A Prophet - Chapter 14 (Part 9)
Chapter 9 - "Qimen Dunjia"
The eighth to take the stage was Pei Jinglong of the Baoding "Huangji Path." Pei Jinglong was a rising star in the Chinese Yijing community. At the tender age of twenty, when he was fifteen, he had apprenticed himself to an old scholar in the "Direct Rule Prefecture Governor's Office Folk Custom Inspection Section." From him, he obtained a handwritten copy of the Palace collection Qimen Dunjia, which he then pondered day and night, eventually awakening to its profound mysteries.
During the Central Plains War, Wang Jingwei allied with various warlords to crusade against Chiang Kai-shek. People throughout the Jianghu universally declared that Chiang Zhongzheng's life was at its end! Yet Pei Jinglong observed the celestial phenomena by night, analyzing them through the methods of Qimen, and derived the prediction: "A ferocious army is bound to emerge from the Gen quarter, sweeping the universe and the Qian, Zhen, and Dui trigrams clean in a single stroke!" Later, when the war between the two sides reached a state of deadlock, Zhang Xuelih of the Northeast suddenly telegraphed the entire nation: pledging support to Chiang Kai-shek, he led twenty thousand Northeast troops southward, single-handedly determining the victorious and losing layout of the Central Plains War. Once the war concluded, Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Xuelih even became sworn brothers! In the Later Heaven Eight Trigrams, the northeast direction happens to occupy the Gen position, which perfectly fulfilled the prediction that "a ferocious army is bound to emerge from the Gen quarter." Pei Jinglong became famous overnight!
Grandpa Zu had long since heard of this junior in the Yijing world. Seeing him today, he observed that Pei Jinglong possessed refined and clear brows, extraordinary bone structure, a resolute gaze, and a composed demeanor, prompting him to sigh inwardly: What a supreme talent!
Grandpa Zu had always firmly believed that a kind heart brings clear eyes, and with a clear mind and bright eyes, one becomes exceptionally astute—traits that are reflected as reaching the pinnacle of perfection in academic pursuits. All things in the world are interconnected; a kind-hearted person, untainted by worldly desires and material greed, can dedicate themselves entirely to scholarship and thereby attain the utmost peak. Grandpa Zu used physiognomy to examine people's hearts, and then used people's hearts to deduce their academic attainments, prompting an instinctive desire to take him under his wing.
Earlier, Grandpa Zu had discussed with Mei Xuanzi that during this Yijing debate, they needed to be mindful to seek out individuals whose conscience was not yet completely extinguished. Perhaps among those bearing the infamous label of traitors, there were people like themselves enduring humiliation and heavy burdens, waiting only for the moment when the time was ripe to swing their tails like a black dragon and wash away their blood debts in a single sweep!
According to Grandpa Zu's arrangements, Mei Xuanzi was to pose several questions to test this person's depth, since Mei Xuanzi himself was also a researcher of Qimen Dunjia.
Mei Xuanzi stood up and raised a question: "Those who study Qimen Dunjia all know that the art of Qimen is unfathomably miraculous, yet since ancient times, very few reference materials have been passed down. In particular, the methods of calculation are rarely mentioned, leaving many learners wandering aimlessly for years after mastering how to set up a chart. The reason is simply that they only know how to arrange the board without knowing how to analyze it, let alone eliminate disasters! In the Song of the Misty Waves Fishing Old Man, regarding disaster elimination, only a single line is left behind: 'In emergencies, follow the spirits; in leisurely times, follow the gates!' I wonder what brilliant insights Mr. Pei has regarding this?"
The most essential contents of Qimen Dunjia are all condensed into a single ballad—the Song of the Misty Waves Fishing Old Man. This is also content that countless researchers of Qimen Dunjia down through the ages have had to comprehend.
"In emergencies, follow the spirits; in leisurely times, follow the gates" is a line from within it, discussing how to eliminate disasters through the information revealed by the chart layout of Qimen Dunjia. To put it plainly, it is about how to choose favorable times and spaces to perform actions beneficial to oneself.
"In emergencies, follow the spirits" means that in urgent situations where time is tight and leaves no room for considering every aspect of the board layout, what should be done? One simply needs to take action in accordance with the direction of the Jia Stem Chief Spirit (Zhi Fu) or the Nine Stars Chief Spirit within the board layout, either escaping and seeking refuge from this direction or fighting one's way out of the encirclement from this direction.
"In leisurely times, follow the gates" means that if a matter is not overly urgent and allows for reflection, one must comprehensively weigh the overall situation, look at the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of the Eight Gates, and then select a direction to guide one's actions.
Pei Jinglong smiled and said, "While 'In emergencies, follow the spirits; in leisurely times, follow the gates' is indeed an essence, there is no accurate standard of judgment for what constitutes an emergency versus a non-emergency—this is entirely attributed to an individual's mental state. Some people remain unfazed even if Mount Tai collapses before them, while others panic at the rustle of leaves in the wind, worrying groundlessly. Therefore, this humble person judges that whether something is urgent or not must not only consider the matter at hand, but more importantly, consider the auspiciousness and inauspiciousness of the host and guest in the divined board layout. Combining substance and function allows for accurate judgment; otherwise, it is simply misunderstanding the sages' methods!"
Grandpa Zu listened while smiling and nodding in approval.
Mei Xuanzi continued to ask: "It is universally said that Qimen Dunjia originated from the gift bestowed by the Mysterious Maiden of Nine Heavens. I wonder what brilliant insights Mr. Pei has regarding this?"
This was indeed a historical puzzle. Qimen Dunjia had always been passed down as something miraculous, but as to how this book actually came to be, there were no convincing historical records to corroborate it.
Legend has it that Qimen Dunjia originated in the era of the Yellow Emperor. In remote antiquity, when the Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor was locked in a bitter struggle against Chiyou at Zhuolu (present-day Zhuolu County, Hebei Province), the two sides fought to a standstill until Chiyou suddenly used sorcery to deploy a dense fog, causing the Yellow Emperor and his army to instantly lose their bearings and become trapped at the foot of the mountain. Just when the Yellow Emperor was at his wit's end, a thunderclap rang out in the sky, and a rainbow arched across. From the rainbow walked out an immortal maiden—none other than the Mysterious Maiden of Nine Heavens. She bestowed a book upon the Yellow Emperor, who arranged his military formations according to the methods described in this book and ultimately inflicted a crushing defeat upon Chiyou's army.
Later, this book was passed down into the hands of Jiang Taigong. Jiang Taigong held this book while fishing, reading as he fished until he reached the age of eighty, when he finally awaited King Wen of Zhou and was henceforth entrusted with heavy responsibilities. In the end, Jiang Taigong used the learning of a lifetime to help King Wu of Zhou settle King Zhou of Shang.
Later on, the book was passed down to an old man known as Huangshi (Yellow Stone). One day, this old man encountered a man named Zhang Liang on a bridge and, seeing that the youth possessed fine physiognomy, wanted to test him. The old man intentionally threw his shoe into the river and told him to retrieve it for him. Zhang Liang was furious at the time and wanted to beat the old man up, but on second thought, reflecting that he was an elderly person, why bother lowering himself to his same level? So he silently retrieved the old man's shoe. As a result, the old man pushed his luck further, saying, "Kid, put it on for me." Zhang Liang was on the verge of exploding with anger, but thinking that he had already retrieved it for him, what harm was there in putting it on for him as well? Thus, he respectfully put the shoe on the old man.
The old man laughed: "Very well, very well. Child, come back in five days, and I shall give you a small gift." Later on, Old Man Huangshi gave Zhang Liang a book titled Taigong's Art of War. At that moment, Zhang Liang was moved to tears, hurriedly kneeling down to kowtow and acknowledge him as his master. From then on, Zhang Liang used this book, alongside turbulent figures like Han Xin and Xiao He, to help Liu Bang conquer the realm. Later, after revising the book, Zhang Liang renamed it Qimen Dunjia.
Later still, legend has it that Qimen Dunjia fell into the hands of Zhuge Liang. And thus, it brought to fruition Zhuge Liang's monumental achievements of "merit overshadowing the three divided kingdoms, fame established through the Eight-Gate Array."
Such is the legendary origin and development of Qimen Dunjia.
Pei Jinglong nodded and said, "Indeed. From the Yellow Emperor fighting Chiyou, to Taigong assisting King Wen and King Wu in claiming imperial sovereignty, to Zhang Liang assisting Liu Bang in unifying the realm, and down to Zhuge Liang helping Liu Bei divide the realm into three parts—throughout history, whenever Qimen Dunjia made an appearance, it was invariably during times of great turmoil under heaven, and it was never separated from warfare. 'Dunjia' means concealing the 'Jia' stem. Among the ten Heavenly Stems, Jia is the leader, akin to a supreme general in the army. When an army travels thousands of miles, the general is the center; concealing Jia is protecting the general, preventing him from suffering the harm of stray arrows and preventing the general from being decapitated by others. Therefore, all signs indicate that Qimen Dunjia originated from ancient military battle arrays! As for the exact era, it remains unexaminable for the time being!"
Hearing this, the people in the audience nodded in secret. With just a few sparse words, he had explained such a profound issue in a reasonable and lucid manner, and thunderous applause erupted immediately. Even Grandpa Zu could not help applauding for him.
Amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, Pei Jinglong also slowly stepped down from the stage.
The ninth to take the stage was Mei Xuanzi. In accordance with the strategy he and Grandpa Zu had discussed, they absolutely could not let the Japanese detect that the two of had already resolved their past grievances and come together. Therefore, after he took the stage, Grandpa Zu initiated the questioning first, loaded with heavy gunpowder. The two engaged in a fierce, tit-for-tat verbal sparring match, using the stratagem of crossing the sea under camouflage to deceive the eyes of the Japanese.
The last to take the stage was Grandpa Zu. In truth, Grandpa Zu no longer needed to go on stage—victory or defeat had long since been decided—yet Grandpa Zu at this moment had become the target of everyone's arrows! Those masters in the audience wished they could tear Grandpa Zu to pieces, and all sorts of tricky questions emerged endlessly. Grandpa Zu remained as steady as Mount Tai, answering them one by one.
Question: "The numerology circle universally considers Tieman Divine Calculation to be a forgery. How does Grandpa Zu explain this?"
Answer: "It is indeed a forgery! But it is not a fake work! My late master Tie Buzi comprehended this method from Shao Yong's The Emperor's Ordering of the World, yet he dared not claim the merit for himself. Attributing it to the predecessors and transmitting the method of the Yijing Dao—this is the demeanor of a grandmaster. What wrong is there in that?"
Question: "Which does Grandpa Zu think is more powerful, Bazi or Feng Shui?"
Answer: "The ancients said: first graves, second houses, third Bazi. It appears feng shui comes first, but actually feng shui and Bazi are interconnected and complement each other. There is no such thing as one being more powerful; there is only whether the practitioner's skill is formidable!"
Question: "Twins share the same Bazi, yet do they share the same destiny? What is Grandpa Zu's view?"
Answer: "Twins do not emerge from the mother's womb at the exact same moment either; there is always a first and a latter. The later one emerges, the closer they are to the next double-hour, and the qi of the Five Elements is likewise closer to the next double-hour. Have you not seen instances in ancient times where twin brothers were born: when the elder brother came out, the rooster was crowing loudly, but by the time the younger brother emerged, the rooster had finished crowing and only a gurgling intake of breath remained? As a result, the elder brother became a top imperial scholar while the younger brother became a beggar. Of course the destinies of twins are not entirely identical!"
Question: "Does Grandpa Zu know how many kinds of Bazi combinations there are in total?"
Answer: "Five hundred and twenty thousand kinds!"
...
At this moment, Grandpa Zu had pushed his Yijing thinking to its absolute limit, a feat that was the result of his many years of humble diligence in learning, the arrival of Huang Farong at "Wood-Child Lotus," and the meticulous guidance of Physiognomist Peng!
This grand and imposing debate competition for the "Grand Master of Chinese Yijing" finally drew its curtain. Grandpa Zu deservedly claimed the crown and also became the number one "traitor" in the Chinese Yijing community!