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Abstract Predictions are frequently made use of in Zuo Zhuan. Predictors are always wizards, officials, and high-ranking officials of the ruling class. Prophesies can be classified into two main categories: a. intuitive and experiential prophesy, in which people are predicted good-luck or ill-luck in line with their appearance, diction and behavior; b. technical and intellectual prophesy, in which success and failure are predicted by means of specific tool or methods, such as astrology. In Zuo Zhuan, the major function of prophesy is to arrange plots, make suspense and advices on politics and ethic. In this way, the mode of prophetic narration in Zuo Zhuan exerts a profound and lasting influence on later historic narration and fictitious narration.
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Received: 25 May 2004
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