Di Li Bian Zheng

Jiang Dahong's preface to the Di Li Bian Zheng is both a scholarly manifesto and a polemical declaration of war against what he considered centuries of accumulated Feng Shui malpractice. By positioning himself as the restorer of an ancient truth rather than the inventor of a new system, Jiang followed a well-established Chinese literary convention — the appeal to antiquity as the source of legitimate authority.

The reference to Guo Pu's Burial Classic (葬書) is significant. Guo Pu (276–324 CE) is universally acknowledged as the founding figure of Chinese Feng Shui literature. By beginning his preface with Guo Pu, Jiang establishes a continuous lineage stretching from the Jin Dynasty through Yang Yunsong in the Tang to his own time in the Qing — a span of over thirteen centuries. His implicit argument is that the San Yuan tradition is not a recent innovation but a recovery of the original method that predates the various corruptions that arose in the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties.

Jiang's claim to have received the "true transmission from Master Wuji Zi" (得無極子真傳) serves a dual function: it authenticates his interpretive authority, and it signals that his understanding derives from an oral lineage (口傳) rather than merely from textual study. In Chinese metaphysical traditions, oral transmission from teacher to student is invariably valued above book learning, because the classical texts were deliberately composed in cryptic language that cannot be decoded without the master's spoken explanation.

The decision to compile five separate texts into a single annotated anthology was itself revolutionary. Before the Di Li Bian Zheng, these five classics circulated independently, often in corrupt or incomplete manuscript copies. By gathering them together and providing a unified commentary, Jiang created a coherent curriculum — a single volume that a student could study systematically from cosmological foundations (Qing Nang Jing) through practical application (Du Tian Bao Zhao Jing). This pedagogical structure influenced every subsequent Xuan Kong textbook.

Source: Di Li Bian Zheng (地理辨正), Chapter 1 — Preface (自序), Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻), Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Nang Jing (Green Satchel Classic) is the oldest and most foundational of the five texts compiled in the Di Li Bian Zheng. Traditionally attributed to the legendary sage Huang Shigong (黃石公), its actual authorship and date remain unknown; what is certain is that it predates Yang Yunsong and establishes the cosmological principles upon which the entire Xuan Kong system is built.

Jiang Dahong's commentary on the Qing Nang Jing focuses on demonstrating that the He Tu number pairings (一六共宗, 二七同道, 三八為朋, 四九為友) are not merely cosmological abstractions but the operative mechanism of Qi generation. Each number pair corresponds to a specific element and direction: 1-6 generates Water in the North, 2-7 generates Fire in the South, 3-8 generates Wood in the East, 4-9 generates Metal in the West, and 5-10 generates Earth at the Centre. In Jiang's interpretation, these pairings are the 'source code' of the Flying Star system — the reason why certain star combinations are harmonious (because their He Tu numbers share the same origin) and others are conflicting.

The passage on the Earlier Heaven trigram relationships (天地定位, 山澤通氣, etc.) is drawn directly from the Shuo Gua Zhuan (說卦傳) commentary of the Yi Jing. Jiang maps these four pairs — Heaven-Earth (Qian-Kun), Mountain-Lake (Gen-Dui), Thunder-Wind (Zhen-Xun), and Water-Fire (Kan-Li) — onto the compass to show that the Earlier Heaven arrangement defines the fundamental polarity of each direction. The phrase "Water and Fire do not oppose" (水火不相射) is critical: it means that when Kan (Water) and Li (Fire) are properly positioned, they complement rather than destroy each other — a principle that directly affects how certain Flying Star combinations are interpreted.

Jiang's insistence that "substance and function are mutually dependent" (體用相須) addresses a perennial source of confusion among Feng Shui students. Some practitioners study only the Later Heaven compass (function) without understanding the Earlier Heaven foundation (substance), producing technically correct but theoretically groundless assessments. Others become so absorbed in Earlier Heaven cosmology that they cannot perform practical site work. Jiang's position is that mastery requires both — a principle he reiterates throughout the Di Li Bian Zheng.

Source: Di Li Bian Zheng (地理辨正), Chapter 2 — Qing Nang Jing Commentary (青囊經疏), Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻), Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Nang Xu (Preface to the Green Satchel) was composed by Zeng Wendi (曾文辿), Yang Yunsong's foremost disciple. Jiang Dahong's commentary on this text is arguably the most consequential section of the entire Di Li Bian Zheng, because it is here that he introduces his revolutionary reinterpretation of the term "Male and Female" (雌雄).

Before Jiang, the consensus interpretation of "Male and Female" was physical: mountains are Female (Yin), water features are Male (Yang), and the practitioner's task is to find sites where the two are in harmonious embrace. Jiang overturned this reading entirely. In his annotation, he declares: "Male and Female does not refer to the physical forms of mountain and water, but to the Qi of the current period" (雌雄者，非山水之形也，乃元運之氣也). This single sentence shifted the entire foundation of Feng Shui assessment from spatial analysis to temporal analysis — from asking "Is the landscape shaped correctly?" to asking "Is the landscape activated by the current period's energy?"

This reinterpretation has profound practical consequences. Under the traditional spatial reading, a well-formed site (mountains embracing the back, water collecting at the front) is auspicious regardless of when it is assessed. Under Jiang's temporal reading, even a perfectly formed site can be inauspicious if its orientation does not capture the current period's prosperous Qi. Conversely, a seemingly unremarkable site can be highly auspicious if its facing and sitting directions happen to activate the ruling period's stars. This is why Xuan Kong practitioners must reassess every site when a new twenty-year period begins.

Jiang's annotation on the Golden Dragon (金龍) further reinforces this temporal framework. The Golden Dragon is not a physical ridge or watercourse but the abstract, period-specific Qi that flows through the landscape. "Whether the Golden Dragon moves" means whether the current period's energy is active and accessible at the site. This interpretation became the standard reading across all subsequent Xuan Kong lineages and is the reason why period transitions (such as the 2024 shift from Period 8 to Period 9) are treated as major events requiring wholesale reassessment of sites.

Source: Di Li Bian Zheng (地理辨正), Chapter 3 — Qing Nang Xu Commentary (青囊序疏), Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻), Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Nang Ao Yu (Esoteric Sayings of the Green Satchel) is attributed to Yang Yunsong himself and is the most technically dense of the five classics compiled in the Di Li Bian Zheng. The famous four-line formula — "Kun Ren Yi, Ju Men from the head..." — is the most frequently cited passage in all of Xuan Kong literature, because it encodes the fundamental classification system that assigns each of the 24 Mountains to a specific Nine Star quality.

Jiang Dahong's commentary on this passage is characteristically precise. He identifies the formula as the key to the Nine Star Trigram Flipping (九星翻卦) method, which works as follows: the 24 Mountains are divided into four groups of three, each group sharing a common trigram parent. Within each group, the three mountains are assigned the same Nine Star designation. By identifying which star governs a mountain, the practitioner knows its inherent quality — Tan Lang (Greedy Wolf / 1 White) is auspicious, Lian Zhen (Purity / 5 Yellow) is inauspicious, and so forth.

More importantly, Jiang reveals that this four-line formula is inseparable from the Yin-Yang classification of the 24 Mountains. Each mountain is classified as either Yin or Yang based on its position within the trigram-flipping sequence. This classification directly determines whether the Flying Stars fly forward (順) or in reverse (逆) through the Lo Shu grid when that mountain serves as the facing or sitting direction of a building. An error in this classification produces a completely incorrect Flying Star chart — every palace star will be wrong. This is why Jiang emphasises that "only one who has received this formula" can correctly perform Flying Star calculations.

The four mountain groups — Kun-Ren-Yi (巨門), Gen-Bing-Xin (廉貞), Xun-Geng-Gui (武曲), Qian-Jia-Ding (貪狼) — are not geographically adjacent on the compass. Kun is in the Southwest, Ren in the North-Northwest, and Yi in the East-Southeast. Their grouping is not based on physical proximity but on shared trigram-line structures revealed through the flipping process. This non-obvious grouping is precisely what made the formula a "secret" — without the oral transmission explaining the trigram-flipping logic, the verse appears to be a random list of compass directions.

Source: Di Li Bian Zheng (地理辨正), Chapter 4 — Qing Nang Ao Yu Commentary (青囊奧語疏), Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻), Qing Dynasty.

The Tian Yu Jing (Heavenly Jade Classic) is the longest and most practically oriented of the five classics in the Di Li Bian Zheng. Attributed to Yang Yunsong, it provides the detailed operational framework for San Yuan Feng Shui practice. Jiang Dahong's commentary on this text is arguably his greatest intellectual achievement, transforming what had long been regarded as impenetrable verse into a coherent technical manual.

Jiang's most consequential annotation is his reinterpretation of Jiang Dong (江東) and Jiang Xi (江西). Before Jiang, many commentators took these as literal references to the regions east and west of the Yangtze River, leading to geographically-bound interpretations of limited practical value. Jiang's annotation states categorically: "Jiang Dong and Jiang Xi are not place names" (江東江西非地名也). Instead, they denote two complementary trigram groups distinguished by their flying direction — one forward, one reverse. This single clarification unlocked the entire Tian Yu Jing for practical application.

The concept of Father-Mother Three-Type Trigrams (父母三般卦) receives equally important treatment. Jiang explains that the "three types" correspond to the three Yuan: the Upper Yuan governs Periods 1-2-3 (with parent star values 1, 2, 3), the Middle Yuan governs Periods 4-5-6, and the Lower Yuan governs Periods 7-8-9. Each Yuan has a parent trigram that generates the Flying Star charts for its three constituent periods. The phrase "worth a thousand pieces of gold" is not hyperbole in Jiang's reading — the practitioner who understands the Father-Mother system can correctly construct Flying Star charts for any period in any direction, which is the entirety of Xuan Kong technical practice.

Jiang's declaration that this passage is the "master outline" (總綱) of the Tian Yu Jing reflects his pedagogical approach throughout the Di Li Bian Zheng. He consistently identifies the structural principle underlying each text before proceeding to detailed commentary, ensuring that the student understands the architecture before being overwhelmed by particulars. This method of exposition — from general principle to specific application — became the standard teaching format for all subsequent Xuan Kong academies.

Source: Di Li Bian Zheng (地理辨正), Chapter 5 — Tian Yu Jing Commentary (天玉經疏), Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻), Qing Dynasty.

The Du Tian Bao Zhao Jing (Metropolitan Heaven Precious Mirror Classic) is the most practically oriented of the five classics. While the Qing Nang Jing establishes cosmology, the Tian Yu Jing establishes compass theory, and the Qing Nang Ao Yu provides star classification, the Du Tian Bao Zhao Jing teaches the practitioner how to assess actual water features in the field. Jiang Dahong recognised this text as the essential bridge between theory and practice, calling it "the field application of Xuan Kong principles" (玄空之實地應用).

Jiang's commentary on this chapter addresses a persistent criticism of the Xuan Kong school: that it is too abstract, too focused on numbers and stars, and insufficiently attentive to the physical landscape. By annotating the Du Tian Bao Zhao Jing as the practical companion to the more theoretical texts, Jiang demonstrated that Xuan Kong Feng Shui is not a purely mathematical exercise but a system that must be verified against observable landscape features. The formula is clear: calculate the Flying Star chart first (理氣), then verify it against the water flow (巒頭). If the two do not agree, the assessment must be reconsidered.

The concept of Advancing and Retreating Spirits (進神退神) is Jiang's key contribution to the commentary on this text. In his reading, the "Advancing Spirit" is the direction from which the current period's prosperous Qi arrives — it corresponds to the mountain or water position occupied by the period's ruling star. The "Retreating Spirit" is the direction through which spent, declining Qi departs. When incoming water flows from the Advancing Spirit direction, it carries prosperous Qi into the site; when outgoing water flows toward the Retreating Spirit direction, it carries away stale Qi — a healthy circulation. The reverse pattern — incoming water from the Retreating Spirit or outgoing water draining the Advancing Spirit — disrupts this circulation and produces decline.

The instruction to "enter the mountains to find the water mouth" (入山尋水口) establishes the correct field procedure: the practitioner must physically travel to the site, locate the water exit point, and take a compass reading at that specific location. Armchair analysis from maps or photographs is insufficient. Similarly, "ascend to the acupoint to view the bright hall" (登穴看明堂) requires the practitioner to stand at the proposed building site and personally evaluate the open area before it. This emphasis on direct, physical observation is a hallmark of the Du Tian Bao Zhao Jing's practical orientation.

Source: Di Li Bian Zheng (地理辨正), Chapter 6 — Du Tian Bao Zhao Jing Commentary (都天寶照經疏), Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻), Qing Dynasty.

The San Yuan Dragon Theory (三元龍法) is the technical framework that connects cosmological principle to practical compass measurement. Of all the chapters in the Di Li Bian Zheng, this one has the most direct impact on the practitioner's daily work, because it governs the first and most critical step in any Flying Star assessment: classifying the building's sitting and facing directions.

Each of the eight compass sectors (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW) contains three of the 24 Mountains, arranged left-centre-right within a 45-degree arc. The centre mountain is Heaven Element (天元), the left mountain is Earth Element (地元), and the right mountain is Human Element (人元). This three-fold classification determines how the Flying Stars are arranged in the chart: the Dragon type affects whether the stars fly forward or reverse, and whether the chart's internal structure is coherent or conflicted.

Jiang Dahong's insistence on "same Yuan, unified Qi" (同元一氣) is one of the most frequently cited rules in Xuan Kong practice. When a building sits on a Heaven Element mountain and faces another Heaven Element mountain (for example, sitting Zi facing Wu), the Flying Star chart is internally consistent — both the sitting and facing star sequences derive from the same parent logic. When the sitting and facing cross Yuan boundaries (for example, sitting Zi facing Wei, where Zi is Heaven Element and Wei is Earth Element), the chart contains an internal contradiction that Jiang terms "breaking the trigram" (出卦). Such buildings are considered inherently flawed regardless of what specific stars appear in the chart.

This principle has significant real-world implications. Many buildings do not sit on exact compass bearings but occupy positions between two mountains. When a building's measured facing falls on the boundary between a Heaven Element and an Earth Element mountain (for example, the boundary between Wu and Wei), the practitioner must determine with precision which mountain governs the building. An error of even one or two degrees at this boundary can produce entirely different Flying Star charts — one pure, one broken. This is why Xuan Kong practitioners require compass precision of at least ±3° for professional work and ±0.5° for boundary measurements.

Source: Di Li Bian Zheng (地理辨正), Chapter 7 — San Yuan Dragon Theory (三元龍法), Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻), Qing Dynasty.

The Zero God and True God (零神正神) framework is universally regarded as the "foremost principle of Xuan Kong" (玄空之第一要義), as Jiang Dahong himself declares in his annotation. It is the single most important practical rule in Flying Star Feng Shui, governing the relationship between landscape features and temporal Qi.

The principle is elegant in its simplicity: mountains belong at the True God position; water belongs at the Zero God position. The True God is where the current period's prosperous star (旺星) is located — this Qi is precious and must be contained, which is the function of mountains (solid, stable, Yin features that hold Qi in place). The Zero God is where the declining star (衰星) is located — this Qi is stagnant and must be activated, which is the function of water (flowing, dynamic, Yang features that circulate and revitalise Qi).

In the current Period 9 (2024–2043), the ruling star is Nine Purple (九紫), which resides in the South (Li palace) of the Lo Shu. Therefore, the True God position is South — sites should ideally have mountains, elevated ground, or tall structures to their south to support the prosperous Qi. The Zero God position is North (Kan palace, where One White resides as the opposite pole) — sites should have water features, roads, or open space to their north to activate the declining Qi.

Jiang's annotation is notable for explicitly stating the two failure modes. Water at the True God position (正神方有水) causes "prosperous Qi to leak outward" — the site's best energy drains away, producing a pattern of initial promise followed by gradual decline. Mountains at the Zero God position (零神方有山) cause "declining Qi to become trapped and stagnant" — the site accumulates negative energy that cannot be flushed, producing chronic problems that worsen over time. These two configurations are the most common causes of Feng Shui failure in otherwise well-oriented buildings.

The phrase "The True God requires a hundred steps to fully form the dragon" (正神百步始成龍) adds a dimensional requirement: the mountain or elevated feature at the True God position must extend for a substantial distance (traditionally interpreted as at least 100 paces, roughly 150 metres) to fully support the prosperous Qi. A small, isolated hill is insufficient. Similarly, the Zero God's water feature must have meaningful extent and flow — a stagnant puddle does not fulfil the requirement.

Source: Di Li Bian Zheng (地理辨正), Chapter 8 — Zero God and True God (零神正神), Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻), Qing Dynasty.

This chapter synthesises the theoretical foundations established in the preceding five commentaries into a unified description of the Flying Star (飛星/挨星) calculation method. It is effectively Jiang Dahong's practical manual — the chapter where cosmology, compass theory, and water methods converge into the step-by-step procedure for constructing and interpreting a Flying Star chart.

The Flying Star chart is constructed through a precise sequence. First, the Period Star (令星) — the number of the current twenty-year period — is placed at the centre of the Lo Shu grid. For Period 9, the number 9 occupies the centre. The remaining eight numbers are then distributed to the other eight palaces following the Lo Shu flight path: centre → NW → W → NE → S → N → SW → E → SE. This produces the Period Plate (運盤), which is the same for all buildings constructed or renovated during the same period.

Next, two additional plates are constructed: the Mountain Star Plate (山星盤) and the Facing Star Plate (向星盤). The Mountain Star Plate is derived from the building's sitting direction: the period number at the sitting palace becomes the new centre star, and the remaining stars fly forward or reverse depending on the Yin-Yang classification of the sitting mountain (determined by the San Yuan Dragon theory from Chapter 7). The Facing Star Plate follows the same process using the facing direction. The complete chart thus has three numbers in each palace: the Period Star (base), the Mountain Star (upper left), and the Facing Star (upper right).

Jiang's commentary identifies two polar configurations. Prosperous Mountain, Prosperous Facing (旺山旺向) occurs when the period's ruling star appears as the Mountain Star in the sitting palace (supporting health and family with mountain backing) and as the Facing Star in the facing palace (attracting wealth through water and open space at the front). This is the ideal configuration and produces sites of exceptional fortune. Mountain Ascending, Water Descending (上山下水) is the exact opposite: the prosperous Mountain Star ends up in the facing palace (where it has no mountain support and its energy dissipates), while the prosperous Facing Star ends up in the sitting palace (where it has no water activation and its wealth potential is locked away). This configuration produces simultaneous decline in both health and finances.

The practical importance of this chapter cannot be overstated. Every Xuan Kong Feng Shui assessment begins with constructing the Flying Star chart, and every remediation strategy is based on manipulating the relationships between Mountain Stars, Facing Stars, and the physical features of each sector. Mastery of this chapter's content is the minimum requirement for professional Xuan Kong practice.

Source: Di Li Bian Zheng (地理辨正), Chapter 9 — Flying Star Synthesis (飛星綜合), Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻), Qing Dynasty.

Jiang Dahong's concluding commentary serves as both a summation of the Di Li Bian Zheng and a philosophical meditation on the nature of Feng Shui knowledge itself. It is remarkable for its balance and intellectual honesty — qualities not always associated with sectarian polemics.

The most significant point in this conclusion is Jiang's explicit acknowledgement that Li Qi (理氣) and Luan Tou (巒頭) are equally indispensable. Given that the entire Di Li Bian Zheng is devoted to establishing the supremacy of the San Yuan Li Qi tradition, one might expect Jiang to dismiss the Form School (Luan Tou) as inferior. He does not. Instead, he applies his own body-function (體用) framework: Li Qi is the theoretical body; Luan Tou is the practical function. Neither can stand alone. A Flying Star chart is meaningless if the physical landscape does not provide the mountains and water features that the chart requires; conversely, a beautiful landscape is worthless if its temporal Qi is misaligned.

Jiang's criticism of "false teachers" (偽師) is pointed and specific. He identifies two types of malpractice: those who "cling to Luan Tou and abandon Li Qi" (practitioners of the Form School who ignore temporal cycling and treat direction as fixed) and those who "become mired in Li Qi and neglect Luan Tou" (armchair calculators who construct elaborate star charts without verifying them against the actual landscape). Both errors produce failed assessments. The correct approach, Jiang insists, is "theory matches form, form matches theory" (理合形，形合理) — a dual verification process that requires both computational skill and field experience.

The phrase "supremely simple yet supremely profound" (至簡至深) is perhaps Jiang's most quoted aphorism. The simplicity of Xuan Kong lies in its fundamental binary logic: every calculation reduces to determining whether a star flies forward (Yang) or reverse (Yin). The profundity emerges from the combinatorial explosion that occurs when this binary choice is applied across 24 compass directions, nine periods, and multiple temporal scales. A single building can have its Period chart, Annual chart, Monthly chart, and Daily chart all active simultaneously, each with its own Mountain and Facing Stars — producing layers of interaction that can take years to fully comprehend.

By ending with the hope that students will use "the five classics as foundation and field verification as practice", Jiang establishes the pedagogical method that every subsequent Xuan Kong school has followed: study the theory thoroughly, then test it relentlessly against real sites. This balance of book learning and practical experience is the enduring legacy of the Di Li Bian Zheng.

Source: Di Li Bian Zheng (地理辨正), Chapter 10 — Concluding Commentary (蔣氏總評), Jiang Dahong (蔣大鴻), Qing Dynasty.