Abstract from the Siku Quanshu

臣等謹案：《宅經》二卷，舊本題目曰黃帝撰。案：《漢志》形法家有《宮宅地形》二十卷，則相宅之書，較招墓為古。然《隋志》有《宅吉凶論》三卷、《相宅圖》八卷，《舊唐志》有《五姓宅經》二卷，皆不云出黃帝，是書蓋依託也。考書中稱《黃帝二宅經》及淮南子、李淳風、呂才等《宅經》二十有九種，則作書之時，本不偽稱黃帝，特方技之流欲神菘說，詭題黃帝作耳。

We have carefully examined the matter as follows. The Classic of Dwellings comprises two juan; older editions attribute the work to the Yellow Emperor. According to the Form School (形法家) category in the Bibliographic Treatise of the Hanshu, there was a Palace and Dwelling Topography in twenty juan. This shows that books on inspecting dwellings appeared earlier than those on inspecting graves. Yet the Bibliographic Treatise of the Suishu records a Discourse on the Auspicious and Inauspicious in Dwellings in three juan and Diagrams for Inspecting Dwellings in eight juan, and the Bibliographic Treatise of the Jiu Tangshu records a Classic of Dwellings by the Five Surnames in two juan—none of these is said to come from the Yellow Emperor. This book is therefore likely a later work falsely ascribed to an ancient sage. Further, the body of the present text itself mentions the Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Two Dwellings, together with classics of dwellings by Huainanzi, Li Chunfeng, Lü Cai, and others, twenty-nine titles in all. Clearly, when the book was written it did not yet claim the Yellow Emperor as author; it was only later that practitioners of the arts, wishing to make their own teachings seem mysterious, falsely ascribed it to him.

其法分二十四路考尋休咎，以八勢之位向乾坎艮震及辰為陽，巽離坤兌及戌為陰，陽為亥為首，巳為尾，陰以巳為首，亥為尾，而主於陰陽相得，頗有義理，文辭亦皆雅馴。《宋史·藝文志》五行類有《相宅經》一卷，疑即此書，在術數之中猶最為近古者矣。乾隆四十六年十月恭校上。

Its method divides the surroundings of a dwelling into twenty-four roads (二十四路) in order to determine good and ill fortune. Of the eight configurations formed by the eight trigram directions, Qian (乾), Kan (坎), Gen (艮), and Zhen (震), together with the Chen (辰) position, belong to yang; Xun (巽), Li (離), Kun (坤), and Dui (兌), together with the Xu (戌) position, belong to yin. On the yang side, Hai (亥) is the dragon's head and Si (巳) the dragon's tail; on the yin side, Si is the dragon's head and Hai the dragon's tail. The book's central teaching is that the two sides of yin and yang must match and complete each other—a principle of real coherence—and the language is throughout elegant and correct. The Bibliographic Treatise of the Songshi, under the Five Phases category, lists a Classic of Inspecting Dwellings in one juan, which we suspect is this same work. Among the various schools of the technical arts, it may still be counted the one closest to the ancient methods. Respectfully collated and submitted in the tenth month of the forty-sixth year of the Qianlong reign.

夫宅者，乃是陰陽之樞紐，人倫之軌模，非夫博物明賢而能悟斯道也。就此五種，其最要者，唯有宅法而真秘術。凡人所居，無不在客，雖只大小不等，陰陽有殊，縱然客居一室之中，亦有善惡。大者大訓，小者小論，犯者有災，鎮而禍止，猶藥病之效也。

A dwelling is the pivot where the two qi (氣) of yin and yang meet, and also the pattern and model on which the order of human relations is founded. Only a worthy of wide learning and clear insight can grasp this art. Among the five methods of inspecting land, the most essential is 'dwelling method' alone—that is the true secret art. Wherever people live, they are in every case sojourners for a time. Though dwellings differ in size and in yin and yang, even a single rented room has its own good and ill. A large house is to be treated by the rules for large houses, a small house by the articles for small ones. Violate them and calamity follows; apply the arts of suppression and the trouble ceases—as effective as medicine against disease.

故宅者人之本。人以宅為家居，若安即家代昌吉，若不安即門族衰微。墳墓川岡，並同茲說。上之軍國，次及州郡縣邑，下之村坊署柵乃至山居，但人所處，皆其例焉。

So it is said that the dwelling is the root of the person. People settle and live by means of the house: if the house is at peace, a family flourishes in fortune for generations; if the house is not at peace, the whole clan declines and falls away. As for the hills and ridges where graves are placed—the so-called yin dwellings—the principle is exactly the same. From the capitals of armies and states above, next to the cities of prefectures, commanderies, counties, and towns, down to villages, official compounds, and camp palisades, and even to cottages of those who dwell in the mountains—wherever people take their stand, this same set of rules applies.

目見耳聞，古制非一。《黃帝二宅經》、《地典宅經》、《三元宅經》、《文王宅經》、《孔子宅經》、《宅錦》、《宅撓》、《宅統》、《宅鏡》、《天老宅經》、《劉根宅經》、《玄女宅經》、《司馬天師宅經》、《淮南子宅經》、《王微宅經》、《司最宅經》、《劉晉平宅經》、《張子毫宅經》、《八分宅經》、《五兆宅經》、《玄悟宅經》、《六十四卦宅經》、《右盤龍宅經》、《李淳風宅經》、《五姓宅經》、《呂才宅經》、《飛陰亂伏宅經》、《子夏金門宅經》、《刁縣宅經》。已上諸經，其皆大同小異，亦皆自言秘妙，互推短長，若不遍求，即用之不足。

From what I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears, the established methods of inspecting dwellings from ancient times are not of one school only. They include the Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Two Dwellings, the Didian Classic of Dwellings, the Three Origins Classic of Dwellings, King Wen's Classic of Dwellings, Confucius's Classic of Dwellings, the Brocade of Dwellings, the Distortion of Dwellings, the Unification of Dwellings, the Mirror of Dwellings, Tianlao's Classic of Dwellings, Liu Gen's Classic of Dwellings, the Dark Maiden's Classic of Dwellings, Celestial Master Sima's Classic of Dwellings, Huainanzi's Classic of Dwellings, Wang Wei's Classic of Dwellings, Si Zui's Classic of Dwellings, Liu Jinping's Classic of Dwellings, Zhang Zihao's Classic of Dwellings, the Eightfold Division Classic of Dwellings, the Five Omens Classic of Dwellings, the Dark Awakening Classic of Dwellings, the Sixty-four Hexagrams Classic of Dwellings, the Right Coiling Dragon Classic of Dwellings, Li Chunfeng's Classic of Dwellings, the Five Surnames Classic of Dwellings, Lü Cai's Classic of Dwellings, the Flying Yin and Confused Concealment Classic of Dwellings, Zixia's Golden Gate Classic of Dwellings, and Diao Xian's Classic of Dwellings—twenty-nine titles in all. These scriptures are broadly the same with small differences; each claims that what it transmits is a secret and wondrous method, and they dispute one another's strengths and weaknesses. If one does not search widely and compare them as a whole, and merely keeps to a single school in practice, it will never be enough.

近來學者，多攻五姓八宅，黃道白方，便皆違犯大經，未免災咎，所以我犯修動，致令造者不居，卻毀陰陽而無據效，豈不痛哉！況先賢垂籍，誡勖昭彰，人自冥濛，日用而不識其象者。日月乾坤，寒暑雌雄，晝夜陰陽等，所以包羅萬象，舉一千人，運變無形而能化物，大矣哉，陰陽之理也。

Students of dwelling inspection in recent times mostly confine themselves to teachings of the Five Surnames and Eight Houses (五姓八宅) and the Yellow Path and White Directions (黃道白方). The moment they act they violate the orthodox method of the great classic of yin and yang, and calamity is hard to avoid. Then, having themselves offended the taboos, they still raise works and build, so that the house, once finished, cannot be lived in; they turn back and slander the yin-yang teachings as groundless and without effect—how pitiable! The worthies of former ages left writings in which their warnings and exhortations are perfectly clear, yet people prefer to remain in the dark, using these things every day without recognizing the images in them. Sun and moon, Qian and Kun, cold and heat, female and male, day and night—all are concrete images of yin and yang. Yin and yang can embrace the ten thousand phenomena; from one thing a thousand may be inferred. Their working leaves no trace, yet they can transform and nourish the ten thousand things. How great is this principle of yin and yang!

經之陰者，生化物情之母也；陽者，生化物情之父也。作天地之祖，為孕育之尊，順之則亨，逆之測否，何異公忠受爵，違命變殃者乎！今採諸秘驗，分為二十四路，八分九宮，配女男之位，宅陰陽之界，考尋休咎，並無出前二宅，此寶養生靈之聖法也。

What the scriptures call yin is the mother that generates and transforms the conditions of the ten thousand things; yang is the father that generates and transforms those conditions. The two are the first ancestors of Heaven and Earth and the supreme parents of all that is conceived and born. Follow them and there is success; go against them and there is obstruction. How is this different from a minister who, serving with public loyalty, receives a rank, or who, defying the ruler's command, turns it into disaster? I have now gathered the methods secretly transmitted by the various schools and repeatedly proved by trial, dividing the surroundings of a dwelling into twenty-four roads, laying them out by the eight directions and the Nine Palaces (九宮), matching each to the positions that belong to man and woman, and drawing the boundary of yin and yang within a single house, in order to determine good and ill. All of this falls under the two great classes already named—the yang dwelling and the yin dwelling. This is truly a sacred method for preserving living beings.

二十四路者，隨宅大小，中院分四面作二十四路，十干十二支乾艮坤巽，共為二十四路是也。乾將三男震坎艮悉屬於陽位（即從西北乾位之震為陽明矣），坤將三女箕離克悉屬陰之位（即從東南巽角順之戌為陰明矣）。

The so-called twenty-four roads are marked off, according to the size of the house, from the central courtyard toward the four sides, making twenty-four directional roads in all. Of the ten Heavenly Stems, the two central stems Wu (戊) and Ji (己) are omitted, leaving eight stems; add the twelve Earthly Branches and the four corners Qian, Gen, Kun, and Xun, and the total is exactly twenty-four roads. The Qian trigram leads the three masculine trigrams Zhen, Kan, and Gen, all of which belong to yang positions (that is, counting from Qian in the northwest, the stretch onward to Zhen is where yang qi shows itself). The Kun trigram leads the three feminine trigrams Xun, Li, and Dui, all of which belong to yin positions (the original 'Ji, Li, Ke' is a corruption of 'Xun, Li, Dui'; that is, counting from the Xun corner in the southeast, the stretch onward to Xu is where yin qi shows itself).

是以陽不獨王，以陰為得（陽宅為宜修陰方）；陰不獨王，以陽為得（如上說）。亦如冬以溫暖為德，夏以涼冷為德，男以女為德，女以男為德之義。《易訣》云：陰得陽，如暑得涼，五姓咸和，百事俱昌。所以德位高壯藹密即吉，重陰重陽則凶。陽宅更招東方北方，陰宅更招西方南方為重也（是東面為辰南、西面為戌北之位，斜分一條為陰陽之界）。

Therefore yang cannot reign alone; it is complete only when it obtains yin (a yang dwelling should be improved on the side that belongs to yin). Yin likewise cannot reign alone; it is complete only when it obtains yang (the principle is the same). This is like winter taking warmth as its virtue and summer taking coolness as its virtue, or a man taking a wife as his virtue and a woman taking a husband as hers. The Secrets of the Changes says: 'When yin obtains yang, it is as when heat obtains coolness; the Five Surnames are all in harmony, and a hundred affairs flourish.' So if the position where blessing and virtue reside is built tall, solid, and densely wooded, it is auspicious; conversely, yang piled on yang, or yin piled on yin, is inauspicious. If a yang dwelling further draws in the yang qi of the east and north, or a yin dwelling further draws in the yin qi of the west and south, that is called 'doubled yin and doubled yang' (the dividing line of yin and yang is drawn slantwise, taking the south of Chen on the east and the north of Xu on the west).

凡這陽宅，即有陽氣抱陰；陰宅即有陰氣抑陽。陰陽之宅者，即龍也。陽宅龍頭在亥，尾在巳；陰宅龍頭在巳，尾在亥（其狀在龍者，陰龍青，陽龍赤，各有命坐，切忌犯也）。

In every yang dwelling, yang qi encircles and holds yin qi; in every yin dwelling, yin qi presses down on yang qi. The whole directional circuit of the two kinds of dwelling was compared by the ancients to a 'dragon' (龍): the yang dwelling has its dragon's head at Hai in the northwest and its tail at Si in the southeast; the yin dwelling has its dragon's head at Si and its tail at Hai. (As for the dragon's appearance, the yin dragon is made green and the yang dragon red. Each segment of the dragon's body further corresponds to the life seat (命座) of a particular person in the household; it is strictly forbidden to offend it.)

凡從巽向乾，從午向子，從坤向艮，從酉向卵，從戌向辰移（巳上移轉及上官所住，不計遠近，悉入陽也）；從乾向巽，從子向午，從奶粉向坤，從犯向酉，從辰向戌移（巳移轉及官上悉名入陰）。

Whenever one moves from Xun toward Qian, from Wu (午) toward Zi (子), from Kun toward Gen, from You (酉) toward Mao (卯), or from Xu toward Chen (such moves as these, and also the places where one goes to take up office, regardless of distance, are all called 'entering yang'); and conversely, from Qian toward Xun, from Zi toward Wu, from Gen toward Kun, from Mao toward You, or from Chen toward Xu (such moves and official residences are all called 'entering yin'). In the original text, 'egg' and 'offense' are both corruptions of Mao, and 'milk powder' is a corruption of Gen.

故福德之方，勤依天道貌岸然天德月德，生氣到其位，即修，令清潔闊厚，即一家獲安，榮華富貴（天之福德者，宅之財命也，財命既壯，何愁不禁，故須勤修）。再入陰入陽，是名無氣；三度重入陰陽，謂之無魂；四入謂之無魄。魂魄既無，即有破逃散，子孫絕後也（經云：連犯不止，滅門絕嗣。此之謂也）。

Therefore, for the fortune-and-virtue direction (福德之方), one should diligently follow the three spirits of the Heavenly Way, Heavenly Virtue, and Lunar Virtue (in the original phrasing that now reads 'Heavenly Way, imposing, Heavenly Virtue, Lunar Virtue,' the three characters for 'imposing' are a scribal interpolation; it should be read as 'Heavenly Way, Heavenly Virtue, and Lunar Virtue'). When living qi (生氣) arrives at that direction, begin the work and put it in order until it is clean, open, and substantial; then the whole household will have peace, honor, and wealth. (The blessing and virtue bestowed by Heaven are the wealth-fate of the dwelling. Once that wealth-fate is strong and flourishing, why worry that the estate will not prosper? Hence it must be diligently tended.) If one has already entered yang and enters yang again, or has already entered yin and enters yin again, this is called 'without qi.' Entering the same yin or yang direction a third time is called 'without hun soul'; a fourth time is called 'without po soul.' When both souls are gone, there follows the disaster of a broken household, scattered people, and descendants cut off. (The scripture says, 'If the offense continues without cease, the household is extinguished and the line ends'—this is exactly that case.)

若一陰陽往來，即合天道，自然吉昌之象也。設要重往，即須逐道住四十五日、七十五日，往之無咎，仍宜生氣福德之方始吉。更犯五鬼、絕命、刑禍者，尤不利。訣云：行不得度，不如復故。斯之謂也。

If there is only an alternating coming and going of one yin and one yang, that accords with the Heavenly Way and is naturally an image of good fortune and flourishing. If one must move once more in the same direction, one should halt on each stretch of the road for forty-five or seventy-five days before going on; only then is there no fault. And one must still choose a living-qi or fortune-and-virtue direction for it to count as auspicious. If one further offends the inauspicious directions of the Five Ghosts (五鬼), Severed Fate (絕命), and Punishment-and-Calamity (刑禍), it is especially unfavorable. The mnemonic says: 'If the move does not keep to measure, better return to the old.' If action does not accord with proper measure, it is better to remain in the original dwelling and not move—that is precisely the meaning.

又云：其宅乃窮，急翻故宮。宜拆刑禍方，舍卻益福德方也。又云：翻宅平牆，可為銷殃（宅之行年不利或口舌疾病等，即宜翻刑禍，添益福德，改移牆壁，即消災，致其大吉昌也）。

It also says: if that house has already fallen into ruin and poverty, one should quickly rebuild and alter the old buildings. The rooms on the punishment-and-calamity side should be pulled down, and the labor thus saved should be added to the fortune-and-virtue side. It also says: to rebuild the dwelling and shift the walls can dissolve calamity. (If the dwelling's natal year is unfavorable, or if quarrels in the household never cease and illness follows illness, one should tear down the punishment-and-calamity side, increase the fortune-and-virtue side, and move the walls; the disasters will naturally cease, and the house will turn to great good fortune and great flourishing.)

夫辨宅者，皆取移來方位，不以街北街東為陽（不妨是陽位作陰宅，居之即吉），街南街西為陰（不妨作陽宅居之吉）。凡移來不勒遠近，一里百里千里，十步與百步同。

In general, when distinguishing whether a dwelling belongs to yin or to yang, one takes as the standard the direction from which the move was made. It is not that a site on the north or east of the street counts as yang (a yin dwelling made on a yang position is equally auspicious to live in), nor that a site on the south or west of the street counts as yin (a yang dwelling made on a yin position is equally auspicious to live in). The distance of the move is not limited: one li, a hundred li, or a thousand li is judged in the same way as ten paces or a hundred paces.

又此二宅悠揚造，唯看天道天德月德，生氣到即修之不避，將軍、太歲、豹尾、黃播、黑方及音姓宜忌，順陰陽二氣為正（此諸神殺及五姓六十甲子皆從二氣而生，列在方隅，直一年公事，故不為災）。

Further, whenever either of these two kinds of dwelling—yin or yang—is to be repaired or built (the original 'lingering construction' is a corruption of 'repair and build'), one looks only at the three spirits of the Heavenly Way, Heavenly Virtue, and Lunar Virtue. The moment living qi arrives, begin the work; there is no need to avoid the General (將軍), Tai Sui (太歲), the Leopard's Tail (豹尾), the Yellow Banner (黃幡) (the original 'Huangbo' is 'Yellow Banner'), the Black Direction (黑方), or the various taboos of the Five-Tone surnames. In all things the orthodox method is to follow the two qi of yin and yang. (These symbolic stars (神煞), together with the Five Surnames and the sixty Jiazi, are all generated from the two qi of yin and yang. They are arrayed in the various corners and have charge of public affairs for one year only, and therefore do not themselves constitute disaster.)

凡諸刑殺在刑禍方者，設天德月德到，亦須避之，若神殺在宅福德方，即待天德月德生氣到其位，便須修之，用功多即善，故不避也（若不明陰陽之氣，到其位便須修之，用功多即善，故不避也。若不明氣中小數，故不能制其大綱）。

Whenever the various punishing stars fall on the punishment-and-calamity side, even if Heavenly Virtue and Lunar Virtue arrive there, one must still avoid them. If a symbolic star falls on the fortune-and-virtue side of the house, then wait until Heavenly Virtue, Lunar Virtue, or living qi arrives at that direction and begin the work; the more labor expended, the better—so there is no need to avoid it. (The note says: so long as one understands the qi of yin and yang, the moment living qi arrives at that direction one should begin the work; the more labor, the better, and therefore one need not hide from the symbolic stars. If one does not even understand the finer items within the numbers of qi, one naturally cannot grasp the main outline.)

又云：刑禍之方缺復荒，福德之方連接長，吉也（又云：刑禍方牆舍位宜狹薄，誡之高壯也；福德方及牆舍人家宜連接壯實也）。

It also says: the more vacant and neglected the punishment-and-calamity side, and the more the buildings on the fortune-and-virtue side join one another and stretch long and deep, the more auspicious it is. (A further note says: walls and rooms on the punishment-and-calamity side should be narrow and thin; it is strictly forbidden to build them tall and solid. Walls, rooms, and inhabited courtyards on the fortune-and-virtue side should join into one expanse, thick and flourishing.)

又云：刑禍之方縮復縮，猶恐災殃枉相逐；福德之方拓復拓，子子孫孫受榮樂（刑禍之方戒侵拓也，不得太縮，縮即氣不足，不足則財祿；福德之方宜侵拓也，亦不得太過，太過即減福會，至微太消，厚福所監也。凡事足太過，所侵拓之數過於本宅，名曰太過）。

It also says: 'Contract and again contract the punishment-and-calamity side, still fearing that calamity will pursue you without cause; expand and again expand the fortune-and-virtue side, and sons and grandsons will enjoy honor and delight for generations.' Even if the punishment-and-calamity side is repeatedly drawn in, one still fears that disaster will come in vain; only if the fortune-and-virtue side is repeatedly extended will descendants enjoy honor and delight generation after generation. (The punishment-and-calamity side most forbids encroaching and building outward, yet it must not be contracted too severely either: if it is drawn in too far, the earthly qi is insufficient, and insufficient qi shortens wealth and stipend. The fortune-and-virtue side is properly encroached and extended, yet likewise must not go too far: excess in turn cuts the share of blessing, and when the loss reaches the slightest remnant, that is precisely what people of substantial blessing must guard against. Whenever the measure of an extension exceeds the scale of the original dwelling, it is called 'going too far.')

又云：宅有五虛，令人貧耗；五實，令人富貴。宅大人少，一虛；宅門大內小，二虛；牆院不完，三虛；井灶不處，四虛；宅地多屋少庭院廣，五虛。宅小人多，一實；宅大門小，二實；牆院完全，三實；宅小六畜多，四實；宅水溝東南流，五實。

It also says: a dwelling has Five Vacancies (五虛), which make people poor and wasteful, and Five Solidities (五實), which make people wealthy and eminent. A house that is tall and large while few people live in it is the first vacancy; a great outer gate with cramped inner rooms is the second; walls and courtyards broken and incomplete is the third; well and stove placed out of their proper positions is the fourth; a large plot with few buildings and a courtyard too wide and empty is the fifth. Conversely, buildings not large but many people is the first solidity; a spacious compound whose gate is not ostentatious is the second; walls and courtyards complete and well appointed is the third; a house small yet with cattle, horses, fowl, and dogs—the six domestic animals—flourishing is the fourth; drainage within the house running toward the southeast is the fifth.

雙云：宅乃漸昌，勿棄宮堂，不衰莫移，故為受殃。舍居就廣，未必有歡，計口半造，必得壽考（宅不宜廣）。又云：其田雖艮，薅鋤乃芳，其它雖善，修移乃昌。

It also says (the original 'double says' is a corruption of 'also says'): when the fortune of a dwelling is growing day by day, do not lightly abandon the original halls; if the household has not yet declined, one ought not to move, for moving would instead bring disaster. To seek only that a residence be large and spacious does not necessarily bring joy; to build rooms according to half the number of people in the household is sure to bring long life. (A dwelling should not be excessively wide.) It also says: even if a field is good land (the original 'Gen' is a corruption of 'good'), it must be diligently weeded and hoed before it grows abundant; even if a house is already good, it must be repaired and altered before it flourishes still more.

《宅統》之宅墓，以象榮華之源，得利者所作遂心，失利者妄生反心。墓凶宅吉，子孫官祿；墓吉宅凶，子孫衣食不足；基宅俱吉，子孫榮華；墓俱凶，子孫移鄉絕種，先靈譴責，地禍常並，七世亡魂，悲憂受苦，子孫不立，零落他鄉，流轉如蓬，客死河岸。

The Unification of Dwellings discusses the house and the grave as the two sources of a family's honor. Those who obtain their benefit find that whatever they do answers the heart; those who lose their benefit give rise, without cause, to a mind of reversal and departure. If the grave is inauspicious and the house auspicious, descendants still have office and stipend; if the grave is auspicious and the house inauspicious, descendants lack even food and clothing; if grave and house are both auspicious (the original 'foundation and house' is 'grave and house'), descendants are honored and eminent; if grave and house are both inauspicious, descendants will leave their native soil and the line will be cut off. The ancestors condemn them from below the earth; disasters from the ground arrive one after another; the souls of seven generations suffer in grief; descendants cannot establish a household, scattered in other lands, drifting like tumbleweed, and at last dying as strangers by a riverbank or roadside.

《青烏子》云：其宅得墓二神，漸護子孫，祿位乃固。得地得墓，龍駭虎步，牧業滋川，財集倉庫，子孫忠孝，天神佑助。

Master Green Crow says: when the spirits of a family's house and grave both obtain their proper place, they will gradually protect the descendants, and offices and ranks will thereby be secure. If one obtains both a good house-site and a good grave point, it is like a dragon rising and a tiger striding—a presence out of the ordinary. The pastoral estate multiplies like a flowing stream, goods fill the storehouses, descendants are loyal and filial, and even the spirits of Heaven come to aid them.

子夏云：墓有四奇，商角二姓，丙壬乙辛，宮羽微三姓，甲庚丁癸。得地得宮，刺史王公，朱農紫緩，世貴名雄。得地失宮，有始無終，先人受苦，子孫當凶。失地得宮，子孫不窮，雖無基業，衣食過充。失地失宮，絕嗣無蹤，行求衣食，客死篙蓬。子夏云：人因宅而立，宅固人得存，人宅相扶，感通天地，故不可獨信命也。

Zixia says: a grave has 'four odd' positions. Surnames of the shang and jiao tones take the four stems Bing (丙), Ren (壬), Yi (乙), and Xin (辛); surnames of the gong, yu, and zhi tones (the original 'wei' is zhi) take the four stems Jia (甲), Geng (庚), Ding (丁), and Gui (癸). If the terrain is suitable and the surname-tone direction also matches, there will appear men of the rank of regional inspector and prince, wearing vermilion robes and purple sashes, eminent for generations, their names renowned; if the terrain is suitable but the surname-tone direction is mismatched, there is a beginning without an end—the ancestors suffer below the earth, and the descendants in the end meet with ill; if the terrain is unsuitable but the surname-tone direction matches, the descendants will not fall into destitution: though they inherit no ancestral estate, food and clothing are still sufficient; if both terrain and surname-tone direction fail, the line is cut off without a trace, they beg their food along the road, and die as strangers among the weeds and mugwort. Zixia also says: a person stands by means of the house, and the house is preserved by means of the person; person and house support each other and communicate with Heaven and Earth above and below. Therefore one must not trust fate-numbers alone.

先修刑禍，後修福德即吉；先修福德，後修刑禍即凶。陰宅從巳起功順轉，陽宅從亥起功順轉。刑禍方用一百工，福德方用二百工壓之即吉。陽宅多修於外，陰宅多修於內。

The order of repairing a dwelling is this: first repair the punishment-and-calamity side, then the fortune-and-virtue side, and it is auspicious; conversely, to repair fortune-and-virtue first and punishment-and-calamity afterward is inauspicious. For a yin dwelling, work begins at Si in the southeast and proceeds in the order of the twenty-four roads; for a yang dwelling, work begins at Hai in the northwest and likewise proceeds in sequence. Use only one hundred units of labor on the punishment-and-calamity side, and two hundred on the fortune-and-virtue side to outweigh it, before it counts as auspicious. For a yang dwelling, most of the labor is spent on the outer courtyards; for a yin dwelling, most is spent on the inner courtyards.

或者取子午分陰陽之界，誤將甚也。此是二氣潛通，運回之數不同，八勢九宮，分形列象，配男女之位也（冬至巳夏至亥是陰陽起盛之極處，不同聖人於地面上畫八分，列女男之宮。官者，宅也，巽為長女，性陰，乾為天，天為陽明矣）。

Some take the line of Zi and Wu to divide the boundary of yin and yang—that is a serious error. This book uses Hai and Si as the divide because the two qi of yin and yang communicate in secret, and the degrees of their reciprocal movement are not the same. Thus the configurations of the eight trigrams and the positions of the Nine Palaces are used to distinguish forms and array images, and then to match each with the palaces that belong to man and woman. (The winter solstice at Si and the summer solstice at Hai are the extremes where yin qi and yang qi each arise and reach their fullness—not what ordinary people suppose. The sages marked eight divisions on the ground and arrayed the palaces of man and woman. 'Office' here means 'dwelling': the Xun trigram is the eldest daughter and belongs to yin; the Qian trigram is Heaven, and Heaven is where yang qi shines forth.)

其有長才深智，憫物愛生，敬曉斯門，其利莫測，且大犯即家破逃散，小犯則失爵亡官，其餘雜犯，火光口舌，跋蹇偏枯，衰殃疾病等，萬般皆有，豈得輕之哉！犯處遠而慢，即半年一年二年三年始發；犯處近而緊，即七十五日四十五日或不出月即發。

If there is a person of far-reaching talent and deep counsel, who can pity the ten thousand things and cherish living beings, and who respectfully masters this learning, then its benefits are beyond measure. Conversely, a heavy offense breaks the household and scatters the people; a light offense still costs rank and office; the remaining scattered offenses bring fire, quarrels, lameness, hemiplegia, decline and calamity, illness, and so on—every sort appears. How can this be treated lightly? If the place offended is far and the qi comes slowly, it takes half a year, one year, two years, or three years to break out; if the place offended is near and the qi comes urgently, it breaks out in seventy-five days, forty-five days, or even within a month.

若見此圖者，自然悟會，不問愚智，福德自修，災殃不犯，官榮進達，財食豐盈，六畜獲安，又歸天壽。金玉之獻，未足為珍；利濟之徒，莫大於此。可以家藏一本，用誡子孫，秘而寶之，可名《宅鏡》。

Anyone who sees this diagram of the twenty-four roads will naturally comprehend it through and through. Whether dull or clever, all can follow it to tend the fortune-and-virtue side and avoid the places of calamity; then official fortune becomes honorable and open, money and food are abundant, the six domestic animals are at peace, and one may also enjoy the full span of years. To present gold and jade is not to be counted precious; among deeds that benefit others and aid the world, none is greater than this. Every household may keep a copy, to admonish sons and grandsons, treasured in secret. This book may be given the name Mirror of Dwellings.

又宅書云：拆故營新，爻卜相伏，移南徒北，陰陽父分。是和陰陽者，氣也，逐人得變吉凶，化也。隨事能興，故天地運轉無窮。人畜鬼神，變化何準？

Another book on inspecting dwellings says: when old rooms are pulled down and new ones built, the line-statements of the hexagrams should be used in divination to check one another; when one moves from the south to the north, the yin or yang character of the dwelling is thereby divided (the original 'father-divide' should be 'mutual divide'). What can harmonize yin and yang is qi; what, following a person's move, turns into good or ill is transformation. All affairs can arise from this, and so Heaven and Earth revolve without end. As for the various changes of people, animals, ghosts, and spirits—what fixed rule is there?

《搜神記》云：精靈鬼魁，皆化為人，或有人自相感變為妖怪。亦如異性之木，接續而生，根苗雖殊，異味相雜，形礙之物尚隨變通，陰肉虛無，豈為黨定？是知宅非宅氣，由移來以變之。

In Search of the Supernatural says: spirits, monsters, and demons can all change into human form, and there are also people who, by mutual influence, turn into monsters. This is like two trees of different natures which, after grafting, grow on continuously: root and shoot were originally distinct, yet different flavors are mixed in one place. Even things that have form and obstruction can still change and adapt according to circumstance; how much more, then, the yielding and insubstantial qi of yin—how could it have a class that never changes? From this one knows that a house itself has no fixed, unalterable 'dwelling qi'; it is changed entirely by the direction from which one has moved.

又云：宅以形勢這身體，以泉水為血脈，以土地為皮肉，以草木為毛髮，以舍屋為衣服，以門戶為冠帶，若得如斯，是事伊雅，乃為上吉。

It also says: a dwelling takes its overall configuration as the body (the original 'this' is a corruption of 'as'), springs as the blood vessels, earth as the flesh and skin, plants as the hair, buildings and rooms as the clothes, and gates as the cap and sash. If it can be made thus, everything neat and elegant, it is a dwelling of the highest auspiciousness.

《三元經》云：地善即苗茂，宅吉即人榮。又云：人之福者，喻如美貌之人，宅之吉者，如醜陋之子得好衣裳，神彩尤添一半，若命薄宅惡，即如丑人更又衣弊，如何堪也。故人之居宅，大須慎擇。

The Classic of the Three Origins says: if the soil is rich, the seedlings flourish; if the house is auspicious, the people prosper. It also says: a person who has blessing of his own is like one born with a fine appearance; an auspicious house is like an ugly person dressed in fine clothes—his presence is increased by half. If the natal fate is already thin and the house is also baleful, that is like an ugly person wearing rags besides—how can it be borne? Therefore the house in which a person lives must be chosen with care.

又云：修來路即無不吉，犯抵路未當安。假如近從東來，入此宅住後更修拓西方，名抵路，卻修拓東方，名來路。餘方移轉及上官往來，不計遠近，準此為例。

It also says: to repair the direction of the incoming path (來路) is never inauspicious; to offend the direction of the opposing path (抵路) is not necessarily safe. For example, if one has recently moved from the east, and after living in this house one then repairs and extends the west, that west is called the opposing path, because it directly opposes the direction of arrival; if one repairs and extends the east, that east is called the incoming path. Moves and transfers in the remaining directions, and journeys to take up office, are all inferred by this example, regardless of distance.

凡人婚嫁，買莊田六畜，致營域上官求和等，悉宜向名福德方往東，久久吉慶；若為刑禍方往來，久久不利。又忌龜頭月在午地向北沖堂，名曰凶亭，有稍高豎屋亦不利。決云：龜頭午，必易主。亦云妨主。諸院有之亦不吉。見宅午巳東巽巳來有高樓大樹，皆不利，宜去之吉。

Whenever a household marries a son or gives a daughter in marriage, buys fields, estates, or the six domestic animals, builds a grave, goes to take up office, or discusses peace and seeks a match, one should always act toward the incoming-path side of the so-called fortune-and-virtue direction—for example, going east—and in the long run there will naturally be good fortune. If one is always coming and going toward the punishment-and-calamity side, as the days lengthen it is sure to be unfavorable. One must also avoid the 'turtle-head' (龜頭)—a small room projecting in front of the main hall. If it stands at Wu and charges north straight at the hall, it is called an 'inauspicious kiosk'; even a slightly taller building there is unfavorable. The mnemonic says: 'A turtle-head at Wu, the master will surely change.' It is also called 'harming the master'; any courtyard with this form is inauspicious. If there are tall towers or great trees about Wu, Si, and the southeast Xun of the house, these too are unfavorable; remove them and it is auspicious.

又云：凡欲修造動治，須避四王神，亦名帝車帝略帝舍。假如春三月，東方為青帝，木王，寅為車，外為略，辰為舍，即是正月二月三月不得東。《戶經》曰：犯帝車殺父，犯帝略殺母，犯帝舍殺子孫。夏及秋冬三個月防此為忌。

It also says: whenever one raises works, repairs, or moves earth to put things in order, one must avoid the Four Sovereign Spirits (四王神), also called the Imperial Carriage (帝車), the Imperial Route (帝略), and the Imperial Lodge (帝舍). For example, in the three months of spring the east is the Green Emperor's season and wood qi is at its peak: Yin (寅) is the Imperial Carriage, Mao the Imperial Route (the original 'outer' is a corruption of Mao), and Chen the Imperial Lodge; therefore in the first, second, and third months one must not move the east. The Classic of the Household says: to offend the Imperial Carriage kills the father; to offend the Imperial Route kills the mother; to offend the Imperial Lodge kills sons and grandsons. In each of the three months of summer, autumn, and winter, one likewise guards the taboo according to the direction that is in season and at its peak.

又天：每年有十二月，每月有生氣死氣之位。但修月生氣之位者福來集，月生氣與天道月德合其吉，路犯月死氣之位為有凶災。

It also says (the original 'also Heaven' is a corruption of 'also says'): a year has twelve months, and each month has a direction where living qi resides and a direction where dead qi (死氣) resides. Whoever repairs the living-qi position of that month finds blessing gathering and coming; if that month's living qi further coincides with the Heavenly Way and Lunar Virtue, it is still more auspicious. If the road one travels offends the dead-qi position of that month, there will be inauspicious disaster.

正月生氣在子癸，死氣在午丁；二月生氣在丑艮，死氣在未坤；三月生氣在寅甲，死氣在申庚；四月生氣在卯乙，死氣在酉辛；五月生氣在辰巽，死氣在戌乾；六月生氣在已丙，死氣在亥壬；七月生氣在午丁，死氣在子癸；八月生氣在未坤，死氣在丑艮；九月生氣在申庚，死氣在寅甲；十月生氣在酉辛，死氣在卯乙；十一月生氣在戌乾，死氣在辰巽；十二月生氣在亥壬，死氣在巳丙。

The positions of living qi and dead qi through the twelve months are as follows. In the first month living qi is at Zi and Gui, dead qi at Wu and Ding; in the second, living qi at Chou (丑) and Gen, dead qi at Wei (未) and Kun; in the third, living qi at Yin and Jia, dead qi at Shen (申) and Geng; in the fourth, living qi at Mao and Yi, dead qi at You and Xin; in the fifth, living qi at Chen and Xun, dead qi at Xu and Qian; in the sixth, living qi at Si and Bing (the original 'yi' is a corruption of Si), dead qi at Hai and Ren; in the seventh, living qi at Wu and Ding, dead qi at Zi and Gui; in the eighth, living qi at Wei and Kun, dead qi at Chou and Gen; in the ninth, living qi at Shen and Geng, dead qi at Yin and Jia; in the tenth, living qi at You and Xin, dead qi at Mao and Yi; in the eleventh, living qi at Xu and Qian, dead qi at Chen and Xun; in the twelfth, living qi at Hai and Ren, dead qi at Si and Bing. Thus living qi advances one position each month, and dead qi is always in opposition to living qi. When raising works and building, one should take the living-qi direction and avoid the dead-qi direction.

凡修築垣牆，建造宅宇，土氣所沖之方，人家即有災殃，宜依法禳之。正月土氣沖丁未方，二月坤，三月壬亥，四月辛戌，五月乾，六月寅甲，七月癸丑，八月艮，九月丙巳，十月辰乙，十一月巽，十二月申庚。

Whenever walls are built or houses raised, if the work is done in the direction charged that month by earth qi (土氣), the household will meet with disaster and should perform the prescribed rites of aversion. In the first month earth qi charges the Ding and Wei directions; in the second, Kun; in the third, Ren and Hai; in the fourth, Xin and Xu; in the fifth, Qian; in the sixth, Yin and Jia; in the seventh, Gui and Chou; in the eighth, Gen; in the ninth, Bing and Si; in the tenth, Chen and Yi; in the eleventh, Xun; in the twelfth, Shen and Geng. These twelve directions shift month by month; before moving earth one must first ascertain them, then choose a day and make the rites of aversion and thanks.

天門陽首，宜平穩實，不宜絕高壯，犯之損家長，大病頭項等災（五月丁壬日修吉，北方不用壬子西巳日）。亥為朱雀、龍頭、父命座，犯之害命坐人（三月丁壬日修）。壬為大禍，母命，犯之害命坐人，有飛災口舌（修已亥同）。

What follows sets out, position by position along the twenty-four roads, the taboos and preferences of the yang dwelling. Qian in the northwest is the Heavenly Gate (天門), the head of yang qi. It should be level, firm, and substantial, and should not be built extremely tall and massive; to offend it injures the head of the household and governs great illness of the head and neck. (Repair on a Ding or Ren day in the fifth month is auspicious; for the north do not use a Renzi or Dingsi day—the original 'west Si' is a corruption of Dingsi.) Hai is the Vermilion Bird (朱雀) and the dragon's head, and also the father's life seat; to offend it harms the person governed by that life seat, namely the father. (Repair on a Ding or Ren day in the third month.) Ren is Great Calamity (大禍), the mother's life seat; to offend it harms the mother and brings flying disaster and quarrels. (The method of repair is the same as for Hai.)

子為死喪超級大國右手，長子婦命座，犯之害命坐人，失魂傷目、水災口舌（修已壬同）。癸為罰獄、勾陳，次子婦命座，犯之害命坐人，口舌鬥訟等災（七月西壬日修，三月亦通，宮羽姓不宜三月，七月即吉日）。丑為官獄，少子婦命座，犯之鬼魁盜賊火光怪異等災（修已癸同）。

Zi is Death and Mourning (死喪), and also the dragon's right hand (the four characters that now read as 'superpower' are a later interpolation left when the character 'dragon' was wrongly altered). It is the life seat of the eldest son's wife; to offend it harms the eldest son's wife, and governs loss of soul, injury to the eyes, water disaster, and quarrels. (The method of repair is the same as for Ren.) Gui is Penalty and Prison (罰獄) and Hooked Array (勾陳), the life seat of the second son's wife; to offend it harms the second son's wife, and governs quarrels and lawsuits. (Repair on a Ding or Ren day in the seventh month; the third month may also be used. Surnames of the gong and yu tones should not use the third month; the seventh is the auspicious month.) Chou is Official Prison (官獄), the life seat of the youngest son's wife; to offend it brings demons, thieves, firelight, and strange prodigies. (The method of repair is the same as for Gui.)

鬼門宅壅氣缺薄空荒吉，犯之偏枯淋腫等災（八月甲巳日修吉，東方不用甲子已巳日）。寅為天刑、龍背、玄武，庶養子婦長女命座，犯之傷胎第獄、被盜亡敗等災（六月甲巳日修，角姓六月凶，十一月吉）。甲為宅刑，次女孫男等命座，犯之害命座人、家長病頭項諸傷折等災（修與寅同）。

Gen in the northeast is the Ghost Gate (鬼門). Here the dwelling qi should be vacant, thin, open, and neglected to be auspicious; to offend it brings hemiplegia, strangury, and swelling. (Repair on a Jia or Ji day in the eighth month is auspicious; for the east do not use a Jiazi or Jisi day.) Yin is Heavenly Punishment (天刑), the dragon's back, and the Dark Warrior (玄武), the life seat of the wives of secondary or adopted sons and of the eldest daughter; to offend it brings injury to the fetus, imprisonment (the original 'sequence-prison' is 'imprisonment'), theft, and ruin. (Repair on a Jia or Ji day in the sixth month; for jiao-tone surnames the sixth month is inauspicious and the eleventh auspicious.) Jia is Dwelling Punishment (宅刑), the life seat of the second daughter, grandsons, and others; to offend it harms the person of that life seat, and governs illness of the head of household in the head and neck, and various falls and broken bones. (The method of repair is the same as for Yin.)

卯龍右脅、刑獄，少女孫命座，犯之害命坐人，火光氣滿、刑傷失魂（修與寅同）。乙騰蛇訟獄，客命座，犯之害命坐人、妖怪、死喪口舌（十月巳日修吉，惟宜屋低小仍不得重）。辰為自虎龍右足，主訟獄，奴婢六畜命座，犯之驚傷跛蹇、盤急等災，亦主驚恐（修與乙同）。

Mao is the dragon's right flank and also governs punishment and prison; it is the life seat of the youngest daughter and granddaughters. To offend it harms the person of that life seat, and governs fire, fullness of chest and belly, corporal injury, and loss of soul. (The method of repair is the same as for Yin.) Yi is the Soaring Snake (騰蛇) and litigation, the life seat of guests; to offend it harms guests, and governs haunting by monsters, death and mourning, and quarrels. (Repair on a Ji day in the tenth month is auspicious; here only a low, small building is proper, and one still must not raise stacked eaves or storeyed houses.) Chen is the White Tiger (白虎) (the original 'self tiger' is 'White Tiger') and the dragon's right foot; it governs lawsuits and imprisonment, and is the life seat of servants and the six domestic animals. To offend it brings fright and injury, lameness, gripping pain and acute illness, and also governs being startled. (The method of repair is the same as for Yi.)

風門宜平缺，名福首，背枯向榮二宅，五姓八宅，並不宜高壯壅塞，亦陽極陰首（十一月丙辛日悠揚吉，南方不用丙子到辛巳日）。巳天福、宅屋，亦名宅極。經曰：欲得職，治宅極，宜壯實，修改吉（九月丙辛修，唯用功多良）。丙明堂、宅福，安門牛倉等舍。經云：治明堂，加官益祿大吉祥，合家快活不可當（修已巳同）。

Xun in the southeast is the Wind Gate (風門); it should be level and vacant, and is called the Head of Fortune (福首). Whether for the two dwellings of 'turning the back on withering and facing flourishing,' or for the method of the Five Surnames and Eight Houses, one should not build here tall, massive, and blocked, for this is precisely where yang qi reaches its end and yin qi begins to rise. (Repair on a Bing or Xin day in the eleventh month is auspicious; for the south do not use the days from Bingzi through Xinsi.) Si is Heavenly Fortune (天福), the main building of the house, also called the Dwelling Pole (宅極). The scripture says: if you wish office, put the Dwelling Pole in order; this place should be solid, and to repair and rebuild it is auspicious. (Repair on a Bing or Xin day in the ninth month; only, much labor should be used.) Bing is the Bright Hall (明堂) and dwelling fortune; here one should set the gate, and here cattle pens and granaries may be placed. The scripture says: put the Bright Hall in order, and there is increase of office and stipend, great good fortune and great blessing; the whole household is happy beyond measure. (The method of repair is the same as for Si.)

午吉昌之地，龍左足。經云：治吉昌，奴婢成行六畜良。宜平實，忌高及龜頭廳（修與巳同）。丁天倉。經云：財砂亡，治天倉，宜倉庫、六畜，壯厚高拓吉（正月丙辛日修，用功多大吉）。未天府，高樓大舍，牛羊奴婢居之，大草息，倉而利（修與西同）。

Wu is a place of good fortune and flourishing, the dragon's left foot. The scripture says: put the position of good fortune and flourishing in order, and servants come in troops and the six domestic animals thrive. This place should be level and substantial; it is forbidden to build it too high, and also forbidden to set a turtle-head hall here. (The method of repair is the same as for Si.) Ding is the Heavenly Granary (天倉). The scripture says: to prevent wealth from scattering and being lost, put the Heavenly Granary in order; here one should set storehouses and keep the six domestic animals, and to build it solid, heavy, tall, and open is auspicious. (Repair on a Bing or Xin day in the first month; much labor makes it greatly auspicious.) Wei is the Heavenly Treasury (天府); here tall towers and large buildings are proper, and if cattle, sheep, and servants live here the livestock greatly multiply and breed; it is also profitable as a granary. (The method of repair is the same as for You.)

人門龍腸，宜置牛馬廄堂，置牛馬屋，其位欲開拓壅厚，亦名福囊，重而兼實，大吉（二月乙庚日修）。申廄堂，置牛馬屋，主寶貝金玉之事，壯實開拓，吉。經曰：治玉堂，財錢橫來，六畜肥強。

Kun in the southwest is the Human Gate (人門), the dragon's belly. Here one should set stables and halls for cattle and horses, and build sheds for them. This position should be extended outward and piled thick and blocked; it is also called the Fortune Sack (福囊). Thick, heavy, and full, it is greatly auspicious. (Repair on a Yi or Geng day in the second month.) Shen is the stable-hall; here cattle-and-horse sheds should be built. It governs matters of treasures, gold, and jade; to build it solid and extend it outward is auspicious. The scripture says: put the Jade Hall (玉堂) position in order, and money comes unexpectedly; the six domestic animals are fat and strong.

庚宅德、安門，宜置車屋雞棲碓，吉，甚至開拓連接，壯兩淨潔吉（修與申同）。酉大德，龍左脅，客舍，吉。經曰：治大德，富貴資財成萬億，亦名宅德，宜宅主（修與申同）。辛金醫天井，宜置門及高樓大屋。經曰：治金醫，大富貴，宜財，百事吉。經曰：青龍壯高，富貴雄豪。

Geng is Dwelling Virtue (宅德), the place for setting a gate. Here one should build a carriage shed, a chicken coop, and a husking-mortar room—auspicious. If one can extend outward, join the buildings into one stretch, and keep them solid and clean, it is auspicious. (The method of repair is the same as for Shen.) You is Great Virtue (大德), the dragon's left flank; it is proper as a guest lodge—auspicious. The scripture says: put the Great Virtue position in order, and honor and wealth may accumulate to the hundred millions. This position is also called Dwelling Virtue, and is proper for the master of the house himself to live in. (The method of repair is the same as for Shen.) Xin is the Golden Physician (金醫) and the site of the courtyard well; here one should set a gate and raise tall towers and large buildings. The scripture says: put the Golden Physician position in order—great wealth and honor, favorable to goods, a hundred affairs all auspicious. The scripture also says: if the Azure Dragon (青龍) position is built solid and tall, there is wealth, honor, and heroic distinction.

外巽之位，宜作園池竹簞，設有舍屋，宜平而簿。外天德及玉堂之位，宜開打侵修，令壯實，大吉。經曰：福德之方拓復拓，子子孫孫受榮樂。唯不得高樓重舍。外天倉與天府之位，不厭高壯樓舍，安門倉庫牛舍及奴婢車屋，並大吉（南方宜侵拓吉）。

The above are the twenty-four roads of the inner courtyards; what follows concerns the ground beyond the compound. The Xun position of the outer courtyard should be laid out as garden, pond, and bamboo grove; if a building must be raised, it should be low, level, and thin. The two outer positions Heavenly Virtue and Jade Hall should be extended and encroached outward and carefully tended to make them solid—greatly auspicious. The scripture says: 'Expand and again expand the fortune-and-virtue side, and sons and grandsons will enjoy honor and delight for generations.' Only, one must not raise tall towers and storeyed houses here. The two outer positions Heavenly Granary and Heavenly Treasury do not mind tall, solid towers and buildings; to set a gate here, and to place storehouses, cattle sheds, servants' rooms, and carriage sheds, is all greatly auspicious. (The south is properly encroached and extended outward—auspicious.)

外龍腹之位，與內院並同，安牛馬牢廠，亦名福囊，宜廣厚實，吉。外坤家置馬廄，吉。安重滯之物及高樓等，並大吉。外玉堂之院，宜作崇堂及郎君孫幼等院，吉。客廳即有公客來，若高壯侵拓及有大櫃重屋等，招金玉寶帛，主印綬，喜。

The outer dragon-belly position follows the same rules as the inner courtyard; here one should place pens and sheds for cattle and horses. This place too is called the Fortune Sack, and should be broad and substantial—auspicious. To set a horse stable at the outer Kun position is auspicious; to place here heavy, stagnant objects and to raise tall towers and the like is all greatly auspicious. The courtyards about the outer Jade Hall are proper as a high hall and as yards for sons, younger brothers, and young grandchildren—auspicious. If used as a reception hall, noble guests of the public offices will often come to the door; if built tall and solid and extended outward, and if there are also large chests and storeyed rooms, it draws gold, jade, and precious silks, and governs the joy of obtaining official seals and sashes.

外大德宅位，宜開拓勤修泥，令新淨，吉。及作音樂飲會之事，吉。宜子孫女婦女等院，出貴人，增財富，貴德望逼振。外金匱、青龍兩位，宜作庫藏倉窖，吉。高樓大舍，宜財帛，又宜子孫出豪貴，婚連帝戚，常令清淨，連接叢林，花木藹密。

The outer Great Virtue dwelling-position should be extended and opened, diligently plastered and adorned, so that it is always kept new and clean—auspicious. To hold music and banquets here is also auspicious. This place is proper as a courtyard for descendants and women; it can produce persons of rank, increase wealth, and cause honor and reputation to press upon others and rise. The two outer positions Golden Coffer (金匱) and Azure Dragon are proper as storehouses and grain pits—auspicious. To raise tall towers and large buildings here favors goods, and also governs descendants who become of great houses and high rank, their marriages linking them to the imperial house and its kin. These two positions should always be kept clean, adjoining a stretch of woodland, with flowers and trees densely and graciously grown.

乾天門，陰極陽首，亦名背枯向榮。其位舍屋連接長遠，高壯闊實，吉（五月丁壬日修吉，北方不用壬子丁巳日）。亥為天福龍尾，宜置豬欄，亦名宅極。經云：欲得職，治宅極，宜開拓，吉（亥東三月丁壬日修吉，宮羽姓即七月吉）。壬宅福、明堂，宜置高樓大舍，常令清淨及集學經史，亦名印授宮，宜財祿（大吉，修與亥同）。

What follows sets out, position by position along the twenty-four roads, the taboos and preferences of the yin dwelling. Qian is the Heavenly Gate, where yin qi reaches its extreme and yang qi begins; it is also called 'turning the back on withering and facing flourishing.' If the buildings here join in a long stretch, tall, solid, open, and substantial, it is auspicious. (Repair on a Ding or Ren day in the fifth month is auspicious; for the north do not use a Renzi or Dingsi day.) Hai is Heavenly Fortune and the dragon's tail; here a pigsty should be set, and it is also called the Dwelling Pole. The scripture says: if you wish office, put the Dwelling Pole in order; this place should be extended outward—auspicious. (For the stretch of Hai toward the east, repair on a Ding or Ren day in the third month is auspicious; for gong- and yu-tone surnames the seventh month is auspicious.) Ren is Dwelling Fortune and the Bright Hall; here tall towers and large buildings should be raised, always kept clean, and here people should gather to study the classics and histories. It is also called the Palace of Seals and Appointments (印授宮), and favors wealth and stipend. (Greatly auspicious; the method of repair is the same as for Hai.)

子吉昌，龍左足，宜置牛屋。經云：奴婢成行六畜良。平實，吉（修與亥同）。癸天倉，立門戶客舍葷廁，吉。經云：財砂亡，治天倉，安六畜，開拓高厚（七月丁壬日修吉）。丑天府，高樓大舍，牛羊奴婢居之，大孳息，倉廁並吉（修與癸同）。

Zi is Good Fortune and Flourishing, the dragon's left foot; here a cattle shed should be built. The scripture says: servants come in troops and the six domestic animals thrive. If this place is built level and substantial, it is auspicious. (The method of repair is the same as for Hai.) Gui is the Heavenly Granary; to set a gate here, and to place a guest lodge and a privy, is auspicious. The scripture says: to prevent wealth from scattering and being lost, put the Heavenly Granary in order; here the six domestic animals may be kept, and it should be extended tall and substantial. (Repair on a Ding or Ren day in the seventh month is auspicious.) Chou is the Heavenly Treasury; here tall towers and large buildings should be raised, and if cattle, sheep, and servants live here the livestock greatly multiply and breed; as granary or as privy, both are auspicious. (The method of repair is the same as for Gui.)

艮鬼門龍腹、福囊，宜厚實重，吉，缺薄即貧窮（月甲巳日修吉，東方不用甲子日八）。寅玉堂，宜置車牛舍，主寶貝金玉之事，宜開拓。經曰：治玉堂，錢財橫至，六畜肥強，大吉（六月甲巳日修吉）。甲宅德、安門，宜置碓，開拓連接壯觀，吉。清淨，災殃自消（修與寅同）。

Gen is the Ghost Gate, the dragon's belly and the Fortune Sack; thick, solid, and heavy is auspicious; if vacant and thin, it governs poverty. (Repair on a Jia or Ji day in the eighth month is auspicious; for the east do not use a Jiazi day. The original character 'eight' has been misplaced at the end of the sentence.) Yin is the Jade Hall; here a carriage shed and cattle shed should be set. It governs matters of treasures, gold, and jade, and should be extended outward. The scripture says: put the Jade Hall position in order, and money arrives unexpectedly; the six domestic animals are fat and strong—greatly auspicious. (Repair on a Jia or Ji day in the sixth month is auspicious.) Jia is Dwelling Virtue, the place for setting a gate; here a husking-mortar room should be set. To extend and join the buildings and make them imposing is auspicious; keep it clean, and calamities dissolve of themselves. (The method of repair is the same as for Yin.)

卯大德，龍脅、客舍。經曰：治大德，富貴財成萬億。亦名宅主，主有德望（修與寅同）。乙金匠、天井，宜置高樓大舍，常令清淨，勤修泥，尤增喜慶（卵巳南十月修）。辰地府，青龍左手、三元，宜子孫，當宜清淨。經曰：青龍壯高，富貴雄（修與乙同）。

Mao is Great Virtue, the dragon's flank, and is proper as a guest lodge. The scripture says: put the Great Virtue position in order, and honor and wealth may accumulate to the hundred millions. This position is also called the Dwelling Master, and the master will have virtue and reputation. (The method of repair is the same as for Yin.) Yi is the Golden Coffer (the original has 'Golden Artisan') and the site of the courtyard well; here tall towers and large buildings should be raised, always kept clean and diligently plastered and adorned, which especially increases occasions of joy. (For the stretch of Mao toward the south, repair in the tenth month.) Chen is the Earthly Treasury (地府), the Azure Dragon's left hand, also called the Three Origins; it is proper for settling descendants and should be kept clean. The scripture says: if the Azure Dragon position is built solid and tall, there is wealth, honor, and heroic distinction. (A character 'hao' has dropped after 'heroic' in the original; the method of repair is the same as for Yi.)

巽風宜平穩，不宜壅塞，亦名陽極陰前，背榮向枯，宜空缺通疏，大吉（十一月丙辛日修吉。南方不用丙子吉）。巳朱雀、龍頭、父命座，不宜置井，犯害命坐人、口舌飛禍、吐血顛狂、蛇畜作怪（巳酉九月丙辛日修吉，至午地徵音並忌，正三四月吉）。丙大禍，母命，不宜置門，犯之害命從人、飛禍口舌（修與巳同）。

Xun is the Wind Gate; it should be level and steady, and should not be blocked. It is also called 'yang at its extreme, yin in front; turning the back on flourishing and facing withering,' and should be vacant, open, and spacious—greatly auspicious. (Repair on a Bing or Xin day in the eleventh month is auspicious; for the south do not use a Bingzi day.) Si is the Vermilion Bird and the dragon's head, and also the father's life seat; one should not sink a well here. To offend it harms the person of that life seat, and governs quarrels, flying disaster, vomiting blood, madness, and strange doings of snakes, insects, and livestock. (For the stretch from Si to You, repair on a Bing or Xin day in the ninth month is auspicious; when it reaches Wu, surnames of the zhi tone all avoid it; the first, third, and fourth months are auspicious.) Bing is Great Calamity, the mother's life seat; one should not set a gate here. To offend it harms the person of that life seat, and governs flying disaster and quarrels. (The method of repair is the same as for Si.)

午為死喪，龍右手，長子婦命座，犯之害命坐人、失魂傷目、心痛、火光口舌、盤急（修與巳同）。丁罰獄、勾陳，次子婦命，犯之坐人、口舌鬥訟瘡病等災（午日西用正月丙辛日修吉，未地五姓並吉）。未為官獄，少子婦命座，犯之害命坐人、鬼魅、火瘡、霹靂、盜賊、刀兵、流血、六畜傷死、家破逃散（修與丁同）。

Wu is Death and Mourning, the dragon's right hand, the life seat of the eldest son's wife. To offend it harms the eldest son's wife, and governs loss of soul, injury to the eyes, pain of the heart, fire, quarrels, and gripping pain and acute illness. (The method of repair is the same as for Si.) Ding is Penalty and Prison and Hooked Array, the life seat of the second son's wife. To offend it harms the person of that life seat, and governs quarrels, lawsuits, sores, and illness. (For the stretch of Wu toward the west, use a Bing or Xin day in the first month for repair—auspicious; at Wei all Five Surnames are auspicious.) Wei is Official Prison, the life seat of the youngest son's wife. To offend it harms the person of that life seat, and governs haunting by demons, fiery sores, lightning-strike, thieves, weapons, bloodshed, injury and death of the six domestic animals, and a broken household with people scattered. (The method of repair is the same as for Ding.)

坤人門，女命座，不宜置馬廄，犯之偏枯淋腫等。此地宜荒缺低薄，吉（二月乙庚日修）。申天刑、龍背、庶子婦長女命座，犯之失魂病脅，刑傷、牢訇、氣滿、火怪（申北十二月乙庚修至酉吉，商姓十二月凶，四月吉）。

Kun is the Human Gate, the life seat of women. One should not set a horse stable here; to offend it brings hemiplegia, strangury, and swelling. This place should be neglected, vacant, low, and thin to be auspicious. (Repair on a Yi or Geng day in the second month.) Shen is Heavenly Punishment and the dragon's back, the life seat of the wives of secondary sons and of the eldest daughter. To offend it brings loss of soul and illness in the flanks, together with corporal injury, imprisonment (the original 'lao-hong' is 'imprisonment'), fullness of chest and belly, and fire-monsters. (For the stretch of Shen toward the north, repair on a Yi or Geng day in the twelfth month through to You is auspicious; for shang-tone surnames the twelfth month is inauspicious and the fourth auspicious.)

庚宅刑，次婦長孫命座，不宜置門，犯之害命坐人、病右脅、口舌、傷殘損墜（修與甲同）。酉刑獄、龍右脅，少婦孫命坐人，犯者害命坐人、失魂刑獄、氣滿火怪（修與申同）。辛為騰蛇訟獄，客命，犯之害命坐人、口舌妖怪、死喪災起（酉北至戌四月乙庚日修）。戌白虎、獄訟、龍右足，奴婢六畜命座，犯之足踞破塞、偏枯盤急（修與辛同，從乾順行至戌，一周二十四路）。

Geng is Dwelling Punishment, the life seat of the second son's wife and the eldest grandson. One should not set a gate here; to offend it harms the person of that life seat, and governs pain in the right flank, quarrels, and maiming and falls. (The method of repair is the same as for Jia.) You is Punishment and Prison, the dragon's right flank, the life seat of the youngest son's wife and of the grandchildren. Whoever offends it will harm the person of that life seat, and it governs loss of soul, punishment and prison, fullness of chest and belly, and fire-monsters. (The method of repair is the same as for Shen.) Xin is the Soaring Snake and litigation, the life seat of guests. To offend it harms the person of that life seat, and governs quarrels, monsters, and disasters of death and mourning. (For the stretch from You northward to Xu, repair on a Yi or Geng day in the fourth month.) Xu is the White Tiger, litigation, and the dragon's right foot, the life seat of servants and the six domestic animals. To offend it brings spasm of the feet, blockage, hemiplegia, and gripping pain. (The method of repair is the same as for Xin. From Qian proceeding in sequence to Xu, one circuit of the twenty-four roads is exactly completed.)

外乾院，與同院修造開拓，令壯實，高岡陵大樹，並吉。宜家長延壽，子孫榮祿不絕，光映門族。乾地廣闊。外亥天福與宅極之鄉，宜置大舍，位次重疊，深遠濃厚，吉。與宅福、明堂相連接壯實，子孫聰明昌盛，科名印綬大富貴。

The outer Qian position should be repaired and extended together with the inner courtyard to make it solid. High ridges, hills, and great trees here are all auspicious; they govern long life for the head of the household, unbroken honor and stipend for descendants, and glory upon the whole clan. Therefore the Qian ground is properly broad. The outer Hai is the countryside of Heavenly Fortune and the Dwelling Pole; here large buildings should be raised, with rooms in overlapping tiers, deep and far, the atmosphere dense and rich—auspicious. If they join the buildings of Dwelling Fortune and the Bright Hall and are also solid, descendants will be intelligent and flourishing, succeed at the examinations, wear seals and sashes, and be greatly wealthy and honored.

外天倉，宜高樓重合，倉稟庫藏，奴婢六畜等舍，大孳息，宜財帛五穀。其位高潔開拓，吉。外天府，宜闊壯，子孫婦女居之，大吉。亦名富貴飽溢之地，遷職喜，萬般悉有矣。

The outer Heavenly Granary position is proper for tall towers and storeyed houses, granaries and storehouses, and rooms for servants and the six domestic animals; the livestock greatly multiply and breed, and it favors goods and the five grains. If this position is built tall, open, and clean, and extended outward, it is auspicious. The outer Heavenly Treasury position should be broad and solid; let descendants and women live here—greatly auspicious. This place is also called the ground of 'wealth and honor filled to overflowing'; it governs the joy of promotion and transfer, and every sort of satisfying affair will come.

絕上外龍腹、福囊之位，宜壅實如山，吉。遠近連接，大樹長岡，不厭開拓，吉。若低缺無屋舍，即貧薄不安。外玉堂，宜子婦，即富貴榮華，子孫興遠。其位雄壯，即官職升騰，位至臺省，寶帛金玉不少。若陷缺荒殘，即受貧薄，流移他地。

Of the highest grade are the outer dragon-belly and Fortune Sack positions; they should be piled as solid as a mountain to be auspicious. Buildings near and far should join into one stretch, with great trees and long ridges adjoining; however far one extends outward, it is not too much—auspicious. If this place is low, vacant, and without buildings, there is thin poverty and unrest. The outer Jade Hall position is proper for sons' wives to live in; then there is wealth, honor, and flourishing, and descendants prosper far into the future. If this position is built with heroic solidity, offices rise step by step, reaching the central posts of the Secretariat and the Chancellery, and precious silks, gold, and jade will not be lacking. If it is sunken, broken, neglected, and ruined, one suffers thin poverty and wanders, moving away to another place.