Fortune teller is divided into Nine levels
Liu Ji, Han nationality, style name Bowen, from Nantian Township, Qingtian County, known as Liu Qingtian, was a military strategist, politician, and literary figure at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. He was one of the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty and was titled as the Baron of Sincerity in the third year of the Ming Hongwu era, hence also known as Liu Sincere.
In the ninth year of the Zhengde reign of Emperor Wuzong, he was posthumously awarded the title of Grand Tutor, with the posthumous title Wencheng, later people referred to him as Liu Wencheng or Marquis Wencheng. Liu Ji was well-versed in history, astronomy, and military strategy. He helped Zhu Yuanzhang establish the Ming Dynasty and strove to maintain the stability of the country, earning him great fame and being likened by later generations to the military strategist Zhuge Liang. The saying "Three parts of the world by Zhuge Liang, united under Liu Bowen; Military strategist of the former dynasty Zhuge Liang, military strategist of the latter dynasty Liu Bowen" is widely circulated among the people of China. He was renowned for his incredible strategic planning and foresight.
Listening to the female tour guide's fluent introduction, Yun Eleven stared at the portrait of Liu Bowen on the wall, lost in thought.
Yun Eleven was a senior student majoring in history at Yanjing University. Admiring Liu Bowen since childhood, he decided to make Liu Bowen's hometown, Qingtian County, his last stop for his graduation trip.
In Yun Eleven's view, Liu Bowen was even more impressive than Zhuge Liang. After all, "Three parts of the world by Zhuge Liang, united under Liu Bowen," Zhuge Liang, at most, only assisted Liu Bei in taking three parts of the world, while Liu Bowen assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in uniting the entire country.
Both Liu Bowen and Zhuge Liang were highly knowledgeable in the field of geomancy. Historical records state: "Liu Ji was well-read in various subjects, with expertise in astronomy, geography, military strategy, and mathematics among others. One time, he visited the hometown of the renowned scholars, Cheng Zhu, in Huizhou, and learned about the 'Six Jia Overturned Boat Mountain' and a book called 'The Six Jia Heavenly Book.' He explored the mountain, where he discovered a hidden Ming dynasty community, not only finding 'The Art of War' but also meeting numerous Ming dynasty saints. Liu Ji's humility, eagerness to learn, and outstanding intelligence enabled him to acquire extensive knowledge of divination and astrology, making him famous in his hometown, with people comparing his talent to that of Wei Zheng and Zhuge Liang."
This shows that Liu Bowen had a deep understanding of geomantic secrets like 'The Six Jia Heavenly Book' and 'The Art of War.'
As Yun Eleven was absorbed in gazing at the portrait of Liu Bowen, a white-haired old man a little distance away was smiling at him. This old man had the demeanor of a sage, and beside him stood a beautiful girl of about eighteen or nineteen.
The young girl next to the old man was exceptionally beautiful, resembling a Barbie doll. She curiously looked at Yun Eleven and whispered, "Grandpa, this person is so strange! He's been staring at the portrait for a long time, could he be suffering from something?"
"Hehe," chuckled the white-haired old man. "Xuan'er, this person is not suffering from anything. I think he is just captivated by the portrait."
"Oh!" The girl nodded in confusion and pouted, "What's so captivating about just a portrait? Besides, this portrait of an old man is not even good-looking, not as good as the comics at my home."
Hearing the girl's whimsical words, the white-haired old man couldn't help but smile wryly.
Fondly, he ruffled the girl's hair and said, "This portrait is quite extraordinary. It is the image of the renowned geomancer Liu Bowen. Legend has it that this portrait was painted for him by the most famous painter of the Ming Dynasty during his lifetime, to be passed down to future generations."
Indeed, the portrait hanging on the wall had been painted for Liu Bowen during his lifetime, and despite enduring the trials of time, it looked lifelike, as if the old man in the painting was Liu Bowen himself hundreds of years ago.
This portrait had been kept by Liu Bowen's descendants in Qingtian County, and when the government renovated Liu Bowen's former residence to attract tourists, Liu Bowen's descendants donated the portrait to be displayed on the wall for visitors to admire.
Seeing Yun Eleven entranced by the portrait, the old man walked over and said with a smile, "Young man, you've been staring at this portrait for quite some time."
Hearing the voice, Yun Eleven was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the white-haired old man beside him and exclaimed, "The portrait of the old man is truly so lifelike. I couldn't help but be deeply captivated by it with just one glance."
"Well," the white-haired old man nodded and said, "Indeed! Liu Bowen was truly a remarkable figure. His expertise in geomancy was unparalleled, and the book 'Shao Bing Song' impressed many later generations."
Yun Eleven was also familiar with the book 'Shao Bing Song' as a student of history after all.
Surprised, Yun Eleven said, "I didn't expect the old man to be so interested in geomancy theories!"
The 'Shao Bing Song' is said to be written by Liu Bowen of the Ming Dynasty, with a total of 1912 words, composed of over 40 hidden language rhymes. It is a "prophetic" song composed in hidden language, based on the principles of 'fortune-telling', arranged according to certain 'pattern numbers', involving the application of 'omens, symbols, numbers, principles, and divination'. It is regarded as a divine work, and the book even predicted the fact that the Ming Dynasty would fall into the hands of foreign forces.
The white-haired old man smiled and said, "Hehe, to be honest, I have some knowledge of geomancy theories."
Upon hearing this, Yun Eleven was greatly astonished, "Really?"
The young girl beside him carefully observed the black-haired youth in front of her, with his messy hair dancing in the wind, giving him a wild beauty. His sharp eyebrows were like unsheathed swords, and his deep phoenix eyes were captivating. With a touch of arrogance on his face, the young man said, "Of course, my grandpa is a proficient geomancer of the fifth rank."
"A fifth-rank geomancer?" Yun Eleven scratched his head in puzzlement and asked, "What is a fifth-rank geomancer?"
Rolling her eyes contemptuously, the girl said, "You are really ignorant if you don't even know what a fifth-rank geomancer is. Let me tell you, in the field of geomancy, there are nine ranks: physiognomy, qi-reading, fortune-telling, feng shui, pulse-searching, divination, life and death, reincarnation, and immortal transformation. And my grandpa is a dignified fifth-rank pulse searcher."
Yun Eleven was completely puzzled by the girl's words and said, "I'm sorry, but I really don't understand what you're talking about."
What a fortune teller is divided into nine grades, these are simply unheard of for Yun Eleven.
The girl, seeing that Yun Eleven still didn't understand, could only helplessly say, "Alright! Since you don't understand, I will explain it to you."
After saying this, the girl began to explain carefully to Yun Eleven.
"The first grade is simply reading a person's face to judge their good or bad luck, the second grade is looking at a person's aura from afar to see if they will have bad luck or good luck, the third grade is fortune telling to see how a person's destiny is, the fourth grade is just about helping people with feng shui like watching over their Yin House or Yang House.
The fifth grade is searching for dragon veins, in ancient times people would search for dragon veins among the mountains after death and be buried there to protect their descendants, the sixth grade is divination to foresee the future, the seventh grade is to see through a person's life and death, the eighth grade is to see through a person's past lives, present life, and future life, and the ninth grade is to become an immortal and achieve eternal life.".
