PureInsight | October 20, 2024
[PureInsight.org] “Assessing form” (喝形) or “determining form" refers to the practice of a Feng Shui master identifying the name of a particular acupoint, such as "Double Lions Seizing Treasure," "Twin Dragons Playing with a Pearl," "Rhino Gazing at the Moon," "Fierce Tiger Descending from the Mountain," and so on. Sometimes a poem is also left behind and passed down through folk tradition. The accuracy of "assessing, or determining the form" can reflect the depth of a Feng Shui master's skills. If the identification is accurate, it can assist in choosing the location for burial, selecting auspicious dates, and other Feng Shui practices.
During the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, there was a Feng Shui master named "Buguo Wu" whose real name is difficult to verify. He left behind a large number of "Feng Shui poems" in various places. Each line of his poems is composed of five characters, so he was called "Buguo Wu" (which means "just five" in Chinese). Due to the simplicity and easy-to-understand nature of his poems, they became widely popular among the people. In fact, his poems are just "assessing forms" for a certain Feng Shui pattern.
Feng Shui masters usually "assess the form" of the shape of mountains and rivers, some of which resemble land animals such as lions, tigers, bears, and so on; some are aquatic animals, such as various fish, shrimp, crabs, clams, etc.; they can also be birds, such as cranes, eagles, and kites; or they can be plants, such as peach blossoms, plum blossoms, lotus flowers, etc.; they can also be everyday items, such as drums, knives, and swords, as well as "heavenly book acupoints". Some acupoints are not of earthly species, such as dragon shape, phoenix shape, and lotus throne shape, and so on.
However, having just one shape for a location is not enough for Feng Shui. To achieve "form and spirit in one", there must be a "spirit of the land" residing there, just like when a person moves into a new home. "Spirit of the land" is a general term for a kind of god. Regardless of where the god originally resided, once it comes to the location, it can be called "spirit of the land". However, to comply with the laws of heaven and earth, the "spirit of the land" generally manifests as the corresponding "god" of the shape of the location closest to the human level. In other words, if a location is designated as the "lion" shape by heaven and earth, no matter who comes to be the "spirit of the land," they will manifest as a lion. For example, there are often legends in folk culture about a "rhinoceros land" in a certain area, where people often see three white rhinoceroses flying out of the mountain at dusk. This is the image of the "spirit of the land" appearing in the human world.
In the Shan Hai Jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), it is recorded that "Xi Wang Mu (Queen Mother of the West) looks like a person, with a leopard tail and tiger teeth. She is good at howling and has disheveled hair and wears a helmet. She is the god who displays imposing severity and is responsible for the arrival of the five calamities." However, in the Mu Tianzi Zhuan (Tale of King Mu, Son of Heaven), Xi Wang Mu is described as a gentle and cultured ruler, while in the Han Wu Di Nei Zhuan (Biographies of Emperor Wu of Han), she is described as a goddess with unparalleled beauty. In fact, these are just different manifestations of Xi Wang Mu's different images.
Each school of Feng Shui has accumulated experience in "determining the form," but relying solely on experience cannot achieve perfect accuracy. It is almost impossible to distinguish whether a group of mountains form the shape of a lion or a tiger, or whether the shape is that of a phoenix or a white crane. Both are "pin" (品) shapes, with one mountain in the front and two in the back, making it difficult to distinguish from the perspective of a group of mountains. Of course, some mountain shape photos that are very similar have been circulated on the internet, some of which not only look alike but also have a strong resemblance. However, those are photos taken from a very high and wide angle. For a Feng Shui master, unless they possess supernatural powers to fly into the sky or have the ability to see the image of mountain ranges in other spaces, it is impossible for them to know.
If an acupoint looks like a lion on the outside, but its "spirit of the land" is a tiger, then it can only be a tiger shape, no matter how the Feng Shui master "assesses" it as a lion, the tiger cannot become a lion. Therefore, from ancient times to the present, the so-called Feng Shui masters who come to "determine the form" are not accurate. If you cannot accurately see the "spirit of the land", you cannot accurately point out the shape. Sometimes, even if you can't accurately determine the shape, others may not believe you and may think your skills are insufficient. Even if you find the acupoint, others may not be willing to let you use it. Without their agreement, if you forcefully use the acupoint, without the assistance of the "spirit of the land", it would be just an empty form without spirit, and would not work.
(To be continued)
Chinese version: https://www.zhengjian.org/node/126126
