Brief Notes on Kanyu

In the way of kanyu (geomancy), worldly masters often speak of observing form (guan xing); those slightly more advanced tend to speak of reading qi (wang qi). As for the art of reading qi, some speak of five colors and seven hues, with no universal agreement. Though slightly touching on reality, most of it is mere mystification. Such masters fail to realize that observing qi is observing form, and observing form is observing qi — yet the subtlety lies in the principle (li). As the Qing Nang Jing says: principle resides in qi, and qi is confined by form (li yu yu qi, qi you yu xing).

The General Essentials of the Qing Dynasty's Siku Quanshu claims that kanyu arts did not exist before the Eastern Han — this claim must be mistaken. On close examination of Neolithic sites such as Songze and Liangzhu, their layouts conform to the principles of open-plain (pingyang) practice. Tombs of the Shang and Zhou periods, such as the mound tombs of Huzhou and the Ning-Shao region, whether standing alone on peaks or set along ridges, all conform to the heaven-and-earth burial methods of mountain dragons. In the Warring States period, tombs south of Qiantang likewise conform to the human-earth burial methods. There are far too many cases for this to be coincidence: kanyu existed in high antiquity; rather, later scholarship was imprecise, and so the truth was not seen.

On careful inspection, the former residences of Einstein, Washington, Roosevelt, and others likewise conform to kanyu. It is a pity that the subtleties involved are confidential and cannot be disclosed to others.

People of the world see only wealth, office, fame, and profit — yet kanyu is not merely for that. On the grander scale, it secretly connects with the Dao.