Another YangGong Book Off The Shelf

Title: Qing Nang Ao Yu

Author: Prof. Yap Cheng Hai / Prof. Dr. Yang Kim Voon

Link: http://www.mqfengshuiacademy.com


Reflection:


It is timely that such an information on YangGong is made available in the English language, although I must admit that MoonChin has started the ball rolling via his maiden E-Book on the same subject, of which I had made a commentary review on it. The title Qing Nang Ao You (QNAY) is similar to the classics written by the Great Grandmaster Yang Jun Song, known as YangGong. However, this book should have been a commentary on QNAY and not QNAY per se, in accordance to Ganzhou Yue Che Tang perspectives. For this and in the written style of Chinese way of thinking in the English medium, I do not reckon any inputs or role that Prof Yap has included in this manuscript, for among others, Prof Yap is well known for his Eight Mansion techniques and not YangGong old method. On another view, it would have been an absolute “cut and paste” effort of the collectives of exchanges of views between Prof Yang with other experts via MoonChin, being at the time his most senior student, in the same subject via emails and forums that had once stormed the internet causing much excitement to the many especially in notion of mountain as Yang, water as Yin (also read http://fsrcenter.blogspot.com/2009/05/yin-and-yang-and-life.html for an antagonistic view). The way this book is written could have been professionally edited in the English language making it easier to read, rather then running about the bush. However, I must admit in terms of contents it is much more loaded as compared to the one written by MoonChin on the same subject. If the former is only surface deep, this is at least skin deep.


I would just highlight a few matters of interest as the followings, The 4 major water structures had its genesis with HeTu, rooted on the fact that Earth is the mother of Qi, Qi is the mother of water, in accordance to ZhangShu. So there are only 4 structures namely wood, water, metal and fire. Earth structure follows water structure. This is incoherent with the HeTu. In geography, there are 3 dragons coming into China from west to the east, before branching into 5 branches namely Qian, Kun, Kan, Li and Dui. Thus the western side of China is always higher then the eastern side. If South is taken as the facing, we would end up having the white tiger higher then the green dragon almost deviated from the known notion of FengShui that the green dragon must be higher then the white tiger positions in order to receive auspiciousness. This in my reflection this is fallacy number one.


As in HeTu, the incoming dragon takes a male role, therefore it is Yang. This dragon carries external Qi. Whereas, for every notable dragon, there must be a consort called water dragon. This water dragon is female in gender, Yin, carrying internal Qi. ZhangShu explicitly explained that to receive FengShui is to ride ShegQi. In another word, the objective of FengShui is to seat on the spot where internal Qi meet (marry or intercourses) external Qi, called a XuanKong phenomena, cannot be seen with its effect which can be felt. Almost, contradicting the usually assumed Mountain being static is Yin and water being dynamic is Yang. With this hypothesis, it has shaken many fundamentals of other school of thoughts on the same subject. This is in my reflection this is fallacy number two.


Next, out of the 5 dragons, there are only 4 visible ones called Bing, Jia, Ren and Geng, reflecting again the HeTu. Correspondently, there will be 4 female water dragon consorts reflecting, Yi, Gui, Xin and Ding. Care must be taken that these male and female must be matched accordingly. This brought the entire discussion into what constitute host and guest. The emphasis is to look at Bing dragon finds its consort as Yi water, Jia with its Gui consort, Ren with its Xin consort and Geng with Ding consort. This is what known as left and right turning. I would come to a conclusion that these theories is over laden to guide one into looking for the correct water exits, just in simple term. Yet with these explanation, in practice, one still have difficulty in locating the water exits without proper examples (also read http://www.harmony-living.blogspot.com/2009/01/cycling-with-dragon.html on searching for the water mouth). This is in my reflection this is fallacy number three.


I would reserve the rest of my reflections for some other times.


In summary, this is a good recommendation on the subject matter with its major setbacks of ease of legibility, poor graphics, minimal diagrammatic explanation, nonsensical and irrelevant references, repetitive passages and interstices of ideas in a fragmented ways. I would have expected better writtings in academic framework especially comming from the background of PhD, post PhD and Professorhood calibre. After reading it, I cannot help but to wonder with a sense of Deja-Vu, that the contents are derived wholesale stock load and barrel from another source by MoonChin or someone else. Again, I am looking forward to the next publications, if any and hopefully with improved editing and manuscript.