Practitioners do not comprehend the significance of that, currently, each type of geomancy can have serious contradictions in methodologies. For example, in Tai Yi, there are disagreements about how to start the important "Superior Epoch" necessary to place the moving stars in the 16 halls Tai Yi chart:

Ho's book indicates various aspects of imperial deception.

• Only the Superior Epoch seemed to vary as in the case of the calendar makers. We do not have much information regarding this matter. At least we know that Xiao Zixian in the fifth century and Wang Ximing in the eighth century regarded the years 237 BC and AD 364 as Superior Epochs. Those that followed in 360 years cycles would be the years 724, 1084, 1444 and 1804, to be followed by the year 2164. The Ming text Taiyi taojinge, on the other hand, gives the year 1264 as a Superior Epoch (following 360 years cycles would be 1624, 1984) while mentioning a difference of 60 years for the Superior Epoch in use during the Ming period. Accordingly, the Superior Epoch immediately before us would be either 1984 or 1924, depending on whether the Ming or the pre-Ming value is adopted (Ho.2003. p.60).

Of course, the disgreements (at least 3 different patterns) with respect to the Superior Epoch can lead to marked contradicting differences in Tai Yi predictions. Which is the correct one? Do you have the technical knowledge to evaluate the answers? Thus, unresolved contradictions within the same school are common and represent serious weaknesses in the methodologies.

However, in this article, we will discuss logical weaknesses in the methodologies of the sanshi arts.

Basic Charts of Methods

Zi Wei Dou Shu has some over 140 stars. Unknown to many, a number of sets of stars of Zi Wei Dou Shu are used in the development of the sanshi arts. That the stars are actually Zi Wei Dou Shu stars have been missed owing to the different namings - but the similarities can be found once their functions are carefully compared. The sanshi arts have these basic charts with sets of stars, with Ba Zi Eight Characters in comparisons:

Despite their so-called differences in computing the positions of the stars, these sanshi arts and even Ba Zi Eight Characters use the Tai Sui 12 stars, Life Cycles 12 Stages, and some cases the Bo Shi series of stars. The Tai Sui 12 stars, Life Cycles 12 Stages, and Bo Shi stars compose only 36 stars of the over 140 stars of Zi Wei Dou Shu. Practitioners should wake up to the fact that Zi Wei Dou Shu was the parent source of many astrology systems including the sanshi arts of Qi Men Dun Jia, Da Liu Ren and Tai Yi Shen Shu.

• Practitioners of Qi Men Dun Jia, Liu Ren and Tai Yi like to boast how many permutations their arts have. If so, just think how much more permutations their parent source of Zi Wei Dou Shu has!

Why there are these persistence of Tai Sui and Life Cycle stars make an interesting separate study. They feature dominantly in the Tang dynasty Li Hsu Chung Ming Shu. They also feature in Tang dynasty Yang Yun Sung's Tian Yu Jing and Du Tian Bao Chou Jing and are somehow critically involved in the true original Xuan Kong Feng Shui - not the fraudulent Xuan Kong schools floating around nowadays.

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Un-Natural Time Cycles

One technical feature which can significantly indicate whether a geomancy art is a fake or not is the nature of the Time cycle used.

It is common in the modern sanshi arts, and also Ba Zi and Zi Wei Dou Shu, to have forward (progressive) sequences and reverse (backward) sequences in Time calculations, e.g. in Tai Yi:

• When calculations were made after winter solstice and before the next summer solstice Taiyi would move among the palaces in the order One, Two, Three, Four, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, One, Two, missing Five at the centre. This was called progressive movement (shunxing)or, more popularly, Yang order counting (Yangdun).25 When calculations were made after summer solstice and before the next winter solstice, Taiyi would move among the palaces in the order Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Four, Three, Two, One, Nine, Eight, etc., missing Five at the centre. This was called reversed movement (nixing) or, more popularly, Yin order counting (Yindun ). It is found that all cases in the Historiographer's 'Remarks' in the Nan Qi shu employed only progressive movement in their calculations. (Ho. 2003. p.46, underlined author's).

However, Ho (2003. p.46) notes as above that in more ancient times, only a forward sequence was used in Tai Yi. A forward sequence was also what the Chinese imperial astrologers used in contrast to forward and reverse sequences by others:

• The third narrow band (K) lists the twelve spheres of influence, or 'houses' as they are usually known to Western astrologers... At first glance they may appear to be identical with the Western houses, but they do not correspond exactly. Nor does every Chinese astrologer agree to the order or even the direction in which they appear. Huard-Durand remarks that in Viet Nam the houses run in a clockwise direction but according to Chu-Sherill they run anti-clockwise in Fate Calculation horoscopes. Other manuals suggest that the direction of the houses is clockwise for men, anti-clockwise for women. In the I Shu Tien (the imperial version) however, all the horoscopes, for men and women, run in a clockwise direction (Derek Walters. p.293).

Western and Hindu astrology also have only one direction or sequence. The Chinese imperial version of only one clockwise direction was the more original universal feature. The counter sequence is a fake. This means that 50% of the sanshi predictions can be wrong owing to the wrong Time sequence used.

In marking the progress of Time, the most ancient tool was the use of the 28 Lunar Constellations not only in ancient China, but also in the other ancient civilisations. Eventually, a 13 Zodiac signs system emerged to mark Time and this gave way to the modern 12 Zodiac signs. In the Chinese history, the 24 Solar Terms system emerged during the Sui dynasty to help adjust the intercalary lunar month in the calendar.

During the Han and Sui dynasties, Time would be reckoned either by the 28 Lunar Constellations or the 12 Zodiac signs. These were marked on the well known "shih boards" which can show how to convert a Lunar Constellation Time to one of the Zodiac system.

• These "shih boards" eventually evolved into the Luopan. The Luopan is meant to help determine Time and not wrongly used for physical directions as common in modern Feng Shui.

Therefore, the 28 Lunar Constellations, 12 Zodiac signs and the 24 Solar Terms are all natural Time divisions, one following another in a cycle.

Da Liu Ren retains a natural Time pattern through its 12 halls chart. But the same cannot be said of Qi Men Dun Jia and Tai Yi, whose Time charts have un-natural timings:

• Qi Men Dun Jia has a 8 halls division corresponding to the 8 trigrams. However, when applied to the hours, the cardinal trigrams Zhen Li Dui and Kan have one double hours while the sub-cardinal trigrams Xun, Kun Qian and Gen have two double hours.

  Tai Yi has 16 halls which composes of the 12 Zodiac signs and 4 of the trigrams vix Xun Kun Qian and Gen. The Tai Yi system is clearly a shortening of the usual 24 Mountains or Solar Terms system.

Thus, Qi Men Dun Jia and Tai Yi have un-natural Time sequences.

• Un-natural Time patterns also appear in other divination systems. In Xuan Kong Da Gua, attempts are made to apply the 64 hexagrams of Shao Yong to the natural 60 signs sexagenary cycle. Another un-natural Time sequence is seen in Shao Yong's Mei Hua Plum Blossom divination.

  This point about the 64 hexagrams should be borne in mind as there is the so-called San Yuan version of Qi Men Dun Jia which uses the 64 hexagrams of Shao Yong.

Some systems like Mei Hua Plum Blossom divination purporting to tell the future are fakes!

Precession of the Equinox Effect

The writer had also written elsewhere about the serious error in using the calendar to apply dates in the Four Pillars system. Owing to the precession of the equinoxes, there is a need to shift at least one Zodiac sign every 2,000 years. The year 2011 is conventionally the Year of Mao the Rabbit which is supposed to be peaceful - but it is actually already Chen the Dragon which typifies a violent year! Practically all modern Chinese astrological predictions will be out by one sign.

• "The Chinese, not knowing of the precession of the equinoxes, are rather perplexed by the discrepancy, but caring less for accuracy and more for ancient tradition, ignore the actual discrepancy, and still represent the twelve signs, not as they appear now, but as they appeared to their ancestors two thousand years ago." (Eitel. 1873)

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