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Making his fortune

By Yu Sen-lun
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Jul 20, 2003, Page 18

Well-known TV anchor Chang Ya-chin (張雅琴) is on set and sits at a counter decorated with mystical symbols, asking Maurice (whose surname is Chen but he prefers his stage name), "so what do you see happening in the next Taipei mayoral election?" Maurice picks one card from a dozen cards spread out on the table and takes a look. Within seconds he's pontificating.

"Well, this is a tough one. The card refers to waiting, and uncertainty. This means Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has not decided what he's doing. And the DPP camp is also waiting to see what his next move is ... "

The next question is: "Can you analyze these four people? Lien Chan (連戰), James Soong (宋楚瑜), Chen Shu-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou. What are the forecasts for their political careers ??"

Tarot card reading used to make waves in publishing and TV media about five years ago when it was introduced to Taiwan. But horoscopes, Chinese divination and the Eight Diagrams are still the major tools of fortune-telling in popular culture today. Now, 30-something Maurice -- who is seen as a bit of a wizard in celebrity circles in both China and Taiwan -- is about to change all that.

Maurice plays his cards right. PHOTO: YU SEN-LUN, TAIPEI TIMES

Asia Plus (東風衛視) -- a satellite TV channel in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China that broadcasts Chang's Inside Copy (新聞千里眼) -- is not the only program that features Maurice's tarot reading. Tao's Show (陶子娛樂秀) has also opened a slightly longer tarot-card reading section. Also, celebrity entertainment host Taotze (陶子), often asks Maurice about Asian entertainment gossip, such as what's going on with Faye Wong's (王菲) on-and-off romance with maverick singer/actor Nicolas Tse (謝霆鋒).

Fortune-telling programs have become popular on Taiwan's cable channels. They usually follow a talk-show-like format, with two hosts chatting to one or two fortune tellers. Such shows cost little to produce and most of this money goes to the "experts."

On Eastern TV channel (東森電視), there are two popular fortune-telling shows. Lucky Strike(開運鑑定團), airs five days a week and Match Wonderland (友好星樂園) goes out once a week. The former has a rating of 1.12 percent, a success for cable TV programs. The popularity of fortune telling has also got Asia Plus interested in producing similar programs.

"Indeed, fortune telling is now a hot topic among audiences. And now we are planning a new fortune-telling show for Maurice," said Joshua Shao (卲正祥), a producer at Asia Plus.

"He's so good at it, like he's got a gift. He can sense something normal people can't," said Akai Wu (吳翔凱), an agent based in Beijing who represents The Wedding Banquet's (喜宴) Winston Chao (趙文瑄). Apart from Wu and Chao, Maurice has been a consultant for other well-known artists, including pop divas A-mei (張惠妹) and Yentzi Sun (孫燕姿) and and Na-ying (那英).

"It's magical when you see him reading for others. He can sense the person's magnetic field within a few seconds. And from one single card, you can probably read many different things. But Maurice can see something totally related to that person," Wu said.

"One time, a girl came to him asking about her boyfriend," Wu said. "But Maurice read that it was a love triangle. The girl finally admitted that she was the third party," Wu said.

Winston Chao, the actor best-known for his role as Sun Yat-sen in The Soong Sisters, has now shifted his career focus to China.

"I don't usually believe in horoscopes or tarot cards. So I asked Maurice which of three TV dramas I was to star in would be a success. He picked the one I did not expect to be good. And that turned out to be one of the best-selling dramas on Central Television Station in China," Chao said.

One of the reasons Maurice is so popular among Chinese

celebrities is, perhaps, because he has a Chinese way of reading tarot cards.

"When it comes to psychic reading or fortune-telling, Chinese people tend to be very utilitarian. They want practical answers, very clear-cut, black-and-white solutions. They're not interested in knowing about their egos or understanding more about their own psyche," Maurice said.

Some of Maurice's clients ask detailed questions about their investments. "I need to tell them how many US dollars and how many euros the client should buy. Or, how much he should invest in a new projects or whether he should buy new stock, and when he should put the money in," Maurice said.

Maurice said he hadn't set out to be a fortune teller.

"My first deck of tarot cards were bought from a New Age bookstore in New York 10 years ago. It was just for fun," he said. Maurice was at the time working as a visual arts consultant for the New York City Ballet. He also became the assistant for Tibetan expert and religion professor Jeffery Hopkins at the University of Virginia.

"From the time I began reading cards for friends, the response was very positive. Then I tried to prophecy the US presidential election. It was when Clinton won again, , as my reading suggested, that I began to become more confident about my abilities," he said.

Maurice began charging people three years after he taught himself to read the cards and in two months he had 200 clients. He later studied at Findlay College in London, the school famous for studying mysticism.

"[The clients] were mostly in the entertainment business, asking about relationships. There were also record company executives asking when they should set the release date for their records and whether they should spend more money on marketing?" Maurice said.

Though Maurice would not confirm the cost of his readings, in the early stages of his career he charged NT$5,000 for a question, with a session lasting up to 40 minutes. Prices went up when he began his business in Beijing.

"RMB10,000 (US$1,200) for a question is a rock-bottom charge for him," said agent Wu. "Compared with many so-called fortune-telling "masters" in Beijing, Maurice's price is very reasonable," he said. "Some masters even ask their clients to give a red envelope when their son is getting married, or when the master's family is moving."

"He has the gift. And the contents of his readings are very solid," said Peter Dernbach, of legal firm Winkler Partners, who has known Maurice as a friend since his college years.

"I would not probably pay that much for a tarot card reading. But the value of such a reading lies in the hearts of the person asking. They are willing to pay because they think it's helpful for them," Dernbach said. "Besides, Maurice is a very balanced person. He knows what he can do or what he can't."

Now, Maurice is ready to host his own TV show.

Those who are curious about Maurice's readings but cannot afford his high prices, the new TV show sounds like a good idea.
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