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墨書 Inktalez
Feng Shui is an ancient practice, also known as the Azure Crow Technique or Green Pouch Technique, with a more academic term being Kan Yu. It represents the forces of nature and the cosmic magnetic energy. Wind symbolizes vitality and energy, while water signifies flow and change.
Originally, Feng Shui was a method for assessing land, also referred to as land assessment or the ancient Kan Yu technique. It is a philosophy that studies the relationship between the environment and cosmic laws, emphasizing that humans are part of nature, and nature is part of humanity, achieving a state of "unity between heaven and man."
The founder of Feng Shui is the Taoist goddess Jiu Tian Xuan Nu, and a more refined understanding of Feng Shui emerged during the Warring States period. The core idea of Feng Shui is the harmony between humans and nature, striving for "unity between heaven and man." Early Feng Shui primarily concerned itself with the selection, orientation, and construction principles for palaces, residences, villages, and burial sites, making it a metaphysical study for finding suitable locations.
In the village, Fourth Brother said that when he was very young, his family's courtyard was located at the southernmost part of the village. Standing in the yard, one could see an ox cart slowly moving along the distant mountain road (back then, every household was poor; most courtyards were built with mud and stones. Our wall was only half a person high, and even a child could easily climb over it).
Since he could remember, his family never raised pigs or chickens. If they died, it was either due to unknown reasons or because they jumped into the water vat used for milling chaff and drowned; in any case, they never grew large.
The most memorable incident was when a pig he had raised to a decent size fell into the toilet pit and suffocated in excrement!
If it had happened once or twice, it would have been acceptable; drowning chickens in the milling chaff water was not uncommon in rural areas. However, not being able to raise any animals year after year became quite frustrating.
At that time, Fourth Brother had not yet started elementary school when a Feng Shui master visited their village. The family invited him over; he probably used a compass to take measurements (he was too young to remember clearly). The final conclusion was that the manure pit on the west side of their courtyard was dug too deep and affected the Feng Shui. He suggested filling it in shallower or leveling it completely.
The family followed his advice, and afterward, they were able to raise chickens, pigs, sheep, and other animals successfully.
Moreover, there were many snakes in their yard.
When he was young, every household planted sweet potatoes. In autumn, they dug deep pits to store them. His family dug two pits; the first one was located at the northwest corner of their current house and was used for several years. One spring day, while playing with a group of young friends in the yard, one of them peered into the pit and exclaimed that there were red papers down there (red paper at that time was used by little girls as "makeup" for their lips; apart from writing couplets during New Year celebrations, it was quite rare). Everyone gathered around to look, but instead of red papers, three pieces began to move—revealing three intertwined red-necked snakes (the local name for a type of red snake). They watched as the three red snakes slithered into the hole where sweet potatoes were stored.
From that day on, Fourth Brother and his siblings no longer dared to go down to collect sweet potatoes.
When he reached middle school one day while resting in the yard during lunch break, he suddenly heard a light "pop." A small green snake that hadn't yet grown as long as chopsticks fell from a tree above him; several chickens rushed over to snatch it up.
On another evening while cooling off in the yard again, he spotted a snake over a meter long and as thick as a rolling pin slithering under the eaves of the back house.
In recent years at his house—one day when his sister's family came over to help with farm work—since his family lived in the provincial capital and their house was empty during lunchtime (the midday break), his brother-in-law lay down on their bed for a short rest. In a daze, he heard a loud "thud" as a large snake fell right next to him on the bed; it scared him quite badly.
As a child, he even wondered if there might be an ancient tomb or treasure hidden beneath their home.
Some places eat snakes, but people from his area absolutely do not consume such things; older folks even revered them like deities.
He remembered learning about "Adding Feet to a Snake" in elementary school and often practiced drawing snakes on the ground. When village elders saw him doing this, they would always say: "Child, why are you drawing that... quickly wipe it away!"
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