Shao Pingxuan's Physiognomy in the Song Dynasty: Zhaodanjing

For many people, it is difficult to say whether physiognomy is profound or superficial. But no matter what, people who study physiognomy first focus on interest, then on spiritual energy, and also need to consider personal talent.

It is common that the terms used in ancient physiognomy books are difficult to understand, but nowadays most physiognomy books seem to be all the same and have little novelty. On the other hand, if we look at the ancient classics and savor the mysteries contained therein, we can have a deeper understanding. The problem lies only in the method of reading. What attitude should we adopt when reading ancient books and what method should we use to integrate and comprehend the ancient books and learn from the past to understand the present? This requires a more in-depth discussion with everyone.

Among the many classic ancient books, there is one called "Zhaodanjing", which is very mysterious. This is because this book is rarely seen on the market. It may be that this book is too profound and difficult to understand, and it talks about some abstruse things in physiognomy at the beginning. Therefore, it has not been circulated among the people. It is because ordinary people, unless they have extraordinary talent and high comprehension, it is difficult to understand the contents of the book and read it clearly. People who travel around the world do not adopt it, and the academic school has other larger classic physiognomy books to develop. Therefore, this book "Zhaodanjing" has been ignored by most people. People have always known works such as Ma Yiliuzhuang, Shenxiang Quanbian and Bingjian, but how many people know about Zhaodanjing, a physiognomy classic?

In fact, reading the Zhaodan Meridian is not difficult. The only difficulty lies in the method of reading it. This is the same as the problem mentioned above. As long as you grasp the method and read it carefully, you will surely understand the mystery within it.

It is not easy to annotate the book "Zhao Dan Jing". First, you have to understand the main idea of ​​the book, and then savor the text carefully. This is naturally much more difficult than writing some personal articles of your own, but in order to explore the deeper principles of physiognomy, I feel it is very worthwhile.

Original text of "Zhaodanjing" (heading)

Wood governs spring, spring governs the liver, the liver governs the eyes, the eyes govern benevolence, and it is the path to longevity.

Notes
Ancient physiognomy books were deeply influenced by medical skills. The five elements of physiognomy before the Ming and Qing Dynasties had not yet been able to jump out of the medical framework. Therefore, the five elements belonging to the five senses were all based on medical classics such as the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine. There is a big difference between the two in the configuration of the five elements (gold, wood, water, fire, and earth) in physiognomy. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, physiognomy became very independent, so the distribution of the five elements became different, with the left ear representing Venus, the right ear representing Jupiter, the mouth representing Mercury, the forehead representing Mars, and the nose representing Saturn.

As for the work "Zhao Dan Jing" before the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it has been discussed in detail. It regards the eyes as spring gold, the mouth as summer fire, the nose as autumn gold, the ears as winter water, and the philtrum as earth between spring, summer, autumn and winter. Because this theory of the five elements is based on medicine, it has a great deal to do with the human body.

Therefore, wood represents spring, and one can see the strength of a person's liver. If the eyes are well-shaped and full of spirit, the liver must be strong. On the contrary, if the eyes are dull, the liver is weak. This seems to be very easy to distinguish, but one should be aware that eyes that are too strong or too revealing are not good. It is best if the eyes are calm, (soft but with strength, hard but with softness) to get the point. This is a deeper method of observing the eyes. If you don't understand it, just remember it for future use.

We must be clear about the ultimate purpose of physiognomy. Remember not to focus only on practical benefits and ignore the more important judgment of good and evil. If we can achieve "knowing good and evil, and knowing when to advance and retreat", then the benefit of learning physiognomy will be much greater. But the problem is that we cannot easily judge whether a person is good or evil without long-term verification. Only after meeting countless people and observing their faces comprehensively, and when we are absolutely sure, can we make a final conclusion. Therefore, "eyes represent benevolence" means that benevolence is expressed in the eyes, and observing good and evil from the eyes is the most direct way. In modern physiognomy? It is not difficult to identify a kind person. Just look at his eyes to see if there is more black than white. That is, the proportion of the black pupil in the eye is greater than the white of the eye. [Figure a] This is the basic sign of a kind heart. If you want to understand it in depth, you must also look at the hardness, softness, movement and stillness of the eyes, so that you can understand the truth of the eyes. Kind people tend to live long, healthy and happy lives. People with kind eyes have two or three layers of upper eye waves. [Figure b] The eyes are kind and gentle, the spirit is soft and calm, and there are slight eye circles. [Figure c] There is more black than white, which is an upper eye sign. It indicates a long life and is a sign of a person who is blessed with protection. On the forehead, the eyes are the main ones and the eyebrows are the guests.

Notes
In human society, everything has a distinction between host and guest, and the same applies to physiognomy. No one part of the body exists independently, and all must be coordinated. It is necessary to distinguish clearly what is the primary and what is the secondary. Only in this way can the physiognomy be avoidable and the analysis can be clear at different levels. The eyes are the main one and the eyebrows are the guest, which means that the eyebrows need to coordinate with the eyes. For example, big eyes need thick eyebrows, small eyes need thin eyebrows, evil eyes need pressed eyebrows, gentle eyes need straight eyebrows, and strong eyes need curved eyebrows.

If a person has good eyesight, his appearance can be learned. If his eyes have no corners, he will make mistakes. If there is red under his eyes, he should not fight the enemy.

Notes
Strong and powerful eyes are one of the more favorable types of eye features, and they indicate a much better ability to study than the average person.

In addition, there is a kind of eyes that are quite special. They are round in shape and the corners are not very obvious. These people may be careless and rash and cannot take on important responsibilities.

The area under the eyes is called "eye bags", which is also the location of Yin Xi Palace. If it is red for a long time, it indicates that one will be irritable and restless, make enemies due to trivial matters, and thus bring disasters.

The above is the complete content of Shao Pingxuan’s physiognomy in the Song Dynasty: "Zhaodanjing". For more information, please follow the fortune-telling channel of Dream Interpreter!