Matchmaker Oracle · Lot 65

Source: Su Shi, "Bu Suan Zi"

What it means

Too particular, and so alone; consider loosening your standards.

A lone goose startles and looks back, its sorrow understood by no one; it tries every cold branch and won't settle, choosing a lonely sandbar instead. Too particular, or too hurt to let others close, and so alone. Loosen your standards a little and let someone in.

Guidance in love

Line by line

1. 驚起卻回頭
   Startled, it turns its head
2. 有恨無人省
   its sorrow known to no one.
3. 揀盡寒枝不肯棲
   It tries every cold branch and won't settle
4. 寂寞沙洲冷
   staying on a lonely, cold sandbar.

Original context

From Su Shi's "Bu Suan Zi", written in exile at Huangzhou: a lone wild goose, startled, looks back with sorrow no one understands, rejects every cold branch, and rests on a lonely sandbar, an image of his own proud isolation.

Text: the 100-lot Matchmaker (Yue Lao) oracle used in Taiwan. Most lots quote classical texts; sources were checked against the originals, obvious copying errors corrected, and uncertain sources marked as such.