Wu Fan, courtesy name Wenzhe, was from Shangyu, Zhejiang. He was skilled in astronomy and calendars, able to predict the weather, and was fairly famous locally. Later, he participated in the civil service examination, wanting to go to the capital to develop himself, but chaos in the country prevented him from going. When Sun Quan rose in Jiangnan, Wu Fan joined him. Whenever natural disasters or signs occurred, Wu Fan used his knowledge of astronomy and calendars to interpret them. His predictions were mostly accurate, and his reputation grew.
Initially, Sun Quan wanted to attack Huang Zu. Wu Fan advised, "It's not a good time to go to war right now. It's better to wait until next year. Next year is the Year of the Earth Rat, and Liu Biao of Jingzhou will also die, leading to the downfall of Jingzhou." Sun Quan ignored this advice and went ahead with the attack on Huang Zu, but failed to capture him. The following year, Sun Quan launched another attack, and when the army reached Xunyang, Wu Fan observed the weather and immediately went to the ship to congratulate Sun Quan, urging him to attack quickly. As a result, they quickly defeated Huang Zu, who fled at night. Sun Quan was worried that Huang Zu had fled far away, but Wu Fan reassured him, "He won't get far. We'll catch him for sure." Indeed, in the early morning, Huang Zu was captured. Liu Biao also died, and Jingzhou was divided.
In the Year of Renchen, Wu Fan predicted, "By the Year of Jiawu, Liu Bei will be able to obtain Yizhou." Later, when Lu Dai returned from Shu, he met Sun Quan in Baidi City and reported that Liu Bei's army had suffered heavy losses, with nearly half of his troops dead, and they would definitely not be able to conquer Yizhou. Sun Quan doubted Wu Fan's prediction, but Wu Fan explained, "What I said was the will of heaven; what Lu Dai saw was human affairs." As a result, Liu Bei did indeed obtain Yizhou.
Sun Quan and Lu Meng planned to launch a surprise attack on Guan Yu. They consulted with their close advisors, and many people said it wouldn't work. Sun Quan then asked Wu Fan, and Wu Fan said, "It can succeed." Later, Guan Yu found himself besieged in Maicheng and sent a messenger to surrender. Sun Quan asked Wu Fan again, "Will Guan Yu surrender in the end?" Wu Fan said, "This is a feigned surrender; he’s trying to escape." Sun Quan sent Pan Zhang to intercept Guan Yu's escape route. The scout returned with the news that Guan Yu had already escaped. Wu Fan said, "Even if he has escaped, he won't get far." Sun Quan asked when they could capture him, and Wu Fan said, "By noon tomorrow." Sun Quan had someone set a marker under the leaking pot. By noon, Guan Yu still hadn't shown up. Sun Quan asked what was going on, and Wu Fan said, "It's not yet noon." After a while, the wind picked up in the tent, and Wu Fan clapped his hands and said, "Guan Yu is here!" Soon after, cheers erupted from outside, announcing that Guan Yu had been captured.
Later, Sun Quan struck a deal with the Wei Kingdom. Wu Fan said, "From the signs in the heavens, the Wei Kingdom is appearing friendly on the surface, but actually harboring ulterior motives. We should be cautious." When Liu Bei launched an attack on Xiling, Wu Fan said, "They will reconcile in the future." All these prophecies came true, proving his divination skills were remarkably accurate.
Sun Quan appointed Wu Fan as both the Cavalry Commandant and the Chief Astrologer, frequently sought his advice to learn about his prediction methods. However, Wu Fan was very conservative and refused to share his most important secrets with Sun Quan. This made Sun Quan very angry with him.
At the beginning, when Sun Quan was still a general, Fan Fang once told him that there was imperial fortune in Jiangnan, and there would be great blessings during the Year of the Boar. Sun Quan said, "If it is really as you say, I will make you a marquis." Later, when Sun Quan became the King of Wu, Fan Fang was dining with him and said, "Back when we were in Wu, I told you about this matter. Do you still remember, Your Majesty?" Sun Quan said, "I remember." So he called the guards to present him with the marquis' seal. Fan Fang realized Sun Quan was trying to take back his earlier promise, so he gently pushed it aside and did not accept it. Only later, during the merit awards, was Fan Fang appointed as the Marquis of Duting. When the edict was about to be sent out, Sun Quan was furious that Fan Fang had boasted in front of him, so he crossed out his name.
Fan Fang was a straightforward person who liked to boast, but he remained consistent in his interactions with relatives and friends. He was from the same hometown as Wei Teng, and they had a good relationship. When Wei Teng committed a crime, Sun Quan was furious and imposed harsh punishment, and anyone who dared to intercede was executed. Fan Fang said to Wei Teng, "Let's die together!" Wei Teng said, "Dying won't change anything, so why should we?" Fan Fang said, "How can you consider these things? Watching you suffer?" So he shaved his head, tied himself up, and ran to the gate of Sun Quan's residence, asking the guard to report to him. The guard hesitated and replied, "You will definitely die; I dare not report." Fan Fang said, "Do you have a son?" The guard said, "Yes." Fan Fang said, "If you die for me, I’ll look after your son." The guard said, "Okay." So he rushed in. Before he could even finish, Sun Quan was furious and wanted to kill him with a halberd. Fan Fang quickly ran out, then rushed back in, banging his head and bleeding, with tears and snot flowing together. After a long time, Sun Quan calmed down and granted Wei Teng a pardon. When Wei Teng saw Fan Fang, he thanked him and said, "My parents raised me, but they could not save me from death. Like you, mutual support between friends is all we need; what more could you want!"
In the fifth year of the Huangwu period, Fan Fang died of illness. His eldest son died young, and his younger son was still a child, so his family line came to an end. Sun Quan missed him greatly and recruited across three provinces for someone skilled in the arts and numerology like Wu Fan and Zhao Da, promising to appoint them as thousand-household marquis if found, but in the end, no one was found.
Liu Dun, whose courtesy name was Ziren, was from Pingyuan. He would hide during times of war and fled to Luling, where he served Sun Fu. He was well-versed in astronomy and calendar calculations, and his divination was very accurate, which made him well-known in the south. Whenever there were floods, droughts, or banditry, he could predict them in advance, never failing. Sun Fu was so amazed that he appointed him as a military advisor, earning the respect of the troops, who called him a divine being.
During the Jian'an period, while Sun Quan was in Yuzhang, celestial phenomena changed. He asked Liu Dun, who said, "Disaster is in Danyang." Sun Quan asked, "What's going on?" Liu Dun replied, "The guest will defeat the host, and the answer will come on a certain day." At that time, Bian Hong rebelled, just as Liu Dun had foreseen.
As for Old Zhang, he excelled in all things, especially in Taiyi numerology. He could deduce various matters and delve deeply into the arcane, even writing more than a hundred articles! Even the renowned scholar Diao Xuan thought he was too formidable! However, Old Zhang valued his skills highly and never shared them, so hardly anyone knew just how talented he truly was.
Zhao Da was from Henan. When he was young, he studied with the attendant Shan Fu of the Han Dynasty. His mind was particularly agile, and he felt that there was an imperial aura in the southeast direction, which he believed could help him avoid disasters, so he hurriedly made his way to Jiangnan. He was particularly skilled in Nine Palace arithmetic and studied this subject very thoroughly, so he could adapt to any situation, and his answers to questions were as accurate as a divine being's. He could predict the number of locusts or hit hidden targets with pinpoint accuracy. Some skeptics questioned him: "Flying things are inherently difficult to predict, how do you know where it is? This is probably just guesswork!" Zhao Da asked the person to bring a few dou of mung beans, scatter them on the mat, and then he calculated the total based on the number of beans, and he got the total spot on! One time, he visited an old friend, and the old friend invited him for a meal. After the meal, the old friend said, "I truly apologize, things were a bit rushed at home, no wine, no good dishes, I didn't have much to offer, I'm really sorry." Zhao Da picked up the chopsticks from the plate, made a few gestures on the plate, and then said, "There is a pot of good wine hidden under the east wall, and three catties of venison, yet you say you have nothing to offer me?" There were other guests present at the time, and everyone understood the host's true intentions. The host said embarrassedly, "I see you're quite the calculator, I wanted to test your skills, I never thought you'd actually get it right!" So he took out the wine, and everyone drank happily together. Another time, someone put a letter in an empty warehouse, with millions written inside, and asked Zhao Da to calculate. Zhao Da took a glance and immediately provided the correct figure, and also said, "Although there are numbers written on this letter, there aren't actually that many items." His abilities were truly remarkable and hard to fathom!
Dabao holds his algorithm in high regard. Kan Ze and Yin Li are both famous Confucian scholars, and he humbly lowered himself to visit them to learn. However, he regards this algorithm as a closely guarded secret and never shares it with anyone. When Gongsun Teng was young, he apprenticed himself to Dabao and studied diligently for years. Dabao had promised to teach him, but always paused just before he was about to impart it. One day, Gongsun Teng brought some wine and snacks, watched Dabao's face, and then knelt down to request to learn the skill. Dabao said, "My ancestors obtained this algorithm with the intention of becoming the teachers of emperors. However, for three generations, they only reached the rank of Taishi Lang, so I truly hesitate to pass it on. Moreover, this algorithm is very subtle, involves 'head multiplication and tail division,' and the calculations are quite intricate, and even fathers and sons do not share them. However, seeing your eagerness and persistence in learning, I will share this algorithm with you now." They drank a few cups of wine, and Dabao took out two very small scrolls, about the thickness of a finger. He advised, "You should study these on your own, and you'll grasp it. I haven't used this algorithm in ages, and my memory is a bit hazy. I want to work through it again carefully and will give it to you in a few days." Gongsun Teng went as agreed, but when Gongsun Teng arrived, Dabao feigned searching for the scrolls, then panicked and claimed he had lost them, saying, "My son-in-law was here a few days ago; he must have taken them." And so, Gongsun Teng never managed to learn this algorithm.
When Sun Quan led his troops into battle, he often had Da Bao calculate good and bad omens, and the results always matched what Da Bao predicted. Sun Quan asked him how he did it, but Da Bao never revealed his method. This made Sun Quan grow more distant from him, and he didn’t get a promotion. Da Bao often joked with those studying astrology, feng shui, and weather, "One should calculate in private, without going out to observe the sky all day. Isn't that just wasting time?" He mostly stayed home, working out his calculations, and finally sighed, "I've figured out that I'll die on a specific date. My time is up." Da Bao's wife saw his accurate predictions many times and cried when she heard this. To cheer her up, Da Bao did the calculations again and said, "I made a mistake just now; it's not time yet." But he really did die on the day he predicted. Sun Quan heard that Da Bao had a book and wanted to get his hands on it, but he couldn't locate it. He asked his daughter and even opened the coffin to look for it, but the method was lost and never passed on. It’s said that these three were all experts in their fields, and their ideas were clever. However, a wise person should focus on what really matters. Therefore, people with insight should ditch these little tricks and go after what’s truly valuable.
