The Hakka ancestors applied the "Five Geographic Secrets" (dragon, cave, sand, water, and direction) in Feng Shui to the construction of the dragon house, pursuing harmony and unity with the "Five Geographic Secrets" , in fact, it is the pursuit of harmonious unity with nature in space.
1. Dragon and Cave
Dragon houses are mostly built on hilly slopes, with water facing the water and mountains at the back. The "lailong" in Feng Shui refers to the mountain behind the house. The majestic Mountain ridges are said to be auspicious. In order to introduce and keep the dragon veins in the house, the dragon house is surrounded by dragon hall, dragon god, dragon gate and dragon hall back. The door behind the dragon hall cannot be opened, otherwise it will discourage the dragon. At the same time, it must be empty and cannot be piled with anything, in order to avoid pressing the dragon's veins. The back of the dragon hall is the space behind the ancestor's shrine in the upper hall. There is a small door facing the dragon hall behind the house, which is called the dragon gate. The dragon vein enters from the dragon hall, passes through the dragon gate, the five-star Shibogong, and the dragon hall and enters the upper hall. Five-star Shi Bogong is what Feng Shui calls the "Dragon's Cave", and it is also the acupoint of Feng Shui in the entire Weilong House. Because of its important status, there is a special shrine for people to worship. Among the five stones, the one in the middle is the largest and most square. During the investigation, local people often infer that this is the earth among the five elements based on the "round sky and square place". As for which four elements the other four pieces represent, even the Feng Shui master cannot answer.
2. When choosing the site for a Weilong house in Sand, first of all, pay attention to the direction of the house. It should face north and south, and the central axis of the house should be consistent with the meridian. Secondly, we pay attention to the landscape shapes in the front, back, left, and right around the house, and pay attention to the intuitive combination of beautiful mountains and waters, in order to "coordinate with the divine way and achieve peace" [3]. The ideal spatial pattern is: "Green Dragon on the left, White Tiger on the right, Suzaku in the front, Xuanwu in the back". Most of the Hakka people live in mountainous areas, and they pay special attention to the shape and shape of mountains. "When looking at veins in mountains, pulse energy is heavier than water" [4]. Most of the dragon houses are built against the mountains. The back mountain is where the settlement is based, where the dragon's veins are located, and where people's luck is related, especially the success or failure. Therefore, the back mountain should be majestic, like the back of a turtle, with far-reaching momentum and a "Xuanwu" atmosphere. The front should be open and beautiful, with the image of a "suzaku"; the left and right should be surrounded by mountains and winding mountains, with the meaning of dragons and tigers protecting each other. If the beautiful peaks and beautiful water are connected to the front and back, and are surrounded on the left and right, it has the image of "sitting on a ridge facing away, like a turtle running in the river, and surrounded by water from the west, like offering a gold medal" [5], it is an even better place. The landscape in the natural environment outside the house has become an integral part of the Weilong House. The former residence of Fengjia Qiu in Jiaoling is backed by Xiongshan, and the mountains are covered with clouds from time to time. In front of it, two mountains meander up to the left and right, and between the two mountains, a hill rises slowly in an arc, like the rising sun on the sea. The landscape outside the house constitutes the most vivid image of "Sun in the mountains, clouds and sea". Therefore, Qiu Fengjia's collection of poems is also named after the artistic conception of the mountains and rivers in his house: "Poem Notes on the Sun in the Mountains, Clouds and Sea".
3. Water
In site selection, another environmental factor receives equal attention, which is "water". Because "the luck of the mountain moves with the water." [6] Water can gather "qi", which can make the family prosperous, the career smooth, and the wealth abundant. This is the dream of the owner of the fenced house who has gone through many hardships. of. Why can "water" gather "qi"? What exactly is "qi"? "The Book of Burial" says: "The yin and yang qi, when it puffs up, becomes wind, when it rises, it becomes clouds, when it falls, it becomes rain, and when it travels to the ground, it becomes vitality." [7] It can be seen that "qi" , its true form is the "cloud" and "rain" in nature, which is the source of "water". "Water" is of course a very important survival factor for humans. In fact, not only people, but all living things on the earth are inseparable from water. The survival and development of human beings are inseparable from various living things. It is precisely because the earth is a "water planet" that it is the most suitable home for humans and other diverse life forms, and has nurtured human culture and civilization. Weilongwu's "Shangshui" is actually creating good ecological conditions to ensure the prosperity of Hakka culture. This cultural pursuit is reflected in the combination of water and the construction of dragon houses, either building near the water, or creating a water surface such as a pond in front of the house to supplement the lack of "qi gathering". This has become a common construction of dragon houses. So, why is water connected to "Qi gathering"? From an environmental perspective, this is actually a comfortable and practical experience. Water itself is an aura landscape that satisfies people's spiritual needs for a pleasing sight; water has a large heat capacity, and when the water surface welcomes the summer wind, it can effectively reduce the indoor temperature and increase its humidity, making it suitable for human habitation; pond water can also ensure indoor safety during the dry season. The water level of the well water is stable; water, especially flowing water, has extremely obvious functions of degrading pollutants and discharging sewage; the comprehensive utilization of water surface such as irrigation, washing, fire prevention, planting lotus, and breeding fish have improved its practicality and ornamental. In an era when firewood was the main fuel and buildings were built with civil structures, the fire prevention function of pond water was particularly important.
4. Direction
The "Heavenly Jade Sutra" says: "First come to the mountain and then orient yourself, and the beads should not be placed together." [8]. This is the process of site selection for the orientation of the "house yard" of Weilong House. As mentioned before, Hakkas in northeastern Guangdong live in mountainous and hilly areas, with crisscrossing mountains, narrow valleys, immature basins, and complex topography. Therefore, when choosing a "house", it is difficult to find a particularly good "house" in full compliance with the requirements of "House Classics" and other house books. However, most of the existing large number of Weilong Houses have good Feng Shui "houses" and good orientations, which shows that the Hakka people in northeastern Guangdong are careful and painstaking in creating the Weilong House culture. It is by no means like what some people think "if you don't pay attention to Feng Shui, the building location Flexible choice.”[9]
The direction of the Weilong "house field" is generally determined according to the topography, topography, and landscape of the place it is located. Basically, it faces south, southeast, and east.
Most of the examples we investigated are oriented north to south, such as Nankou Detang of Mei County, Qianqingtang of Xingning Yetang, Zoujiawei of Fengshun Fengliang Town, etc. The rest are mostly southeast and east facing, such as the "Zhonghou Chuan" in Xiaba, Wuhua County. "Home" faces the southeast, and Bingyi Village, Longwen Town, Meixian County faces the east, etc.