The Secret Art of Jingchu Feng Shui

There is a formula known as the Jia-Wu-Hai method. Its technique divides the trigrams and the three epochs: Earth is eight; Heaven is five; Human is two — that is, 8-5-2.

The Nine Stars are also entered into the center to seek their positions: if One enters the center, then Two dwells in Qian, Five in Li, Eight in Zhen. Eight takes Earth and obtains Jia; Five takes Heaven in Li and obtains Wu; Two takes Human in Qian and obtains Hai; thus One is Jia-Wu-Hai.

From this one derives: One Kan Jia-Wu-Hai, Two Kun Wei Gen Si, Three Zhen Ren You Yi, Four Xun Bing Qian Shen, Six Qian Chou Xun Gui, Seven Dui Geng Mao Ding, Eight Gen Xu Kun Yin, Nine Li Chen Zi Xin.

Water can likewise be derived: One Ren Xun Yin, Two Bing Mao Xin, Three Chou Kun Hai, Four Geng Zi Si, Six Xu Wu Qi, Seven Chen Gen Shen, Eight Jia You Gui, Nine Wei Qian Ding.

This was regarded by Shen Zhuzhen as a false method — in truth he simply never grasped its essentials.

Take a Jia mountain facing Geng: Jia is One; for water take Six, which yields Xu-Wu-Yi. With a stem mountain, the incoming and outgoing water then makes Xu-Wu auspicious. Although Yi is also a stem, it still accords with generation and can bring modest wealth. The only unfavorable point is that stem-and-branch waters offend the killing qi, so at Chou and Hai one meets water-ants; if wind comes at You, it presides over loss of progeny and wealth. If it exits via the Heavenly Stems, however, the killing is lighter.

Again, judging by the grave of Cai Minshan, grand master of the Guangdong Xuan Kong school, by this method of assessment: the dragon enters at Xin-You, riding on the qi of Kun-Shen. The grave is set Ding-shan Gui-facing兼 Wu-Zi. Water comes from the Qian direction; the inner water mouth exits at Chou, the middle water mouth at Gen, the total water mouth at Chen. Thus exiting Qian injures people; Gen is like a shoulder companion and follows smoothly; at Chen the branch water offends, so there is cold decline of progeny and wealth. Also with Wu-shan, water exiting at Chou offends water-ants, and exiting at Gen turns the bones white — though no great disaster, it still presides over cold decline of progeny and wealth. Hence, viewed thus, though there is cold decline, it never reaches extinction; the claim of extermination of the male line in three generations was in fact only overblown talk — though many of the descendants died, it never reached extinction.