The statement in "Bingjian" that men without beards will suffer poverty throughout their lives is not reliable.
"Bingjian" is rumored to be written by Zeng Guofan. In fact, it is very likely that it is not his work, so it is very possible that some of the statements are not credible. The text of "Bingjian" is just a simple mishmash of ancient physiognomy, and the breadth and height of its content do not exceed that of "The Complete Shenxiang".
On the next page of the book "Bingjian" there is a photocopy of "Bingjian" engraved with a brush. It says at the end: "The Yu family has seven pieces of Bingjian, without the name of the author, just like a son. There is no engraving, so I am afraid it will be lost." It was signed "Wu Rongguang Hewu of Nanhai". It is also titled "Book of the Jinglunge Family of Zengda in Xiangshan" and dated to "Middle Spring of the Year of Daoguang Jichou". The year was 1829 AD, when Zeng Guofan was 19 years old. He had not yet taken the imperial examination and had not yet arrived in Beijing (he did not go to Beijing until he was 23 years old). In that era, it took a long time for an article to be written, circulated, and then printed into a book, which was clearly not the work of the young Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan became famous all over the world only after he was 50 years old. Mr. Nan Huaijin praised Zeng Guofan's 13 sets of skills, and "Bingjian" was one of them, but he did not say for sure that the author of "Bingjian" was Zeng Guofan.
The fakeness of "Bingjian" is clearly stated by Mr. Tang Haoming in "Tang Haoming Comments on Zeng Guofan's Family Letters": "Zeng has the reputation of 'knowing people', and some people say that he is 'particularly good'. The fortune teller is an intellectual who is particularly good at identifying people. It is said that he has many tips for identifying people. There is also a widely circulated book titled "Bing Jian", which contains many methods of identifying people. It was clearly signed "Zeng Guofan". The author has searched all the texts handed down by Zeng, and has never mentioned the book "Bing Jian". In fact, some people pointed out that this book was a trustworthy work as early as sixty or seventy years ago. The name is Zeng. It is said in "Reminiscences of Hua Suiren Sheng'an": "In recent times, people in recent times have used the ancient physiognomy "Bingjian". Fu Yiwen corrected the name and titled it as a posthumous work. I didn't know that this book was written by Wu Hewu in Daoguangjian. "Why is it named after Zeng instead of someone else?"
If it weren't for "Zeng". "Zeng Guofan" is a piece of dog-skin plaster that is far less famous than "Ma Yi Xiang Shu" and "Liu Zhuang Xiang Fa". The originator of the incident has no way to be verified, but this idea can be regarded as an extremely successful classic case in the history of Chinese publishing, so much so that it still exists a hundred years later. Many publishers and book sellers are benefiting from this. When the planning masters of the next generation are complacent about their own tricks, think about the achievements of "Bingjian".