Hànlóng jīng 撼龍經
Shaking-the-Dragon Classic (foundational geomantic text on mountain-ridge geomancy) attributed to 楊筠松 (Yáng Yúnsōng / Yáng Jiùpín, late Tang); together with the appended Yílóng jīng 疑龍經 and Zàngfǎ dàozhàng 葬法倒杖
About the work
A 1-juan foundational text of the geomantic xíngshì 形勢 (form-and-configuration) tradition, focusing on the analysis of mountain-ridge geomancy (“shaking the dragon” = analyzing the dragon-energy of mountain ridges). Together with the Yílóng jīng 疑龍經 (1 juàn, on doubtful-cases-of-dragon-analysis) and the Zàngfǎ dàozhàng 葬法倒杖 (1 juàn, on tomb-method gnomon-reversal), the three works constitute the canonical Yáng Yúnsōng trilogy of the Tang-end / Sòng-early geomantic tradition.
The author Yáng Yúnsōng 楊筠松 — also known as Yáng jiùpín 楊救貧 (“Yáng who saves the poor” — referring to his alleged charitable use of geomantic skill to benefit the poor rather than the wealthy) — has uncertain biographical attestation. The Sòngshǐ Yìwén zhì records only the sobriquet “Yáng Jiùpín” without further details. Geomantic-school tradition holds that Yáng Yúnsōng’s personal name was Yì 益, native of Gànzhōu 贛州 (Jiāngxī); he served as Língtái dìlǐguān (Spirit-Tower / Geomantic Officer) at the Tang court, rising to Jīnzǐ guānglù dàfū (Gold-and-Purple Glory-Salary Grand-Master); during the Guǎngmíng era (880-881) he stole secret palace texts during the Huáng Cháo rebellion and fled, settling in Chǔzhōu where he worked as a wandering geomancer. The Sìkù 提要 dismisses these traditions as “absurd-talk, not entirely believable”.
The three works’ content (per the 提要):
(I) Hànlóng jīng: specifically treats mountain-ridge falling-veins and configurations. Divides the xíngshì into jiǔxīng 九星 (nine stars): Tānláng (Greedy-Wolf), Jùmén (Great-Gate), Lùcún (Salary-Preservation), Wénqǔ (Civil-Crooked), Liánzhēn (Pure-Chastity), Wǔqǔ (Martial-Crooked), Pòjūn (Army-Breaker), Zuǒfǔ (Left-Assistant), Yòubì (Right-Help). Each “star” is a configurational type that the geomantic analyst must learn to recognize.
(II) Yílóng jīng: in three sections — upper (treating dragon-finding from trunk-and-branches with focus on guānjú shuǐkǒu — water-mouth as boundary), middle (on dragon-arrival and the analysis of front-back and welcoming-facing), lower (on the connection-points where the qi 結穴 — concentrates). Appended is the Yílóng shíwèn 疑龍十問 (Ten Questions on Doubtful Dragons) further developing the methodology.
(III) Zàngfǎ dàozhàng: specifically treats the acupoint (xué 穴) location-determination, with four methods: yǐ (leaning), gài (covering), zhuàng (striking), zhān (sticking). The Dàozhàng (gnomon-reversal) develops these into 12 sub-procedures; the appended èrshísì shā zàngfǎ (24 protective-mountain burial-method) provides fine-resolution acupoint-determination.
The works’ actual provenance is uncertain: the Sòng Shūlù jiětí records the Yílóng jīng and Biànlóng jīng without naming an author; the present attribution to Yáng Yúnsōng appears to be a later geomantic-school assertion. The Sìkù 提要 acknowledges the uncertainty but also commends the works’ substantive content: “although [the attribution is] not provable, the [works’] discussion of mountains-and-rivers’ nature-and-configuration can rather grasp the essential outline; their continued circulation has its reasons”.
The 提要 also records that earlier editions had Lǐ Guóběn 李國本 commentary and accompanying figures, both judged “vulgar-and-shallow, with absolutely nothing to take” — these were deleted from the Sìkù-recension to avoid confusing the original text.
For the parallel foundational tomb-siting text, see KR3g0020 Zàngshū. For other Tang-attributed geomantic works in the Sìkù, see KR3g0022 Qīngnáng xù, KR3g0023 Qīngnáng àoyǔ, KR3g0024 Tiānyù jīng. For the late-Tang / Sòng-early geomantic culture, see 楊筠松.
Tiyao
[Full text in source file. Dated Qiánlóng 46 (1781), tenth month.]
Translations and research
- Bruun, Ole. An Introduction to Feng Shui, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
- Field, Stephen L. Ancient Chinese Divination, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2008.