Title

The Liujia Bagua and Qinjiao Liuchi Burial Calculation Methods in the Tang and Song Dynasties

Author

Yu Gege, Guo Yongqin

Genre

Article

Pages

623-656

DOI

10.6503/THJCS.202012_50(4).0003

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

liujia六甲, bagua八卦, qinjiao禽交, liuchi六尺, tomb burials

Abstract

During the Tang and Song dynasties, grave placement was based on a set of techniques known as the “five surname method” (wuxing fa五姓法), of which the most important was the “liujia bagua mound method” (liujia bagua zhongzang fa 六甲八卦冢葬法). Despite its popularity and its continued use until the Yuan dynasty, the concept and algorithm informing the liujia bagua method has yet to be adequately explained. Combining the procedures recorded in fengshui texts from the Tang and Song dynasties with actual data from excavated tombs, this article clarifies the criteria used for tomb selection by analyzing and verifying the calculation procedures of the liujia bagua method. In addition to explicating the methodology involved in selecting liujia and bagua tombs, the two location standards of qinjiao禽交 and liuchi六尺 are also explored.