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Day 1: Dragon Spotting in the Early Mist
Reported by Bernice Low
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The day kicked off bright and early for the students of the Mastery Academy on the China Excursion, with a 6.30am wake-up call. However, everyone had
been well-prepped the day before by Joey and reminded that keeping to the schedule meant being able to “see more” so by the 8am kick off time, everyone was
fuelled up on breakfast at the hotel café, and ready and rearing to go.
A short 3 minute drive away from the Hilton Nanjing is the mausoleum of Dr Sun Yat Sen. Dr Sun is known as the Father of Modern China. Born in Guangzhou
Province in 1866, Dr Sun eventually became the 1st President of the Republic of China in 1912. He died in 1925 in Beijing and his
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remains were brought back
to Nanjing, the then capital of the Republic of China, for burial at the specially constructed mausoleum in 1929. It is said that he asked for a burial in
Nanjing because of the superior Feng Shui in Nanjing.
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The actual mausoleum is located on top of a steep hill, accessible by a set of gentle steps. The body of Dr Sun is buried deep in the ground, in the burial
chamber at the top of the hill.
At the top of the mausoleum, students immediately broke into their groups to begin their practical audit of Dr Sun Yat Sen’s mausoleum.
Since they had been told that they had to learn to make the mistakes and swim on their own, the 40 plus MA students bravely ventured forth on the task
of auditing the tomb of Dr Sun.
After 30 minutes, everyone gathered back at the entrance to the burial chamber to confer, discuss and compare conclusions. Joey gave everyone a chance
to have their say before he shared his analysis.
“There is no release of vein” was the short shrift of it. There was a decided silence as this fact sunk in and students realised, that they had missed
the wood for the trees at the Mausoleum. Unlike last year’s China Excursion, where the students were initially stumped, this first audit of the day was
approached with measured confidence.
Mount ZiJin or Purple Mountain, at the point where the Mausoleum is located, does not shoot out any dragon vein. “What spot?” Joey asked the students,
who had earlier during the discussion, focused on the spot being too high and the table mountain in the distance being too low.
Mount ZiJin at the point where the mausoleum is located, is what is known as a Fallen Tan Lang (Dou Di Tan Lang) or Greedy Wolf Mountain
To spot the Fallen Tan Lang, a visit to the ladies or the gents was needed indicated Joey, prompting an instant deluge of loo breaks as everyone scrambled
to the toilet to grab a picture. “ This is a Wood Dragon but there are no knots, so there are no veins here – there’s no need to take out your luo pan even!”
he pointed out to the students.
Other evidence of failing to meet the criteria of forming a meridian spot became apparent. There was no clear embrace and even the mountains in the front, were
not so much table mountains as supporting Dragons to a main vein, again providing firm evidence in the environment that the tomb of China’s founding father, had,
missed the main spot.
History confirms the outcome of that oversight. The fledgling Republic of China that Dr Sun was president at the time of his death, was torn apart by factional
fighting and disunification. Although he remains revered in China, his descendant did not benefit much from his attempt at an illustrious burial.
Crossing the Gap, finding the Vein
The next stop for the students of the Mastery Academy China Excursion trip was a brief 3 minute ride away, to the tomb of the founding
Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuan Zhang.
Zhu Yuan Zhang is one of the two founders of China Dynasties that came from peasant roots. Zhu was born into poverty, orphaned, joined a
monastery to avoid starvation, but later rose up to become an important leader of the Red Turbans, which rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty rule of the Mongols.
Zhu Yuan Zhang’s tomb, known as Xiao Ling, is the only Ming tomb located in Nanjing. Later Ming Emperor’s were all buried in Beijing, when the
capital of the Dynasty was shifted from Nanjing to Beijing following the construction and completion of the Forbidden City during the reign of Emperor Yong Le.
To get to the tomb, students had to take a 1.5 km stroll through some scenic gardens, before climbing up a gentle slope to get to the tomb.
But more legwork was in order. This was to be a very special audit as students were actually able to venture up the ‘Treasure Mound’ to where the actual Meridian spot of the particular Dragon’s Spot was located.
Previous audits had involved finding the Dragon Spot’s vicinity but this was the first time students of the Mastery Academy would have the opportunity to walk to within striking distance of a Dragon Spot and stand on top of a Meridian Spot.
It was some climb! Led by Joey, the students trudged up 300 steps up to the top of a lightly forested area to arrive at the spot. But every step
was worth it as students were finally able to observe the ‘crossing of the gap’ (Guo Hup) and see the powerful Dragon that they had observed, while walking
the 1.5 km scenic route to the tomb entrance, rear its head and shoot out the vein, and form the Dragon Spot.
The Gap was exactly as it was stated in the ancient classics, protected by embraces extended from the main vein. The ‘prawn whiskers’ and ‘crab eyes’
formations were covered in small leaves and grass, but students made every effort to make them out in the area around the spot, including the infamous ‘
cicada wings’. And everyone wanted a picture of ‘the dragon’s meridian spot’. It is an experience that really must be felt in person, to appreciate its significance.
The ZiJin Mountain that forms the Dragon Spot where Zhu Yuan Zhang is buried is known as a palm formation spot because the area of the spot dips slightly,
like the shape of the palm of one’s hand. However, a powerful embrace surrounds the spot, in what is known as an ‘Emperor Throne’ luan tou formation.
In front of the spot, locking the Qi in, are several smaller lumps, which form the assistants supporting hills.
This and several other formations were observed in the ZiJin Mountain area by the students and demonstrates the value of Walking the Mountains to
any student of Feng Shui. Vivid descriptions cannot capture the essence of what students see and feel when they walk the mountains with Joey Yap.
It was this truly powerful Feng Shui formation that ensured the success of subsequent Ming Emperors and a Dynasty that spanned 16 emperors, one of the
longest Dynasties in the history of China.
What makes the two audits that the students observed in the morning is the opportunity to compare and contrast but also, to recognise how two tombs,
located on the same mountain dragon, produced two very different results – and it all comes down to who gets the spot!
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