Sānmìng zhǐmí fù 三命指迷賦
Three-Fates Pointing-the-Confused Composition author unknown; supplementary annotation pseudepigraphically attributed to 岳珂 (Yuè Kē, 1183–1243, 宋 — the famous historian-grandson of Yuè Fēi 岳飛)
About the work
A 1-juan late-Sòng xīngmìng divinatory text in fu (composition-poem) form, with supplementary commentary pseudepigraphically attributed to Yuè Kē 岳珂 (the famous Southern-Sòng historian-and-poet, grandson of the Yuè Fēi). The Sìkù 提要 dismisses the Yuè Kē attribution: Yuè Kē’s documented works (Jiǔjīng sānzhuàn yángé lì, Kuìtán lù, Chéngshǐ, Jīntuó cuìbiān, Bǎozhēnzhāi fǎshū zàn, Yùchǔ jí) do not include this work; the Sòng Yìwén zhì does not record it under his name. The Sìkù-recension accordingly removes Yuè Kē from the byline.
But the work is genuinely Sòng-period: Wényuāngé and Yè Shèng’s Lùzhútáng shūmù both record it; Yuán-and-Míng xīngmìng compendia cite it; the methodology and language are consistent with late-Sòng practice. The work transmits substantive Zǐpíngshù technical material on:
(a) Jiāmǎ 夾馬 (sandwiching the horse), jiālù 夾禄 (sandwiching the salary), gǒngkù 拱庫 (cradling the storehouse), gǒngguì 拱貴 (cradling the noble) — four configurational analyses for bāzì fate-determination (b) The gǒngkù analysis is “especially refined-and-clear” per the 提要 — the work’s principal substantive contribution
The 提要 also identifies a methodological limitation: the work uses yuèjiàn (lunar-month-station) and tāiyuán (gestational-origin) as the principal step-bases, but “human gestation [normally] takes 10 months but with breath-rest variations may exceed-or-fall-short” — i.e., the rigid 10-month gestation assumption produces incorrect fate-determinations for non-standard pregnancies. The 提要 advises the careful learner to weigh this critique.
For the broader Zǐpíngshù tradition, see KR3g0036 and KR3g0037. For the (falsely-attributed) putative author, see Yuè Kē person note (not yet created).
Tiyao
[Full text in source file. Dated Qiánlóng 46 (1781), ninth month.]