中國的算命學術，雖非學術正統，但陰陽五行生剋制化之旨，卻深入中國人的思想。 如果算命的目的在知道個人命運，則「命理」是引導至此目的的途徑。然而命理之外， 算命人運用特殊設計的語言內容，出之以某種表達方式與態度，敍說相應於顧客心理的 話，就能塑造微妙情境，建立個人權威，並在此過程中，安慰顧客之憂愁苦惱，指導其 進退行止，使顧客在情感上得到滿足。 作者以爲算命人運用特殊的語言內容與表達方式等，即是算命人的語言表演；且爲 了因應不同顧客，與現場所發生之狀況，故其語言表演，具有高度的策略性與機動性。 本文探討算命人的語言表演，並歸結其有關因素，進一步以「羅織」解釋算命人語 言表演的技巧。作者以「網羅」與「編織」說明「羅織」的特色，亦即r網羅」合乎情 境需要的資料，「編織」成爲特定的論述形式，以導向算命人之預設目的。由於算命職業 所具有的諮詢特質，以及算命人亟欲在其顧客前保持權威氣勢，使得算命人的語言藝術 在命理學術外獨樹一幟，又與命理學術相輔相成，以表演之形態存在算命事件中。

Chinese fortune-telling has remained outside of the mainstream of academic inquiry. Representations utilized in fortune-telling (a short list includes reproduction, conquest, as well as ying-yang and the five elements) are deeply rooted in Chinese thought. If the goal of fortune-telling is to know a person’s fate, then the foretune-teller^ knowledge is an important means for achieving that goal. A good part of a foretune-teller?s knowledge is, in fact, knowledge of specialized verbal skills. Fortune-tellers have the skill to strategically and flexibly manipulate verbal performances so that moods and motivations are elicited from the client which consolidate the fortune-teller’s authority at the same time that they direct the course taken by that client’s emotions. Specific attention is given to the verbal skills of fortune-tellers in “framing” and especially of what the author calls “collecting” and “fabricating.” That is, the fortune-teller’s skills include those for collecting knowledge and then reworking that knowledge into his goal-oriented discourse.