It is not uncommon among Chinese people to ask someone who has just woken up from a short nap if he has just visited Grandmaster Zhou for a chat. But what is this so?
The Great Master Zhou (also known as Zhou Gong), who lived approximately 3000 years ago, is credited with the oldest Chinese dream dictionary known as “Zhou Gong’s Book of Auspicious and Inauspicious Dreams”. Legend has it that this is the same person credited with developing the Yi Qing or Book of Changes. Therefore, every time you dream, it is like visiting Grandmaster Zhou!
You can find a section of his book in the Chinese Almanac which, until recently, was found in most Chinese homes. This also explains the popularity. It is not uncommon in the days of my parents and grandparents to refer to this section of the almanac every time a family member has a dream, let alone a strange one.
In the Chinese Almanac (also known as Tung Shu or Tong Sing) dreams are presented in seven categories. They are astronomy, the home and the environment, the gods and the spirit, the person or the body, music and disharmony, living beings, and finally, clothing and sundries.
Some of the interpretations are somewhat logical. For example, if you dream of sunset, then your parents are sad. Or if you dream of eating cooked meat versus eating raw meat, it is a sign of good luck.
Some of the interpretations are not so logical. For example, if you dream of a blue snake, it is a good sign. Or if you dream of sharing an umbrella with someone, you will be separated from your relatives.
Some are funny. For example, if he dreams of his own wedding, then it is a sign that he will separate from his wife! Worse if he dreams that his wife is pregnant. It means that she is involved in a matter of adultery!
I strongly advise you not to take the interpretation of dreams too literally, especially the one mentioned in the last paragraph.
You may be interested to know that the type or meaning of dreams was used – along with other methods – as a medical diagnostic tool. You can find it in Yellow Emperor’s Medicine Classic – Miraculous Pivot dating back over 4000 years!
Different types of dreams, for example sad and fearful dreams, relate to deficiency in different parts of the body! For example, the dream of falling is due to a deficiency in the upper part and an excess in the lower part of the body. This is often seen in water retention in the kidneys and yang deficiency in the heart.
That’s interpreting dreams for you, Chinese style!