Jiaobei

What it is

Jiaobei, often called moon blocks, are pairs of crescent-shaped blocks thrown to ask a deity a question that is answered yes or no. They belong to Chinese traditional religion, where they rank among its most common ritual items alongside fortune sticks, and they serve at temple altars and at home shrines. Each block is rounded on one face, called the yin side, and flat on the other, the yang side. The blocks are carved from wood or bamboo; a pair of clam shells or two coins of matching value can take their place. The questioner drops the pair on the floor and reads the pattern: believers take it as a yes, a no, a sign that the gods are laughing or displeased, or a signal that the question was not understood and is put again.

Where it comes from

The blocks come from China. There they became everyday instruments of Chinese traditional religion, used beside fortune sticks when worshipers seek a deity's answer. The custom is most at home today in China and Taiwan, and it has travelled further: divination with the blocks is seen at Taoist and Chinese temples in other parts of the world. The goddess Mazu is closely linked with them. A pair of blocks, the Xiantao Jiaobei, is counted among her nine treasures and appears in depictions of the goddess, and temples dedicated to Mazu, together with Guangdi temples, are among the places where the practice can be observed.

How it is done

The person asking first purifies the blocks by circling them three times around the incense burner. Kneeling, they speak their name, date of birth, residence and the question, holding the pair cupped between the hands in prayer, then drop the blocks on the floor. The way they land carries the reply. Thrown without fortune sticks, the pair is cast three times so that the deity's answer is held to be accurate; a clear yes is read from three throws in a row showing one flat and one round block, or at least two throws out of three. Coins of matching value and design may replace carved blocks.

Tools and materials

The standard set is a pair of blocks carved from wood or bamboo into crescents. Each has two faces: a round one, called the yin side, and a flat one, the yang side, so a single block carries both a yin and a yang face. Clam shells can serve as a set, and coins of matching value and design are sometimes used instead. At the altar the blocks are kept near an incense burner, around which they are circled three times to purify them, and near fortune sticks, with which they are often read together.

What it is for

The blocks are asked yes-no questions. Worshipers bring ordinary, mundane affairs to the deities, and the blocks also settle points of ritual: whether a ceremony follows the proper ritual form, whether a god is present in spirit, and whether the offerings laid before them have been eaten. When fortune sticks have given an oracle, the blocks may be cast to clarify what the drawn stick means. Believers treat three matching throws as a firm answer, and read two flat blocks as a sign that the deity is displeased with the question itself.

Who does it

Anyone with a question may take up the blocks and throw them personally. The procedure has the questioner state their own name, date of birth and residence to the deity, so each answer is tied to the person asking. The practice is carried out both at temple altars and at home shrines. It can be observed at Taoist and Chinese temples, among them temples dedicated to Guangdi and to Mazu, and it counts among the most commonly used items of Chinese traditional religion.

Peoples and places

The blocks are Chinese in origin and are used most widely in China and Taiwan. The custom has travelled with Chinese religion well beyond East Asia: divination with moon blocks is practised in the rest of the world and can be seen at Taoist and Chinese temples abroad. Names differ with language. The Mandarin reading of 筊杯 is jiǎobēi, also written with the characters 珓杯, while the character 桮 is romanised poe, pue or buŏi in other Chinese readings, and it is from poe that the name poe divination comes.

What people believe

Believers read four answers in the fall of the blocks. One flat and one round block is shèngjiǎo, the divine answer, meaning yes. Two flat blocks, called the angry, crying or no answer, mean no: the gods are said to be displeased or to disagree with the question. Two round blocks form the laughing answer, read in several ways, as an emphatic no, an unclear question, or one whose answer is obvious; the gods are said to laugh, and a pair that sways as it falls is taken as the sign of that laughter. If one or both blocks stand upright on end, the deities are understood not to have grasped the question, and the procedure is repeated.

Compare and confuse

Moon blocks are closely tied to fortune sticks, known as kau cim: the two are among the common items of Chinese traditional religion and are often used together, the blocks clarifying the oracle that the sticks give. Practices listed beside jiaobei include the binary lot, fuji (planchette writing), jailangkung, omikuji, tangki, feng shui and Tung Shing.

Today

Moon blocks remain part of living worship. They are described as among the most common objects of Chinese traditional religion, in use at temple altars and in home shrines, and the custom is most widespread in China and Taiwan while also appearing in the rest of the world. Visitors to Taoist and Chinese temples, among them temples of Guangdi and Mazu, can watch the blocks being thrown. The blocks also have a place in religious imagery: the Xiantao Jiaobei pair is shown among the nine treasures of the goddess Mazu.

Rites that involve Jiaobei

Questions people ask about Jiaobei

Good reading and sources

• Jiaobei on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data