A Case of Erecting a Stele to Invite Auspiciousness: Seeking Sons and Wealth

Seven years ago, returning to Jiangxi to honor the ancestors, I met a man in the village. He said his father’s generation had four brothers and five sisters, but by his own generation only four remained—two men and two women—and the next generation had no children at all. His female cousin became pregnant but miscarried midway; the others neither conceived nor bore children. Observing the ancestral graves, the water collection was misaligned and the site’s fortune had already passed. He said that back during the Cultural Revolution the graves were set casually on a spot on the hillside. Seeing that the water gathering did not fit, there was really no other remedy; if they were relocated, the clan would certainly not allow it. At first after burial there was neither great fortune nor great disaster. Over time, no one in the family was extremely poor, nor was anyone greatly rich—by ordinary standards it might be called peaceful. Only later, when the descendants dwindled, did one understand the power of the land. Therefore I ordered a stele carved, inscribed with the taboo names of sun and moon, and the four characters “Heavenly Official Bestows Blessings,” all traced in vermilion, erected behind the ancestral graves. This humble priest selected a time when sun and moon meet at that direction, and gathered life-qi at the Tiangang to arrange it above, thereby drawing in qi. I instructed them that the surrounding trees and woods must not block it, so that both sun and moon could shine upon the stele. This would in turn supply blessing and supplement the graves, bringing auspiciousness. This is the method of “seizing the dragon and suspending qi.” The next year they had a son; later his cousins, male and female, each also had children. At first the only intention was to resolve their difficulty in seeking children. But erecting the stele to collect qi was quite powerful. Several years later he reported that the brothers and sisters had all attained modest wealth. The least earned several hundred thousand a year; the most, millions—all unexpected windfalls. Within their village they were already counted among the rich. This is because the land was inauspicious: though suppressed by the power of sun and moon, there was still consumption, so the blessing was limited. Yet with residual qi of sun and moon also joining, this outcome could be verified. Had the dragon, orientation, and water been in accord, and the land been good, the blessing would surely have been great. However this method borders on seizing qi; I do not favor it much. If everyone used it, all would take shortcuts and disorder the proper standards of feng shui. Therefore I have not practiced it again since. If students of the Way see this, they should take it as a caution.