Qínxīng yìjiàn 禽星易見
Easily-Visible Animal-Stars by 池本理 (Chí Běnlǐ, late Míng, zhuàn 撰)
About the work
Chí Běnlǐ’s compact qínxīng 禽星 (animal-star) divinatory manual, originally in 4 juàn per the Míngshǐ Yìwén zhì but transmitted as 1 juàn in the Sìkù (per the 提要, “the present recension is only 1 juàn; probably the transcribers combined them”). The methodology uses the qīyuán jiǎzǐ jú (seven-origin sexagenary configuration) with fānqín dàojiàng (turning-bird inverting-general) techniques to determine auspicious time-and-day for various activities.
The work specializes in the qínguān xìngqíng xǐhào tūndàn jìntuì qǔhuà (animal-officials’ nature-and-feelings, likes-and-dislikes, swallow-and-bite, advance-and-retreat, taking-and-transforming) principles — using 36 animal-symbols correlated with the 28 lunar mansions plus 8 supplementary positions to compute fate-determinations. The methodology was conventionally attributed to Zhāng Liáng 張良 (Western Hàn) or to the Fēnghòu shénshū guǐcáng (Wind-Lord Spirit-Pivot Spirit-Storage) tradition — both pseudepigraphic, per the 提要.
The 提要 commends the work’s distinctive contribution: “[the principle that] time-day-bird is the bǐwǒ gōngyòng (mutual-mine common-use) bird; specifically using fānqín (turning-bird) for me, dàojiàng (inverting-general) for the other — is its uniquely-obtained explanation; especially worth selecting”. The work also has a substantive observation about Dǒumù 斗木 (the Wood-Constellation in the Big Dipper) being identified as xiè (crab — a peaceful-and-leisurely creature) rather than xièzhì 獬豸 (the legendary judging-creature) — “sufficient to correct the [previously-erroneous] starry-school transmissions”.
For the related Sānshì divination works, see KR3g0031 Liùrén, KR3g0047 Tàiyī, KR3g0048 Dùnjiǎ. For Chí Běnlǐ’s biography, see 池本理.
Tiyao
[Full text in source file. Dated Qiánlóng 46 (1781), tenth month.]