0203-1-21-luo_pan
Transcript of 0203-1-21-luo_pan
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LEE SUANG CHUI U011609J LEE XUNJIAN, KENNETH U021215X LEOW DASHENG, JACKSON U021863L LIM FUNG LENG U011605MLOKE CHO MUN U011310H TAN CHYE HUAT U010019X
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Table of Content
Table of Content ............................................................................................................................................2 Objectives of Our Project ..............................................................................................................................4 Origins of Luo Pan.........................................................................................................................................5 Development of Luo Pan ...............................................................................................................................6
The two schools of Feng Shui; earthly forms and compass ......................................................................6 Luo Pan Feng Shui in Ancient China ............................................................................................................7
Landscape surveillance..............................................................................................................................7 Architecture of the ancient dwellings ........................................................................................................7 Cursed birthdays ........................................................................................................................................7
Luo Pan Feng Shui in Modern Singapore......................................................................................................8 Shape of Suntec City: resemblance of a palm ...........................................................................................8 The new Merlion Park ..............................................................................................................................8
Twelve-Four Solar Divisions (Chieh Ch’i) .................................................................................................10 Solar divisions .........................................................................................................................................10 Solar divisions in Luo Pan.......................................................................................................................11 Solar divisions and the Big Dipper..........................................................................................................11
Orientations – The Four Celestial Animals and Four Seasons ....................................................................12 The Four Celestial Animals .....................................................................................................................12
South ....................................................................................................................................................12 East ......................................................................................................................................................12 West .....................................................................................................................................................12 North ....................................................................................................................................................12 Centre of the Compass.........................................................................................................................12
The Four Seasons.....................................................................................................................................12 Former and Later Heaven Sequences ..........................................................................................................13
Differences between Former and Later Heaven ......................................................................................13 Former Heaven Sequence ............................................................................................................................13 Later Heaven Sequence ...............................................................................................................................14 The Nine Moving Stars................................................................................................................................16
The Nine Stars .........................................................................................................................................16 The Big Dipper and the Nine Moving Stars ............................................................................................16 The Moving Stars ....................................................................................................................................17
The Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions.............................................................................................................17 Definition of constellation .......................................................................................................................17 Lunar Mansions and the Celestial Animals .............................................................................................17 Lunar Mansions and the Western Zodiac ................................................................................................18 The angles of the constellations on Luo Pan ...........................................................................................19 Lunar Mansions and twelve-four Solar Divisions ...................................................................................20
Ch’i (气): its Sources and Effects ................................................................................................................21 Sheng and SSu Ch’i .................................................................................................................................21
Earth, Atmosphere and Heaven Ch’i ...........................................................................................................21 Heaven Ch’i (t’ien Ch’i) ..........................................................................................................................21 Earth Ch’i (ti Ch’i)...................................................................................................................................21 Weather Ch’i............................................................................................................................................21
Yin and Yang...............................................................................................................................................22
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The Trigrams ...........................................................................................................................................22 Discussions ..................................................................................................................................................23
Is Luo Pan a cosmological representation of the stars? ...........................................................................23 Can Luo Pan work in the Southern Hemisphere?....................................................................................23 Is Luo Pan a scientific tool?.....................................................................................................................23 Closer analysis of the 28 Constellations and the Western Zodiacs .........................................................24
Appendix 1 - Our Luo Pan Model ...............................................................................................................25 Our model of Luo Pan .............................................................................................................................25 How does it work? ...................................................................................................................................25 Stars charts...............................................................................................................................................25
Appendix 2: Overview of Position of starsReferences................................................................................26 Appendix 2: Overview of Position of starsReferences................................................................................27 References....................................................................................................................................................28
Books .......................................................................................................................................................28 Websites...................................................................................................................................................28
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OBJECTIVES
Have you ever wondered about how Feng Shui masters use their circular metal device (Luo Pan) to conclude that the Feng Shui of a site is good or bad? Did you know that the Luo Pan actually is intimately linked to western astronomy? Have you ever thought about the mysteries and implications different rings of the Luo Pan have in them?
Objectives of Our Project 1) History of the Luo Pan
invention of Luo Pan and the development up to the present one.
Luo Pan ina brief history from
2) cult
Figure 1 Evil is associated with Yin
the
ural practices nced people’s life in ancient times, and how it influences people
3) rt se solar calendars and the seasons correlate with direction and stars.
4) d to the seasons.
5) lemented the astronomy concepts into Luo Pan.
6) ncepts about the whole Universe the ancient Chinese had
7) focus. There are many materials we had come across and not all facts are true.
e we
a brief account of how Luo Pan influe
in modern Singapore. The time-finding ato look into how the Chine
The direction-finding art to show how directions are relate
The astronomical links to show how the Chinese imp
The big principles of Luo Pan to introduce the some of the general co
implemented into the Luo Pan.
Discussions this is our main
Through our analysis of certain areas, we arrived at our own conclusions based on the knowledg
have gained so far.
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Origins of Luo Pan Before the Luo Pan was invented to establish the astrology
charts, the Sun dial was used to determine the direction of
the sun and the time of the day. The North Star was used to
determine the location of the North. From these, the Chinese
was able to establish the directions of the four cardinals and
the four diagonals of the Eight Trigram directions. The Chinese invented the compass needle in 4000 B.C. According to
popular legend, the Luo Pan was presented to the Yellow Emperor by
the Goddess of the Nine Heavens to assist him in his heroic battle
against the evil wizard's clan.
But it was only until the Warring State period (475 –221 BC)
that the compass was documented being used as a tool for
measuring Feng Shui. The first divination plate that i
the compass was called “Si Nan Luo pan”. The Si Nan Luo Pan
was a simple design which consists of a magnetized sp
sitting in the center of a square divination plate. During the H
Dynasty (206 BC- 220 AD), another kind of divination plate
called the “Shi Pan” appeared. It had a square base plate
symbolic of earth, the 地 (Di) Pan, and a round plate symbolic o
heaven, the 天 (Tian) Pan. The Heaven Plate pivots on a pin to
enable it to rotate around the Earth Plate. The Heaven Plate is not
magnetized. The two plates were used together to judge time a
direction based on the constellation pattern in the center.
ncorporated
oon
an
f
nd
HISTORY OF LUO PAN
Figure 2 Portrait of Huang Ti
Figure 4 a Chinese diagrams illustrating various functions of the magnetized Luo Pan
Figure 3 sitting in the centre is the magnetized spoon
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HISTORY OF LUO PAN
Figure 5 Picture of Shi Pan
Development of Luo Pan From the Emperor’s palace to schools in Southern China, many researches were devoted
to the study of the science and philosophy of Luo Pan. Many Sages and scholars made
significant contributions to the development of the Luo Pan up to the present one.
The two schools of Feng Shui; earthly forms and compass There are two main schools of thought in Feng-Shui, the form school and the compass school. The former
and the older of the two is concerned with the visible form of the landscape surrounding the site under
construction, be it a house or tomb. The Compass school, however, is concerned with a time axis and a
complex set of relationship between ‘sensitive’ directions as indicated by an elaborate many-ringed
compass. The Form school was begun by Yang Yun-sun, of ninth century, who was Imperial Geomancer
to the Emperor Hi-Tsung from AD 874-888 and was based in Kiangsi. The Compass school began with
Wang Chih in the eleventh century and was called the Fukien school since it was in north Fukien that
Wang Chih practiced.
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LUO PAN IN CULTURAL PRACTICES
Luo Pan Feng Shui in Ancient China If you had been to China’s any cities with rich history, you
might notice almost all the houses along some of the streets
facing a single direction, mostly South, instead of facing
oppositely each other.
Landscape surveillance In the ancient times, the Feng Shui Master (hsien-sheng) would
analyze the landscape in very interesting ways. He would be seen
carried by his servants in sedan, occasionally took out his compass
and orientated its needle. Sometimes, upon the instant of
inspiration, he would plunge down a slope as fast as his legs
could take him until he reached an upslope where he marked it.
This was known as ‘riding the dragon’, or detecting the flow of
the Ch’i. He would pick up the exact locations of the major forms
in the landscape such as mountains, ridges and rivers. Finally, he
would make a consultation of the night sky to determine the
position of the constellations on the horizon before coming to a
conclusion.
Figure 6 paying tribute to the Luo Pan Master in ancient China
Architecture of the ancient dwellings For the more well to do families, their houses normally were built
in a manner that there was always a wall or a shade blocking the
doors of the house or rooms, such that no one can walk a direct
straight path into the dwelling. This was to prevent the wealth or
fortune of a dwelling to flow out. Figure 7 Using Luo Pan in the Ching Dynasty
Cursed birthdays Some of the religious Chinese believe that certain days and timings are considered bad luck. When a
person happens to born on such unlucky timings, he/she is deemed to have hereditary characteristic (八
字,the set of eight characters that defined the path of an individual life) that were bad or detrimental to
his/her parents. He/she is even forbidden to acknowledge his parents. They usually call their parents
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uncles or aunties. His/her name can be given from birth like Ah Gou which means dog, or Shi Tou which
means stone. Bias against the child is often the case until they grow up. Such cases are more often seen in
families that run businesses.
Luo Pan Feng Shui in Modern Singapore Feng Shui has immersed influences in
Hong Kong and Singapore. Luo Pans
are being consulted by Feng Shui
Masters on matters from the dates of
the opening ceremonies to the shape of a building.
Shape of Suntec City: resemblance of a palm Suntec City is an example where Feng Shui is consulted extensively. It has five office towers, a
convention hall and a large fountain. The 5 towers is supposed to represent the fingers of the hand, the
convention hall the wrist and the fountain in the center of the Suntec City, means water (wealth) flowing
into the palm of the hand, which is a good omen. The architecture of the
building has obviously taken Feng Shui into consideration and a Luo Pan
is most likely to be needed in determination of the geomancy.
The new Merlion Park
Figure 9 the office towers
Figure 7 Suntec Convention - where international conferences are held
LUO PAN IN CULTURAL PRACTICES
Figure 8 Resemblance of a Palm
Figure 10 Fountain of Wealth
Another example is the position of the Singapore Merlion at the old Merlion Park at the mouth of
Singapore River. At its original position, the Merlion Park is the mouth of the Singapore River, which has
good Feng Shui. Not so anymore as its view is blocked by the extension of the Marina Bay and the
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LUO PAN IN CULTURAL PRACTICES
Figure 11 the opening ceremony of the new Merlion site by Senior Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on 15 Sep 2002
newly-built of the Esplanade Bridge. Because the
Merlion does not have open access to the sea, it is
interpreted by a Feng Shui master as a sign of wealth
being blocked, as seen during the recent financial crisis.
As a result, it was shifted into a new position which is
supposed to have good Feng Shui as it faced the mouth
of the Singapore River. Again, a Luo Pan is most likely
to be needed in this case to determine the Feng Shui of
the new position.
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Twelve-Four Solar Divisions (Chieh Ch’i) The Chinese’s approach to meteorology involves the aid of the weather Ch’i in explaining
the seasons and was used as a solar calendar by the Chinese farmers in the ancient times.
Solar divisions Chinese solar calendar begins at Li Chun when the Big Dipper (See p. 16 The Big Dipper and the Nine
Moving Stars) points to the 15th degree of the constellation Aquarius, which happens on either Feb 4th or
5th of every year. The Spring Equinox (0 degree Aries) is "mid spring" which happens in between the
beginning of spring (Li-Chun) and the beginning of summer (Li-hsia). The summer solstice (0 degree
Cancer) is the mid point between the Li-hsia, beginning of summer, and the Li-Chiu, beginning of autumn.
The autumn equinox (0 degree Libra) is called Chiu-Fen, the mid autumn. The winter solstice (0 degree
Capricorn) is called Tung chih, the coming of winter. The following are the 24 Chieh Ch’i (solar
fortnight):
Chieh li ch’un 立春 beginning of Spring 5 Feb (first day)
Ch’i yu Shui 雨水 rain water 20 Feb
Chieh ching chih 惊蛰 excited insects 7 Mar
Ch’i ch’un fen 春分 Spring Equinox 22 Mar
Chieh ch’ing ming 清明 clear and bright 6 Apr
Ch’i ku yu 榖雨 grain rains 21 Apr
Chieh li hsia 立夏 Summer begins 6 May
Ch’i Hsiao man 小满 grain filling 22 May
Chieh mang chung 芒种 grain in ear 7 Jun
Ch’i hsia chih 夏至 Summer Solstice 22 Jun
Chieh Hsiao shu 小暑 slight heat 8 Jul
Ch’i ta shu 大暑 great heat 24 Jul
Chieh li ch’iu 立秋 autumn begins 8 Aug
Ch’i ch’u shu 处暑 limit of heat 24 Aug
Chieh pai lu 白露 white dew 8 Sep
Ch’i ch’iu fen 秋分 Autumn Equinox 24 Sep
Chieh han lu 寒露 cold dew 9 Oct
Ch’i shuang chiang 霜降 hoar frost descends 24 Oct
THE TIME-FINDING ART
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THE TIME-FINDING ART
Chieh li tung 立冬 Winter begins 8 Nov
Ch’i Hsiao hsueh 小雪 slight snow 23 Nov
Chieh ta hsueh 大雪 great snow 7 Dec
Ch’i tung chih 冬至 Winter Solstice 22 Dec
Chieh Hsiao han 小寒 slight cold 6 Jan
Ch’i ta han 大寒 great cold 21 Jan
Table 1 Table of the Chieh Ch’i
Solar divisions in Luo Pan Each division corresponds to 15 degrees of the sun’s motions in Longitude on the ecliptic. The compass
links them to 24 directional points. Each Ch’i is divided into 3 hou and each hou into 5 days. The year
then is made up of 360 days. The omission of 5 days of the solar year makes correlation with a circle.
Each degree indicates a point on ground appropriate to and telling something about a day, integrating time
and space considerations. It is noted that before the advent of the Jesuits in the late sixteenth to the
seventeenth centuries, the Chinese had circles of 365¼ degrees. The full solar Chinese year begins and
ends at Tung Chih (meaning end of winter, beginning of spring) which is different from the lunar
calendar. Hence the arrangement of the divisions is starting from Tung Chih in the centre of the North in
the Luo Pan. Therefore at centre of East, it meets the Spring Equinox. At centre of South, it meets the
Summer Solstice. And at centre of West, it meets the Autumn Equinox.
Solar divisions and the Big Dipper When the Big Dipper points East direction and Chen1 quadrant, this is the Li-Chun, beginning of spring.
The sun rises at 15 degree of Aquarius. Li-hsia, the summer beginning, is another Jie which sun rises at
15 degree of Taurus. The Big Dipper points South (180 degree compass) direction and Li quadrant. When
the Big Dipper points to the west 270 degree compass direction and Tui quadrant, the sun rises at 15
degree Leo. This is the Li-Chiu, beginning of autumn. When the Big Dipper points to the north 360
degree compass direction and Kan quadrant, the sun rises at 15 degree Scorpio, this is the Li-Tung,
beginning of winter. The Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox, and the Winter Solstice
are the mid points between the Li-Chun, Li-Hsia, Li-Chiu, and Li-Tung (the beginning of the four
seasons).
1 All the trigrams here refer to the Later Heaven Sequence
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THE DIRECTION-FINDING ART
Orientations – The Four Celestial Animals and Four Seasons The basic directions are North, South, East and West. The Luo
Pan attributes a symbolic animal to each direction.
The Four Celestial Animals Traditional Chinese geography insisted upon rivers flowing eastwards (e.g.
the Yellow River) and all mountains (sources of rivers) in the west. As China is in the Northern
Hemisphere, ancient Chinese pictured the south as source of warmth (equator being in the south of China)
while most of the cold wind (Feng) came form the dark north. Accordingly all Chinese maps placed the
quarter of greatest warmth, the south, at the top of the page. Luo Pan follows this convection, identifying
the South in the North direction. The Chinese uses four celestial
animals to represent the four directions. They might have interpreted i
from the stars. Below are the four animals associated with each of the
directions:
Figure 12 The Green Dragon and the White Tiger interlock in embrace
t
South
Red Bird/Phoenix (Source of warmth, light and fire)
East
Azure Dragon (the blue China Sea or eastern seaboard)
West
White Tiger (the snows of the high mountains of inland China)
North
Dark Warrior/Tortoise and Snake (of the cold dark northern plains)
Centre of the Compass
The Earth is sited at the centre of the compass.
The Four Seasons Figure 13 the Four Celestial Animals
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THE DIRECTION-FINDING ART
The sun rises in the East (spring), reaches its peak in the South (Mid-Summer), sets in the West (autumn)
and is dark in the North (Mid-Winter)
Spring – East
Summer – South (Maximum Yang)
Autumn – West
Winter – North (Maximum Ying)
The four animals traditionally attributed to the compass quarters are colored in a way which reflects their
geographic / climatic attributes.
Former and Later Heaven Sequences What are they all about? Can the Heaven be split into two? Are they related to the seasons?
We shall explain in the following sections.
Differences between Former and Later Heaven The difference between these is that the Former Heaven Sequence is the representation of ideal Heavenly
order and is used mainly in the Feng-Shui of tombs. As this is not suitable for Feng-Shui of dwelling
places, the Later Heaven Sequence was devised by the King Wen. It took into consideration of the Earth’s
rot and decay. It is more appropriate to the Feng-Shui of houses and gardens (See p. 22 Yin and Yang) for
overview).
Former Heaven Sequence
Figure 14 the Former Heaven Sequence
In Former Heaven sequence, the third line determines the sex of each
Trigram, the middle line is the next criterion of relative Yin or Yang-
ness and the first line is the least crucial. As a result, ( ) is major
Yang and minor Yin while ( ) is major Yin and minor Yang. In this
way a hierarchy can be built up extending from Chien to Kun. Hence,
( ) means very Yang while ( ) means very Ying. Very Yang
trigram symbol ( ) called Chien corresponds to the summer solstice
whereas the very Yin trigram symbol called Kun corresponds to the
winter solstice.
Symbol Name Seasons Directions Yin and Yang
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乾 Chien Summer South maximum Yang
兑 Tui South-East more Yang
離 Li Spring East equal Yin and yang
震 Chen North-East more Yin
巽 Sun South-West more Yang
坎 Khan Autumn West equal Yin and yang
艮 Ken North-West more Yin
坤 Kun Winter North maximum Yin
Table 2 The Names of the Eight Trigrams and their associated directions and seasons
In terms of the Former heaven sequence, south is associated with summer while north is associated with
winter. This is because Chinese in the past view the beginning of spring as the beginning of a new year.
They also correlated the beginning of the year with the beginning of the day. Since the sun rises in the
east, they naturally linked east with the spring.
The sun when viewed from China reaches its peak in the south at all times of the year during noon, and as
noon is the warmest period of the day just as summer is the warmest period of the year, the Chinese
correlated south with midsummer. The same goes for autumn, as the sun sets in the west and both are thus
correlated. After the sun sets, the sun continues its revolution until it is in the north of China, when it will
be at midnight. As midnight is the coldest period of the day just as winter is the coldest period of the year,
they are both correlated.
Later Heaven Sequence As mentioned earlier, the Eight Trigrams are arranged in two distinct and
separate arrangements, the Former Heaven and the Later Heaven sequence.
The Former Heaven sequence stands for the heavenly order and the ideal
situations in which the 4 seasons will occur; while Later Heaven sequence
takes into account the less perfect circles of seasons, and manifestations on
the earth itself. Figure 15 The Later Heaven Sequence
Symbol Name Seasons Directions
乾 Chien Heaven South-West
THE DIRECTION-FINDING ART
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THE DIRECTION-FINDING ART
兑 Tui Autumn West
離 Li Summer South
震 Chen Spring East
巽 Sun South-East
坎 Khan Winter North
艮 Ken North-East
坤 Kun Earth North-West
Table 3 the names of the eight trigrams in the Later Heaven
The Later is linked to the Former Heaven as it was devised from it. Both may exist as two different rings
together in Luo Pans and are used for the detection of Yin-Yang harmony or disharmony at particular
points. They are prominent in Luo Pans used nowadays.
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The Nine Moving Stars “Of all cosmological forces in Luo Pan the most directly
manifested in the forms of earth are the Nine Moving Stars”.
Figure 18 the Great Bear Constellation
The Nine Stars Their details are to be found in Han Lung Ching by Yang Yun-sung (the
form school), but are not of central importance to the Compass school.
Therefore, it is not a necessary component in the compass. There are 24
divisions in the ring. In practice, they are used as categories to define the
various hill and mountain forms.
T’an lang 贪狼 greedy and savage
Chu men 巨门 great gate
Lu ts’un 禄存 Rank (salary) preserved
Wen ch’u 文曲 civil or literary activities
Lien chien 廉 真 honesty, purity and uprightness
Wu ch’u 武曲 military windings
P’o chun 破军 breaker of the Phalanx Broken Army (luck)
Tso fu 左辅 left assistant
Yu pi 右弼 right assistant of the Celestial Emperor
Table 4 the names of the nine stars and their meanings in Chinese
The Big Dipper and the Nine Moving Stars Seven of the Nine Moving Stars are identified with the seven stars of the Great Bear Constellation or Big
Dipper asterism. Constellation is a collective group of stars while an asterism is a smaller group of stars
Figure 16 the Stars arrangement on Luo Pan
THE ASTRONOMICAL LINKS
Figure 17 the Position of the 9 Stars
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THE ASTRONOMICAL LINKS
that is part of a constellation. The remaining two are assistance stars, which are located many light years
away but appear near the Mizar Star. A Java Applet showing the Urza Major constellation (Please refer to
the CD-Rom): Stars of Urza Major
Figure 19 the Big Dipper
The Moving Stars As the title implies, the Nine Stars are moving stars. They are not really ‘stars’ as they have no specific
astronomical or astrological locations. In Han dynasty, it was already established that the Dipper annually
swung around the pole star in a full circle and the constellation that the handle pointed were those
appropriate to the current time of year. As they correlate with the seasons of the year, the tail of the
constellation at nightfall points to the quarter attributed to the current season. For example, when in
spring the tail points to the east or in autumn to the west (See p. 10 Solar divisions).
The Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions In the Luo Pan one of the rings is called the Lunar Mansions
containing the Chinese 28 constellations. The Chinese stars
charts were known to be the most accurate in the ancient
times.
Definition of constellation A constellation is a collection of stars, grouped together to form a
recognizable figure. They are observed from the Earth. Although there are far away from each other, but
from Earth’s position of observation, they appear next to each other.
Figure 20 this is the famous Suzhou Astronomical Chart of 1247, displaying the Milky Way and Chinese constellations
Lunar Mansions and the Celestial Animals
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THE ASTRONOMICAL LINKS
The stars of the 28 constellations are situated around the Celestial Equator on different times of the year.
The 28 constellations are grouped into the four Celestial Animals (See p. 12 The Four Celestial Animals)
which corresponds to the seasons they appear. This means that during each season, there will be 7
constellations appearing in the sky one after another. The stars appear to rise in the East and set in the
west in clockwise direction as Earth rotates anti-clockwise around its axis. As the Earth revolves around
the sun, the stars appear to move in anti-clockwise direction with respect to the Sun. Eventually, the
current stars disappear and new stars appear. Therefore, the position of constellations changes with the
time of the year.
Lunar Mansions and the Western Zodiac Some of the 28 Chinese constellations are very close to the Western
Zodiacs. Some of Chinese constellations’ stars maybe the same
stars of the Western Zodiac (See p. 25 Stars charts).
Similarly to the Western counterpart, the Chinese also
Figure 22 the names of the legendary people appears on Luo Pan
Figure 23the ancient Chinese star chart showing the 28 constellation (Part 2). There are 615 stars in this chart.
Figure 24 the ancient Chinese star chart showing the 28 constellation (Part 2). There are 660 stars in this chart.
Figure 21 The Chinese celestial sphere
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inferred shapes from the stars. Later, the name of the shapes became names of legendary people.
Therefore, on the Luo Pan, you will see strange names given to the constellations.
The angles of the constellations on Luo Pan From observations of the different Luo Pan from different centuries, we realized that the angles of the 28
constellations deviated from one to three degrees from one another. This maybe attributed to long span of
time. Due to the precession effect of the Earth’s rotation over a few hundred of years, the constellations
may appear earlier or later than the predicted time. The angles were adjusted from time to time when the
precision is not accurate anymore (around 1 degree every 71 years). One more point to note is that ancient
Luo Pans adopted the old Chinese degrees, in which the circle is divided into 365¼ parts while the
modern ones divide the circle into 360 parts for convenience. This results in the differences.
28 Chinese Constellations (Asterisms) 二十八宿
28 Constellations
Name No. of Degrees Pinyin Quadrant # Approx. Western Constellation/Key Star
角 (Horn) 12 Jiao 1 Spica/Alpha Vir
亢 (Neck) 9 Kang 2 Virgo/Kappa Vir
氐 (Base) 16 Di 3 Libra/Iota Lib or Alpha Lib
房 (Room) 6 Fang 4 Libra/Delta Sco or Pi Sco
心 (Heart) 6 Xin 5 An tares/Sigma Sco
尾(Tail) 18 Wei 6 Scorpios/Mu Sco
箕 (Basket) 9 Ji
East
東
Green
Dragon
7 Sagittarius/ Gamma Sgr orEta Sgr
斗 (Ladle) 22 Dou 8 Sagittarius/Phi Sgr
牛 (Ox-Boy) 7 Niu 9 Capricorn/Beta Cap
女 (Maiden) 11 Nu 10 Aquarius/Epsilon Aqr
虚 (Void) 9 Xu 11 Aquarius/Beta Aqr
危 (Rooftop) 16 Wei 12 Aquarius and Pegasus/Alpha Aqr
室 (House) 18 Shi 13 Pegasus/Alpha Peg
壁 (Wall) 9 Bi
North
北
Black
Tortoise
14 Pegasus/Gamma Peg
奎 (Astride) 18 Kui 15 Andromeda/Delta And
娄 (Mound) 12 Lou
West
西 16 Aries/Beta Ari
THE ASTRONOMICAL LINKS
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THE ASTRONOMICAL LINKS
胃 (Stomach) 15 Wei 17 Aries/35 Ari
昴 (Pleiades) 11 Mao 18 Pleiades/17 Tau or 16 Tau 畢 (Net) 16 Bi 19 Taurus/Epsilon Tau
觜 (Beak) 1 Zi 20 Orion/Lamda Ori or Phi Ori
参 (Orion) 9 Shen
White
Tiger
21 Orion/Delta Ori or Beta Ori
井 (Well) 30 Jing 22 Gemini/Mu Gem
鬼 (Ghosts) 3 Gui 23 Cancer/Delta Cnc orTheta Cnc
柳 (Willow) 14 Liu 24 Hydra/Delta Hya
星 (Star) 6 Xing 25 Alp hard/Alpha Hya
张 (Bow) 18 Zhang 26 Crater/Nu Hya
翼 (Wings) 20 Yi 27 Corves/Alpha Crt
轸 (Carriage) 19 Zhen
South
南
Red
Bird
28 Corves/Gamma Crv
Table 5 this is based on 1950 Luo Pan. The North is at the mid-point of ‘zi’.
Lunar Mansions and twelve-four Solar Divisions The practical use of the system of 28 constellations was to determine the position of the Sun, and
consequently enable corrections to be made to the calendar. As the stars cannot be seen during the day,
the position of the Sun has to be inferred from the position of the Full Moon, which is always in the
opposite direction of the Sun. This means that by determining the position of the Full Moon with respect
to the 28 constellations, the Chinese were able to identify the position of the Sun. This is one of the
methods that the Chinese used to determine the seasonal days (See p. 10 Solar divisions) to add leap
month.
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THE BIG PRINCIPLES OF LUO PAN
Ch’i (气): its Sources and Effects Ch’i (气) is the active energy which flows through the forms produced
by li. The closest western terminology that can describe Ch’i is the
Earth magnetic field. It acts at every level – on human, agricultural and climate. On human level, it is the
energy flowing through the acupuncture meridians and only departs on death. All
living things depend on it and it is literally ‘the breath of life’. On agricultural level
it is the force which ensures the fertility of crops; and on climatic level it is the
energy carried by the wind and by the waters. Figure 25 Acupuncture Chart showing flow of Ch’i along meridians
It is responsible for the changes in form which is a characteristic of all living things, including the Earth.
The various forms of Ch’i include sheng Ch’i or vital Ch’i and ssu Ch’i or torpid Ch’i. The former is
Yang Ch’i and the latter Yin Ch’i. The sheng Ch’i flows most readily during the hours of rising sun while
ssu Ch’i prevails during the declining hours of sun (noon to midnight). Hence, as the sun moves from east
to west, the compass point from which one will expect either sheng Ch’i or ssu Ch’i alternate.
Sheng and SSu Ch’i
Earth, Atmosphere and Heaven Ch’i Ch’i pervades in the form of Earth, Heaven and Weather
Ch’i.
Heaven Ch’i (t’ien Ch’i) This is affected by the state of t’ien. They are governed by the
Former Heaven sequence (See p. 13 Former Heaven Sequence) of
trigrams.
Earth Ch’i (ti Ch’i) This is contained in the ‘dragon veins’ of the earth. It runs through
the earth and along the watercourse and subjected to decay. They are governed by the Later Heaven
sequence (See p. 14 Later Heaven Sequence) of the Trigrams.
Figure 26 the five types of Weather Ch'i extend between Heaven and Earth Ch'i
Weather Ch’i
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THE BIG PRINCIPLES OF LUO PAN
This is consists of rain, sunshine, heat, cold and wind. The weather partake the nature of both Heaven and
Earth and is governed by both.
Ch’i is an all important principle underlying Luo Pan. It acts on every level from human to climatic and
exists in Heaven, Earth and Weather. The essence of good direction finding is to determine the best site
which is able to trap the Ch’i energy flowing through the site and accumulate it without allowing it to go
stagnant.
Yin and Yang Yin and Yang are the root of the Chinese views of the
universe. The symbol in the centre is the Yin-Yang
symbol. Dark half represents Yin and Light half represents
Yang. Inside each half contains a seed of opposite
force. One of the Chinese philosophies behind Luo Pan is the Yin and
Yang. Yin governs the Earth and represents all that are negative.
Yang derives from Heaven and represents all that are positive. The
concept of Yin and Yang came from the classic I’Ching, as a whole line (Yang) and as a broken line
(Yin).
Figure 27 Yin Yang
The Trigrams The trigrams are unique combination of the Yin and Yang. A trigram c
of three lines on top of one another, each line being either a whole line (Yan
or a broken line (Yin). Sage Fu Hsi invented the Trigrams more than 4000
years ago. It is consisted of all the eight combinations of Yin and Yang called
the Former Heaven sequence (See p. 13 Former Heaven Sequence). L
King Wen (the first ruler of the Chou dynasty, 1150BC) combined each of
the eight Trigrams with each of the others to form the 64 hexagrams, formin
the classic I’Ching. Each of these Hexagrams had a textual interpretation.
The ancient Chinese believes all changes can be predicted from these 6
hexagrams. King Wen derived the Later Heaven sequence (See p. 14 Late
Heaven Sequence) from these 64 Hexagrams using complex and metaphoric formulas.
Figure 28 Fu-Hsi, creator of Former Heaven Sequence
onsists
g)
ater
g
4
r
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Discussions Is Luo Pan a cosmological representation of the stars? In our opinion, we feel that the Luo Pan is actually a cosmological graph of the stars in the skies of China;
we think that Luo pan might just be what ancient people produced while trying to relate what they saw in
the sky and what actually happened around them. From our interpretation of the Luo Pan, we think one
can actually determine the constellations which are visible to the Chinese in that particular season. By
pointing the south needle in the direction of the current season, we can observe the constellations visible
to the people. The constellation which is at the furthest end of the line extended from season in the Luo
Pan will appear first followed by the rest of the constellations until it reaches the constellation which
coincides with the ending of the season. This will be clearly illustrated in our model of the Luo Pan.
Can Luo Pan work in the Southern Hemisphere? During our discussions, we feel that Luo Pan (as a cosmological graph) is not applicable in the Southern
hemisphere. This is because the Luo Pan was invented in Northern China, and the sighting of the night
skies was observed in Emperor’s palace in Northern China. The motion of sun is always in the South.
This was the reason the Chinese identified summer (warmth) as the south. However in the Southern
Hemisphere, the sun is always in the North. Not only that, while China is having summer, Southern
Hemisphere is having winter. The seasons are totally opposite. The same constellations visible to the
Chinese may not be visible to the people living in the Southern Hemisphere. For example, the important
Polaris star in Luo Pan is not even visible to them. And in Singapore, there is no way to apply the seasons.
There has a been a fierce debate raging on about whether the Luo Pan can really be used in the Southern
Hemisphere as a tool for judging Feng Shui. In our opinion, since we feel that the cosmological graph is a
vital part of the Luo Pan, we think Luo Pan is only applicable in Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, those
Feng Shui masters who feel that Luo Pan can be used in other places are not astronomically correct.
Is Luo Pan a scientific tool? The rings we have covered are partly scientific and astronomically based. However, most of the principles
behind Luo Pan are not so as there is no concrete evidence or reliability and validity in its results. It is
mainly based on fantasy imagination and metaphoric explanations. We think that Luo Pan is effective in
the sense that through the manipulation of the objects, it can result in a harmonious and comfortable
environment. Thus it will make the inner mind state more peaceful. Although Feng Shui is not taken
DISCUSSIONS
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DISCUSSIONS
seriously by scientists, people have begun to adapt and explore the underlying concepts and theories
Zodiacs
of
ac
ril
22. However for the Chinese, the corresponding Aries star appears on the West direction of the Luo Pan
s,
,
As mentioned earlier, time of occurrence of seasons can change due to precession. Luo Pan has a
behind them.
Closer analysis of the 28 Constellations and the WesternIn the Western Zodiac, there are total of 12 astrological houses spreading evenly around a sidereal
year. Each occupies 30 degrees on the sun ecliptic plane. As Sun moves along the ecliptic path, it resides
in each of the twelve zodiacs. The ancient Chinese 28 constellations were similar to the zodiac in the big
picture. However, there are of totally different concept.
First of all, the zodiacs are based on Sun’s position throughout the year while lunar mansions are
based on observations of stars appearing throughout the year. It is impossible for us to observe the stars
the zodiac that the sun resides in at a particular time of the year. Therefore, it is expected that the zodi
sign is completely opposite of one another. For example, we take Aries which the sun resides from Ap
based on the Table 5. The Chinese has associated the West direction with the autumn equinox as earlier
mentioned. This implies that the Chinese star will only appear around autumn equinox period, which
happens around September 23. This is almost half a year difference between the two.
Secondly, the zodiacs inferred the constellations from the stars residing along the ecliptic path
while the Chinese based on stars along the celestial equator. If we based the year on both observation
both will be a sidereal year. Therefore, we need to consider the precession effect. Both will be affected
differently. As Earth wobbles, every 71 years will result in 1 degree faster. So about 2000 years later, it
will be 30 degrees. That’s the size of a zodiac. Therefore, every 2000 years the zodiac signs are changed
completely. For Lunar Mansions, we will see stars ranging from +23.5 degrees to -23.5 degrees from the
ecliptic plane. The Celestial Equator is perpendicular to the axis of Earth. Therefore, as Earth wobbles,
the Equator shifts along with it, changing the angle between the Equatorial and ecliptic plane. In this case
there is a flaw. Few thousands years later, the 28 constellation appear on the other side of sky.
few thousand years of history. The effect will be significant. It is possible to notice this effect through
comparing of Luo Pans from different eras. Hence Luo Pan could possibly contribute to study of the
effect of precession in the ancient time.
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APPENDIX 1
Appendix 1 - Our Luo Pan Model
We hav
8 Constellations. The most outer ring is the
corresp
objective of our
Luo Pa of
Below are stars charts showing the specific locations of the stars and the key stars which are circle in
yellow:
Our model of Luo Pan e made a model of Luo Pan to better illustrate the rings we have covered in this project. We have
omitted rings that are not relevant to astronomical aspect. There are 6 rings altogether. In the centre, we
have the compass. Second ring is the Former Heaven Sequence. Third ring is the Later Heaven Sequence.
Fourth Ring is the Nine Moving Stars. Fifth ring is the 2
onding zodiac associated with the 28 Constellations. Then there is a metal sphere covering over it.
It is to represent the Celestial Sphere and the Luo Pan or the base of the base is the Horizon plane. There
are many dots on the spheres. They represent the 28 constellations, with the key star of each
constellations highlighted with the color of the direction it is associated. For example, South is associated
with Red Bird. So the color is red. The stars of individual constellations are linked together. We have
embedded the four Celestial Animals into the sphere to indicate the direction they represent.
How does it work? Our version of Luo Pan does not have the same objective of an authentic Luo Pan. The
n is the find the position of the 28 constellation at a given time and direction. Check which one
the solar divisions the day falls. Then align the needle and the corresponding solar division to the North
Direction of the magnetic compass. The constellations will appear at the direction the compass shows.
Stars charts
Figure 30 7 constellations in the East, represented by the Celestial Animal Azure Dragon
Figure 29 7 constellations in the North, represented by the Celestial Animal Dark Warrior/Tortoise and Snake
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APPENDIX 1
Figure 32 7 constellations in the West, represented by the Celestial Animal White Tiger
Celestial Animal Red Bird/Phoenix Figure 31 7 constellations in the South, represented by the
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Appendix 2: Overview of Position of stars
Figure 33 astronomic locations of the 28 Lunar Mansions of China
APPENDIX 2
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REFERENCES
References Books
1) Skinner, Stephen (1982), The Li hui, Graham Brash (Pte) Ltd,
Singapore
2) Walters, Derek (1989), C nal study of Feng Shui
ority on the subject,
Element Books Lim
3) ancy, Collection
“Co naissan
4)
Websites Luo Pan
http://www.innerx.net/personal/tsm
ving Earth Manual of Feng-S
hinese Geomancy, Dr J J M de Groot’s semi
together with detailed commentaries by the Western world’s leading auth
ited
Feuchtwang, Stephan D.R. (1974), An Anthological Analysis of Chinese Geom
ce De L’asie” Vol. 1, Editions Vithagna, Laos
Skinner, Stephen (2001), Feng Shui, Paragon
ith/LuoPan.html
e done by Frank D. (Tony) Smith, Jr
explained the Luo Pan ring by ring with great details. It is an interesting we
ny other areas like the Clifford algebra and comets.
Pages
c.jp/dbk/kelley.html
done by Dr. David B. Kelley, Hamamats
of the ancient Chinese observations of stars. It has
dieval lunisolar playing cards, Maya calendar and Mexican cultures.
.N
t/default-spore.htm
mmercialized Feng-Shui website based in Singa
inly in the areas of application of Feng-Shui. There are many hum
Figure 34 from left to right: The Living Earth of Feng-Shui, Chinese Geomancy, An anthological Analysis of Chinese Geomancy and Feng Shui
Descriptions: This is a websit . based on a 19 rings Luo Pan. He
bsite worth seeing. He has
websites on ma
David B. Kelley’s Web
http://hawk.hama-med.a
Descriptions: This is a website u University School of Medicine,
Japan. There are pictures plenty of information of
variety of topics, like me
Feng Shui at Geomancy
http://sg.geomancy.ne
et - Singapore
Descriptions: This is a co pore. It has a large database of
photographs, ma orous graphics created
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29
REFERENCES
by the website’s Feng-Shui master too. It also offers basic guides for Feng-Shui beginners. The website is
very well-designed with a lot of graphics but can take time to download.
ui and Time Cycle by Aifen Wong
http://www.traditionalfengshui.com/articles/fstimecycle.htm
Feng Sh
Descriptions: This is a simple website with few features. However it has a few good articles worth
reading especially on the Chinese Solar Calendar.
Star Charts and Moon Stations by Steve Renshaw and Saori Ihara
http://www2.gol.com/users/stever/charts.htm
e website done by Steve RenshawDescriptions: This is an informativ and Saori Ihara. It is mainly about
Jap se
astrono losely linked to their China counterparts.
anese star charts. However, some of the charts used originated from China as the ancient Japane
mers were c