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Chapter 22 of 110
柳庄神相
The four aspects—longevity, premature death, gain, and loss—each have their own basis in physiognomy.
On Longevity: Those who live long have firm bones, solid flesh, and lustrous blood vessels. In old age, it is most auspicious to have long eyebrows (eyebrow hairs), ear hairs, and senile plaques, with yin wrinkles at the occipital bone, and skin that is shriveled yet firm, dark yet moist and glossy. If an elderly person's lips turn blue or dark, it indicates death by starvation; if the ears darken, death within three years; if the ear cartilage dries up, death within two years.
During youth, dry and dull ears indicate great poverty and ruin throughout life; in middle age, dry and lustreless ears indicate poor fortune, and one must wait until the ears become bright and moist before prosperity arrives. In old age, black ears indicate that death is near. Therefore, the Two Stars of Metal and Wood (the left and right ears) must not lack brightness and moisture. Dry and dull skin on the back of the neck indicates a life of extreme poverty.
Once an elderly person's scalp becomes dry and lustreless, death is certain. If a yellow glow appears at the corners of the mouth, or dark qi surrounds the lips, and green appears, the time of death has come.
If eyebrow hairs grow after age forty, it indicates support and assistance from others; growing after fifty is also auspicious. Eyebrow hairs pointing downward prevent harm to relatives; pointing straight upward indicates a solitary fate. After age sixty, senile plaques should appear on the face—dark, lustrous, and moist—indicating great fortune and longevity; if they appear before fifty, they反而 indicate early death.
New hair growth in old age is actually inauspicious, indicating loss of wife and children. Thus, in assessing longevity, the moistness of the scalp remains primary.
On Premature Death: What constitutes a physiognomy of premature death? Humans born between heaven and earth inherit the essence of the sun and moon and capture the celestial beauty of the world. If there is any deficiency, it becomes a sign of early death. A young person with a drooping head and dejected spirit is said to have a "collapsed heavenly pillar," indicating death; "sun and moon without light" refers to small, dull eyes without brilliance, living less than thirty years. A large head with a pointed top and dry scalp indicates a lifespan of only about thirty-six years.
The ancient texts say: Yan Hui's short life was due to scattered spirit and floating light; Jiang Taigong's longevity of eighty was due to ears as white as frost and snow. A collapsed nasal bridge foretells death after age twenty-seven; eyes as turbid as mud indicate death at twenty-five.
Eyebrows as messy as a suffocated chicken's indicate difficulty surviving past thirty-six. When the stars Luo Ji and Yue Bo intersect, a thirty percent reduction in lifespan is certain. When Luo Ji and the sun and moon mutually augment, around age thirty one will either become a monk or suffer premature death. Someone short in stature with a barely audible voice dies after thirty; someone obese with short, labored breathing dies after forty. Eyes bulging outward with a collapsed nasal bridge indicate death by violence at age thirty-eight.
It is also said: Hair withered and yellow like grass, with heavy breathing, indicates a stubborn nature destined for exile and violent death after thirty. One who suffers blood disasters is certain to enter the underworld at thirty-six. Long hair with insufficient spirit in the eyes means death before thirty-six.
Again: A small head with long hair indicates scattered, unsettled traces; long hair with a narrow head makes lifespan unpredictable. Hair reaching the ears requires caution against imminent death; curly hair shaped like spirals indicates certain injury.
On Gain: What is called "gain" refers to the signs of sudden turnaround for one long besieged by adversity. When a person long trapped in difficulty suddenly has a brightening nose tip and an opening of the brow (life palace), they will encounter three auspicious opportunities—this is called the sign of "gaining a brother." When one long troubled suddenly has eyes full of spirit, they will have the joy of meeting great benefactors. When the voice suddenly becomes clear and resonant, there will certainly be a gain. If a person's five features are inherently good but obstructed by unfavorable complexion, once the spirit becomes full, there will be aspirations to soar thousands of miles. If the blood complexion remains long unopened, it indicates many obstacles; once it brightens, stagnation naturally retreats, and both capital and profit will flourish.
On Loss: "Loss" refers to encountering periods of decline. If one can guard against it in advance, the loss can be reduced by half. For example, if a person's complexion is still good, they can gain wealth; if their features inherently have deficiencies, they will certainly suffer losses during declining periods.
Those with clear eyebrows and eyes but sunken nasal bridge should guard against loss after forty. A high forehead indicates good fortune for the father and brothers; if the eyebrow and eye regions are poor, at age thirty one will suffer punishment, loss of position, and family ruin. If all other stars are auspicious but the Wood Star (nose) is poor, with the granaries sunken and削 thin, heart-fire will be depleted before age sixty-nine. Those who enjoy a lifetime of glory but turn to poverty at the offspring palace do so because the卧蚕 (lower eye area) is dark and the lips are blue.
In old age, lacking food to eat is due to a硬 root under the tongue—a hard tendon growing horizontally beneath the tongue.
This chapter constructs a complete observational system of physiognomy from the four dimensions of "longevity, premature death, gain, and loss":
This system of longevity, premature death, gain, and loss physiognomy, placed in a modern context, is fundamentally an observational science of the linkage between bodily signals and mental states:
"Humans in heaven and earth merely inherit the essence of the sun and moon and capture the celestial beauty of the world; if there is any damage, it becomes a sign of early death"—this phrase reveals the most fundamental view of life in ancient Chinese physiognomy: human life is the condensation of heavenly and earthly essence, and longevity, premature death, gain, and loss are all variations in the waxing of essence and qi.
Moist lustre represents "containment," withered scattering represents "expenditure." The essence of longevity physiognomy is the ability to sustain energy; the essence of premature death physiognomy is the rate of energy dissipation. This is not merely fatalism but implies an attitude toward life management: one may gain longevity through nurturing and suffer premature death through indulgence. Although ancient physiognomy presents a fatalistic face, its internal logic always preserves the forward-looking suggestion that "guarding one's essence lies within oneself."
The discussions of "gain" and "loss" are even more so: before gain there must be signs of moist brightness; before loss there must be signs of darkness. This "omen—outcome" causal chain is essentially a prospective theory of energy states—fate does not arrive suddenly; it always first manifests in one's psychosomatic state. Whether one can capture these signals and make adjustments is the active space physiognomy grants to humans.
This resonates with the spirit of the Chinese philosophical principle "how profound is the one who perceives the subtle signs"—those who can discern subtle omens can prepare before the great tide arrives. The physiognomic system of longevity, premature death, gain, and loss is ultimately a life-management wisdom concerning "perceiving bodily signals, grasping energy rhythms, and choosing moments for action."
| Concept | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Two Stars of Metal and Wood | In physiognomy, the left ear is Metal and the right ear is Wood, jointly called the "Two Stars of Metal and Wood," governing lifespan and youth fortune |
| Heavenly Pillar | In physiognomy, the neck is called the heavenly pillar; a young person drooping their head is a collapsed heavenly pillar indicating premature death |
| Sun and Moon | Alternative names for the two eyes in physiognomy; the left eye is the Sun and the right eye is the Moon; "sun and moon without light" means both eyes lack spirit |
| Luo Ji | The stars Rahu and Ketu, corresponding to the left and right brow heads, governing punishment, conflicts, and disputes |
| Yue Bo | One of the hidden celestial luminaries in astrological destiny studies, governing hidden illness, depletion, and turbulence |
| Silkworm | The area beneath the eyes, corresponding to children and late-life fortune; a dark卧蚕 indicates unfavorable children and a lonely old age |
| Granaries | The nose wings and sides of the nose tip are the wealth granaries; sunken and削 thin granaries indicate broken wealth fortune |
| Wood Star | In physiognomy, the nose is the Wood Star, governing middle-age fortune and wealth |
Contemporary Chinese medicine facial diagnosis research holds that facial complexion has clear correspondences with the prosperity of the five organs' qi and blood: the ear cartilage is also a convergence point for meridian channels throughout the body, and changes in ear cartilage color and moisture reflect overall bodily status. Additionally, the "psychosomatic theory" in modern behavioral psychology supports the bidirectional influence between complexion/spirit and psychological state/decision-making ability. The "gain" and "loss" judgments in physiognomy can be analogized in decision science to a framework of "state management—timing selection": when the body and mind are in a low-energy state (dark complexion, scattered spirit), judgment and execution decline, and major decisions should be deferred; when the body and mind return to brightness and moisture, making key choices at that time naturally increases the probability of success.