4 CELEBRATED XUANKONG 玄空 POEMS

The celebrated poem of XuanKong 玄空四经 comes in 4 components as the following: -

1. Purple White Script (紫白诀)
2. Ode to Mysticism (玄机赋)
3. Ode to Flying Stars (飞星赋)
4. Secrets of XuanKong (玄空秘旨)

In the market, Hung HinCheong has written a series of marvelous translation on these 4 classics.  The notable gist of these translations was the appended commentaries that is the summarized commentaries from the various Chinese sources available, especially in the lens of Shen’s Flying Star JuRen 沈竹礽飞星. Therefore, it has to be taken as a mass market knowledge for consumption. 

Who Wrote These Stuffs?

Secrets of XuanKong 玄空秘旨 and Ode to Mysticism 玄机赋 are claimed to have been authored by Wu JingLuan 吴景峦, a legendary Song Dynasty FengShui Master who had given up his imperial career to be a Daoist recluse in BaiYun Shan 白云山. During the Ming Dynasty, Chinese scholar by the name Xu ShanJi has accidentally chanced upon such manuscripts that was said to have been disappeared for 500 years. The manuscripts are cryptic and heavily infused with Daoist undertone. What is available today are probably fragments of the complete picture that is so conveniently bound up as Secrets of XuanKong 玄空秘旨 and Ode to Mysticism 玄机赋 thus, it should not have been taken as a complete textbook. In fact, it should not even be taken as a textbook on XuanKong 玄空.

To understand its content, the personality and background of Wu JingLuan 吴景峦, has to be first understood. It is believed that he had inherited the arts from the legendary HuaShan 华山 Daoist Master, ChenTuan 陳摶.  This master was an adept in the practice of Daoist inner alchemy and as well as often practicing sleeping meditation and was known as the "Sleeping Immortal." In his sleep, it was claimed that he has been instructed by immortal in the subject of Yi and numerology. Having said such, Wu JingLuan 吴景峦 has been brought up as a YiJing Daoist metaphysic expert.

Upon leaving HuaShan 华山, Wu JingLuan 吴景峦 has been forewarned by ChenTuan 陳摶 that he must not come close to accept the imperial post as that will bring misfortune to himself. Yet, caught in the dilemma of being filial, he has no choice but to serve the emperor.   Wu JingLuan 吴景峦 was appointed to the court of the Emperor RenZhong as a YinYang master and was quickly caught up in the embroiling court politics, where a 100 school of thoughts fighting against one another to gain favor from the emperor. Being a YiJing master himself, it is quite surprising that he has not able to come to term with his fate and was finally rounded up in prison only to be released by Emperor HuiZhong. Frustrated and broken, he left the glamorous life in the imperial court for a secluded life as a hermit. He pondered upon his fate and started putting his thought into poems that is intricately laden with metaphysics, numerology, Daoist philosophy and the sort. Afraid of retribution, he faithfully upheld the notion of Heaven’s will shall not be disclosed. 

Why Is It Related to XuanKong? 

On the same page, Wu JingLuan 吴景峦 manuscripts had only been circulated among the Daoist circle and not to the outsider. Apparently it was believed that WuJi DaoRen 無极道人, having being in the Daoist circle had passed on the knowledge to Jiang DaHung 蔣大鴻, the forefather of XuanKong 玄空. Jiang DaHung has also chosen the same path of a Daoist recluse upholding the principle of the will of Heaven shall not be disclosed.

Jiang DaHung 蔣大鴻 has not been very well received as genuine lineage holder or a scholar, by some quarters, and he is probably known to have been a Daoist magician well versed in the art of Daoist. His greatest work would have been DiLi BianZhen 地理辨正, being his commentaries of other great masters’ manuscripts, before him. It is "great" largely due to its inclusion into the Emperor QianLong’s SiKu QuanShu 四库全书. Besides that, he was said to have been “butchering” FengShui classics before his time to suit his understanding and interpretation. 


He is thought to have modified LongShui Jing 龙水经 into ShuiLong Jing 水龙经. LongShui Jing 龙水经 is the former title for QingNan Xu 青囊序, authored by Zheng WenCang 曾文辿. This classic was renamed when it is included in the DiLi BianZhen 地理辨正. The greatest different is the missing chapters called Xiao XuanKong 小玄空. It is believed that he coined 大玄空 from here. It is said to have contained the methods of measurement with the LuoPan. Xiao XuanKong 小玄空 has been withheld as an annex to SanHe FengShui, a forerunner of SanYuan.

Therefore, not everything compiled in the Qing Dynasty is necessary genuine stuff. Much of the true and genuine transmissions are withheld by the Han, never to be disclosed to the Manchu. Worse, Jiang DaHung 蔣大鴻 made it so easily to mutilate true genuine classics into his very version of DiLi BianZhen 地理辨正.

It is clained that part of the knowledge of Wu JingLuan 吴景峦 has been embodied within a new lineage of Jiang DaHung 蔣大鴻, through its offspring of 6 disciples, thus the 6 schools of XuanKong namely:-

1. WuChang Pai 無常派, 
   
2. XiangChu Pai 湘楚派, 
   
3. DianNan Pai 滇南派, 
   
4. SuZhou Pai 蘇州派, 
   
5. GuanDong Pai 廣東派, 
   
6. ShangYu Pai 上虞派. 　　　　
   

Out of the 6 schools, only 2 survives while the rest faded into oblivion. The surviving schools are WuChang Pai 無常派, founded by Zhang ZhongShan 章仲山, based greatly on the application of Purple White Script 紫白诀 and ShangYu Pai 上虞派, founded by Zhang Xin-Yin 張心言, based greatly on the application of Yi Gua Pai 易卦派. Both schools may have shared the same root but the applications differed greatly. Needless to say, they too commented greatly of the 4 celebrated poem of XuanKong 玄空四经 as their textbooks.

How Has Its Form Survived Today?

Shen JuRen 沈竹礽 has been instrumental in popularizing FlyingStar 飞星 through his writing that many followers picked up in the 1900. So, comparatively, it is a very young school. Contemporary to that Tang YangWu 谈养吾 and Kong ZhaoShu 孔昭苏 all singled out Zhang ZhongShan 章仲山 WuChang Pai 無常派 to be the genuine transmission of XuanKong.

The FlyingStar 飞星 boom has ignited modern writer to explain the celebrated poem of XuanKong 玄空四经 in accordance to the lens of FlyingStar and created a cult following in HongKong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. Currently it has also plagued the western world.

That is also the reason some western students are taught to cure all the stars raging from using Dry to Raw Calabash, Metal Calabash and so forth. Not enough, they were also taught to move these cures from one place to another, even to the extend with sleeping and wearing calabashes. Such is the state of confusion among modern practitioners.

What Is The Issue With Flying Star?

Foremost is the question of pedigree. Neither Shen JuRen 沈竹礽 nor Tang YangWu 谈养吾 are considered to be of the inner circle or the family of Zhang ZhongShan 章仲山. Shen JuRen 沈竹礽 paid heftily to Zhang's family to hand copy Zhang's case journal. Tang YangWu 谈养吾 has to learnt from a distant relative related to the Zhang's family, only later to abandoned it in favor of XuanKong LiuFa 六法. 

Second it is the problem with interpretation. There are plenty of missing puzzles that Shen JuRen 沈竹礽 would have to make up for. When you discern Purple White Script (紫白诀) there are upper and lower scroll. The upper scroll laid down the fundamental principles and the lower scroll prescribed on its application. Without the key of understanding, it is believed that Sheng finds it difficult to decipher the meanings within the upper scroll such as:  

然以圖之運論體、
書之運論用、
此法之常也。
有時圖可以參書、
書可以參圖者、
此又其變也。

Using the Map Luck as the body,
Book Luck as the application,
This way (of application) is the usual.
Using the Map to explore the Book,
Book to explore the Map,
This is the method of transformation.

He is believed to have  discard the upper scroll while retain the lower scroll to formulate his methodology based on the fundamental of Later Heaven Numerology matching Later Heaven BaGua as in chart "A". He further devise a method based upon sitting and facing with the Period Star as its point of departure. 

局為體、
山為用。
山為體、
運為用。
體用一元、
天地動靜。

Structure becomes Body
Sitting becomes application.
Sitting becomes Body,
Period becomes application.
Body application becomes one,
complies to universal notion of motion and stillness.

In a nutshell, the failure to decipher, Using the Map Luck as the body, Using the Map to explore the Book, 然以圖之運論體、有時圖可以參書、all hell break loose. There is no longer synchronicity between Zhang ZhongShan's method with the Huge SanYuan that is fundamentally grounded on the BaGua as shown in "B".

Yet, not many people actually look at Kong ZhaoSu 孔昭苏 school of thought for an alternative. Kong ZhaoSu 孔昭苏 proposes a totally different approach in applying this:

紫白飛宮、
辨生旺退煞之用。
三元分運、
判盛衰興廢之時。

Purple White Flight and Palaces,
Recognizing growth, prosperous, retreat and killing, in use.
Three period luck cycles,
Determining the time of winning, losing, and happiness and sad.

The key is that Kong ZhaoSu 孔昭苏 Growth prosperous methodology 生旺诀 differ extensively compared to Sheng's.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The celebrated poem of XuanKong 玄空四经 were written with a SanYuan FengShui undertones, concealed as a Flying Star classic. It is not Flying Star, BaZhai or XuanKong DaGua per se. It is purely SanYuan. So, misinterpretations are very common. There is really no rush about dwelling in theoretical FengShui such as these when the fundamental is missing. Ultimately, it is the fundamental that is working and while we can argued till the cow goes home, we learnt very little of how to receive ShengQi.

Secrets of XuanKong (玄空秘旨) states

不知來路，
焉知入路，
盤中八卦皆空‧

Not knowing the approach road (dynamic entity and not only the static), 
how does one know the incoming road? 
The (9 stars and the) 8 trigram of the LuoPan all become void.

Ultimately, Secrets of XuanKong (玄空秘旨) only concerns with the divination as it states:

若知禍福緣由，
妙在天心橐籥。

To know the cause (reason for) of misfortune or good fortune, 
the intricacies are to be found in the bellows of the Heavenly Heart.

Question: Do you know why the establishment of Heavenly Heart is so important?

Here is your Quiz: For those who is practicing FlyingStar, the BaGua (8 Trigrams) "A" is the fundamental. The Later Heaven Numerology matching Later Heaven BaGua. While for those who is practicing YiGua or DaGua or BaZhai, the BaGua "B" is the fundamental. Early Heaven Numerology matching Later Heaven BaGua. 

Question: Which one manifest the true application of SanYuan and why? 

A note to my friend, the Chinese masters do not simply or however pluck things from thin air and start to create something out of nothing to confuse people. There are reasons and only the one who knows will know how to connect the dots. 

Credits: Translation to the 4 Poems of XuanKong is taken from the highly recommended book by Hung HinCheong, now available in Amazon.com.