A Prophet - Chapter 14 (Part 6)

Chapter 6 - Successor of "Three Sovereigns Feng Shui" 

The fourth to take the stage was one of the Five Tigers of the Central Plains, the successor of "Three Sovereigns Feng Shui," Tong Huaixiu.

What is feng shui? The answer is: wind and flowing water. Grandpa Zu had once stated that the original meaning of feng shui is simply wind and water. When humans first built houses, they certainly constructed them in places that both sheltered from the wind and remained close to water, following the maxim: "Choose land to dwell, stay close to water and face the sun." Sheltering from the wind prevented houses from being blown over; staying close to water ensured a supply to drink so one would not die of thirst, and rivers also contained fish that could be hauled up to stave off hunger. Consequently, the cradles of human civilization were all located in places with water—just as Chinese civilization originated in the Yellow River basin, ancient Egypt originated in the Nile River basin, and ancient Mesopotamia originated in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins. Not a single civilization in the world originated in a desert, because the conditions there for human survival were poor. In terms of numerology, that translates to bad feng shui. The meaning of feng shui is just that simple.

As the process of civilization advanced, the elements of the Five Elements began to be incorporated, and the content of feng shui arts also began to enrich itself. From simple survival needs, people started considering the direction of mountain ranges, the orientation of buildings, the number of surrounding trees, the elevation of the terrain, and the flow direction of neighboring rivers. Later still, people began to ponder that the places where humans reside after death should also possess feng shui; thus emerged the paradigms of selecting burial grounds, designing coffin orientations, and arranging objects around gravesites for the dead. Therefore, feng shui is divided into two categories: living-dwelling feng shui and burial feng shui. Living dwellings refer to places where the living reside, including residential houses and office buildings, whereas burial dwellings refer to graveyards for the dead. Assessing feng shui means examining the various conditions of the living dwelling or burial dwelling itself and its surroundings.

Truly systematic feng shui doctrines originated in the pre-Qin era and took shape in the Han Dynasty.

By the Tang Dynasty, the feng shui arts ushered in a peak period of development. Representative figures included Yuan Tiangang and his direct disciple Li Chunfeng. Legends surrounding these two men are numerous, with the most classic being the story of how the two of them selected a burial site for Wu Zetian.

According to legend, the moment Wu Zetian was born, Yuan Tiangang laid eyes upon her and perceived that the child possessed imperial aura. Later, after Wu Zetian ascended the throne as emperor, she held Yuan Tiangang in extremely high regard. In her later years, Wu Zetian expended a great deal of effort planning her own funeral arrangements—especially pondering where she should be buried after death so that the feng shui would be the most auspicious and secure.

One day, Wu Zetian summoned Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng simultaneously, ordering them to select the location with the finest feng shui to serve as her tomb. To prevent Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng from engaging in deceit and trickery to fool her, Wu Zetian made them act separately. Li Chunfeng went out first, while Yuan Tiangang remained in the palace. Waiting until Li Chunfeng returned, the two were forbidden from meeting. Once Li Chunfeng had checked in and stayed, Yuan Tiangang was then sent out to search. Upon Yuan Tiangang's return, Wu Zetian dispatched two separate groups of people to survey the locations described by the two men respectively.

As it turned out, Li Chunfeng went away for forty-nine days, traversing ten thousand waters and a thousand mountains, until he finally found an auspicious parcel of land. To leave a marker, he buried a copper coin precisely at the center of this auspicious site so he could look it up later. Having buried it, he returned to the palace.

Once Li Chunfeng returned, Yuan Tiangang set out. He likewise spent forty-nine days and finally found an auspicious location. Fearing he might have trouble finding it later, Yuan Tiangang pulled the silver hairpin from his own head and thrust it directly into the core location of this auspicious site.

When Yuan Tiangang returned, Wu Zetian sent out two delegations to search according to the locations described by the two men. To their astonishment, the two delegations ended up running into each other at the exact same spot, discovering to their amazement that Yuan Tiangang's silver hairpin was wedged squarely through the hole of Li Chunfeng's copper coin!

This legend, capable of leaving later generations with their jaws hanging open in disbelief, propelled Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng almost onto the thrones of immortals.

After taking the stage, Tong Huaixiu executed a deep bow. "Masters, please enlighten me!"

Grandpa Zu had only ever heard of this one among the Five Tigers of the Central Plains. Seeing him today, the man was barely over thirty years of age, with a dark complexion, medium build, and a thick Henan accent—the quintessential man of the Central Plains.

A person in the audience stood up and said, "I have long heard that Master Tong's family has been the successor of Three Sovereigns Feng Shui for three generations. How does Master Tong think Three Sovereigns Feng Shui compares to Yang Gong Feng Shui?"

The crowd looked toward the source of the voice and saw Yang Jingsha of Shandong, the successor of "Yang Gong Feng Shui."

Tong Huaixiu nodded and said, "Yang Gong Feng Shui belongs to the landform school, emphasizing the five characters of 'dragon, sand, water, orientation, and穴 (cave/site),' focusing heavily on external forms while lacking sufficient application of the Five Elements' qi. Three Sovereigns Feng Shui, on the other hand, encompasses the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, celestial timing and the Nine Stars, and the earthly plate Nine Stars, comprehensively considering multiple elements of both celestial timing and earthly advantage..."

"Heh." Before Tong Huaixiu could finish speaking, Yang Jingsha interrupted him. "Being able to utter such words shows that Master Tong's study of feng shui schools is still rather naive. Since ancient times, Chinese feng shui schools have been numerous; the Xuankong Flying Stars alone can be divided into hundreds of minor sub-sects. Different sects have different perspectives—'viewed from the front it is a ridge, from the side a peak'—yet all roads lead to Rome and ten thousand methods return to the ancestral source. Regardless of the sect or faction, there is only one truth. Moreover, 'Yang Gong Feng Shui' has existed since ancient times and ranks among the six major schools, whereas the so-called 'Three Sovereigns Feng Shui' has never once been seen in official histories. This method is nothing more than some wild, rivers-and-lakes path—merely the swindling and deceiving techniques of wandering vagrants!"

Tong Huaixiu was not angered in the least. "Whether it is orthodox technique or a wild rivers-and-lakes path, getting results is the hard truth! This Tong has roamed the Central Plains for over a dozen years, and no one has ever said my assessments were inaccurate."

"Hmph!" Letting out a laugh, Grandpa Zu stood up. "Does Master Tong believe what the underlying principle of the feng shui art is?"

Tong Huaixiu looked at Grandpa Zu, a shudder running through his heart as cold sweat involuntarily broke out all over his body.

After a brief moment of reflection, Tong Huaixiu countered, "What brilliant insights does Grandpa Zu have regarding the principle of the feng shui art?" He knew Grandpa Zu was not a researcher of feng shui, which was why he threw the question back, intending to strike back as soon as Grandpa Zu exposed a flaw.

"I only possess slight research into the Tieman Divine Calculation. When it comes to feng shui, I fall far short of Master Tong, which is why I humbly come to seek instruction!" Grandpa Zu said.

Seeing that Grandpa Zu refused to take the bait, Tong Huaixiu had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "All ten thousand methods do not depart from the principles of the I Ching. The adjustment of feng shui lies in the harmony and smoothness of the yin-yang and Five Elements. When the Five Elements are blocked, misfortune follows endlessly; when the Five Elements flow freely, grand fortune and great auspiciousness prevail!"

Grandpa Zu nodded and said, "Indeed! With Master Tong's many years of experience, can you tell at a single glance whether the feng shui of a particular place is good or bad?"

Tong Huaixiu said, "Of course! Assessing yin and yang upon passing by on horseback—one glance and you know!"

Grandpa Zu said, "Very well! Was the place where Emperor Qin Shi Huang was born a good feng shui location?"

"Of course! Otherwise, how could he have swept across the six states and unified the realm!"

"Ah, with such wonderful feng shui, millennia have passed—why hasn't a second Qin Shi Huang emerged? Why hasn't another major figure ever arisen there?"

"Th... this feng shui was completely monopolized by King Ying Zheng of Qin, and therefore..." Tong Huaixiu found it difficult to round out his own argument.

"Haha!" Grandpa Zu let out a laugh. "It appears Master Tong's study of feng shui principles is still not thorough enough! This humble person dares to offer an analysis, and I hope Master Tong will forgive any inadequacies! The art of feng shui must be combined with human beings to have any meaning for its existence; discussing feng shui in isolation is entirely valueless. China has numerous feng shui schools, but those that combine feng shui with numerology are exceedingly rare. People who study feng shui often speak grandly about a residence, pronouncing it either good or bad. Have you not noticed how different people moving into the exact same building will experience completely different destinies? The mansion at No. 23 Nanjing Road—countless masters all declared it to be an auspicious plot of land blessed with prime feng shui because it once gathered illustrious figures within its walls. Later, Lu Zhanshan, a key figure of the Green and Red Gang, purchased it for himself, only to be hacked to death in his own bedroom within three days. The feng shui remained the same feng shui, and the house remained the same house, yet in an instant, grand auspiciousness turned into grand disaster—how does one explain this? Furthermore, consider the many commercial shops where previous operators lost every single cent regardless of how they ran the business, only for successors to take it over at a low valuation and watch their ventures thrive instantly, bringing in boundless wealth. The shop remained the same shop, and the feng shui remained the same feng shui, yet their destinies diverged drastically—how does one explain this? And what of Beijing's Caishikou, which was formerly an execution ground where people were beheaded, a place of extreme baleful feng shui? Today, through vast historical shifts, it is lined with merchants and vendors, blooming like brocade—how is that explained? To summarize it in a single sentence: discussing feng shui in isolation renders the concepts of auspiciousness and disaster meaningless. Integrating feng shui with a person's Five Elements is the correct approach. What suits you is best; what does not suit you is worst! Such is my foolish opinion—I wonder if there is any reason to it, and I hope Master Tong will instruct me!"

Before Tong Huaixiu could even reply, a wave of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. Even Yang Jingsha, the successor of "Yang Gong Feng Shui," cast a look of deep admiration toward Grandpa Zu!

At that moment, Yoshiko Nishida was deeply moved by Grandpa Zu's vast erudition, her eyes revealing boundless appreciation and affection. She had no inkling that all of this stemmed from Grandpa Zu's conversation with Physiognomist Peng the other night. Grandpa Zu possessed a superhuman memory, combined with the rare ability to draw inferences about other cases from one instance and apply knowledge flexibly—surpassing all others.

Tong Huaixiu returned to his seat looking utterly crestfallen, shaking his head repeatedly and sighing with deep sorrow.