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Chapter 4 of 10
阳宅十书
The third chapter of Yang House Ten Classics, "On Chuan Gong Nine Stars," systematically elaborates a method for determining fortune and misfortune within a residence based on the number of building levels and the distribution of the Nine Stars. Its core principle is: The fortune or misfortune of a direction must be coordinated with the height of buildings and the distribution of levels. If a direction is auspicious, but the part that should be high is instead low, or the part that should be low is instead high, then good fortune transforms into misfortune. Therefore, Chuan Gong Nine Stars specifically addresses the correspondence between building levels and star luminaries, serving as a guide for determining the appropriate heights of each floor within a residence.
In recent times, practitioners often determine the fortune of an entire house solely by its "main gate," which is truly one-sided. The main gate is merely one element within the You Nian method. Within a residence, there are many inhabitants – grandparents, grandchildren, fathers and sons, brothers, men and women – how could their fortunes and misfortunes be determined by a single gate alone? The Method of Dividing Paths at Crossroads (Jie Lu Fen Fang Fa) was precisely created to address this complex situation.
The essential technique of this method: Whenever a residence has walls dividing spaces, and doors are opened within those walls, the Nine Stars are recalculated from that door, having no bearing whatsoever on other courtyards. For example: If the main gate is at the Xun position, and the ceremonial gate (second gate) is at the Li position, then both the You Nian and Chuan Gong calculations begin from the Li gate. The You Nian sequence proceeds: Li → Liu Sha (Six Calamities) → Wu Gui (Five Ghosts) → Jue Ming (Loss of Life) → Yan Nian (Extended Years) → Huo Hai (Misfortune) → Sheng Qi (Life-Giving Energy) → Tian Yi (Heavenly Physician). For Chuan Gong, since the Li gate being a cardinal (si zheng) direction belongs to Metal, the first level of rooms inside the gate belongs to Liu Sha, the second level belongs to Tan Lang – entirely unrelated to what lies beyond the ceremonial gate. The rest follows accordingly.
Thus, within a single residence, each courtyard is calculated separately, each deriving its own fortune or misfortune – this is the foremost essential secret of residence methods. If there are no walls or doors dividing the building levels, then the Chuan Gong diagram may be used for general inference; if walls and doors do divide them, then one must start anew at each threshold and calculate separately using the Jie Lu Fen Fang method. The two methods should be applied flexibly, and practitioners must exercise careful deliberation.
I. Facing South with Back to North, Opening a Qian (Heaven) Gate: If the second, fourth, and fifth level rooms are tall and grand, this indicates auspicious celebrations and great wealth. If the Gen and Kun directions have tall buildings, this indicates lasting wealth and honor, with flourishing descendants. If the first level rooms open their doors inward, the calculation follows the layers mentioned above; if the first level rooms all open doors outward, then the second level begins with Liu Sha, the third level with Tan Lang, the fourth level with Wu Gui, the fifth level with Tian Yi, and the sixth level with Yan Nian.
II. Facing North with Back to South, Opening a Kan (Water) Gate: This configuration is called "water and fire do not conflict," with the seat containing the Yan Nian auspicious star. If the third and fifth level rooms are tall, this indicates generations producing top scholars, flourishing descendants, and a house of wealth and honor. However, caution is needed: Tan Lang, the Wood star, though an auspicious star that favors height, should not reside in the central palace of the residence – Wood entering the central palace is inauspicious. One must use the Jie Lu Fen Fang method or add more floors toward the south to avoid Tan Lang residing in the center.
III. Facing East with Back to West, Opening a Gen (Mountain) Gate: This configures "earth and metal nurturing each other," indicating harmony between husband and wife, a marvelous union. If the second, fourth, and fifth level rooms are tall, along with tall buildings in the Qian and Dui directions, this indicates indescribable wealth, flourishing descendants, and great prosperity in livestock and cattle. However, the Gen direction is the Ghost Gate, and the gate should only be opened at the Chou or Yin degrees, not directly at the Gen degree. The method of level calculation remains the same as above.
IV. Facing East with Back to West, Opening a Zhen (Thunder) Gate: If the third and fifth level rooms are tall, along with tall buildings in the Li direction, this indicates auspiciousness, wealth, and honor. In this house, the auspicious Tan Lang star favors height, but if it falls precisely in the central palace, there is concern of "Wood entering the central palace," and careful deliberation is advised.
V. Facing South with Back to North, Opening a Xun (Wind) Gate: This configures "water and wood in mutual affinity." If the first, second, and fourth levels, along with tall rooms in the Li and Kan directions, this indicates great wealth, honor, and ten thousand generations of flourishing descendants.
VI. Facing South with Back to North, Opening a Li (Fire) Gate: This configures "water and fire in perfect balance," indicating honor for men and women alike, and harmony between husband and wife. If the third, fifth, and sixth level rooms, along with tall buildings at the seat, this is fortunate beyond words. If additionally the Kan and Xun directions have tall buildings, this is a sign of supreme wealth and honor.
VII. Facing West with Back to East, Opening a Dui (Lake) Gate: If the first and third level rooms are tall, and additionally the fifth and sixth levels are tall, this indicates great wealth and honor. If the Kun direction has the Tian Yi Ju Men Earth star positioned high, and the Gen direction has the Wu Qu Yan Nian Metal star positioned high in tall buildings, both indicate great auspiciousness and benefit for the residence.
VIII. Facing West with Back to East, Opening a Kun (Earth) Gate: This configures "earth and wood in mutual affinity," but it also contains the inauspicious stars Liu Sha and Wu Gui. If the first, second, fourth, and sixth level rooms are tall, noble, and peaceful, then wealth and livestock will greatly prosper, and descendants will flourish.
IX. Facing South with Back to North, Opening a Kun (Earth) Gate: If the second, fourth, and fifth levels are elevated, along with tall buildings in the Qian and Dui directions, this is a house of wealth, honor, and prosperity.
X. Facing North with Back to South, Opening a Gen (Mountain) Gate: This configures "fire and earth nurturing each other." If the second, third, and fifth levels are tall, along with the Qian and Dui directions being elevated, all indicate a house of prosperity and blessing.
XI. Facing West with Back to East, Opening a Qian (Heaven) Gate: It is favorable for the third, fourth, and fifth levels to have tall buildings, along with the Kun and Dui directions being elevated – all indicate a house of blessing and celebration.
XII. Facing East with Back to West, Opening a Xun (Wind) Gate: It is favorable for the first, third, fifth, and sixth levels to be tall, along with the Li, Zhen, and Kan directions being elevated – all indicate a house of wealth, honor, and benefit.
For any residence, whether it has one to ten successive courtyard compounds, one must use the Method of Penetrating the House (Chuan Zhai Fa) : The first level belongs to Water, the second level to Wood, the third level to Fire, the fourth level to Earth, and the fifth level to Metal, with the Five Elements generating each other in sequence, cycling continuously, each layer generating the next. Auspicious stars should be tall and grand; inauspicious stars should be low and small. Under no circumstances should inauspicious stars occupy tall buildings, nor auspicious stars occupy low buildings. If an inauspicious star's section must be built due to urgent need, it can only be handled through the flexible method of Jie Lu Fen Fang. Additionally, if an auspicious star falls in an inauspicious direction, it also should not be made tall – examples include Wood in a Metal direction, Earth direction, or the central palace, or Metal in a Fire direction – all are such taboos.
Chuan Gong Nine Stars is essentially an evaluation system that matches building levels with star luminary energy. Its foundational assumption is that each successive "layer" (level) of rooms within a residence carries the specific Nine Stars energy, and these stars each possess their own Five Element attributes (such as Tan Lang belonging to Wood, Ju Men belonging to Earth, etc.). The relationship between the height of levels and the fortune/misfortune and Five Element interactions of the stars forms a complete three-dimensional framework for determining fortune: "space — energy — height."
Jie Lu Fen Fang serves as a boundary correction to this framework. Traditional courtyard residences often consisted of multiple courtyards, multiple gates, and multiple households within a single property. Without differentiation, calculating the Nine Stars solely from the main gate would inevitably produce an oversimplified "one-size-fits-all" judgment. The significance of Jie Lu Fen Fang lies in this principle: for each independent spatial unit, the starting point for determining its fortune should be that unit's own entrance, rather than the main gate of the entire residence. This is a precise, localized way of thinking.
From the perspective of modern residential environmental studies, this system offers several aspects worthy of attention:
Spatial Hierarchy Awareness: Chuan Gong Nine Stars' sensitivity to "number of levels" is essentially a simple recognition of a building's vertical hierarchy and horizontal functional zoning. Although modern residences consist primarily of single-level apartments, "layers" can be analogized to variables such as unit depth, functional zoning, and floor level.
Relationship Between Courtyard Gate and Inner Doors: Jie Lu Fen Fang shares a common thread with the "entryway – living room – bedroom" circulation patterns in contemporary residences. It suggests that different functional areas within a residence should have relatively independent "energy entrances," rather than all areas being uniformly governed by the main gate.
Symbolic Meaning of Height: The original text repeatedly emphasizes "auspicious stars should be tall, inauspicious stars should be low." In modern language, this can be understood as: the most functionally significant and most frequently used spaces (such as the master bedroom and living room) should be positioned in the most favorable directions and levels of the residence; auxiliary spaces (storage rooms, bathrooms, etc.) can be placed in relatively unfavorable positions. This aligns closely with the "functional zoning" principle in modern architecture.
Five Element Interactions and Building Layout: The circular progression of the levels' Five Elements "Water → Wood → Fire → Earth → Metal" can be analogized to a progressive circulation logic in architectural space—from the front courtyard (Water, reserve) → living room (Wood, vitality) → dining room (Fire, warmth) → bedroom (Earth, stability) → study/collection (Metal, withdrawal). This layer-by-layer functional progression still holds reference value today.
| Ancient Principle | Modern Application Context | Specific Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Auspicious stars should be tall | Core spaces: master bedroom, study, living room | Prioritize positions with the best lighting, ventilation, and views |
| Inauspicious stars should be low | Auxiliary spaces: storage, laundry, bathroom | May be placed in less favorable directions without excessive size or height |
| Jie Lu Fen Fang | Complex living arrangements: multi-generational households, shared housing, SOHO | Each independent living unit should have its own entrance or clearly defined partition door, avoiding "one door governing the whole family" |
| Avoiding Wood in the central palace | Central areas of large residences | The center should not feature tall bedrooms or living rooms; it should remain low and open, such as a courtyard or multi-purpose hall |
| Ghost Gate directions | Residential entrance orientation | Doorways should not directly face certain fixed directions; slight angular offsets are preferred to avoid "direct alignment" |
The deeper philosophical foundation of Chuan Gong Nine Stars lies in the correspondence between space and destiny. The ancients believed that human beings dwell in specific spaces, and the structure, height, and hierarchy of space are not neutral "containers," but rather energy fields that interact with the destinies of their inhabitants. This thinking reflects an early form of "environmental determinism"—human fortune and misfortune depend not only on "fate" (innate endowment) but also on "dwelling" (acquired environment).
The principle that "auspicious stars should reside high; inauspicious stars should reside low" contains a profound philosophy of going with the flow: Humans cannot eliminate inauspicious energy, but they can diminish its negative effects through spatial "suppression"; likewise, humans cannot create auspicious energy, but they can amplify its beneficial effects through spatial "elevation." This is of one spirit with the I Ching teaching "do not make it canonical, only adapt to change"—not confronting the inauspicious, but rather using the wisdom of spatial design to avoid and transform it.
The philosophical significance of Jie Lu Fen Fang deserves even deeper reflection: it acknowledges that the part and the whole can each have their own fortune and misfortune. A residence as a whole may be inauspicious, but a particular courtyard or room within may be auspicious; and vice versa. This "dialectic of division and unity" remains remarkably advanced even today—it rejects binary either/or judgments, acknowledges the complexity of space, and advocates for careful, context-specific analysis based on time, place, and threshold.