In Qing Dynasty China, the city of Zhangzhou in Fujian Province was home to a high-ranking military general — an official of the second rank, responsible for the defense of an entire region. One day, the general invited a blind fortune-teller named Mr. Chen to his residence. Mr. Chen was renowned for a rare skill known as bone-touching, a form of physiognomy that interprets a person’s destiny through the structure of their bones.
A test of skill impresses the crowd
Before revealing his own identity, the general decided to test Mr. Chen’s abilities. He asked the fortune-teller to examine the bone structure of various subordinates and attendants in the household. Mr. Chen carefully felt each person’s bones and accurately described their fates, prompting a chorus of agreement. “That’s exactly right!” they exclaimed, nodding in amazement. Everyone present was impressed by the fortune-teller’s uncanny precision.
The general receives a shocking verdict
Finally, the general stepped forward, instructing those around him not to reveal who he was. Mr. Chen reached out to examine the man’s body and frowned. “This one is a beggar,” he declared. “There’s no need to even read his fate.”
The room erupted in disbelief. “What? This blind man must really be blind!” someone cried. “How could he mistake our general for a beggar?” Some were so angry that they wanted to strike the fortune-teller.
Yet the general remained calm. He raised his hand and told his men to stand down. Then he turned to Mr. Chen and said: “Touch again — more carefully this time.”
Mr. Chen obliged and once again felt the general’s body. “Yes,” he confirmed, “this man’s body is unquestionably that of a beggar.”
But when his hand reached the general’s head, he suddenly froze. “Wait,” he said, startled. “This is the head of a general — someone destined for great nobility!”
Two sets of bones, two different fates
Everyone was puzzled. How could one man have the bone structure of both a beggar and a general? Yet the general simply nodded with a smile.
“You’re absolutely right,” he said to Mr. Chen. “Your reading is spot on.”
Still bewildered, the others asked for an explanation. The general then shared a story from his youth.
A dream that foretold transformation
“I really was a beggar when I was young,” he said. “One night, I took shelter in a run-down temple and fell asleep. I had an incredibly vivid dream. In it, a divine being appeared and told me that because of a great good deed I had done, my destiny was about to change. The merit I had accumulated was enough to offset a lifetime of poverty. Then the deity said: ‘I will give you a new head,’ and I felt my head being changed.”
A servant gasped. “So the god really gave you a new head? That’s why your head bones show wealth and nobility, while your body bones still show a beggar’s fate?”
The general nodded. “When I woke up, I felt different. My mind was clearer. I could think more sharply and learn more easily. I later joined the military and slowly rose through the ranks until I became a general.”
A selfless act that changed everything
One curious subordinate asked: “What good deed did you do to receive such a great blessing?”
The general replied: “When I was still a beggar, I found a large bag on the street while out looking for food. It was heavy — full of silver. I thought to myself: ‘The owner must be frantic over losing something so valuable.’ So I kept the bag safe and waited at the spot for the owner to come looking.”
“But you were starving,” someone said. “Weren’t you tempted to keep the silver and buy yourself food?”
The general smiled. “Soon enough, someone came along asking if anyone had seen a lost bag. I asked a few questions and confirmed he was the rightful owner. I returned the bag to him. He was incredibly grateful and offered me a reward, but I refused. He asked for my name so he could repay me later, but I wouldn’t give it. I had no intention of being rewarded. I simply didn’t want someone to suffer such a loss.”
Stories like this remind us that destiny is not always fixed. Even in times of hardship, a single act of integrity can open the door to transformation. In traditional Chinese culture, it’s often said that virtue brings its own reward — and in this case, a beggar’s honesty rewrote his life’s path.
Translated by Elaine
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