Xu Fu Xiang Fa Shi Liu Pian (許負相法十六篇)

今之遊夫術子以宅墓，祿命、形相三事，致道吉凶、卑榮。王侯百官之門，日無虛者。聽其言也，則□昭昭，明根曲據，若銖毫無爽矣。而率皆無驗，要之三事，唯形相人各判殊，可以案察推。取神斯理者，當揚目而洞□。

Nowadays those wandering practitioners of the rivers and lakes, by the three arts of "dwellings and tombs" (feng shui of yin houses and yang houses), "emolument and destiny" (calculating the Four Pillars of birth) and "form and phase" (examining a person's appearance), settle for people good and ill fortune, meanness and glory. The gates of princes, marquises and the hundred officials have them going in and out every day; not one day is empty. To hear them speak, every one of them talks as if the matter were perfectly clear, the grounds distinct, the citations winding, as if there could not be an error of even a zhu or a hair. Yet when one truly takes it to verification, for the most part it does not prove efficacious. Summed up, among these three arts only the art of "form and phase," because people's bodily forms and appearances each differ and stand clearly apart, can be pressed by looking at the actual ground. One who wishes to grasp this mysterious principle should open the eyes wide and see into the minute. Note: after the character "ze" and after the character "dong," the base text has each dropped a character; they are here marked with □, not daring to supply them by conjecture.

國朝永樂間，盛稱柳莊、袁生，百無一謬。而其精奧，竟鮮有傳之者。餘家有古刻相法十六篇，乃高陽許負所撰。且云許負者，即漢文帝令相鄧通者也。然通傳不載負名，而相通之訣則著於負篇矣。餘誦其文，雖多後世增色，而古簡要，非漢代莫有也。嘗取一二，私自鏡別，則往往靈中可愕。即雜渾群述，後世無以持其領旨。乃別錄之，倘山澤之英有好之者，則舉以贈也。五獄山人黃省曾撰。

In the Yongle years of the present dynasty, those of greatest fame in the art of physiognomy were Master Liuzhuang, Yuan Gong, and Yuan Sheng (his son Yuan Zhongche); in reading a face they did not miss one in a hundred. Yet the fine and mysterious paths within it have in the end been transmitted by very few. My family holds an old printed copy of Sixteen Chapters on the Method of Physiognomy, ascribed to Xu Fu of Gaoyang; the book further says that this Xu Fu is the one Emperor Wen of Han ordered to read the face of the favourite Deng Tong. Yet the biography of Deng Tong in the Records of the Grand Historian does not write Xu Fu's name, while the set of formulae used in reading Deng Tong's face is clearly recorded in these chapters ascribed to Xu Fu. Reciting its wording, though later ages have added ornament and polish in many places, that air of antique spareness is not something a person of later than the Han could have written. I once took one or two articles from it and privately checked them against people; they often proved so efficacious as to startle. Only it is a pity that it is mixed among the miscellaneous sayings of the several houses, and later people have no way to seize its outline and essentials; so I have copied it out separately. If among mountains, forests, rivers and marshes there is a talent of ability who loves this art, I shall present it as a gift. The above is the preface by Huang Xingzeng, the Man of the Five Marchmounts Mountains ("five yu" is "five yue"; Huang Xingzeng styled himself the Man of the Five Marchmounts, a man of Wu county in the Ming).

目秀而長，必近君王。龍睛鳳目，必食重祿。目如臥弓，必是奸雄。鬥雞蜂目，惡死孤獨。目光如電，貴不可言。目尾朝天，福祿綿綿。女目四白，外夫入宅。目色通黃，慈憫忠良。黑白分明，必主朝京。若是女子，的主廉貞。目白長細，貧寒無計。

A person whose eyes are clear and refined and whose eye-shape is narrow and long will in later days certainly be able to draw near a ruler. Pupils like a dragon's orbs, eye-shape like a phoenix's eyes—the eye long, the outer corner slightly raised, the dark pupil full of spirit—such a person is certain to enjoy thick emolument. An eye-shape like a bow laid on its side, the back of the bow upward and the lid curving and pressing down, is for the most part a deep-scheming villain. Eyeballs round and protruding, glaring like a fighting-cock, or eyes small and bulging, the white many like a bee's eyes, govern a violent death and moreover loneliness without support. A gaze gleaming like lightning is noble beyond description. An outer corner slanting upward toward heaven has fortune and emolument stretching on without end. A woman who has "four-whites eyes"—the dark pupil rather small, white showing on all four sides, above, below, left and right—governs an affair outside marriage, and will bring an outside man into the house. Pupils whose colour throughout carries yellow belong to a person humane, compassionate, honest and good. Eyes in which the boundary of black and white is clearly marked are certain to enter court as an official; if a woman has such a pair of eyes, they precisely govern "incorrupt chastity," that is, integrity chaste and clean. Eyes with much white and a fine long shape mean a life of poverty and cold, with no plan that can be applied.

目中赤砂起，法死須妨已。女人目下赤色，必憂產厄。目下一字平，所作皆分明。目下亂理紋，室家多子孫。目下有臥蠶，足女還少男。目下光漫亂，姦淫須少喚。右目小，女畏夫。左目小，男畏婦。隨其男女，小心不虛。目長一寸，五分刀筆，五分凌雲。

Red threads and crimson points rising in the white of the eye, like a scattering of red sand, by the method of physiognomy govern a violent death; one must guard against disaster falling on oneself. A woman whose lower lid shows a crimson colour must worry about peril in childbirth. A lower lid that has a horizontal line running straight as the character "one" means affairs handled in clear order, clean and decisive. Lines on the lower lid tangled and crossing mean many descendants in the house. A lower lid that swells in a strip of "recumbent silkworm" flesh means many daughters and few sons. A lower lid bright and floating, the qi (氣) of the complexion scattered and not gathering, governs an affair of adultery, a poor reputation, and few who will greet and associate. If the right eye is smaller than the left, and it is a woman, she fears her husband; if the left eye is smaller than the right, and it is a man, he fears his wife: judge separately according as the person read is man or woman; whoever has this phase is cautious and careful before the spouse, and this is by no means empty talk. Eyes long enough to fill a full cun put half their force into "knife and brush," that is, clerkly documentary work; half their force can "surpass the clouds," that is, rise straight to the blue clouds and soar.

鼻準洪直，富貴無極。鼻狹高危，兄弟微羸。鼻樑不直，欺詐未息。鼻毛出外，誹謗凶害。鼻上黑子，疾在陰裡。鼻有縱理，主養他子。鼻上橫理，憂危不已。若是胡人，富貴如市。鼻柱不平，委的他姓。鼻柱薄，立志弱。

A person whose nose-tip (the physiognomy books call it the "standard-tip") is full and high and whose bridge is upright and straight has wealth and nobility without end. A nose that is narrow yet towers steeply, with no flesh at the sides, means few brothers and moreover a weak and sickly body. A bridge that is crooked and not straight means a lifetime of deceiving and cheating thoughts without a break. Nose-hairs that grow out of the nostrils easily invite slander and meet perilous injury. A black mole on the bridge means a hidden illness in the secret place of the lower yin. Vertical lines on the nose govern raising a son for another, that is, an affair of adopting an heir. Horizontal lines on the nose mean worry and peril following without a break; but if it is a Hu person (a people of the Western Regions, deep-eyed and high-nosed), such horizontal lines on the contrary govern wealth and nobility, the household flourishing and busy as a market. A nose-pillar (the central strip of the bridge) uneven in height means the person's origin is truly doubtful, and for the most part he has followed another surname, that is, is not of the present line. A nose-pillar thin and without flesh means the will to establish oneself is also weak.

鼻如縮囊，至老吉昌。鼻如獅子，聰明達士。鼻高而昂，仕宦欣昌。鼻上光澤，富貴盈宅。鼻如截筒，富貴興隆。鼻起中央，車馬敗傷。鼻頭短小，意志淺小。鼻相廣長，必多伎倆。鼻直而厚，天子諸侯。鼻如缺破，孤獨□餓。

A nose like a sack with its mouth drawn in, the tip rounded in and the two sides, the Orchid Terrace and the Court Commandant, wrapping it so that it is held, is auspicious and flourishing to old age. A nose born like a lion's nose, the tip fat and large, the wings broad and thick, belongs to a man intelligent and penetrating. A bridge that towers and a tip that lifts means office goes smoothly and the official road flourishes. Skin-colour on the nose clean, glossy and moist means wealth and nobility fill the house. A nose like a cut section of bamboo tube, the bridge even and straight, the nostrils not showing, means wealth, nobility and prosperity. A bridge that alone swells in a knot at mid-section governs the peril of carriage and horse, injury and damage when travelling. A tip short and small means the will too is shallow and narrow. A nose-phase broad and long is certain to have many skills and arts. A bridge upright and thick in flesh is noble to the degree of Son of Heaven or feudal lord. A nose born incomplete and damaged means a life of loneliness, and also the peril of hunger and starvation (between "loneliness" and "hunger" the base text has dropped a character; it is here marked with □, not daring to supply it by conjecture).

人中平長，至老吉昌。兼有年壽，更益兒郎。人中短促，子孫不足。人中高厚，壽年長久。人中廣平，養子不成。雖即生產，長聞哭聲。人中廣厚，姦淫未足。人中兩黑，的生可□。人中深長，子孫滿堂。人中漫漫，無子可憐。

The "philtrum" (人中) is that vertical groove below the nose and above the lip; the method of physiognomy uses it to look at issue and the allotted span. A philtrum even and long is auspicious and flourishing to old age; if in addition the "year-above" and "longevity-above" (two sites at mid-bridge) are well formed, issue is still more flourishing. A philtrum short and hurried means descendants are insufficient. A philtrum that rises and is full and thick means a long span of years. A philtrum wide and flat, with no groove to be seen, means sons are hard to raise; even if they can be born, one often hears the sound of mourning. A philtrum wide, broad and solid means desire is hard to satisfy, and there are many affairs of adultery. Black moles and dark spots on both sides of the philtrum: as for how the sons born will be, the sense of the sentence in the base text is incomplete (after "de sheng ke" a character has dropped; it is here marked with □, not daring to supply it by conjecture). A philtrum deep and long means descendants fill the hall. A philtrum flat, vague and blurred, with almost no groove-form, means no sons, and is pitiable.

耳高於目，合受他祿。（作為人師也。）高於眉一寸，永不踐貧困。耳高輪廓，亦主安樂。耳有刀環，五等高官。耳門垂厚，富貴長久。耳門容筋，家貧易去。耳有毫毛，長壽富貴，兼沒災殃。（毛若目能自見者吉。）耳如獸耳，自安自止。耳門寬大，廈韃譜恪□耳門薄小，命短食小。耳白於面，名滿赤縣。

Ears whose upper rim is higher than the eyes ought to receive emolument given by another, that is, to eat by another's recommendation; the original note says such a person can be another's teacher. Ears higher than the eyebrows by a cun mean a lifetime that will not step into poverty. Ear-position high and the outline clearly marked also governs a life of ease. A rim that grows a round ridge like a knife-ring can make an official of the five ranks of duke, marquis, earl, viscount and baron. The ear-gate (the piece before the ear-hole) hanging low and thick means wealth and nobility lasting long. An ear-gate so narrow it will hold only a single sinew means the household is poor and easily fails and scatters. Hairs growing in the ear mean long life and moreover wealth and nobility, and also no disaster; the original note says these hairs must grow long enough for one's own eyes to see before they count as auspicious. Ears shaped like a beast's ears, standing up and pointed and thin, belong to a person content with his lot, stopping of himself and sufficient of himself, not seeking to advance. An ear-gate wide and large—the four characters after this sentence in the base text are corrupt and unreadable, given as "xia da pu ke," clearly a transmission error, here recorded as they stand in doubt, the last character marked with □. An ear-gate thin and small means a short life and little emolument. Ears whose colour is whiter than the face have a name that spreads through the "crimson counties," that is, fame filling the realm.

下唇遇上唇，妨夫的有真。上唇遇下唇，法多虛假人。唇紫色，足衣食。唇常赤，為貴客。上唇厚，命非久。下唇長，主貪食。唇上下相當，語音易善，好集文章。女唇紫，夫早死，兼妨首子。唇赤如丹，不要師看。唇上下不相覆，常懷盜竊，終身不富。唇多紋理，兒多無比。

A woman whose lower lip, when the mouth is closed, turns over and wraps the upper lip harms her husband; this saying is indeed not empty. An upper lip that covers the lower far too much, by the method of physiognomy, belongs for the most part to a person false and not solid. Lips of a purple colour mean clothing and food sufficient. Lips that year after year are red and moist belong to a person who can be a noble guest. An upper lip too thick means a life not long. A lower lip too long governs greed for food and fondness for eating. Upper and lower lips matching each other in thickness and length mean a speaking voice harmonious and pleasing to the ear, and also a love of gathering and composing writings. A woman whose lips are purple has a husband who dies early, and also harms the first-born child. Lips crimson as cinnabar need no physiognomist called in to look; at a glance one knows it is a good phase. Upper and lower lips that will not close, that cannot cover each other, mean the mind often harbours thoughts of theft, and a lifetime that will not be rich. Lips with dense lines mean children so many that no one can compare.

口如角弓，位至三公。口如含丹，不受□寒。一則主富，一則主官。口如撮聚，供承人後。虛用心情，人賤如狗。口如縮囊，死無糧。縱然有子，必主別房。口如吹火，寒獨坐。口如縮螺，常樂獨。龍唇鳳口，不可為友。好說不真，常懷粗丑。口如赤丹，不入殷蘭。若是女子，亦得夫憐。

A mouth shaped like a horn-bow, the lip-line curving and both ends tilting up, the outline clearly marked, can reach the rank of the Three Dukes. Lips red and moist as if holding a pellet of cinnabar will not suffer the bitterness of hunger and cold (after "bu shou" the base text has dropped a character; it is here marked with □); such a mouth-phase governs on the one hand wealth, on the other nobility. A mouth gathered as if the opening were drawn in, the mouth small and the lips pointed, can only be sent on errands by others and walk behind others at work, wasting the mind in vain, of a station as low as a dog. A mouth like an empty sack with its mouth drawn in, the lips thin and the mouth wrinkled, has to the day of death no leftover grain; even if there is a son, he is certain to live in a separate house and cannot share the hall. A mouth gathered as if blowing a fire means cold, bitter and lonely, able only to sit withered alone. A mouth drawn tight like a snail-shell opening often loves to be alone and take pleasure in itself. A person born with dragon lips and a phoenix mouth who yet speaks in empty boasts must not be made a friend; such a person loves to talk big and is not true, and the mind often holds coarse and ugly thoughts. Lips crimson as cinnabar "do not enter Yin Lan"—the two characters "Yin Lan" stand thus in the base text; the old meaning is not clear, and in the main it means one will not sink to a mean and filthy place; if a woman has such a mouth she can also obtain a husband's love. Further note: the three lines "mouth like a drawn-in sack," "mouth like blowing a fire" and "mouth like a drawn-in snail" each lack a character in the base text, the line falling short of four words; they are here recorded as they stand and not supplied.

口闊舌薄，必好歌樂。如此之人，永無凶惡。縱理入口，□死不久。口邊紫色，貪財妨害。口開齒出，當失算數。必不久長，少即身故。口中有理，長相對益。豐財足祿，終無妨害。口未語，將唇起，奸邪在心，常懷不足。口如馬口，□害貪丑。口中黑子，貪皆美。

A mouth wide and a tongue thin is certain to love singing and amusement; such a person will all life long not meet an inauspicious or evil affair. Straight lines running from both sides lengthwise into the corners of the mouth govern death by starvation, and the time of death is not far (after "zong li ru kou" the base text has dropped a character; it is here marked with □, not daring to supply it by conjecture). A purple flush around the four sides of the mouth means greed for money, and thereby invites harm and injury. A mouth that will not close, the teeth showing outside, means in handling affairs one is bound to miscount the accounts and fail in reckoning; such a person's span is certain not to be long, and he will die young. Lines inside the mouth mean long association with people is of benefit to them; such a person has abundant wealth and sufficient emolument, and all life long no harm. When words have not yet come out and the lips first stir of themselves, the mind hides the treacherous, and is often greedy without being satisfied. A mouth born like a horse's mouth, the lips long and the teeth showing, invites much damage and is greedy and mean in temperament (after "kou ru ma kou" the base text has also dropped a character). A black mole inside the mouth governs good fortune of the mouth; whatever food and drink one craves can obtain its fine flavour (this sentence in the base text reads "tan jie mei," and also lacks a character).

齒白如玉，自然歌樂。財食自至，不用苦作。齒如斬銀，必是貴人。齒如石榴，富貴他求。齒如龍齒，法生貴子。齒齦竅出，每事漏失。齒縫疏稀，財食無餘。如此之人，與鬼同居。齒數三十六，貴聖有天祿。若三十向上，富貴豪望。足滿三十，衣食自如。齒色黑，多妨克。三十以下，漸多□寒。衣食必少，壽命短促。

A person whose teeth are white and clean as jade will naturally have a life of song, dance and pleasure; money, food and drink come of themselves without being summoned, and there is no need to labour hard. Teeth even as a newly cut block of silver, the section white and bright, are certain to belong to a noble person. Teeth set close as pomegranate seeds mean wealth and nobility that need not be sought from outsiders. Teeth long, cultivated and straight, in form like the legendary dragon-teeth, by the method of physiognomy govern the birth of a noble son. Gums receding, the sockets of the roots showing, mean that every affair handled has gaps and errors. Gaps between the teeth that leak wind mean money, food and drink all have no surplus; such a person is as if dwelling as neighbour with a ghost, bleak and without support. One who has thirty-six teeth is noble as a sage, enjoying emolument bestowed by Heaven. If above thirty, one is wealthy and noble and has the reputation of a great house. Exactly thirty means clothing and food sufficient of themselves. Teeth whose colour is black have many affairs of harming the six kin. Fewer than thirty gradually have much of the bitterness of hunger and cold (after "jian duo" the base text has dropped a character, of the same kind as the several places before; it is here marked with □); such a person is certain to be short of clothing and food, and the life also short.

舌小窄方，法主公王。舌上長理，三公可擬。舌小多紋理，安樂常不已。舌至鼻頭，必得封侯。舌長而薄，萬事虛耗。舌大口小，言不了了。舌小口大，言語捷快。舌過粗大，主多□餓。舌小而短，法主貧賤。舌上黑紫，必無終始。舌語未出，其舌先見。好語他事，必自改變。舌上繡文，奴馬成群。財帛千萬，富貴凌雲。舌有支理紋，富貴必超升。

A tongue small and refined, narrow in shape and square at the end, by the method of physiognomy governs nobility as duke or prince. Long strip-lines on the surface of the tongue mean a station comparable to the Three Dukes. A tongue small and with many lines means days of ease stretching on without a break. A tongue that, stretched out, can lick the nose-tip is certain to obtain the nobility of a marquisate. A tongue long and thin means that in doing the ten thousand affairs there is empty waste without achievement. A tongue large and a mouth small, the tongue not to be contained, means speech muffled and unclear. A tongue small and a mouth large means speech quick and forthright. A tongue excessively coarse and large governs much of the bitterness of hunger (after "zhu duo" the base text has dropped a character; it is here marked with □). A tongue both small and short, by the method of physiognomy, governs poverty and meanness. A black-purple colour appearing on the surface of the tongue means affairs handled are certain to have a beginning and no end. When words have not yet been spoken and the tongue first stretches out and shows, such a person loves to discuss others' idle affairs, and words once spoken he is certain to take back. Lines on the tongue's surface fine and dense as embroidery mean servants and carriages and horses in droves, wealth in the thousands and tens of thousands, wealth and nobility rising straight to the clouds. Branching lines on the tongue mean wealth and nobility are certain to rise step by step.

胸狹面長，不可求望。胸廣而長，主得公王。胸短於面，法主鄙賤。胸上黑紫，為兵萬里。胸獨高起，貧賤不已。胸若覆身，富貴名真。胸不平均，未足為人。胸均平滿，豪播天畔。胸有毫毛，必主富豪。（十毫以下，三毫以上，必主長命。若多毛生者，亦主貧賤。精、長而出，即為第一也。）胸廣而方，長智榮昌。

A chest narrow and a face rather long means a future of which nothing can be hoped. A chest broad and the thorax long governs obtaining the seat of duke or prince. A chest whose length is on the contrary shorter than the face, by the method of physiognomy, governs the coarse and the mean. Skin-colour on the chest showing black-purple means one will go ten thousand li away to serve in the army. A breastbone that alone stands high like a chicken-breast means poverty and meanness without cease. A breast so thick and solid it seems able to cover the whole body means the name of wealth and nobility is not empty. A chest uneven, left and right not of one height, is not yet enough to be called a complete person. A chest even, flat and full means a heroic name that spreads to the edge of heaven. Hairs growing on the chest are certain to govern a rich and powerful man. The original note says: hairs fewer than ten and more than three are certain to mean long life; if the hairs grow too many, they on the contrary govern poverty and meanness; hair of pure quality, long and standing out, is of the very highest grade. A chest broad, wide and square means talent and wisdom increase by the day, and a life of glory and flourishing.

腹小而下，大富長者。腹大垂下，名遍天下。腹如抱兒，萬國名題。腹如雀腹，貧賤無屋。腹有三甲，背有三壬。如此之人，法蓄黃金。腹臍突出，壽命早卒。

A belly that, though not large, has its mass hanging low, the weight all in the lower part, belongs to a greatly wealthy elder. A belly fat and large and hanging down has a name that spreads through the realm. A belly rounded and swelling as if holding an infant in the arms has a name inscribed above the ten thousand states, that is, fame filling the four seas. A belly lean and sunken like a sparrow's belly means poverty and meanness to the point of having not even a house. "Three jia" on the belly and "three ren" on the back—the physiognomy books take three horizontal folds on the front of the belly as the "three jia," and three thick risings on the back as the "three ren," both phases of thick skin and heavy flesh that can store fortune; a person with this phase, by the method of physiognomy, can accumulate yellow gold. A navel that protrudes outward means a short life, and one will die early.

手紋亂挫，合有福祿，永無災害。手有橫理紋，殺害不須論。手有縱橫紋，爵位至三公。黑子掌中，財食無窮。黑子手裡，多婦少兒。掌四方，厚中央。薄兼有深，法益仕宦，財食安樂。掌通四起，容止君子。手有仰羊，行不衣糧。（手中有仰羊者，即難得也。）手有三的約，必使奴僕。（指上紋有三行，各三道者是也。）

Lines on the hand fine and dense, crossing like disordered filing, ought to have fortune and emolument, and a life without disaster. A hand that has only horizontal lines need not further discuss affairs of killing and injury; the peril speaks for itself. Vertical and horizontal lines on the hand interweaving to form a shape mean a rank that can reach the Three Dukes. A black mole in the palm means money, food and drink without end. A black mole on the back of the hand means many wives and concubines and few sons. A palm square on all four sides, the flesh of the centre thick, the edges rather thin and a deep hollow in the palm, by the method of physiognomy is of benefit to an official career, and a life of wealth, food and ease. The four surrounds of the palm (the thenar, the hypothenar and the several mounds of the palm) all full and rising in ridges mean bearing and deportment have the air of a gentleman. A hand that has the "yang-sheep" line does not worry about clothing and food when going out; the original note says a person who truly has the "yang-sheep" line in the hand is extremely rare. Fingers that have "three-target bindings" are certain to be able to command servants; the original note says this is the kind with three rows of lines on the fingers, three lines to each row.

手一約，必為奴走腳。或作客，兼貧無福。十指三約並通，財食無窮。手如虎屈，貧寒至骨。手如□瓦，必作大富。長者爪忽缺落，厄病數著。若似龍虎，貴名難得。龍龜紅直，必得官職。男手如旡囊，祿位似公王。（上相人若庶人，各富貴也。）女手竹竿槍，福祿至無疆。

Fingers that have only a single joint-line are certain to serve others as servants and run errands; or they lodge all life as guests, both poor and without fortune. Ten fingers each with three joint-lines, line after line running through, mean money, food and drink without end. A palm stiff and curled like a tiger's claw means poverty and cold to the bone. A palm like a tile, thick and covering, is certain to become greatly wealthy (after "shou ru" the base text has dropped a character; it is here marked with □). An older person whose nails suddenly chip and fall off has disaster, peril and illness following without a break. If the hands are born like a dragon in form and a tiger in force, the fingers long, the palm thick, the atmosphere lofty, such a name of a noble person is extremely hard to obtain. The two flesh-mounds on the palm that rise like a dragon and like a turtle, of a red moist colour and with lines standing straight, are certain to obtain office. A man's hand like a swollen sack, the palm-flesh full and thick, closing so that it can hold things, has an emolument comparable to duke or prince (the character "ji" in "ji nang" stands thus in the base text, and must be a character describing a sack); the original note says that even if such a phase appears on a commoner, each can also be wealthy and noble. A woman's fingers slender and long as bamboo poles, straight as spears, have fortune and emolument without end.

腳下龜理紋，主二千石祿位。君子之相，腳下容龜。三公封侯，腳下理長。位至公王。（有相理文者好。）通心達理，三公刺史之位。腳心黑紫，祿至二千石。腳下三理紋，公王將相位。腳下無文，法主寒貧。足薄而指長，之子沒兒郎□足中指長，客死他鄉。足蹈齊短，為人安穩。腳骨節強，妨非一雨。兼主辛苦。足厚四寸，必主大祿，富貴人也。

Soles that have turtle lines (a netted texture like a tortoise-shell) govern an emolument of two thousand shi, that is, office at the rank of a commandery warden. A gentleman's foot-phase has a sole that can hold a turtle, meaning the hollow of the foot is deep-sunk, with a nest that can hide a thing. One who can reach the Three Dukes and be enfeoffed as a marquis has lines on the sole long and straight; those whose lines are long can reach the seat of duke or prince. The original note says: the sole must have lines that form a phase and a pattern before it is good. Lines that run through the hollow of the foot, patterned and distinct, can obtain the seat of the Three Dukes or a regional inspector. A black-purple colour appearing in the hollow of the foot means emolument that can reach two thousand shi. Three lines on the sole are the seats of duke, prince, general and minister. A sole with not a single line, by the method of physiognomy, governs cold, bitter poverty. A sole thin and toes long means this person has no son to see him off at the end (the character after "er lang" is corrupt and dropped in the base text; it is here marked with □). A middle toe especially long means one will die as a stranger in another country. Walking with both feet landing evenly and a short stride means a person steady and grave. Joints on the feet coarse, large and hard mean harm that is not in one place only, and moreover a life of toil and labour (the character "yu" in "fang fei yi yu" stands thus in the base text, and is suspected to be a corrupt character). A sole thick to four cun is certain to govern great emolument, and belongs to a wealthy and noble person.

陰上黑紫，富貴之事。陰毛逆生上，夫婦定相妨。黑紫陰頭，必得封侯。

"Physiognomy of the yin" is looking at the complexion and the hair of the lower private parts. Skin-colour at the lower yin showing black-purple governs affairs of wealth and nobility. Pubic hair growing in reverse, pointing upward, means husband and wife are certain to harm each other. A glans (the man's glans) of a black-purple colour is certain to obtain the nobility of a marquisate.

尿頭散瀉，富貴天下。尿如竹竿，必主貧寒。穀道急而方，得位至公王。穀道寬，主貧寒。大便遲，堪為人師，又富貴人也。大便急，德智俱失。

"Physiognomy of urine and stool" is looking at a person from the form of the two evacuations. Urine whose stream spreads and pours apart like a flower means wealth and nobility crowning the realm. Urine that falls in a single stream like a bamboo pole is certain to govern poverty and cold. The "grain-path" is the anus; a grain-path drawn in tight and square in form can obtain a seat reaching duke or prince. A grain-path loose and not drawn in governs poverty and cold. Stool that comes in an unhurried, easy way, that can be borne and waited for, is fit to be a teacher of men, and also belongs to a wealthy and noble person. Stool that, once it comes, cannot be borne in haste means both virtue and prudence will be at fault.

凡相形，須行十步，即喚回頭。須看左轉，必有官職。右轉無官職，又無衣食。行作龜行，必主聰明。行作鹿行、馬行，必主辛苦。行不低昂，富貴之相。行步兩踵相，衣食早衰。

In all physiognomy of a person's form and bearing, first have him walk ten paces, then suddenly call him to look back. One must see to which side he turns: turning to the left, he is certain to have office; turning to the right, he has neither office nor enough clothing and food. Walking as steadily and slowly as a turtle is certain to mean intelligence. Walking with a deer's leaping and a horse's hurried run is certain to mean a life of toil. Walking with head and body level, not rising and falling in bowing and lifting, is a phase of wealth and nobility. Walking with the two heels rubbing and striking each other means clothing and food fail early (after "liang zhong xiang" a character is suspected to have dropped, which must mean the two heels striking or rubbing).

聲小亮高，賢貴之極。語聲細嫩，必主貧寒，兼須危困。女人雄聲，終身不榮，良人早須，虛有夫名。男子雌聲，妨婦多兒。女聲急切，妨夫一絕。夫人身手欲得厚，大小相覆，滑淨光澤，必應豪貴。顏色光潤，財祿日進。夫人少顏色惡者，絕無官分。

A voice that, though not great, is clear, bright and high-raised is worthy and noble to the last degree. A speaking voice fine, weak and tender is certain to govern poverty and cold, and also to meet peril and hardship. A woman who yet has a man's coarse voice will all life not obtain glory, and the husband will also leave the world early (the character "xu" in "liang ren zao xu" stands thus in the base text, and must be a corruption of a character of the kind "cu" or "wang," to die), having only the empty name of a woman with a husband. A man who yet has a woman's fine voice harms the wife, while children are rather many. A woman's voice hurried and urgent harms the husband, even to the point of dying out. In general a person's body and palms must both be born thick and solid, the large and the small matching each other evenly, the skin smooth, clean and glossy; such is certain to prove a person of power and nobility. A complexion clean, glossy and moist means wealth and emolument increase day by day. In all, a person whose complexion is thin and stagnant in an evil way has absolutely no share in holding office.

故經云：頭小為一極，不得上天力。額小為二極，不得父母力。目小為三極，無有廣知識。鼻小為四極，農作無體息。口小為五極，無有盛衣食。耳小為六極，方命難量測。頭雖大，額無角。目雖大，無廓落。（是無相也。）鼻雖大，探柱弱。口雖大，語略綽。耳雖大，無輪廓。腹雖大，近上著，非奴即作客。（是無相也。）

Therefore the physiognomy classic says: a head born small is the first phase of extreme poverty, obtaining no help from Heaven; a forehead small is the second, obtaining no shelter from father and mother; eyes small are the third, and there will not be broad knowledge; a nose small is the fourth, and farm labour will have no time of rest; a mouth small is the fifth, and there will not be abundant clothing and food; ears small are the sixth, and the allotted span is hard to measure. Conversely, merely being born large is also of no use: a head though large, yet with no rising bone-horn on the forehead; eyes though large, yet with the outline of the sockets not distinct—the original note says this is as good as having no phase. A nose though large, yet with this "pillar," the bridge, soft and without force to the touch; a mouth though large, yet speaking in a muffled, dragging way. Ears though large, yet with the rim and outline not forming a shape; a belly though large, yet placed rather high, stuck under the chest: such a person either serves others as a servant, or lodges all life under another's roof—the original note says this too is as good as having no phase.

頭雖小，方且平。目雖小，精且明。鼻雖小，樑柱成。口雖小，語媚生。如此之人，法主聰明，兼不少衣食。夫女人共語，未了即面看他，如此之人，必有病也。夫女人當共人語，手拈衣帶者，便低頭答者，必有姦淫之事也。

Conversely again, being born small is not necessarily bad: a head though small, yet square and even; eyes though small, yet with a gaze sharp and bright; a nose though small, yet with this pillar, the bridge, standing firm and solid; a mouth though small, yet speaking in a charming and pleasing way. A person with these several things, by the method of physiognomy, governs intelligence, and moreover is not short of clothing and food. As for a woman who, when speaking with someone, turns her face away to look elsewhere before the words are finished, such a person is certain to have an illness in the body. A woman who, just as she is talking with someone, twists her sash with her hand while answering with her head lowered, is certain to have an affair of adultery.