Xuan Kong Liu Fa (玄空六法) — The Six Methods School
Xuan Kong Liu Fa (玄空六法) is a San Yuan school systematised by Tan Yangwu (談養吾) in the early 20th century in his landmark work Xuan Kong Ben Yi (玄空本義). It refines the standard Xuan Kong Flying Stars system with a stricter application of the Ling/Zheng Shen principle and a six-method analytical framework.
The Lineage
The tradition traces to Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻) and the oral transmission of the San Yuan school. Tan Yangwu's contribution was to systematise the oral tradition into the Six Methods (六法) framework and publish it for the first time, making the school accessible beyond direct discipleship. His later work Xuan Kong Liu Fa Ben Yi (玄空六法本義) is the definitive textbook.
The Six Methods (六法)
- 龍 (Dragon): The incoming dragon vein must be alive (活龍) — curved, winding, with visible vitality in terrain form. A dead or broken dragon invalidates all other analysis.
- 穴 (Lair / Point): The precise lair where qi concentrates. The four guardian formations — Green Dragon (left hill), White Tiger (right hill), Red Phoenix (front), Black Tortoise (back) — must be present.
- 砂 (Sand / Hills): Surrounding elevated features. Auspicious hills guard and support; inauspicious sha (煞) projections create harmful energy arrows.
- 水 (Water): Water ingress and egress rated against the Ling Shen / Zheng Shen of the current period. Water in the Ling Shen (零神) sector activates wealth qi.
- 向 (Facing): The facing direction of the building. Must harmonise with the Zheng Shen (正神) for optimal qi reception and health.
- 斷 (Judgment): The final synthesis — integrating all five prior methods into a coherent site assessment with specific remediation recommendations.
Two-Yuan Eight-Period System
XKLF uses two 9-period yuan cycles of 180 years each. Within each yuan, periods last 20 years. Notably, Period 9 begins in 2017 in XKLF reckoning — 7 years earlier than the standard Flying Stars system (2024). This discrepancy reflects different calendrical conventions for the yuan cycle origin.
| Period | XKLF Start | Flying Stars Start | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 2017 | 2024 | Fire (火) |
| 8 | 1997 | 2004 | Earth (土) |
| 7 | 1977 | 1984 | Metal (金) |
Ling Shen / Zheng Shen (零正神) — Period 9
The cornerstone of XKLF practice is correctly placing the Ling Shen (零神/Zero Spirit) and Zheng Shen (正神/True Spirit) for the current period:
- Zheng Shen (正神) = South (離): The direction of the period's flourishing energy. Place solid mountain features here. Good for health, authority, and nobility luck.
- Ling Shen (零神) = North (坎): The complementary direction. Place water features here. Good for wealth accumulation and financial growth.
Castle Gate (城門訣)
Castle Gate identifies an auspicious secondary entrance or water mouth adjacent to the Zheng Shen direction. This 'gate' channels period qi into the property from a complementary angle, amplifying the primary Zheng Shen benefit. In Period 9, the Castle Gate directions are Southeast (巽) and Southwest (坤).