The Research On Chinese Medieval Geomancy

The paper focuses on the geomantic divination in medieval China. Geomancy, as a term, refers to divination on house and tomb. The paper discusses the basic knowledge, practice and spread of the geomancy. The basic knowledge of the geomancy is the direction and landform. Since Han Dynasty, the expression on the direction became more complicated, which use the heavenly stems and earthly branches, and the landform was compared to the similar animals in medieval China. The investigation on the practice of the geomancy is based on the family tombs and funeral. In Eastern Jin Dynasty, the family tombs, arranged under the geomantic principle, choose the auspicious directions of Jia, Geng, Bing, Ren. The Zhancao ceremony and the route of the hearse, which used in funerals, were influenced by geomantic divination. The knowledge group of geomantic divination formed in medieval China. Guan Shi Dili Zhimeng (The guide on geomantic divination made by Guan) was mistaken for a book in medieval China. In fact, this book was written not earlier than Southern Song Dynasty.