Chinese people generally believe in feng shui, thinking that burying their ancestors in an auspicious land can bless future generations. However, a Taiwanese proverb states: “There is geography only when there is morality,” or “If your heart is good, you don’t need to worry about feng shui.” To have good geography, one must follow moral principles and prioritize virtue in one’s conduct. If your heart is good, you don’t need to worry about feng shui. Meaning, the essence or intrinsic goodness of one’s heart is a precursor to good feng shui.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a filial son named Sun Zhong, who lived in a place called “Yangping Mountain,” south of Fuyang County, Hangzhou Prefecture. He made a living by growing watermelons and relied on his mother for support. One day, three unusually dressed young men came to him asking for watermelon, and after eating it, they said: “We have no money, yet you have generously given this to us. We are the gods of fate, and we know you are filial to your mother and kind-hearted. We want to give you some guidance.”
One of them pointed to a thicket at the foot of the mountain and said: “This mountain has excellent feng shui, surrounded by mountains and water, a true dragon resting here. Move your father’s remains to this place, and soon your family will produce an emperor.” Another continued: “Walk a hundred steps down the mountain and then look back at us; the spot where you stand will be the auspicious burial site.”
Sun followed their instructions and walked about seventy steps before looking back at the three men. They sighed, saying: “You turned back too early; if you bury him here, your family can only become a king.” After saying this, they transformed into three white cranes and flew into the clouds. Later, Zhong’s descendant, Sun Quan, became the King of Wu.
Building schools with donated land: feng shui resides in people’s hearts
In the second year of the Jingyou era of the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1035), Fan Zhongyan served as the governor of Suzhou. He bought a piece of land on Wolong Street, intending to build a house to live in. A feng shui master told him: “Wolong Street is a piece of feng shui treasure land; building a residence here will surely lead to prosperous descendants and continuous high-ranking officials, bringing endless glory and wealth.”
Fan replied: “Since this land is so good, it would be better to build a school here to continuously cultivate useful talents for the state, which is far better than my family enjoying glory and wealth.” He then donated the valuable land to build the “Suzhou Confucian Temple” and invited the prominent educator Hu Yuan to tailor instruction to individual students.
The Suzhou Confucian Temple, founded by Fan Zhongyan, pioneered the system of combining a temple and a prefectural school. Renowned throughout the land for its effective educational methods and emphasis on culture and morality, it became a model for later generations. The region has a rich literary tradition, producing 38 top scholars in the imperial examinations, five times the number before the establishment of the prefectural school, making it a veritable “hometown of top scholars.”
This scholarly tradition continues to this day. From being home to the most distinguished scholars in the past to producing the most academicians in modern times, Suzhou owes its success to the foundation laid by Fan Zhongyan’s donation of land to establish schools, which was also his original intention.
Translated by Joseph Wu and edited by Maria
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