Columnist recalls the days of the lang-ting-tang men

IT was said that on the 15th night of the eighth lunar month, maidens would wait anxiously at their doorsteps to have their fortunes told by wandering minstrels with their quaint Chinese mandolins or yuet chin.

Based on the belief that the Moon Goddess was born during the Mid-Autumn Festival, she could therefore cast her influence to ensure that what the minstrels told would be accurate.