Chinese palm reading and fortune telling is a custom that still exists to this day and was passed on to my source directly from his mother, who in turn learned from her own mother. By reading the top line, one understands his or her own love line. The longer the line is, the longer a love life he or she has, and the more cracks or off-shootings that appear, the more love affairs that person has. Next comes the career line. If it is a solid long line, one will have a good long career; however, if it splits or stops short, he or she will have one or more choices, or will have a poor career altogether. Finally comes the life line. My source seemed to emphasize this line as the most important to Chinese. This line tends not to shoot off in multiple directions, and is very straightforward. A long line means a long life while a short line leads to a short one.

I found the fact that my source, despite being born and raised, still learned this fortune telling from his mother. He described it more as a game that people play and being less serious, yet at the same time, the notion of fortune and predetermination seems to be a common East Asian theme.