It is not uncommon amongst the Chinese to ask someone who has just awaken from a short nap if he or she has just visited Grandmaster Zhou for a discussion. But what is this so?

Grandmaster Zhou (also known as Zhou Gong) who lived approximately 3000 years ago is credited with the earliest Chinese Dream Dictionary known as “Zhou Gong’s Book of Auspicious and Inauspicious Dreams”. Legend has it that this is the same person who is credited with the development of the Yi Jing or the Book of Changes.

Therefore whenever you dream, it is like paying a visit to Grandmaster Zhou!

You can find a section of his book in the Chinese Almanac which until recent times is found in most Chinese household. This also explains the popularity. It is not uncommon during my parent’s and grandparent’s time to refer to this section of the almanac whenever a member of the family has a dream, more so a strange one.

In the Chinese Almanac (also known as the Tung Shu or Tong Sing) dreams are presented in seven categories. They are astronomy, home and surroundings, gods and spirit, person or body, music and disharmony, living creatures and lastly clothing and miscellaneous items.

Some of the interpretations are somewhat logical. For example if you dream of sunset, then you parents are sad. Or of 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 family members.

Some are hilarious. For example if you dream of your own wedding, then it is a sign that you will be separated from your wife! Worst if you dream that your wife is pregnant. It means that she is engaged in an adultery affair!

I would strongly urge you not to take the dream interpretation too literally especially the one mentioned in the last paragraph.

You may be interested to know that the type or meaning of dreams was use – in conjunction with other methods – as a medical diagnostic tool. You can find it in Yellow Emperor’s Medicine Classic – Miraculous Pivot that dates back over 4000 years!

Different type of dreams e.g. fearful, sad dreams, relates to deficiency in different parts of the body! For example falling dream is due to deficiency in the upper and excess in the lower part of the body. This is often seen in water retention in the kidneys and deficiency of yang in the heart.

That is interpreting dreams for you – Chinese style!