Land of the Phoenix Explained

Beijing was previously named Swallow capital and designated as the capital city of the Yuan Dynasty. From this we can predict that there was pre-knowledge of Beijing being a bird-shaped land. Zhu Yuanzhang went on to establish the Ming Dynasty (element fire). With the Southern Rosefinch also belonging to the fire element, the combination brought the demise of the metal element Yuan Dynasty. The metal element Yuan Dynasty replaced the wood element Song Dynasty. The latecomer water element Qing Dynasty doused the flames of the Ming Dynasty. These are the laws of geomancy and not coincidence.

In geomancy, there is the saying of "Left Green Dragon, Right White Tiger, North Black Tortoise and South Rosefinch". Zhu Yuanzhang found an auspicious location where "a hundred birds pay homage to the phoenix". However, the spot lay in the center of a lake and required land reclaimation, which meant a shaky foundation for the palace. He then ordered his imperial advisor Liu Bowen to locate the geomancy treasure land of the phoenix. The final location was determined to be Yan Mountain or Yanjing. The imperial mausoleum was designated on the northwestern Qian Palace's Tian Shou Mountain (first half of Phoenix land, as such a land of Yang energy), and Beijing the second half (land of Yin energy). Liu Bowen discovered that the Ziwei Constellation was positioned directly above in the skies of Beijing and correspondingly designed the Forbidden City, in order to have successor dynasties enjoy the blessings of the Phoenix land and Ziwei Star for eternity.

Beijing's Identity Crisis – Dragon, or Phoenix?

I once hosted a three-day China Traditional Feng Shui Symposium at Peking University in 1994. Back then, I said that Beijing is the Land of the Phoenix, not the Dragon, and received a tremendous amount of feedback. Many were dubious and felt that China is obviously a Dragon, and Beijing the Dragon's pearl, so how could it be a land of the Phoenix?

I responded to them by explaining that when the phoenix returns to its nest, Beijing would see the appearance of the phoenix nest and eggs. Now, the phoenix has returned, and on the spot of the authentic phoenix, an egg-shaped Beijing National Grand Theatre has been built. The bird-nest look-alike Olympic Stadium coincides with the bird nest.

Beijing has all along possessed a bird nest and eggs. We can take a look at Ri Tan and Yue Tan, but it is not obvious. Olympics is the national business of China, much less Beijing. The return of the Phoenix should spell prosperity for China and Beijing for at least one or two hundred years!

Zi Wei Discovery Tour

This is the first Ziwei Discovery Tour Way has organized, with a total headcount of 74 tour members. Among them are mother and child, in-laws, couples and singles. The most senior stood at age 70 plus, the youngest precocious toddlers less than one year of age. At first I was concerned that there would be mayhem, but unexpectedly, there was absolute silence throughout the journey except their occasional bubbly laughter, which lightened up the entire journey. They nearly grabbed the spotlight from me! Just joking. Perhaps I may attend their wedding dinners twenty years later at a ripe 70 plus years of age, provided I have not reported for 'duty', hehe.

We arranged a special geomancy seminar to educate everyone on the geomancy layout of the city of Beijing. First we looked at the burial sites of the first 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty - The Thirteen Mausoleums, at their lives, their imperial halls of office – the Forbidden City, their playgrounds – Summer Palace, and finally their 'mountains of support' – the white towers of Beihai Garden and Jingshan Garden. Most importantly, we visited Yonghe Palace, famous temples like Baiyun Guan etc, Tian Tan (site of worship for the emperors) and the Great Wall of China.

Nevertheless, it was the Yaxiu and Yuexiu markets that left the deepest impression on us - everyone loved the toasted sesame seed cakes there.

Journey of the Ziwei Star

The Ziwei Star controls all stars of fortune. Information has shown that the Forbidden City's blueprint was based on the distribution chart of the Ziwei Constellation. he brightest star on the Ziwei Constellation is the Tai He Dian, an imperial star. No one has yet been able to distinguish which star is the authentic Ziwei. According to Qin astrological records, once the Ziwei Star emerges, all the rest of the stars hide their glow. In other words, at 9.45am of the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the brightest star in the sky of Beijing will be the Ziwei Star.

This time, the Ziwei Discovery Tour (organized by IFSC, Way and SA Tours) particpants were very fortunate to have glanced upon the Ziwei star. All prayed for good fortune for the next 12 years.

Heard from Beijing pals that it is difficult to see stars in the night sky of Beijing. It was miraculous that we actually viewed it. Indeed, no stars were observed for the following days.
Ziwei Star rotates its impact on each horoscope annually. For instance, in the year of the Pig, those born in the year of the Horse are under the direct exposure and thus welcome the greatest benefits of Ziwei. The rest are as follows:

Beneficial Horoscope <-> Year of Ziwei Exposure

Goat <-> Rat

Monkey <-> Ox

Rooster <-> Tiger

Dog <-> Rabbit

Pig <-> Dragon

Rat <-> Snake

Ox <-> Horse

Tiger <-> Goat

Rabbit <-> Monkey

Dragon <-> Rooster

Snake <-> Dog

Those interested can join us on our annual Ziwei "star tan". Remember, next year's ninth day of the ninth lunar month is most auspicious to friends born in the year of the Goat, Cow and Chicken respectively. See you at on 7th October 2008 at 9.45am in Beijing!

I Love Versace

Versace is one of my favourite brands, and I have always admired Gianni Versace for his designs and unique tastes. Before Versace was assassinated, I was already a fan of his creativity. His inspiration was not unfounded, but based on his travels around the world, birthed from a combination of the local culture and creative thinking.

He had been to Greece, Rome, Tibet, China, Southeast Asia, and Latin America was one of his favourites. Infinite creativity must grapple with the social norms of law and order in order to have astonishing results. Until his death, he injected new elements into all his research with zero repertoires; an ultimate expression of his fervour for his work. Unfortunately, he was unable to escape from the clutches of fate in the end.

Gianni Versace's demise did not directly impact many people, but his followers experienced an upheaval. Till now I have yet to see a potential successor to his throne. I like Versace, not because of himself, but because of his passionate endeavours.

Occasionally, I still drop down to Palazzo Versace to inspire myself to better creative heights.