Divination and Guidance
How does Master Shengyuan view competition as more people offer Chinese chess divination?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
I see it as an opportunity to introduce Chinese chess divination more widely. As more people encounter and practice it, more people may learn about this tool. So you do not have to think only about whether others are taking your work.
It is like playing Chinese chess or Go. Many people know how to play, enter competitions, and learn from one another. Competition also brings greater attention to the field. Chinese chess divination is similar, although teachers differ in their approaches, understanding, personalities, and expertise. Their original intentions for doing the work may differ too.
Rather than constantly watching what others are doing, examine how well you understand this tool, whether you earnestly help people, and whether you continue developing your professional knowledge. Someone else beginning does not make your past learning worthless. What you can control is doing your own work well and organizing what you have truly understood and practiced to share with more people.
Later, when I saw other divination teachers teaching Chinese chess divination using the Standards for Students and definitions of chess-piece meanings from my book, I was actually delighted. Someone had read it and was willing to learn and teach it. I organized the methods into a book and cards precisely because I wanted more people to discover and learn to use them, allowing them to spread. Seeing others continue sharing was, to me, a response to that effort.