Another Not To Miss Book On The FengShui Compass

Title: Guide To The FengShui Compass
Author: Stephen Skinner
Link: www.SSkinner.com

I have not been updating my blog as often as I wished as I am, on one hand, making hays while the sun is bright and on the other hand, just completed reading the above said book on Luopan. I must admit that was indeed a single notable effort from a serious researcher of FengShui from not a Chinese origin, although I was informed he reads and speaks Chinese and is practicing FengShui for many years. This book was a commendable effort both in terms of scholastic works and research on a single piece of Chinese invention called the Luopan. The depth of information was par excellent as compared to many of the literature written in the same subject in the English language in both with lucid renditions of the subject matters in clear and precise English and clear, beautifully crafted figures and plates illustrating the same subject matters. Definitely, worth its price. No doubt, that I am a little let down on the rendition of his other works notably the SanHe classics of Zhang BingLing, also by the same author, this book on Luopan is entirely different and worth collecting as it also provides a better framework for research works to come, on the same subject.

For the serious readers, the title could have been called or implied, The initial Guide To The FengShui Compass, for the following reasons that worth contemplating: -

Firstly, the study of Luopan is a science by its own accord. It is not just a compass but compressed information on formulae and applications in a plate. The information contains within the rings meant nothing unless it is annexed to its application of formulae and landform. The arrangement of the rings largely display the preference of its designer and the knowledge he had pertaining to the applications of the formulae within the rings via a structural logic of what comes before the others and not at a random and unknown basis. Comparatively with another similar book on the same subject matter by Li DingXin, notably the lineage holder of YangGong GuFa of Ganzhou, the approach to the subject matter is matched against the classics and what the author’s believed to be of the pure pedigree renouncing the others as XinFa. For such reason, many practitioners shy away from actually writing the book about Luopan without dishing out too much secret, unknowingly also reflecting on their limited knowledge on the same subject matter.

Secondly, researching into the classical Luopan is never an easy task especially by someone who does not belong to the FengShui lineage or are called the “outsider”. One cannot just visit museum or pick up samples of Ming and Qing Dynasty Luopan and start putting a comparative description on the rings, retrospectively, at a superficial level without knowing the actual Luopan designed by the founder of the school in question. Loosing sight of the first principles means the collective information is somewhat incomplete and compensated.

Thirdly, I believed, there are much more information under the sleeves as that the author reluctant to disclose as it will double up the pages from the current 400 plus, worthy to be classified as a PhD dissertation. With these omissions, the book will not make one an adept user of the Luopan or a FengShui practitioner and the most to the uninitiated, after reading the book, will just be able to gauge direction in accordance to the 24 mountains ring.

On these three reasons, strictly speaking, the book reflect its noble effort to seam up all the, otherwise, fragmented information about the Luopan currently available from the mainstream sources without reaching it to its marrow of the subject matter leaving the reader to taste the wine without reaching the throat. However, it is still a good book; all English speaking practitioners should have in their shelves.

If time permits I shall discuss the contents in greater details, in the more private discussion blog of Yifengshui (Inner Teachings).