The "Physiognomy Theory" in "The Complete Works of Divine Physiognomy"

In the front volume of the Complete Collection of Divine Physiognomy, there is an article on the detailed general principles of physiognomy that is applicable everywhere. However, due to its concise use of words and only discussing the procedures without teaching how to analyze and judge, one may feel unable to understand it.

However, readers already have the basic concepts of the aforementioned anthropometry, so they will not find it too difficult to read. Now I will list the full text first and then explain it one by one, so that readers can further understand the overall principles of anthropomorphism.

Generally speaking, when observing a person’s appearance, we should first look at the skeleton and then the five elements. Measure the length of the three parts of the body, observe the fullness and deficiency of the face, observe the clarity of the eyebrows and eyes, look at the prosperity and decline of the spirit, measure the thickness of the hands and feet, observe the sparseness and turbidity of the hair and beard, measure the length of the body, measure the completion of the five senses, look at the completion of the six organs, measure the return of the five mountains, look at the fullness of the warehouses, observe the rise and fall of yin and yang, look at the presence or absence of majesty, distinguish the honesty of the appearance, observe the joy and stagnation of the complexion, and look at the fineness of the body and skin. Observe the squareness and roundness of the head, the flatness of the top of the head, the thickness of the bones, the coarseness of the flesh and blood, the shortness of breath, the loudness of the voice, and the goodness or badness of the heart. All of them are deduced based on the body part and the annual luck, and determined by the bone structure and shape. You cannot follow the trend and worship it, as it will tarnish the family tradition. However, the information about the stars that predict wealth and poverty, longevity and early death, prosperity and decline, gains and losses, and good and bad luck in the current year are all very detailed and can be used to predict people with absolutely no mistakes. Scholars should also study them in detail and seek the truth, and should not ignore them.

The explanation is as follows:

To judge a person's appearance, one should first look at his skeleton, which is also called bone method. Physiognomists believe that the quality of the skeleton is related to whether one lives a long or short life, and whether he is rich or poor. "Records of the Grand Historian" says in "Biography of Huaiyin Marquis": Nobility and humbleness are determined by the structure of the bones, and sorrow and joy are determined by the facial expression. This shows that people at that time knew the importance of structure.

Wang Chong's "Lun Heng" also has a chapter on bone physiognomy, which specifically discusses the relationship between bone physiognomy and personality and destiny, and has become an independent set of knowledge.

Physiognomists believe that the relationship between bones and flesh is like that between a ruler and his subjects, with bones being the ruler and flesh being the subjects. Therefore, skeleton occupies the highest position in physiognomy and plays a leading role in everything, and is extremely important.

From the content of "Bone Theory" in "Zhaodanjing", we can understand what the first step of observing people is. The book says: Bones are the backbone of the limbs. They should be smooth, long and thin, and in proportion to the flesh inside and out. If the bones are heavy and rough and the skin and flesh are thick, it is close to turbidity. If the bones are strong, light and thin and the skin and flesh are thin, it is close to cold. Generally speaking, it should be upright, not horizontal or exposed, and in line with the flesh, which is a good sign. Therefore, the first step in observing people is to use this method, which will definitely be accurate.

Secondly, look at the Five Elements. Physiognomists often use the principle of the Five Elements to distinguish people's appearance and temperament. They divide the appearance characteristics into square, straight, round, pointed, and thick, and give them the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. They then match them in pairs such as gold, wood, gold, water... a total of twenty combined shapes are obtained.

The Zhaodanjing says: The shape of the true gold is square, white, erect and tight; its appearance is between the cheek, chin, sitting, standing, speaking and speaking. The correct wood shape is tall, elegant and well-proportioned, and it represents eyebrows, hair, cheekbones, longevity, and hands and feet. The correct earth shape is broad, thick and fleshy, and its appearance is between the ears, abdomen, back, walking and sitting. The shape of a true fire is pointed on top and large on the bottom, neither fat nor thin, and its temperament is between slow and fast. The shape of the positive water is round, thick and plump, wide but not crowded, and its location is between the back, belly and chin.

Of course, most people are of composite shape, that is, they have two characteristics, such as gold shape with fire, water shape with earth, and so on. That is, one shape is the main one, but there are also other shape characteristics.

The next step is to measure the length of the three parts of the face. You can refer to the rules in the previous section "How to Observe the Three Parts of the Face".

Then observe whether the face is plump or pointed, whether the eyebrows and eyes are delicate, and whether it has enough spirit. Generally speaking, people with plump and spirited faces are better. People with pointed and monkey-like faces cannot become rich and powerful, which is understandable to most people.

Then look at whether the hands are thick or thin. The hands of a rich person are thick and soft, while thin and exposed hands do not belong to a rich person. Then see whether the beard and hair grow smoothly and beautifully or are rough and messy. Of course, smoother ones are better.

Next is to evaluate the length of the body, look at the shapes of the ears, eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth, and whether the six organs on both sides of the forehead, the left and right cheekbones, and the cheeks are full and complementary. Then look at the five mountains of the face, namely the cheekbones, nose, forehead, chin, etc., as well as whether the warehouse under the two nostrils is full. These involve the physiognomy of various parts of the face.

Next is to observe the complexion, that is, the strength or weakness of the yin and yang qi, whether there is dignity, whether the face is honest, whether the complexion is happy or turbid, and whether the body skin is delicate or rough.

Then look at whether the shape of the head and the top of the head is round, whether the voice is loud, and whether the heart is good or not will also be revealed in the face, because the appearance is determined by the heart. And if it is inferred in conjunction with the fortune of the current year, and then combined with astrology to judge wealth, nobility, poverty, humbleness, longevity, early death, poverty, wealth, prosperity, decline, gain and loss, then it will be absolutely safe.

From this article on physiognomy, we can see that it is actually a complete general rule of observing people, and it is also the most basic principle of all physiognomy techniques.

I believe that at this point, readers will have a better understanding of the connotation of anthropometry and will be able to better appreciate its scientific logic.

The above is the detailed content of "Physiognomy" in "Complete Collection of Divine Physiognomy". For more, please pay attention to other related articles on the Dream Interpreter website.