By James Healy
It was my good fortune recently to travel to Beijing's far-flung Pinggu district, where I was greeted by strikingly blue skies and white, cotton-puff clouds.
An extraordinary feast of Yangtze fat-head fish cooked over a wood fire awaited me, but that was merely icing on the cake.
I went to Pinggu, about an hour's drive from my home in Chaoyang district, specifically to consult with Liu Ming, a fortune teller in his 80s who, though deprived of sight, is known for his insights.
Only once before have I consulted a seer, and that episode increased my respect for the mysteries of the universe. I came across the clairvoyant by chance as she was seated in a lighted booth on a dark, remote hillside at a Halloween pumpkin patch in my US hometown. She told me I would soon travel to a faraway land and, in fact, three months later I was offered a job in Beijing.
In Pinggu, my Chinese friends and I arrived at Liu's home after passing through a gate that creaked eerily as it swung in the breeze.
The seer sat cross-legged atop a raised brick platform on which bedding was neatly stacked. The furrows of his forehead and wrinkles on his face were bathed in brilliant sunlight that streamed through open curtains.
Pausing occasionally as he coughed and leaned forward to use a plastic bucket as a spittoon, he asked my friend Anne, a Beijing native, to tell him her full name as well as the date and time of her birth.
He then conducted what seemed to be a conversation, a give-and-take with an ethereal accomplice, whispering and pondering and sometimes counting on his fingers.
With a rising pitch, Liu then issued a lengthy pronouncement, punctuated by ironic grins, before it was my turn to sit before the seer.
I learned that my prospects would be better if I stayed longer in China rather than returning to the United States, and that I had been born at a time of day that attracted bad luck.
What struck me, though, was Liu's reference to two serious accidents in my past and a third that loomed this year, unless I followed his prescription - the nature of which indicated he was aware of the sort of accidents I'd had.
My prescription, admittedly involving a heavy dose of superstition, called for a special formula painted on red paper and placed in an envelope, which I was then to toss into a busy intersection at 6 pm.
My two accidents were terrible crashes that should have taken my life. One involved an airborne car rolling several times down an embankment, which flattened the car like a pancake. The other was a high-speed, head-on collision on a California freeway.
Happenstance? Perhaps. But I found Pinggu's fresh air and the ancient art of fortune-telling to be a spell-binding and exhilarating potion.
The fish was likewise out of this world.
Broadcaster
James Healy is from the United States and has been a copy editor at China Daily since 2017. He is an advanced student of Chen style tai chi and enjoys Chinese culture, food and carvings.
大气层里的二氧化碳突破历史新高
谢谢你,我们家的英雄司机
国内英语资讯:Chinese top legislator calls for closer ties with Laos
体坛英语资讯:Uzbekistan still have a lot to improve after win, says coach
肯德基保护秘密食谱的地方能防核弹
2019年6月六级作文范文:校园道德建设
体坛英语资讯:Youthful Kenya volleyball team eyes for Africa Games ticket
国内英语资讯:Chinas new relay satellite to help video calls possible with space station
国内英语资讯:Senior CPC official calls for promoting integrated development of culture and tourism
娱乐英语资讯:Grammy-nominated rapper shot dead in Los Angeles
阿里巴巴6.9亿美元投资申通快递
体坛英语资讯:Paraguay finalize squad for Peru, Mexico friendlies
国际英语资讯:New Zealand police offers 65,000 USD reward for info of 1995s murder
国内英语资讯:Cooperation is only right choice for China, U.S.: diplomat
国内英语资讯:Xi underscores firm implementation of major reforms
Summer Internship 暑假实习
What is College Like 大学是怎么样的
体坛英语资讯:Nadal sets up Federer clash at BNP Paribas Open semis
体坛英语资讯:Kvitova books Miami Open quarterfinal spot
国际英语资讯:Trump nominates former Delta executive to lead federal aviation authority
国际英语资讯:S. African political parties urged to refrain from causing disunity ahead of elections
国际英语资讯:Kazakh President Nazarbayev resigns
体坛英语资讯:Guangdong, Beijing win to open CBA play-offs second phase
The Imagination of Future Transportation 对未来交通的畅想
体坛英语资讯:Valencia, Villarreal through, Sevilla out after dramatic night in Europa League
The Meaning of Sharing 分享的意义
About Respecting the Old 关于敬老
2019年6月英语四级作文预测:网上教学
苹果在欧洲又踩大坑了,被欧盟立案调查
体坛英语资讯:Real Madrids Navas returns to Costa Rica squad