空亡 - THE DEATH AND EMPTINESS OF ZHANG BISHI'S MANSION

Investigating another contemporary millionaires of the past, the name Zhang BiShi must be mentioned. In his story, his FengShui legacy is not within his grave that has benefitted his descendants. It is really about his residence’s FengShui that had affected his entire family’s fortune. In this case, the famous Blue Mansion of Penang. It is really a sad story of how his appointed FengShui master messed up his entire fortune and it is believed that it has all to do with a notable lineage having its home ground in Shanghai specializing first the claimed WuChang School of XuanKong. 

WHO IS ZHANG BISHI?

Summary from Wikipedia: -

Cheong Fatt Tze 張弼士 Zhang Bìshì born 1840– death 1916 was a Chinese businessman and politician. He was a powerful Nanyang industrialist and a first-class Mandarin in the Manchu government; he was made Consul-General in Singapore and economic advisor to the Empress Dowager.

He started working at an early age as a cowherd back in his village and had to migrate to South-East Asia to seek his fortune. He started as a water-carrier and then became a shopkeeper in Indonesia. He established a trading company with the help of his father-in-law.

Gradually, he began to accumulate his. In 1886, he expanded again to Penang, where he was appointed the Chinese Consul. In 1899, he was summoned to China twice by the Emperor of China to be promoted as the Minister. Subsequently, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce was established. In 1904, he established the first Chinese school in Southeast Asia. In 1912 Cheong was appointed as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Kuomintang. He was also appointed as the Chairman of the Chinese national Chamber of Commerce. In 1915, he was sent to the United States and during his journey, he stopped over in Hong Kong and received his Ph.D. in Law.

Cheong Fatt Tze died in Indonesia in 1916. His body was sent back to China to be buried and survived by his eight wives and owned many residences throughout his trading empire (mostly Southeast Asia) but made Penang his base, where he raised his six sons.

THE ANALYSIS

Back in 2010, Yifengshui wrote: -

It was strange, a FengShui structure will only benefits the bread winner and not the entire household; especially when it is originated from a society where family ranks the top priority. We always mistaken for the fact that when an alignment is made, it will usually benefits one person. This, however, is not entirely true. Even the BaZi chart of the entire family is closely knitted, how may it not benefited the entire family at large? In the attempt for FenFang, distributing of prosperity, some family members will benefit first then the others. All depends on the whim and fancy of the master who made such an alignment. However, in the case of the Blue Mansion, it is yet, another cup of tea.

The fact is the patron died, the family gone bankrupt and the loss of descendent. Good FengShui? Blame it to Period Change? The structure of the house is at its optimum 4 point gold formation, with all the bad sectors liked kitchen and staff quarters taken out as a separate building, forming the table mountain. Almost grid liked structure. The order of the day being the method of 9 Star distributing auspiciousness with door locating method (modern version is Flying Star). Straddled between period 2 and period 3, with 1-3 (2-4) combinations arriving at the facing. Timely 3 (2) meeting 1 white (4), superior formations, according to the XuanKong School! Soon after, disaster began to befall one after the other. What has gone so wrong with the 1-3 (2-4) Star combination? 旺财不旺丁? Where the notion of Mountain governs people luck and water governs wealth? Does Qi actually flow according to the vehicle's direction? 

This is a “failed” attempt back in 1900. Next time, when a practitioner tell you he applied the same theory when auditing or are using the Fighting SanSha method in XKDG, better think twice! On another note, its sitting may have told you another side of the story? Possible, FengShui espionage designed for failure just liked the case of the Forbidden City ? 

THE POSTSCRIPT

The Blue Mansion is sitting Death and Emptiness (DE 空亡). Following the SanHe doctrines, sitting DE is inauspicious. This mansion was designed to have a maze of special rain water down pipes feature that conforms to XuanKong principles. Water collected in the gutter will be flush down in a swirling pattern beneath the center courtyard, and discharged via the drains outside of the house conforming to the water dragon principles.

Since the method employ does not use the 72 Dragons plate, the FengShui masters did not realize that it sits on a DE. In fact, most of the physical structure was DE. Such, in fact was the cardinal believes of the school at that time that siting DE is the most auspicious gold division one could achieved.

The story does not end here. The fall of Blue Mansion FengShui is now the hallmark for one SanHe school as a living testimonial of its success.