Zeng Guofan’s Formula of Physiognomy

邪正看眼鼻，真假看嘴唇；功名看氣概，富貴看精神；主意看指爪，風波看腳筋；若要看條理，全在語言中。

To judge whether a person’s heart is upright or crooked, look chiefly at the eyes and the nose—whether the gaze is settled and does not wander, whether the bridge of the nose is straight and not askew. To judge whether his speech is sincere or false, look chiefly at the thickness of the lips and how they open and close. To judge whether he can win rank and name, look at the bearing and force of the whole person. To judge whether he can obtain wealth and honor, look at whether the spirit is full and not scattered. To judge whether he has resolve and decision, look at the firmness or thinness of the fingers and nails. To judge whether his life will be full of storms and setbacks, look at whether the sinews of the feet and the gait are steady and rooted. As for whether his handling of affairs has order and sequence, it all shows in the order of his speech the moment he opens his mouth.

語云：“脫谷為糠，其髓斯存”，神之渭也。“山騫不崩，唯百為鎮”，骨之謂也。一身精神，具乎兩目；一身骨相，具乎面部。他家兼論形骸，文人先觀神骨。開門見山，此為第一。文人論神，有清濁之辨。清濁易辨，邪正難辨。欲辨邪正，先觀動靜；靜若含珠，動若木發；靜若無人，動若赴的，此為澄清到底。靜若螢光，動若流水，尖巧而喜淫；靜若半睡，動若鹿駭，別人而深思。一為敗器，一為隱流，均之託跡於清，不可不辨。

An old saying runs: “When the husk is stripped from the grain it becomes bran, yet the pith remains.” This speaks of shen (神, spirit)—the bodily form is only the husk; spirit is that bit inside the husk that is not worn away with the form (the base text has “神之渭也”; wei 渭 is an error for wei 謂, “is called”). It also says: “Though a mountain is worn and sheds rock, it never collapses, because stone holds it from within.” This speaks of “bone” (the base text has “唯百为镇”; bai 百 is an error for shi 石, “stone”). A person’s spirit is all gathered in the two eyes; a person’s bone-form is all shown in the whole face; therefore in reading a person one first looks at the gaze and the facial bone. Other schools of physiognomy (相法) discuss the body-frame as well; men of letters, in reading a person, first look at spirit and bone. This is the opening thesis, the first essential of the whole book. When men of letters discuss spirit, they first distinguish “clear” from “turbid”: clear and turbid are the fineness or coarseness of temperament, and can be told at a glance; what is hard to tell is the “crooked” and the “upright” within the clear. To distinguish crooked from upright, first look at the two appearances, at rest and in motion. At rest like a pearl held in the mouth, gathered and inward; in motion like spring wood putting forth buds, life arising of itself; at rest as if no one were beside him; in motion as intent as an arrow flying straight to the mark—this is the upright man, clear through and through, a vessel that can be trusted. Conversely, at rest the gaze flickers like a firefly, in motion it slips like running water with no root; such a man is sharp, crafty, and given to lust. At rest like one half asleep, too lazy to answer; in motion like a startled deer, starting at every shock; such a man has deep reserves and is given to calculating against others. The former is in the end a ruined vessel; the latter is a sinister current that hides in the dark. Both take shelter under the outward look of “clear,” and so one must distinguish them with care.

凡精神，抖擻處易見，斷續處難見。斷者出處斷，續者閉處續。道家所謂“收拾入門”之說，不了處看其脫略，做了處看其針線。小心者，從其不了處看之，疏節闊目，若不經意，所謂脫略也。大膽者，從其做了處看之，慎重周密，無有苟且，所謂針線也。二者實看向內處，稍移外便落情態矣，情態易見。

In anyone’s spirit, the times when it is braced and showing are easy to see; the places where it breaks and resumes, now hidden, now apparent, are the hardest to see. What is called “break” is a sudden interruption when the spirit is issuing outward; what is called “resume” is that, when the spirit is drawn in and closed, it still continues unseen. The Daoist saying “gather it up and enter the gate” speaks precisely of this pitch of gathering without scattering. The method of distinction works by reversal: in the places where he has not gathered himself and acts at random, look for “carelessness”; in the places where he has set himself to finish something, look for “stitching.” A man of fine, close mind must be read from his casual places—broad strokes, loose branches, as if nothing were on his mind: this is “carelessness.” A man of bold daring must be read from the places he has set himself to do—careful, thorough, with nothing slovenly: this is “stitching.” That the cautious man can be free, and the bold man fine, is what shows there is something genuine within, the look of a finished vessel. Both these arts look into the heart; shift even a little outward, and what you see is only “manner,” and manner floats on the surface and is easy to see in any case.

骨有九起：天庭骨隆起，枕骨強起，頂骨平起，佐串骨角起，太陽骨線起，眉骨伏犀起，鼻骨芽起，顴骨若不得而起，項骨平伏起。在頭，以天庭骨、枕骨、太陽骨為主；在面，以眉骨、顴骨為主。五者備，柱石之器也；一則不窮；二則不賤；三則動履稍勝；四則貴矣。

There are nine places where the bone-form should rise: the “heavenly-court bone” (天庭骨) in the center of the forehead should be full and swelling; the “occipital bone” (枕骨) at the back of the head should be firm and prominent; the “crown bone” (頂骨) on the top of the head should rise level and even; the “supporting-chain bone” (佐串骨) from behind the ear toward the back of the head should have an angle; the “taiyang bone” (太陽骨) at the temples should show a faint line of bone; the “brow bone” (眉骨) on the brow ridge should lie under the skin like a rhinoceros horn; the “nasal bone” (鼻骨) of the bridge should stand straight out like a new shoot; the two “cheekbones” (顴骨) should rise with reserve, as if no force had been used; the “nape bone” (項骨) at the back of the neck should lie level and not sink. On the head, the heavenly-court, occipital, and taiyang bones are the chief three; on the face, the brow bone and the cheekbones are the chief two. If all five of these are well formed, it is the vessel of a pillar of the state; if only one is possessed, a life will not come to poverty; if two, it will not come to lowliness; if three, official service and conduct will be a little above the common; if four, there can be honor and distinction.

骨有色，面以青為貴，“少年公卿半青面”是也。紫次之，白斯下矣。骨有質，頭以聯者為貴，碎次之。總之，頭上無惡骨，面佳不如頭佳。然大而缺天庭，終是賤品；圓而無串骨，半是孤僧；鼻骨犯眉，堂上不壽；顴骨與眼爭，子嗣不立。此中貴賤，有毫釐千里之辨。

Of the color that comes through the bone, a faint wash of green on the face is prized; the proverb “half of those who reach high office in youth have a green face” speaks of this. Purple is next; white falls to the lower rank. Of the quality of the bone, head bones that join and run together as one piece are prized; those that are broken and do not continue come next. In sum, so long as there is no evil bone on the head, a fine face is still not as good as a fine head. Yet there are contrary cases: a large head whose heavenly court on the brow is sunken and defective is in the end a low and cheap sort; a round head with no supporting-chain bone behind the ears is for the most part the destiny of a solitary monk or Daoist; a nasal bone that thrusts up and invades the space between the brows presides over parents and elders not living to a high age; cheekbones that rise high and contend with the eyes, pressing down the gaze, preside over descendants who cannot establish themselves. In one and the same bone-form, nobility and lowliness often differ by a hair, yet the outcome is a thousand li apart, and one must distinguish with care.

既識神骨，當辨剛柔。剛柔，則五行生剋之數，名曰“先天種子”，不足用補，有餘用洩。消息與命相通，此其較然易見者。五行有合法，木合火，水合木，此順而合。順者多富，即貴亦在浮沉之間。金與火仇，有時合火，推之水土者皆然，此逆而合者，其貴非常。然所謂逆合者，金形帶火則然，火形帶金，則三十死矣；水形帶土則然，土形帶水，則孤寡終老矣；木形帶金則然，金形帶木，則刀劍隨身矣。此外牽合，俱是雜格，不入文人正論。

Once spirit and bone are recognized, one must next distinguish “hard and soft.” Hard and soft belong to the reasoning of generation and conquest among the Five Phases; physiognomists call it the “innate seed,” the capital a person brings at birth: where one phase is insufficient, another must be used to replenish it; where one phase is in excess, another must be used to drain it. This advance and retreat of waxing and waning communicates with the destiny-logic of the eight characters, and is also the most obvious and easily seen layer within hard and soft. The pairing of the Five Phases has its own measure. Wood can generate Fire, so a Wood-form person with a touch of Fire color is a match; Water can generate Wood, so a Water-form person with a touch of Wood qi (氣) is a match: this is called “compliant matching.” Those of compliant matching can often become wealthy; even if they attain honor, it is between rise and fall, not very secure. Metal and Fire are enemies that conquer one another, yet a Metal-form person who happens to carry a touch of Fire color becomes a match instead; the same holds for Water and Earth and other conquering pairs: this is called “reverse matching,” and those of reverse matching attain honor of an uncommon kind. But “reverse matching” has a strict direction and must not be turned around: only Metal-form carrying Fire counts; Fire-form carrying Metal, conversely, is in danger of an early death by the age of thirty. Only Water-form carrying Earth counts; Earth-form carrying Water, conversely, means a lonely life without a partner, ending one’s days alone. Only Wood-form carrying Metal counts; Metal-form carrying Wood, conversely, means a life with sword and blade upon one, full of peril. Apart from these proper pairings, all other forced combinations belong to “mixed configurations” and do not enter the orthodox discussion of the physiognomy of men of letters.

五行為外剛柔，內剛柔，則喜怒、跳伏、深淺者是也。喜高怒重，過目輒忘，近“粗”。伏亦不伉，跳亦不揚，近“蠢”。初念甚淺，轉念甚深，近“奸”。內奸者，功名可期。粗蠢各半者，勝人以壽。純奸能豁達，其人終成。純粗無周密，半途必棄。觀人所忽，十有九八矣。

The Five Phases above belong to “outer hard and soft,” which looks at form and color; “inner hard and soft” is to be read from temperament, namely three things: the measure of joy and anger, the motion of sinking and leaping, and the depth or shallowness of the mind. One who, when pleased, forgets himself, and when angry is extra heavy, yet once a matter has passed the eye forgets it clean—such a man is near to “coarse.” One who, when he should be still, has no upright force, and when he should rise cannot lift himself, merely mediocre throughout—such a man is near to “dull.” One whose first thought looks extremely shallow, yet after a turn of mind is extremely deep—such a man is near to “cunning.” Among these three, the “cunning” that hides calculation within and does not show it has rank and name in prospect; those who are half coarse and half dull cannot surpass others in other things, and surpass them only in length of life; one who is purely cunning yet also open and generous, not counting every trifle, will in the end accomplish things; one who is purely coarse with no thoroughness at all will abandon whatever he undertakes halfway. In reading a person, attend especially to these places others most easily overlook, and eight or nine times in ten you will read him right.

容以七尺為期，貌合兩儀而論。胸腹手足，實接五行；耳目口鼻，全通四氣。相顧相稱，則福生；如背如湊，則林林總總，不足論也。容貴“整”，“整”非整齊之謂。短不豕蹲，長不茅立，肥不熊餐，瘦不鵲寒，所謂“整”也。背宜圓厚，腹宜突坦，手宜溫軟，曲若彎弓，足宜豐滿，下宜藏蛋，所謂“整”也。五短多貴，兩大不揚，負重高官，鼠行好利，此為定格。他如手長於身，身過於體，配以佳骨，定主封侯；羅紋滿身，胸有秀骨，配以妙神，不拜相即鼎甲矣。

“Bearing” means the whole person, taken as one body of seven chi; “features” means the face, and must be discussed in accord with the two instruments of yin and yang. Chest, belly, hands, and feet—the trunk and limbs—in fact correspond to the Five Phases of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth; ears, eyes, mouth, and nose—the apertures—communicate with the qi of the four seasons. When the parts of the whole body answer one another and the proportions match, fortune is born from this; if each grows on its own, turning away from the others and only forced together, it is merely the common skin of the multitude, not worth discussing. Bearing is prized for being “whole.” This “whole” is not neatness of dress, but an even body whose parts match. Short, yet not squatting in a heap like a pig; tall, yet not standing lean and dry like thatch; fat, yet not swollen and clumsy like a bear at its feed; thin, yet not huddled and shivering like a winter magpie—this is what is called “whole.” The back should be round and thick; the belly should swell yet be even; the hands should be warm and soft, and when bent should be like a drawn bow; the feet should be full, the hollow able to hide an egg—this too is called “whole.” Those in whom head, face, body, hands, and feet are all short and evenly stopped often preside over honor; those in whom two of these are especially coarse and large, on the contrary, do not become distinguished. One who walks as if bearing a heavy load, steady, may become a high official; one who walks like a rat, quick and mincing, covets small gain: these are fixed configurations. Further, if the two hands hanging down are longer than the trunk, and the upper body again surpasses the lower, and this is paired with good bone, he will certainly be enfeoffed a marquis; if the skin of the whole body has fine netted lines, the bones of the chest are refined, and this is paired with a fine spirit, if he is not a chief minister he will be among the first three of the palace examination.

貌有清、古、奇、秀之別，總之須看科名星與陰騭紋為主。科名星，十三歲至三十九歲隨時而見；陰騭紋，十九歲至四十六歲隨時而見。二者全，大物也；得一亦貴。科名星見於印堂眉彩，時隱時見，或為鋼針，或為小丸，嘗有光氣，酒後及發怒時易見。陰騭紋見於眼角，陰雨便見，如三叉樣，假寐時最易見。得科名星者早榮，得陰騭紋者遲發。二者全無，前程莫問。陰騭紋見於喉間，又主生貴子；雜路不在此路。

Features have the several styles “clear,” “ancient,” “strange,” and “refined,” but in the end one must judge chiefly by the two things “star of examination rank” (科名星) and “lines of hidden merit” (陰騭紋). The star of examination rank may appear at any time between the ages of thirteen and thirty-nine; the lines of hidden merit may appear at any time between nineteen and forty-six. One who has both is a great vessel; one who has only one also presides over honor and distinction. The star of examination rank appears in the yintang (印堂, Hall of Seals) between the brows and in the luster of the eyebrows, now hidden, now seen; its shape is sometimes like a steel needle, sometimes like a small pellet, and it often carries a layer of light-qi; it is most easily seen after wine or in anger. The lines of hidden merit appear at the corners of the eyes; they show on overcast and rainy days, shaped like a three-fork, and are most easily seen when a person is dozing, about to sleep but not yet asleep. Those who have the star of examination rank are honored early; those who have the lines of hidden merit rise later. Those who have neither need not ask about their prospects. If the lines of hidden merit appear about the throat, they further preside over the birth of noble sons. As for those who do not come up by the regular examination path, they do not fall within this set of readings.

目者面之淵，不深則不清。鼻者面之山，不高則不靈。口闊而方祿千種，齒多而圓不家食。眼角入鬢，必掌刑名。頂見於面，終司錢穀：出貴征也。舌脫無官，橘皮不顯。文人有傷左目，鷹鼻動便食人：此賤征也。

The eyes are the deep pool of a face; if they are not deep they cannot be clear and have spirit. The nose is the high mountain of a face; if it is not tall it shows no refined intelligence. A mouth that is broad and square has emolument of a thousand zhong; teeth that are many and evenly round need not live off the family’s own fields, but will have food abroad of themselves. Eyes whose corners run long and straight into the hair at the temples will certainly hold the power of punishments and prisons; a crown whose bone-force can faintly be seen from the front will in the end hold the taxes and stores of money and grain—these are all signs of distinction. Conversely, a tongue that is short and inflexible, speech dropping syllables and unclear, will not obtain office; a face as rough as orange peel will not become distinguished in a lifetime; a man of letters with injury to the left eye, or a nose like a hawk’s hook that, at a motion, looks as if it would peck and eat a man—these are all signs of lowliness.

容貌者，骨之餘，常佐骨之不足。情態者，神之餘，常佐神之不足。久注觀人精神，乍見觀人情態。大家舉止，羞澀亦佳；小兒行藏，跳叫愈失。大旨亦辨清濁，細處兼論取舍。有弱態，有狂態，有疏懶態，有周旋態。飛鳥依人，情致婉轉，此弱態也。不衫不履，旁若無人，此狂態也。坐止自如，問答隨意，此疏懶態也。飾其中機，不苟言笑，察言觀色，趨吉避凶，則周旋態也。皆根其情，不由矯枉。弱而不媚，狂而不譁，疏懶而真誠，周旋而健舉，皆能成器；反之，敗類也。大概亦得二三矣。

Features are a layer beyond the bone-form, and can often make good the bone-form’s lack; manner is a layer beyond the spirit’s luster, and can often make good the spirit’s lack. Therefore to see a person’s spirit one must gaze long and observe slowly; to see a person’s manner one must catch it in the first glance of a sudden meeting. The bearing of a son of an old house, even if it carries a little shyness and constraint, is still good; the conduct of a child from a small household, the more he leaps and shouts, the more he shows lightness and a fall from form. In reading manner, the large place is still the distinction of clear and turbid; in the fine places one further discusses whether this person is to be taken or set aside. Manner falls roughly into four kinds: “weak manner,” “wild manner,” “lax manner,” and “circulating manner.” Soft as a bird that stays by a person, with more than enough of turning grace—this is weak manner. Clothes and shoes not attended to, as if no one else were there—this is wild manner. Sitting and standing at ease, answering one question with one sentence, meeting things offhand—this is lax manner. Covering the calculation in the heart, not smiling or speaking lightly, watching faces and words everywhere, seeking the auspicious and avoiding the inauspicious—this is circulating manner. All four grow from each person’s own nature; they are not forced acting. Weak without flattery, wild without clamor, lax yet sincere toward others, circulating yet forceful in getting things done—these four kinds of person can all become vessels. Conversely, weak to the point of flattery, wild to the point of noise, lax to the point of emptiness, circulating until only smoothness is left—that is a ruined sort. Using this one rule to read people, one can roughly read two or three in ten aright.

前者恆態，又有時態。方有對談，神忽他往；眾方稱言，此獨冷笑；深險難近，不足與論情。言不必當，極口稱是，未交此人，故意底毀；卑庸可恥，不足與論事。漫無可否，臨事遲迴；不甚關情，亦為墮淚；婦人之仁，不足與談心。三者不必定人終身。反此以求，可以交天下士。

The four above are “constant manners” that grow in the bone; besides these there are “occasional manners” that show for a time. In the midst of talking face to face, the mind suddenly runs elsewhere; while everyone is praising a matter, he alone stands aside with a cold smile—such a man has deep and dangerous reserves, is hard to approach, and is not worth talking friendship with. Another’s words may not be sound, yet he assents with a full mouth; of a person he has never met he deliberately slanders behind the back—such a man is base and vulgar, shameful, and not worth working with. On all matters he will not say yes or no; when something arises he delays and avoids; of a matter that does not concern him he can still drop a few tears in company—such a man has only a woman’s indulgent kindness, and is not worth opening one’s heart to. All three are manners of a moment, and one cannot necessarily judge a whole life by them. Conversely, if one seeks people in the shapes opposite to these three, one can make friends with the worthy men of the world.

“鬚眉男子”。未有鬚眉不具可稱男子者。“少年兩道眉，臨老一付鬚。”此言眉主早成，鬚主晚運也。然而紫面無鬚自貴，暴腮缺鬚亦榮：郭令公半部不全，霍膘驍一副寡臉。此等間逢，畢竟有鬚眉者，十之九也。

The ancients called a man a “beard-and-brow man,” from which one sees that no one whose beard and brows are incomplete is fit to be called a true man. A physiognomic proverb says: “In youth look at the two brows; in old age look at the set of the beard.” The meaning is that the brows preside over a person’s early achievement, and the beard over a person’s late fortune. Yet there are exceptions: a man whose face washes purple is naturally honored even without a beard; a man whose jawbones spread wide and jut out is likewise distinguished even if the beard is lacking. Guo Ziyi of the Tang, enfeoffed Prince of Fenyang and known as Guo Linggong, had only half a beard, not complete; Huo Qubing of the Han, who rose to General of Swift Cavalry, also had a bare face without a beard (the base text has “霍膘骁,” which should be “霍驃騎,” Huo the Swift Cavalry). Such exceptions are met now and then, but in the end, among those who become vessels, those with complete beard and brows still make eight or nine in ten.

眉尚彩，彩者，杪處反光也。貴人有三層彩，有一二層者。所謂“文明氣象”，宜疏爽不宜凝滯。一望有乘風翔舞之勢，上也；如潑墨者，最下。倒豎者，上也；下垂者，最下。長有起伏，短有神氣；濃忌浮光，淡忌枯索。如劍者掌兵權，如帚者赴法場。箇中亦有徵範，不可不辨。但如壓眼不利，散亂多憂，細而帶媚，粗而無文，是最下乘。

Brows are prized for having “luster.” By luster is meant that point of light that returns from the tips of the hairs at the end of the brow. A noble man’s brows have three layers of luster; some show only one or two. This is what the physiognomy books call “the air of culture and brightness”: brows should be open and crisp, and one dreads them dense and stuck. Those that at a glance have the force of riding the wind and dancing are of the upper rank; those like a blot of thrown ink, in which no single hair can be told from another, are of the lowest rank. Brows that stand up inverted are of the upper rank; those that droop downward are of the lowest. Long brows should have rise and fall and a wave; short brows should have spirit and force; dense brows dread a thief’s sheen floating on the surface; pale brows dread dryness and sparseness, with no life in them. Brows shaped like a sharp sword can hold military power; brows scattered like a broom will go to the execution ground. There are signs here that can be followed, and one must distinguish them. As for brows that press down on the eyes, they preside over affairs going ill; brows that scatter and do not gather preside over much worry; brows that are fine and carry a coquettish air, and brows that are coarse with no grain or order at all, are all of the lowest rank of brow-form.

須有多寡，取其與眉相稱。多者，宜清、宜疏、宜縮、宜參差不齊；少者，宜光、宜健、宜圓、宜有情照顧。卷如螺紋，聰明豁達；長如解索，風流榮顯；勁如張戟，位高權重；亮若銀條，早登廊廟，皆宦途大器。紫鬚劍眉，聲音洪壯；蓬然虯亂，嘗見耳後，配以神骨清奇，不千里封侯，亦十年拜相。他如“輔鬚先長終不利”、“人中不見一世窮”、“鼻毛接鬚多滯晦”、“短斃遮口餓終身”，此其顯而可見者耳。

Beards may be many or few; good or bad depends on whether they match the brows. A man with much beard should be clear, should be sparse, should be gathered and not scattered, should be uneven in length and not stiffly level; a man with little beard should be glossy, should be firm, should turn in the round, should have a look of glancing and holding feeling. A beard that curls like a screw-whorl is intelligent and open; a beard long and softly distinct like a loosened rope is elegant and distinguished; a beard that stands taut like a leveled halberd is high in rank and heavy in power; a beard bright as threads of silver can enter the court in early years—these several kinds are all great vessels of the official road. If a purple beard is paired with sword-brows, and the voice is again full and strong; if the beard is tangled and curling, so disordered that it can be seen even behind the ears, and this is paired with a spirit and bone of rare clarity, if he is not enfeoffed a marquis a thousand li away, he will be chief minister within ten years. There are besides several physiognomic proverbs: “If the supporting beard on the two cheeks grows first, it is in the end unlucky”; “If the philtrum is hidden by the beard and cannot be seen, a lifetime of poverty”; “If the nose-hairs join in one piece with the beard, fortune is often blocked and dark”; “If a short mustache covers the mouth, a lifetime of hunger” (the base text has “短毙,” which should be “短髭,” “short mustache”)—these are all obvious beard-forms.

人之聲音，猶天地之氣，輕清上浮，重濁下墜。始於丹田，發於喉，轉於舌，辨於齒，出於唇，實與五音相配。取其自成一家，不必一一合調，聞聲相思，其人斯在，寧必一見決英雄哉！聲與音不同。聲主“張”，尋發處見；音主“斂”，尋歇處見。辨聲之法，必辨喜怒哀樂；喜如折竹，怒如陰雷起地，哀如擊薄冰，樂如雪舞風前，大概以輕為上。聲雄者，如鍾則貴，如鑼則賤；聲雌者，如雉鳴則貴，如蛙鳴則賤。遠聽聲雄，近聽悠揚，起若乘風，止如拍琴，上上。“大言不張唇，細言不露齒”，上也。出而不返，荒郊牛鳴；急而不達，深夜鼠嚼；或字句相聯，喋喋利口；或齒喉隔斷，喈喈混談：市井之夫，何足比較？

A person’s voice is like the qi between Heaven and Earth: what is light and clear naturally floats up; what is heavy and turbid naturally sinks. The voice arises from the cinnabar field, issues from the throat, turns on the tongue, is distinguished by the teeth, and at last comes out at the lips; it in fact pairs with the five tones of gong, shang, jiao, zhi, and yu. In reading a voice one takes only that it forms a house of its own and has its own air; it need not match the musical modes word for word. Hearing a person’s voice one already imagines the person; the vessel is already in it—why must one see the face before judging whether he is a hero? “Sound” and “tone” are not the same thing: sound governs “opening,” and is to be heard at the moment the mouth issues it; tone governs “gathering,” and is to be heard in the after-resonance when the speech stops. The method of distinguishing sound must distinguish the four cases of joy, anger, grief, and pleasure—the sound of joy is like snapping bamboo, crisp and clean; the sound of anger is like muffled thunder rolling up from the ground; the sound of grief is like striking thin ice, cold and easily broken; the sound of pleasure is like snow dancing before the wind, light and free; in the main, the light and clear is of the upper rank. In a man whose voice is virile, a sound like a great bell presides over honor, a sound like a cracked gong over lowliness; in a man whose voice leans to the soft and yin, a sound like a pheasant’s call presides over honor, a sound like a frog’s noise over lowliness. Heard from afar it is strong; heard near it is lingering; it begins as if arriving on the wind, and ends as if a qin were struck and suddenly stopped: this is the highest of high sounds. A physiognomic proverb says, “Great words need not stretch the lips; fine words need not show the teeth”—this too is of the upper rank. Conversely, a sound that goes out and does not return is like a cow calling in the wild suburbs; one that is hurried and cannot be made out is like a rat gnawing in the deep night; or words that stick together, chattering on and showing only the cleverness of the tongue; or a mutter cut off between teeth and throat, mixed and unclear—these are all the voices of marketplace small men, not worth bringing into comparison.

音者，聲之餘也，與聲相去不遠，此則從細曲中見耳。貧賤者有聲無音，尖巧者有音無聲，所□“禽無聲，獸元音”是也。凡人說話，是聲散在前後左右者是也。開談多含情，話終有餘響，不唯雅人，兼稱國士；口闊無溢出，舌尖無窕音，不唯實厚，兼獲名高。

“Tone” is the after-resonance of sound, not far from sound, only to be felt in those fine, turning tails of the voice. The poor and lowly have sound without tone: once the words are said they break off, with no after-resonance. The sharp and crafty have tone without sound: soft and mixed, they cannot issue a sound that is open and upright. What the physiognomy books call “birds have sound but no tone; beasts have tone but no sound” is this principle (here the base text has lost the character wei 謂 after suo 所, from damage on the page; the yuan 元 of “獸元音” should be wu 無, “without”). When an ordinary person speaks, that after-resonance that scatters before and behind, left and right, and lingers on all sides, is “tone.” One who, when he opens his mouth, holds much feeling, and when the words are done still has an after-echo that does not break—such a man is not only a man of elegance, but deserves the name of “scholar of the state.” One whose mouth is broad yet whose breath does not spill and scatter, whose tongue is pointed yet carries no light, floating tone—such a man is not only solid and thick, but can also win a high name.

面部如命，氣色如運。大命固宜整齊，小運亦當亨泰。是故光焰不發，珠玉與瓦礫同觀；藻繪未揚，明光與布葛齊價。大者主一生禍福，小者亦三月吉凶。人以氣為主，於內為精神，於外為氣色。有終身之氣色，“少淡、長明、壯豔、老素”是也。有一年之氣色，“春青、夏紅、秋黃、冬白”是也。有一月之氣色，“朔後森發，望後隱躍”是也。有一日之氣色，“早青、晝滿、晚停、暮靜”是也。

The pattern of bone and flesh on the face is like a person’s “destiny”; the complexion that floats on the face is like a person’s “fortune.” The great destiny should of course be grown upright and even; the small fortune should also be open and smooth. Hence the saying: if the flame of light does not issue, pearls and jade look no different from potsherds; if the pattern of color does not shine forth, the finest bright-light brocade and coarse hemp cloth sell at the same price. Complexion, taken at the large, presides over a lifetime’s fortune and misfortune; taken at the small, it also presides over the auspicious and inauspicious of three months. A person has qi as the root; this qi, stored within, is spirit; showing without, it is complexion. There is a complexion that presides over a lifetime: “In youth it should be pale; in growing it should be bright; in the prime it should be rich; in old age it should be plain.” There is a complexion that presides over a year: “In spring it should be green; in summer red; in autumn yellow; in winter white.” There is a complexion that presides over a month: “After the first day the complexion issues in a dense showing; after the fifteenth it moves faintly and gradually withdraws.” There is a complexion that presides over a day: “At dawn it is green and just arising; in daylight it is full and abundant; toward evening it pauses and does not advance; at night it is still and returns to store.”

科名中人，以黃為主，此正色也。黃雲蓋頂，必掇大魁；黃翅入鬢，進身不遠；印堂黃色，富貴逼人；明堂素淨，明年及第。他如眼角霞鮮，決利小考；印堂垂紫，動獲小利；紅暈中分，定產佳兒；兩顴紅潤，骨肉發跡。由此推之，足見一斑矣。

For those who take the examination path of rank and name, complexion takes yellow as chief; yellow is the proper color of this path. Yellow qi like a cloud covering the crown will certainly take the first place; yellow like two wings stretching into the hair at the temples means the time of advancement is already not far; yellow appearing in the yintang between the brows means wealth and honor press upon one; the mingtang (明堂) region about the tip of the nose, plain and without blemish, means one will pass next year. Further, a fresh rosy color at the corners of the eyes presides over success in the lesser examinations; a thread of purple qi hanging from the yintang means that at any move one obtains a small gain; a flush on the face that parts from the middle will certainly bring a fine son; two cheekbones red and moist with light preside over close kin following into prosperity. Push along this path, and the principle by which complexion presides over the auspicious can be seen in part.

色忌青，忌白。青常見於眼底，白常見於眉端。然亦不同：心事憂勞，青如凝墨；禍生不測，青如浮煙；酒色憊倦，白如臥羊；災晦催人，白如傅粉。又有青而帶紫，金形遇之而飛揚；白而有光，土庚相當亦富貴，又不在此論也。最不佳者：“太白夾日月，烏鳥集天庭，桃花散面頰，預尾守地閣。”有一於此，前程退落，禍患再三矣。

Complexion dreads green, and also dreads white. Green often appears below the eyes; white often appears at one end of the brow. But the same green, the same white, preside over different things: when there is worry and toil in the heart, that green is dark as set ink; when an unforeseen disaster is about to come, that green is like a thread of floating smoke; when one is worn and depleted by excess of wine and lust, that white is lifeless as a lying sheep; when disaster and dark qi press upon one, that white is as if a layer of powder had been laid on the face. There is also green that carries purple: a Metal-form person who meets it will on the contrary rise and soar; and white that carries light: an Earth-form person matched with Geng Metal likewise presides over wealth and honor—these two do not fall among the things to be dreaded. The worst complexions are four: “A white qi like the Great White clamps the left and right eyes (physiognomists call the two eyes sun and moon); a black qi gathers on the heavenly court of the forehead; a peach-blossom red is scattered on the two cheeks; a dark and turbid qi crouches on the earthly pavilion of the chin.” If even one of the four is possessed, prospects will fall back, and disasters will come one after another (the base text has “预尾,” which should be “穢尾,” meaning a dark and unclean qi).