Physiognomy: The physiognomy book "Jade Tube Reflecting the Gods"

The physiognomy book "Yuguan Zhaoshenju" was formerly attributed to Song Qiqiu of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Song Qiuqiu, whose courtesy name was Zisong, was fond of the art of diplomacy and strategy. He rose to the position of Taibao and Zhongshu Ling, and was granted the title of Duke of Chu. He later lived in seclusion in Jiuhua Mountain. He had many disciples, all of whom were skilled in the art of Xiangwei Qingwugu Buren Dun. The officials of the Siku Quanshu Library in the Qing Dynasty believed that this book might have been written by his disciples under his name. There were already copies of the book at the end of the Song Dynasty. It was recorded in "Records of Arts and Literature in the History of the Song Dynasty" and Jiao Ji's "Records of Classics", and the book was included in "Yongle Encyclopedia".

"Yuguan Zhaoshenju" is rich in content and detailed in chapters. The first volume includes Lü Dongbin Fu, Qian Jin Fu, Mr. Chen Tuan's Fengjian, Chen Tuan's Sleeve Gold, Chen Tuan's Xiangge, Dongxuan Jing Miscellaneous Songs, Mr. Yang's Shenbu Lun, Mr. Xiyue's Xiangfa, Hu Monk's Discussion on the General Essentials of the Jade Tube Xiangshu, Tongxianlu, Miscellaneous Discussions, and Discussion on the Five Responses and Five Combinations. The middle volume contains the Ten Phases Diagram, Discussion of the Heart, Discussion of the Abdomen, and Palm Techniques. The second volume includes body bones, shape and energy, seven aspects of shape and color, deciding illness, death and life, discussion on speech, the ten precious poems of Zen Master Baoyan, the three peaks, and discussion on all kinds of evil spirits. The first volume is a compilation of materials, the second volume is the specific methods of physiognomy, and the third volume is miscellaneous discussions.

Flipping through this book, we can infer from its content that it was not written during the Five Dynasties. Because the book contains Chen Tuan's rhymes, and Chen Tuan was a hermit in the early Northern Song Dynasty. The book also mentions Qin Hui as prime minister, but who knew that his eyes had luminous properties. Qin Hui was a treacherous minister in the early Southern Song Dynasty. From this we can know that this book was probably completed in the Southern Song Dynasty.

What kind of appearance is good? The "Miscellaneous Discussions" in "Yuguan Zhaoshen Bureau" says: The skull wants to be raised, the forehead wants to be complete, the eyes want to be long, the eyebrows want to be beautiful, the hair wants to be black, the ears want to be hard, the nose wants to be prominent, the mouth wants to be square, the root of the nose wants to be thick, the warehouse wants to be full, the post horse wants to be fat, the well wants to be wide, the voice wants to be loud, the teeth want to be white, the qi wants to be skillful, the chest wants to be broad, the heart wants to be flat, the waist wants to be thick, the body wants to be straight, the skin wants to be smooth, the navel wants to be deep, the abdomen wants to be drooping, the hands want to be long, the feet want to be short, the complexion wants to be bright, sit like a mountain, the spirit wants to be clear, walk like water, urine wants to be scattered and fast, stool wants to be square and thin, the water door wants to be urgent and stagnant, the fire door wants to be drooping and deep. If a person with such a face is not rich, he will be noble. Not all rich people look like this, and not all people with such looks are rich. These auspicious signs can only reflect a person's physical and mental state, and cannot absolutely predict good or bad luck. Modern people do not believe that a long belly and short legs are better. The views of the ancients may not be suitable for modern people.

Physiognomy is related to the times and local customs, and cannot be stereotyped. The customs and habits are different. People from Fujian do not look at each other's bones, people from the Western Regions do not look at each other's noses, people from Sichuan do not look at each other's eyes, people from the West do not look at each other's ears, people from Song do not look at each other's mouths, people from Jiangxi do not look at each other's complexion, people from the north do not look at each other's backs, people from Lu do not look at each other's pride, and people from Taiyuan do not look at each other's thickness. The qi of Zhejiang people is heavy but not clear, the qi of Huai people is clear but not heavy, the qi of southern people is clear but not thick, and the qi of northern people is thick but not clear. This is their customs and habits. The view that emphasizes the relationship between terroir and temperament seems to be acceptable.

To look at a person's face, one must look at his heart. The "On the Heart" chapter in "The Jade Tube Reflecting the Gods" says: The heart is the palace of the spirit, the jade door and golden gate where wisdom resides. The heart should be open and broad-minded, and not confined to narrowness and trouble. Those who are broad-minded have deep wisdom and thoughts. A narrow-minded person is stupid and lowly. If there is hair on the heart, the person has a tough and arrogant character. If there is a protruding bone on the heart, the person is poor and inferior. Physiognomy is a high-level art of physiognomy. But is the thinking organ the heart? No, it's the brain. Our ancient philosophers have never explored this issue in depth, and mistakenly believed that the heart is the organ of thinking. Physiognomists use the hair and bones of the heart to predict good and bad luck, which is even more wrong.

The palm lines are particularly complicated, including dozens of types such as four seasons pattern, prime minister pattern, seal pattern, military symbol pattern, gold flower pattern, wild goose formation pattern, double eye pattern, six flower pattern, etc. It is said that men with hands like cotton bags and women with hands like thousands of ginger are precious. I really don't understand, why does a woman's hands resembling those of Qianjiang represent wealth and honor?

The human head is metaphorically represented by animals, including lion, unicorn, white tiger, elephant, knuckle, ape, black tortoise, lightning, turtle, snake, horse, leopard, rabbit, goat, bear, orangutan, raccoon, road snake, deer, dog, donkey, ape, phoenix, red bird, crane, eagle, swallow, peacock, wild swan, and the shape of a crane. People with a dove-shaped face have a round head, a pointed and flat forehead, thick eyebrows in front and thin at the tail, round eyes and a red nose. They are short in stature and have a wide step, and they speak and smile coquettishly. Men with this face will be officials in the palace, and women with this face will be concubines in the palace. Those who look like this will be noble. From this we can see that physiognomists are very rich in figurative thinking. They use birds and beasts to illustrate people's appearance and then discuss fortune and misfortune. This has no scientific basis.

One's character can be inferred from his speech and conversation. "On Speech and Conversation" says that the wise speak clearly, the upright speak harshly, the simple and quiet speak little, the loyal speak frankly and strictly, the humble speak modestly, the stubborn speak eccentrically, the absurd speak many words, the impatient speaks resentfully, the brave speaks violently, the sycophantic speaks flatteringly, the cunning speaks incompletely, the malicious speaks with a smile, those who like to be high-minded speak lofty words, and those who like to be grand speak grandly. These are undoubtedly the summary of life experience.

There may be different versions of "Yuguan Zhaoshenju", and the contents of different versions vary greatly. The "Summary of the Siku Quanshu" says: What Qian Zeng recorded in "Dushu Minqiu Ji" is consistent with "Shiguo Chunqiu", and it is said that what is discussed in the upper bureau is all visible about people's physical appearance, so it is called Yang bureau. Everything discussed in the lower game is beyond the form and there is no image to be seen, so it is called Yin game. The style of his speech is very familiar. This version is from the Yongle Encyclopedia, and most of the arguments are based on shape, which is inconsistent with Qian's statement that there are two divisions of yin and yang. I suspect that this version is the two volumes mentioned in "Song Zhi", so it has many similarities and differences with the ten-volume version. Now, the "Yuguan Zhaoshenju" recorded in "Song History Art and Literature Records" can no longer be seen, and only the version in "Yongle Encyclopedia" has survived. The officials of the Siku Library thought that his arguments were quite precise and clear, and that many of the books he selected had never been seen before, and were still old texts handed down from generation to generation, so they made some revisions to it, divided it into three volumes, and recorded it in one book. This book is included in the New Edition of the Collection of Books, which makes it very convenient to consult.

The above is all the content of physiognomy: the physiognomy classic "Yuguan Zhaoshenju". For more information on physiognomy classics, please follow the Dream Interpreter website.