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The traditional
Chinese Almanac - the Tung Shu ("Collected Writings", or
"Everything Book") has been regarded by the Chinese as an
indispensable aid to daily planning for more than 2,000 years
Tung Shu contains a
wealth of information, even spells to cast out devils.
The Tung Shu is an
annual Chinese Almanac containing information about auspicious and
inauspicious dates. It is used for general planning purposes.
The selection of auspicious times can also be based on Four
Pillars calculations, but the Tung Shu is one of the most
convenient and effective methods of selecting auspicious days and
hours for any occasion.
The Tung Shu, divided into various sections, is a compilation of
information concerning Chinese metaphysical studies. The
highest quality almanac is the Wing King Tong Annual Tung Shu
publication. It is about 2 inches thick, although there is
also a smaller abridged version, about one half inch thick.
The Tung Shu is an extremely complex reference. Special
classes focusing entirely on the study of the Tung Shu are offered
in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. These classes often
continue on for years.
There is still very much in the Tung Shu that many do not
understand. Many are only taught several useful parts of the
Tung Shu, such as Date and Time selection, Yearly Direction of the
God of Wealth, Daily Direction of the God of Wealth, etc.
About half of the Tung Shu remains a superstitious subject for
many Oriental Feng Shui Masters. For instance, the Tung Shu
offers advice as to the best months of the year to conceive a
child, and also for higher chances of a boy or girl. These
types of advice may only be cultural superstitions. It also
contains sections of the Chue Kot San Suen, a form of divination
passed down from Kung Ming, the famous Prime Minister of the Three
Kingdom era.
Although much of the information in the Tung Shu may be considered
more traditional than practical, certain significant portions are
relevant to the practice of Feng Shui and Chinese Astrology.
Considered as crucial criteria in the practice of Feng Shui in
Asian countries, the Tung Shu is not yet a popular tradition in
the West.
The Tung Shu may display a page similar to the Zi Wei Dou Shu
12-Palace grid including the annual locations of certain Zi Wei
stars for the 12 palaces/months. This is for astrologers to
provide a general outlook of each Animal sign for that year.
The Tung Shu also contains references to the Tai Sui (Grand Duke
Jupiter) and Sam Sart (Three Killings). These have extreme
importance in Feng Shui practice.
How is the information in the Tung Shu calculated? This
poses a difficult question. The system is more complicated
than just using the stem and branch.
The information in the Tung Shu involves complex systems of
calculation. The complexity and the ability to comprehend
all the elements of the theories can be problematic. Some
calculations are based on the Four Pillar's Five Elemental
calculations, but the rest are combinations of lunar mansions and
other forms of divinatory theories. It would require an
expert in Tung Shu studies to explain the intricacies behind the
significance of the prevailing energies of each day as calculated
in the Tung Shu.
Choy Pak Li of Hong Kong, revered for his knowledge and ability to
calculate such a complex reference, is one Great Grand Master who
continues to author the Tung Shu. His family has been
publishing an annual Tung Shu for more than 6 generations.
His great, great, great grand father was producing the Tung Shu
during the Ching Dynasty.
Today, Choy Pak Li, recognized and respected by almost all Asian
Feng Shui Masters and Chinese Astrologers, is well over 80 years
old. His son is assuming his legacy in the heritage of
producing the Tung Shu.
Other families also construct a revered Tung Shu. One of the
highest quality almanacs is the Wing King Tong Annual Tung Shu
publication. It is about 2 inches thick, although there is
also a smaller abridged version, about one half inch thick.
The Tung Shu published by the Tung family are also highly
regarded.
Tung Shu calculated by different families may vary greatly.
One Tung Shu may determine a time as auspicious while another
determines the same time as inauspicious. Different families
may use different methods of calculation and interpretation, so it
is important to know which families offer the most respected
quality.
Selecting dates that are auspicious according to two or three
qualified authors is a safe and convenient method of date
selection.
Many Chinese still believe that just keeping a copy of the Tung
Shu is deemed to be auspicious. Most traditional Chinese
families will have a Tung Shu in the home because it displays the
Direction for the Lunar New Year for the reception of Chai Shen,
the God of Wealth.
Spring Ox diagram,
that is used to predict overall weather for each year.
Spring Ox
The proportions and coloring of the boy and his cow in this
traditional illustration from the Tung Shu symbolize the weather
predictions of the coming year. For instance in the picture,
the boy is wearing cotton shoes and his hat is off his head (both
indicating there will be rain), while the cow has a red head (for
drought), yellow torso, and black hooves.
This "Spring Picture" couplet of a oxherd and his water buffalo
brims with poetic imagery. According to Prof. William Hu,
author of Chinese New Year: Fact and Folklore, it illustrates a
hope for fertility on the farm and in the family-being a
male/female pair, shown by the animal on the left crossing with
his left leg and the one on the right crossing with her right.
In addition, there are expressions of a hope for long life, good
fortune, and wealth.
According to Chinese tradition, there are two New Years. The
more important one, of course, is calculated by the lunar calendar
and is celebrated with two weeks of festivities. In addition,
there is a "Spring's Beginning" day, figured according to the sun
and the stars. This always falls on February 4 or 5 and is
celebrated with special rites meant to inaugurate the planting
season.
A record of the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.) sheds light
on the origin of this ritual. In the 12th month, according
to Master Lu's Springs and Autumns, "orders are given to the
officials to set forth a clay bull in order to send away the ether
of cold." A commentator writing in the 2nd century A.D.
states that the practice was similar to the contemporary one of
placing a clay bull "outside the east gate at Spring's Beginning
to encourage cultivation."
In another version of the ritual, which continued after the end of
the imperial era in 1911, a papier mache or clay Spring Ox
accompanied by a cowherd (the deity of spring, Mang Shen) is
crafted and paraded through town. The cow is actually a kind
of visual Poor Richard's Almanac, being precisely sized and
painted to represent the weather predictions for the coming year.
These symbolic physical attributes can also be seen depicted on
the first page of the Tung Shu (or Book of Myriad Things), the
Chinese almanac that has been published since the 9th century and
can be found on sale even today throughout Taiwan, Hong Kong, and
in Chinatowns across the United States.
In the late imperial era, the Emperor came to perform a ceremonial
plowing on Spring's Beginning to inaugurate the planting season.
This was done at the specially designated "sacred field" in the
Temple of Agriculture in southern Beijing. On this day, the
Emperor dressed in peasant clothing, using all yellow implements
together with a yellow ox (the color symbolizing the earth).
When the auspicious moment came, he would take hold of the plow
with his own hands and plow eight furrows, starting from east to
west. Other officials and royal clansmen would follow with
their own furrows, and the field would be finished by a court
servant. All grain harvested from the "sacred field" would
be reserved for ceremonial use.
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