I’m compounding a number of completely different subjects into one video and doubtless ought to have executed separate movies for every subject, however for me, they’re all associated to one another, and so I suppose from that non-public perspective, it is sensible for me to be presenting them in a single bundle.
Upfront, let’s make clear: I’m not educating, I’m sharing. I needed to be taught extra, went out and tried to be taught extra, and this video and companion weblog put up is simply me passing on to you what I’ve realized.
Dragon Gods of the Earth 土地龍神
Dragon god(s) (土地龍神, tǔ dì lóong shén ) are personifications of the land, the place mountains and rivers meet, and thus from a feng shui perspective, reveal dragon veins (龍脈, lóong mài).
Rituals (corresponding to 化胎, Huàtāi; in Hakka, it’s pronounced Fā Tói) could be carried out to harness the qi or highly effective essence from these dragon veins to bless a house and bless lands that the Hakka now occupy to make sure good harvests, prosperity, security, safety, and good well being.
What’s distinct about Hakka dragon spirits veneration is its affiliation with the earth slightly than water. Historically in Chinese language lore, dragon spirits/gods 龍神 and the Dragon King 龍王 are related to the temperaments of the seas.
Even the idea of 1 dragon spirit emanating as 5 directional dragon spirits (lined in each the video and additional down on this write-up) was related to the East China Sea, Lake Qinghai (West), Lake Baikal (North), and the South China Sea.
The idea of dragon gods I’m referring to right here, although, are of the earth, and are personifications of the earth. The soil of the hills and mountains are the dragon god’s flesh; stones and rocks are dragon bones; vegetation and the forests are the dragon god’s hair.
Superimposing dragon gods veneration with compass college feng shui is without doubt one of the hallmarks of this apply. To construct a house, do any transforming in any respect on the house, placement of the ancestor altar, and selecting which plot of land to farm or to mine requires first a divination to make sure that such intentions have the dragon god’s blessing, and feng shui measures to make sure that the development is correctly aligned with the dragon veins.
After building is accomplished, a ceremonial ritual known as 安龍謝土 (Ān lóng xiè tǔ) is carried out, led by a priest or priestess, to placate the dragon god and to precise gratitude for the dragon god’s blessings over the newly constructed constructing. The ritual consists of inviting within the dragon spirit (請龍), main the dragon (牽龍), and calming or placating the dragon (安龍).
Any time people modify the pure panorama, a shrine to the dragon god of the earth is ready up. There isn’t essentially a standardized method to do that, and infrequently varies from family to family. Typically, there’ll doubtless be an incense pot fabricated from a corrosion-resistant steel (copper, bronze, or brass; in fashionable occasions, stainless-steel, galvanized metal, titanium) alongside a talismanic inscription “地龍神香座位” (Incense Throne of the Earth Dragon Spirit).
You may also see 5 stones positioned across the shrine to characterize the Wu Xing, or seven to characterize each the Massive Dipper important to Taoist mysticism and the Sacred Seven (Wu Xing plus the solar and moon, yang and yin).
The dragon god of the earth 土地龍神 is arguably interchangeable with the god of the earth, Tudigong 土地公, which in Hakka may also be referenced as Bo Gong 伯公. Different epithets: Dragon God of the Earth who brings Fortune and Divine Favors 福德土地龍神; Dragon God of Fortune 福德龍神; or Earth Spirits 土神.
Additional Studying
- “龍神,” Ministry of Training (Republic of China, Taiwan), Chinese language Language Achievement Community [PDF]
- 《族群文化與文化產業》(2015) edited by 洪泉湖. ISBN: 9789861441450, on dragon gods of the earth in feng shui apply, the three dragon veins [three mountain kings], and the rituals of dragon gods veneration
- 《后土地母信仰研究》(2015) by 蕭登福. ISBN: 9789571722269, on the normal veneration of earth gods, land spirits, and tutelary deities
- 《客家.翕相:臺三綫的田野紀實》(2018) by 彭啟原. ISBN: 9789860568943, on Hakka veneration of the dragon gods of the earth
- 《發現客家:嘉義沿山地區客家文化群體研究》(2012) by 池永歆, 謝錦綉. ISBN: 9789860346039, revealed by the Hakka Affairs Council 客家委員會, on the normal people religions of the Hakka
Feng Shui: Dragon Veins 龍脈
Per feng shui, the bedrock of China consists of Three Supreme Dragon Veins. They’re positioned as follows:
- North of the Yellow River 北幹龍：走黃河以北廣大地區
- South of the Yellow River, north of the Yangtze River 中乾龍：走黃河以南，長江以北
- South of the Yangtze River 南幹龍：是長江以南廣大地區
These three had been born from the primordial supreme dragon that was the Kunlun Mountains vary. The one dragon god turned the three, which ultimately turned the myriad dragon spirits of the earth. Dragon veins are what attune and join you to the dragon spirits.
Moreover, there are spirit inhabitants that occupy your particular dwelling space (地主神, dì zhǔ shén). Altogether there may be a complete regional ecosystem of land spirits, and also you’re in all probability not going to wish to do something which may offend them. Furthermore, all of those land spirits along with all of the dwelling organisms occupying the land thrive on the life essence of the dragon god, enriching the land by means of these dragon veins.
Concerning the Hakka 客家
The Hakka 客家 had been initially from the north central plains of China by the Yellow River, and whereas legends fluctuate, the model I’m acquainted with is of a clan exiled from the north a while through the Jin dynasty, round 400 AD. They migrated south, however all over the place they went, they weren’t welcomed, and they also continued migrating southward, then crossed the Pacific, and ended up throughout Southeast Asia forming their very own diasporas.
There have been a number of waves of mass exoduses (exodi?) of Hakka leaving their northern plains homeland. 80% of modern-day Hakka paternal ancestry is northern Han, so it appears that evidently principle has been confirmed.
Why they left depends upon who you ask. Most Hakka take the place that we had been persecuted and compelled out of our authentic homeland.
Introduction to Hakka Research 客家研究導論 (1933) by Luo Xianglin 羅香林 (1906 – 1978) paperwork 5 waves of Hakka migration out of the north Central Plains:
- Through the Fall of the Jin dynasty, late 300s to early 400s AD
- Tang dynasty, 900s AD, when the dominion fell into sociopolitical turmoil
- Tune dynasty, 1127 AD, after the Jurchens took over the capital
- Through the conflict between the Ming and Qing, round 1661 AD
- Punti-Hakka clan wars of 1850s that drove many Hakka out of China and abroad
My aunt (dad’s sister) as soon as advised me that our household particularly left north China a while within the 1100s AD through the Tune dynasty, so that may be the third wave. If we actually did go away the north within the 1100s, then in keeping with Hakka lore, the Hakka who left throughout this wave had been from the imperial courtroom. After the Jurchens overtook the capital and captured the emperor, a faction of the imperial courtroom escaped south.
Maybe what the Hakka are most recognized for is the architectural type of their properties. The clan would migrate to a brand new location, in impact be the outsiders, however then construct one thing like what you see above adjoining to the dwellings of the locals. After which the Hakka tended to maintain to themselves; they had been fiercely tribal. They saved to their very own customs, non secular practices, language, and lifestyle. And weren’t too eager on assimilating. =P
So I get it. I get the animosity directed on the Hakka. Think about if a troop of foreigners got here to your hometown from who is aware of the place, don’t converse your language, apply completely completely different customs, and construct one thing like that tulou in your hometown, after which by no means mingle with the locals. I’m certain you’d be like, what the eff.
The Hakka facet of my household is from Miaoli, Taiwan, the place one thing like 60% to 70% of Taiwan’s Hakka reside, which is form of loopy, contemplating that the Hakka solely make up about 15% of Taiwan’s inhabitants. My guess? It’s the mountains in Miaoli that attracted them there. =)
The Wen clan had been oolong tea farmers, and the specialty at our farm was crimson oolong. Right here a video clip I shared on my Instagram a number of years again:
Particular to the Miaoli space the place the vast majority of Hakka now inhabit, previous to the Hakka, this area was inhabited by the Taokas 道卡斯族, Atayal 泰雅族, and Saisiyat 賽夏族 indigenous tribes. Most of the indigenous peoples had been assimilated into the Hakka communities, although now we have to acknowledge that most of the Atayal and Sasiyat had been displaced on account of the Hakka.
Some distinguishing traits of Hakka ladies: Hakka ladies by no means certain their toes for 2 causes: (1) they needed to be able to run when the opposite Han villagers got here to kill the Hakka [no clue if this is true, though it is popular lore], and (2) Hakka ladies labored the land equally alongside the lads. As a result of the Hakka lived expertise was that of maximum hardship and toil, we’re additionally recognized for being extraordinarily frugal and hard-working. Characteristically, a minimum of within the south to the place that they had migrated, Hakka ladies tended to be taller than the everyday Han Chinese language girl.
Contemplating the context of historical past and the time they had been dwelling in, there was higher gender equality between Hakka women and men than different Han women and men. Within the realm of rites and rituals, you had been extra more likely to discover a Hakka priestess main ceremonies than amongst typical Han Chinese language.
There’s additionally this stereotype that Hakka ladies had been constructed to work. Traditionally you weren’t going to seek out too many da xiao jieh 大小姐 among the many Hakka (i.e., spoiled, pampered, and dependent lady who wants the whole lot executed for her and who isn’t world-wise). Although to be honest, that in all probability not holds true, as over the previous couple of generations, many Hakka households have gained enormously in wealth… I’m certain we’re not missing in bratty belief fund infants… =P
One customized related to Hakka moms that I discovered fascinating — again within the day, as a result of patriarchy, extra daughters would get bought into slavery or servitude. (My maternal grandmother, my mother’s mother, was one such daughter who was bought into servitude.) Nonetheless, slightly than having to promote their daughters, which might be committing them to a lifetime of bondage, Hakka ladies would kill the toddler ladies proper after start. They believed loss of life was a mercy in comparison with bondage.
Dang.
Additional Studying
An Endangered Folks Observe
The variety of Hakka who nonetheless apply these native non secular rituals, not to mention the quantity who’re preserving cultural information of dragon gods and ritual practices, is dwindling. Dragon gods and land spirits veneration is changing into an endangered people apply, as is the Hakka language itself.
For me, I don’t must imagine the hills surrounding my residence are actually the bodily type of an enormous sleeping dragon whose spirit I wouldn’t wish to disturb.
Nonetheless, it could do me nicely to honor the hills as sacred, that to stay in concord with the land means to stay sustainably.
Throne of the Dragon Spirit of the Earth: I like the concept of getting an incense pot devoted to honoring an ancestral heritage of fostering kinship with the native land spirits.
Place it on the bottom someplace outdoor or by your entrance door. Maybe the place you reside it makes extra sense to put it by a again door. If that’s not possible, it’s completely okay for it to be indoors — place it on the ground beneath your house altar desk. If you wish to do because the Hakka would do, select an earthenware or stone pot, or one fabricated from non-corrosive steel.
Rigorously select 5 or seven stones, relying on which makes extra sense to you, and organize them in a circle across the incense pot. Given the particular format of my residence lot, I positioned my incense pot beneath the yard deck, on the bottom on the base of a steep hill. And I went with seven stones for the Sacred Seven.
Divination to Commune with Earth Spirits: Use your go-to divination device to activate your instinct and assess whether or not you might have been dwelling in concord with the land you’re occupying. What’s it that the land, personified as spirits, wants you to know?
Similar to how you’d examine in with each human occupant of your house earlier than you undertook main building or transforming, examine in with the resident land spirits. Will your building mission intervene with the qi of the dragon veins? Is the development mission invasive to the native land spirits?
Wouldn’t it actually shock you if you happen to came upon that the normal narrative of dragon gods feng shui aligns with the modern-day design and engineering elements that decide whether or not your building mission will maintain? Was the upper success charges of Hakka miners attributable to following the dragon veins?
Possibly, come to consider it, I do imagine in dragon gods and land spirits.
Possibly I at all times have. My ritual practices and my reverence for the majesty of the earth have at all times been my intuitive method of conserving such traditions alive.
Phrase Record
- Ebook of Rites (or Rites of Zhou 周禮, Zhōu lǐ), 770 to 220 BCE (earliest document of dragon gods veneration; Hakka dragon veneration believed to descend from this)
- Dragon God(s) of the Earth, 土地龍神, Tǔdì lóong shén
- Azure Dragon of the East, 靑龍, Qīng lóong
- Golden Dragon of the Heart, 黃龍, Huáng lóong
- Mysterious Dragon of the North, 玄龍, Xuán lóong
- Vermilion Dragon of the South, 赤龍, Hóng lóong
- White Dragon of the West, 白龍, Bái lóong
- Dragon gods/spirits, 龍神, lóong shén (invoked for rain)
- Dragon King, The, 龍王, Lóong Wáng
- Dragon Veins, 龍脈, lóong mài
- Earth God (Tudigong), 土地公, Tǔ dì gong
- Epithet: Bo Gong 伯公, Bógōng
- Epithet: Dragon God of Fortune 福德龍神, Fú dé lóong shén
- Epithet: Dragon God of the Earth who brings Fortune and Divine Favors 福德土地龍神, Fú dé tǔdì lóong shén
- Hakka, 客家, Kèjiā
- Home Gods, 中霤, zhōng liù
- Inscription: “Nice blessings and prosperity to this land,” 福與土並厚, Fú yǔ tǔ bìng hòu
- Inscription: “Incense Throne of the Earth Dragon God,” 地龍神香座位, De lengthy shén xiāng zuò wèi
- Inscription: “The graces of heaven and earth are boundless,” 德配地無疆, Dé pèi dì wú jiāng
- Land Spirits particular to your dwelling, 地主神, dì zhǔ shén
- Land Spirits, 土神, dì shén
- Ritual: Ceremony to placate the dragon god and obtain the earth spirits’ blessings, 安龍謝土, Ān lóng xiè tǔ
- Inviting the Dragon Spirit, 請龍, qǐng lóong (invoke the dragon spirit of the land you occupy)
- Main the Dragon, 牽龍, qiān lóong (place your hand on the earth and visualize your self drawing qi by means of the dragon veins towards the inspiration of your dwelling)
- Calming the Dragon, 安龍, ān lóong (give the dragon spirit an providing)
- Ritual: Harnessing the qi of the dragon veins, 化胎, Huàtāi [Hakka: Fā Tói]
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