It is the learning system adopted by Feng Shui masters in the past that suffocates the Feng Shui knowledge.
If Feng Shui knowledge was passed on to the first Feng Shui master by an alien who was much more advanced than human civilization, then such knowledge can be considered secrets. When it is passed down the generations, it becomes practically zero after 50 generations due to the inevitable loss between generations.
If Feng Shui knowledge is human invention, then there should be no secret. It cannot be the invention of one person. It is the joint effort of many intelligent human beings. It is no different than the way any other science subject is developed. It is only in this way, Feng Shui education has a future.
The most glorious academic era in China was the Spring-Autumn and Warring-States Era 春秋戰國時代 described as hundred flowers blossoming with hundred schools honking 百花齊放 百家爭鳴. Although Confucianism and Daoism emerge as outstanding schools, the others all have their respected historical position.
Feng Shui should be the same had it not been suffocated by some selfish masters in the past. Qing Feng Shui scholar Shen Zhu Reng 沈竹礽 said these masters were honorable contributors to Feng Shui but at the same time convicts of Feng Shui.
JY
4 comments:
Dear Master Joseph,
Thank you for your interesting writings!
In your first assumption (Feng Shui source is not Mankind), the math is correct if we suppose that there was an initial finite amount of knowledge. In such case the Geometric series (with factor<1) will converge eventually to zero.
Do you take into account the classic feng shui books and manuscripts that existed? And what about knowledge and schools that were introduced not 5000 years ago but later? As far as I know the Flying Stars school is not 5000 years old but much younger. In this case the geometric series will not be pure with factor less than 1.
In your second assumption, I can see a scenario where the scientists of the king/Emperor(s)have invented and developded the Feng Shui Knowledge for the Emperor usage. For clear reasons we can assume that this knowledge was kept in secret and not available to the public.
But,
Let's assume that the ancients knew (somehow...) about the existence of "Feng Shui". Let's model this "Feng Shui" as a Black Box (system) that we do not know its internal formulas.
If we want to study and understand this Black box system, we can use 2 approches:
1. Input-output approach: this means we feed the system with a certain input series and then we study the output series. By applying sufficient and orthogonal set of input series we can "discover" its internal formulas. This approach means that the ancients had to conduct so many statistical experiments. Furthermore, many experiments should have spanned more than 1 generation (if we take a cycle of 180 years). Ofcourse those experiments actually studied the lives of the people to learn the effects of the Feng Shui on the people.It is a very statistical approach.
I find it hard to understand how such experiments could have been conducted and analysed supposing they span more than 1 generation!
2. Constructive way: this means that we develope (build) the formulas of the system. Does the modern science posses the right tools to develope such formulas? Had the ancient science possed the right tools to develope the formulas? Or developing such formulas is beyond Mankind capacity?
I just tried to share my thoughts and questions.
I appreciate your comments that always help us understand better.
Best regards,
Naseeb.
Dear Joseph,
When you say Feng Shui knowledge that is lineage based has lost a lot of its original essence, strictly speaking this may be true.
However it also discredits the generations of those who learnt from their masters in the past, because we have to assume, they used the knowledge, they applied the theories and even maybe expanded on the theories.
Therefore how can the knowledge from the past be lost?
Jodi
Dear Jodi,
Here is how Mr. Li Ding Xin describes himself as the lineage holder of Yang Gong Feng Shui:
Mr. Li was classified as "the first one for six hundred years" by the Zhangjiajie Philosophy and Culture Research Institute and known as "the present Great Master Yang".
He did not say this himself but he uses this as his credential meaning that he agrees to what is said.
Well, this means that the knowledge was lost for 600 years until he recovers it.
The question is, "Has he recovered the lost knowledge?" Even if he really has recovered the lost knowledge, it is ample proof that the lineage system results in knowledge being lost.
JY
Dear Joseph,
Okay I see what you mean...it's like the lineage holders who just come out of the blue and say they're the one and only decendants of a great master...
Or like the debate between San He and San Yuan schools who both claim lineage from Master Yang - probably they're both right...just how much is really left?
Jodi
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