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Chapter 1 of 2
葬经
Burial is to avail of living qi.
The fundamental principle of burial lies in "availing of living qi." This opening sentence points directly to the most essential and recondite crux of burial methods. Though various schools may expound on burial methods at great length, none surpass the precision and profundity of these three characters: "availing of living qi." What is called living qi is that energy by which nature nurtures all things, including sunlight, air, moisture, and electromagnetic fields. Compared with tangible matter, qi is a kind of "virtual substance," or rather a material field. The manifestation of living qi is vitality and vigor. On Earth, where birds soar and grass grows, where fish leap and horses gallop, we may say living qi is abundant; on the Moon, where no vegetation grows and all is lifeless silence, we may say living qi is absent; young children bouncing with energy are full of living qi; the infirm elderly bedridden and weak are lacking in living qi. In the final analysis, burial methods exist for one purpose: to obtain living qi.
Zeng Qiuji's Qing'ao Xu states: "First observe whether the Golden Dragon stirs, then examine the blood channels to recognize the coming dragon." This "Golden Dragon" is the supreme moving qi, that is, vigorous living qi. The dragon must be like "flying phoenixes and dancing simurghs" to possess living qi; the water must be like "a living snake emerging from its cave" to possess vitality; the acupoint must feature "mountains encircling and waters embracing" to gather living qi; the sand must be "clear and elegant, full and luxuriant" to manifest living qi; the soil must be "firm and lustrous" to contain living qi; the orientation must "ride the times and avail the era" to receive living qi. In consulting hexagrams, one attends to the moving and changing lines; in observing feng shui, one attends to moving and changing things—the first hallmark of living qi is capacity for movement, vitality, and vigor.
The five qi are born within the earth, and issuing forth they give life to the myriad things.
What is called five qi refers to the five circulating qi of metal, water, wood, fire, and earth. Note: metal, water, wood, fire, and earth are called the "Five Elements"—"elements" (xing) denotes circulation and category; they are not five basic material substances, but rather five types of circulating, transforming qi—in modern terms, five types of energy flows. These five qi pervade the cosmos, intermingling and interacting to produce all things. Circulating in heaven, they give rise to sun, moon, stars, wind, frost, rain, and snow; circulating on earth, they give rise to mountains, rocks, vegetation, streams, rivers, lakes, and seas; circulating between heaven and earth, they give rise to humans, horses, cattle, sheep, birds, beasts, insects, and fish.
The human body is received from one's parents; when the original remains obtain qi, the departed body receives荫庇 (beneficence).
The human body is endowed by one's parents. When the parents' original remains (bones) avail themselves of living qi, they will confer blessings upon descendants. As the Classic states: "Qi is sensed and responds; ghostly blessings reach the living." This relationship of感应 (stimulus-response) has historical evidence.
In the Han dynasty palace, a bronze bell once sounded on its own for no apparent reason. The emperor asked his minister Dongfang Shuo for the cause. Dongfang Shuo replied: "It must be that the copper mountain in Western Shu has collapsed." Before long, a memorial indeed reported that the copper mountain in Western Shu had collapsed. The emperor then asked Dongfang Shuo how he had known in advance. Dongfang Shuo explained: because the palace bronze bell had been cast from copper of the Western Shu copper mountain—it originated from that mountain and carried the mountain's qi upon itself, so it could sense the mountain's collapse and ring on its own, just as the human body, born of one's parents, can often perceive the parents' information.
Whenever spring arrives and the myriad grasses and trees surge with growth, millet seeds stored deep indoors also sense the breath of spring and sprout new shoots. 🌱
Yin and yang, the two qi, serve as each other's root, mutually interacting and mutually dependent. Positrons and electrons, protons and antiprotons, positive and negative particles—all are mutually dependent and interactive. Visible matter and invisible material fields can also transform into each other. The living are yang and positive; the dead are yin and negative. Between this yin-yang, positive-negative polarity, there exists some form of energetic interaction. Though modern science has not yet fully confirmed this, the principle should be sound.
Now the qi of yin and yang—exhaled, it becomes wind; rising, it becomes clouds; descending, it becomes rain; circulating within the earth, it becomes living qi.
The two qi of yin and yang interact and circulate, producing wind, clouds, rain, and snow; circulating within the earth, they gestate the myriad things. This living qi is invisible to the naked eye; we can only seek it by examining the terrain: first investigate the dragon, acupoint, sand, and water; then scrutinize the gentle or urgent, sinking or floating; then observe the gains and losses of qi fortune—ensuring that each avails itself of living qi before it accords with the proper method.
The Classic states: "Qi disperses when it encounters wind; it stops when bounded by water." The ancients gathered it so that it would not scatter, and moved it so that it would have somewhere to stop. Hence it is called feng shui. The deepest secret of the art of feng shui is availing of living qi; its most essential technique is concealing wind and gathering qi. Mountains that embrace can conceal wind, allowing qi to gather without dispersing; waters that encircle can gather qi, allowing it to move and find rest. The thousands of classics and myriads of manuals on feng shui—after all is said and done—speak only of these matters.
In the method of feng shui, obtaining water is paramount; concealing wind is secondary.
Mountains are still and thus yin; waters are dynamic and thus yang. The dynamic comes first, the still second. The art of feng shui prioritizes the animating qi, hence obtaining water is paramount. Furthermore, since water both halts living qi and gathers it, on plains without mountains only water matters—for with water one can gather qi and prevent dispersal, making the concealment of wind irrelevant. Liao Jingjin once said: "Turning about to face the court, fearless of the winds from eight directions." This means that as long as water winds in to pay court, one need not fear any wind blowing against the acupoint. Thus, in the method of feng shui, water is of primary value. 🌊
In urban environments, where roads serve as water, the primary value becomes obtaining roads.
Why emphasize obtaining water as paramount? Because water differs from mountains. Though a mountain's approach may come from afar, its residual qi exerts little effect. Water is different: from its source it branches into a thousand streams and ten thousand rivulets—even the residual qi of a single brook or ditch has the power to halt living qi; even scattered and fragmented water of a single pond or pool, where deep, has the power to gather qi. Yang Gong said: "A single ladle of Xun water can rescue from poverty." Yet no one has ever said that a small mound somewhere could bring wealth. Thus the art of feng shui regards obtaining water as paramount.
Therefore, burials in dry barren heights should be shallow; burials in level open ground should be deep. The Classic says: When depth and shallowness are appropriately availed, feng shui naturally accomplishes itself.
In order to obtain living qi, the depth of burial is also of great consequence. Wherever the acupoint lies in elevated soil of great thickness, that is dry barren ground—its qi floats near the surface, and burial there should be shallow; wherever the acupoint lies in flat level terrain, that is level open ground—its qi is stored within, and burial there should be deep.
Generally speaking, the north with its thick soil favors deep burial, the south with its thin soil favors shallow burial; where the hall formation is vast, its qi must be deep and generous, so deep burial is fitting to avail it; where the hall formation is narrow, its qi must be shallow and thin, so shallow burial is fitting to avail it. These are the great principles; for specific methods, one may consult Lai Taisu's Seventy-Two Burial Methods.
Now earth is the body of qi; where there is earth, there is qi. Qi is the mother of water; where there is qi, there is water. The Classic says: External qi moves transversely, internal qi is halted and gives life—this is what it speaks of.
Living qi originally has no physical form. Circulating in heaven, it takes the sun, moon, stars, and constellations as its form; circulating on earth, it takes mountains, rivers, grasses, and trees as its form. But earth is the optimal repository of living qi—through earth, living qi gestates and nurtures the myriad things, thereby manifesting its function. Hence earth may be regarded as the physical body of living qi. Water is formed when qi condenses into rain, dew, frost, and snow. Therefore qi is the mother of water. The light and buoyant portion of qi rises to become heaven, and the cloud-vapor of heaven produces rain, hence the saying: "Heaven (one) gives birth to water." The heavy and turbid portion of qi descends to become earth, and the living qi of earth perfects the myriad things, hence the saying: "Earth (six) accomplishes it." Living qi in water is called external qi, moving transversely with the water; living qi in earth is called internal qi, giving life to things through the earth.
The bones of grave mounds and the branches of wind-ridges—qi follows upon them. The Classic says: Where the earth forms, qi moves; things thereby come to life.
Qiu-long (grave mounds) refer to high mountains; bone refers to the stone of high mountains; wind (feng) refers to mountain ridges; fu (低丘) refers to level hills. The meaning is that qi travels following the undulations of mountain forms. Whether towering mountain cliffs or ridge-top level hills, all are manifestations of qi, as are all the myriad things born through the agency of earth. It is precisely because living qi circulates within the earth that all things can grow. ⛰️
Now the living—that is, where qi gathers, condensing and forming—are the bones. The dead, alone remaining, are buried so that the qi may return to embrace the bones, thereby generating benefit for the living—this is the method by which the departed benefit the living.
When qi gathers, a person lives; when qi disperses, a person dies. As the saying goes: "With three inches of breath, a thousand uses; once it departs, a myriad matters rest." The essence in which qi condenses within the human body is bone. When a person dies, qi disperses, the flesh decays, and only a handful of dry bones remain, enduring long without dissolution. The qi hidden within these dry bones still maintains some sympathetic connection with their living kin. If these bones are interred in a place capable of receiving living qi, then blessings may be conferred upon the still-living descendants.