Chapter 32: Tao in Common Sense
Teach Chunlai Chinese characters today.
I said, "Today I'm going to talk about how to address someone's house when you're looking at feng shui. In our line of work, we have to be precise. It doesn't matter when we meet ordinary people, but when we meet colleagues or scholars, they tend to be picky."
Chunlai nodded.
I began to explain:
What are gate lions? They are a pair of stone lions placed at the entrance of a house. They are used to ward off evil spirits and demons. They are also called gate guardian lions.
The lions are one male and one female. The male is majestic and powerful, with a hydrangea under his feet. The female has a lion cub under her feet, symbolizing a prosperous family and a long line of descendants. When placing the lions, place the male on the left and the female on the right.
Generally speaking, stone lions are rarely used in ordinary families’ houses nowadays, but are more commonly placed in government agencies.
Door dangling refers to the two stone drums on the left and right sides of the main door. They can be round or square. They mainly serve an aesthetic purpose.
[Hu Dui] refers to the four wooden stakes above the gate, with auspicious words such as "Fu Lu Shou Xi" engraved on them.
The two components, door dang and hu dui, were used to decorate the front door in the past. They were also a display of status.
Poor families usually only have a few rooms to live in. Where would they get the money to decorate?
It was the same in the past and it is the same now, only the rich today decorate their doors magnificently.
Because it is a reflection of status and economic strength, it has been extended to an idiom called "equal status".
At this point, Chunlai asked, "Should we pay attention to the principle of 'equal status' in marriage?"
I said, "You have to be particular. If you don't do that before marriage, it's because you're blinded by love. After marriage, the disparity in status, finances, and culture between the two families will lead to conflicts."
"What if they're not a good match?"
"Then one party should accommodate the other. Not to mention status or finances. Even in ordinary marriages, there are incompatibilities when it comes to food alone.
Southerners eat rice, northerners eat noodles. Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan, and Jiangxi prefer spicy food, while coastal areas prefer lighter seafood. In terms of dietary habits, one side must accommodate the other.
Moreover, people from different social classes and cultures grow up in different environments, so it makes sense that a happy marriage should be based on a good match between the two families.
Then I continued to teach Chunlai.
After entering the gate, some families have courtyards. The houses built on the left and right are called wing rooms.
Entering the large house in front, it is called the "hall". This is where the family holds various formal ceremonies, such as ancestor worship and weddings.
So when a man and a woman get married, there is the saying "worship the hall" and the saying "look handsome".
The place where family members sleep is called a "shi," or "bedroom." Therefore, the place where guests sleep is called a "fang." We call it a "guest room," not a "guest room."
Walk out of someone's front door or yard and go outside.
The north-south roads are called "qian" and the east-west roads are called "mo." This is what is described in the Peach Blossom Spring: "The paths are connected, and the chickens and dogs can hear each other."
The buildings you see are called pavilions for passers-by to rest.
A building built by the water is called a "xie".
A boat that is surrounded by water on three sides is called a fang.
A place that is higher than the ground is called a platform.
This is what the ancients called houses and outdoor buildings.
Now let me tell you about the defects of animals.
The rat has no brain - its memory is quite poor.
Cows have no teeth. Cows have no upper teeth. They are ruminants, so they swallow the grass whole. They need to return to the stomach and grind it slowly.
A tiger has no neck - a tiger has no neck, so when it turns its head, it has to turn its whole body together.
Rabbit without lip - it has three-lobed mouth and no upper lip, which is what we call "harelip".
The dragon has no ears - the dragons on today's buildings, especially the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, appear to have ears, but they are actually just decorations. They are deaf.
A snake has no feet - that's why it's called adding legs to a snake.
A horse has no toes - its feet are connected as one.
Sheep eyes are dull. Their eyeballs don't move all day long. So, when I say someone has sheep eyes, I'm referring to someone with dull eyesight.
Monkey without cheeks - Monkey without cheeks. If you describe a person with no flesh on his face, it would be [尖嘴猴腮].
Chickens don't have kidneys—not that they really don't have kidneys. Have you ever seen a chicken pee?
Chunlai shook his head and smiled, "I haven't noticed it."
"Is chicken poop always watery when it's just been pooped?"
Chunlai nodded.
I said, "It's poop and pee coming out at the same time."
Chun said, "I have gained some new insights."
Dogs have no taste - Dogs have very sensitive noses, but their taste systems are very rough, and their tongues are not very useful, so they regard your poop as a delicacy.
A pig has no longevity - no matter how great its ideals are, or how much it wants to live for another 500 years, it will die heroically within a year, or at most a little over a year.
Chunlai couldn't help laughing.
I said, "This is the Creator's arrangement."
For example, rats reproduce too quickly. If they had brains and didn't fall for human traps, the rat infestation would become rampant, and humans would have no place to stand.
For example, if a cow is allowed to grow all its teeth, it will not want to work. With such a big body and so much strength, it will become the king of the grasslands and forests.
For example, if a tiger had a neck and looked around, other animals would die. So other small animals learn from it and follow the tiger in a roundabout way instead of a straight line.
Rabbits have no lips - their mouths are small, which makes it easier for them to bite grass with their teeth. Rabbits like to eat grass roots.
Dragons have no ears—the dragon is absorbing water. Thunder will explode at any moment, and the water it has sucked into its mouth will be spit out. So, you can fire your thunder. It will suck it back without fail.
It is still sacrificial in order to make it rain.
Snakes have no legs—if they had legs, their length would make them slower. Haven't you seen those sixteen-wheeled cars? How much power does it take to move them?
Horses are toeless—a gift from heaven for humans. They were an important riding animal and a means of transportation for ancient humans because their toes are connected.
Humans nail iron shoes on horses' feet so that they can run longer without fear of high mountains or long roads.
Sheep have dull eyes – The structure of sheep's eyes is different from that of humans. They are flatter and do not move. This fixed eyeball helps them maintain stability and balance while foraging on the grassland.
Especially the blue sheep, crawling and jumping on the cliff, accurately, and the camera does not shake.
The monkey has no cheeks - it is not just that it has no cheeks, but its whole body is thin. It needs to jump between branches and even fly, so it needs to reduce the weight of its whole body as much as possible.
Chickens don't have kidneys—they actually have kidneys, but no bladder. In fact, birds don't have bladders. Their droppings are watery, consisting of urine and feces mixed together. This is to reduce weight. Chickens are actually a type of bird.
Dogs have no smell - their functions are mainly concentrated on smell and hearing.
Pigs have no longevity - I have already explained it before.
After I finished explaining, I said, "All of this is the ingenious arrangement of the Creator."
"Clever arrangement?"
"Yes. Not allowing everything to be completely perfect is also a result of natural evolution, formed for the sake of survival.
The same is true for people. Everyone has flaws and shortcomings. We shouldn't expect people or things to be perfect. At the same time, we should be willing to tolerate others' shortcomings. After all, you and I all have flaws.
Why should we magnify others, minimize our own, or even turn a blind eye to them?
Loving yourself and loving others is also one of the original meanings of our Tao.
Chunlai left the table, bowed, and then stood up and said, "Master, you taught me common sense and also taught me how to be a good person. I am very grateful."
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