Book Review 2: Xuan Kong Da Gua Not Exactly For Dummies - Hung Hin Cheong

 

 Lets look into Xuan Kong Da Gua Not Exactly for Dummies by Hung Hin Cheong .

This is one of the rare cases we have one of the high tier Feng Shui systems fully usable based on only one book. While there is probably more to know, much may be find in reference series, what is in here seems enough to get the system working with some effort.
While all may seem incredible complex at first glance, if one goes slowly and systematically into it its base is simple enough. We have Qi moving from its Source(doors for rooms, meeting points of rivers for outside, highest points of staircases etc.) to its next point. Calculating the Hexagram for the 2 points we can see how they relate. Then we connect, furniture to doors and windows, doors of apartments to doors of building, that to its next Qi Mouth etc. That seems to be all we need to use the system.


All that being said, from what we tested all this seems to work exactly as given. Yet we stumbled on few problems that aren't fault of the system, but more on the present day world we live in. One is that the rivers in my country are not very clean. Or at all clean. So while connecting furniture to a river seemed to work great first few days, soon after it start to feel like one is connected to something that while moving slowly and that has its perks, is also very dirty. That part couldn't be used, although potentially there and working fine.

Another problem is the very short and narrow measure of less then 1 degree for a line/yao and around 5 degrees for a hexagram.
While initially I had doubts it will work, the impression so far is that it works in different way then expected.
My idea was that since the poles are moving very fast last few decades(more info in the nets and in magnetic models and other similar projects), so any measuring with that precision seemed impossible to work.

Yet... It does seem to work in practice, as we have idea of what to expect when aligned, as we have the text of the hexagrams and lines and seems to fit... So why it works... My current idea is that the measure of the compass of specific degrees work like a radio station. This is a "channel" that we align the events to, the actual degrees to the north pole or to anything far away doesn't matter at all, what matters is that compass showing that degrees allows us to use that Hexagrams in that place at that time.

Back on the book, all needed for one to use the system is in the book. That does not mean it will be easy, as readers probably know I make softwares for stuff, if I had to do it manually I would find it very difficult I think(many different rules for relating the hexagrams etc.)
That being said, it is doable and having a complete(at least complete enough to apply) system in one book is something rare to see and very much worthy of pointing at.

So that is it. We have a complete high tier Feng Shui system fully given in the book, that should be all the praise the book needs, but it is also well written and clear enough, while that doesn't mean it will be easy for someone not familiar with the Five Arts to apply, it is clearly written, only the system is complex as many of the Five Arts are when used at their high performing state(and that seems often far, far away from what is used by most in the English speaking part of the world).

Other books by Hung Hin Cheong... Well, in my humble view, all of them are interesting to see and for some reason the classic texts translation(the 4 classics of Xuan Kong) do seem important to read as well. They aren't long and even if one doesn't use the stuff from there in practice a lot, the connection to where that part of Xuan Kong systems comes from seems important to know and connect to.

I think that is it. I can definitly recommend the book for anyone that think they can put the effort to get the material in practice, they have all they need in there and it isn't as complex as it may seem at first, we just relate 2 Hexagrams step by step of the way and align stuff so Qi flows in beneficial way, that seems to be the essence of it all as presented in there.