Every Word Gold, First

蓋言此書，先賢編出，其中理氣，條分縷晰，辨正原文，有言責無，今傳與後，切勿輕洩。邪書肆起，地學不明，各宗師授，莫辨渭涇，我作此書，暗室一燈，楷模後學，字字萬金。

First, the origin of this book: it was compiled by a clear master of an earlier generation, and what it teaches is the work of the liqi (理氣) path—the method that fixes the auspicious and inauspicious by hexagram-qi, era-periods, and flying the stars—each article and each thread divided with complete clarity. What it rests on is the original wording of Jiang Dahong’s Dili bianzheng (地理辨正); what needed to be distinguished has been distinguished, and no further defect remains that can be blamed. Now it is transmitted to those who come after; it must not be lightly leaked to people of crooked heart. In those days forged books of siting were printed in swarms, and the study of reading the land grew dark; each school transmitted its own formulas, and students listening could not tell clear from turbid, like the Jing running muddy and the Wei running clear—once the two waters join they are hard to tell apart. I write this book to light a lamp in a dark room and set a standard for later students, and so I say that every word is worth ten thousand in gold.

要求真訣，盟神受戒，毋為財動，毋為仇害，擇主以交，惟德是賴，求之不誠，留福以特。輕指好地，造物所忌，於天之怒，遭雷擊死，福善禍淫，乃天之理，如覓住城，栽培心地。

One who wishes to obtain the true formulas must swear before the spirits and receive the precepts: one must not, for the sake of money, be moved to point out the point (穴) at random for others; one must not, for private resentment, use feng shui to harm people. In choosing a site for someone one must first choose the person, and use the true formulas only for a household of virtue. If those who come to learn are not sincere in heart, it is better to keep this fortunate affinity and wait for the truly fitting person. As for pointing out a good site lightly to those who ought not to have it, that is what creation most dreads; it will stir Heaven’s anger and bring death by lightning. Conferring blessing on those who do good and misfortune on the lewd and evil is Heaven’s principle in any case. Therefore one who studies the land, rather than going about in search of a precious site on which to settle life and death, should first till and tend this plot of “heart-ground” of his own.

玄空妙訣，惟看雌雄，山與水對，陰與陽通，九星流轉，彼此相逢，坎離交媾，一氣渾融。先看金龍，坎離定位，乾坤父母，鍾毓最貴，一雌一雄，相為經緯，空中體認，心神領會。真龍歸藏，其氣內聚，動則氣生，不動乃死，隨元變方，隨方變氣，舍此求之，豈合玄機。

The essential formula of the Xuankong (玄空) school lies only in distinguishing the two words “female and male”: the mountain belongs to one side, the water to the other, the two stand opposite, and yin qi (氣) and yang qi are thereby made to communicate. The nine stars from one white to nine purple fly and spread with the rotation of the era-periods; when a star on the mountain and a star in the water meet and pair, it is like Kan (坎) water and Li (離) fire coupling, the two qi forming one piece, fused and whole. The first step in starting work is to look at the “Metal dragon”—that is, the arterial pulse on which the qi of the current period rides—and see whether it arises from the Kan position or from the Li position, first fixing this north-south axis; then look at the parental positions occupied by the Qian (乾) and Kun (坤) hexagrams, and those that can gather numinous refinement are the most honored. One female and one male interweave like warp and weft to make a cloth; this relation does not fall on visible traces, and must be recognized in empty space and grasped with the mind and spirit. The qi of a true dragon is stored within; only when qi gathers can a point be formed. A dragon-body that has rise and fall and swinging bends is called “moving”; movement gives rise to living qi, and a flat stretch that does not move is a dead dragon. Moreover, qi changes the direction in which it prospers as the era-period changes; once the direction changes, the qi that is ridden changes with it. To seek the dragon and the point while setting the era-period aside—how can that possibly fit the mechanism of Xuankong?

陰陽差錯，其禍無窮，審龍如此，觀水亦同，配合無謬，運到興隆，陽順陰逆，以窺化工。坎離水火，實具五行，陰施陽受，萬物始生，取以看地，鍾毓可憑，洩天之密，鬼神亦驚。

Once yin and yang are paired wrongly, the harm has no end: examining the incoming dragon is this principle, and examining the incoming water is the same principle. So long as the yin and yang of mountain and water are paired without error, when the prosperous era-period arrives the household will naturally flourish. As for the rule of arranging the sequence, what belongs to yang flies compliantly and what belongs to yin flies in reverse—once compliant and reverse are distinguished, one can glimpse the ingenuity of creation’s movement. Kan is Water, Li is Fire; within this one Water and one Fire the whole function of the Five Phases (五行) of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth is already complete. Yang confers and yin receives, and the ten thousand things begin to be born from this. Take this layer of principle to read the land, and whether mountains and rivers can gather numinous refinement has something to rest on. This is equal to leaking Heaven’s secret; even ghosts and spirits, hearing it, would be startled.

陰陽得配，相見為難，八神四個，其一宜攀，得以配合，毓貴鍾賢，是秘妙訣，切宜細研。子午卯酉，乾坤艮巽，為父為母，寧不相見，此真配合，精力旺健，四個之一，雖微亦顯。甲庚壬丙，辰戍丑未，陰陽相見，此為一類，依龍立向，亦堪消水，旁通一路，父母之位。

For yin and yang to form a pair, what is hardest to obtain is the two words “meeting and seeing.” The Twenty-Four Mountains belong to the eight trigrams, each trigram governing three mountains, together called the “eight spirits”; yet of each trigram only one of the four is truly usable, and one must hold to it. If the pairing is obtained, this site can nurture noble persons and gather worthies. This is an extremely secret formula, and must be studied with care. First the Heavenly-Origin group: the four cardinal branches Zi, Wu, Mao, and You, paired with the four corner trigrams Qian, Kun, Gen (艮), and Xun (巽), one as father and one as mother—how should they not meet? This is true pairing, and the force of the qi is at its most prosperous; though of the eight spirits one takes only one of four, the use is narrow, yet the response is unusually clear. Next the Earthly-Origin group: the four stems Jia, Geng, Ren, and Bing, paired with the four tomb-storehouse branches Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei; yin and yang likewise meet, and belong to the same kind. One may establish a facing by the hexagram-qi of the incoming dragon, and one may also use it to receive and conduct departing water; this path is a branch that communicates from the side of the parental hexagrams, and still falls under the jurisdiction of the parental positions.

乙辛丁癸，寅申巳亥，陰與陽見，配定二類，龍固合向，向亦合龍，父母可兼，莫尋別位。節節清純，三元不替，預知福力，一節一代，禍福顛倒，雜山雜水，其辨入微，其靈如鬼。玄空之妙，四個取一，陰與陽交，陽與陰合，陰陽文媾，二氣渾合，生生不窮，允推良法。

The Human-Origin group is the four stems Yi, Xin, Ding, and Gui paired with the four Changsheng (長生, Birth) branches Yin, Shen, Si, and Hai; yin and yang likewise meet. Taken together with the Earthly-Origin group before it, they are exactly fixed as the two great kinds outside the parental hexagrams. In use, the dragon must of course agree with the facing that is established, and the facing must also turn back and agree with the incoming dragon; when the qi is insufficient one may take the parental hexagrams in combination, but one must not run to another hexagram-position to make up the number. If the incoming dragon is section by section pure and unmixed, the prosperous qi of the upper, middle, and lower three eras will not break off; to know in advance how long the force of blessing can last, count the number of its pure sections—one section roughly answers to one generation. If the hexagram-qi is inverted and disordered, the mountain belonging to this hexagram and the water to that, mixed and not pure, fortune and misfortune will be turned entirely over. The distinctions here are extremely fine, and the responses are as numinous as if ghosts and spirits were within. The subtlety of Xuankong lies precisely in taking only one of the four in each hexagram: yin goes to meet yang, yang comes to join yin; one yin and one yang couple and form a pattern, the two qi fuse as one, generating without end, and it may indeed be ranked as a method of the upper path.

四偶四正，謂之父母，其餘子息，左右夾輔，父母力大，統涵諸子，區而別之，一山一水。山自管山，水自管水，不相為謀，山水異路，立眷成家，各宗父母，倘有差錯，如仇嫉妒。

The four corner trigrams Qian, Kun, Gen, and Xun and the four cardinal positions Zi, Wu, Mao, and You are together called “parents”; the remaining mountains are all sons and daughters born of the parents, arrayed on the two sides to support them. The qi of the parents has the greatest force and can gather and cover the several sons; but in use one must still distinguish them—which is to be used as mountain, which as water, each returning to its place. The dragon arranged on the mountain governs only the mountain; the dragon arranged in the water governs only the water; the two go their own ways and must not be mixed, and this is called “mountain and water on different roads,” like each marrying and founding a house, each acknowledging its own parents. If one arranges the mountain’s hexagram-qi onto the water, or the water’s hexagram-qi onto the mountain, and mistakes the belonging, the two houses that ought to pair instead hate and conquer one another like enemies.

子午卯酉，是為天元，乙辛丁癸，乃其所生，同共行路，有合無嫌，四隅立向，配偶宜然。乾坤艮巽，天元之宮，辰戍丑未，乃其所鍾，攜帶同行，情誼自融，立向論配，四正乃從。辰戍丑未，地元宮起，與誰同行，父母而巳，甲庚壬丙，夫婦相比，陰陽配合，立向所取。

The Twenty-Four Mountains are divided by palaces according to the three origins: the four cardinal branches Zi, Wu, Mao, and You belong to the “Heavenly-Origin dragon”; Yi, Xin, Ding, and Gui are the Human Origin born of the same qi as the Heavenly Origin; the two pulses communicate, and they may travel the same road, and combining them does no harm. If a Heavenly-Origin dragon is to establish a facing, one takes it from the four corners Qian, Kun, Gen, and Xun, which are its natural mates. Looked at the other way, Qian, Kun, Gen, and Xun themselves also belong to the Heavenly-Origin palace; Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei are the Earthly Origin they gather, and traveling together with them, feeling naturally blends; when pairing is discussed in establishing a facing, it is then the turn of the four cardinals Zi, Wu, Mao, and You to follow. Counting again from the Earthly-Origin side: Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei are the starting-point of the Earthly-Origin palace, and those that can travel with them are only the parental hexagrams (here the base text has “si” 巳 for “yi” 已, an error of similar form); those that form husband and wife with them are the four stems Jia, Geng, Ren, and Bing. Yin and yang being paired thus, one takes them in this way when establishing a facing.

甲庚壬丙，亦是地元，倘其出脈，不可有兼，左右皆雜，只愛單行，辰戍丑未，覓配為緣。寅申巳亥，人元獨步，騎龍走出，不受人輔，兼來便雜，世罕能悟，乙辛丁癸，配向一路。

Jia, Geng, Ren, and Bing likewise belong to the Earthly Origin. If the incoming dragon issues its pulse from these four characters, one must not combine the characters on either side: it borders the four cardinals on one side and the four corners on the other, and a single combination makes it mixed, so an Earthly-Origin dragon loves only to travel alone; to find a mate, one seeks only Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei, and that is its proper affinity. Yin, Shen, Si, and Hai belong to the “Human-Origin dragon,” whose nature goes alone; it rides the dragon-ridge straight out and does not accept the support of others; the moment another character is combined it is mixed, and this is a point few in the world have seen through. For establishing a facing and taking a mate it has only the one road of Yi, Xin, Ding, and Gui.

乙辛丁癸，人元是水，傍母同行，獨行不美，巳亥可向，寅申亦配，一雌一雄，兩情交會。量山之法，在於審脈，觀其行度，隨其曲折，男女可分，微茫親切，地元人元，不宜有雜。

Yi, Xin, Ding, and Gui, in the Human-Origin group, are used as water; their nature is yielding, and they must travel beside the mother hexagram; used alone and isolated they are on the contrary not beautiful. Establishing a facing at Si or Hai will do, and pairing with Yin or Shen will also do; one must always make up one female and one male, and only when the two feelings meet is it considered in method. As for the method of measuring a mountain dragon, it all lies in examining the veins: watch the course of travel section by section, follow its bends and rises to track it, and the belonging to yang or yin—that is, the so-called division of male and female—must all be distinguished by drawing close to these extremely fine turns. In sum, the Earthly-Origin path and the Human-Origin path each have their own course of travel, and ought not to be mixed with one another.

次察血脈，以審來龍，到頭八尺，真氣內充，氣止水交，堂聚其中，揣摩穴法，以窺化工。共路兩神，疑忌有雜，只論到頭，審清來脈，陰錯陽差，其神帶煞，水亦可救，認水立穴。

After mountain and water have been distinguished, one next examines the “blood-pulse” of the dragon-body, and from it judges whether the incoming dragon is true or false. What matters most is the last eight chi of the arrival—the true qi is all filled in this section. When the dragon has traveled to this point the pulse of qi stops, and it meets the water coming from without; the qi of the bright hall (明堂) then gathers in the midst. It is here that one ponders the method of fixing the point, and only then glimpses creation’s intent. Among the Twenty-Four Mountains some characters occupy the same hexagram and travel the same road, such as Ren and Zi, Jia and Mao; what is most to be feared is precisely these two spirits mixed. At this time one looks only at the last section of the final approach, and examines the incoming pulse clearly. If yin and yang are mixed, this spirit carries sha (煞); yet there is still a method of rescue—take use from the water, and fix the point by the hexagram-qi of the water, and it can still be made good.

剖別山水，先看到頭，乘氣之法，細細推求，此處不錯，富貴可謀，此處若錯，喜變為憂。千囑萬囑，到頭括目，羅經照定，或兼或獨，山龍水龍，各有眷屬，分清水路，自然發福。

To divide the belonging of mountain and water, the first step is still to look first at the last section of the final approach; the method of riding the qi is to be sought out carefully here. If this place is not wrong, wealth and honor can be planned for; if this place is once wrong, what was originally a joy becomes a sorrow. Therefore a thousand and ten thousand injunctions: this last section of the arrival must be looked at with scraped eyes (the “gathered eyes” of the text means to look with scraped and renewed eyes), the luopan aligned and fixed, to see whether it should take a neighboring character in combination or take only one character. A mountain dragon has a mountain dragon’s mate, a water dragon a water dragon’s mate, each founding its own house; distinguish the mountain road and the water road clearly, and fortune will arise of itself.

支神出脈，干神立向，有兼無兼，亦從脈辨，脈從干出，向以支上，從支從幹，審脈決斷。前兼後兼，天玉宗旨，審龍立向，辨山辨水，連珠不放，四正而已，其餘山向，配合為美。挨星秘訣，陰陽兩路，陰陽順逆，入首起數，以視入穴，是何星主，隨元管局，誰能解悟。

The facing must follow the incoming dragon: if the incoming dragon issues its pulse from the spirits of the twelve earthly branches, establish the facing on the spirits of the heavenly stems; whether a neighboring character should be taken in combination is also distinguished from the form of the pulse. Conversely, if the pulse issues from a heavenly stem, the facing is established on an earthly branch. Whether to follow the branch or the stem is decided entirely after examining the pulse. The so-called “forward combination” and “backward combination”—that is, the facing-plate leaning toward the character before or after the host mountain—are the purport of the Tianyu jing (天玉經); while examining the dragon and establishing the facing one must also distinguish which side belongs to mountain and which to water. What can run as linked pearls, continuous and not released, is only the one road of the four cardinals Zi, Wu, Mao, and You; the remaining mountains and facings must attend to pairing with one another before they are considered beautiful. As for the secret formula of “flying the stars” (挨星), it is divided into the two roads of yin and yang: what belongs to yang is counted compliantly, what belongs to yin in reverse, both starting the plate from that last section of the final approach, to see which star, arranged onto the point, acts as host. This star takes charge of a configuration as the era-period changes; how many people can truly see through it?

要看城門，真龍駐足，眾水交會，真氣內畜，獅象龜蛇，禽星特出，無此貴格，不須寓目。城門一訣，豈待外來，龍水交會，內氣兜收，鎖得元精，不至旁流，合得三般，一段盡搜。城門妙訣，原論挨星，陽順陰逆，九宮飛臨，四個之一，遂位流行，四吉四凶，以辨水神。

One must examine the “city gate”—that is, the place where the many waters exit, the lock of the water mouth. The true dragon only stops its feet when it has come here; the incoming waters of the several roads meet here, and the true qi is stored within. If on the two sides of the water mouth there are mountains shaped like lion, elephant, tortoise, or snake, or a “bird-star” standing specially in the water, that is a noble configuration; without such a lock, this site need not be looked at further. This formula of the city gate is not sought from without: dragon and water meet here, the inner qi is caught and gathered, the essence of one era is locked within the configuration and does not leak away to the side. So long as one obtains agreement with the “three-kind hexagrams” of one-four-seven, two-five-eight, and three-six-nine, the mechanism of this stretch has been searched to the end. The subtlety of the city gate is originally discussed from flying the stars: what belongs to yang travels compliantly, what belongs to yin in reverse, and the nine stars fly in sequence to the Nine Palaces (九宮); of the four in each hexagram one takes that one, circulating with the hexagram-positions. Which four are auspicious and which four inauspicious is how one distinguishes the good and evil of the water-spirit.

又看流神，不可差分，去路固重，來路亦論，一毫有雜，禍悲踵門，龍水坐向，厥重惟均。流神利害，元氣為之，有吉有凶，乃其所司，特朝一點，招攝靈奇，凝聚局內，速發何疑。步水之法，與山不同，專論卦氣，測其吉凶，倒看元運，別有化工，山靜水動，一西一東。

Next one must look at the “flowing spirit,” that is, the hexagram-position through which the current of water travels; not a fen or a hair may be wrong. The departing road of the water is of course important, and the incoming road must likewise be discussed; so long as a thread of another hexagram’s qi is mixed in, disaster will follow on the heels. Incoming dragon, incoming water, sitting mountain, and established facing—these four are of equal weight, and none may be neglected. That the flowing spirit has profit and harm is decided entirely by the qi of the current era: the same stretch of water is auspicious in this era and inauspicious in that, all presided over by the era-period. If before the point there is a branch of water that specially comes to pay court, even if only a little, it can summon and gather numinous refinement; this qi condenses within the configuration, and how can the swiftness of the arising of fortune be in doubt? The method of pacing water differs from the method of measuring mountains: water discusses only hexagram-qi to measure the auspicious and inauspicious, and moreover one must look at the era-period in reverse, another set of creation. The mountain is still, the water is moving; stillness and motion have exactly opposite directions, like one in the west and one in the east.

山靜水動，從地從天，一覆一仰，相反照然，倒水步云，其理非偏，參透此旨，可以探玄。來宜衰方，去宜從死，衰即是旺，死亦非死，上元八九，下元一二，四吉四凶，倒用玄機。只看本運，不參局堂，審定八方，以察水路，克入為吉，曲折相顧，去來不清，定遭嫉妒。

The mountain is still and belongs to Earth; the water is moving and belongs to Heaven; one is like a bowl turned down, one like a basin turned up, the two exactly opposite, and set against each other they are perfectly clear. Therefore in measuring water one must reverse the sequence used in measuring mountains—as if looking at the clouds of Heaven upside down—and this principle is not one-sided. See through this layer, and one can probe the secret of Xuankong. As for water: incoming water should be in a declining direction, departing water should follow a dead direction; because on the water, decline is in fact prosperity, and death is not true death. When the upper era is in command, the two future qi of eight white and nine purple falling on the water become auspicious instead; when the lower era is in command, the two past qi of one white and two black falling on the water also become auspicious. Which four are auspicious and which four inauspicious is precisely the mechanism that must be used in reverse. In looking one recognizes only the present period, and need not drag in the form of the hall-configuration; examine the eight directions one by one, and from that inspect the water roads. Water-qi that conquers inward into the point is auspicious; water-form that bends and turns with feeling and regard is excellent; incoming and departing that are vague and unclear will certainly invite a response of mutual conquest and jealousy.

卦立三般，筠松妙訣，一共四七，二連五八，三九與六，永為定格，兩路相交，顛倒順逆。是用九宮，分定厥位，求端於天，妙乎對待，用以倒排，其序莫昧，左旋右旋，玄空最貴。北斗七星，如何打劫，九宮定位，七星跋涉，破軍所臨，巧取其穴，環而布之，坎與離合。

Hexagrams divided into three kinds is a subtle formula transmitted by Yang Junsong: one, four, and seven are one group; two, five, and eight are one group; three, six, and nine are one group; it is forever this fixed configuration. The two roads of mountain and water meet within these three kinds, one traveling compliantly and one in reverse, exactly inverted. In use one distributes the nine stars to the Nine Palaces, each fixing its position; the starting end must be sought from Heaven, and the subtlety lies in pairing opposites—such palace-pairs as one and nine, two and eight. The arrangement must use the method of reverse ranking, and the sequence must not be vague; then one looks at whether it rotates left or right, which in Xuankong is most prized. As for the “seven-star raid”: fix the directions by the Nine Palaces, let the seven stars of the Northern Dipper travel in sequence, see where the Pojun star arrives, and there cleverly take the point; spread the seven stars in a ring, and at the last make the two qi of the Kan palace and the Li palace join, and only then is the raid obtained.

先天倒排，七星順挨，倒須隔位，順由宮推，以求坎離，三卦與偕，同宮山水，須要分開。七星順序，本宮推起，每宮三位，有山有水，相見不寧，打劫爭忌，高人分用，契合玄機。

The method of the raid has the two roads of reverse ranking and compliant ranking: reverse ranking follows the sequence of the Former Heaven, and the seven stars are ranked compliantly by the sequence of the Later Heaven. In reverse ranking one takes one position, skipping one; in compliant ranking one pushes along the order of the palaces. The aim of both is to obtain communication between the Kan and Li palaces, so that one group of three hexagrams, whether one-four-seven or two-five-eight, travels together. One must attend to the mountain-plate star and the water-plate star that occupy the same palace: they must be used separately, and must not be spoken of as one. When ranking the seven stars compliantly one counts from the host palace; each palace governs three mountain positions, some of which are used as mountain and some as water. If the two stars of mountain and water are crowded together and meet, the qi is not at rest, and this is what the raid most dreads. A man of high understanding knows to use them separately, and only then fits the mysterious mechanism.

玄空大卦，不外三般，天心已合，立向何難，水來歸水，山來歸山，一家眷屬，允契玄機。局管初年，禍福立見，消息堂氣，觀其出面，只要純淨，不宜交戰，暗流亦同，明流愈顯。

The great hexagrams of Xuankong, in the end, do not go beyond the three-kind hexagrams. So long as the “heavenly heart”—that is, the qi of the central palace of the current period—has already been joined, establishing a facing is not a hard matter: the incoming road of the water is arranged on the water plate, the incoming road of the mountain on the mountain plate, each a household of its own, and they naturally fit the mysterious mechanism. What the hall-configuration presides over is the response of the first years, and fortune and misfortune come fastest; to weigh the qi of the bright hall, look at what form the stretch that faces one has. Purity is always the essential, and the qi of two hexagrams ought not to battle and contend. Underground hidden currents are read by the same principle, only that water visible in the open responds still more clearly.

來山來水，挨星最貴，此處一差，寧不為累，今人審運，殊屬憒憒，洩漏玄機，驚神泣鬼。零神正神，亦觀所遇，裝正扒零，審運而已，四吉裝正，扒零則忌，四凶扒零，裝正不喜。來山去水，原分兩局，不同而同，一氣連屬，知此運用，始能造福，造化在手，功效神速。

Incoming mountain and incoming water: arranging the stars is most prized; if this place is once wrong, how can one not be dragged by it? People of today, examining the era-periods, are for the most part muddled. To point out this layer of the mechanism would truly startle the spirits and make ghosts and spirits weep. One must also look at where “zhengshen” (正神, the proper spirit) and “lingshen” (零神, the residual spirit) each meet: so-called “installing the proper” is placing the prosperous zhengshen on the mountain, and “raking the residual” is placing the opposite lingshen on the water, all depending on judging the era-period. The four auspicious positions should have zhengshen installed; if instead one rakes lingshen there, it offends the prohibition. The four inauspicious positions should have lingshen raked; if instead one installs zhengshen there, it is also unwelcome. Incoming mountain is one configuration, departing water another; they are originally arranged in two places, yet though they seem different they in fact issue from one source and run as one qi. Only when one knows how to use them thus can one speak of making fortune for others; creation is then in the hand, and the effect is very swift.

五行生剋，取用貴明，流神克入，來脈要生，憑運分別，生克始清，一有混雜，如行敗荊。挨星不到，其位即空，流神沖破，衰敗無窮，陽卦損男，陰卦損女，先天卦斷，後天參用。向中放水，亦取克入，流神之通，倒看乃的，克即是生，生入不吉，欲知方位，四個之一。

Generation and conquest among the Five Phases must be most clearly distinguished in taking use: the flowing spirit on the water takes conquering inward into the point as auspicious, yet the incoming pulse on the mountain must generate inward to be good. Generation and conquest must be distinguished by the current era-period; once the distinction is clear, generation and conquest can be judged accurately. A single mixing is like walking into a thicket of ruined thorns, every step hard. If a flying star does not reach a certain direction, that place is empty; if on an empty place water happens to come and break through, the decline has no end. A break on a yang hexagram injures male descendants; a break on a yin hexagram injures female mouths. In judging the response one takes the Former-Heaven hexagram as host, and further consults the Later-Heaven hexagram. Releasing water out from the facing likewise takes conquering inward as auspicious. Whether the flowing spirit communicates or not must be looked at in reverse to be accurate: on the water, conquest is in fact generation, and it is rather generation inward that is inauspicious. To know in which direction water should be released, it is still a matter of taking that one of the four characters in each hexagram.

三元氣運，分別衰旺，衰死莫修，生旺宜速，逢時知士，隨元安放，運若未到，空勞夢想。衰運之墳，千萬莫修，煞氣驚動，一門立休，百禍相侵，神盡難救，勿動為吉，尋吉補助。得運之地，如種及時，速種速發，特理之宜，人生在世，七十古稀，得運灌蔭，乃沐榮施。

The qi periods of the upper, middle, and lower three eras each have their distinction of decline and prosperity. Graves and houses that fall on declined and dead qi must on no account be broken for building; when one meets living and prosperous qi one must act with haste. A clear-minded man who knows the times will place yin and yang dwellings as the era-period shifts; if the era-period has not yet come round, mere idle imagining is wasted. Especially a grave that is in a declining period must not be repaired or moved: a single movement startles up sha, a whole household declines at once, a hundred disasters invade one after another, and even appeal to the spirits is hard to save. At this time not moving is auspicious; one seeks another fortunate site of the current period to make it good. A site that has obtained the period is like sowing that does not miss the farming season: sown in time, it arises quickly, and this is the natural order of things. A human life in the world is but seventy years, and from of old that has been rare; only when one meets the irrigation and shelter of a site that has obtained the period does one truly bathe in its grace.

運分三元，一元六十，山上排龍，入首勿失，審氣分元，以窺入穴，順逆挨定，須葉三吉。主運固明，餘運不衰，四吉四凶，就安去危，若合玄空，運發如雷，陰陽得配，一例同推。九星雙起，其法甚秘，來山去水，雌雄互異，陽順陰逆，山水一理，水辨來源，山辨入氣。

The era-periods are divided into upper, middle, and lower three eras, each era sixty years, the three eras together one hundred and eighty years making one circuit. In arranging the dragon on the mountain plate, this last section of the final approach must on no account be arranged wrongly; judge which era its qi belongs to, and from that infer the qi that enters the point; after compliant ranking or reverse ranking has been fixed, it must still accord with the auspicious stars of the three-kind hexagrams. The commanding host-period must of course be made clear, and the auxiliary remaining periods before and after need not therefore be in decline. Once the four auspicious and four inauspicious are distinguished, one goes toward safety and avoids danger. If one can join the method of Xuankong, when the period arrives it arises as fast as a thunderclap; all cases in which yin and yang form a pair are inferred together by this example. The nine stars must be arranged in a double start, mountain plate and water plate; this method is extremely secret: one plate for the incoming mountain, one for the departing water, female and male inverted upon one another. The rule of yang compliant and yin reverse is one and the same principle for mountain and water; only, water must distinguish from which hexagram the source comes, and mountain must distinguish in which hexagram the qi enters—the place one looks is different, that is all.

到頭一節，須論生旺，上元一白，二三同黨，四巽一宮，中元所管，並作四吉，上元同看。元卦三位，一二同墜，四卦生旺，九十年內，山脈值此，定然富貴，四卦所值，分定年位。值年之卦，其力愈顯，同隊之卦，亦堪欣羨，陰陽兩度，取用活變，精而求之，其義非淺。

This last section of the final approach must be discussed as to whether it is in the living prosperity of the current era. The upper era takes one-white Kan as host, and two-black and three-green are of its party; the palace of four-green belonging to Xun, though it falls under the middle era, may also be counted together with the upper era as four auspicious stars. Within one era three hexagrams are arranged, and one-white and two-black join as one qi; if all four hexagrams are in the living-prosperous list, the sixty years of the upper era plus the first thirty of the middle era can govern ninety years. If the final approach of a mountain pulse exactly occupies one of these four hexagrams, wealth and honor are certain. As for which years the four hexagrams each occupy, the year-positions must still be further divided. The hexagram that occupies its proper year has the most evident force; the several hexagrams of its company are also of considerable effect. The taking of the two roads of yin and yang must be flexible, and one must not cling rigidly to a single method; the more finely one studies, the more one sees that the principle within is not shallow.

峽前峽後，亦可尋龍，幹身分出，數節氣鍾，借幹纏護，巧奪天工，自成堂局，福力攸榮。凡為凹缺，為禍最烈，不拘方位，逢之即滅，不拘元運，逢之即絕，陰基陽居，都怕此撃。砂法之秘，在於化曜，要在盤內，十干探討，蔭貴權印，刑囚難保，向上分經，串出乃好。

The two stretches before and after a dragon-pulse’s pass through a gorge can both be used to seek the dragon: a branch pulse that splits from the trunk dragon, after traveling a few sections, has living qi gathered; then, borrowing the trunk dragon itself to turn back and wrap as a guard, the ingenuity of the form is like Heaven’s work, and of itself it can enclose a hall-configuration, and the force of blessing remains long within. Wherever a hollow or a gap appears in the mountain form, the harm is most fierce—no matter in which direction it lies, meeting it brings ruin; no matter which era-period is in command, meeting it cuts off the line. Whether a yin dwelling, a grave, or a yang dwelling, a residence, all fear this blow. The secret of the sand method lies in the “transformed luminaries”: one must seek them on the luopan from the ten heavenly stems, to see on which stem a given sand falls. Used in method, they can shelter noble persons and confer the seals of power; used out of method, they become a response of punishment, injury, and imprisonment, hard to preserve. One must divide the warp-lines from the established facing, and only when the luminary-qi can be strung through is it considered good.

理法己明，期勢宜辨，一言蔽之，特來開面，凡目所見，不離這件，觀形察勢，團聚可羨。形家之言，汗牛沖棟，形止氣蓄，一言足誦，砂水交會，由遠而近，主僕分明，太極有暈。

The rules of the liqi path having been made clear, next one should distinguish form and configuration. One sentence covers it: what is prized is only this one thing, that mountain and water specially come to pay court and open the yang in the face. All traces the eye can see do not go beyond this one article; in observing form and examining configuration, what is to be valued is gathering in a ring. Books that discuss form are so many they would make an ox sweat and fill the rafters; in fact the four characters “form stops, qi is stored” are enough to recite for a lifetime—when the mountain form stops here, living qi is stored here. Sand and water meet layer by layer from far to near, host mountain and attendant mountains with guest and host distinct, and on the field of the point there still faintly appears a ring of the taiji halo.

貴賤認龍，吉凶辨砂，不正惡狀，煞身忘家，返背迫壓，破碎磋跎，皆指凶禍，勿見為佳。貧富論局，亦論得水，局圓水抱，朝拱亦美，最怕刈腳，沖射尤忌，反背傾斜，不見為貴。

To judge a household’s honor or lowliness, look at the truth or falsehood and the height or lowness of the dragon; to judge the auspicious and inauspicious, look at the good or evil of the sand’s shape. Sand whose form is askew and not upright, whose face is fierce, will carry sha and injure the person, making one ruin the house and forget one’s work; that which turns its back on the point and goes, that which presses close and bears down on the crown, that whose mountain-body is broken and rugged, all preside over misfortune, and it is best that not one such be seen. To judge poverty and wealth, look at the hall-configuration, and also at whether water is obtained. A hall-configuration that is round, water that embraces in a ring, together with a facing mountain that bows with feeling, is already beautiful. What is most to be feared is water cutting the foot of the point; still more to be dreaded is a watercourse that shoots straight as an arrow. As for that which turns its back without feeling, or ground that slants, it is prized not to see them.

山法洋法，各有專家，比而用之，其亂如麻，量山步水，宗旨毋差，我今區別，造福無涯。洋法坐空，水繞歸後，不用砂關，只要水抱，以水為龍，水繞獨厚，堂寬勢高，漸高乃妙。洋貴得水，勿貪秀峰，前高後低，高要雙容，後低非漕，靈秀所鍾，左右平抱，高迫則凶。

The method of mountain land and the method of pingyang (平洋, flatland) each have their specialized masters; if one mixes them without distinguishing green from red, they become a tangle of hemp. The two arts of measuring mountains and pacing water must not have their purport confused; I now distinguish them, and the benefit is endless. The flatland method emphasizes “sitting on emptiness”: take the water around to the rear of the seat, and one need not rely on sand-hands to bar and lock, so long as water comes to embrace. Flatland takes water as the dragon; the thicker the water’s embrace the better; the bright hall should be broad, the ground should be high behind, and it should rise slowly from near to far to be subtle. Flatland takes obtaining water as precious, and one should not covet distant elegant peaks. If the front is high and the rear low, the height in front must be a pair of peaks facing one another with generous feeling; the lowness behind must not be low as a ditch, and only then can numinous refinement gather and hold. The two sides left and right should come in a level embrace; if they are high and press close upon the point, it is on the contrary inauspicious.

又有平陸，非洋非山，法宜詳究，扦穴尤難，高處之穴，陽極陰生，此為交媾，妙理可參。束氣包裹，與山相同，坐空朝滿，與洋同訣，淺深憑界，左右憑夾，逆朝用案，橫龍貼脊。分元辨運，乃與洋同，倒用玄機，推算有功，倒看方位，以西作東，上元下元，四吉四凶。

There is another kind of level dry land, neither flatland nor mountain land; the method must be carefully thought through, and pointing the point is especially hard. On such land one should set the point at a slightly high place: height is yang, and when yang reaches its extreme yin is born of itself; one yin and one yang couple here, and the subtle principle in it is worth pondering. Its requirements of binding qi and wrapping are the same as mountain land; the formula of empty behind the seat and full toward the front is again one with flatland. The depth of the point is fixed by the bounding water, the left and right by the clamps on the two sides; if water comes in reverse to pay court, one takes a layer of table-mountain to block it; if it is a transverse dragon that forms a point, one places it close against the dragon-ridge. As for distinguishing eras and judging periods, it is the same as flatland: one must use the mysterious mechanism in reverse, and only then does the calculation have effect; directions are also looked at in reverse, taking west as east. The upper and lower eras each have four auspicious and four inauspicious, and one infers by this.

墓氣從地，宅氣從門，門旺路吉，出入亨通，財丁兩盛，其樂融融，門旺宅衰，亦不為凶。宅旺門旺，連發可決，宅旺門衰，其法乃歇，若見水光，救敗亦捷，水位宜哀，元機盡洩。人煙稠密，巷路宜詳，巷衝不吉，況在衰方，急宜隔截，隔蔽不妨，若受沖煞，人口必傷。

The qi of a yin dwelling, a grave, comes up from the earth-pulse; the qi of a yang dwelling, however, comes in at the door: this is the greatest distinction between the two. If the door is opened in a direction of current prosperity and the approaching road is also auspicious, going out and in will be open and smooth, wealth and lineage both flourish, and the household is at ease. Even if the door is prosperous and the house-body declined, it does not count as inauspicious. When the house is prosperous and the door also prosperous, one may judge that fortune will arise in succession; when the house is prosperous but the door declined, the qi stops here. At this time, if a stretch of water-light can be seen before the door, the rescue of decline is also swift. The position for releasing water should take a declining direction—and with this said, the mechanism of Xuankong may be counted as entirely leaked. In a place of dense habitation one must especially examine the lanes: a lane-mouth that shoots straight at the house-door is inauspicious, still more if it also shoots on a declining direction. One must then quickly screen and cut it off; putting up a shield does no harm. If one hardens oneself to take this rushing sha, people of the household will certainly be injured.

平原曠野，四山遠隔，不怕風吹，只怕陰煞，田壟水圳，切忌沖脈，不拘方位，總歸凶烈。乃有嶠星，高樓峻閣，迴風通氣，隨方反撲，百步之內，毋執常說，精求元運，知旺知煞。

Building a house on an open plain, with the mountains of the four sides all far off, one does not fear the blowing of wind, but only fears yin sha invading unseen. Ridges of earth in the fields and irrigation ditches must on no account shoot straight against the incoming pulse; no matter in which direction they lie, a single shoot always belongs to fierce misfortune. There is another kind of “qiao star,” meaning nearby high towers and steep pavilions: they turn the wind back and lead the qi through, and according to the direction in which they stand they strike back upon the host house. All that lie within a hundred paces must be counted in, and one must not cling to the ordinary sayings; one must study the present era-period with care before one can judge whether what they bring is prosperous qi or sha.

山營之宅，四山皆近，固要開陽，又分動靜，動則出頭，靜乃平頂，迴風通氣，出頭處認。以上諸篇，務宜細研，潛心究窮，先天後天，道明理達，始是真緣，可以無罪，可以為賢。

A house built in a mountain hollow, with mountains of the four sides all pressing close, must of course take the side that opens the yang, and must further distinguish the motion and stillness of the mountain configuration: a peak that rises with change is moving; a top that is flat without rise and fall is still. Wind turns here and qi communicates from here, and one goes to that rising, protruding side to take it. The chapters above must be studied with care, the mind sunk in exhausting the joining and parting of the Former-Heaven and Later-Heaven hexagrams. Only when the principle is made clear and the reasoning of affairs is open does one obtain a true affinity—used thus in the world, one may be without offense against Heaven, and may also be called a worthy.