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Day 1 [China Excursion-Extension] : The Good, The Bad and the Missed
Reported by Bernice Low
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Although the official Feng Shui Mastery Excursion 2005 is officially ended, more than 2/3 of the group has opted for the 3-Day extension program in Beijing.
It was to the Eastern Qing Tombs today for the students on the Mastery Academy China Excursion Extension Program. Last year, students on
the China Excursion 2004 visited 3 tombs in the Eastern Qing Tomb area:
tomb of Emperor Qian Long, Emperor Shun Zi and Empress Dowager Ci Xi.
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The must-see of course at the Eastern Qing Tombs is the tomb of Emperor Qian Long, which is a textbook model example of the principle of
‘Auspicious Land, inauspicious burial’. Qian Long’s tomb is one of the most expensive tombs in the complex and also one of the most opulent.
However, the tomb is aligned on a death and emptiness line, which means does not bode well for the dynasty. The next emperor after Qian Long,
Jia Qing, reigned for 20 years but after that, subsequent emperors were less and less capable, and problems were greater and greater for the country.
Although a few students had difficulty getting the death and emptiness line, measured from several points, they all eventually got the correct
measurements. Joey pointed out to the students the superb ‘Cloud Formation’ (Yun Shui Chang) mountains that form the vein for the tomb, which help pacify
the Fire Qi from the specific incoming Chastity (Lian Zhen Ge) star formation and moisten the vein to ensure the Qi is not too aggressive.
Simple but Powerful
The tomb of Emperor Shun Zi is simple but was the starting point for a good run of Emperors for the Qing Dynasty. Shun Zi was a relatively short lived ruler,
spending only 18 years on the throne but he was followed 3 highly regarded and extremely capable emperors, KangXi, Yong Zheng and Qian Long. The tomb of Emperor
Shun Zi taps directly into the Bei Shen mountain in the distance, with a very special “Yi Zi Wang Mei An”
table mountain to lock in the Qi. The dragon vein was clearly visible for the students and students were clearly able to see the ‘crossing of the gap’ by the
Dragon and the ‘Flying Goose Opening Its Wings’ and the Fairy Bridge at this tomb.
While no less powerful, the tomb of Emperor KangXi (which was a bonus visit) shows some flaws, which Joey pointed out to the students. Firstly, there is
a clearly chipped ‘shoulder’ on the one side of the embrace, indicating difficulties for the 7th son. The 4th son is also the most powerful and strong of the
mountains on the Zuo Sha. Accordingly, it was KangXi’s fourth son who became the Emperor Yong Zheng.
The real bonus for the students at the Eastern Qing Tombs was a visit to Emperor Xian Feng’s tomb and, a visit to the spot that would have been Emperor Xian
Feng’s tomb but that today, has become a commercial burial/graveyard.
Emperor Xian Feng’s tomb threw the students off guard. Most picked up the many negative features of the tomb, notably, the extremely strong You Sha
(Tiger Embrace) side and very weak Dragon side, and the gaping wind gap that sent Sha Qi straight to the tomb. But as Joey pointed out to the students,
15 minutes later, they had completely missed the wood for the trees:
the tomb, has not been placed properly, with the mountain backing the rear. Thus, the tomb was already being struck by Sha Qi from the
back where it wasn’t protected by a “Lok Shan”.
The vein is also clearly moving to the left, and it is a minor vein that is coming down to the tomb.
It is said that Emperor Xian Feng was originally advised to locate his tomb at another spot but chose the present spot because he found it
a hassle to cross the river to the other location. A bit of inconvenience, that cost the dynasty its empire it seems.
After some twists and turns, the students squeezed in a bonus visit, to the location that Xian Feng was supposed to have located his tomb, that is
today, a commercial cemetery. This spot, pointed out Joey, is powerful and certainly better Feng Shui. There is a RuYi formation table mountain in
front and a strong protecting embrace on both sides, with a clear vein coming down from the mountains. Much more noble features were found
and pointed by Joey, which clearly indicates that if Emperor Xian Feng were to be buried here as planned, the Dynasty would have had a different history.
Today gave students who had visited the Eastern Qing Tombs last year a chance to look at the area with new ideas and new knowledge and many found
they saw things which last year, they had missed. And the bonus spots added to the fun and challenge of the visit. Students were able to see
that there were unused Meridian pots still in the area that were untapped and were able to follow and find this spot to the modern day cemetery.
The evening ended with a hearty meal of hot pot in a Beijing restaurant.
Tomorrow, students will visit the Forbidden City, climb up Jin Shan to view the landform surrounding Beijing and pay a visit to an old
hutong in Beijing. The journey continues!
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