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uang-shih Kung--rainmaker, shaman, and diviner--used k'an-yu (the feng-shui of Landform Classification) to help Liu Pang choose such an auspicious burial site for his terminally ill parent that it assured Liu Pang's ascension to the emperor's throne. In the conflict between Liu Pang and his rival the emperor of Ch'in, the evil sorcerer Hui Jen sought to drain the energy from the land surrounding the burial site of Liu Pang's ancestor, while the Taoist Huang-shih Kung used his magic to thwart his opponent's efforts. Huang won the magicians' battle, Liu Pang's future as emperor was secured, and the Han dynasty (206 BCE-219 CE) was founded.

Huang-shih kung (left) and his student Chang Liang Click here to enlarge

Ch'ing Wu lived during the early Han dynasty. Regarded by many as the father of k'an-yu, he reputedly wrote the earliest treatise on the topic, titled Chuang-ching (The Burial Classic). Modern feng-shui's views regarding the flow of energy in mountains can be traced to Ch'ing Wu.

Kuo P'u lived during the Chin dynasty (265-420 CE). An astronomer, geographer, diviner, and magician, he was not only a k'an-yu master but an expert at locating underground springs. In addition to treatises on k'an-yu, the most famous being the Chuang-shu (Treatise on Burial), he wrote extensively on geography, mythology, divination, Taoist magic, and ancient Chinese poetry.

Yang Yun-sun, who lived toward the end of the T'ang dynasty (618-906 CE), served the T'ang court as an astronomer and geographer. The philanthrophic Yang supported orphans and widows and poor scholars and paid the debts of destitute farmers, earning himself the epithet "Yang who feeds the poor." Yang's greatest contribution to k'an-yu was his theory of "pai-lung," which maintained that valleys are as important as mountains in determining the power of dragon veins. Yang, regarded as the founder of both the San-yüan and San-ho schools of feng-shui, is also credited with being the first to apply k'an-yu to buildings and not just natural landforms.

	Ch'ing Wu Click here to enlarge		Kuo P'u (left) and his spirit guardian Click here to enlarge

Hsü Jen-wang, who lived toward the end of the Sung dynasty (960-1279 CE), is regarded as the founder of the Hsüan-k'ung school of feng-shui. It is said that he predicted the fall of the Sung after examining the burial site of one of the emperor's ancestors. Indifferent to money or power himself, he used k'an-yu to increase the fortunes of honest and virtuous people. Hsü transmitted his teachings orally, leaving no writings, and it was only in the early Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911 CE) that the secrets of Hsüan-k'ung were revealed: when a seventh-generation student named Chiang Ta-hsiung published a book about the school's teachings.

Jo-kuan Tao-jen lived during the middle of the Ch'ing dynasty. Little is known about him except that he lived in southeast China and was seen frequently in the company of scholars and government officials. The reputed founder of the Pa-chai school, he wrote Pa-chai Ming-ching (A Concise Treatise on the Eight Mansions).

You can read more about Huang-shih Kung, Ch'ing Wu, and Kuo P'u in my new book Tales of the Taoist Immortals.

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