Three stories about ancient physiognomy

Physiognomy is also known as the art of judging people. A type of ancient Chinese physiognomy that uses a person's face, facial features, bone structure, complexion, body shape, and palm lines to predict good or bad fortune, noble or humble, and longevity. The full name of "Ma Yi Xiangfa" is "Ma Yi Xiangfa Quanbian". It is said to be written by Ma Yi Taoist, the master of Chen Tuan, a great physiognomist in the early Song Dynasty. There are many books on physiognomy after the Song Dynasty, such as "Liuzhuang Xiangfa", "Complete Collection of Xiangfa", "Shuijing Ji", "Xiangli Hengzhen", etc., but the most influential one is "Ma Yi Xiangfa".

In the thousands of years of history, there are countless stories about physiognomy. Let the editor of Ziweifu Astrology Network share with you the stories of physiognomy.

First article

Once, Emperor Taizong of Song summoned an eminent monk to read the fortunes of his sons. At that time, Prince Shou Zhao Heng was sleeping and did not show up. The monk looked at all the kings and said: "Looking at all the kings, none of them is as good as Prince Shou." Taizong was surprised: "Why do you say that when you haven't met him?" The monk smiled and replied: "Although I haven't seen Prince Shou, I have seen the three servants in front of his door. They have noble faces and are likely to be generals and ministers! What about your master?" Zhao Heng was later Emperor Zhenzong of Song. Two of the three servants, Zhang Qi, Yang Chongxun and Guo Chengyou, later became prime ministers and one became a privy councilor.
The Chinese art of physiognomy was already sophisticated as early as the Zhou Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago. Until modern times, because people used it as a means of making a living and a skill in the world, each generation was worse than the previous one, and it even regressed to a level worse than in early years. According to the records in ancient Chinese books, the art of physiognomy seems to be much more accurate than Indian physiognomy and Western palmistry. As for fortune-telling, it is a unique academic discipline in China, which is not available in other countries. It is sometimes more reliable than physiognomy in judging the good and bad fortune in life, wife, wealth, children, fortune, and life span. For example, it is not easy to see clearly the features and physique of newborn babies and underage boys because their faces and bodies have not yet been formed. However, fortune-telling is different. The time of birth of each person is fixed, and the fortune and misfortune in his life are predetermined.

Article 2

During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, there was a prime minister named Wang Lianruo who was from Xinyu, Jiangxi Province at the same time as Ouyang Xiu. When he was one year old, his family invited a Taoist priest who claimed to be from Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi Province to read his fortune. The Taoist priest looked at it and said: This boy will pass the imperial examination at a young age and will become a high-ranking official in the future. His family asked him whether he would have disfigurement in the future or any other defects. The Taoist couldn't say it.

Why did his family specially ask a Taoist priest to read his fortune? It turned out that Wang Qinruo was born on the exact day three days ago. Because there were no clocks in ancient times, it was most difficult to determine the exact time for birth at night. He was born at night, so he asked several fortune tellers to discuss and determine the time of his birth. When the time was determined, there was a fortuneteller who called himself Old Man Tai Chi. He was not only elected to tell the time, but also to predict his fortune. He said: This boy will pass the imperial examinations when he is young, and will be promoted to the position of prime minister in middle age. He will be famous throughout the world. He has a handsome face, but it is inevitable that he will be deceived. He will be short and clever by nature. He was extremely intelligent, but unfortunately he was eccentric and dishonest throughout his life, and he was not a clean official. It’s fate, there’s a flaw in the ointment! As the world's fortunes change, wise men will suffer misfortunes. After the Tai Chi master gave his approval, he sighed three times and left.

When Wang Qinruo's family saw the first part of the comment about passing the imperial examination at a young age and rising to the position of prime minister, they were of course very happy; but they were worried about the second part of the comment. Since Wang Qinruo was just an ordinary family, as long as the child could become a prime minister in the future, they would be satisfied and finally got great comfort. After the Tai Chi master passed away, his family asked other fortune tellers whether their predictions were all correct. Why do wise men suffer misfortunes? Everyone said that his criticism was absolutely correct. The so-called wise men suffered misfortunes probably meant that when he was prime minister, wise men were harmed by him.

The family members then asked what the so-called breaking of equanimity was. The fortune teller said that the eight characters could only show that one's appearance would inevitably be disfigured in the future, but he could not tell how the disfigurement would occur. A few days after the appointed time, the family invited a fortune teller to read their fortune. But the fortune teller could only tell from the baby's high nose that the child would be a noble person in the future, and he could not tell anything else. He said that the baby's fortune was undetermined and that it would take at least one year after the baby was born to tell something. Because the Tai Chi master's comments said it was a pity that he was fond of Taoism and was weird, when he was one year old, the family asked a Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain to check his appearance to see if he had the appearance of a Taoist. At that time, the family saw that the Taoist priest could not make predictions as confidently as the fortune teller, and they all thought that the Taoist priest's skills were not as good as the fortune teller's.

Later, Wang Qinruo was indeed promoted to the first class of Jinshi at a young age, and was promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Works. He served as prime minister twice during the Tianxi period of Emperor Zhenzong of Song and the Tiansheng period of Emperor Renzong of Song. In terms of appearance, he was indeed short and ugly. Although his face was somewhat handsome, he had a fleshy wart on his neck. People at that time nicknamed him "Tumor-faced", which indeed disfigured his appearance. Regarding his other affairs, the History of Song Dynasty had the following record: Wang Qinruo was short in appearance, with a wart on his neck; but he was extremely intelligent, and whenever the court had something to build, he would make every effort to please the emperor. He was also cunning, bold and eccentric, and willing to accept corrupt bribes. Emperor Zhenzong sealed Mount Tai and offered sacrifices to Fenyin. People all over the country talked about the auspicious signs, which were all initiated by Qin Ruo and Ding Wei.

It turned out that Wang Qinruo was a cunning person, and was good at currying favor with the emperor. He served as prime minister twice, was corrupt and accepted bribes to enrich himself, believed in Taoism, advocated talismans and auspicious signs, and together with the treacherous ministers Ding Wei, Lin Te, Chen Pengnian, Liu Shigui and others, they were called the Five Ghosts by people of the time. This also shows what kind of person he was. What the Tai Chi old man said about being an uncorrupt official and having a reputation laughed at by the world must be referring to this matter. As for the demotion of loyal ministers such as Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang Xiu, it was what is called wise men suffering misfortune.

The difficulty of face reading lies in the coordination of the five facial features, and what is even more difficult is the identification of complexion. This is the profound aspect of physiognomy. The books on fate and physiognomy only talk about some principles and cannot go into detail, so it depends on one's personal talent and experience. People with high talent have unique views, while people with more experience have firm judgments. No matter how advanced the fortune-telling skills are, they can only become a technique, that is, a trivial skill, and eventually become a skill to make a living in the underworld and to fool the common people. The skill is not important while the way is important. Those who learn the art should pay more attention to the way and less to the skill, and focus on inner cultivation, only then may they achieve success.

Article 3

There was a wizard in Zheng State named Ji Xian who had great magical powers and was very accurate in fortune-telling. He predicted a person's lifespan by looking at his face. If he said that this person would die at three o'clock in the morning, he would not live before five o'clock. When the people of Zheng saw him, they were so scared that they ran away, fearing that he would say something unlucky. Lie Zi went to see a fortune teller and was so impressed by Ji Xian that he said to his mentor Hu Zi after returning:

"Sir, I thought your Taoist skills were the best in the world, but I didn't expect there are people more powerful than you!" Then he learned Ji Xian's magical powers. Hu Zi said, "Haha, kid, I'm afraid you haven't even grasped what Tao is! You've only learned a little bit, and you're using it to deal with others. Of course, they'll see through you at a glance! Call him over and let me take a look at your face!"

The next day, Lie Zi invited Ji Xian. Ji Xian looked at Hu Zi's face and went out with Lie Zi without saying a word. Ji Xian said to Lie Zi, "Alas, it's over! Your teacher is dead. He won't live for even ten days. When I look at his face, it's like dead ashes poured with water. How can it burn?" Lie Zi was very sad when he heard this. He came to Hu Zi crying and told Hu Zi the prophecy of Ji Xian. Hu Zi chuckled and said, "What I showed him just now was my quiet state of mind, which blocked all my vitality, so he said that. Ask him to come and see it again tomorrow!"

On the third day, Lie Zi asked Ji Xian to come and see Hu Zi again. After Ji Xian saw it, he said to Lie Zi, "Haha, there's hope! Your teacher's vitality began to revive today - probably because he met me, he's lucky!" Lie Zi told Hu Zi this, and Hu Zi said, "Yes, what I showed him today was a glimmer of hope. Invite him back tomorrow." On the fourth day, Ji Xian looked at Hu Zi's appearance and was very confused. He came out and said to Lie Zi, "Your teacher is in a trance today. He is probably distracted. I can't bear to see him like this. Please make him calm down!"

When Hu Zi heard what Ji Xian said, he said to Lie Zi, "Just now I showed him a state of Taixu without any signs. My temperament was calm, so he could not find any trace. Please ask him to come and see again tomorrow." On the fifth day, Ji Xian came to see Hu Zi, and he seemed a little nervous. As soon as he entered the door and saw Hu Zi, his face turned pale and he turned around and ran away. Hu Zi said, "Catch up with him!" Lie Zi went out to chase him, but found that Ji Xian had run away without a trace. Lie Zi came back and said, "He ran away, I couldn't catch up..." Hu Zi laughed and said, "This kid ran very fast. Just now, I was dealing with him and pretending to be nice to him. I moved with the wind and drifted with the water. He couldn't figure it out at all, so he ran away in fear. In fact, this is just a state of emptiness of all phenomena. I haven't shown him my fundamental way yet!"

Only then did Lie Zi realize that he was still far away from the "Tao". He went home and did not go out for three years, concentrating on helping his wife cook; even when feeding the pigs, he maintained a humble attitude, as if he was serving humans. He abandoned his partiality, rejected vanity, and remained true to himself in the midst of the complications of the world, and he persisted in this way throughout his life.

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