in the private investi!ation of the closely lin'ed disciplines of

astronomy and astrolo!y. Gree' astrolo!y too' a different turn in Rome, #here court astrolo!ers

in the service of monarchs lar!ely displaced the official diviners employed y the senate durin!

the period of the Repulic.

Private Divination and the State

The ne# state uses of of divination in 2an imperial China and Rome coexisted #ith theon!oin!, and in some cases, expandin! use of personal and private divination. To #hat extent, if

any, did the state attempt to control or curtail the private use of divination

A1Cramer 17A<D BouchK;Leclerc* 1>77 and 1>>), vol. 9D .Barton 1779, pp. <);<=D

17



China: Mar#etplace Diviners

In China evidence of nonofficial divination dates ac' to uninscried oracle ones of the

5han! dynasty. There is extensive pre;?in evidence that divination texts reflected ori!ins in the

life of the common people. It includes the use of dayoo's, the #ijing , and the interpretation of

dreams and physio!nomy. The #ijing includes many references to marria!e, childirth, visits to

officials, travel, defense a!ainst andits, and animal husandryD and dayoo's provided

instructions for selectin! auspicious times for a #ide variety of day;to;day activities.A)

ost of the divination techni*ues that flourished and expanded durin! the +arrin! 5tates

#ere used durin! the ?in and 2an for oth official and nonofficial purposes. 3onofficial access

to star divination focused on astrocalendric texts. It is unclear to #hat extent diviners0 oards

and liu$o oards #ere used in private capacities, ut the dayoo's contain many

pro!nostications that clearly relate to routine concerns such as travel, usiness, marria!e andchildirth. %lmanac texts and dayoo's #ere used to predict auspicious days and times for a

#ide variety of activities, includin! marria!e, childirth, ma'in! clothes, uildin! pro&ects,

travel, slau!hterin! farm animals, farmin!, and official audiences. Leisure activities and

entertainment #ere also considered su&ects for dayoo' divination, includin! eatin!, drin'in!,

sin!in!, and hi'in! in the mountains. The medical sections of dayoo's also provided methods

to enhance health and lon!evity y identifyin! the cause of an illness from eatin! the #ron! food

at the #ron! time. They also reflected the interests and expectations of oth men and #omen.

Hear divinations of the 'ind found at Baoshan, Tianxin!!uan and +an!shan sou!ht to !ain

divine approval for the consultant0s political success in office in the comin! year. 2istorical

narratives contain many accounts of #i divination and consultation of spirit mediums y

individuals, ut the presti!e and authority of the results #ere closely lin'ed to their association

#ith royalty, !ods and ancestors. In other #ords, nonofficial divination dre# its authority from

state divination, and follo#ed many of the same modes and procedures in miniature. The

exceptions #ere the modes of divination specifically appropriated y the stateE in particular,

astronomy and cosmolo!y.The activities of the fangshi #arrant more discussion since they straddle the line et#een

official and nonofficial practice. They rose to prominence at the court of ?in 5i 2uan!di in the

A)Ran!e of the #ijing E Gao 2en! 17>9.

)



?in and +u (i in the 2an.A= But they served private clients as #ell as the state. Because they

tended to come from outlyin! areas, their uprin!in! proaly retained more of local practices

not entirely dissolved y the ne# empire. % fe# examples illustrate this point.

Shiji 1)8, the collected io!raphies of diviners of auspicious days, !ives an account of a

visit to the mar'etplace of Chan!0an y t#o officialsE the palace counselor 5on! :hon! and ia

Hi ";)<;1<7$.A9 ia Hi steers them to -(iviner0s Lane- "$u si &0$ #here they encounter the

Chu diviner 5ima ihu. It had rained and there #ere fe# peopleD they found him discussin! the

cycles of cosmolo!y, yin and yan!, and !ood and ad fortune #ith a fe# students. Realiin!

that he #as someone to e rec'oned #ith, they expressed surprise at his occupation and

remar'ed on the lo# status of diviners. 5ima ihu turns the tales on his visitors y in*uirin!

into their o#n values and priorities. 2e defends diviners on several !rounds, includin! their

attention to ritual and the indirect eneficial effects of their activities, includin! social order,

curin! the sic', avoidin! disaster, arran!in! marria!es, and rin! plans to fruition.AA

%nother example comes from accounts of the 2an (aoist scholar :huan! :un _`

";>= to J1$, #ho made his livin! as a diviner in the Chen!du mar'etplace.A< %fter earnin!

enou!h for his daily needs, he #ould close his shop and teach the Laoi and :huan!i.

%ccordin! to his Hanshu io!raphy, he !ave this explanation of his livelihood and activitiesE

卜a者bc7而defgE有hijk之問7lmnopq"rE s g

子qm於t7sguqm於v7sgwqm於x7yz{|之e}7~•

q者7€‚ƒE

(ivination is a lo# occupation, ut even so it can enefit people. If they as'

A=5ee 3!o 178<.A9Shiji 1)8E=)1A;=)). or discussion see Loe#e 1779, pp. 18;181. or translation see

/o'ora 17>8.AA4lse#here the Shiji io!raphy of physicians "1AE)>A;)>8$ reports the case of a youn!

female slave #ho had learned fang techni*ues and used them to partially preserve herself a!ainsta serious "and eventually fatal$ illness. 5he is not a mar'etplace diviner, ut she is a commoner#ith 'no#led!e of this domain. or discussion see Raphals 177> and 2su )1.

A<2e is etter 'no#n y the style name Han unpin! „…†. Ban Gu chan!ed his surname toHan ecause the personal name of the 2ou 2an emperor in! (i #as Liu :huan! "r. JA8;8A$.:huan! :un #as a teacher of Han! ion! ";A= to J1>$. 5ee armer )1, pp. 87;>1.

)1



aout thin!s that are #ic'ed or not upri!ht I spea' of enefit and harm in the

lan!ua!e of turtle and yarro#. To a son I spea' in the terms of filialityD to a

youn!er rother I spea' in the lan!ua!e of deferenceD to a a su&ect I spea' in the

terms of loyalty. 4ach accordin! to situation, I lead him to#ard ein! !ood, and

more than half follo# my #ords.A8

3either 5ima ihu nor :huan! :un report in detail #hat their clients consulted them

aout in any detail. In oth cases, the rhetorical point of the passa!e is to praise the scholar;

diviner and to sho# that these t#o diviners #ere a type of sa!e #ho used the necessity of ma'in!

a livin! to help and improve the people #ho consulted them. or purposes of the present

discussion, the point is that these individuals #ere consulted y ordinary people in the

mar'etplace. The visit to -(iviners Lane- y t#o !overnment officials ma'es it clear that the

court #as perfectly a#are of mar'etplace diviners, and not overly interested. There is not at this point evidence of -paranoia- over the chance of predictive 'no#led!e, especially the prediction

of disasters, underminin! imperial authority y findin! its #ay into the roader population.

The notion of -private divination- raises a several *uestions, ut first a caveat is

necessary. To #hat extent can any divination said to e either non;ritual or private in a modern,

+estern, individualist sense of the term ar'etplace diviners of auspicious days addressed

private *ueries, ut these #ere not -individual- in the modern +estern sense of the term. %s

:huan! :un0s response attitude to#ard his o#n consultations ma'es very clear, these *ueries

concerned families and !roups, not isolated individual #elfare.

Greece: $he "ise of Individual Consultation

The Gree' evidence for the on!oin! and indeed increased use of private divination is

very different. It includes the on!oin! use of oracular sanctuaries for private *ueries, the ne#

rise of medical oracles associated #ith %sclepius and Trophonius, and the use of the divinatory

spells and ma!ical procedures descried in the Gree' ma!ical papyri. +ithin the ne# imperial

frame#or's of 2an China, %lexandrian Greece and Imperial Rome there is on!oin! evidence of

divination at the individual or local level, #ithout either permission or proscription of the state.The (elphic oracle distin!uished et#een pulic "daimosion$ and private "idion$ *ueriesE

first y its fee structure and second y the a#ardin! of promanteia, since pulic *ueries #ere in

A8 Hanshu 8).=A<.

))



most cases not from residents of (elphi. Consultor states had their o#n procedures to ensure the

accurate transmission and re;performance of oracular responses, ut other#ise there #as no

mar'ed difference in oracular procedure and ritual et#een !roup and individual.

Relatively fe# private *ueries to (elphi are preserved, ut other oracles, such as (odona,

(idyma and the oracles of %sclepius, provide more information. There is on!oin! evidence that

individual, at times includin! #omen and slaves, consulted "usually local$ oracles aout

individual prolems. Ritual itself #as a fre*uent topic of consultation for private as #ell as

pulic in*uiries. ust as a polis mi!ht as' to #hat !od to offer prayer and sacrifice to achieve a

desired result, individuals also as'ed to #hom to pray for on!oin! divine protectionD possessions,

offsprin! and marria!eD cure of diseaseD or even -#hat the consultor has in mind.-

+ith the exception of military divination, #hich had no nonofficial counterpart, there #as

no state sponsorship or proscription to restrict the use of any divinatory techni*ue. That situationonly chan!ed #ith the proscriptions on horoscopal astrolo!y under the Roman 4mpire.

3onetheless, some oracles or techni*ues #ere simply etter suited than others to individual and

local needs, and the !ro#th of medical oracles reflects those priorities.

edical oracles, y contrast, #ere focused on *uestions of individual health, dia!nosis

and cure that had no state counterpart. 4ven these nominally individual consultations inherently

involved the #elfare of families ecause -individual- #elfare usually had important

ramifications for others, includin! family, slaves, usiness associates, etc. The *uestion to the

oracle at (odona y a certain 5ocrates is typicalE #hat #or' he should do to etter oth himself

and his linea!e The *uestion aout individual #elfare is not limited to the #elfare of the

individual. @ther *ueries to (odona on such topics as #hether or #hom to marry, #hether a

#ife #ould ear children "or in one case, a child0s paternity$, and ho# to prosper in usiness all

affected the #elfare not only of the consultor, ut of his livin! family and on!oin! linea!e. In

summary, the Gree' -individual- consultor of oracles or the individual practitioners of the Gree'

ma!ical papyri is also emedded in a net#or' of family and local relations, and the attested

*ueries reflect this.

2oroscopes, and specifically Roman astrolo!y, present a very different situation ecause,

y nature they concern an individual "even if they are used for *ueries aout family or !roup

)=



matters$. 4arly Gree' interest in astronomy and astrolo!y is difficult to reconstruct.A> %strolo!y

came to Rome as part of the hi!h culture of Greece. It only ecame of serious interest to elite

Romans as the Repulic e!an to collapse in the first century BC4. %t this point there is

evidence of !enerals ta'in! astrolo!ers0 predictions seriously, includin! personal horoscopes.

%strolo!ers ma'e predictions for /ompey, Crassus, ulius Caesar, %u!ustus, and all the

emperors. %u!ustus used it as a po#erful tool to le!itimate oth ulius Caesar and his o#n

position as emperor. But y the end of his he had issued a decree annin! private consultations.

5tartin! #ith Tierius, elief in astrolo!y led to imperial paranoia, and astrolo!y too' on a

political role analo!ous to that of (elphi at an earlier period. But in this case, unli'e China,

elief in astrolo!y and specifically horoscopy led to ans on its private use.A7

5o if the state dre# on divination for le!itimacy and authority, to #hat extent #as the

persistence of nonofficial, local divination a threat to state authority 5tate sponsorship impliedstate control. ust as the ?in and 2an courts supported astronomical oservation, they controlled

access to state astrocalendrics, ut had less interest in modes of divination that did not challen!e

their authority.

In ?in and 2an China, Chu toms provide particularly important evidence for the

prevalence and importance of divinatory activity at the nonofficial level. "By contrast, there is a

conspicuous asence of divination materials from the texts excavated from Guodian.$ 2an rulers

on the one hand re&ected the -ararian- traditions of the south in favor of the traditional

authority of turtle and yarro#. Het they made on!oin! use of astrocalendric divination. %s

scholar;officials turned to correlative cosmolo!y to criticie !overnment rule, emperors

increasin!ly sou!ht out private diviners to advise them.

A> /lato !ives an oscure description of astronomy and cosmolo!y in the !imaeus. %t some point it #as informed y Baylonian astrolo!y, ut there is considerale controversy as to #henthat point first occurred. 6arious ;=rd century individuals #ere credited "or lamed$ for rin!in!-eastern- astrolo!y into Greece. These include the -atomist- (emocritus of %dera "a youn!er

contemporary of 5ocrates$, Berrosus, a Baylonian priest #ho settled in Cos, and the Bayloniandiviner 5udines. %fter the increased contact rou!ht aout y %lexander0s con*uest of /ersia,the Gree's asored the data and methods of Baylonian astronomy and astrolo!y. Gree'horoscopal astrolo!y refined earlier techni*ues and introduced cosmolo!ical innovationsD it #asnot a purely Gree' creation. 5ee Barton 1779, pp. pp. )1;)=.

A7Barton 1779, pp. =>;<=.

)9



There is an analo!ous conflict in the Roman empire. +hen monarchs seied control of

the Roman Repulic, they advanced private astrolo!ers in lieu of the official diviners of the

5enate. +ith the rise of astrolo!y, individual fate calculation ecame a locus of tension et#een

mantic access and state authority. %u!ustus used portents and horoscopes to estalish his o#n

rule, and suse*uently sou!ht to contain the po#er of others to do the same thin! y proscriin!

private astrolo!y.

Conclusions

In China, Greece and Rome, a centralied empire had important implications for

divinatory practice as a means to political authority. @n the one hand, divination ecame a

po#erful tool of the state oth as a tool for #arfare and administration and as a means to

promul!ate the rhetoric of empire and &ustify imperial authority. But the details #ere very

different, especially in the relation et#een state and private divination.In China, ne# state divination techni*ues #ere developed for oth civil and military

purposes. /itchpipes #ere used for oth the prediction of harvests and for military

pro!nostications. % cosmolo!y ased on correlations +ind divination, first attested under the

centralied rule of the 5han!, reemer!ed in ne# forms. 3e# state sponsored forms of

instrumentation for the selection of auspicious times appear in the toms of hi!h officials, as do

dayoo' texts of similar purpose. Le!al, administrative and military applications of preexistin!

divination techni*ues also proliferate. /hysio!nomy is an interestin! exception to this trend.

2an thin'ers such as +an! Chon! and +an! u descried ho# destiny, character, or ailities

could e read from the ody, ut #e do not see the development of officially sanctioned methods

of physio!nomy for the examination and selection of officials. These developments coexisted

#ith oth private consultations of diviners and the use of divination y scholar;officials to

criticie the !overnment.

This is a surprisin!ly pluralistic situation, especially compared to Rome. T#o factors

may help account for this difference. @ne is the 'ind, and variety of divination practiced. 2an

China sa# an on!oin! development, or even expansion of a road ran!e of techni*ues that #ereused for a road ran!e of purposes, oth state and private. Roman divination #as less closely

lin'ed #ith -scientific- developments, in the sense of interest in prediction of events ased on

empirical oservation or in the systematiation of 'no#led!e. In Rome y contrast, divinatory

)A



attention increasin!ly #as focused on one techni*ue, horoscopal astrolo!y, as private diviners

eclipsed the official role of state sponsored au!urs. This 'ind of attention do#n!raded the level,

if not the de!ree, of state interest.

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