Feng Shui Elementary
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Then next thing you should know is 天干 or commonly known as Heavenly Stems. The origins of the heavenly stems is :
The Shang people believed that there were ten suns, each of which appeared in order in a ten-day cycle (æ—¬; xún). The Heavenly Stems were the names of the ten suns, and were found in the given names of the kings of the Shang. Some historians think the ruling class of the Shang had ten clans, but it is not clear whether their society reflected the myth or vice versa. The associations with Yin-Yang and the Five Elements developed later, after the collapse of the Shang Dynasty.
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The Earthly Branches (地支) provide one Chinese system for reckoning time.
This system was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter. Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections to follow the orbit of æ³æ˜Ÿ SuìxÄ«ng (Jupiter, the Year Star). Astronomers rounded the orbit of Suixing to 12 years (from 11.86).
In correlative thinking, the twelve years of the Jupiter cycle also identify the twelve months of the year, twelve animals (mnemonics for the system), directions, seasons, months, and Chinese hour in the form of double-hours. When a Branch is used for a double hour, the listed periods are meant. When used for an exact time of a day, it is the center of the period. For instance, � (the Horse) means noon or a period from 11am to 1pm. (The jie qi system provided single hours and 15-degree arcs in time and space.)
Chinese seasons are based on observations of the sun and stars, not the weather. Many Chinese calendrical systems have started the new year on the first new moon after the winter solstice.
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Heavenly Stems and the Earthly Branch, together, they form the 60 years cycle calendar. .
For example, the year 2000 was the 17th year of the sexagenary cycle, a gÄ“ng-chén year (庚辰年), a year of the Yang Metal Dragon. Therefore, 2006 is the 23rd year of the sexagenary cycle, called a bÇ�ng-xÅ« year (丙戌年), a year of the Yang Fire Dog; 2007 a year of the Yin Fire Pig.
The naming of the months and days is not common now, although they are shown on Chinese calendars and almanacs.
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With this, we come to a close of the basic theory of fengshui. Just to recap hat we have went thru
1. Yin-Yang Theory （阴阳）
2. 5 elements theory - Productive/Destructive Cycle and it's associations（五行�金木水�土）
3. River Map & Luo Shu　河图，洛书
4. Magic Square 3X3
5. 8 Trigrams　八�
6. Earlier Heaven Trigram and Later Heaven Trigram　先天八�，�天八�
7. Heavenly Stems　天干
8. Earthly Branch　地支
9. 60 cycle sexagenary calendars　
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A little about the origins of fengshui. When early man were hunters, they lived on the tree top to keep out wild animals. However, trees could not keep out the wind, the rain and the seasonal weathers. So man began to search for alternatives such as caves. When man became "the gathers", they began to notice the seasonal and nature changes. So they had learnt to select their abode based on these.
Probably the first historical record of fengshui started with the man called FuXi. He was the one who discovered the dragon horse marking. This formed the Early Heaven Trigram 先天八�. During the Hsia dynasty, emperor Hsia Yu discovered the tortoise marking and this formed the Later Heaven Trigram　�天八�.
During the Shang dynasty, abode were selected base on the landform selection 择地. This was probably the begining of 阴宅 (House for the Dead). During the Zhou dynasty, where the art of oracles 易�　flourished, abode were selected based on oracles �宅.
Subsequently, during the warring period, 阴宅 (House for the Dead) began to decline as people started to move about to escape the war. It was during this period a very famous architect (Lu Pan）é²�ç� was borned.　During that time, houses were made from wood and he was said to be the father of carpentary and could make a house without even a single nail. Perhap he was also remembered to be the founder of the Lu Pan ruler é²�ç�å°º
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During the Han dynasty, the method of selection was based on the surname that rhymes with the 5 elements. It was said that “宅相”，主è¦�是以主人的姓，看姓的å�‘音，究竟是属“宫ã€�商ã€�角ã€�å¾µã€�ç¾½”五行五音ä¸çš„哪一个，然å�Žæ�¥é…�å�ˆæ‰€å±…房宅æ�¥è®ºå…¶å�‰å‡¶ã€‚è¿™ç§�方法是以阴阳五行生克的观念而è¡�生的.
During the Tang dynasty, there was an imperial scholar name æ�¨ç æ�¾ (yang jun song) who got hold of the books å�§é¾™ç»� (hidden dragon book) from the western region from the imperial court. He took the books and went hiding into the Kun Lun Mountain to study. Finally with the skill, he came down from the mountain and went about helping the poor with his fengshui skill. He was also known as æ�¨æ•‘è´« (yang the helper of the poor)
During the Ming dynasty, fengshui flourish once again. There are many fengshui stories related the Ming dynasty. It was said that the Ming emperor wanted to build a palace but to no success. Then one of the imperial astrolger had a dream about Lu Pan and his method. He used the method was could successfully complete the palace. The emperor was very happy and thus request the court to collate all the method of Lu Pan and named it é²�ç�ç»�.
By the Qing dynasty, there were 2 school of thought during that time. It was known as the 刑法 or Form School and the �法 or the Reasoning/Calculation School. They were constantly quarrelling about their theory. The form school claimed that if the location is at the choice spot, it is enough but the reasoning/calculation school said that without the "Chi", even if the spot is good, it's not enough. For example, if the spot is located in a desert, without water, without greeneries, without roads, does the form school theory work? We only have to look at Las Vegas to verify. At a later stage, the form school and the reasoning/calculation theory combine to form the Ba Zhai(八宅). It was known as the 明镜八宅。
Finally, in the 明国, (the last 70 years) another school known as the flying star school 玄空飞星 was form. It was said that it includes the time factor as part of the fengshui. This school is presently the more popular choice.
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With this, I end the Feng Shui Elementary. Those who wishes to carry on, please go to
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Seveneleven, thank you.
I certainly have enjoyed it....... -
Originally posted by 4sg:
Seveneleven, thank you.
I certainly have enjoyed it.......
Thank you. It feels good to have a 知音人 -
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how to find the trigram symbol that represent the ruling age and the year?
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my �龙�八掌 will be completed next month