174
NOTES AND QUERIES
Abbot of a local monastery to a rock which so took his fancy that he had these characters carried upon its face. yet another old scholarly tradition, of course.*
17. Most famous mountains have inspired countless paintings over the ages, and many painters have chosen the name of a mountain as one of their literary or artistic names. Whilst it seems unlikely that Tai Mo Shan has not been a source of inspiration, I have not yet been able to look into the history of local painting to ascertain whether its name has been used by artists from the district and whether there have been paintings of the mountain scenery. Certainly Tai Mo Shan is as mysterious and beautiful as others during periods of spring mist and sunshine.
Geomancy and the Mountain
18. Another aspect of Chinese mountains is their deep, close and long connection with geomancy, especially since they are specially favoured for the construction of graves. It must be remembered that all land for graves as for houses must be selected by a geomancer who will also advise on a propitious day before any ground is turned. To do so, without making the necessary checks and precautions, would be to invite disaster for descendants and, in the case of houses, for their residents. Therefore, when we look at the mountain, we must keep in our minds this intensive preoccupation with present safety and the future well-being of the humans who inhabit it, dead or alive, and the great efforts made to ensure them.
19. Graves in particular are chosen with great care. Geomancers often stake their reputation by securing (or perhaps through their clients' insisting on) mention on the grave tablet, by name and home district, under the label tei shih (f) or ‘Expert in Land'. It often happens that the geomancer prepares for his client a plan of the ground relating to its surrounding hillside, fields and streams. These plans are often included into the clan record and remain for after generations to see and check with other geomancers if family fortunes appear to be worsening.†
* Abbot Mou Fung (X) of the Tung Po To.
†The Fung Ping Shan Chinese Library in the University of Hong Kong has a large collection of such records. I have also collected a few detailed statements accompanying such plans, prepared for the client family by the geomancer. There is much useful material on the Fung Shui of graves, ancestral halls and houses in Henry 1882: 166-176.
174
NOTES AND QUERIES
Abbot of a local monastery to a rock which so took his fancy that he had these characters carried upon its face. yet another old scholarly tradition, of course.*
17. Most famous montains have inspired countless paintings over the ages, and many painters have chosen the name of a mountain as one of their literary or artistic names. Whilst it seems unlikely that Tai Mo Shan has not been a source of inspiration, I have not yet been able to look into the history of local painting to ascertain whether its name has been used by artists from the district and whether there have been paintings of the mountain scenery. Cer- tainly Tai Mo Shan is as mysterious and beautiful as others during periods of spring mist and sunshine.
Geomancy and the Mountain
18. Another aspect of Chinese mountains is their deep, close and long connection with geomancy, especially since they are specially favoured for the construction of graves. It must be remembered that all land for graves as for houses must be selected by a geomancer who will also advise on a propitious day before any ground is turned. To do so, without making the necessary checks and precautions, would be to invite disaster for descendents and, in the case of houses, for their residents. Therefore, when we look at the mountain, we must keep in our minds this intensive preoc- cupation with present safety and the future well-being of the humans who inhabit it, dead or alive, and the great efforts made to ensure them.
19. Graves in particular are chosen with great care. Geomancers often stake their reputation by securing (or perhaps through their clients' insisting on) mention on the grave tablet, by name and home district, under the label tei shih (f) or ‘Expert in Land'. It often happens that the geomancer prepares for his client a plan of the ground relating to its surrounding hillside, fields and streams. These plans are often included into the clan record and remain for after generations to see and check with other geomancers if family fortunes appear to be worsening.†
* Abbot Mou Fung (X) of the Tung Po To.
†The Fung Ping Shan Chinese Library in the University of Hong Kong has a large collection of such records. I have also collected a few detailed statements accompanying such plans, prepared for the client family by the geomancer. There is much useful material on the Fung Shui of graves, ancestral halls and houses in Henry 1882: 166-176.
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