The Mysterious Tool for Divining the Earth's Energy: Feng Shui Masters Search for Auspicious Sites
Feng shui masters use their eyes to observe, but they also rely on tools to explore auspicious sites. The most important tool among them is the Luo Pan (compass), which is revered as the "Luo Jing" and symbolizes a comprehensive understanding of all things and the ability to organize the universe. The development and complexity of the Luo Pan has been a long-term process.
During the Three Dynasties period, people chose palace foundations through divination. After selection, it was necessary to determine the center, which at that time was probably measured by observing the stars in relation to the sun. In the poem "Ding Zhi Fang Zhong" from the Book of Songs (Shijing), it states: "Having determined the center, build the Chu Palace; measure it by the sun, build the Chu Room." According to interpretation, Ding refers to the star Polaris, also known as the Camp Star. When it appears directly in the middle of the sky during the evening in the tenth month of the lunar calendar, ancient people believed it was an appropriate time to construct palaces. The phrase "measure it by the sun" refers to determining the cardinal directions using the shadow of the sun, which is essentially the "Tu Gui Method." From relevant oracle bone inscriptions, it can be seen that the Shang Dynasty had already mastered this technique. The character "nie" represents setting up a wooden pole as a marker, while the character "jia" depicts a wooden crossbar at the top of the pole. The characters "|" and "*" refer to standing wood, and "shi" resembles the shape of a stick planted in the soil, all of which could be used to measure shadows.
By the Zhou Dynasty, the application became more widespread. The Rites of Zhou repeatedly mentions the Tu Gui, such as in the Xia Guan section: "The Tufang official is responsible for the Tu Gui method to measure the sun's shadow, to plan land for residences, and to establish the capitals and states." How exactly the Tu Gui was used can be inferred from the records in the Kao Gong Ji: "The craftsman establishes the state, leveling the ground with a suspended plumb line, placing a vertical rod with a suspended plumb line, measuring its shadow, drawing a circle, marking the shadow at sunrise and sunset, comparing it with the midday shadow during the day, and examining the North Star at night to correct the east-west direction." "Leveling the ground with a suspended plumb line" means observing the shadow of the rod, "drawing a circle" means using the length of the rod as the radius and the base of the rod as the center to draw a circle, "marking the shadow at sunrise and sunset" means measuring the shadows at these times, "comparing it with the midday shadow during the day, and examining the North Star at night to correct the east-west direction" means using the sun's shadow during the day and the North Star at night to determine the accuracy of the direction. Thus, the so-called Tu Gui method involves erecting a vertical rod in the center of a level area, ensuring it is perpendicular to the ground with a suspended rope, then observing the projection of the rod's shadow on the level ground at sunrise and sunset. These two shadow points intersect with the circle drawn with the rod as the center and its length as the radius, forming the true east-west line. Finally, the position is adjusted based on the midday shadow or the location of the North Star at night.
In summary, the Luo Pan evolved from ancient methods like the Tu Gui, which combined astronomical observations and geometric principles to align buildings and cities harmoniously with natural forces.